Joyful Song

Joyful Song

The Rogue Sharlayan

❝ I tempt my fate, certainly, but I do it with luck and a smile. ❞

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Error creating thumbnail: File missing Vital Information ■ NICKNAMES... Joy, Jay, Jay Bee, The Onyx Flower ■ RACE & CLAN... Hellsguard Roegadyn ■ GENDER... Female ■ AGE... 36 ■ NAMEDAY... 15th Sun, 5th Astral Sun ■ MARITAL STATUS... In a Relationship: Osrich Arkwright [Present Status...Happy & Carefree] Other Statistics ■ BIRTHPLACE... Sharlayan ■ CITIZENSHIP... Limsa Lominsa ■ RESIDENCE... Ward 2, plot 7, Shirogane || Ward 12, Plot 32, The Goblet ■ OCCUPATION... Head of the Collector's Organization of Magitechnical and Esoteric Treasures. ■ PATRON DEITY... Thaliak, the Scholar ■ HEIGHT & WEIGHT ... 83 ilms, 245 ponze ■ ALIGNMENT... Chaotic Good. General Information A Sharlayan whose life goal was to study the War of the Magi, she fell in love with the island of Vylbrand and the Nymians who once populated it. After the invasion of Ala Mhigo, and the call to flee Eorzea from the Sharlayan motherland, Joyful elected to stay behind, finding that the knowledge and way of life of the land was too precious to be ignored as the Empire destroyed it. After the Calamity, Song helped rebuild Limsa Lominsa, and joined the crew of the Kracken's Arms, where she became enamored with the clever intricacies of deal-making. Retiring from piracy, Joyful founded the Onyx Pyrolisk Trader's Union, which hired craftsmen, engineers, sailors, and castaway pirates to build and trade across the Strait of Merlthor. The creation of the Skylifts launched Joyful Song 's company into gillionare status, and it was with her newfound currency that she began her lifelong passion of protecting knowledge for all in the form of C.O.M.E.T

Confident, powerful Bearing Laterality Scars Powerful, but non-hostile Ambidextrous Several, but none too troubling Hair & Eyes Joyful has blue-green eyes, from her mother. They appear to change color slightly depending on the lighting. Many have described them as being able to see through a man into his soul, so many wishing for her patronage tend to avoid her direct gaze. They seem to carry a knowing twinkle in them whenever she speaks to someone... While Song has the same hair color as her father, a healthy black hue, Song has had it grow out quite long—another measured testament of her distancing herself from her Sharlayan past, as the fashion among their people is typically to keep it at a shorter length. She tends to keep the more unruly parts of it to keep it steady and out of her view. She typically keeps them in her two signature ponytails behind her head. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Physique & Markings A woman who prides herself on being as alluring and disorienting as humanly possible for the sake of an advantage, Joyful does everything she can to keep her hourglass figure and somewhat obsesses over how she appears to others. She is adamant about wearing just enough makeup to look beautiful, but only just so much as to make it appear natural. The only markings of note are the lengthy tattoo of a Kracken trailing from her ankle to what most would assume is her stomach along her right leg, the Under-Archon mark on the nape of her neck, and the mark of the Scholar featured on her right shoulder. It is entirely uncertain how or why she carries this art on her person. Hygiene & Attire In spite of her former piratical ties, Joyful Song is a tidy woman, who enjoys being presentable in public. Though not the sort of creature to turn up her nose at getting dirty, it is noted that she commonly wears fairly nice clothes, and dislikes getting anything stained on it, insisting that a Scholar is neat and orderly both mentally and physically. She's hardly the sort of person who goes out of her way to wear fancy or overly-stylish clothing; everything on her person has a function and a purpose, and that is precisely how she likes it. "Nymian Scholar" Attire: When presented the opportunity to do so, whether it be at some manner of dinner party or formal event, Song will typically don her traditional Nymian Scholar's attire. "Combat Scholar" Attire: Mixing together both Nymian and Sharlayan designs in green, gold, and white, this attire represents its wearer perfectly....a balance of elegance, utility, and practicality. The Aethercells on her gloves store excess aether so that she might use it in special instances where she or an ally is low. "Head Librarian:" A black, feathered coat which Joyful is most often seen wearing while doing research or organization. It has several dozens of pouches for her personal collection of tomes, which she carries around on her for reference, and her Aetherometer--a device which allows her to store, measure, and identify potentially dangerous levels of aether without physically interacting with it. "COMET Commander" Attire: An adorable purple jacket featuring Joyful's amethyst carbuncle perched on her shoulders. Commonly worn on formal occasions or when addressing the members of the Free Company.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing "I am, your Lordship, as likely to allow your ships across my strait as you are to tumble me. Ul'Dah is your domain, and I've well seen how to tend to it. 'Tis fair to say, I find it utterly distasteful. Limsa Lominsa and her seas are mine, Lolorito; do well to mind yourself of that." Personality To a person looking from the outside in, Joyful Song is a poised, imposing, elegant, intelligent, and alluring creature. Her presence is powerful; when she enters a room, one can most certainly notice it, and once she is there, it's difficult to cast your attention elsewhere. Rumors of her exploits might suddenly surface their way to one's thoughts—how she could talk a wild chocobo out of all of its feathers, or perhaps the missing merchant who once wronged her was never seen again, or her shady past as one of the Kracken's Arms. A fierce, powerful, cunning being with hidden, dangerous claws that could strike out at any sight of something not going the way she wants. Painfully blunt, impatient to a fault, and hells on earth should you earn her scorn, most walk on eggs around her to avoid her wrath. These sorts of emotions are precisely what Joyful wants people to drown in when confronted with her. Wild tales of things she has (mostly) never done circulating fantastical rumors to give her a much larger-than-life appearance to her allies and enemies alike are what she aims for; the more extreme and unbelievable, the better. To further this, she is strangely absent from most social events, electing to keep to the confines of her estate, which are rather heavily guarded and kept quite secretive. Joyful is dizzingly confident in herself—she's quite aware of her features, and what people think of her—she knows she is attractive, she knows she is intelligent, and she knows she is powerful in both wealth and combat alike. All of these points are tools for her to use to get what she desires, when she desires it, and most around her are keen on keeping her happy for fear of her temper. Joyful is a pragmatic woman—she is quite willing to do whatever she needs to in order to achieve her goals, regardless of what that something happens to be. To the outside eye, Joyful is poised, highly cynical, elegant, and charming. Typically carefree, even whimsical upon first glance, Joyful Song is quick to violently respond at the slightest provocation, being instinctively hotheaded, impetuous, and confrontational. To many onlookers, she is like a frozen flame--pleasant and beautiful to behold, cold, and slightly off-putting...but when closer inspected, bright and passionate and usually too hot to handle for nearly anybody involved nearby. However, she is actually rather sensual, warm, and friendly behind her layers and layers of thick skin. She cares for the safety and well-being of people she meets, but would rather see them fight for their survival, rather than running and hiding. In spite of everything that has happened to her, Joyful tries her best to be realistically optimistic towards people she doesn't know; she is wary, but still makes efforts to be trusting to others. Arrogant to a fault, prideful of her knowledge, heritage, and courage, she finds it difficult to admit when she's wrong, if she ever does at all. To her, weakness is something she'd rather hide. Despite the crap-free attitude, cold exterior, and less-than-polite means of communication, the Sharlayan is good at heart. Although her methods are definitely unorthodox, she means well in what she does, and does legitimately feel for people when they're in some form of trouble. Joyful Song would do just about anything to defend the unprotected, unwary, and innocent, to include putting her own life on the line. Fearless to death, the Hellsguard takes life by the horns, and refuses to let go. A fighter until the very end, it could very well come to pass that she does go down swinging... :Many people see Joyful as a hard-ass, incapable of showing emotion beyond scowling, looking down her nose (both figuratively and literally), and being generally cross. She puts people at their limits to test their abilities, in an attempt to improve themselves. She cares for the safety and well-being of people she meets, but would rather see them fight for their survival, rather than running and hiding. Although she appears to be reluctant to do so, if asked for advice in the matters of combat, the Scholar is always pleased to test their mettle, reforge it, and improve it. Arrogant to a fault, prideful of her knowledge, heritage, and courage, she finds it difficult to admit when she's wrong, if she ever does at all. To her, weakness is something she'd rather hide. She often goes out of her way to pick fights with others she feels are morally wrong or unjust to others, and it is painfully apparent she delights in making them look foolish through her means of visual trickery and aetheric ability. Easily infuriated by the stupidly brash, morally unjust, and careless, many people see Song as a trickster with a harsh punchline—jovial in making people she sees as lower than herself miserable and foolish, but rather stony and crass in every other respect. It is often remarked by onlookers that she spends most of her brawls overjoyed and giddy at having outsmarted her opponents, often taking her enemies off-guard with just how incredibly implausible some of her schemes really are. Her sleight of hand tricks are a marvel to behold when not on the receiving end...In terms of combat, Joyful Song delights in being the center of attention, being something of a brash, egotistical show-off at times, and typically goading enemies into attacking her while planning several steps ahead of them. She is not a woman who shies away from stooping as low as surly taunts, or even outright death threats, and her determination to see victory is so high that those who know her well are somewhat surprised she's not lost a limb...or worse. While usually kind to people, Joyful Song isn't shy about returning wrongs tenfold to those who spread them, and is far from squeamish about gruesomely wounding her opponents if she feels the need to do so to make a point. Eccentric is hardly the word to begin with Joyous, as her escapades are considered an oddity among the well-to-do, her fashion choices are mildly questionable at best, and her hobbies are outlandishly bizarre. The former Kracken's newest passion has become collecting the rarest and most valuable items in all of the world, going as far as to hire mercenaries, adventurers, hunters, and pirates to obtain trinkets for her growing assortment. She is not above and beyond putting them into harm's way, stating that sacrifices must be made in order to achieve great things, and has strangely mentally removed herself from the concept of danger entirely, often brushing it off as a minor inconvenience. However in spite of that, it is quite clear she cares for those who dedicate themselves to their work, in her own strange little way. Joyful does not tolerate the weak or lazy, and is quick to become icily cruel to get a point across—she is not entirely without pleasure in making the foolish look even moreso, and seems to delight in tormenting people who have wronged others in her eyes. She does, however, appear to become bored very easily if doing so does not give her satisfaction, and is quick to cut conversations with people she considers wasting her time short, no matter how rude she seems or who she is speaking to. Preferences Likes ❄ The Color Black ❄ Vylbrand. ❄ Fine Foods ❄ Making a fool of others ❄ Expanding her collection ❄ Learning new things Dislikes ❄ Liars ❄ Extremists ❄ Disrespect ❄ Highly Spiced Foods ❄ Lengthy conversations ❄ People who dismiss education Skills ❄ Business-oriented ❄ Arcana ❄ Healing ❄ Knife-throwing/Knife fighting ❄ Excellent Tactician

Error creating thumbnail: File missing "You're likely decent with Thaumaturgy...as you are presently putting me to sleep." Basic Statistics High: Aether, Mind Above Average: Intelligence, Charisma Average: Dexterity, Speed Low: Defense 'Skills & Abilities Mastery: Nymian Tactics/Magics Expert: Business-sense, sleight-of-hand Knowledgeable: Metalworking (Mining, Goldsmithing, Blacksmithing, Armorsmithing), Knife-throwing Average: Disciple of the Hand/Land Novice: Everything else, Hand-to-hand combat Joyous's style of combat is an unusual one. Of all her assets, the most powerful and deadly is not her magicks, or her Scholar Lores, but her incredibly sharp wit. Song is strikingly perceptive, in spite of her mannerisms and outward appearance, able to quickly analyze a person's personality and therefore paint an accurate picture of what their strengths and flaws are. Joyful Song finds a bit of glee in psyching out her opponents, doing her best to use their own weaknesses against them, typically resorting to playing on people's overconfidence in themselves. However, she is as susceptible to these tricks as her enemies, and those who can pick up on what she tries to pull will find Joyful backed up into a corner. Song comes off as borderline goofy, and almost dimwittedly careless to most who find themselves in a scuffle against her--however, this is done quite on purpose. Able to disguise one plan within the shroud of another, most people would brush off her actions as carelessness or sheer stupidity; Joyful Song on the other hand, makes critical moves while seemingly acting foolish in order to catch people off guard. With her perceptive nature and Nymian Tactics comes the ability to seamlessly flow from one situation to the other, carefully planning, (and then planning around those plans, and so on,) around each new confrontation that sets itself before her. With this said, Song 's ability to use her environment and whatever tools are on hand to her advantage comes naturally to her. She keeps a number of tools concealed on her person for such occasions. (See related tab for details) Joyful Song is not a fair player. She considers that every move in combat is fair play (unless it involves damage to the innocent, or being needlessly cruel,) and will resort to run away, throw low blows, or even cheating outright. If her life, or the life of another, is in danger, Song is quick to act, regardless of what dishonor or humiliation is involved in the consequences. She picked this particular set of morals from the pirate crew she lived with after the Calamity, her flamboyantly dramatic mentor Archon Rhotraen Toffund, and the Nymian Tactician Palov Zolev, who was attributed to stating that "Honor means very little to Nym as a people if they are not alive to tell of it. I should rather suffer the dishonor of a foul tactic against our foes than have our children's children pay prices for being too meek to carry them forth."

Rumors NPC Rumors Some of these rumors are untrue, speculation, or are greatly exaggerated. ◢ Common Rumors - Easily overheard. Use freely! ■ "The Onyx Lady? Richest person in Limsa, probably." -- A Pirate ■ "She hardly ever leaves her estate anymore...makes a person wonder what she's doing in there." -- Rumormonger' ◢ Uncommon Rumors - A little more difficult to hear. Use sparingly or ask first! ■ "I hear she doesn't employ any servants. Strange for a house so large, don't you think? What kind of person that rich doesn't have any maids or such?" -- A fisherman's wife ■ "I wouldn't mess with any one lass from the Kracken's Arms, let alone the Onyx Lady." — Bumbling Pirate. ◢ Rare Rumors - Very rarely overheard. Please ask before using! ■ "The Onyx Lady? I hear she's a...collector. She's been shippin' in all sorts of things since the Calamity happened. Sends her husband, that Dragoon, off to find things, but lately other folks've been showin' up. Strange lot, those sorts. Would keep my distance." — Loitering Pirate. ■ "She animated a whole bleedin' table once after a sour deal. Ran around for a few days before someone finally chopped it to splinters. Still, wouldn't go around messin' with the likes o' her...with that book she carries 'round and those...foreign magicks, it makes you wonder what she can really do..." — Tittering Barkeep. PC Rumors Feel free to add your own rumors to this section. ◢ Player Character Rumors - Some of these are more rare than others! ■ "Rumor" — Rumormonger. ■ "Rumor" — Rumormonger.

Relationships Relationship Status Legend ღ Relationship ❣ Attraction ♡ Complicated ♦ Friend ✝ Deceased ✔ Positive ✖ Negative ● Neutral � Unsure ღ Osrich Arkwright: A Gridanian-born Dragoon who saved Song's life from would-be kidnappers alongside his companions, Traique O'nera and Jacan Sunderfist. He is a harsh realist, quick to puncture holes in anything that might not be feasible, but he does this with good intent. He left Gridania as a would-be Wood Wailer when a caravan with his mother was torched by Dragons. However, after many a year of soul-searching and dragonslaying, Osrich devoted himself to wandering the world to seek out the greatest beasts to fight. Arkwright has spent many years studying and hunting down elite monsters, priding himself as one of the forefront members of Clan Centurnio. He is a warrior of exceptional skill, known more only for his candid nature and sharp intellect. Astonishingly, he seems to excel at everything he puts his mind to... ♦ Traique O'nera This Sunseeker fled her tribe and abandoned her name, far from intent on being one of a dozen or more women to one Nunh. With a passion for song and a deadly accuracy with a bow, Traique traveled the world as a Bard, collecting songs and singing them to whoever would listen. A natural-born performer, O'nera is friendly and outgoing to most people, but when scorned can become incredibly and painfully serious. ♦ Jacan Sunderfist Born poor to an Ishgardian family, Jacan Sunderfist had to scrape and claw for his position as one of the Knights of House Fortemps. However, he became disillusioned to Ishgard and her system after her true face had been revealed, and abandoned his post to fleet to Gridania, where he met upon Osrich and Traique. Jacan is the silent one of the trio, observing everything going on around him. He speaks only when absolutely needed, and does so rather quietly. He was once a Monk with a powerful punch...however, an incident with a Garlean recon. unit damaged his hand so harshly, that striking with his fists caused him significant amounts of pain. Since then, he has taken to the art of the Red Mage, and he claims he feels far more at home with a blade in his hands once more. Family Eifadoenn Ghimbryd: Song 's surrogate mother. Perhaps one of the most talented and respected Goldsmiths in the Sharlayan Capital, Eifadoenn's passion for only creating the best she could offer likely rubbed off on her adopted daughter. Out of the couple, she was the more jovial, flamboyant, and caring of them, and spent the most time with their daughter. While she was known for her works of art, Ghimbryd always wanted to be a bard...however her fingers, she claims, were more prone to gems and jewels than the strings of a lyre. Gohtfyr Haemrkoen,: Joy's adopted Father. A passionate but serious man who knew none equal to his skill in metalworking. Gohtfyr has always had a soft spot for his daughter, given that he too was once orphaned on the streets in his youth, but never strayed too far from giving her her dues. While he was disappointed, nearly furious at Joyous's decision to abandon Sharlayan for Eorzea, he always gives a proud answer whenever asked privately. Archon Rhotraen Toffund: The first and only teacher from Sharlayan Joyful would ever have. Strict, pragmatic, and flamboyantly passionate about her work, all of these traits seemed to rub off on her student in spades. Toffund was the foremost expert on the War of the Magi, earning her Archon ranking at the age of thirty-four summers old, and publishing a half-dozen works on the subject alone. While she was clearly striving and breaking new ground on her studies, her dedication lead to an astonishingly few number of students taken under her wing...perhaps the least out of all the Archons in the Hinterlands. Out of her four however, Rhotraen is incredibly proud, if not somewhat disappointed as well, in Joyful as a student...if not her common sense in refusing to leave Eorzea.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing "Everything always moves forward. You'd be an idiot to think you can stop progress." Early Age, Sixth Astral Era Joyful Song was born and raised within the Capital of Sharlayan by perhaps two of the wealthiest people in the area—Eifadoenn Ghimbryd, a well-known Goldsmith, and her husband Gohtfyr Haemrkoen, one of the finest men to ever turn rocks and stones into metal to build and create. Between the pair of them, Joyful was raised with the love and concern for the old and new alike, uncovering the secrets of the past with an understanding it may help the future, while generating one's own imprint into history with their own feats. Often, they would visit their home-away-from-home in the Dravanian Hinterlands, where the family owned a small estate, and it was there that Song immediately fell in love with the most prominent building there...the Great Library. Curious and stubborn to a fault, Joyful was often seen in her new parents' rather extensive library, reading as much as she could get her hands upon...and when the books at home had run dry of new information, Song found herself determined at only the ripe age of eight summers to enter into the Great Gubal Library, of which countless attempts to sneak past Voidsent, Soulkin, and mortal guards wrought no fruit. To the frustration of both of her parents, Joyful was something of a troublemaker, apt to ignoring the social norms of Sharlayan way, though this was simply out of an earlier upbringing outside of it. Despite her constant scuffles with security, Joyful tried time and time again until at last, Gohtfyr became utterly fed up and relented to allowing her apprenticeship into the Answering Quarter. Joyful took to being a student as most would say, a mallard to water, though it was more akin to a trout, most of her tutors would later comment. Her eagerness to learn exceeding well beyond excitement, the Hellsguard was oft seen long after lessons had commenced, grilling her Praetors on information in hopes of learning more and more. It seemed to most that Song would not be content until she'd annoyed someone to the point of letting her through the doors to the treasured Gubal Library, but it would not come for some long while yet. Apprentices, let alone most unaccomplished folks, were unable to access its halls, and Joyful was nowhere near accomplishing anything of major note. In spite of passing her examinations with flying colors and demonstrating an astonishing knack for both Transfiguration and Arcana, Joyful was merely one fish in a sea full of potential apprentices a senior Sharlayan could take. Fortune, however, was on Joyous's side, much to her glee. It was by sheer coincidence that she came across renowned Archon and historian Rhotraen Toffund, a Sea Wolf woman with as bitterly cold and steely a personality as one could find, and was familiar with Song 's adopted mother...though that was hardly enough to persuade her. Joyous, anxious and eager to please someone in order to take on apprenticeship, followed her around akin to a shadow, saying nothing and observing everything the other woman did with ever-growing interest. Toffund had yet to even consider taking on another apprentice for twelve summers, in spite of all her work, due to her incredibly high standards and demands from those who worked under her; where as most Archons would have had upwards of ten or more apprentices or followers...Toffund had taken only three. The young Hellsguard stood vigil outside every building the Archon entered, typically with a pile of tomes to keep her company, only to collect them immediately upon the woman exiting. Rain, shine, sleet or snow, where Rhotraen went, Joyful Song was quick to tail. And as it happened one incredibly hot day, as Joyful picked up her tomes once again to follow the Sea Wolf to her next destination, the Archon paused, turned around, and placed another book upon its top—a work Toffund herself had written on her findings concerning the War of the Magi. This was the only sign the woman would ever give that she'd consented to a pupil—the very slightest of hints—of which Joyful excepted with zeal. The next morning, Rhotraen questioned the young student, believing she'd taken the book without looking at it, expecting that she'd already won the position, on contents within...only to find that Joyful had indeed read through nearly the entirety of the tome without cease but to sleep and eat. Mildly stunned by the dedication, Toffund accepted Song as her fourth and final apprentice. Rhotraen Toffund was, without a doubt, a busy woman. With frequent travels towards Eorzea and the sites of eld to uncover the mysteries left behind in the 5th Calamity of Water, Joyful Song was hardly ever seen in the Hinterland Colony after taking behind her teacher. Scouring around the overgrown thicket of where once was Admapor in the Black Shroud, near the marshy saltwater wastelands near the Yafemi Saltmoors, Rhotraen exposed her pupil to dangers of both physical and magical powress...from wild beasts roaming the lands, tainted by powers long since passed, to wards of incredible aetheric potency. Nothing seemed to dismantle the young girl to the point of her ever turning back, and her ever-growing determination and excitement to learn was more endearing than agitating. Toffund seemed to enjoy her zeal for learning, rather than merely tolerate it, and stated many a time amongst her closest of friends that she found Song 's love for discovering the new within the old to be soothingly kindred in spirit to her own loves. Ah...but where there was one love there is always, inevitably, another—Joyous's came in the form of Vylbrand. The island paradise where once the great and magically prosperous city of the Nymians flourished drew Joyful in as a moth to the flames, and soon Song became all-encompassed with learning its intricacies. There was something akin to herself that she saw in the times of Nym past, where strategy and intelligence, combined with force and determination, wrought victory from near to nothing...a series of traits that she undeniably had in spades, to be certain, though hardly as well refined. Though it took two years of begging and pleading to Rhotraen to allow her to continue work independently of her teacher, Toffund eventually relented, and Song threw herself into unlocking the secrets of Nym's mysterious and nearly-extinct past. Bronze Lake was her new home for several years to come. Now sixteen summers, the young woman had established herself as a self-sustaining sort, working odd jobs in order to eke out living near the extensively deep body of water. Her free time was spent digging about, just as her mother had taught her when she was young, seeking some manner of artifact or hint that the Nymians may had left behind...but alas, she could find little to nothing most days... Or, at least, that was what may have been, had she not stumbled upon the petrified remains of one page from a now-famous tome—the Omnilex—said to contain every tactic known to man at the age. With Joyous's discovery, more eager souls from Sharlayan came to dig upon the foundation, hoping to uncover more of Nym's past alongside the girl who had brought it to life once again. After only a summer's worth of moving earth and rock, the dig site uncovered much, from medals to weapons, to pieces of architecture, to age-old remains in the earth; all of which served as a great deal of pride to Rhotraen. But such things would come to a close come the swelling tide of the Garlean Empire. Having seized Ala Mhigo and now eyeing Eorzea, the grim face of everything Sharlayan stood against now loomed on the horizon, and it was to Sharlayan that the four other city-states now turned to with hope. For Sharlayan and her Colony alike were far more along than they, the learned nation bringing Aetheryte travel and many other innovations to Aldenard's lands in so short a time. But it was the Forum who watched, tentatively, as the Garleans licked their chops on the prospects of taking not only the continent, but likely their own nation next. Joyful Song , having only but recently become an Under-Archon, finally able to have access into the Gubal Library's halls, was filled with no dread or worry in her heart. Carefree but for her own work on bringing Nym back into the light, she noted the plight of Ala Mhigo, but took no qualms with it. However, it would have heartbreaking consequences for her and her longtime mentor with the Forum's demand to withdraw back to Sharlayan, as part of the neutrality towards Garlemald. Torn between her homeland, of which she remembered little to none and had been only some few times before on scholarly trips, and Vylbrand, a land not her own but still owned her heart, Joyful elected to abandon the exodus, and stay behind. Now nineteen summers, she had all but thrown away her life and potential, most said, by choosing to stay with the savage Eorzeans, but none, not even her adopted parents or her siblings could convince her to go. Joyful Song continued to work in the coming moons, alone, at the dig site. Every piece of work she uncovered was taken back to Sharlayan, in hopes that with her sacrifice, just a little more of Nym may survive the Calamity Eorzea had brought down upon itself. The day that none should ever soon forget, Song did her damnedest to aid those seeking comfort, shielding some from the debris of collapsing buildings, and mending to the wounds of others. Limsa Lominsa, now that Sharlayan had, in her eyes, turned tail and ran, was now her home...and she would protect it and her people, of whom the Hellsguard knew too well for all her years of being on the island, with equal ferocity. Seventh Umbral Era Adulthood :In the wake of the Calamity's aftermath, much was needed...and what she could provide now for her newly adopted homeland, Joyful was both eager and solemn to provide. Having witnessed but a sliver of the grim fate the Garleans had decided to bring upon the realm, Song 's heart rekindled with new fire and new purpose...to first rebuild Limsa Lominsa to stability, and to then dedicate herself wholly to aiding the Ala Mhigan Resistance with her skills. Though her abilities were far from masterful, Joyful brought solace in any way she could muster, from using her knowledge as a Goldsmith and Armorer to aid with masonry and rebuilding, to mending the wounds of the injured and downtrodden. Eventually, however, Limsa Lominsa returned to her feet, and Song was left without a home to call her own. Convinced her life's work was gone with the passing of the Calamity, she turned to the only place that would take her—the crew of the Kracken's Arms. Never having lived on a vessel before, Song took to the life of a seaman with the grace and calmness of a rampaging auroch, serving as the ship's medical expert...with a near-constant case of sea-sickness for the first fortnight. A fish out of water in the very least, Joyful was mostly shunned from her peers and fellow Kracken members...on land, she was well-beloved and respected...but on sea, she was as much a laughing stock as the village fool. Joyous, being a woman raised on morals and respect, found herself alienated on a crew of ragtag pirates and misfits...something she could never have fixed on her own. And it would take a near tragedy to remedy the way her crewmates saw her. On the seventh day of the fourth moon, the L.S.S. Misery found itself adrift in a sea of fog. Visibility was near to naught, and the Captain, Carvallain De Gorgagne, had no way to guide their vessel safely to port. With no lighthouse in sight, and the Pharos closed off, they floated aimlessly out into the open sea...Sahagin territory. And lo, the Serpent Reavers surrounded the Misery and her crew on the fourteenth bell, wrangling up their numbers and capturing every last soul on board, dragging them off to a small chain of islands just off the Indigo Deep. For nearly three moons, the crew of the Misery was held captive with no hope of rescue from their fellow Kracken members. While day after day the Reavers took to drowning males who did not immediately swear alliance to Leviathan (those who had, were drowned anyway,) the female members of the crew, numbering twenty-eight, were subjected to a far worse fate, one could say. Joyous, feeling the hopelessness of her crew settling in to steer them to their doom and not wishing to be one of the number to join her abused allies, began to desperately formulate some manner of escape plan. Their captain soon to be hung before them all as an example and to dampen their remaining hope that the Malestrom would find them, Song knew all too well that whatever she concocted would have to be swift...without their captain, beloved by the crew and a moral staple to them all, they were like as not doomed to the fate the Reavers had in mind for them. The morn de Gorgane was intended to be executed, what remained of the Misery's ragged and near-dead crew were gathered to witness his murder. It was there that Joyful made her move, laughing aloud as the enemy captain, a Hyur named Sampson, tightened the noose around the Elezen's neck. When beaten down to keep her laughter silent to no avail, the Reaver questioned what caused her so much disruption, asking if she'd merely lost her mind. In response, Song shook her head, merely replying that hanging Carvallain was a cowardly thing to do, and that any man worth his salt would have the brains to simply shoot him and get it over with, stating that Sampson was neither wise nor brave. Furiously, the enemy captain stormed off the stage, giving a blow to the woman himself for her comment before returning to kill off the enemy captain. But once again as he went to end his life, the Hellsguard commented again, saying that, now that his crew knew how spineless he was, mutiny was certain to breed within his ranks until it overwhelmed him. A second time did Sampson pause, this time with a legitimate concern, his eyes on his supposedly loyal men. In some way, though she was far from aware of this information, Joyful was not wrong in her assumption, the truth of it now showing in the Hyur's eyes. “Here's how you can prove you are both wise and dauntless both,” Joyful told him. “Let's take a gamble, shall we? You're still human enough to enjoy a toss of the dice, no?” Of course, came the reply. “Then you and I will take turns gambling. Let us make it a wager of threes...if we bet thrice on three different games, the winner of two shall declare victory. If you win, then we shall all happily throw ourselves to the Lord of the Whorl, or serve you dutifully...whichever suits your fancy. Should we win, you will release me, and me alone.” Such a selfish barter made those crew still left on the Misery bristle with hatred...how could the Doc, as they'd come to call her, be so callous as to save her own skin?! But the hate-filled glares and curses were entirely ignored by Song as she kept her eyes locked onto Captain Sampson. “You see that cloudkin yonder, do you not?” She asked, nodding her head towards a parrot resting in the trees nearby. “Toss two pieces of fish on the ground, and let us gamble on which it will go for first. This will be our first game.” “Why in the seven pissin' hells would I ever take your little bet for?” The other questioned. “Shut your maw, n' wait your turn, a'fore I stuff somethin' in it to make you silent,” he told her, with a leer. “Very well,” Song responded, coolly. “But are you to tell me that you are too afraid of me to play simple games? What might that say to your crew, that you're too afraid of a woman tied and bound and beaten?” Begrudgingly, Captain Sampson agreed to the terms of the wager, and the first game began. The Serpent Reaver was unfamiliar with the bird perched in the palm trees overhead however...the beloved parrot of the Misery, a deep bluefeathered creature Captain Cavallain himself kept as a pet, always sat on his left shoulder, and always went for whatever foodstuffs was closest to his beak. And so it was that Captain Sampson lost the first bet. In his anger, Sampson demanded a second bet, pouring a glass of ale to the brim and dropping a single gil into it, claiming that the first to have the mug overflow would lose. However, through outright cheating using a small piece of cloth to put small drops of her own spit with every gil she put in, Song was able to claim victory over the Hyur. Captain Sampson, utterly furious at being bested twice in a row (once at his own game,) was determined to keep his crew in line by showing his superiority, despite there being no thought of mutiny at all. The captain's own insecurity crippling his thoughts and his mistrust clouding his judgment, he demanded one last all or nothing gamble to determine who would claim victory. Joyful agreed, and requested that two lines of firesand be put onto the sand and lit—whomever laid the proper bet on which would reach the end first would be proclaimed the winner. Both captain and crew of the Serpent Reavers now wholly invested in this battle of fate and fortune did so with gusto, laying two lengthy lines of the black powder across the beach. As the two sides were lit, the pirates-turned-traitors lined up around the makeshift race to see the results...leaving their prisoners, including Gorgane himself, unguarded. It was when the crew of the Misery realized they'd been presented with a means to escape that Joyful Song 's true intent had been presented—she'd been meaning to distract and enthrall the Serpent Reavers just long enough for the rest of her crew to escape to safety. Freeing Cavallain and boarding their ship, the Misery sailed off into open waters, free and in complete secrecy from their captors. However...Joyful herself still remained, in the very heart of the throng of pirates, a fate which the Elezen captain refused to allow her to endure for their sake. Turning their cannons on the isle, the Misery fired on the beach, scattering and killing a great number of their enemies before, at last, Captain Sampson finally realized he'd been taken for a ruse. Viciously, he attempted to attack Song for making him look a fool—before taking an astonishingly well-fired cannonball to the torso. When the L.S.S at last made it to Aleport, Joyful Song had already been thanked twelve times over by every remaining member of the crew. It had been through her clever tactics and psychological evaluation that what was left of their number had lived to see another summer, let alone the comforts of home...and it was made quite clear in the reports. Commended for her genius and cool head in the face of danger, Joyful was given honors within the Kracken's ranks, and permanently stationed aboard the Misery as their physician. Though no adventure was quite as flavorful for the next three years as that first, the Kracken's Arms soon became one of the foremost crews in Limsa Lominsa, eventually dominating a spot at the top three. In spite of Captain Carvallain's insistence that theirs was a trade endeavor, the number of pillaged vessels from the likes of Thavnair and Kugane were astonishing...if you believed the rumors. Song however, learned much from her time upon the Kracken's Arms, to include an interesting field of study—the art of the deal. Retiring from the crew of the Arms, Joyful returned to Limsa Lominsa with her sums of gil still resting in the safety of a vault, and began to work towards her new plan. If the Sharlayans of her homeland would refuse to help save those who most needed their help, or even the sacred wisdom these lands and her people held, Joyful elected she would do it herself, if she had to. But first...she would have to garner a reputation far well and beyond the ordinary to gain the influence and power she needed to do it. When one was part of the city-state of Sharlayan in the past, it was sufficient to go where one pleased and do what one wished...not so with their abandonment of Eorzea. No, she would have to build her own force of influence. With what knowledge she had of goldsmithing and armory, Song founded the Onyx Pyrolisk Trading Union—a division of craftsmen and traders under the protection of former pirates, or those who hadn't made the cut for the more infamous crews. At first, Song hit a Garlean Steel wall in the form of Ul'Dah's Lord Lolorito...which immediately put a sour taste in the woman's mouth of how the so-called city of gold operated. Electing to try and open up trade routes back to the Sharlayan motherland, she was met with similar bristling threats, and found herself near-gilless by the end of some several moons. It was not until shortly before the rise of the Lord of the Whorl Leviathan that Joyful was finally able to secure a stable job for her company, aiding in the construction of the vessel that would ultimately bring the creature down. Impressed with her people's ability to quickly build something so sturdy, it was afterwards that Joyful was visited by Count Tarreson Dzemael himself, and offered trade goods and decent pay in exchange for her people's aid in whatever projects he requested of her. Eager to be one of the few souls with a foothold within the secluded city-state of Ishgard, Song accepted on the spot—the result of which eventually earned her more than sufficient notoriety and wealth to make even the Lalafellan lord double-take upon hearing her mentioned. Shortly after Ishgard's opening, the residents of Idyllshire also reached out to the Onyx Pyrolisks, of which Song was all too happy to comply with—not only would she be able to aid in rebuilding her old home-away-from-home, but in doing so had access to both the Library of Gubal and a steady flow of income from the budding nation. With her company now spitting up gil left and right, being the only passage of ocean goods across the Strait of Merlthor, Joyful felt she was more than ready to begin founding her true passion project.

In Recent Times Moving Forward Determined to see knowledge see through the end of the war, regardless of what side happened to win, Joyful Song began recruiting people from all over the world to aid in her noble goal...to not only collect and preserve information and rarities, but to study upon them, improve them, and share that information with the public. To learn, and to teach, and to care for the future. Thus, Joyful founded C.O.M.E.T—the Collector's Organization of Magitechical and Esoteric Treasures.

Click here to see general descriptions of COMET's adventures!

Music Mind your headphone volume! Links to Youtube! ♫ [1] Artist: 平野 義久 Origin: HxH ♫ [2] Artist: 平野 義久 || Goosework arrangement Origin: “JJBA—Diamond is Unbreakable ♫ [3] Artist: Toby Fox Origin: 'Come on man...you know. ♫ [4] Artist: Toby Fox Origin: You know. C'mon. Artwork

RP HOOKS She has made a number of connections across the world in her travels. ■ Sharlayan: Though technically no longer considered a citizen of Sharlayan, Joyful Song states that when you've spent your whole life somewhere, you never stop being part of it, nor it you. She insists she is Sharlayan first and Lominsan second, despite her choices clearly reflecting otherwise. ■ The Kracken's Arms: A former member of their crew. ■ Idyllshire: Having once been a resident of the former colony, Joyful Song spends a great deal of her time in the Dravanian Hinterlands, guiding would-be pioneers through potential death traps, explaining the advanced technological aspects of the Sharlayans to locals, and (on more than one occasion,) shutting the door to the Great Gubal Library when careless adventurers leave it open. ■ C.O.M.E.T: The Collector's Organization of Magitechnical and Esoteric Treasures, known as Comet to the common people, is Song 's pride and joy gallery of both magical and technological items, used not only for showing off, but for the purposes of research and experiments to only those she trusts indefinitely to benefit Eorzea and her people. If your character has a passion that they love, want to protect, and want to further research, COMET is likely a place for them, and it attracts plenty of similarly-minded people. ■ The Onyx Pyrolisk Trading Union Joyful Song 's trade company, made up of freelance craftsmen (mainly settled out of Limsa Lominsa, Mor Dhona, and Ul'Dah) protected by small but astonishingly quick parties of single-man manacutters, which are typically piloted by those who weren't taken in by more well-known pirate crews. It is one of the largest trading companies west of Ul'Dah, and is most famous for its Skylifts—a series of pulleys, balloons, and lifts used in the ease of shipping merchant goods from one place to the next. The company is unrivaled in its trade across the Strait of Merlthor to Idyllshire and Ishgard both. IC Inventory The following items are things that Joyful carries on her person at all times. These are noted for pickpockets, and those watching her closely. This information is meant to be a prompt for insight and is not to be meta-gamed, though feel free to use this information if it comes up logically in RP (pickpocketing, a search, etc) with use of a simple /tell. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Error creating thumbnail: File missing Error creating thumbnail: File missing ■ Coinpurse: It's a coinpurse. Has about 300 gil in it. ■ Joyful Song 's Sharlayan Tome: A worn, torn, smeared, smudged, far-from-pristine book of Sharlayan make. One could say it is because of Sharlayan magicks that this book is so sturdy...or it may very well have fallen apart ages ago. Joyful Song has carried this book around with her since beginning her training in the Sharlayan capital, and it's been filling up with information ever since. This book is utterly enormous, weighing several ponze. It's sheer girth is astonishing, with the novel nearly bursting at the seams with how large it is. Anybody even glancing at its contents would be stricken with utter confusion, as the entire tome is a mangled mess of parchment pieces glued to already existing pages—evidence that these are bits that Joyful Song herself stuck to them in order to make additional notes. Some of these stick out when the book is shut, giving it a very messy, disorganized appearance at best. Joyful claims she's the only one who could make sense of the labyrinthine tome...given how it's laid out, one could certainly mark that as true. It contains all of her magic incantations (that she knows of, and when she learns new ones, she slaps them in there as well,) including Nymian Lores, Nymian tactics, sleight-of-hand tricks, Sharlayan transfiguration magicks, in addition to other important information she might have. It also houses a compartment in which to keep Song 's hidden knives. [This will never contain information she already doesn't know, and therefore is not an Ex Machina.] ■ The “Sash of Surprise”: A pale green and gold-embroidered sash that is typically worn around Joy's waist. She can quickly unlatch it from her belt and toss it on opponents to temporarily disorient or blind them with the fabric. It is durable, but a sharp object is typically enough to tear through it. ■ The “Chain of Conjury”: A palladium chain dangling at Song 's side. Its full length is around .3 meters, and its components make it surprisingly durable and lightweight. Because of its makeup it is hard to break—Joyful usually uses this to reach objects, or grapple herself to safety if the need arises. While it is a thick chain, it can only just barely hold Joy's full weight. ■ 1 meter of fine fishing line: Used for her sleight-of-hand tricks. Regular fishing line. ■ 5 gil-sized magnets: Used for her sleight-of-hand tricks. Normal magnets that can hold up to about 1 ponze individually. ■ 1 3oz tube of Terminus Putty: Used for her sleight-of-hand tricks. It dries incredibly quick, and fastens remarkably well. It can easily hold a fully-grown Roegadyn in place if the full tube is used in one spot. ■ 1 pair of sharpened knives As a former member of the Kracken's Arms, Joyous's primary weapon was not, for the time she served as “The Doc”, her Sharlayan tome but a pair of sharpened metal blades, which she would often hide in her sleeves. While she is far from decent fighting hand-to-hand with these weapons, her aim as far as throwing the two are more than sufficient to startle or momentarily occupy a foe.