Between the Lines

Wednesdays 8PM - 10PM Central Time USAMateus - Shirogane - Ward 9 - Plot 46Teleport Anchors Available By RequestWe are currently on summer casual RP hours. While the venue staff may be present, we ask visitors to enjoy a largely self guided experience as we relax and enjoy the remainder of the summer vacation with our families.Full customer service will resume on 20 August 2025 but until then, we invite you to join us for casual RP evenings!

Are you in search of a rare tome or knowledge lost to the ages? Perhaps a relic of unknown properties has come into your possession, and you wish to have it appraised and potentially sold to the highest bidder? Or maybe you desire an item of antiquity? We also offer translation and restoration services.Between the Lines is a library of rare (and not so rare) books, esoterica, and antiquities. The library is open on Wednesday nights (Central Time USA) or by appointment for discerning individuals who can afford the wares.And remember, not all things may be bought with gil...

Feature Collection

The Long Way Home

This month, we journey through stories where the battles are behind us, and the heart takes center stage. The Long Way Home is a collection of high fantasy tales rooted in warmth, healing, and the quiet triumph of chosen family. From reclusive mages to retired adventurers, wandering bards to gruff tailors, these characters don’t just survive—they find where they belong. Come in from the cold. The hearth is lit, and someone’s waiting.

Public Wi-Fi Available In Discord

About

Between the Lines is a library role play venue open on Wednesday nights from 8-10 PM Central Time (USA) or by appointment! While there are multiple branches of the library, the main branch is on Mateus. Appointments might take place at other locations.Please understand that we run on a shoestring staff; it's literally myself and a couple of others when they are available. We cannot be everywhere all at once. Yes, I am usually dual boxing the proprietor and the doorman. If you wish to interact with the latter, please send that character a tell.Between the Lines may be a largely self-guided experience for visitors, but we will do our best to interact at least minimally with every patron who steps through our doors. If you have any questions about the layout of the venue (i.e., where the various genre sections are located), please reach out to the staff, and we're happy to give you directions so you can role play accordingly.Between the Lines is also a Free Company on the Mateus server of the Crystal Data Center (North America). Interested in joining a creepy occult "library" FC run by a suspicious figure with the tag <BOOKS>? Let me know, and I'm happy to give your character an IC interview.

Staff

The Majordomo

Sokhor, as most know him, serves as Qaelemont's Majordomo, managing the Elezen's estates and affairs with a quiet, authoritative presence whenever Qaelemont is otherwise occupied. This tall, enigmatic Xaela is the senior-most member of Qaelemont's staff, with all others deferring to his judgment in the absence of their master. His age is indeterminate, though he appears to be in his thirties, yet there is something unsettling about him—particularly his eerie, thousand-malm gaze that seems to pierce through the veil of the mortal realm and into something far beyond. His presence is most often felt during the night, when he oversees the household in the hours of darkness.

Naohiro

The second in command among Qaelemont's staff is Naohiro, a Raen whose near-silent efficiency rivals that of Sokhor. Though he occasionally engages in conversation, it is always with measured brevity, revealing only what is essential to address a question or convey important information. While Naohiro may not exude the same unsettling aura as Sokhor, there is an unmistakable peculiarity about him that can be disconcerting. His watch is typically during the daylight hours, ensuring the smooth operation of the household under the sun's gaze.

Deryk

A familiar face in the library, Deryk greets everyone with a warm smile and a cheerful wave. The ginger-haired Hyurzen, rarely seen far from Qaelemont's side, can occasionally be found tending to various parts of the estate when his master is away. In his early twenties, Deryk’s emerald eyes sparkle with youthful energy, and his smile could melt even the coldest heart. Always eager to assist, he takes pride in helping others find the perfect tome, though one should be careful what they wish for—Deryk is more than willing to escort anyone to Qaelemont for such requests.

Devin

Devin, a loyal servant and companion, is frequently seen bustling about the grounds, always eager to lend a hand. With a bright smile and an upbeat demeanor, he takes joy in assisting everyone, especially Qaelemont and Deryk. But don’t be deceived by his innocent appearance—Devin is well-versed in the arcane arts, and while he may blush easily, he’s a formidable protector of those he holds dear. A lover of romance novels, Devin enjoys spending time in the library, though his passion for helping often sees him taking on nearly every chore in the house.

The Librarians

Tea and Tentacles

Welcome to our book club—yes, it’s that kind of book club.Between the Lines presents a one-of-a-kind experience: Tea and Tentacles, hosted by Scarlett Clover on the last Wednesday of every month from 7-8 PM Central Time (USA) in the Book Club room.We showcase writers from all corners of Eorzea and beyond. Sip on Scarlett’s handpicked teas while enjoying an evening of poetry, short stories, skits, and more on our open stage. After the performances, there will be a brief Q&A session, followed by an informal "signing" of their works. (Tipping is encouraged but not required.)If you would like to be on stage, please contact Scarlett Clover to make arrangements.We can't wait to see you there!

Floor Plan

Between the Lines utilizes the Sharlayan Decimal System for the organization of its collection. The Reference Page mammet is always glad to assist patrons in finding the perfect book if they're unable to navigate the card catalogue at the center of the library by themselves.

Application

Interested in joining the Between the Lines team? We invite you to join our Discord server, where you can get to know our community, explore the atmosphere, and discover the various roleplay opportunities available. Within the server, you'll find a staff application link, and note that an in-character interview is required for all potential employees.Please be aware that Void Hunter-type characters are generally not considered for employment. Lawfully aligned characters may be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Between the Lines is managed by a villainous character and staffed by the same. It is an occult/dark/horror-themed RP community that maintains a facade of civility and normalcy. We expect all staff members to be at least 18 years old (preferably 21+) and to conduct themselves in a mature, respectful, and adult manner.

Rules

1. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate in this venue. While business hours are Safe For Work, there may be Mature IC themes (occult, horror, etc.) discussed during library hours pertinent to in game subjects.2. Be polite and respectful. No attacking allowed. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Disagreements are allowed, but keep them civil or take them to private channels (party, tells, etc.). While intellectual debate is allowed and encouraged, hostilities are not permitted on the premisis.3. No politics, no religion, and no conspiracy theories about real life subjects. Want to theorycraft and discuss in game politics, religion and conspiracies? Have at it. But leave real life issues at the door.4. No hate speech. This is a sex, kink, and equality positive space. Between the Lines is not an ERP venue, but we acknowledge that people are allowed, within reason, to be free to express themselves. Please no nudity or any sexual behavior which might offend non-consenting parties.5. No trolls allowed.6. Nothing underaged allowed in an NSFW form. This is to include loli and shota images/writings. Anything under 18 years old is considered underaged. The caveats to this rule are historical and factual artistic and literary references to such art and literature may be discussed (but NOT in detail) and that ageplay can be discussed as long as it is abundantly clear that the participants are consenting adults. Characters which appear to be minors are also not allowed. Lalafells are welcome to participate in the venue, but may not interact in an NSFW manner.7. No harassment will be tolerated. Treat the staff and fellow patrons with respect.8. Do NOT request money, subscription time, in game gil, items, etc. from other people here. We are all adults and should be financially responsible for ourselves in and out of game. All transactions are strictly IC RP only. Nobody will ever ask you for money or items, either in game or real life. If this occurs, please report it to a member of the staff.9. Consent is still vital, even in role play. While noncon RP scenes may take place, please be certain OOC that such a scene is welcome among all participants. Understand that no means no and if someone does not want to participate in a role play with you, respect their no and move along.10. Please treat everyone with kindness and respect. This is a safe place for roleplay and for people to have fun. IC sassiness and villainy are fine, but expect IC consequences for your character's IC actions. "It's just RP" is not an excuse to trample on people's consent, and if it is brought up in OOC that it isn't really welcome, we ask you to please respect that. This venue is a place for FUN RP. If you wish to engage in conflict RP here, you MUST seek OOC consent of the staff and all participants before doing so and, again, expect IC reactions to disruptive behavior.For any questions or concerns, please reach out to any staff member.

Kugane Night Market

14 Aug 2025 - 7:00pm CST - Coeurl - Kugane, Rakuza District

Rumors have reached you... it's a rare opportunity. Beyond the watchful eyes of the law, a renowned dealer of rare books and antiquities is preparing to offer an exclusive selection of items for discerning collectors. But beware... come prepared to barter with more than mere gil...

Books

If one is looking for the more mundane literature to be found at Between the Lines, one might be sadly disappointed. Only select esoteric volumes have been brought for sale for this night. One might find what they seek, be it fame, fortune, power, or glory, but there is always a price to pay...

1. The Maw UnboundAppearance: A heavy, cracked grimoire bound in flayed imp-hide, its spine is sewn with bronze wire. A rusted clasp bites into the edge with a tooth-like mechanism. The cover is carved with a ritual circle warped from fire damage.Description: This journal belonged to an unnamed Mhachi voidmage who attempted to summon and enthrall a Marilith. The script grows increasingly erratic, turning from Eorzean into a jagged, unknown tongue. Rumor holds the final entries were penned by the Voidsent herself. When opened near flame, the pages curl inward like withering skin.2. Of Ash and SilenceAppearance: This is a thin, vellum-bound book in pristine Inquisitorial white, scorched down one edge. The Vault’s seal has been burned away. A scrap of scorched ribbon—too short to be a proper bookmark—clings to the final chapter.Description: This suppressed confessional belonged to Sister Ameline de Fauroux, a former Inquisitor who allegedly communed with a Dravanian shade. Her poetic accounts of the dead whispering beneath Ishgard’s stones were deemed heretical and sealed away. When read aloud in darkness, the text sometimes echoes a second voice.3. The Red Word of AlzadaalAppearance: A lacquered redwood case holds a scroll wrapped in ash-silk and tied with brass chains, the seal bearing the sun sigil of ancient Alzadaal, though inverted. The scroll itself is written in crimson ink that never fades—but seems to bead with dew under moonlight.Description: This Thavnairian scroll describes forbidden rites of blood exchange believed to grant longevity or power. Scholars whisper of a fire ritual that removes one’s name from the Weave of Fate. The ink is rumored to be real blood—possibly the author’s, or their victims’.4. The Silent Chant of YafaemAppearance: A cracked wax tablet encased in a brass frame, its grooves are lined with a faintly glowing ochre resin and it is always warm to the touch. It is stored in a thick velvet pouch stitched with runes of containment.Description: This relic of Allagan descent bears the encoded notation of a lost tonal spell. It cannot be read—only sung. Those who manage even part of the chant report temporary loss of hearing, the sound of reversed speech, or witnessing echoes of events that have not happened. Forbidden in Sharlayan since 3rd Astral Era discoveries.5. The Hundred Mouths of NymAppearance: A warped and waterlogged codex, its binding is bloated with sea-salt. Fragments of barnacle crust cling to the edges and the pages are etched on layered vellum, some translucent like jellyfish skin.Description: Salvaged from a wreck near Bronze Lake, this tome contains nonsense lyrics that, when sung, drive nearby wildlife into frenzy or reverence. It is believed to be the work of a fae-touched Nymian Scholar attempting to write a symphony for sea-spirits. Some readers report feeling teeth grazing their fingertips as they turn the pages.6. Crimson Verses from the Hollow StepsAppearance: This is a goatskin vellum scroll painted in faded red ink, wrapped around a bone tube capped in jet. The script is stylized in ancient Auld Auri symbols, many of which do not appear in living tribal languages. A faint smell of smoke clings to the parchment.Description: This is a battle prayer said to open a liminal "Second Steppe" only visible during moments of bloodshed. Warriors who chanted its verses claimed to see spirits walking alongside them—sometimes guiding, sometimes replacing. Banned by several tribes for summoning ancestral rage spirits.7. The Fruitless Bloom: A Monograph on the Nameless HellsAppearance: This grey leather tome is branded with the Garlean Republic imperial eagle—beak scratched out. The binding is threadbare, and the spine is loose. Inside, fine metallic type is meticulously organized with footnotes in five languages—though some are now extinct.Description: A psychological treatise penned by a rogue Legatus at the birth of the Garlean Empire, it maps out the metaphysical structure of the Nameless Hells and the uses of torment as a means of magical acceleration. Banned by the Empire as “spiritually destabilizing," it allegedly correlates each Hell with a facet of voidal anatomy.8. In the Tongue of ThaliakAppearance: A modest blue linen-bound volume with no title on the spine, the cover bears only the image of an hourglass half-filled with ink. The interior text shifts subtly each time it is opened, especially under different phases of the moon.Description: Scribed during a divine trance by a nameless monk in Sharlayan, this text records divine aphorisms that may act as keys to unknown truths. Reading it induces prophetic dreams, often shared between those in proximity. The Forum has repeatedly denied it exists.9. The Fading Manuscript of Feo UlAppearance: This is a delicate sheaf of gold-edged papers wrapped in Voeburtite silk embroidered with lilies and stars. The ink is luminous but flakes off like pollen if touched bare-handed. A faint smell of honey and lightning follows it.Description: This dreamlike work from the First recounts whispered deals struck with Light-aspected fey. The manuscript sometimes alters its demands, requiring secrets, teeth, or lullabies to unlock new passages. It cannot be copied, and burns those who try.10. The Mirror That Wasn’t ThereAppearance: A flat, book-sized pane of translucent crystal, its surface is slightly mirrored, but shows no reflection of living beings. Its cover bears no title, only a single hairline crack that slowly grows and shrinks with no rhyme nor reason.Description: This tome is said to hold the technique of self-erasure from memory, reflection, and even the Lifestream. Sharlayan labeled it "ontological poison." It is stored it in a mirrored box to confuse scrying eyes. No one can agree on whether it was always in Qaelemont's collection—or just appeared one day. Will in remain in the buyer's possession? Or simply... disappear?

Items

If one is seeking common trinkets or tchotchkes, look elsewhere. What is offered tonight are rare and dangerous relics—arcane, forbidden, or touched by shadow. Each piece holds a whisper of power, a flicker of memory, a debt yet unpaid. One may find what they desire… but nothing comes without a cost...

1. The Shrieking LatticeAppearance: This is a silver filigree cube the size of a palm, humming with soft vibrations. When agitated, its wires reshape into fractal symbols, and the air fills with a low, choral wail.Description: An Allagan mnemonic trap designed to store traumatic memories siphoned from prisoners. When held by someone with a similar emotional resonance, it “sings” their pain back to them. May be used for interrogation, therapy, or artistic inspiration—depending on one's ethics.2. Voidlight Conduction PrismAppearance: A triangular shard of mirrored crystal set into a void-black alloy bracer, it reflects nothing, yet glows with internal indigo pulses when near Voidsent or corrupted aether.Description: Once used by Mhachi summoners to stabilize summoning rituals, this device absorbs and redirects unstable voidal magick. It can also hold an aetheric backlash—once. It may shatter catastrophically if overcharged.3. Thavnairian Flame Dancer’s AnkletsAppearance: This is a pair of gilded anklets etched with delicate sigils and inlaid with aetherglass beads. When worn, they give off faint heat and leave sparkling trails in the air with every movement.Description: Designed for ceremonial performances, these anklets store ambient fire-aspected aether and release it as bursts of illusionary flame synchronized to movement. They may be repurposed for distraction or misdirection. They're no longer produced after an unfortunate incident at a diplomat’s wedding.4. Mk. V Whisper LensAppearance: This is a thin ocular device mounted on a crescent-shaped headband. The lens glows faintly blue and hovers in front of the wearer’s eye when activated.Description: A Garlean magitek prototype adapted from stolen Allagan schematics, it allows the wearer to read lips across long distances or view recent aetheric traces. Side effects include nosebleeds, paranoia, and a tendency to see things just slightly ahead of time.5. The Aether-Scribe's PenAppearance: This is a black lacquered fountain pen set with a shard of cracked focus crystal where the nib should be. The ink well never runs dry, though no one can agree on what it’s filled with.Description: Converts thought or ambient aether into written script, often translating it into languages the user cannot read. Known to transcribe unconscious thoughts, dreams, or secrets the writer didn’t know they held. Must be sheathed in salt between uses.6. Heartglass PhylacteryAppearance: This is a teardrop-shaped bottle of rose-colored crystal hanging from a chain of woven auracite threads. Inside, a faint golden glow pulses like a heartbeat.Description: Created by a forbidden sect of Sharlayan bio-theurgists, this device captures the "emotional echo" of a person’s last moment—fear, joy, regret—and replays it in dreams to any nearby sleeper. Some keep it as a mourning relic. Others… collect them.7. Garlean Type-Z Null TriggerAppearance: This sleek obsidian device is shaped like a tuning fork and stamped with the sigil of a now-dissolved Imperial magitek division. It hisses faintly when touched.Description: Temporarily disables magitek constructs, aether-powered barriers, or anima-reactive devices within a 6-fulm radius. Cannot distinguish friend from foe. Discharges with a sharp crack like breaking bone.8. The Lantern of Breathless HoursAppearance: This is a small bronze lantern with blue glass panels and no apparent wick or oil source. When lit, the flame burns a cold cerulean blue.Description: Emits aetheric light that reveals ghosts, illusions, and memory-echoes, while preventing sound from passing in or out of its radius. Originally used by a Gelmorran mortuary cult for silent mourning rituals.9. Echo-Rig T93Appearance: A strange metal collar and earpiece connected by coils of auracite and padded leather. A faded inscription reads “Prototype – Not for Field Use.”Description: Supposedly an early Garlean attempt to replicate the Echo. Temporarily grants the wearer empathic clarity and language comprehension, but causes migraines and a dreamlike confusion of identity afterward.10. The Skybound CompassAppearance: A glass-faced compass whose needle spins freely until held in both hands. The face depicts constellations, not cardinal directions.Description: Points toward the object or person the bearer longs for most, though not always in the physical sense. Occasionally veers toward things the bearer refuses to admit they desire. Used by the now-defunct Astrologicum of Mhach for “emotive star-seeking.”

Antiquities

These are the most extraordinary items offered at tonight's Night Market. Rare and powerful, they cannot be obtained easily. Mastering them will demand strength, determination, and dedication. Suggested quests for role-play flavor are included.

The Tear of the Hollow Moon

Description:A luminescent teardrop-shaped gem, cool to the touch and shimmering with the soft silver glow of moonlight. When held, its depths reveal fleeting images of lovers separated by fate—ghostly figures reaching for one another, their hands never quite meeting. The Tear pulses gently when it senses yearning, as though resonating with the unspoken emotions of its bearer.Features & Powers:- Echoes of the Heart: The Tear allows its bearer to hear the whispers of a lost love—words left unsaid, promises unfulfilled, or regrets buried in time.- Guiding Light: If carried with true intent, the Tear glows brighter in the presence of one's fated love, leading them together across time, distance, or even lifetimes.- The Last Embrace: In the hands of the brokenhearted, the Tear grants a fleeting vision of their beloved, offering a final moment to say what was never said, before fading into silver mist.- Bound by Love: If exchanged between lovers on Valentione’s Day, the Tear splits into two, each half glowing softly when the other is near—an eternal reminder that their souls are linked.Origin & History:The Tear is said to have formed from the sorrow of Menphina, the Lover, when she wept for two mortals whose love was torn asunder by war. Moved by their devotion, she captured a single tear in her hands and cast it into the heavens, where it fell to Eorzea as a crystal imbued with love’s undying promise. Those who find it are often souls searching for reunion, redemption, or the courage to love again.Limitations & Dangers:- Cannot Rewrite Fate: The Tear only reveals love’s path—it cannot force two hearts together if they are truly meant to part.- A Lover’s Lament: If used selfishly, the Tear darkens and cracks, burdened by the weight of falsehoods or manipulations.- The Hollow Curse: Those who hoard the Tear, refusing to let love go or move forward, may find their own heart growing cold and hollow, unable to love again.Suggested Quest: "The Moon’s Lament"To obtain the Tear of the Hollow Moon, one must complete the Trial of the Moonlit Promise at the lost shrine of Elpis Noctis. The seeker must navigate a mist-laden labyrinth of illusions, face memories of love lost or unspoken, and confess a truth of the heart before the Tear. Finally, they must offer a cherished token of love—something willingly sacrificed—to prove their understanding of love’s joy and sorrow. If their heart is true, the Tear will glow in acceptance. If they waver or deceive, the artifact remains dormant, and they must leave, burdened with the weight of their unspoken truths.

The Unmoored Diadem

Description:This is a delicate, openwork circlet forged of translucent auracite, inlaid with star-metal filaments and adorned with seven cracked crystal prisms arranged like flower petals. It is a crown of memory, a prison of light, and a gift not meant for mortals. The entire structure floats just above the brow when worn, never touching the skin. It emits a faint glow in moonlight, pulsing in time with nearby thoughts.The diadem is kept in a locked obsidian box lined with ceruleum-treated silk and sealed with sigils of psychic containment. It whispers softly when approached—often in a voice the listener recognizes as their own.Features and Powers:- Memory Resonance: Allows the wearer to experience ancient memories embedded in the auracite. These visions are fully immersive, with physical, emotional, and sensory detail indistinguishable from reality. The oldest echoes are believed to date back to the Third Astral Era.- Empathic Projection: The wearer may project emotional memories into another’s mind, creating an intense shared experience. Often used to build trust, extract secrets, or deliver intimate truths. This process can become addictive for both parties.- Aetherial Phasing: When overloaded with aether, the diadem shifts the user partially out of phase with the physical world for a few moments, allowing them to move unseen or untouched. This effect comes at the cost of slowly losing one's physical presence until they are completely out of phase with the physical realm and trapped in the aetherial.Origin and History:The diadem was crafted by Néren-Li, an exiled Allagan mnemonist, during an experiment known as The Silent Archive—a forbidden effort to preserve living histories through auracite. Intended for elite nobility, the Archive project was dismantled after a series of psychic breakdowns and suicides. The prototype vanished from official records. It resurfaced centuries later, sealed in a reliquary beneath the ruins of Mhach. How it passed from there into Qaelemont’s collection remains a subject of hushed speculation.Limitations and Dangers:- Memory Contamination: Continued use risks corrupting the user’s sense of self. Over time, the stored memories and identities may blend with the wearer’s own, leaving them uncertain of what thoughts are truly theirs.- Empathic Collapse: If used on a subject with suppressed trauma or volatile emotions, the diadem may trigger seizures, comas, or aetheric hemorrhaging in both individuals.- Phasing Trace: The diadem’s phasing ability leaves a distinct ripple in the aetherial plane. Certain entities, particularly Voidsent or those attuned to echoes, may detect and pursue the user.- Addictive Clarity: The heightened emotion and vividness of the memories can become a seduction. Some wearers isolate themselves, choosing to relive lost moments endlessly rather than face the present.Suggested Quest: The Memory That Wasn't MineA Sharlayan scholar is discreetly hiring adventurers to locate The Unmoored Diadem, a lost Allagan relic said to contain living memories. Its last known location points to a buried ruin in the Dravanian hinterlands: the Sanctuary of Drowned Echoes. As one nears the site, dreams not their own begin to haunt them, and echoes of forgotten lives bleed into their thoughts. The Diadem is still active, still aware—and it may not want to be found.

Tanabata Festival

02 Aug 2025 - 7 PM CST - Mateus - Shirogane - Ward 4 - Akenazaka Markets

Rumors have reached you... it's a rare opportunity. A renowned dealer of esoteric books and antiquities is preparing to offer an exclusive selection of items for discerning collectors. But beware... come prepared to barter with more than mere gil...

Books

If one is looking for the more mundane literature to be found at Between the Lines, they might be sadly disappointed. Only select esoteric volumes have been brought for sale for this night. One might find what they seek, be it fame, fortune, power, or glory, but there is always a price to pay...

1. Whispers Upon Gilded SkinAppearance: This elegant Hingan scroll is housed in a lacquered box of white jade and obsidian. The outer casing is adorned with broken constellations inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and when touched, the box emits a subtle warmth. The scroll itself is supple and golden, with a faint, organic texture—rumored to be the tanned and treated skin of an oni, though no beast has ever matched the material exactly.Description: The scroll contains a dream-verse composed in Voidsent ichor and its script shifts subtly when viewed under moonlight. Said to have been transcribed during a moonless festival night by a blind poet possessed by a forgotten kami, its verses whisper fragments of an extinguished star—Igen-Kiyoh, a celestial body lost to time. The text entrances readers, coaxing them into sleep from which some fail to awaken, their minds caught in an endless cycle of starless dreaming.2. The Mourning LexiconAppearance:This small, hand-bound prayerbook is clad in cracked black leather that flakes if handled too long—yet the book never seems to deteriorate. A clasp fashioned in the likeness of a weeping angel with its face smoothed blank by unknown means locks it shut. The book radiates a cold mist from its seams, frosting nearby surfaces with prolonged exposure.Description: Once carried by heretical Ishgardian cultists during the Dragonsong War, this slim tome compiles over a hundred invocations, each crafted to articulate a particular grief—be it the loss of a child, a home, or one’s faith. The intonations drain the speaker's vitality with each utterance, and reading more than a few lines often leaves the reader inconsolable. One passage is known to summon the voice of a dead loved one—no matter how long buried.3. SOLD The Ember Testament of Arzalan Vheyl SOLDAppearance: The binding of this book is made from scorched ceramite, warped but unbroken, with embedded metal veins that softly glow like dying coals. The pages inside appear charred but never crumble—made of some fire-treated alchemical pulp that resists both flame and decay. When opened, the edges pulse with a red-orange light, and the air around it tastes faintly of smoke and copper.Description: The final writings of the prophet-scholar Arzalan Vheyl, found in the heart of a ruined Allagan observatory within Azys Lla. The Testament outlines his visions of a flame that exists between time and thought—a fire that burns not bodies, but memory and possibility. Translating the cryptic passages induces hallucinations of clocks melting, suns weeping fire, and voices speaking backwards from the future. It is not recommended to read aloud.4. SOLD Petals from the Rootless Tree SOLDAppearance: This scroll of pearlescent parchment speckled with mica flakes is rolled and tied with braided horsehair. The outer wrap is crimson silk embroidered with a pattern of falling leaves. The ink glimmers under torchlight and emits a floral, venomous scent akin to crushed snake blossoms from the Steppe.Description: Transcribed by a maddened ugdan during a fasting vigil that ended in his death, the scroll’s calligraphy outlines rites to lure, entrap, or torment spirits. The verses blur the line between summoning and binding, and more than one practitioner who tested its spells found themselves speaking in dead tongues or hearing ancestral voices respond unbidden. It is often used to house souls in vessels—dolls, masks, or flesh.5. The Scarlet CensusAppearance: This is a thick ledger bound in smooth, red sharkskin with gilded page-edges and reinforced brass corners. A seal resembling a blank face in profile is stamped into the cover. When held under candlelight, the names on the pages appear to shimmer and crawl like ants—never fully still.Description: This strange census lists thousands of names—no dates, no locations, no annotations. The script is minuscule and constantly shifting. Those who stare too long often find their own name etched in, alongside names they don’t yet know. The text is believed to record future victims or perpetrators of violent acts, and those who interact with it frequently report a sensation of their choices narrowing, as if fate itself were tightening around them.6. SOLD Codex Lamiae SOLDAppearance: This book is bound in smooth, almost translucent leather that pulses faintly with warmth. The cover bears gold-stamped Mhachi sigils that shimmer with an oily rainbow sheen. The pages inside are thick, flexible, and slightly tacky, like layered silk over wet clay. A lock shaped like a yawning mouth keeps it closed unless opened with blood.Description: A forbidden tome from the days of Mhach, used by dreamwalkers and blood-priests to extract memories as tangible essence. The book sings in an unfamiliar, lullaby-like cadence when blood is applied to the margins, lulling the user into a trance that strips away recollection and deposits it into wax tablets or even other minds. Several pages are warped with what appear to be tear stains—though no reader has ever admitted crying.7. SOLD The Song of the Seven Veins SOLDAppearance: This is a bundle of aged vellum sheets loosely bound in crimson ribbon and each page is marked with elaborate circular diagrams that resemble anatomical sigils. The vellum is covered in splotches of dried blood, and when touched, the faint sensation of a pulse can be felt through the material.Description: This is an ancient, uncredited manuscript believed to be compiled by a hemomancer during the Fifth Astral Era. Each “vein” is a chant or ritual for controlling the flow of blood—both one’s own and others'. The fifth vein allows one to clot wounds instantly, while the seventh causes distant targets to hemorrhage from unseen cuts. The final page, titled The Eighth Vein, is torn, leaving only dried black spatter in its place.8. On the Phenomenology of DevourmentAppearance: This unsettling palm-sized, greasy treatise is bound in waxed linen and stitched with coarse gray thread. The cover is stained with unknown substances and bears no title, only a greasy fingerprint that reappears no matter how often it is wiped clean. Inside, several pages have jagged edges and bite marks.Description: Written by a disgraced Sharlayan theorist, this bizarre work proposes that true understanding of an idea or creature can only come through its literal consumption. Sections of the text offer disturbing meditations on ingesting scrolls, hair, or even severed thoughts made manifest. Some passages have an inexplicable compulsion: readers often report the urge to tear out a page and chew. A few say they remember tasting knowledge itself.9. SOLD The Celestial Reversal Sutra SOLDAppearance: This is a luminous scroll of woven golden linen sealed within five concentric brass rings, each etched with constellations that appear upside-down. The scroll hums faintly when held, and the ends are wrapped in star-dyed silk, stiff with protective enchantments.Description: Recovered from a sunken Thavnairian temple, this sutra claims to reverse causality when read backward—both syllabically and spiritually. The invocations untangle events, rewind actions, and even restore choices. However, its use results in memory bleed, temporal dissonance, and headaches described as “eclipses behind the eyes.” Those who’ve read it to completion sometimes forget their own names—or are remembered by no one at all.10. SOLD The Testament of Gentle Drowning SOLDAppearance: This thick tome is sealed inside a heavy, barnacle-crusted glass case. The case is eternally slick with seawater, and faint singing can be heard when placed near one’s ear. The book itself is bound in scales, with the title inked in a shimmering blue-green script that drips steadily onto the glass—though the water never pools.Description: The Testament appears to be written in an ancient, aquatic tongue never fully translated—not even the Sahagin know its full meaning nor origins. Even partial renderings reference a divine surrender to “the Deep Mother” and rites of breathing water, not air. Many who have attempted to read it report an irresistible desire to walk into the sea, murmuring the words of the text as if returning home.

Items

If one is seeking common trinkets or tchotchkes, look elsewhere. What is offered tonight are rare and dangerous relics—arcane, forbidden, or touched by shadow. Each piece holds a whisper of power, a flicker of memory, a debt yet unpaid. One may find what they desire… but nothing comes without a cost...

1. SOLD The Breathless Harness SOLDAppearance: This is an ominous narrow collar of supple black leather inlaid with mirrored crescents of ceruleum-treated glass. Electro-conductive threads coil beneath the surface, glowing faintly blue when worn. The control rune upon its lock pulses like a heartbeat.Description: Originally developed by a rogue Garlean scientist for behavioral regulation of prototype cyborg soldiers, this harness delivers precisely measured shocks to the spine and brainstem, inducing euphoric stillness or breathless paralysis. Its last wearer claimed they could "hear silence breathing." The enchantments are tuned to neural rhythms and cannot be disabled once fastened—unless by the original master key, long lost.2. SOLD Annulment Frame K-21 SOLDAppearance: This is a jagged metal circlet resembling a broken crown, lined with blackened unknown alloy. Sigils along its surface glow intermittently with inverted aetheric resonance. A fragment of shattered glass floats endlessly in its center, humming quietly.Description: A mind-scouring electrope headpiece built to suppress memory. Originally fitted to prisoners in a forgotten Alexandrian sky-prison, it creates a recursive feedback loop that erases thoughts the moment they form. If worn longer than 23 minutes, it begins to undo the concept of self. A single command word—never written, only whispered—can render someone permanently forgetful of their name, loved ones, and purpose.3. SOLD Voidlight Conduit-Shard SOLDAppearance: This is a fractured crystal core sealed within a prism cage of shifting, oily rainbow hues which trail veins of misty black and violet. Wisps of void corruption drift from its center like fog trapped in glass.Description: A prototype power source from an unfinished Mhachi Voidgate experiment. When activated, it draws ambient aether into itself and converts it into null-aspected energy—impossible to dispel. Prolonged exposure saps all nearby light, warmth, and sound. Some users report hearing distant, inverted music emanating from within the crystal… playing backwards.4. Eidostatic Grimo-LensAppearance: A hand-held eyepiece constructed of overlapping brass shutters, ceruleum tubing, and floating lens rings that rearrange themselves when activated, it bears faintly etched voidsigils which glow in the peripheral glass.Description: This lens was originally used to study unstable soul-echoes during possession events. When attuned, it reveals a subject's soul-thread resonance—allowing the viewer to glimpse echoes, haunts, past lives, or fragmentary delusions. Extended use is discouraged: several testers vanished into catatonia after “following a thread too far.”5. SOLD The Sulfur Chalice of Saint Iledra SOLDAppearance: This menacing scorched, thorned goblet of hammered bronze is etched with prayers in an unknown dialect. Its rim is lined with dull black spikes, and when filled with fluid, it briefly steams—even when emptied seconds earlier.Description: Said to have been carried by a radical heretic of the Third Umbral Era who drank from it during visions and firewalks, the chalice transmutes most liquids into a searing potion that reveals hidden sins. Drinkers convulse with pain and speak their deepest transgressions in perfect, ringing harmony—regardless of language. The chalice cannot be emptied once filled; it only drinks the drinker.6. Lacrimal Drive Unit (Type: Requiem)Appearance: This is a small magitek device resembling a metallic teardrop wrapped in copper tubing and padded with worn velvet. It emits a soft, sorrowful trill when held, and grows cold in the hands of the heartbroken.Description: Designed as an emotional regulator for advanced prototypes, this forgotten component became infamous after syncing with its user’s grief and amplifying it exponentially. It records memories in tonal pulses, which can be played back as mournful reverberating arias. Those attuned to it often fall into weeping trances, locked in elegy loops of sorrow they cannot escape.7. SOLD Stygian Threadspool SOLDAppearance: This is a narrow spool of silvery-black silk wrapped around a rod of bone. The thread reflects no light and moves slightly on its own, like a living worm. The bone is stamped with the old sigil of the Mhachi soulbinders.Description: Woven from silk harvested from voidtouched worms in the ruins beneath the Yafaem Saltmoor, this thread was used to bind spirits into garments, masks, and sometimes flesh. When sewn into clothing or ritual bindings, it compels spectral obedience—and, rarely, possession. Touching the thread with bare skin sometimes causes cold fingers to brush back.8. SOLD Mirror-Stitch Manikin Heart SOLDAppearance: A glistening orb of polished black aetherglass, wrapped in a spiderweb lattice of silver filament, the surface reflects not the viewer, but flickering, stitched-together glimpses of other faces—none familiar.Description: An arcane prosthetic used in forbidden soulcraft, designed to animate artificial bodies or repair fragmented identities. When implanted into a construct or vessel, it grants autonomous function—but at a cost: it builds a personality from fractured memories scavenged from the aether. Many who’ve tried to attune to one report being “watched from the inside.”9. The Gloved Hand of Seer MakraeenAppearance: This is a single right-hand glove of dark velvet, overlaid with silver wire and embedded with nine opaline “nails.” It is kept inside a mirrored case sealed with wax. The fingers twitch when stared at too long.Description: Cut from the hand of a prophet who foresaw their own dismemberment, the glove contains enchanted nerve threads that replicate its former wearer’s foresight. Wearing it allows brief glimpses into potential futures, though only for actions involving violence or betrayal. Every use makes the user’s fingers less their own—until the glove begins moving first.10. SOLD Phantom Battery: Model Nox-7 SOLDAppearance: This curious item is a rectangular ceruleum-powered core encased in reinforced glass and brushed steel. Black aether coils writhe within, resembling smoke trapped in liquid. Occasional flashes reveal vague silhouettes drifting inside.Description: Developed during the tail end of the Bozjan rebellions, this experimental energy cell was infused with captive souls to prolong operation beyond known limits. It provides massive surges of magitek power but leaks volatile ghost-aether in proximity to the living. Some engineers swore the battery “screamed” under strain—others reported being touched by hands that weren't theirs.

Antiquities

These are the most extraordinary items offered at tonight's Tanabata Festival. Rare and powerful, they cannot be obtained easily. Mastering them will demand strength, determination, and dedication. Suggested quests for role-play flavor are included.

The Oracular Veil of Threnas Raal

Description:A relic woven from prophecy and shadow, worn once by a seer who spoke only in elegy, this is a translucent veil of ash-gray silk, impossibly fine and light, shot through with silver filaments that ripple like moonlight on water. It appears unremarkable at first, until held up to the eyes—at which point subtle symbols and tiny figures begin to move across the weave, like dancers or dying stars. When worn, it clings without weight and drapes over the wearer’s head and shoulders, though it can never be fastened—it always remains loose, as if ready to fall away.Features & Powers:- Prophetic Sight: When worn in stillness and silence, the veil grants glimpses of one possible future—not the most likely one, but the one most deeply feared by the target in view. The visions are wordless, fragmentary, and metaphor-laden: crows weeping blood, falling moons, shattered mirrors.- Echo Reading: Allows the wearer to view the lingering emotional aether of recently deceased souls, translating grief and longing into visual hallucinations around the corpse.- Elegiac Voice: Once per moon, the wearer may speak with the dead using only a poem or song. The dead respond in kind—never directly, and never with certainty.Origin & History:The Oracular Veil was woven in Thavnair nearly four centuries ago by the infamous prophetess Threnas Raal, who spoke only in sorrowful verse and wore no face in public. It is said she wept the silk herself—each strand a day of mourning, each knot a death. During the Year of Seven Fires, she foretold the death of the Satrap, the collapse of two great houses, and the betrayal of her own disciples.After she vanished into the sea on the day of her final prophecy, the veil was passed through black markets, tomb-looters, and cult leaders, often appearing before a great tragedy.Limitations & Dangers:- The veil cannot be worn in haste—it requires stillness and silence. Any noise or movement causes the vision to stutter or backlash.- Overuse causes a “mirroring” effect: the wearer begins to experience prophetic hallucinations outside of the veil, and may confuse past, present, and future.- Every time it is worn, one real, true memory is subtly overwritten with dream. The veil does not forget what it takes.- The dead who speak through the Elegiac Voice are not always benign. Some lie. Some beg. Some recognize the veil—and hate it.Suggested Quest: “The Faces Behind the Veil”After purchasing the Veil, the new owner begins experiencing a series of haunting dreams, all focused around a faceless woman weeping in a garden of statues. One night, the veil moves on its own, draping itself over the nearest sleeping person. A name is whispered: “Raal.”Following the dreams leads the players to a crumbled coastal shrine on the southern coast of Thavnair, long sealed beneath landslide and vine. There, they must navigate dreamlike memories, reliving moments from the prophetess’s life. Each chamber of the shrine changes based on who wears the veil—one player's fear becomes another's trial.In the final chamber lies a mirror sealed in chains, behind which a lingering echo of Threnas Raal still watches her own demise. To learn and unlock the veil’s true power—or destroy it forever—the players must offer one of their own memories to her… or unmake her prophecy, and rewrite fate.

The Pendulum of the Hollow Hour

Description:This suspended relic from a forgotten observatory that marks time not forward—but away. It is a weightless, double-ended pendulum encased within a floating brass ring. One end is a needle of quicksilver encased in crystal, constantly dripping backward into itself. The other is a shard of pale voidglass wrapped in red-threaded chains. The ring hovers a few fulms off the ground when undisturbed, rotating at an irregular rhythm. When approached, it emits an intermittent tick… tick… like a heartbeat out of sync. Shadows lengthen strangely around it.Features & Powers:- Chrono Detachment: The bearer may activate the pendulum once per day to remove a person, object, or event from the flow of time for up to 30 seconds. To the rest of the world, the target appears to vanish. To the target, the world becomes utterly still—but they remain aware.- Echo of What Will Be: When used near ruins, graves, or forgotten places, the pendulum swings in slow, wide arcs. The larger the swing, the more likely a "future fragment" manifests—an echo of what might one day happen there. These glimpses are not promises… but warnings.- Weightless Regret: Those who spend time near the pendulum find their memories slowly decoupling from sequence. They may recall things they’ve not yet done, or forget the order of their own lives. This effect is worse if they sleep near it.Origin & History:The Pendulum was recovered from the wreckage of an Allagan satellite observatory known only by its catalogue name: Observer Theta-N13, believed to have once hung in orbit above Meracydia. Records suggest it was used to study aetherial decay and measure timelines fracturing near rift activity.When the station fell—likely after a containment failure—scavengers discovered the pendulum in the wreckage, still suspended in the heart of a dead calibration chamber. The scholar who brought it back to civilization disappeared within a week. It is now carefully sealed within a time-locked vault which can only be open by blood sacrifice.Limitations & Dangers:- Temporal Instability: Use of the Chrono-Detachment causes the pendulum to swing more violently each time. Repeated use may result in unintended side effects—such as accelerated aging, missing time, or "double memory echoes" where the user remembers two versions of the same event.- Selective Reality: Prolonged use can cause “Timeline Drift,” where the bearer becomes misaligned with the world’s temporal thread. This begins subtly—missed details, wrong dates—but may escalate into full divergence.- It Tracks Its Own Use: A new scratch appears on the brass ring every time the pendulum is activated. When the final scratch reaches the beginning, it is said that time will take its due—though no one knows what this means.Suggested Quest: “The Thirteenth Swing”The party learns that the Pendulum bears twelve deep gouges, and a thirteenth is faintly etched—waiting to be completed. Each prior scratch corresponds with a known disaster or strange event in Eorzean history: the disappearance of an entire village, a sky that bled for an hour, a chronomancer who aged into dust overnight.When the thirteenth use becomes inevitable, a vision strikes the bearer: a city burning, a lover turning to ash mid-sentence, the stars realigning in reverse. Determined to stop it, the players must find the original creation laboratory—rumored to lie buried deep within Azys Lla—before the final swing completes.But the laboratory is not empty. A fragment of the original chronoscientist remains… stretched across possible futures, welcoming them all by name.