Sion Gyr

Sion Gyr Flame Lieutenant 2nd Class Player: Candor Ignifer Personal Data Gender: Male Species: Hyur Clan: Highlander Place of Birth: Ala Mhigo Date of Birth: 32nd Sun, First Astral Moon Age: 34 Height: 6'6" Weight: 255 ponzes Eye Color: Celeste & Flame Hair Color: Bistre & Copper Inquiry Into a Soldier Any Ul’dahn can tell you the story of the Ala Mhigans, and it usually goes something like this: The highlanders were a ruthless and brutal sort who fought for the sake of conquest, but when the Garlean Empire rolled in and served them a taste of their own medicine, they fled and cried. Worse still, they came to Ul’dah and beggared and stole in order to survive, until they were forced back to live in that ant hill they now ironically call Little Ala Mhigo. There’s no shortage of scorn when speaking of the Ala Mhigans, and most of us will tell you that they earned their current pitiful existence. But as ever, the Mithral Eye endeavors to see the story within the story, and this reporter is here to tell you that for every dozen flea ridden highlander crooks and beggars, there’s one who managed to behave in a manner worthy of Ul’dah. This is the story of Flame Lieutenant Second Class Sion Gyr, a refugee of Ala Mhigo who didn’t take to the ways we resent the highlanders for, but instead faced his new harsh reality and persevered. Sitting in Flame General Blaque’s office, I’ve been given an opportunity to interview the man who has been Sion Gyr’s commanding officer for the last 18 years, and his greeting is exactly what you might expect of a career soldier. “First of all, it’s geer, not jur - the least you can do is correctly pronounce their names if you’re going to be asking after my men,” begins Blaque, and I can immediately tell that this isn’t going to be a charming interview. I ask the usual questions to break the ice, hoping to loosen the stern soldier’s veneer, but he holds fast and interrupts me in clipped words, “What do you want? Should I spin a yarn over Gyr’s rise from refugee to Flame Lieutenant Second Class? Or is this a gossip column? If so, I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t follow the man’s sexual escapades.” Despite Blaque’s tone, I smile at his little jab. I do in fact want just that gossip, but not from this stony elezen. From the General I want to know what sort of soldier an Ala Mhigan makes. “He's a good soldier, if you ask me - knows his place, follows orders, and he's not a poor fighter to have at your side in the field, I can tell you that,” pridefully boasts Blaque. But by now it’s clear that I’m not likely to glean much more from the good General, so I say my polite farewells and move on. Return to Top Some Men Are Like Mountains Just outside the Hall of Flames I catch a trio of young and fresh looking soldiers admiring me, and I’m suddenly glad that I chose to wear a short skirt for the day. I had hoped it would warm the General, but these young daring-do’s will serve just as well. It takes a brief strut and smile, and they’re pouring themselves open for me - and they don’t even mind that the topic is another man. “Well, he’s Ala Mhigan,” the tall blonde on the right unhelpfully begins. But the short redhead in the middle seems a little more willing to expound for my benefit. “Gyr’s big. I mean big - like… I can’t even reach high enough to show you.” “Aye, but he’s not like those Little Ala Mhigan barbarians,” adds the dark-eyed, good looking one on the left. “He’s more like…” “Like a mountain!” exclaims the small redhead. I can’t help but smile at the little one’s excitement, and as I stand there and bat my eyelashes, the trio paint a vivid picture of a man that they very clearly look up to. And I can’t help but daydream of a big man with a rumbling voice and an easy smile. I laugh when the little one strongly emphasizes that Lieutenant Gyr certainly can’t be classified with the Ala Mhigan beggars, because he actually wears clothes. And then I blink when the tall blonde finishes with, “If you’re looking for him, watch for a man with mismatched eyes. One’s light blue and the other’s orange. Yeah, I said orange.” A tall, good looking Ala Mhigan with mismatched eyes that actually wears clothes. Sadly, in Ul’dah, that’s all too rare a sight. But before I go and meet the man himself, I would like a little more perspective. So I head for the home his father keeps for himself and his wife, along the way musing how strange it is that Lieutenant Gyr isn’t an orphan and his parents live within the city proper. Family • Winter Gyr: The man of the house greets me at the door and I immediately smell the pleasant aroma of herbs and spices on him. “Welcome, miss Vale,” he warmly ushers me inside and forces me to sit on a cozy sofa beside his lovely wife. “It just didn’t make much sense to wallow in pity after Garlemald occupied Ala Mhigo,” answers Winter, when I ask him how it is that he leads a fruitful life while other Ala Mhigans still struggle 20 years later. “And I had a wife and son to think about besides,” he continues. “Pride is all well and good, but it doesn’t buy medicine or food.” How right he is. As it turns out, unlike his fellow highlander men, Winter isn’t a warrior of any sort, but instead a rather talented herbalist. “I learned out of necessity when I met my wife,” he tells me, “and thank Rhalgr I did, because it kept her healthy, bought this house, and has given us a comfortable life.” Indeed. While the other refugees stole, murdered, or begged 20 years ago, Winter immediately went to work within Ul’dah and quickly made a name for himself, ensuring safety and security for his wife and young son. • Noelle Gyr: Noelle immediately breaks my heart when she chimes in. She’s a beautiful woman, despite her age, and I can just feel the peace surrounding her even though she sits in a wheelchair, tucked beneath a thick blanket. “I’ve always been a burden on poor Winter,” she sweetly tells me, her smile something that belongs on stage and not in this cozy den. “But I thank the Twelve everyday for him. And we’re both so proud of Sion.” She’s the first to use the Lieutenant’s first name, and I can’t bring myself to interrupt her. I just want to listen. “He was four and ten when we fled Gyr Abania, and I was terrified that he would grow to be consumed with hatred and vengeance, like so many of us. But like his father, he saw the situation for what it was. One year later he enlisted with the Immortal Flame, and has been helping to support us ever since.” Company • Brynhilde Wulfe: I thank the Gyr’s for the hospitality and head out to meet Brynhilde Wulfe, another Ala Mhigan refugee who I hope can tell me more about the man from a less familial perspective. "What? Gyr? Why do you ask, is he in trouble?” she immediately demands, clearly ready to spring into action. So I explain that I’m writing a piece for the Mithral Eye. “ ...Oh. Very well, then. Let’s see, I’ve known Gyr for… two, maybe three moons now. He’s a good sort. Very charismatic, very chivalrous. T’is a rare an’ pleasant thing tae find these days. He’s generous, too, an’ a competent fighter. But get him intae an argument an’ he’s stubborn as an aldgoat. We’ve bickered a few times, an’ Gods th’ man knows how tae drive me half insane. Still, we usually make up a couple of suns later, once he’s decided tae stop broodin’. Heh. Truth be told, he’s a fine man. Whichever lass ends up with him is a lucky lass, indeed. I doubt I’ll ever tell him as much, though.” I haven’t gotten in a single word, now that she’s begun, so I spring at her first pause. I ask what my female readers really want to know: Is the Lieutenant really handsome? “…Hm? Well, yes, I think he’s handsome. How is that relevant tae anythin’? …This interview is over." • Horace Rook: Next on my list is a man known for appearing in all the right places, at all the wrong times. The man who calls himself Rook. He’s not difficult to find, though he’s far more difficult to glean anything from. I batter him with question, bat my lashes, smile, flash a little leg, and all I earn for my troubles is a composed smile and a succinct, “Come now. My clients value my discretion.” I suppose that is that. • Nadeau Celeste: Rook’s dismissal makes me determined to find out more about Lieutenant Gyr’s professional life, so I seek out Nadeau Celeste, the leader of the Traveling Templar free company, who’s known to work with the Lieutenant now and then. “The man strikes me as… interesting,” she begins to tell me. “To be honest, I am not sure what to make of him… rough… harsh… yet somehow I wish to believe there is something deeper… I suppose it is that something that pushes me forward in the hopes of getting to know him better… I want to know what makes him tick...and dig below the surface… I suppose any good mystery is worth solving." She certainly paints a different picture than Brynhilde Wulfe, who’s another Traveling Templar. • Rhubi Moonflower: Nadeau's musing leave thirsting for something a little juicier, so I head right to the tap. The Lieutenant is known to keep the company of several beautiful miqo’te women, so I track down Rhubi Moonflower. “My relationship with Gyr…” she timidly begins, quite adorable even though I typically sneer at the demure sort. “I would say it’s a complicated one, to say the least.” Which means that she’s probably his lover - or wants to be. “The easiest way to put it really is that I’m his,” she admits, looking away from me. His? “Be it in business or in his daily life, I will be asked to assist him according to his wishes. There are times when his requests are a bit more than I can readily accept, but my circumstances are what they are…” Now this is juicy indeed. It’s no secret that Lieutenant Gyr keeps a miqo’te slave woman named L’vi, but Rhubi makes me wonder if the good Lieutenant keeps a collection of slaves. • Xenedra Ambreaus: A quick check at our Hall of Records answers my curiosity, and I suddenly have a few new visits to make. Next on the list is the well known performer and dancer, Xenedra Ambreaus. “Saying I regret the day I met Sion is putting it gently,” she begins, frowning at the very mention of the Lieutenant’s name. She’s the first one so far to speak negatively, and I’m just dying to hear what gossip she’s going to throw my way. “I’m not necessarily the most moral of people, but there are some things even I won’t do.” She has me hooked - either she detests that Lieutenant Gyr keeps slaves, or she has some really dark dirt on him. I prod a little, and ask her if there’s anything she would like to add. Xenedra’s nods and replies, “I pray that those he comes across aren’t fooled by that cool smile; be-fucking-ware.” And I giggle like a little school girl because now he’s a tall, dark, and handsome man with a dangerous secret and the Mithral Eye will probably promote me for this. Enemies • Garleans: Unless I count Xenedra, no one has really hinted at the Lieutenant having any enemies. But if anyone would know, it would be his comrades-in-arms, so I turn right back around and return to the Hall of Flame. General Blaque is conveniently unavailable, and my three young admirers have long since moved on, but Commander Swift is ever available to the public and he smiles when I ask: Just who does Lieutenant Gyr dislike? “Garleans,” he confidently answers. “We learned that the hard way when we captured a few scouts out in the Thanalan outskirts. I can’t rightly say that they were in one piece by the time the Lieutenant delivered them to us - but the weird thing is that none of them claimed he tortured them. He just… beat the snot out of them when he first found them. Anyroad, it’s been a recurring theme, and we’ve long since learned to keep a safe distance between Lieutenant Gyr and any Garleans we apprehend.” Return to Top Three Sides to Every Story (Please submit to Candor Ignifer on the RPC forum if you wish to contribute a rumor.) Having spoken with Lieutenant Gyr's family and friends, I decide that it was finally time to track down the big man himself. But, of course, along the way, I would stop and gather what I could from anyone else wishing to pitch their two gil - after all, maybe one of them might know a little bit more about Xenedra's comment. Unfortunately, no one did, unless you count the attention paid to his sex life. So, finally, I contacted the very subject of my column and sat down over drinks. By now he's every bit the man I expected. I'm not allowed to sit until he's taken my hand, bowed over it, and he's pulled out my chair for me. Brynhilde is proven right in that it's refreshing to meet a man who still holds to the old etiquette that makes a woman feel like a woman, and I happily sit back and listen over a glass of wine while he answers my questions in a rich baritone rumble. But the end comes all too soon, and he asks me not to directly quote him - save for one brief exception - when writing his side of things. It's disappointing, to be sure, that such a man is content to leave his image in the bias opinions of others, but it also speaks of an easy confidence, which I now believe is the very source of the very same opinions. At the end of the day, I'm left exhausted with very sore feet. But as I pen these words I can't help but wonder at the difference between the family Gyr and those poor souls aching in Little Ala Mhigo. For so long the highlanders were known for their might and honor, and in one swift action they fell to nothing more than the dirty vagabonds that plague us today.However, in meeting Lieutenant Gyr, his parents, and even Brynhilde Wulfe, I'm reminded that these were once a mighty people, and they have it within themselves to be mighty again. Rumors • “He’s always smokin’ whatever drug’s popular with the youngin’s. It’s amazin’ he can even stand upright!” • “I don’t think he’s from Ala Mhigo at all, but really an’ truly from Ishgard. He fights with a spear an’ jumps everywhere just like one of them dragoons!” • “He must’ve been a noble or somesuch, ‘cause I’ve never seen a man act so properly.” • “I hear he has one of those free companies, but it’s just a disguise for his harem.” • “He only talks to womenfolk, from what I’ve seen, and walks away if another man approaches.” • “He seems to favor miqo’te women - which is odd since he’s a giant hyur.” Facts • It turns out that Lieutenant Gyr rolls his own cigarettes, which he learned from his father. They’re a special blend of tobacco and flavored tea leaves. • An estranged Ishgardian calling himself Booke taught the Lieutenant the dragoon battle forms, which is why he favors a spear and leaping about. • Winter Gyr insisted that his son attend university during his adolescence, which led to Sion’s adherence to etiquette. • Ironically, Lieutenant Gyr refused to comment on the nature of his free company, and instead directed me to inquire after Nadaeu Celeste’s Traveling Templar. • Lieutenant Gyr smiles when I mention that he keeps only female company, and insists that he has male friends as well. • When confronted with the rumor of his favoring miqo’te women, however, he allows me to quote. “Oh, absolutely.” Return to Top This template was created by Arlo