(The harbor herald)

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• The Maelstrom in Ishgard (07/21/2011)

• Firefall Faire, Special Edition! (08/08/2011)

Connecting all lands and peoples in her everlasting embrace, the sea bears to Limsa Lominsa the wisdom and voices of a thousand shores.

In today's edition, The Harbor Herald takes a close look at the sea change that has been brought about by the appearance of a maelstrom.

21 Fourth Astral Moon, Year 1572 of the Sixth Astral Era

The dragon galley has launched--the sleek, black craft on a field of red that is the ensign of the Maelstrom, Limsa Lominsa's recently revived Grand Company. Pennants bearing the oared dragon now snap and ripple across the city-state, raised at the behest of our military's brass hats. Their purpose: to kindle citizen morale. It would appear that our leaders have forgotten that Limsa Lominsa is a port of freemen. Did it not occur to them that such an overt display of jingoism would sooner wake a spirit of defiance within hot-blooded sailors than instill them with a sense of unity?

Yumah Molkot

The Maelstrom in Ishgard

Change is afoot in Limsa Lominsa, and blind is the sailor who has failed to notice. While it is true that our city-state's wharves are inherently dynamic places, ever-vibrant with the coming and going of vessels, folk, and freight, the changes of which I speak fall not into the daily norm.

This brings me to a concern that has been hot on Lominsan lips of late: precisely how does Admiral Merlwyb mean to wield the might of the Maelstrom she has amassed at her fingertips? Not wishing to wait for the tide to wash the answer ashore, The Harbor Herald struck out to shed light upon the dark depths of uncertainty. Only through great difficulty and a stroke of good fortune were we able to obtain a top-secret document, the contents of which we now divulge to our readers in hopes of laying to rest the collective anxiety of the populace.

Attached is a confidential document sourced from the Maelstrom, painstakingly procured by our investigative team. We are given to understand that the knightly orders of the Holy See of Ishgard had been distributing copies of it to hired swords ahead of the operation to retake Dzemael Darkhold.

Being in the midst of construction, extensive sections of the Darkhold remain unwrought and unsecured. Nameless perils lurk in the shadows, and knights and hired swords alike are firmly warned against venturing beyond the bounds of the designated operation area.

Much remains beyond our knowing at present, such as the manner of traps the invaders may have laid. In light of the youngness of the hour, however, our strategists deem it unlikely that the enemy has had time to entrench itself in the Darkhold. Commit the strategy to memory and heed to the letter any orders given you, and together we shall prevail.

Admiral Maintains Silence Amidst Doubts over Mountain Warfare

Dragons above the Veil

Operation in Ishgard

Operation Briefing: Dzemael Darkhold Sector A

I. Chocobo Stable Entrance
Ishgardian miners were set upon and overwhelmed by firearm-bearing invaders in the midst of excavation. Casualties in excess of a score.

II. The Gullet
Murder holes and hidden compartments had been scheduled for construction. The invaders will not have overlooked the position's potential for laying ambush.

III. Grand Hall Entrance
A point of strategic importance that leads to the Darkhold's innermost depths. The likelihood is distinct that the invaders will welcome us with an array of fiendish traps.

Any sailor worth his salt will have heard tell of Dzemael Darkhold, the subterranean fortress meant to become Ishgard's bastion in its unending war against dragons. According to the document, however, the Darkhold was handily seized by invaders noted to be of exceptional guile and equipped with firearms besides. Excluding Limsa Lominsa, only one nation boasts a military force that fits such a description: Garlemald. The information recently put forth by The Mythril Eye in its article "Disaster at the Darkhold" corroborates with this conclusion.

As it stands, one mystery remains: to what end does the Maelstrom possess knowledge of Ishgard's military secrets? Our analysts speculate that Chief Admiral Merlwyb seeks to gauge the Empire's military capacity on the pretext of an investigation. Further, should the opportunity to claim occupation of Ishgard present itself, she is not like to decline it.

After nigh a score of centuries in repose, the Maelstrom, the Lominsan squadron of legend, finally raises anchor once more. But towards which horizon does it sail? Will it cast its might against the Garlean Empire in a showdown, or ride the tide of chaos to the shores of Eorzean domination? The answer, dear readers, will become apparent in the midst of the coming storm.

((The above is a reprint of the archived Lodestone post. Please find it archived, along with other lost gems, at Fragmenter Works!))

Connecting all lands and peoples in her everlasting embrace, the sea bears to Limsa Lominsa the wisdom and voices of a thousand shores.

In today's edition, The Harbor Herald takes a close look at the sea change that has been brought about by the appearance of a maelstrom.

8 Fourth Umbral Moon, Year 1572 of the Sixth Astral Era

Allow me to share with you a certain tale from the lands of Coerthas in the north, told to me by a pirate who earns his keep sailing up the White Maiden to sell off his plunder. The following words are his own, untouched by mine own quill.

Yumah Molkot

What the Admiral Doesn't Want You to Know!

Never take a pirate at his word. Theirs is a lot given to exaggeration and hyperbole—those of our own Lominsan waters not least of all. For something in the pirate mind compels them to lay claim to the greatest boast, no matter how unlikely or unbelievable. No doubt they would all swear before Llymlaen herself to having seen a sea serpent as long as a galleon, or a dazzling storm of shooting stars that light up the night as bright as day. Ever have these free souls of the seas told the most grandiose lies at every possible utterance, just as naturally as they cast their sails or row their oars. But such is not always the case, as I recently discovered...

“Aye, ’at bleedin’ meteor plopped down right there on the outskirts o’ Owl’s Nest, it did. ‘Fore I knew what was what, a bomb bigger’n an aldgoat rose up from that selfsame spot. Watched with me own eye as it took to eatin’ e’erything around it, growin’ bigger ‘n bigger all the while. Finally made its way right up to the gates of Ishgard, it did. Gahaha, I bet them fancy-as-you-please knights roastin’ in their armor made for a tender meal! Tell me they didn’t! Gaha— Hm? What else, you say? Not much, really. I heard them Ishgard folk are callin’ the thing a Bombard, but that’s all I know, Twelve take me if it ain’t.”

Were this but a sole account, perhaps it would be easy to dismiss as idle banter—the boastful stylings of some pirate raconteur. But what if I were to tell you that before ever speaking to this man, I had word from one of the Herald’s own correspondents in Ishgard? A man of unquestionable character, he claims that a tremendous explosion could be heard and felt throughout the city from the direction of the Gates of Judgment. Moreover, a number of fully armored knights were reported to have suffered severe burns, and a wave of heat washed over the entire city and lays there still now, plaguing the Ishgardians day in and day out.

By now no doubt all have heard of the Firefall Faire being prepared for in Eorzea’s cities. But tell me this—do you not find something strange about these festivities? Why, I ask, in the midst of these the year’s hottest days, must we be forced to look upon balloons fashioned in the likeness of bombs, and everywhere reminded of this unbearable heat from which we constantly seek even the briefest of respites?

And is it not a particular peculiarity that the Adventurers’ Guild, in dire straits as it is in recent days, has seen fit to affiliate itself with these so-called faire chaperones? Little and less of this faire sits well in the belly of this reporter...

Festival or Facade!? Mysterious Happenings in the North! Pirate Tells All!

Smallest Flint Sparks Grandest Fire

One rumor maintains that said guild received an extremely generous boon from the city-states’ coffers in exchange for rallying adventurers to help eradicate these infernal bombs. And what of the balloons, then? All part of the plan, it would seem. Some go so far as to make them for decoys meant to deceive the eyes of these explosive monstrosities. Perhaps you thought yourself safe behind city walls? Perhaps you thought that such tales were no more than stories told by wetnurses to children in faraway lands? The fact remains that a meteor fell to Eorzea, and an outbreak of fiery chaos has followed in its wake. And as if that were not foreboding enough, I leave you with this final disquieting thought...

An entire storm of meteors has now been confirmed to have fallen in the vicinity of La Noscea.

Firefall Faire, Special Edition!

((The above is a reprint of the archived Lodestone post. Please find it archived, along with other lost gems, at Fragmenter Works!))

((Additionally, this article was originally used to introduce the 2011 Firefall Faire festival. For more information about Firefall and its successor, the Moonfire Faire, visit over here.))

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