Thedis Iscariot

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History

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Disclaimer – Thedis is but one fragment of Azem.While they are my Warrior of Light, they don't have to be yours! I am happy to RP without the events of MSQ ever being mentioned or relevant. Their memories of a past life are part of their character, however.

Medicus

Thedis' memories of their first home are more than limited. Born in a northern Ilsabardian Veena settlement which attempted to overthrow the occupying Garlean force, they were one of many children taken from their families to be raised in different parts of the Empire and enlisted in its army to punish and humiliate the insurgents. Not yet having seen six winters, young Thedis was taken to the Capital and put into the care of the Sirinus orphanage, which was to be their home until their enlistment.The orphanage provided little in the way of comfort or community. The Veena children had purposefully been separated from each other, and Thedis – strong-willed, sharp-minded and sharp-tongued even at their age – struggled to fit in with their peers from the first day.Their recurring, strangely terrifying dreams of a city burning under falling stars that had accompanied them since their earliest memories only furthered their isolation.

Once of age to be drafted as a recruit, Thedis was instructed in the use of Gunblades, but showed even greater promise in strategy and medicine – both in its fabrication through alchemy, its practical application and the manipulation of aether to achieve healing effects. Any double-edged quality that had caused them grief before found not only application in the army, but positive recognition. When, after a few months of serving in the occupied regions of Gyr Abania, Thedis jen Sirinus joined the XIVth Legion stationed at the Gridanian border, they did so as one of the most auspicious young medicuses of Garlemald's entire military.Propaganda and societal pressure had done little to prepare Thedis for the reality of war. As much as they told themselves their efforts counted towards a greater good, as much as they genuinely desired to protect and support their siblings in arms, they could not close their eyes to the misery of the people on either side of the carnage. Before, Thedis had suffered from nightmares about an unknown apocalypse – by the time their superiors first implied a promotion, they considered themselves lucky to sleep at all. But, better than any of their pureblooded countrymen, they understood if a rebel bullet did not kill them, a Garlean one would – sic semper desertores. For now – for themselves and for all the people whose lives had been placed in their hands – Thedis knew they had to carry on.

Deserter

Thedis' life in Garlemald ended the day they first laid eyes on Emperor Solus zos Galvus during preparations for Carteneau, a decrepit dictator promising the greatest bloodbath they were likely to ever witness. By nightfall, their mind was made up: they would either forsake Garlemald or life itself – and quickly.Picking up an old lead they had happened upon in their studies as a medicus, Thedis delved deep into Garlean history, finally unearthing enough intelligence on the country's late order of Reapers and their practices to successfully summon a voidsent that would aid them in their escape.
Wielding their new scythe furtively and with precision, Thedis trailed their path out of the capital with the corpses of their fellow soldiers even as their heart wept.Violence alone, however, could not carry them beyond Garlemald's grasp, and they might never have made it further than the border had it not been for the assistance of a young ceruleum smuggler known as the 'Cobalt Star'. With his help, though blood-stained and robbed of much of themselves – their home, their memories, what remained of their probity – the Veena left behind the Garlean Empire, and with it Thedis viator Sirinus. Instead, they took the name Iscariot – 'apostate' – as a reminder of all they had betrayed, and why they had betrayed it.

Refugee

The Black Shroud became Thedis' refuge in more ways than one. Here, they found a place to rest, to recover and rediscover themselves. The botanists taught them of the living, breathing world around them, so different from Garlemald's snow and steel, taught them to catalogue and to nurture – knowledge they soon learned to apply during their visits to Ul'Dah's Alchemy guild and throughout their meetings with a fellow traveler of the Shroud, who taught them to cook in return for reading and writing lessons. Above all, there were the bards, who helped put songs unto Thedis' lips when words failed them. Pursuing their newfound interest in composition and string instruments in the tides of shade and sunlight beneath the trees became their outlet for much and more that they felt, but could not otherwise express, if put a name to at all. For all this and more, there will always be a part of Thedis to whom 'home' means simply 'Gridania'.

Wandering Conservator

The more Thedis' tattered fortitude recovered, the further they strayed from the Shroud in their excursions – first to the neighbored City-States of Limsa Lominsa and Ul'Dah, then to Coerthas, where they found a second (a third? a fourth?) home in Ishgard's familiar climate and vaults of history. Soon further yet, to Sharlayan and beyond, to all the lands their maps could name, and even some they could not. Anywhere they went they drank in as though dying of some intangible thirst. The world had called, and Thedis, now free and strong enough once more, intended to answer.

Warrior of light

This section concerns Thedis Iscariot's (optional) characteristics as the protagonist of the Main Scenario Questline of FFXIV.
It contains spoilers up to and including the latest release of the game as well as content that may clash with your perception of its primary plot.

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Warrior of Light
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At large, beginning with their arrival in Gridania, Thedis' story follows the canon events of the
Main Scenario Questline of Square Enix, with the following additions/alterations.

Thedis was born already awakened to their Echo and an improbably strong connection to their life before the sundering. Albeit unsure if their memories were simply lucid dreams, they could recall fragments of their office as Azem; a torment rather than a blessing. They could recall places and songs but not their words, lovers and friends, but not their faces. Thedis knew just enough to know they were incomplete – not enough to change the fate awaiting them in Eorzea.Mortal and flawed, they would fight, confused and unable to change the course of their clash with the Ascians. They would kill the ones they held dearest, even as their heart wept.The Events of Shadowbringers and Endwalker forced many of Thedis' buried memories back to the surface – if none of their mortal childhood. Following in their wake are grief for the life and the people loved and lost to them, and their legacy, which they must once again shoulder as they struggle to understand who they were, and above all, who they are.

As a Garlean deserter, becoming Champion to the people of Eorzea was never anything Thedis felt even remotely qualified for. At first carrying the burden meant repentance for their earlier life, which to this day only the closest of their companions are privy to. Now, it has become a habit as much as it has always been a necessity. Thedis aims to keep their duties as Warrior of Light separate from their more personally motivated endeavors – within reason. Wherever they may go, the pain of Haurchefant's loss is as present to them as the certainty of Aymeric's loyalty or their unspoken guardianship of the twins, reaching back to a distant carriage ride to the very day their escape from Garlemald had ended safely in the arms of New Gridania. They simply prefer to remain anonymous.Afterall, everyone has heard the story of the Warrior of Light and Darkness. Thedis knows there are other stories yet untold which only they can tell.

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Bonds♖

⚖ neutral • ⚔ hostile • ⚚ friendly • ☙ trusted
⚕ patient • ♪ colleague • ♬ friend • ⚘ crush • ☾ love/r • ⚭ spouse • ☘ queerplatonic partner • ⚜ vassal

Gallery♞

( drawings by yours truly )

NSFW♕

This section contains artistic nudity and/or sexual themes. Please do not proceed if you are a minor!

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NSFW
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Contact
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Hooks

Traveling Healer {Common} – Thedis might not remember the face of every person they've helped with spells and tonics throughout their travels, but this does not mean those people don't remember them.

Venue Work {Common} – Charting ruins and cleaning up battlefields doesn't exactly pay the bills, and so Thedis is forced to take a few odd jobs, like applying their alchemistic proficiencies to liquors as a bartender or tending to the shelves of independent libraries.

• Komorebi
• Looking Glass

Library Visitor {Uncommon} – While disinclined to stay in the same place for long, Thedis can be found most frequently in Ishgard or Old Sharlayan with a hot drink at hand and their nose buried in a tome borrowed from the Studium or Scholasticate.

Hobby Musician {Rare} – Although a bard by training, Thedis sings and plays almost exclusively for themselves in remote places – particularly throughout the Black Shroud. Making music fully consumes them once they've begun, and any accidental listeners might go unnoticed.

Garlean Deserter {Rare} – As closely as they guard their past, Thedis was once part of the Garlean military. A select few who knew them, either through the army or life in the capital, might recognise them.

OOC
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