Faye Covington
Lady Faye Covington The Fairest of Them All
At first glance, Faye Covington is nothing more than a demure and lovely Midlander of the upper class, a vision in white. One could easily think her as haughty and superficial as your average spoiled rich girl, but the fair lady proves to be remarkably resilient and in control. Rather than a fragile damsel in distress, she is witty, and perhaps too ambitious for her own good. About
Faye stands rather tall for a Midlander woman at 5'8", weighing about 130 Ponz, and almost always carries herself with poise, grace and dignity; her shoulders squared, her back straight, and her head held high. Her skin is very pale and smooth, free of any freckles, moles, or blemishes. The woman's hair is straight, snowy white with faint hints of platinum blonde. Her hairstyle often changes, but lately is most often left long and loose in gentle curls that fall down to her shoulderblades, parted down the middle with no bangs. Her face is oval-shaped with a small, wide, up-turned button nose and plump, full pink lips. Her eyes are an icy blue that sometimes reflect a pinkish-red or violet color, almond-shaped and lined with thick, long eyelashes. Her eyebrows are the same ivory color as her hair, delicately arched and neat. Her earlobes are each pierced once, no other piercings or tattoos to be found on her body. Her frame is slender without being too bony or toned, with a small waist, average-sized breasts, and an hourglass-shaped figure. Her left hand is a Magitek prosthetic, made of a sleek, lightweight, white metal, though it is almost always hidden behind a glove. There is some scarring along her wrist where the flesh meets metal. The Hyur has a calm and confident demeanor about her. She tends to wear jewelry, usually gold and pearls, and often opts for the more feminine, choosing dresses and skirts over shorts or pants, leaning toward more modest and formal attire. She wears cloth rather than any armors and is usually seen in white or pale colors (pastel blue and pink in particular), though she does seem to have some fondness for red and gold. Her appearance is always neat and orderly, no wrinkles, not a speck of dirt, and not a hair out of place. Speech: Her voice is smooth and melodic, her speaking tone just barely high-pitched enough to be considered soprano. Each word is clear and articulate, carefully pronounced and measured. Her normal speaking voice is soft without being meek or difficult to hear, but when she is giving out orders, the woman is commanding and able to be rather loud if she pleases. The tone of her voice can snap from demure young noblewoman to demanding leader in a single moment. Her speech is not overly formal, but is certainly not casual. She uses words most often to get her way and will therefore change her style of speech accordingly.
Polite, mannerly, and charming, she prides herself on being a “proper lady.” Her confidence can often come across as haughtiness, but otherwise she seems fairly pleasant. She’s generally friendly, even if not particularly outspoken, but when someone irks her, she can get a bit snippy. She usually keeps her calm and composure, only sometimes lending herself to annoyance or frustration, but any other emotional outbursts are rare. It leaves her often visibly unmoved by most tragedies and terrors, which can lead to the assumption that she is callous or unfeeling. She is rather secretive with her thoughts and emotions. There are a few people, though, who she is (mostly) honest with in her feelings, but they are few and far between. She is incredibly stubborn and ambitious. She presents herself as being rather straightforward and she is extremely charismatic. Though she sometimes likes to joke around, she usually refrains from crazy and silly antics, making her a bit of a stick in the mud at times. She has a strong sense of "honor," even if her moral code is unique to herself and somewhat baffling to others, with lying and manipulation apparently being acceptable to obtain an important enough goal. Her thinking is very much along the lines of "the end justifies the means." Faye hates feeling weak and vulnerable and it is mostly for this reason that she is always seeking power, because she can’t stand seeing others superior to her. This can make her power hungry and overambitious. She is persuasive and manipulative, and she will use and hurt people to get what she wants with little hesitation. She is witty and even if she could win a fight, she would prefer to talk her way out of a situation rather than resort to violence. Rather aloof, she is a bit out of touch with other people and their emotions and ideals. Even if she does claim to care for someone, she will often still use him or her as a pawn to achieve her goals if she sees fit, even if she truly does care for that person. To her, most relationships are expendable. Though even if not always entirely loyal and kind to them, she is fiercely protective of those few people she actually does love, though sometimes it can lead her to be smothering, obsessive, or controlling. Because she dislikes vulnerability, she is rarely honest about her emotions and her intentions, regardless of whether they be good or bad. Apparently a believer in the notion that knowledge is power, she is often curious and dislikes not knowing things. She tends to be self-righteous and often lectures other people on their manners, morals, honor, or other behaviors. She doesn’t like to be tied down by relationships or responsibilities to others. No matter how close a relationship may seem, most are only superficial on the Hyur's end. She is very vengeful when she feels she's been wronged. Though it’s difficult for her, she tries not to cause mischief, meddle in others’ affairs, or smite a few sinners “for the sake of the greater good,” but she always eventually slips up. Whether Faye is truly malevolent or good in nature is hard to determine. Mostly, she remains in neutral ground.
Some of these rumors are untrue, speculation, or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under the Player Character category!
Warning! Faye's story involves mention of death, murder, injury, violence, and body mutilation. Please read at your own risk if you are sensitive to such themes. Pre-CalamityFaye was born the first and only child to Selene and Nicholas Covington, an upper class Midlander family who made their home in the Twelveswood around the northern part of the East Shroud. Her mother was from a long line of nobility who enjoyed sewing in her free time, her father a talented military general and tactician in the Order of the Twin Adder. Growing up, her parents ensured she would be well-educated, hiring private tutors to teach her everything from etiquette to history, literature to mathematics. She was spoiled with a life of wealth and luxury, any material possessions she desired granted to her at her smallest whim. While privileged in some ways, she was unfortunate in others. Lessons took up much of her time, and even when she was free from her tutors, there was little opportunity for playing or enjoying her childhood. Her mother was often busy or simply a bit of a stick in the mud, and her father usually away from home with work or holed up in his office where Selene insisted the young Faye not disturb him. The household staff spent more time with the girl than her own parents. She had no siblings, nor were there other families in the area with children her age to play with, their home rather secluded with only trees and sylphs for neighbors. She was left to spend her time alone, reading, studying or practicing the contents of her daily lessons, or wandering about the woods near her home, even then not allowed to stray too far lest she fall victim to the dangers of the Black Shroud. She was not entirely sheltered, however. She was dragged to balls and galas, luncheons and dinners, the social events a frequent part of her life, though even there she was usually forced to listen to adults prattle on about things that held little interest to her. Rarely were there any other children her age or around, and when there were, rarely were they permitted to romp around like children, but rather expected to act as little adults and maintain patient silence to allow their parents to talk. Sometimes, however, she was taken to visit the Twin Adders or the Conjurer's Guild to further her knowledge of healing and conjury. Her skill in conjury was a great concern to her father--her tutor insisted she had a healthy pool of aether to pull from, and she was nearly a prodigy with magicks offensive and defensive, yet when it came to healing, she drew into her aether and inflicted harm upon herself. With practice, her condition slowly improved, but she never quite had a knack for healing. She was skilled enough at mending wounds, but at the expense of her own aether. Despite her mother's constant concern for her safety and innocence, Faye was not ignorant to the horrors of the world. Her tutors spared no details in their explanations of the world and its often violent history. Sometimes, she would overhear her father and his friends and comrades, sharing tales of the woes of war. She also still paid frequent visits to Gridania, a mini-aetheryte conveniently located within their home for ease of travel, to struggle in vain to break the habit. Even there, she was forced to grow up fast. In her time healing the wounded, she saw firsthand the horrors of war, soldiers and even civilians terribly mangled, many beyond saving. It may have been jarring at first, but the young Hyur soon simply grew used to such things. They were only a reality, an unfortunate fact of life. Wounds and death were both a part of nature--and while nature wasn't a thing she much cared for, it was something she simply had to accept, even respect in her studies of conjury. Blood, broken bones, burns, births, miscarriage, death, disease, corpses--all became surprisingly commonplace in her life of safety and privilege. Teenage YearsAt age 15, she was allowed her first dose of freedom. If she was old enough that her mother was pressuring her to find a suitor for marriage, then surely she was old enough to travel outside the Shroud alone, right? Her father deemed the argument good enough, apparently, and granted her permission to deliver a letter for him to his colleague in La Noscea. It went as well as could be expected of a young girl's first adventure into the world alone--she quickly became lost. However, she was ill-prepared when she stumbled across a village in wreckage, corpses of people and Sahagin both strewn about, none left alive but an injured boy around her own age who pleaded for her help before passing out at her feet. She healed and healed his wounds, and all mended but the gruesome scar running down his face straight over his eye. Just as she was on the verge of passing out herself, rescue came in the form of reinforcements from The Maelstrom. The boy she had saved was the only known survivor of the attack. His family and his entire village left missing, dead, or Tempered at the hands of the Sahagin. His home was destroyed, everyone and everything he'd known, gone. Faye begged her parents to offer him shelter, and they agreed, taking him in and raising him almost as their own son. Life with an unexpected new housemate was difficult to get used to, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. As annoying as the boy, Zularti Vensar, was, it was pleasant to have the company of someone her own age. He did not let the bloody events that day in La Noscea drag him down--in fact, he barely even acknowledged them. It probably should have been cause for concern, but there was no way to bring it up to the boy who was upbeat and never sitting still. Zularti dragged Faye off on constant adventures into the Shroud, and she soon began to view him as her own brother. After a couple cycles, however, Zularti was ready to move on, lest he overstay his welcome with the kind family. Faye caught him trying to sneak out in the middle of the night, a simple bag of belongings and a spear strapped to his back. He explained to her he was going to travel to Coerthas in hopes of becoming a Dragoon. He had always dreamed of being a hero, being skilled in combat and helping others. He couldn't be swayed to stay, and he left, promising he'd see Faye again. Life was remarkably dull and lonely in his absence in the years after his departure. Things went back to just as they'd been before Zularti's arrival, as if he'd never been there at all, save for the constant reminder of the lack of his presence for Faye. She wouldn't have to suffer boredom for long, however. Post-CalamityThe Calamity struck, and for all the Covington's resources, their family was relatively unharmed. But just as Gridania began to pick up the pieces and rebuild, a much more personal tragedy struck for the Covington family. In the middle of the night, a group of Imperial soldiers attacked the Covington manor. Faye managed to narrowly escape with her life, along with some of the servants. Faye fled to the Conjurer's Guild via the mini-aetheryte in their home as her father bade her to escape, Nicholas struggling to fend off the Garlean attackers. The estate caught fire during the skirmish and burned to the ground. Some of the servants managed to escape, but as for the rest of the household staff and Faye's parents, they all perished to either the Imperials or the fire, several of the bodies unable to be recovered from the ashes. With the Covington manor destroyed and no desire to face wreckage and rebuild, Faye found solace at Stillglade Fane for a while. With nowhere else to go and no family left, she devoted herself to mastering conjury. While she found shelter there, she was reunited with Zularti as he was passing through, who had given up on his dreams of being a Dragoon, finding the training to be too rigorous and the expectations too high, and deciding that after the Calamity, he couldn't dedicate himself to Coerthas when all of Eorzea needed his help. Instead, he had become an adventurer, wandering to wherever anyone needed help, cutting down Garlean soldiers, beastmen, bandits, and whatever foes threatened the people of Eorzea. Faye joined Zularti on his adventuring for some time, fighting alongside him, tending to his wounds, and ensuring he didn't land himself in too much trouble, meanwhile supporting their ventures with what remained of her inheritance of the family fortune. As they traveled, the two eventually found themselves ambushed by Imperial soldiers on more than one occasion, and it became apparent to Faye that they seemed to be following her. She still hadn't understood why they had attacked her home, and was even more baffled as to why they would be following her. She had theorized that perhaps they had attacked the Covington home to strike at her father due to his work with Order of the Twin Adder, but failed to understand how that could lead to attacks against her. Meanwhile, Zularti grew to be discontent with their heroic duo. He had grander ideas in mind and expressed a desire to form a free company of heroes and adventurers that reflected his ideals. A group could surely accomplish more than two people. He wished to create a free company that would help and protect the people of Eorzea. Faye offered her support, and together the two formed a free company licensed under the Order of the Twin Adder, naming it the Harbingers of Dawn. With Zularti being ever the free spirit and certainly not possessing a mind for business, Faye found herself doing most of the work of the company, even if Zularti still held the official title of leader for the company. Between Zularti's unique brand of charisma and Faye's ambition and diligence, the company quickly picked up members and grew. While Faye was left to see to the free company, Zularti continued his independent adventures, and began to complain frequently about his injured eye, sometimes acting quite strangely. The more Faye expressed her concern about it, the more distant and vacant Zularti seemed to become. Fearful she couldn't fend off the continuing Garlean attacks against her on her own, Faye hired a mercenary she had almost literally run into, a Seeker of the Sun by the name of Val Nunh, to be her bodyguard. RevealThe assaults from the Imperials continued, though with Val at her side, the two managed to escape each time, the close calls only bringing the pair closer together. Though things were tumultuous at first, within a few moons, the unlikely couple had become lovers after Faye gave the ultimatum that Val could not continue to try to chase away all of her would-be suitors when he had no proper relationship with her and had no problems entertaining other women himself. With some coercion from Siobhain Surtsthalwyn, Val reluctantly agreed to a monogamous relationship with Faye, though he attempted to keep the information quiet, until Faye pointed out that if their involvement were a secret, other men would continue to try to make advances on her. With the knowledge of their romance now public, the Garleans gained the upperhand at last. Val was poisoned one day by a Roegadyn woman who he thought to be his friend, but was actually working with the Imperials. The couple received a note informing them that a cure would be delivered to Val if Faye turned herself over willingly to the Imperials. Not about to sacrifice herself and skeptical the other half of the deal would even be upheld, Faye attempted to treat Val's ailment herself, but any efforts from herself or other healers were in vain, no magic nor alchemy aiding him. Anything done to try to treat his condition only seemed to worsen it. With Val verging close to death, Faye slipped out that night while no one was around or awake to stop her, going to the location specified in the note to turn herself in. There, she found a man in a mask and crimson robes waiting for her, appearing to perhaps be a tall Midlander, but it was impossible to tell. He led her to an encampment of Garleans and handed her over to their custody, where she was imprisoned with no information on what was happening or why she was there, aside from the masked man's cryptic jabs at her echoing in her head. She was not left alone for long before the masked man returned with a strange Miqo'te woman who he let into Faye's cell, the Keeper of the Moon--if she could even be called such a thing, surely some creature of the Void--assaulting Faye and robbing her of her aether as the man in the mask silently watched. As promised, a cure was delivered to Val by the masked man's Miqo'te companion who also told Val of Faye's whereabouts in exchange for a portion of his aether, and naturally, the moment Val was able to walk, he set off to find Faye, only to be captured by the same group of Imperials, demanding to see Faye. The two were transferred to Castrum Occidens, strangely enough tossed into the same cell, leaving Faye in both relief and dismay to see him. She soon had another visitor, and some answers, at last. A man Faye almost immediately recognized as her father opened the cell door. The reunion was not a heartwarming one. Her father revealed himself as a Garlean. She learned that Nicholas Covington was actually Stanislas van Corinthius, the Blue Viper, that he had been undercover in Eorzea, that he had faked his death when his work was done to return to Garlemald where he had a wife and two sons, the raid upon the Covington household destroying any evidence he might have left behind, tying up any loose ends. All except for one: his daughter. She had been meant to die that night along with her mother, but he could no bring himself to kill his own flesh and blood, instead helping her safety at the last moment. But with the Garlean Emperor's death impending, Stanislas had his eye on the position, and he could not afford any more loose ends, nor did he believe Eorzea was safe for her much longer. He explained that the Garlean attacks on her had actually been attempts to retrieve her after he'd placed a bounty on her (relatively) safe retrieval. He gave Faye an ultimatum: die in that cell along with Val, or return to Garlemald with him. She refused either option, even as he tempted her with promises of wealth and opulence, power and safety in Garlemald, promising she could even bring Val with her. She may have accepted the offer, were it not for the Harbingers of Dawn and more importantly Zularti, along with her current disbelief and anger with her father. She begged for an alternative, and he eventually conceded. He agreed to let her stay in Eorzea for the time being and make her choice later, if only under the condition that she would have to do his bidding in Eorzea and keep in contact with him, feeding him with information and carrying out whatever tasks he gave her. With little other options, she begrudgingly agreed, and was released along with Val after two weeks of captivity. Her confiscated free company linkpearl was returned, and she called over it for help, orchestrating a faux rescue from the Castrum. A small group of Harbingers soon arrived led by Zularti, freeing her and Val and escorting them back to safety. Faye didn't speak a word about what happened to anyone but Val, swearing him to secrecy, and lying to her company mates about what had occurred. The Garleans stopped following and attacking her. Faye continued her work with Harbingers of Dawn, and, as Faye proved to be continually reluctant to assist with her father's schemes, he sent his eldest son, Aelius Corinthius, to join the Harbingers of Dawn undercover posing a Lominsan mercenary named Ael to keep an eye on Faye and force her to comply and hold up her end of the bargain, much to Faye's chagrin. Aelius seemed intent on having some sort of familial relationship with his half-sister, but Faye vehemently refused. His constant attempts to convince her to come to Garlemald and to do as their father bade lest she get herself killed fell upon deaf ears. One of Faye's first orders was to convince Zularti to form a friendship with Ael, which Faye did begrudgingly. A redheaded woman named Luca joined not long after Aelius, and her closeness to him eventually raised Faye's suspicion, but there was little she could do about it, forced to tolerate their presence within the company. Primal ProblemsZularti's complaints about the pain from his eye and strange behavior continued. His angry outbursts became more frequent and more explosive, a sudden temper where there once was none. His eye brought him crippling and headaches frequently, and he had lost all sight in it. A strange condition akin to necrosis had trailed from his eye to his right arm, leaving the arm strangely warped with no feeling left in it. He exhibited increased strength and durability to an unnatural degree. He developed a strong fixation with water, and despite having absolutely no talent for channeling aether or wielding magic before that point, he was inexplicably able to shoot out powerful blasts of water. The company began to investigate the strange happenings, digging through books and old tomes and investigating the remains of Zularti's village. There, they found a dagger, believed to the one that had cut Zularti's eye so long ago. The company eventually surmised that Zularti was victim to some sort of faux Tempering via the magic-imbued dagger that had not been completed due to his escape before the ritual was complete. Since it was not a traditional Tempering, the company held onto faith that there may be some way to cure Zularti. With each sun that passed, Zularti acted less and less like himself. He had a strange and insatiable desire for bloodshed, and the more beastmen he slew, the stronger he seemed to grow. Investigating reports of entire groups of beastmen being slaughtered, the company discovered Zularti seemed to be attacking other beast tribes and stealing their aether crystals for the Sahagin. The Sahagin were obviously preparing for a summoning of their Primal, Leviathan. The Harbingers theorized that Zularti was being used as a vessel to provide aether for Leviathan's summon--the Sahagin fattening him up with aether before they sacrificed him, so to speak. Leviathan's return was imminent. Faye went to Aelius demanding answers, the only that she received being that slaying Leviathan would free Zularti from his thrall. The company put together a plan seeking to force a premature summon of Primal while he was still weak, strike him down, and hopefully free Zularti from the serpent's clutches. The Harbingers' Strategy Branch and Barbarccia Valadis created a device that would hopefully temporarily protect the company from Tempering. With the stash of aether crystals they had reclaimed from the Sahagin, the company dragged Zularti to a remote location in La Noscea along the coastline, clearing out the Sahagin who tried to stand in their way. Several members of the company sought to pry the afflicted eye from Zularti's skull. As they did, instinct and the Tempering kicked in, and he sought to defend himself. Eventually, the company managed to subdue Zularti and gouge out his right eye, finding it to be no longer an eye at all, but a solid crystal of condensed aether, saturated with enough aether for several crates of normal aether crystals. Almost immediately, prying out the eye sparked the summon of Leviathan, though fortunately a weak form, with little prayer and aether to fuel the sea beast. A small group of Harbingers including Faye, Zularti, Val, Anstarra Silverain, Tasa Rhyzul, and Mimiru Miru faced the Primal, while the rest guarded the shore, pushing back the Sahagin reinforcements that rushed in to praise and defend their lord. After an intense battle, the Harbingers managed to slay the Lord of the Whorl and the last of his followers who came to fight for him, and Faye plucked Zularti's "eye" from the sand after it had been nearly forgotten in the fight. They had no time to recover, however, before they noticed a fleet of Garlean ships approaching the shore. The main ship landed upon the shore, a fully armored man with a Magitek axe (whose voice Faye recognized as Aelius's) stepping onto the beach, flanked by a platoon of Imperial soldiers, countless others waiting upon the ships. Aelius demanded the Harbingers hand over the eye. The small, round anti-Tempering device was offered instead, but the man saw through farce and continued to demand Faye surrender the eye. She refused, but Aelius had no trouble knocking her down with a punch to the face and taking the crystal by force. Exhausted and wounded from their fight with Leviathan and the Sahagin, the Harbingers had no hope of retaliating and challenging the Garleans. They could only bitterly watch as the Imperial soldiers took the eye, returned to their ship, and left. Troubles EnsueThe victory felt more like a failure in the end, but still, the company had a moment of reprieve. The threat of Leviathan was staved off for the time being, and Zularti seemed to be freed of the Primal's influence, even if permanent damage was done to his eye and his arm, and he had retained some of the abilities his "Tempering" had granted him. Disturbed and depressed that his body had been used as a tool for the Primal he so hated, Zularti kept his distance from the company and redoubled his efforts to help others and make his name as a hero. In his extended absence, Faye left the position of Support Saint and stepped up to name herself the proper leader of the free company. This ruffled some feathers, many assuming some underhanded schemes had occurred, when in truth nothing had happened but a change of titles; Faye had essentially been leading the company for quite some time, after all, in everything but name. Many a power struggle ensued. Faye and Val soon got engaged, and shortly after eloped, though they kept their marriage a secret, deciding a public ceremony would come much later. Kylar Dashiva created an aetherial link between Faye and Val, so that if anything were to happen to either, the other would be able to feel it and know each other's general location. The masked man from the Castrum and his Miqo'te companion became a frequent thorn in Faye's side, repeatedly attacking members of Harbingers of Dawn and stealing their aether. The mysterious man seemed bent on being a personal nuisance to Faye as well, but she found some silver lining in the otherwise troublesome situation, striking deals with the Voidmage every now and then whenever she came upon a task that could benefit from the assistance of someone with such magical prowess and knowledge of taboo subjects. She learned that whatever he was, he was not a Garlean--he'd simply found it profitable to work with them, at the time. The business hardly left them on friendly terms, however, their exchanges usually rather heated, but she knew he could come in handy when it came to combating her father. She had every plan to rid herself of the masked fellow when he could no longer be of use to her. Val began to fall ill, and Faye realized he was displaying the same symptoms as when he was poisoned. It was not long before he was nearly on his deathbed once more. Furious, she called the masked man to her office, demanding answers. He explained that the "cure" Val had been given the first time was only a temporary fix. Each time Val had been healed aetherically since then, it had only fed the malady. Faye ordered him to aid Val where he had failed to properly the first time. Of course, such things were never free. She paid the price (complete with perhaps a few attempts to stab him and one to unmask him), only for him to inform her that there was no permanent fix and that Val would have to learn to regulate his aether on his own, but he did give her a tip how the Seeker with no potential for casting might accomplish such a thing. With the recent influx of refugees from Othard seeking solace in Eorzea, rumors abounded of certain practices in their land. Mimiru crafted an item to help stabilize Val's aether enough to keep him conscious and on his feet. With some help from Stanislas after Faye's pleading, Val was able to pass through the border into Othard to learn some new skills to combat his illness. After a few weeks, he returned to Faye and Eorzea in much better health and with some new talents, though he soon found himself met with an assault from the masked man's Miqo'te companion, jealous over her lover's dealings with Faye, which only fueled Faye's hatred for the woman and her masked "master." After witnessing the Miqo'te woman in the Quicksand not long after, she taunted Val and led him outside the walls of Ul'dah into the desert. He followed, seizing the chance to attack the Keeper. She retaliated by stealing his aether, but he would not be subdued until he was nearly drained of his life. Unwilling to leave him to die in the sands of Thanalan and unsure what else to do with him, the Voidtouched Miqo'te brought Val to her and her masked partner's home so that he might be helped. Unfortunately, Val instead took the chance to try to attack the masked man, as well, earning his ire. While he did indeed ensure the Seeker did not die, he tormented the Nunh and inflicted him with the same curse as the Keeper woman before setting him free and sending him back to Faye's home. Faye was enraged and would have been certain the masked man had long outlived his usefulness at this point, had he not been the only person with the knowledge of how to reverse Val's newest affliction. She resented the way he always made sure she had some dire need of him so that she could not dispose of him, the way he made sure he always had something to hold above her head. RebellionUnable to rid herself of the masked man for the time being, Faye set her focus on her other issues. She had brainstormed many plans to break free from her father's control, but it seemed impossible without risking serious damage to not only herself and Val, but the entire free company, Zularti especially it seemed, given their apparent interest in him. When during his usual adventures one sun, Zularti was briefly captured and interrogated by Imperial soldiers from Stanislas's legion about his eye, Leviathan, and his Tempering, Faye's desire to rebel was rekindled. How much did her family have to do with the Tempering, with the Primal's summoning? What was the eye, and what did they intend to use it for? She began to try to amass as much power for herself and for Harbingers of Dawn as she could, bent on being able to fend off her father and his men when the day inevitably came. She was called upon every now and then to meet her father, typically in a remote location in Thanalan. Her father usually asked her about the Harbingers of Dawn, their current leadership and members, their movements. Faye answered as vaguely as she could manage, and bitterly rebuked all of her father's invitations for family bonding. She didn't know what Stanislas's plans were for the Harbingers of Dawn, but she became increasingly aware that the company and its members were in danger, even with her obedience. A note was posted to the company bulletin board claiming to be from the Twin Adders, reporting sightings of a certain masked man and a dark-haired Miqo'te woman who had been known to plague the company causing chaos in a certain area prompted two Harbingers to investigate, only to find no sign of the pair and instead to be ambushed by soldiers from Stanislas's legion. Faye could only assume that Aelius had left the note. Not long after, the company had a real run in with the masked figure and his sidekick when they finally caught up with him and imprisoned him after his Voidtouched lover was slain during an interrupted ritual. At last, Faye learned their true identities, Melfice Vainchelon and Shadiyah Amari, two members of her very own free company. Most all the Harbingers were bent on seeing Melfice either killed or rotting in the Adders' custody, but as always, he had ensured that Faye still had a use for him alive, in the form of the cure he was still researching for Val. Zularti and Lan, however, could not be convinced to have any mercy on the man. Instead, Faye orchestrated a plan to set Melfice free and make it appear as if he was devoured in his cell by the very creatures he commanded--a scene that required no small amount of blood, and she took a great amount of pleasure in stabbing the disgruntled man a couple dozen times. He was not so keen to play along, and she found that having her face smashed into the bloody floor made her question, as always, why she still allowed this man to live. Despite it, he made his escape with her assistance to continue procuring a cure for Val's curse. Meanwhile, the trouble with the Imperials continued as the Harbingers received reports from the Twin Adders about increased Garlean activity in the Shroud. Val led a party of Harbingers to investigate, finding a group of six Garlean conscripts they made short work of, only to discover it had been a distraction and they were surrounded by many more elite looking soldiers. The Imperials attempted to detain Arrelaine Fashonti, but using his ninjutsu, Val managed to create a distraction to allow the other Harbingers to flee with his urging, and Arrelaine was freed during the commotion to escape, as well. The Harbingers were left to presume Val was taken captive by the Garleans, since he did not return. At the next company meeting, however, an otherwise unlabeled package for Faye was left upon the doorstep and delivered to her at the end of the meeting. Inside the package was a sandy blond Miqo'te ear. A few suns later, a slender tail of the same coloring was found nailed to the front door of the Harbingers' Estate in the morning. At the next meeting, a brick was tossed through the window of the meeting room directly behind Faye, a blue eye with a slitted Seeker pupil attached to it. Tensions and emotions ran high, with fear that even their own estate was not safe and one of their leaders was apparently being tortured and sent back them to them piece by piece. Faye believed the body parts were not actually Val's, since she'd felt no such pain through their aetherial link, but that made it no less unnerving, nor did the fact she could not get a solid read on his location. Faye went to Stanislas demanding answers, only to be reassured--albeit in rather vague terms--that Val was safe and receive no further information. The company searched until at last they found a lead on Val's general location, and a scouting party was sent to pinpoint his location and see how fortified it may be. With a better idea of Val's potential whereabouts, the company organized a strike against the Garlean base. Faye demanded she go, but several Harbingers insisted she stay, Zularti promising her that he'd return Val safely to her, no matter what. A group of Immortal Flames led by Lan Darklyn attacked at one side to cause a distraction, a group of Harbingers formed a separate distraction team to attack the opposite side, and a third party of Harbingers led by Zularti made a recovery unit to infiltrate the base and rescue Val. The recovery team came upon a large laboratory containing Val's captor, Doctor Hellinger--one of Stanislas's generals, as well as Val himself, barely alive and contained in a vat of liquid where the doctor had clearly been running some sort of experiments. A skirmish ensued, and when it was clear he was on the losing side, Hellinger did not go without a bang. He activated a ceruleum bomb within his own chest, but Zularti threw a barrier around Hellinger and himself, containing the blast and saving the others. The roof of the facility still collapsed, however, and the party was forced to quickly flee, managing to take Val with them, though Zularti's lifeless body could not be recovered from beneath the rubble trapping it. RevengeAs relieved as Faye was to have Val home and still in one piece, she was absolutely devastated to learn of Zularti's death, her best friend and, as far as she was concerned, her only remaining family member gone. A vigil was constructed in the front yard of the Harbingers' estate for Zularti and other fallen members of the Harbingers of Dawn. With Zularti's death, Faye vowed the company would go on the offensive against the Blue Viper and no longer be terrorized or victims to Garleans. She would have her revenge. She was done playing nicely with her father's demands. She knew that before she could reach her father, she would need to remove Aelius from the picture. It was as simple as exposing him to the Harbingers as a spy and a Garlean, but she needed more evidence. She waited for the opportune moment, and fortunately for Faye, it came soon enough. Several weeks later, an anonymous missive was posted on the company bulletin board, calling for members to investigate an area in the Shroud where the Order of the Twin Adder had reported heightened Garlean activity. Ael led a party into the Shroud to investigate, but they were almost immediately ambushed by an Imperial soldier piloting a Magitek Reaper. Almost immediately, Ael was disarmed and knocked unconscious, and the others received heavy injuries. The Reaper had some sort of forcefield shielding the pilot, making it difficult to take out, but the group eventually managed to kill the pilot and explode the Reaper. Not long after, Faye announced that the mission had not been approved by the free company, and that after speaking with the Twin Adders, they'd reported no such Imperial activity in the area. The fact that the Imperials had always been aware of the Harbingers' movements and somehow always one-step ahead had long since led to the suspicion that there had been a Garlean spy among the ranks of the Harbingers, and Faye pointed a finger at Ael, issuing a warrant for his arrest. Though there was no sign of the man for a week or two, he was at last apprehended when he walked straight into a company meeting, apparently clueless of the charges against him, and was swiftly arrested. He was questioned, but conclusive evidence could only be found on the grounds of leading an unsanctioned company mission, not on any accounts of Garlean espionage. As such, rather than letting him go free, the company opted to hand him over to the Order of the Twin Adder, but Aelius escaped before making it into their hands when it turned out that the "Adders" who had come to retrieve him were actually Imperial soldiers in disguise. It wasn't the outcome Faye had hoped for, but at the very least, Aelius was gone and made an enemy of the free company. Luca was arrested upon suspicion of her relationship with Ael, but no incriminating evidence was found. Faye did, however, take full advantage of the opportunity to gloat about her vague plans for the demise of the Garleans who opposed her before Luca was released, scarce to be seen after that. Having finally made a direct move against her father, Faye knew that her time was short. He would retaliate soon. It was no surprise, then, when she received a short letter from Stanislas demanding to meet with her soon. She knew that survival was unlikely, but she had begun to deem death favorable rather than to continue to be a pawn in a game that hurt everyone around her. She had accepted her demise. Still, she would not go without a fight. She tasked Karaan Nolan with keeping records of everything, should she perish. Rather than go alone to face her father, she brought with her some of her most trusted allies in the form of Val, Lan, Mimiru, and Irridias Velnyx, warning them to be prepared for a fight. Stanislas was unsurprised, fully armored and ready to fight. In fact, he explained that he hadn't called Faye there to talk, but to take action. As they faced off, Stanislas revealed his plan to make his way to the Moraby Dry Docks once he had finished with Faye and company, to begin an attack upon Limsa Lominsa. A call was made over the Harbingers' linkpearl to alert to the free company to the danger, sending them to the Dry Docks to intercept the Garlean forces. Meanwhile, the five faced off against Stanislas, who wielded a large sword embedded with several glowing stones of various colors, one the deep blue crystal Faye recognized as Zularti's lost "eye." It seemed he had collected crystals from several Primals, imbuing and enhancing himself with their elemental powers. The battle was hard fought, the prognosis looking grim for the Harbingers near the end, though they were fortunate in that the power from the crystals within the sword seemed to be used up quickly with Stanislas's attacks. He swung his mighty sword down squarely above Faye's head. Val intercepted with an attack upon the Legatus, throwing off the trajectory of the swing and buying Faye some extra time to dodge the blow. Rather than cleaving her in two, the blade instead caught only her wrist, cleaving off her left hand. Wounded and stunned, Faye was taken out of the fight for a time and fighting to remain conscious, and Stanislas seemed to consider her down for the count. She knew that her father was dangerous, that he was a monster, yet it never truly set in and felt real until she had seen him try to kill her with no hesitation. Stanislas turned his focus to Val, running his sword through the Miqo'te's abdomen and causing the rogue to drop his daggers. Irridias took advantage to fire a shot, even if it meant it clipped through Val's shoulder into Stanislas's own. With the attack redirecting Stanislas's attention to Irridias, Faye seized the opportunity once she remembered how to move, shakily picking up Val's discarded dagger from the sand. She crept up quietly upon her father, plunging the blade into his neck where his armor did not cover his skin beneath his helm. "My own daughter? How could you?" he managed to rasp out before drowning in his own blood, the crystals in his sword shattering to dust. No sooner than he breathed his last breath, Faye collapsed, and a call was made over the Harbingers' linkshell to send an airship to Thanalan to pick up the seriously wounded group. After several suns spent unconscious in the infirmary under the care of the Harbingers' Support Branch, namely Syranelle Ironleaf and Sebastian Taylor, Faye awoke to find it had not all been a terrible nightmare, but reality. AftermathDespite how much she had dreamed of the chance to end her father, it brought her little peace. In fact, she found herself more distressed than ever. Once she was no longer confined to the infirmary, she remained reclusive. She felt guilty for dragging the company into her familial drama and allowing so many people to be hurt by it. The trauma of the battle had weighed heavily on her, and her missing hand was a constant reminder of it, as well as an embarrassment in its own right. Adjusting to life with the use of only one hand was not easy, ordinary tasks becoming frustrating and difficult. She did her best to hide her impairment, clutching her stump of a wrist behind herself, below tables, or just out of view. Once she felt well enough to venture out, she snuck out on her own to the area in Thanalan where the battle had taken place, hoping some reflection might bring her some peace of mind. It was everything the opposite, when she found Aelius there, incredibly displeased after learning of their father's death at Faye's hand. Still in poor health and missing a hand, Faye had little hope of fending him off, despite her best efforts, and trying to reason with him only fell upon deaf ears. He dragged her toward Highbridge, far from gentle about it. Faye managed to make a brief call over her linkpearl for help before he snatched it from her. By the time they reached the bridge, several Harbingers had arrived, surrounding them. Aelius backed to the edge of the bridge, threatening to take Faye with him if anyone made a move. He got impatient with the situation, tossing Faye over the railing only to be punted over it a moment later himself. Fortunately, thanks to his Dragoon jumping skills, Faye was rescued by Clouse Sydonis. Aelius was not so lucky, plummeting to the ground below. Shots flew from the distance as the Harbingers tried to recover his body, rendering them unable to take him with them. The incident only further discouraged Faye, with the knowledge that her existence had destroyed her entire family and that her issues with her father's side of the family continued to plague the people around her and put them in harm's way even after her father's death. She sought out a Magitek mechanic, having him craft a custom, functional hand for her. She wears gloves at almost all times to hide it, still insecure of her injury and avoidant to tell the story behind it. She found herself lost with little direction. Zularti was dead. He'd been avenged. Her father had been slain, Aelius missing and likely dead. Now what? Several talks about purpose with Syranelle, Blake Forester, and Doctor Kaisin Ozerov did little to help her find direction, and trouble seemed to always be around the corner. A few Harbingers, such as Airka Lakshmi and Captain Uni Puma, lost their lives. Melfice continued to cause issues for the company despite his desire to turn a new leaf and his relationship with Faye taking a turn for the better, leaving her in the middle. Power clashes occurred within the company as always, and the company's Strategy Saint at the time was proving to be dangerously unstable and a threat to everyone around her, herself included. The Harbingers of Dawn seemed like it had become a source for more negative than positive, the issues driving away several of its oldest and most prominent members. Ever since Zularti's death, Faye had been left to wonder why she continued to lead the company and what she should do with it and herself. These questions only became louder and more frequent after she had slain her father and gotten revenge for Zularti. After mulling over it for moons, she made the decision to disband Harbingers of Dawn. She has still not exactly found a new purpose, but she has made the first step in letting go of the old purpose to which she clung. A change is likely in store... for better, or for worse. Stories are in chronological order. Stories may contain mature/sensitive themes. Please read at your own risk.
Context: Multi-chapter piece with snippets of Faye's backstory in chronological order. The Light of Day Context: A pricy deal struck with Melfice to find a cure for Val's deadly ailment--again. Weakness and Power Context: Faye contemplates her life, all her woes, the meaning of strength and weakness, and the dangers of isolation.
Context: Faye's daily routine interrupted by a visit from Aelius, following Zularti's kidnapping and interrogation by Imperials. The Killing Moon Context: After Zularti's death, Aelius pays a visit to the mourning Faye's home, and Faye realizes she must break free from her family's control. White Wedding Context: Following Stanislas's death, Aelius finds Faye in the deserts of Thanalan and enacts some revenge before the Harbingers intervene.
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