in character ff14 bestiary fanfic

Prologue - Introductions & Explanations
Oh, wow, I’m actually doing this, huh?

Kind of just hit me while I was sitting on the boat. Actually getting into this whole… adventuring business. After years of training in the mystic arts, I’m off sailing to untold lands in search of…

Oh, well, I guess you want to know who I am, right?

Don’t know why I’m asking, no one’s reading this but me… maybe when I publish it though…

My name is Beyon I’chutal, and I come from a long line of artisans. My family isn’t made up of especially famous members of society, or even ones that would go out adventuring. We weren’t particularly violent… I guess I’m not either, though.

Anyway, as I grew up, I was kept in the safety of my hometown, because outside of the town were what people referred to as “monsters”. I became incredibly fascinated with them over the years, I wanted to go and see them and learn about them, but my parents never would let me. They just said it was too dangerous.

But I also saw hundreds upon hundreds of adventurers roll in, and slay the monsters with ease. I started to have my doubts about how dangerous these monsters really were.

As I continued to grow up, go to school and such, I noticed nobody really liked to learn about these monsters. School classes were mostly made up of learning about Eorzian history, and the magical sciences. I suppose those are technically more important in our society, bu it was never what I wanted to learn.

Once it dawned on me that I’d never learn, I’d start sneaking out at night and visiting the outskirts of town. As it turned out, most of these so-called monsters were just simple animals. They were dangerous, for sure, but they mostly resided entirely on instinct, and only attacked for defense. At least, in most cases.

As the years past, I had another revelation; I had learned all about the creatures in my hometown, but what about the other parts of the world? Imagine what kind of wondrous creatures could be out there, just out of sight.

By the time I realized this, I was starting to work at the family business. We ran a stone-cutting shop, mostly making small, decorative statues, but occasionally making special, carved stones for adventurers that drifted through. I knew that these adventurers used the stones for magical properties, but never really understood it.

Then, a particularly famous Arcanist came into town. I was the only one in the shop when he came in. We got into some smalltalk, mostly about his own upbringing and how he decided to become an adventurer. As he explained it to me, I realized something important, something life changing.

Adventurers weren’t special.

My parents had raised me on believing that my talents were only meant for stone carving and nothing else. But I learned that, if I tried, I could be an adventurer, and go see the world I desperately wanted to see, and meet the creates I desperately wanted to meet.
I asked him how to become an Arcanist, and he directed me to the nearest school.

I think I left the next day with only barely mentioning it to my parents.

It wasn’t an incredible school, but it was what I needed to go out and explore. For the next few years, I studied hard and… okay, I fluked my way through most of it. I’m still not entirely sure how spellbooks work, and I’m writing in one right now. My main goal, magically speaking, was to become a Summoner. You should probably know the reason why.

I wasn’t the best student, but I did my best to pay attention, and I did somehow manage to pass. I never really talked to anyone, which probably made it seem like I was incredibly anti-social and lame. Oh well, never seeing anyone from that school ever again.

Once I passed, I checked for the first boat heading off across the sea, and here I am now, on the deep, briny blue, off towards destiny. Or something cheesy like that.

That was a quick version, anyway. I could probably write a book just on all that alone, but I don’t really care, to be honest. What you’ll be reading from now on isn’t a biography, but half my memoirs as an adventurer, and half a detailed bestiary on the monsters of the world.
Hope you enjoy.

Chapter One - Limsa Lominsa Life
Maybe I should have checked where that boat was heading before I bought the ticket.

While I was writing the prologue, the boat got attacked by pirates! PIRATES! I could’ve DIED! That was just the start of how unfortunate this trip would start out.

The boat arrived at Limsa Lominsa, a port town that’s literally carved into the walls of a cliffside. The place would be incredibly beautiful, but the people in the town are a bit off putting. I was directed to a bar that the Adventurer’s Guild was supposed to be in, but it was run by the bar owner.

He was nice enough, got me out of a potential tight spot without any trouble, and helped me get my bearings… but he was just a bit off, y’know? He kept going on about a dragon and how he lost his memory, but I had no idea what he was talking about. Everybody else seemed uncomfortable as he was talking about it, too, so it might just be some kind of fantasy he’s lost in.

The rest of the town is filled with pirates with weird accents. I can barely understand them most of the time, to be honest, but I’ve been helping out in between research sessions. It’s felt rewarding, but at points I’ve felt like just an errand-cat.

Name: Little Ladybug
Alternate Names: Ladybugs, creepy crawlies, YIKES!
Class: Vilekin
Subclass: Beetle

If these are what the people here call “little” ladybugs, I hate to see what the big ones would look like. These things are much larger than normal ladybugs, maybe around a hundred times larger in fact. Seriously, this thing is the size of my head for crying out loud. I LIKE insects and I think this is off-putting.

They may have been mutated by magical forces? I have seen some pretty strange things going around as I’ve explored, which could have been the cause of something like this. Outside of their size, Little Ladybugs behave nearly the same as their much smaller counterparts, though the size does seem to get in the way of some things.

The main thing I noticed was a dietary change. Ladybugs eat aphids and other small insects, but I watched one of these things devour some flowers in a few quick bites. They might have evolved to eat plants so that they can eat larger amounts of aphids at the same time. It still seems to like sugar, like most insects do, since it gobbled up my sugar quickly when I offered it some.

Little Ladybugs, due to their new size making them far more likely to become prey to larger creatures, have also taken on more aggressive personalities. If you don’t bug the bug, it won’t bug you back, as it were. When aggravated, they will flash their wings, much like how birds do when they get into fights. They have hardened exoskeletal heads as well, letting them ram into things with little harm to themselves.

Honestly, I am really just weirded out by how nobody thinks these are strange. They must have become incredibly common at one point, and by now everyone’s just used to them being this big. Oddly enough, I’ve become used to them as well as I’ve studied them more. I wonder how long they live for? Their increased size might mean they live longer than usual… I wonder if I could get one as a pet?

-What’s Up With Adventuring Gear?-
So, I’ve been wondering this ever since I got onto the boat. Once I graduated from beginner’s Arcanist school, they gave me an “beginning adventurer’s starter set”, which they said included armor and other useful things. I kind of took them on their word for it, but when I decided to change into it on the boat…

It was a miniskirt and a tubetop, alongside some ridiculously long gloves. They… weren’t that practical, I thought, but as soon as I put them on, people started treating me like I was an adventurer. Do all adventurer’s dress this way at the start? Back at home I saw most of them wearing armor and pretty robes, this stuff is just garbage.

Needless to say, my first goal was to get some clothes… better than that. I managed to do a bunch of small tasks by the end of my first night, and ended up with this comfy, wizard-y looking outfit. Apparently this is what Arcanists are supposed to wear, and I don’t really mind it. In fact, I’d love it if the materials were better. There were some better ones at the store, so maybe I’ll pick those up when I get enough money.

I’ve seen some other adventurers running around too. They are also dressed in some… pretty wacky outfits. Honestly, I’m a bit jealous. Hopefully I’ll get things that extravagant later on in my adventure.