Sigurd Rainecourt

Sigurd Rainecourt
Nearsighted thaumaturge
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Ul'Dah
Nameday	32st Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon
Age	25
Height	just shy of 6 fulms
Birthplace	Highbridge, Eastern Thanalan

Appearance

Sigurd prefers to wear half-robes and tunics. Long or short, it doesn't particularly matter as long as it doesn't have a hood. He claims hoods tend to get in the way of his visual lines when casting magic. Truthfully, he simply doesn't care for them and prefers to wear them down or not at all.

As Thanalan is often hotter than hell during the day, Sigurd tends to wear lighter colors, preferring beige, white, and similar shades, though he has taken a liking to blues and reds lately. Underneath the tunic, he often wears tights to keep warmer during the cool evenings, regular pants, and sandals. He pulls his two-toned hair, cutting the sides very short to keep cool. When in Limsa, he's taken to wearing longer, sometimes heavier robes. Underneath his robes, he always wears a blue tank top.

Almost habitually, he wears a pair of gray ringbands, several rings, bracelets, and a bone necklace. Underneath his tunic, though not always visible, he carries two books in a custom-made satchel attached to his sash. One book is a personal journal and another is field notes on voidsent. His glasses are currently made of mythril after the copper pair broke when he collided with a ship's mast when the boat hit some waves. While the copper pair has been repaired, he had the new mythril pair made to prevent them from getting broken again. He keeps the copper pair as a backup.

He prefers looser clothes and boots, though while visiting the beach, he has worn a tank top and shorts. He once wore a swimsuit, convinced by a local merchant it was the appropriate wear, but discarded the thing after one use as he found it cumbersome. He spent most of the evening picking sand out of it.

Sigurd's most noticeable feature is his bright eyes. While much of his family has blue or green ones, he has bright orange eyes. His mother claimed it's his connection with the aether which he uses in his thaumaturgy as he is the only one in his familial line to practice the art.

Personality

Sigurd comes off as relatively easy going, usually calm and collected. Not much seems to get under his skin, though that's simply the outward impression he gives. He'd grown thick skin from working in his family's trading business year after year, dealing with people from across the continent who were tired of the heat or just plain rude.

Underneath, Sigurd is a very passionate and ambitious man, genuinely concerned for those around him. He wishes for the well-being of Thanalan and wants to do whatever he can to help prevent another Calamity. He lives with a regret in his heart, believing an incident that happened right before the Calamity was entirely his fault when in truth, it wasn't. He buries the regret deep within him, never showing it with other people as he attempts to hide it. Even so, he tends to speak about his family and past rather highly, omitting the more miserable parts of his history.

With his work with the family trade post, Sigurd has gotten to know a wide variety of customs from various races. He is accustomed to being surrounded by people and thrives in crowds. When alone or simply not traveling with other people, he has a strange tendency to talk to himself, particularly when sarcastically remarking on the current situation.

Being taught to read and keep complex business records at an early age, Sigurd is highly academic. He tends to stick his nose in books and read the things cover to cover whenever he can. He often keeps small books in his pockets when traveling long distances. Despite never receiving a day of formal education, Sigurd knows a wide span of information, mostly by talking to others and reading whatever books he could get his hands on.

As a tradesman, Sigurd is a bit more focused on money than he cares to admit sometimes. Growing up with 7 siblings, Sigurd spent a good deal of the time playing middle fiddle, unable to get funding to buy books or magic-infused gems. This lead Sigurd to turn to gathering and collecting. For the most part, Sigurd gathers materials which crafters consider valuable, but on occasion he'd find strange things like crystals or gems. He has a relatively good understanding of the value of an item, and isn't particularly fond of seeing people throw valuable things away. He has a bit of a gem collection, preferring to keep hold of elementally aspected gems. He also enjoys collecting unusual books.

Sigurd means well in everything he does. His overall initiative is to prevent another calamity so no one will have to feel the pain he felt (and still feels) when it affected his own family. He had left his home to pursue this goal, though his journey had taken an interesting turn when he encountered his first big voidsent. He has become obsessed with researching the void and voidsent and will sometimes forget to sleep or disappear for a few days, burying himself in his work. Everything is about the void and fixing it, because he feels something is wrong. Whenever he encounters a major voidsent, the "crystals" begin talking loudly, calling out his name. He hasn't figured out what the crystals are yet, but he knows this is all somehow connected to the void and to the Calamity. He is relatively open about his research, but he never truly goes into the details of what he finds.

Family

Sigurd comes from a rather large family. 5th borne, he's nearly the middle child of 8 kids. His family runs a tradepost along one of the main trade routes near Highbridge in Eastern Thanalan. The post offers a place out of the sun and a refuge when sandstorms would blow across the desert. The post sells various items made by family members. While Sigurd isn't good at any hand crafts, he is good at math and writing, leaving him to keep the books. While the tradepost still stands after the Calamity, his family was thinned out by the Lambs of Dalamud.

Parents:

• Aldwin (father)
• Aeditha (mother, sacrificed to Dalamud)

Kids

1. Kineburga (sister, sacrificed to Dalamud)
2. Fredderick (brother)
3. Averil (sister, sacrificed to Dalamud)
4. Lyell (brother)
5. Sigurd
6. Hilda (sister)
7. Athelyna (sister)
8. Leofwin (brother)

Trivial information

• Aldgoat steak is his favorite dish, though he is preferential to any sort of grilled meat. His travels have introduced him to grilled dodo. Sigurd's favorite snacks are ginger cookies and pretzels. His least favorite food is raw oysters.
• Sigurd has a bad habit of chewing on the arm of his glasses when he's reading. While he generally wears his glasses, he doesn't need them for reading or anything close. In fact, he didn't know he needed them until one of his guildmasters realized he couldn't read the tapestries on the far end of the building. Sigurd had believed things were blurry in the distance for everyone and never thought anything of it. The guildmasters then sent him to the goldsmith's guild immediately to get glasses. On occasion, he forgets to wear them.
• His glasses are currently made of mythril after he ran face first into the mast of a ship when it hit a wave, and he promptly broke his glasses in half. He has a spare pair made of bronze.
• Sigurd prefers two-handed staves and will only use a one-handed weapon at last resort.
• Sigurd doesn't experience visions. It's the crystals whispering in the aether. Before the Calamity, the crystals were sometimes understandable, murmuring in common on occasion. Yet after the Calamity, the crystals seem to now speak a language he can't understand. At least he's under the impression that the crystals speak with him. He's currently unclear as to what really is speaking to him or how to interpret the words.
• According to his father, Sigurd can barter his way out of a fight with the Beastmen. While he certainly knows his way around a trade, Sigurd claims his skills are not as great as his father says.
• His family calls him Sig, though his youngest brother calls him Siggy. While he doesn't mind the nicknames, he will always introduce himself as Sigurd.

Rumors and information

Relatively common rumors

• "That Sigurd has a strange fascination with voidsent." ~thaumaturge
• "That thaumaturge? He's always tradin' somethin' an' he's good for his word. He'll trade ya nearly anything for the right price." ~ common Ul'dahn merchant
• "Sigurd always carries books with him. I wonder what's so important about them." ~ someone at the Quicksand
• "That Sigurd kid gets sick every time he takes the ferry. Blowin' chunks over the side he is the entire trip!" ~ferryman in Limsa

Uncommon rumors

• "He is abnormally obsessed with those voidsent. I hear he takes pieces of voidsent and collects them. He may consider selling them for the right price." ~ sketchy Ul'dah merchant
• "I'm pretty sure that Sigurd carries at least one book that is his own work, and it is rarely complete. The book is supposedly filled with information, sketches, and writing about voidsent but I haven't really gotten the chance to see it for myself. He's always got it with him." ~ fellow thaumaturge

Rare rumors

• "Rumor has it he hears voices." ~ Flame soldier
• "Something happened to him during the Calamity that caused him to run away from the family business." ~ traveling merchant

Player rumors

Comment ICly and sign your name!

Relationships

• Garrett Slater: The so-called "Blond with tall hair." He seems to be Augustine's boyfriend, but Sigurd can't quite figure out how they managed to get along. Garrett comes across as very well-spoken and possibly high class, but at the same time, he seems pretty casual. He seems to be a calming factor for Augustine.
• Konner Kinkaid: a rather interesting fellow who always wears a bunny-eared hat. He hosts a monthly party at the Coffin & Coffer in Thanalan.
• Markus Gladeswind: a rather pleasant Miquo'te, a friend of Augustine. he's very down to earth and sociable with a shared mutual hatred for fish. He works at the Bismark in Limsa.
• Memeli Meli: a very excitable Lalafell who carries snacks around in her hat. She's very chipper and cheerful and enjoys giving people nicknames. To compliment people, she smacks them on the butt.
• Rhagana Doomslayer: A large roe who is having what Augustine deems is a catmonsterbaby. Sigurd has seen her a few times at beach parties, and it seems she can summon things.

the Coral Sea

• Annaliese Sellecerre: Sigurd's first main interaction with her was a trip to Coerthas on a hunt for a cyclops in a training exercise. She is a strong woman who Sigurd respects. She seemed impressed with his progress on healing when he helped someone who had fallen victim to the dragon they slayed on a training exercise.
• Augustine Frost: Sigurd isn't sure what to say about him quite yet. He flips between being a bro then fighting with Sigurd on a regular basis. Augustine will pick a fight with anyone, leaving Sigurd to believe Augustine has some sort of death wish. Augustine also tries to matchmake, attempting to pair Sigurd up with any girl he thinks is available. But Augustine does has some redeeming qualities underneath. He's shown himself to be rather personable and good for conversation. Sigurd even learned that Augustine has a fear of fire magic, though for good reason thanks to being hit with a flare spell. Lately Augustine has been acting strangely towards Sigurd, believing that Sig is actually hiding something or has some ulterior motives.
• Chuchukepa Hohokepa: A fellow Thanalanian and thaumaturge. He is a bit of a pyro but he seems intent on helping people through the Coral Sea. He has a bit of interest in the voidsent, but not as much as Sigurd.
• Dhemgeim Shyrdoenwyn: better known as Dhem, she and Sigurd get along fantastically. He finds her one of the least judgmental people he knows. For some reason, he opened up to her about his hearing crystals whispering, and she was very understanding of it. She has a positive outlook on the world and is happy to help people. she knows a lot about ships and sometimes is hard to understand, given her accent. Sigurd has offered to help teach her to read. She has one helluva handshake.
• Demi Ralenah
• Driving Rain: a fellow scholarly sort who had given Sigurd the idea that the voidsent and the primals could be connected. He has taken to nicknaming Sigurd "the demon scholar"
• Evelia Cloudheld: a girl intent on wearing armor everywhere. She believes in true love, and is intent on proving it exists. Originally she's from Southern Thanalan.
• Giselle Friloux: a friend of Annaliese, it seems, though Sigurd can't quite figure out their relationship. Giselle is a bit reserved but rather good with a bow.
• Renaud Becquerel: he seems to be under the impression that Sigurd should grow more facial hair to impress the ladies.
• Rinhilda Stonebreaker: a highlander who seems content in making Augustine feel short.
• Roisine Niall: a person of many regulations. When Sigurd first met her, she had a long talk with him about trading regulations. It seems she cannot operate without a good number of regulations handling everything from relationships to trading agreements. She always refers to everyone formally by last name and a title, despite Sigurd's insistence that he didn't need to be addressed so formally. She seems to think that Augustine and Sigurd are dating.
• Sylas Peregrine: A rather odd fellow Ul'dahn who constantly looks disheveled and unkept
• Tabitha Greyhaven
• Tausenadel Geispyrsyn: better known as Tau. He learned how to tame Ahriman and uses one as a mount. Sometimes hard to understand but has a rather good outlook on things. He has a pet cactuar following him around.
• T'xidh: Co-leader of the Coral Sea (With Renaud). She likes to go out and help people by teaching them and planting food.
• Z'ikki Plaxxil: Sigurd hasn't quite gotten to talk to him much, but Z'ikki is always writing in a book.
• Zorkander Larethna: Zork is good at swinging an axe. He had no trouble dismembering a giant dragon they'd slain during a training exercise.

History

Before the Calamity

Sigurd was born into a trading family. The family owned a popular trade post where they would sell wares and food to travelers wishing to seek solace from the sun or harsh weather. It was also a popular place traveling merchants would trade and sell stock as well. Growing up, Sigurd quickly learned he wasn't adept at any of the tradecrafts, making poor leathers and even poorer food. While all family members could read, Sigurd was particularly adept at reading and math at an early age and kept the books for the family.

The first good few years of his life were the typical life of a trader, involving manual labor and bookkeeping. He began gathering supplies as a hobby, trading extra supplies for books with traveling merchants. Sigurd studied any books he could get his hands on, his favorites were books about thaumaturgy and other magical arts. His older sister fashioned a staff for him, and at 15 he learned to cast his first elemental spell, fire. It was an unusual talent for the family, as no one in the known history was ever a mage of any kind.

While old enough to venture on his own and start his own life, Sigurd chose to stay with the family and the tradepost while venturing out. He took to travel, delivering messages and supplies around the area. He was drawn to Camp Drybone, seeking out the Aetherite crystal. He was certain the thing was talking to him, but he brushed it off as heat exhaustion. Returning home, he arrived just in time to help fend off a small band of Amalj'aa who had ventured near the outpost. It was his first true battle, and it was exciting as he used his fire magic to do good.

For the next five years, whenever Sigurd visited or passed by Camp Drybone, he swore the crystal was speaking to him. While he couldn't quite understand the words, he knew it was speaking. One day, he finally approached it again, staring up at its tall towering height. It sure was a pretty thing, filled with that aether which fascinated him greatly. As he reached out and touched it, he was struck with loud voices and words filling his mind. For the first time, the crystal spoke in something he could understand, repeating over and over again that the moon was falling. Danger was coming. The words were so loud and the energy emitting from the crystal so intense that it knocked Sigurd out cold.

Several days later, he awoke at the local inn. The crystal was still murmuring but its words had changed once again. "Lambs of Dalamud," it whispered. Sigurd had heard of them. Cultists. Worried, he quickly returned home to learn his mother and two of his siblings had been lured away when they'd gone out to search for Sigurd after he didn't come home, their bodies found mutilated just the day before. Distraught, he stepped outside for some air and saw what the Crystal was babbling about. Dalamud fell to the earth.

The New Era

After the threat of the Lambs and Dalamud had quieted, the world busied repairing itself. Most of it, anyway. The incident with the Lambs had driven a strange rift between Sigurd and his eldest brother Fredderick. He blamed Sigurd for the incident, claiming that if Sigurd had been there, he could've saved them from the Lambs with his magic. Sigurd wished to defend himself but he couldn't quite explain what had happened that day. He didn't fully understand it himself. Sigurd came to blaming himself for the entire ordeal.

A few months later, Sigurd decided that he wanted to leave the family business. He wanted to make a difference somehow, though he wasn't entirely sure how he could do so. Perhaps he wanted to atone for everything he felt he'd done wrong, to make up for his own failure in protecting his family.

For three years, he ventured from place to place, helping people out in Eastern Thanalan and attempted to refine his Thaumaturgy. He stayed in Blackbrush for some time, helping out the people there until the crystal whispered again, and he left, believing his presence would bring death. when the crystals spoke, they seemed to bring about disaster. He soon moved on to Horizon but soon left there too when the local crystal began babbling.

He found himself having difficulty with the refinement, often missing far targets or finding himself worn out. Hearing of the Thaumaturgy Guild in Ul'dah, he caught a lift from a merchant's cart to Ul'dah, offering the driver some odd items he'd collected around the area as payment for his troubles. Again, Sigurd heard the crystals whispering. Shaking it off, passing it off as aether sickness, he continued on his way, joining the Thaumaturgy Guild.

Sigurd dedicated much of his time divulging in the books of thaumaturgy and practicing the arts. Until he'd arrived at the guild, he could spark enough of a flame to fight a small pack of Amalj'aa and light some bushes on fire, but nothing more. When he received a new staff from the guild, his magic quickly improved, allowing him to also summon ice. While the elements soon came to him, Sigurd found himself having trouble with proper targeting. At first, the guild masters thought it was perhaps a focus issue. In the guild hall, when discussing a banner on the far end of the room, they discovered that it wasn't a focus issue but instead that he simply couldn't see his targets clearly.

It took a few days to adjust to the new glasses, and there were times when he simply forgot to wear them. But soon he grew attached to them, only removing them when pouring over books or similar close activities. Finally back on track with his studies, Sigurd ventured out on a quest from the Thaumaturge's Guild. The guild had received a request to investigate some strange rock formations around a hillside near the train depot.

On his way to the depot, he passed Black Brush where he was certain the aetheryte crystal there was speaking to him again. He couldn't understand the words, but for the first time since he started hearing the crystals talking, this one called out for him by name. Sigurd, la malplena malfermiĝas. Ili venas. Atentu. He approached the crystal and touched it, but it didn't offer him anything which would help him. Just words he couldn't understand.

Unable to know the crystal was warning him, he continued on his way toward the depot. The place was crawling with coblyns, which didn't seem to care that he was there. He attempted to shoo them away anyway, and they chattered angrily at him while then ran off. A large shadow overtook him, and he quickly realized he wasn't scary enough to frighten coblyns. This large creature was.

The creature quickly assaulted Sigurd and nearly overwhelmed him had it not been for a blond hyur stranger jumping into the fray. They quickly felled the creature, and the blond explained the creature was called a voidsent and was after shifts in aetheric energy. The two parted ways, the blond saying he had someone very important to find.

The incident left Sigurd interested in this voidsent creature and what sort of aetherial shift it could be after. Sigurd spoke with Cocobuki, the thaumaturgy guildmaster, about what he'd encountered. Cocobuki explained what he knew about voidsent, though his knowledge about them was limited. The vague information left Sigurd interested to find more. With the warning in mind, Sigurd continued to research more about the aetheric flow, hoping to connect it with the voidsent or perhaps the crystals which kept whispering in his ears when he'd pass them.

Sigurd volunteered himself as a researcher on the subject, hoping to gather as much information as he could on them. At first the guildmasters turned down the suggestion, but after some strong convincing words, Sigurd was given permission to proceed with a warning that he didn't fall victim to their lure. Sigurd reassured them he was of strong enough mind not to take any temptations a dark being would ever offer.

Sigurd poured over information within the Ossuary for days at a time, piecing together any bits of information he could. He'd become obsessed with the idea of the void, drawn to it for some unknown reason. In a way, he hoped the research would offer information on the words he'd hear the crystals whisper, on why they would speak so loudly when the voidsent would appear. His research proved broken at best, offering little insight on patterns. He began collecting pieces of voidsent for study and would sell them off for extra coin, saving up enough to eventually purchase and care for his own personal chocobo.

But the research was never enough. There was just always something missing. He knew nothing about anatomy or physiology, leaving his information purely external and magic-based.

Currently

Sigurd recently joined the free company, The Coral Sea. Lead by Renaud and T'xdih, the company is geared towards helping the realm as a whole, and making business ventures on the side. Through the company, Sigurd's expanded his circle of friends quite a bit, leading him to new adventures and helping him with his research.