Pacifica Heare
light of the sun, kiss of the rose
The bright crescent's moon, or the charming flower of the lotus? / The honey in a flower, or the lustre of the full moon? / A pure coral gem, or the pleasant chatter of parrots? Omanathinkal Kidavo by Irayimman Thampi [1812], translation by A. H. Fox Strangways, from the book The Music of Hindoostan
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Tucked in a little village of the East Shroud, lives a little family of two; Pacifica Heare, an apothecary-slash-herbalist and her daughter-slash-student-slash-protegée, five year old Mimina Mina. The maid, well-learned in her deep knowledge of curative botanica, and of a careful analysis of a patient's particular needs and ailments, belongs to the Conviction, a group rooting from the very times of Sixth Umbral Calamity, where a group of devout believers of the Warden sought to use the fruits of the land, plants and beasts alike, as well as devout prayer to their lady Azeyma, in lieu of the White Magic that brought Eorzea down low. Now, thousands of years after the events of The Great Flood, the Conviction has been brought down from a great power, to a series of beliefs and tomes only strictly passed from master to student. As interactions between members of the Conviction are so limited they only amount down to the brief- but intense- couple of decades of tutelage between master and student, it is forced all members of the Conviction document down to every last drop of detail of information, so that future generations may reap the rewards of the foremasters' knowledge through tomes and books. Pacifica's talents, then, are attributed to her late master, Mumuni Muni, who was in turn tutored by the famed M'aat Arojha; it can be said with much security, then, that what drives Pacifica forward is not quite to seize the fame and glory the Conviction kept, but to be able to make the late foremasters proud and to set an example for her own protegée and student, Mimina, who she hopes will want to follow the art that has been carried for an infinite amount of generations.
Dark of skin and upright of gait, Pacifica stands at five fulms and five ilms; her skin, though smooth at a distance, is fragile and thin at close inspection; her wrists are mottled and lace-patterned with the marks of her purple veins, and the facility for her to bruise or become affected by dark circles is high. As such, she often smooths out her skintone with a bit of make-up; just under her eyes, applied with a light hand.
Pacifica carries the smell of jasmines, sourced from a small cologne bottle she carries all the time, to hide the imaginary, imminent smell of illness that she is constantly paranoid about emitting. Not oft is she seen without a pair of jade earrings dangling from her ears; the design is simple, the pearls small, but the importance of them is clear due to the carefulness of which she treats them. As for her bone structure, her jaw is soft-lined; her eyes are upturned and her lips are full and the most notable part of her face. Her black eyes are not all that notable; on the smaller side and not of remarkably long lashes, they are often calm and soft-lidded, almost eerily relaxed and keen in a fashion of smug calmness. Her brows are full, often left unplucked; despite being a very thin and small child on her childhood, as of a couple of years she has gained more weight, something she is undoubtedly glad about. Rounded hips and a full bosom accompany a soft stomach. Her muscle definition is practically nonexistent, and it is quite easy for almost anyone to beat her in a hypothetical fight. Aspects That Stand Out:
Pacifica is, in many aspects, a very contrasting person; while she is very concerned about the well-being of her close and cared ones, a deep philosophy of 'minding your own business' causes her to to keep her emotions to herself. Thus, she is secretive, and does not concern much with her distant neighbors' personal life- and expects the same, in turn. Prone to intense envy and wrath, she is not one to place her mind above her heart, and when scorned, she will almost never forgive with ease. Very supersticious and negative in her thought patterns, she can be described as a 'bitter' person by one who sees into her thought currents. While a deeply caring person to those she loves and cherishes, she can be a bit of a 'smother', and can quickly overwhelm with her manners of showing affection, and protection. Overbearing and overnurturing.
Despite her undeniable proneness to negativity and jealousy, she is a very strong sympathizer to her loved ones- and holds a quite strong sense of condolence; a naturally nurturing person who wishes the best for her -close- folks and is prepared to accompany them along the way. She is passionate, and easy to talk to; thoughtful, tender, and eager to help. Loyal to the Warden and the beliefs of the Conviction, as she appreciates being able to improve people's lives without burning herself out in the process; she often likes to check on past patients to see how they are doing. She’d be much more keen on adventuring or doing any sort of grand, exciting quests, yet at the same time she is a strong conformist who is content with what she has in life. In her speech, she is witty, and believes that words of affection are the strongest means to forge a friendship. Likes to talk about politics, and gets very very passionate about her viewpoints- however, she appreciates friendly banter and small talking. At times, she is often short of breath for speaking too fast, and she often sighs of huffs to catch her breath before finishing speaking- it's embarassing for her, and she often covers her mouth so it is not as visible; or so she thinks. Firm opposer of the phrase 'the ends justify the means', and very hesistant to cooperate with anyone who fares from Garlean lands. She is a firm believer of karmic processes, and avoids doing hurtful deeds- at times, not so much as to not hurt the other person, but to avoid finding her own comeuppance. Quite clever, yet easy to become distracted during lectures and academic purposes.
Following the events of The Sixth Umbral Calamity, where White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages ran Eorzea to low with their excessive use of magic, a group of Seekers, devout followers of Azeyma, sought to cure the wounded and heal the land without the now-feared arts of aether-mastered healing. Seeking to bring the use of magic to the lowest possible, the newly-founded Conviction aimed to only use the natural remedies that consuming and extracting plants and beastkin can give, a timeless remedy iscovered milennia conjury and scholarism was discovered, as well as a belief that devout prayer to the Warden, Azeyma, would gain the person their gifts for her followers' favor. Eorzea, in fear of the calamity recently brought, allowed the newly-founded Conviction to gain wild renownment, coming to become the replacement to aether-based healing for decades; Around 1582 years ago, the Rosarium of the Warden was founded, becoming the main church and training grounds to many members of the Conviction. As the foremost source of medics and healers for Eorzea, the Conviction's structure was widly different from now; whilst the strict rule of master-student relationship was still then firmly-set, a decade could see dozens of apothecaries; rather than the sole one that is now the mantainer of millenia of knoweledge of the foremasters.
Modern members of the Conviction do not quite taste the honey of glory the elder foremasters once basked in; however, they are still trusted and sought as an alternative method of healing, for those not able to be attended to through conjury or similar methods. The way of an apothecary is strict, relentless; students are picked around the tender ages of five and six, and taken away from their families and their lands to undertake an entirely different lifestyle. Amongst the teachings, the toughest and yet the most essential is the memorization of transcripts; every teaching is just as important as the last, whether that day mean memorizing the names of every foremaster since the Conviction's founding and their living dates and students, devout and throughout prayers to the Warden and the odd prayer to the Twelve in general, and millions of plants and beastkin along with what benefit they might bring upon the Eorzean's body. As brutal as the teachings may be, the bond of the master and the student is deep, pure; the devotion that students carried for their respective masters is very well documented amongst the transcripts. The master, as well as a teacher, is a parent; a friend, and a role-model. The respect a student has for their master is taught down to their own students, and to their own students; and, as thus, lays the importance of learning of the foremasters and their lives, their appreciations, their accomplishments. The Warden stands single and foremost for the Conviction, however, as members of the Conviction can come from any corner of Eorzea, where the worship of patrons other than Azeyma might have carried, there is respect and tolerance for cult to the side to other gods, as long as the Warden is supreme in the apothecary's heart. In modern times, there is only one apothecary in life; when their own student comes to age of taking their master's place, a celebration is begun to commemorate the rise of a new next-in-line. The student must doccument their master's life, down to the details; accomplishments and discoveries made by the apothcery must also be written down, as well as having a portrait of their likeness done to accompany these remembrances. Then, the student must begin a lone pilgrimage to the Ruins of the Rosarium, in now-Thanalan, where they must begin a series of prayers that amount to an entire day, from the birth of a sun in a new day to the sunset. Then, the new apothecary is born, and the master is able to carry out their remaining years as they please; whether that include travelling, helping the new apothecary, or simply settling down. Marriage, and relations, are permitted amongst apothecaries; however, if children are to be had, the master must remember that their student is first and foremost, and as such, is looked down upon. In the case of the premature death of an apothecary, where their student is yet unprepared to carry out as the next-in-line, the student must alone seek to study the writings and documents, written by the foremasters. As such, the importance of documenting for the apothecary is paramount, as the fate of the very Conviction lays upon it.
Deep in the south of Thanalan, near the ruins of the Temple of Qarn, lays an even more sunken-down building; the sites are ruins by themselves, with just a couple of the original bricks standing. The halls are composed of a series of labyrinth-like walls where lush Azeyma roses once bloomed; concave squares lay on the sides, where there were once crystalline pools covered in tiles. The gardens end with a long, upwards staircase, finishing in what are now a pair of withstanding pillars and bricks; the temple was once known as the Sanatoriums, were patients came to be healed and lessons were carried out by many masters, then in-turn. While the Rosarium is now seemingly unkept, it is still sacrerd to the Conviction; a site of worship, apothecaries may come there for prayer during times of worries, as well as for celebration, joyful occasions or simply for wistful thinking. The rite of birth for an apothecary celebrates the lone pilgrimage of an apothecary to the ruins, where they must endure the blinding rays of the sun for an entire day as they devout their prayers, hopes and promises to the Warden.
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