Between the Lines

Wednesdays 8PM - 10PM Central Time USAMateus - Shirogane - Ward 9 - Plot 46Teleport Anchors Available By Request

About

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, glowing eyes with their 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

With a warm smile and a glint in his eyes, Deryk is often rushing to help anyone who seems in need. In the library, at least. With his youth and eagerness to learn about almost everything, he can be a wonderful asset to anyone wandering the stacks of Between the Lines. Whether one is looking for a painter, that perfect tome to curl up with, or maybe just some general advice, Deryk is happy to help. The aura around him feels calm... happy... and infectious. Though, take care, the emotions you feel around him... may not be your own.

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.

Scarlett

Scarlett is a reserved Viera that doesn't necessarily seem eager to help anyone. However, she will reluctantly give out recommendations for spicy romances, if asked nicely. It is rumored and talked about in hushed tones that she knows her way around dark magics and rituals...
She is currently on vacation with her wife.

Mizuki

Mizuki is the newest librarian, and very enthusiastic about her position and wanting to help those find what they're looking for. She is a flourishing alchemist and creative thinker and problem solver. She is also the head of artifact procurement and is always looking for a lead for some rare item or trinket.
She is currently on vacation with her wife.

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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 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!

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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.

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Gallery

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Application

Interested in joining the Between the Lines staff? We invite you to step into our Discord server, where you can get to know our community, explore the atmosphere, and discover the various role play opportunities available. Within the server, you'll find the appointment desk, and please note that an in-character interview is required for all potential employees.Have caution; 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 is a morally gray-evil aligned Free Company. 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 21+ and to conduct themselves in a mature, respectful, and adult manner.

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Rules

1. You must be 21+ 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 lore.2. Be polite and respectful. No attacking allowed. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Kindness costs nothing. 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 premises.3. No politics, no religion, and no conspiracy theories about real life subjects. Want to theory-craft and discuss in game politics, religion and conspiracies? Have at it. But leave real life issues at the door. Invoking Godwin's Law is instant cause for banning.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. No public nudity nor public ERP is permitted on the premises during venue hours.5. No trolls allowed.6. Nothing under-aged allowed in an NSFW form. This is to include loli and shota images/writings. Anything under 18 years old is considered under-aged. The caveat to this rule is that historical and factual art and literary movements may be discussed in philosophical terms 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 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. Once again, kindness costs nothing.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 nor items, either in game nor real life. If this occurs, please immediately report it to a member of the staff.9. Consent is still vital, even in role play. While non-con RP scenes may take place, please be certain OOC that such a scene is welcome among all participants and witnesses. 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 role play 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 OOC that it isn't welcome, we ask you to please respect that. This venue is a place for FUN (evil) RP. If you wish to engage in conflict RP here, you MUST seek OOC consent of the staff and all participants and witnesses before doing so and, again, expect IC reactions to disruptive behavior.For any questions or concerns, please reach out to any staff member.

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Kugane Night Market

02 July 2026 - 7:00 PM CDT - Coeurl - Kugane, Rakuza District

Between the Lines offers esoteric books, rare tomes, and enigmatic curios at the Kugane Night Market—literature, lore, and lost relics for seekers of the arcane, the obscure, and the forgotten. But beware... come prepared to barter with more than mere gil if you wish to read between the lines...

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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 Testament of the Hollow ChoirAppearance: Bound in smooth, ash-gray leather that feels unnaturally warm to the touch, this heavy tome bears no title upon its cover. Delicate silver thread forms the likeness of thirteen faceless figures standing beneath a moonless sky. Its pages are black as soot, yet every letter gleams in pale white ink as though freshly written. The book emits no scent save the faint aroma of extinguished candles.Description: Penned by an unknown cult that vanished during the later years of the Sixth Astral Era, this manuscript details rituals said to summon a chorus of incorporeal voices capable of revealing forgotten memories. Each account insists the answers come at the cost of surrendering one cherished recollection forever. Scholars dismiss the work as elaborate fiction, though many copies are rumored to have disappeared from secured archives after their custodians began speaking with unseen companions.2. The Chains of PandaemoniumAppearance: Bound in black iron plates linked together by impossibly delicate silver chains, this imposing volume is far heavier than its size should allow. The metal is cold even when left beside a roaring hearth, and faint scratches across the cover resemble claw marks from something that desperately tried to escape. The pages are pressed from ivory parchment threaded with shimmering gold fibers. Every clasp bears a different ancient sigil, though none match any known modern alphabet.Description: Recovered from records believed to have survived the fall of ancient Elpis, the tome catalogs entities once deemed too dangerous to simply destroy. Rather than detailing how they were created, it focuses upon the elaborate methods devised to imprison them and the catastrophic consequences of failure. Many entries end with the same chilling notation: "Containment no longer guaranteed." Whether copied from genuine archival records or fabricated by a gifted storyteller, few readers finish the volume without glancing over their shoulder.3. SOLD - The Anatomicon of Amdapor - SOLDAppearance: Its cover is fashioned from polished white leather stretched over carved stone plates, giving it the unsettling weight of a brick. Intricate green filigree winds around an embossed lily, though portions have darkened as if touched by creeping mold. The parchment within is unnaturally smooth, almost resembling preserved skin. Every illustration appears more detailed the longer one studies it.Description: Compiled by forbidden healers during the twilight of Amdapor, this volume catalogs anatomical techniques meant to preserve life beyond all natural limits. Marginal notes describe experiments that blur the distinction between restorative magicks and grotesque transmutation. While many diagrams advanced early chirurgeons' understanding of anatomy, later additions venture into practices modern conjurers would deem abhorrent. Several pages have clearly been removed by previous custodians.4. SOLD - The Book of Endless Debts - SOLDAppearance: A slender volume wrapped in black velvet, its corners are reinforced with tarnished electrum. Purple stains seep through several pages despite never spreading further. The ink shimmers with subtle violet highlights that resemble drifting voidsent aether under lamplight. Its bookmark is braided from unfamiliar black hair.Description: Presented as a financial record belonging to a forgotten Mhachi noble house, the ledger gradually abandons mundane accounting in favor of contracts written with entities beyond the Source. Each bargain promises astonishing magical prowess while meticulously documenting increasingly devastating consequences. Whether authentic or merely inspired by Mhachi folklore remains fiercely debated among historians. Regardless, no surviving contract concludes favorably.5. Dreams Beneath PandæmoniumAppearance: This elegant crimson tome bears gilded geometric patterns unlike any modern script. Its pages are remarkably thin yet impossible to tear by ordinary means. When closed, faint whispers seem trapped somewhere between the leaves, only falling silent once someone places a hand upon the cover. A polished obsidian clasp depicts an eye without a pupil.Description: Claiming to preserve fragmented dreams recorded by researchers of ancient Elpis, the text explores entities deliberately erased from official memory. Every chapter ends abruptly, as though entire discoveries were excised by unseen editors. Readers frequently report vivid dreams featuring impossible corridors and voices pleading not to be remembered. Whether these visions are suggestion or lingering enchantment is impossible to determine.6. The Seventh ReflectionAppearance: Bound in flawless crystal that somehow bends without shattering, the book reflects its surroundings imperfectly. Faces glimpsed upon its surface always appear a heartbeat behind their owners. Silver pages produce no sound when turned. Fine fractures crawl across the cover yet never lengthen.Description: Attributed to refugees fleeing a doomed reflection, this manuscript chronicles civilizations erased before history could remember them. It argues that every shard leaves echoes capable of bleeding into neighboring realities under precise celestial alignments. A handful of entries correspond disturbingly well with Allagan records considered impossible to corroborate. The final chapter consists entirely of blank pages that some readers insist were once filled.7. SOLD - The Red Feast of Voeburt - SOLDAppearance: Deep burgundy leather covers this unsettling volume, decorated with elegant gold vines bearing crimson gemstones. Though the jewels resemble garnets, they remain warm like living flesh. Several pages display faint fingerprints that cannot be cleaned away. The edges are stained a dark rust-red.Description: Originating from the fallen kingdom of Voeburt upon the First, this noble banquet manual gradually transforms into a chronicle of decadence overtaken by Sin Eaters. Recipes give way to rituals celebrating eternal indulgence and impossible appetites. Historians value its early chapters for documenting aristocratic customs before catastrophe consumed the realm. Few willingly linger long enough to finish it.8. SOLD - The Chronicle of Saint Shiva's Last Dream - SOLDAppearance: Wrapped in pale blue vellum, the cover sparkles with frost despite never melting into water. Every page is cool enough to fog one's breath. Delicate silver calligraphy resembles frozen branches spreading across fresh snow. Tiny ice crystals gather along the spine during quiet evenings.Description: Unlike accepted Ishgardian accounts, this anonymous work claims to preserve the final private visions experienced by Saint Shiva herself. The narrative blurs memory, prayer, and prophecy until no distinction remains between woman and primal. Several passages suggest revelations the Holy See deliberately suppressed during earlier centuries. Whether blasphemous fabrication or forgotten testimony remains fiercely contested.9. RESERVED - The Nameless Grimoire of Gelmorra - RESERVEDAppearance: This squat volume is wrapped in cracked bark instead of leather, with living moss still clinging to its spine. Faint spores drift into the air whenever it is opened, though they quickly dissolve into harmless motes of aether. The script appears to have been carved directly into thin wooden sheets rather than written with ink. Its scent is that of damp earth after rainfall.Description: Said to have belonged to one of Gelmorra's earliest hedge mages, the grimoire teaches obscure techniques for conversing with the restless spirits dwelling beneath the Twelveswood. Marginal warnings repeatedly caution readers never to ask a spirit its true name. Later owners added increasingly frantic notes insisting some conversations continued long after the book had been closed. The final entry ends in the middle of a sentence.10. The Final Sermon of Cardinal LidoiretAppearance: This stately book is wrapped in pristine white leather adorned with embossed golden wings that have begun to blacken around the edges. The gilding catches the light beautifully, though shadows seem to linger unnaturally long upon its pages. Crimson silk ribbons divide the text into numerous bookmarked sections, each ending in handwritten annotations made centuries apart. The scent of incense clings stubbornly to the binding.Description: Purportedly written in secret during the final days before the Dragonsong War reached its terrible climax, this forbidden manuscript presents an alternate theological doctrine that was never sanctioned by the Holy See. It argues that faith, if wielded without restraint, could elevate mortal kings beyond the gods themselves. Several passages foreshadow events that would later unfold with unsettling accuracy, while others describe rites conspicuously absent from Ishgardian history. The Vault officially denies the work ever existed, making surviving copies exceptionally coveted among collectors of heretical literature.

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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 Whispering Astrolabe of SharlayanAppearance: Fashioned from polished electrum and inlaid with sapphire, this exquisite astrolabe remains perfectly balanced no matter how it is held. Tiny constellations drift across its rings as though the night sky itself had been imprisoned within. When exposed to moonlight, the instrument quietly turns of its own accord. No maker's mark has ever been found upon its frame.Description: This peculiar device was allegedly confiscated from an Archon whose celestial observations became increasingly erratic. Rather than charting the heavens above, the astrolabe is said to align itself with stars that no longer exist—or perhaps have yet to be born. Astrologians who have attempted to follow its guidance report dreams of impossible skies and unfamiliar constellations. Whether it predicts the future or recalls forgotten ages remains an open question.2. The Lantern of Lost ReturnAppearance: An ornate brass lantern encasing pale blue crystal instead of glass, its flame burns without oil or wick. The light it casts is soft and comforting, though shadows stretch far longer than they should. Fine Ishgardian engravings spiral around the handle, interrupted by symbols that appear much older. The lantern is always pleasantly warm.Description: Recovered from an abandoned caravan crossing Coerthas, the lantern was believed to guide travelers safely through blizzards. Survivors later insisted it led only those burdened by regret toward places they could never truly return. Every documented owner eventually abandoned it in the wilderness, only for the lantern to reappear years later in another collector's hands. It has never shown signs of age.3. SOLD - The Ivory Mask of Voeburt - SOLDAppearance: Carved from flawless white ivory, this elegant half-mask bears delicate gold filigree surrounding empty eyeholes lined with silver. Hairline cracks spread across its surface like frozen lightning but never deepen. Holding the mask to one's face reveals faint laughter that cannot otherwise be heard. Despite its age, it remains immaculate.Description: Once worn during noble masquerades upon the First, the mask was said to reveal the wearer's truest desires rather than conceal their identity. Tales claim every celebration at which it appeared ended in betrayal, obsession, or tragedy. Later generations refused to destroy it, fearing that breaking the mask would simply release whatever curse lingered within. It has since become a favorite subject of collectors fascinated by Voeburt's downfall.4. SOLD - The Bell of the Silent Temple - SOLDAppearance: Cast from dark bronze with veins of silver running through its surface, this handbell bears intricate lotus motifs worn nearly smooth with age. Though perfectly intact, it produces no audible sound when rung. Instead, those nearby often pause as if listening to something far away. The wooden handle has been replaced numerous times.Description: According to Hingashi folklore, the bell once hung within a secluded temple whose monks vowed never to speak aloud. Pilgrims believed its silent chime carried prayers directly to the kami without mortal voices interfering. Records suggest the monastery vanished after an unexplained earthquake, leaving only the bell behind. Some still ring it before making impossible decisions.5. SOLD - The Goblet of Forgotten Guests - SOLDAppearance: Hammered from blackened silver, this goblet is adorned with delicate grapevines whose leaves appear wilted despite meticulous craftsmanship. The inside remains brilliantly polished, reflecting faces with uncanny clarity. No liquid poured into it ever seems to reach the brim. A faint scent of wine lingers despite repeated cleaning.Description: Legends claim the chalice belonged to an Ala Mhigan noble who sought immortality through forbidden rites rather than noble deeds. Every feast hosted in its presence reportedly ended with one guest mysteriously absent from memory. Historians have found no record identifying these supposed victims, lending the tale an unsettling plausibility. The inside of the chalice has never tarnished.6. The Key Without a LockAppearance: Forged from pale gold alloy unlike any modern metal, this slender key bears no teeth recognizable to contemporary locksmiths. Intricate Allagan circuitry winds beneath its translucent surface, glowing faintly whenever held near ancient machinery. It is surprisingly warm to the touch. No corresponding lock has ever been discovered.Description: Believed to predate the fall of the Allagan Empire, the key appears in excavation records across multiple continents despite never remaining in one place for long. Engineers insist it serves no practical function, while treasure hunters devote fortunes searching for whatever it might open. Several expeditions vanished after claiming to have located its destination. The key alone always returns.7. SOLD - The Hourglass of the Twelve Moons - SOLDAppearance: This elegant crystal hourglass contains silver sand that flows upward as often as it falls downward. Tiny flecks of light drift among the grains like captured stars. The ebony frame bears twelve carved symbols, one for each moon of the year. None have suffered even the slightest wear.Description: Stories insist the hourglass belonged to a wandering mage obsessed with delaying fate itself. Those who watch the sand long enough frequently lose track of how much time has passed around them. While no one has successfully halted time using the artifact, many scholars admit its behavior defies ordinary explanation. The sand has never diminished.8. SOLD - The Mirror of the Unseen Court - SOLDAppearance: This tall hand mirror is framed in polished silver entwined with flowering vines wrought so fine they seem alive. The glass itself possesses an unusual depth, reflecting candlelight with a soft lavender hue rather than golden. No dust ever settles upon its flawless surface, and the reflection always lingers for the briefest instant after one steps away. An inscription in forgotten Allagan script circles the reverse, though portions have been deliberately chiseled away.Description: Discovered sealed within the forgotten vault of an abandoned manor in Mor Dhona, the mirror is rumored to reveal those who stand just beyond the veil separating the Source from unseen realms. Most viewers see only fleeting silhouettes dressed in courtly attire, while a rare few insist the figures acknowledge their presence with graceful bows. Scholars argue the apparitions are merely lingering aetheric impressions, yet every documented owner eventually reported recognizing one of the silent courtiers before abruptly refusing to speak of the experience again. The mirror is kept veiled in a large, dark purple velvet, draw-string purse.9. SOLD - The Rose Compass of Radz-at-Han - SOLDAppearance: Crafted from gilded brass and crimson enamel, this beautifully ornate compass bears no cardinal directions upon its face. Instead, intricate floral patterns surround a single ruby needle that constantly shifts despite remaining perfectly level. The lid is engraved with alchemical symbols partially worn away by age. Its hinge moves without the slightest sound.Description: Created by an eccentric alchemist seeking hidden wonders rather than distant lands, the compass reportedly points toward whatever its bearer desires most. Unfortunately, it offers no distinction between noble aspirations and dangerous obsessions. Several explorers credited it with discovering forgotten treasures before later disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Others refused to use it after realizing where it truly wished to lead them.10. The Marionette of the Empty SeatAppearance: Standing scarcely two fulms tall, this finely carved wooden puppet wears faded noble attire embroidered with silver thread. Its porcelain face bears a serene smile that appears subtly different each time it is observed. The strings remain perfectly untangled despite having no visible puppeteer. Dust never settles upon its polished surface.Description: Acquired from an abandoned manor in the Black Shroud, the marionette is believed to have entertained children of a long-forgotten household. Servants' journals later described hearing quiet applause echo through empty rooms after sunset. Whether enchanted for harmless amusement or something considerably more unsettling has never been determined. Rumors claim pulling its strings may change one's future... for good or for ill.

• Kugane Night Market

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.

SOLD - The Codex of the Final Convocation - SOLD

"Some books preserve history. This one preserves the moments history has erased."
—Inscription found upon the inner coverDescription:Bound in white leather unlike any known beast hide, the Codex of the Final Convocation is reinforced with bands of polished white auracite which softly shimmer beneath moonlight. Its pages are impossibly thin yet cannot be torn, stained, or burned by mundane means. The text is penned in immaculate Ancient script, but each reader perceives the words in a language they understand without the aid of translation magicks.Curiously, no two scholars ever agree on the exact number of chapters. Some insist there are twelve, others fifteen, while a handful claim entire sections appeared only after prolonged study. When the tome is closed, its gilded title vanishes completely, leaving only a blank cover until another worthy reader opens it.Features & Powers:- Echoes of Forgotten Truths: The Codex allows its reader to witness brief Echo-like visions of events deliberately erased from recorded history. These visions cannot be altered but often reveal crucial context surrounding ancient mysteries.- Universal Translation: Every reader perceives the manuscript in their native tongue, regardless of its original language.- The Scholar's Memory: Facts learned directly from the Codex are retained with supernatural clarity, resisting magical manipulation or ordinary forgetfulness.- Veil of Concealment: Those lacking sufficient aetheric sensitivity perceive the Codex as an ordinary blank journal, making it nearly impossible for casual thieves to recognize its true value.- Judgment of the Convocation: Once in a great while, the tome quietly alters a single sentence after being read, as though correcting its own account in response to revelations yet to occur.Origin & History:According to scattered legends preserved within the deepest archives of Sharlayan, the Codex was compiled during the final days of the civilization of Ancients. Rather than serving as an official record, it was entrusted to an unnamed keeper whose duty was to preserve knowledge deemed too dangerous (or too painful) to survive the coming calamity.Following the Sundering, the manuscript disappeared from all reliable historical records. It has resurfaced only a handful of times over the millennia, each appearance coinciding with periods of great upheaval: the rise of Allag, the War of the Magi, the Dragonsong War, and the Final Days. Every known owner eventually vanished, though the Codex itself always found its way into another forgotten collection.Limitations & Dangers:- The Codex never reveals answers the reader seeks directly. Instead, it presents forgotten events whose significance must be interpreted.- No reader may safely consult the manuscript more than once per turning of the moon. Additional readings result in severe aetheric exhaustion, migraines, and vivid waking hallucinations.- Some visions depict tragedies with such clarity that readers struggle to distinguish memory from firsthand experience.- Attempting to copy or magically duplicate its contents causes the reproduced text to dissolve into meaningless script within moments.- Legends claim the Codex occasionally omits individuals entirely from its accounts. Whether these omissions are accidental or intentional remains one of its greatest mysteries.Suggested Quest"The Missing Page"Rumors spread throughout Kugane that there is an impossibly rare codex whose final chapter has vanished. Masked agents have been quietly inquiring about the missing page, offering fortunes in gil while refusing to identify themselves.The truth is the page was never physically removed... it simply ceased to exist.Players must follow a trail of forgotten archives stretching from the Great Gubal Library to the Crystal Tower, uncovering Echo fragments that reveal the page was hidden not in a place, but within the memories of those who once read it. As more fragments are restored, it becomes apparent that the missing passage describes an artifact believed destroyed long ago... one capable of altering the boundary between reflections.In the end, adventurers must decide whether to restore the Codex to its complete form, allowing dangerous knowledge to return to the world, or preserve the secret by consigning the final memory to oblivion once more.

SOLD - The Unmoored Diadem - SOLD

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.

• Kugane Night Market

Featured Collection

Fortune’s Reckoning: From Calamity to Dawn

From the ashes of the Calamity to the bright shores of Tural, luck has shaped the Fate of the Star as surely as blade or spell. In this sweeping Fate and Fortune anthology, gamblers, scholars, soldiers, and dreamers chase fortune—only to learn that every blessing bears a cost. Coins turn, cards fall, crystals gleam, and the scales of Fate never rest.When the Star tilts, who truly profits… and who pays the reckoning?

1. The Spinner’s SmileAuthor: Calixte VannAppearance: This is a slim, gilt-edged volume bound in deep desert red leather, embossed with twin mirrored scales and a single gold coin is set into the cover. The coin is slightly tarnished, as if handled too often. The page edges are dusted in metallic pigment that catches the light like Ul’dahn gil. A faint scent of myrrh clings to the binding.Description: In the wake of the Calamity, an Ul’dahn gambler survives ruin with only a single coin bearing the mark of Nald'thal. Every wager thereafter turns in his favor, lifting him from the Quicksand’s gutters into the Syndicate’s glittering shadows. Yet the more fortune he amasses, the more tragedy stalks those around him. Luck, he learns, is never gifted freely—it is tallied.2. Salt on the WindAuthor: Mariswyda BloefhiswynAppearance: Bound in weather-worn blue cloth, it is stiff with salt stains along the spine. The cover bears a silver compass rose whose needle always seems slightly off-center. The pages are thick, textured like old nautical charts, with deckle edges. A pressed sea-lily marks the title page.Description: A young Maelstrom deckhand of Limsa Lominsa survives three impossible shipwrecks. Sailors murmur that Llymlaen guides her steps across drowning decks. But when a fourth disaster leaves her the sole survivor, suspicion curdles reverence. Is she divinely favored—or does catastrophe follow in her wake?3. The Far Edge of FortuneAuthor: Ser Alardoux de BrumeAppearance: Bound in white vellum stamped with a silver dragon’s eye, the iris is inset with a pale crystal chip. The spine is reinforced with steel corners, giving it a martial weight. Frost-blue ribbon bookmarks trail from the top. The pages are edged in icy gray.Description: During the Dragonsong War, a lowborn knight who won his spurs through valor survives battles that fell nobles and veterans alike. Each miraculous escape earns him acclaim—and isolates him further. When whispers of heresy follow his victories, he begins to question whether his fortune stems from faith or a forgotten draconic bargain. Some luck is merely borrowed time.4. Threads of the TwelveswoodAuthor: Eirlys DuskwillowAppearance: The soft green leather of the cover of this book is etched with curling vinework and threaded through with real silver filaments. The title is written in flowing script reminiscent of conjurers’ grimoires. A pale wooden clasp carved in the shape of a leaf keeps it closed. The pages are faintly perfumed with cedar.Description: In the shadow of Gridania, a weaver believes her flawless creations are proof of divine favor from Nophica. Every gamble she takes prospers; every risk yields beauty. But when her good fortune begins to unravel others’ livelihoods, she must decide whether luck is blessing—or imbalance within the Wood. The elementals always demand harmony.5. The Jade Coin ConspiracyAuthor: Hanzo no RikuAppearance: A pale jade silk cover with a minimalist ink painting of a coin tumbling through falling cherry blossoms binds this orihon. A narrow obi wraps the book, stamped with patterns golden fans. The paper is smooth and cream-toned, the flowing Hingashi caligraphy elegant, written by a skilled hand.Description: In Kugane, a street thief steals a jade coin said to guarantee prosperity. Soon, every risk she takes succeeds—until powerful officials begin to suffer astonishing misfortune. As the Sekiseigumi close in, she discovers the coin was forged to redirect fate itself. Fortune in Hingashi is a blade: elegant, precise, and double-edged.6. A Hand of Painted CardsAuthor: Lucien VauborelAppearance: This is a theatrical hardback bound in deep violet with gilded card suits worked into the cover. The spine features a masked figure in gold leaf. The fore-edge painting reveals a carnival scene when fanned. Inside, chapter headers are styled like tarot spreads.Description: Within the glittering illusions of a traveling troupe which performs across war torn Ala Mhigo, mysteries unfold. Their fortune-teller’s predictions are never wrong—until she foresees her own death and cannot change it. As rebellion stirs, she learns that luck may bend before will, but never without consequence. Some cards cannot be discarded.7. The Gilded ProbabilityAuthor: Professor Rhendric ThorneAppearance: A pristine Sharlayan-printed tome with indigo binding and geometric gold embossing, the margins are filled with meticulous diagrams and mathematical formulae. The paper is crisp, nearly luminous. A brass clasp shaped like a star seals it shut.Description: In Old Sharlayan, a scholar attempts to quantify luck as a measurable aetheric phenomenon. His experiments begin subtly—dice rolls, coin flips, battlefield simulations. But when he successfully manipulates probability itself, global events shift in quiet, catastrophic ways. Knowledge may predict fate; it should never command it.8. Fortuna in the FirstAuthor: Nyelbert QuillAppearance: Bound in a pearlescent white cover that gleams faintly in darkness, the pale silk is etched with crystalline patterns reminiscent of the Flood of Light. The pages shimmer subtly, as though dusted in powdered crystal. The binding thread is pale lavender. A single silver bookmark dangles like a shard.Description: On the sundered world of The First, a miner discovers a crystal that bends fortune toward hope. Crops flourish, monsters falter, and despair lifts wherever it is carried. Yet each miracle drains light from the sky itself. To save a world, how much luck can one spend?9. The Last Bet at the End of DaysAuthor: Cidre LavoisAppearance: This tome is bound in charcoal-black leather with constellations mapped in silver foil across the cover. The edges are dyed a deep violet, like a fading starfield. The font is stark and modern, stamped in white. The interior pages feature faint astronomical charts in the margins.Description: As the Final Days loom, a Garlean refugee insists he can predict which cities will fall. His “guesses” save thousands—until they begin to fail. Haunted by visions tied to distant Stars, he must confront whether hope itself is the truest gamble. At the universe’s brink, survival is chance made manifest.10. Dawn’s Fortunate TideAuthor: Itotia KeshAppearance: A vibrant turquoise and gold cover inspired by Turali motifs with wave patterns embossed in raised lacquer gives this book a brilliant appearance. Bright woven threads reinforce the spine. The pages are thick and sun-warmed in hue. An iridescent feathered tassel bookmark completes the design.Description: In the distant lands of Tural, an explorer joins a Mamool Ja rite which determines leadership by trials of chance. Each competitor is granted a charm said to tilt fate. But as the trials escalate, it becomes clear that the charms amplify not luck—but intent. In a new world, fortune favors the bold… and exposes the false.

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Starlight Market

18 Dec 2025 - 6 PM CST - Mateus - Coerthas Central Highlands -
First Dicasterial Observatorium

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... Dare to read between the lines...

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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. The Veins of Silver Truth – Anonymous (attributed to a defector of the Heavens’ Ward)Appearance: This slim volume is bound in silvery-red wyvern leather, the color tarnished as though intentionally dulled. Its pages shimmer faintly like dragon scales in moonlight, a quality alchemists cannot replicate. The script is written in tight, slanted penmanship, sometimes smudged as though penned in haste. A handetched symbol—half dragon eye, half Ishgardian winged crown—marks the final page.Description: The manuscript claims direct testimony from a former knight who witnessed the ambush that betrayed Ratatoskr. It details how the “power of the wyrm’s eyes” was not granted by the Fury but stolen through butchery. The author asserts that the Church knew the consequences of provoking Nidhogg and weaponized the conflict to solidify eternal zealotry. Several passages speak mournfully of comrades who repented too late, driven mad by wyrmblood consumption.2. The Hymn of Broken Wings – Sister Euphranie of the Violet CloisterAppearance: This is a soft leather book dyed deep violet, its cover carved with feather motifs scorched by fire. Several edges are charred from failed burnings before it was smuggled out of the Vault. Ink varies between violet and rust-red, suggesting the author wrote during fugitive flights. A pressed feather—too large to belong to any Ishgardian bird—is hidden between the final pages.Description: Written by a disgraced nun, the text weaves prayer-like verse with historical testimony. Euphranie argues that the Fury never sanctioned dragon-slaying, and that Ishgard turned from Her will centuries ago. She charts the systematic silencing of clergy who questioned the official teachings, naming several archbishops by coded monikers. Allegedly, she had visions of Ratatoskr’s agony that the Church deemed “wyrmsent delusion.”3. Drakesong Resplendent: The Last Words of Ratatoskr – Scholar Pelligrim de FaunesseAppearance: Bound in pale drake-hide and lacquered with iridescent pigment, this text seems to glow when exposed to firelight. The pages are resilient and oily, rumored to be water-proofed with tears harvested from the Churning Mists. The lettering alternates between elegant calligraphy and frantic marginal notes. A rough illustration of a majestic serpentine form adorns the frontispiece.Description: Faunesse claims to have deciphered “aural memories” embedded in Ratatoskr’s lingering aether. He presents full monologues attributed to the wyrm—empathetic, hopeful, and pleading for coexistence. The book condemns the Twelve Knights for mutilating her in ritual fashion, describing techniques too detailed to be fanciful. Many scholars call the work madness, yet several descriptions align with lost Allagan bio-arcane practices.4. The Frosted Mask of Saints – Maribelle HaurchontAppearance: The cover is a mosaic of cracked white lacquer over dark wood, resembling a shattered mask. Cold to the touch even indoors, the book is rumored to retain the chill of the Coerthan high snows. Inside, elegant spacing contrasts sharply with violently slashed-out passages. A broken rosary bead is glued to the inner cover.Description: This exposé dismantles the mythology surrounding the Knights Twelve, claiming they were not paragons but conspirators in a political coup. Maribelle traces the false sainthood bestowed upon them as a calculated tactic to rewrite Ishgardian succession. She provides heraldic diagrams linking noble houses to bloodlines that profited directly from the wyrm’s murder. The Church executed her within days of publication, but copies endure.5. White Hell, Crimson Truth – The “Azure Penitent"Appearance: This large, heavy tome is bound in bleached vellum stained with faint crimson splotches. Brass clasps shaped like snarling dragons attempt—and fail—to hide the cracks along the spine. The handwriting varies wildly, as though several people contributed while in hiding. Several pages have been replaced with new parchment patched over older text.Description: A collective work by anonymous dissidents fleeing from Temple Knights’ persecution. It chronicles the earliest years of Ishgard, painting a picture of desperation and opportunism rather than divine crusade. The authors argue that Thordan stole Ratatoskr’s power to unify the fracturing nobility under a single war banner. Its final section contains an unfinished call for reconciliation that abruptly ends midsentence.6. The Ravaged Pact – Magus Thoirel of the ObservatoriumAppearance: This book is bound in midnight-blue leather with constellations faintly embossed in silver, though many stars are scraped away as if censored. The parchment crackles like thin frost when turned. A long diagonal scorch mark mars the back cover. Scraps of astronomical charts are folded throughout as bookmarks.Description: Thoirel argues that the original pact between mortals and dragons was one of shared skyward dominion, not conflict. He presents celestial data suggesting that the dragons altered their migrations to avoid mortal settlements—contradicting Church propaganda. The text meticulously cross-references star charts with ancient Coerthan travel routes, implying cooperation long forgotten. Thoirel was declared a void-cultist for “star-warped heresy.”7. Twelve Spears Dripping – The Outcast of Falcon’s NestAppearance: This crude text is wrapped in stitched sheep hide and sealed with iron nails shaped like spearheads. Many pages are spattered with old ink that looks almost brown-black. Marginal illustrations depict knights with faces scratched out violently. The final pages are water-damaged, smelling faintly of cave moss.Description: It is a graphic, near-ballad recounting of Ratatoskr’s murder, described with brutal specificity. The anonymous author insists he found carvings—now destroyed—depicting the ritualized dismemberment. He denounces Thordan as a tyrant cloaking atrocity in sanctimony, claiming the war was engineered to mask internal purges among noble houses. The Church declared mere possession of the book a capital crime.8. The Dragon’s Lament in ThriceWoven Tongue – Quillmaster SelanneAppearance: A trifold codex bound along three spines, each segment opening in different directions. Ink colors shift depending on the angle of light, producing a prismatic sheen. The central section is written in an invented “draconic cipher.” A dragon-bone hairpin acts as a builtin clasp.Description: Selanne composes a syncretic text comparing mortal, draconic, and clerical accounts of the same events. Her work claims linguistic tampering by the Church erased subtleties in the dragons’ warnings and pleas. She includes speculative reconstructions of ancient wyrm dialects offering peaceful compromise. The Vault deemed the linguistic approach “depraved imitation of heretical tongues.”9. Ashes of the Skyborne Pact – Artoirel’s Lost Scholar (Pseudonym)Appearance: Wrapped in sky-blue silk embroidered with silver thread, the book feels fragile as though made for ceremony rather than use. Many pages are singed along the edges, as if the text barely survived a purge. Elegant diagrams of Ishgard’s founding towers are interspersed between chapters. A handwritten dedication simply reads: “For those with eyes unclouded.”Description: This text focuses on the original diplomatic attempts between Ishgard’s founders and Hraesvelgr’s brood. It depicts decades of cooperation, trade routes, and shared rites before Thordan’s faction seized power. The author accuses the Holy See of erasing multiple generations of peaceful coexistence to fabricate an eternal holy war. Scholars speculate the pseudonym hides a highborn defector.10. The Unblessed Chronicle – “The Last Scribe of the Forgotten Vault”Appearance: A heavy iron-bound manuscript sealed with a lock long since broken. The interior pages are made of thick, darkened parchment, some patched with scraps of cathedral hymnals. Its ink is faintly metallic, glittering like powdered dragon scale. The air around it smells faintly of ozone and incense.Description: This chronicle boldly asserts that Ishgard’s entire religious foundation is built on sacrilege. It lays out how Thordan’s regime rewrote doctrine, suppressed testimonies of Ratatoskr’s benevolence, and weaponized the Fury’s image. The scribe warns that the dragons’ rage was justified and that absolution lies only through truth, not bloodshed. Rumor claims the author died sealing the original Vault chamber where the text was penned.

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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. These strange relics hum, whisper, or breathe with forgotten power. One may find what they desire… but nothing comes without a cost...

1. Ratatoskr’s Whisper-stoneAppearance: A smooth, palmsized stone of pearlescent white that shimmers with faint pastel colors when warmed by touch. Runic script spirals around its surface in an ancient wyrm-tongue older than Ishgard itself. Frosted breath gathers on the stone even in warm rooms, and faint echoes of distant song sometimes seep from it.Description: The Whisper-stone holds fragments of Ratatoskr’s emotional aether—her curiosity, joy, and trust in mortals. When attuned, the bearer hears empathic impressions from dragons nearby and cannot bring themselves to strike a draconic being in anger. The Church considers it treasonous for undermining the Fury’s “holy mandate” of dragon-slaying. Possessing one is grounds for immediate execution.2. The Tears of the Forsworn WyrmlingAppearance: A crystalline vial containing three suspended droplets of shimmering aqua liquid. The vial’s stopper is carved like a dragon hatchling’s closed eyelid. When exposed to moonlight, the droplets pulse softly like beating hearts.Description: Said to be the crystallized tears of a wyrmling abandoned after the betrayal of Ratatoskr, these tears can heal wounds scarred by draconic fire. They also reveal illusions and false aetheric glamours—including those woven by the Church. Clerics condemn the item as “wyrm-sent deceit,” and any healer caught using it is branded a heretic.3. The Song-shard of HraesvelgrAppearance: A jagged shard of translucent sapphire aetherglass humming with a deep, harmonic resonance. Golden veins of aether pulse within it like a heartbeat. When held to the ear, it emits faint, mournful notes of a long-forgotten draconic hymn.Description: This relic amplifies the wielder’s magic through harmonization with draconic frequencies. It can calm beasts, dispel anger, and even suppress the effects of the wyrm’s eyes when near someone touched by them. The Church fears the shard because it promotes peace rather than holy war, contradicting centuries of dogma.4. The Unburnt Codex TabletAppearance: A flat stone tablet carved from a material resembling obsidian but faintly translucent. Draconic glyphs glow emberred across its surface, reforming themselves when not observed. It remains warm, as if resting on coals, yet never burns.Description: The tablet is said to hold a firsthand account of Ratatoskr’s final hours told in wyrm-tongue. Anyone who studies it long enough finds their perspective shifting toward empathy with dragonkind. The Church has tried—and failed—multiple times to destroy it, each attempt leaving only scorch marks on nearby walls.5. Thordan’s Betrayer BrandAppearance: A small iron brand shaped like a broken spear surrounded by feathered wings. The metal appears rusted, but flakes regenerate when removed. When heated, the brand glows sickly green instead of red.Description: Used by an unknown dissident sect, this brand reveals the “stain of treachery” on those who have consumed draconic aether. When pressed to flesh, it exposes scales beneath the skin for several breathless seconds. The Church bans it because it can reveal past wyrmblood corruption among the Heavens’ Ward and noble families.6. The Frost-vein ChaliceAppearance: A chalice sculpted from pure Dragonsong-ice—never melting, cold enough to frost breath at a distance. Tiny veins of azure run through the bowl like living arteries. When liquid is poured inside, it freezes in an intricate crystalline flower pattern.Description: This chalice was used in pre-war rites of communion between mortals and dragons. Anyone who drinks from it hears fleeting whispers of ancient wyrm-voices, often expressing confusion over Ishgardian hostility. The Church prohibits it, calling it a vessel of “soul corruption” meant to turn hearts away from the Fury.7. The Last Feather of Ser Haldrath, UnbrokenAppearance: A pristine white feather encased in a thin aetheric ward, its surface unaged despite centuries. Under certain lighting, the feather casts the shadow of a dragon’s wing rather than a bird’s. The feather vibrates softly when near draconic aether.Description: The feather is said to be from Ser Haldrath's helm before he slew Nidhogg’s broodkin in the company of his father, Thordan I, and the Knights Twelve—and before he was twisted by wyrm’s blood. It radiates gentle, reassuring aether that dispels fear and fanaticism. The Church suppresses it because it contradicts the legend of Haldrath’s unwavering zeal in serving as the first Azure Dragoon and fighting against the draconic horde.8. The Heart-string TorcAppearance: A torc of woven silver and blackened steel shaped like intertwined serpentine forms. Its surface is etched with runes that move like shifting scales. When worn, the metal warms to the pulse of the bearer.Description: A relic said to have been forged from the armor of a knight who publicly repented the wyrm-slaying and died defending a dragon clutch. When attuned, the torc lets the wearer share emotions with bonded companions, akin to draconic telepathy. The Church bans it because it represents the possibility of kinship between mortal and wyrm.9. The Censer of the Unending MistsAppearance: A brass censer shaped like a coiled dragon clasping a crystal sphere. When lit, it releases pale blue smoke that swirls in elegant, deliberate patterns. The smoke sometimes forms faces—usually sorrowful.Description: The censer burns a rare incense that induces visions of the true events of the Dragonsong War. Many who have inhaled it claim to witness Ratatoskr’s death firsthand, through her own perception. The Church declares these visions “false dreams sent by the great wyrm Nidhogg,” but inquisitors fear the device more than they admit.10. The Echo of the Dawn-mount AegisAppearance: A round hand-mirror forged from silvered steel, its back engraved with a dragon curled protectively around a spire. The glass is slightly iridescent and reflects beings not as they are, but as they truly are. Sometimes a faint draconic eye opens behind the reflection.Description: The Aegis reveals hidden aetheric influences, including tempering, wyrmblood taint, and lies woven into memory. It is said to be one of the last relics of a knightly order that sought peaceful coexistence and was erased from the records. The Church hunts down any copy because it exposes glamours the clergy themselves rely on to perpetuate the official narrative.

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Antiquities

These are the most extraordinary items offered at tonight's Pearl Lane 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 Lament of Ratatoskr—The Weeping Eye

Description:The Weeping Eye is a fist-sized, teardrop-shaped crystal with a pearlescent surface that shifts between soft rose, gold, and moonlit silver. Within its core floats a slow-spinning iris of shimmering sapphire light, gently pulsing like a heartbeat. When held, the crystal hums with a low, mournful resonance—almost like a child’s lullaby distorted by sorrow. Touching it with bare skin leaves faint trails of shimmering aether like drifting motes of stardust.More unsettlingly, the Eye “weeps”: small droplets of golden liquid form upon its surface, evaporating quickly into fragrant steam.Features & Powers:- Empathic Revelation:The Eye allows the bearer to experience emotions and fragmented memories of dragons within several yalms. These impressions are overwhelming at first—waves of joy, grief, ancient memories of flight, and bone-deep sorrow connected to Ratatoskr’s death.- TruthPiercing Sight:The Eye can reveal glamours, lies woven in aether, and even cracks in false histories. When fully awakened, it can show historical visions tied to locations where wyrms and mortals once met.- Dragonsong Resonance:When near those who have consumed dragon blood (willingly or unwillingly), the Eye resonates sharply, producing a keening cry that echoes for several seconds. To those attuned, it reveals the lingering dragon aether threads in their bodies.- Draconic Harmonization:In rare moments, the Eye allows the bearer to communicate basic thoughts or emotions to dragons, bypassing language entirely.Origin & History:The Lament of Ratatoskr is believed to be a crystallized fragment of Ratatoskr’s aether—formed during the exact moment her lifeforce was torn away by Thordan and his knights. As her essence scattered, part of her soul’s emotional core coalesced into this tear-shaped crystal, infused with her final thoughts of betrayal, fear, and desperate hope that mortals might someday understand the truth.Ancient heretical texts suggest that the Eye was originally recovered by a nameless Elezen scholar who attempted to document the wyrm’s last vision. The Church hunted him relentlessly, branding him a seditionist and burning his home. The Eye vanished into myth—spoken of only in secret gatherings and resistance circles.Rumors claim it last surfaced in a hidden shrine deep in the Dravanian Forelands, glimpsed by a group of students from the Studium who were later declared missing. Officially, the Church denies such a relic ever existed.Limitations & Dangers:- Emotional Overload: Using the Eye for prolonged periods can drive even the strongest minds into despair, as Ratatoskr’s grief is vast and unrelenting. Many who attempted deep communion fell into catatonia after experiencing the wyrm’s murder through her own senses.- Aetheric Drain: Attuning to the Eye consumes significant personal aether. Overuse leads to exhaustion, nosebleeds, and soul-sickness.- Dragon Attraction: Dragons are drawn to the Eye’s presence—some curious, some enraged by its echo of Ratatoskr’s demise. Keeping it hidden is vital.- Church Attention: Possession of the Eye is instant capital heresy. The Vault keeps secret inquisitors trained specifically to sense its resonance.- Unstable Memories: The visions are not always chronological nor coherent. Some are metaphorical, others literal. It becomes easy to lose the line between past and present.Suggested Quest: “The Tear Beyond Time”Act I – The Rumor in SnowcloakAn Ishgardian antiquarian, pale with fear, seeks help delivering a sealed journal to someone he trusts in Idyllshire. The journal contains coded descriptions of a “weeping crystal” he uncovered in the Forelands—a relic he fears the Church will execute him over. Before he can speak further, Temple Knights storm the tavern, and he begs the party to flee with the journal.The party must piece together the clues in the journal to discover a hidden shrine sacred to Ratatoskr where the Eye has been long hidden. Elite Church Inquisitors are hot on the heels of anyone possessing the journal. The party needs to learn how to "open" the eye and awaken its power.Then... what does one do with it? Hide the Eye in a place beyond Church reach? Bring it to a dragon—perhaps even Hraesvelgr—for safekeeping? Use it to expose the Church’s lies, igniting political upheaval? Or attune to it personally, accepting the burden of Ratatoskr’s Lament?

The Shattered Spear of Vengeance—The Broken Fang

Description:The Broken Fang is a jagged spearhead forged of a strange alloy: half Ishgardian steel, half draconic scale-metal fused by extreme heat. Its uneven surface glints with alternating streaks of silver and deep cobalt blue, like frozen lightning. A hairline fracture runs down its center, glowing faintly with red-orange embers whenever it senses a lie spoken nearby.Though no longer attached to a haft, the spearhead radiates a predatory presence—one that feels neither wholly draconic nor fully mortal.Features & Powers:- Aetheric Echo of Betrayal: The Fang can project short, violent visions of past betrayals. Those who touch it may witness flashes of Thordan’s ambush, dragon-fire, and the clash of steel against wyrm-scale.- Truth-Tearing Pulse: The relic emits a sharp resonant vibration when someone knowingly speaks falsehoods around it. The stronger the lie, the stronger the vibration—enough to knock armored knights off their feet.- Wyrmsteel Memory: When exposed to draconic blood or aether, the Fang awakens further, revealing fragments of the battlefields from Ishgard’s forgotten conquests—scenes erased from scripture.- Violent Communion: In rare moments of intense emotional focus, the bearer can channel the Fang’s wrath for a single devastating strike, capable of shattering aetheric wards or breaking enchantments woven by the Church.Origin & History:Legend claims the Broken Fang is the snapped tip of the spear used by one of the original Knights Twelve, during the murder of Ratatoskr. When her death-throes unleashed waves of corrupted light and searing aether, part of her exposed bone and scales melted and fused with the weapon. The blast shattered the spear, and its front section was torn away and launched deep into the Dravanian riverlands.The Church tried to retrieve the shard for centuries, fearing its hybrid nature. Every expedition sent after it was met with mysterious sabotage—dragons stirring storms, freak avalanches, or inquisitors turning on each other under the Fang’s influence.Whispers claim a monk of Saint Valeroyant’s Monastery smuggled the Fang into the vaults beneath the monastery shortly before his death, calling it “proof that the First Betrayal was not victory, but sin.”Limitations & Dangers:- Wrathful Aether: The Fang is steeped in draconic rage. Weak-willed bearers may succumb to violent impulses, especially against those bearing Ishgardian holy symbols.- Unstable Visions: Revelations granted by the Fang are chaotic and traumatic. Many who commune with it lose sleep or suffer waking nightmares of wings and steel.- Aether Burn: Repeated use of the Truth-Tearing Pulse or Violent Communion scorches the wielder’s arm with burning blue runes, which fade only after days of rest.- Dragon Hostility: Some dragons view the Fang as a desecration of their kin. Others recognize it as Ratatoskr’s remains and react with deep sorrow or reverence.- Church Reprisal: Simply possessing the Fang is considered a blasphemy punishable by death. The Vault’s agents have standing kill orders for anyone linked to it.Suggested Quest: “The Spear That Shouldn’t Be”An elderly monk at Saint Valeroyant’s Monastery summons the party to his deathbed. He speaks in riddles of “a spear shard infused with a dragon’s dying light” and begs them to find it before the Inquisition does. His last breath forms a cryptic warning: “Do not let the Church mend what they shattered.” Can the party recover the Fang from the sealed catacombs under the montastery? What guardians might they encounter? If they escape with the Fang, dragons and Inquisitors may hunt them—for good or ill. They must discover where and how to unlock the true power of the Fang but the price to pay is experiencing Ratatoskr's death through both the memories and emotions of the wrym herself and the knight who helped to destroy her.

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Between the Lines ARPG

Between the Lines invites you into its year-long ARPG: a journey of mystery, eldritch scholarship, and hidden horrors beneath a veneer of civility. Earn rewards through storytelling, gposing, art, and investigation as you unravel the shadows that haunt the stacks.Join us in Discord for more information!

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