The First Step
[09-12-XX17] It was one hour past midnight when we finally arrived at Limsa Lominsa. A sailor stomped through the corridors, pounding on doors and bellowing to wake the passengers.
The children stirred first. The little ones were sleepy-eyed, clinging tightly to their parents. Were they here to begin a new life, or simply to enjoy a brief holiday by the sea? Then came the adventurers, bleary and groaning, reeking of cheap alcohol. No doubt they had spent the voyage in revelry, dreaming of fame and fortunes in the city of sails.
“Make sure you have your passports ready! The ship will only be here for two nights before we depart for Thavnair!”
The sailor’s voice carried in a thick Lominsan accent.
I sat up and checked my belongings once more, making sure I had all I needed:
A pouch of coins, 1,042 gil in total, my entire life’s savings.
A vial of antidote. One never knows how foreign food or drink might sit in the stomach.
A letter of recommendation, addressed to Guildmaster K’rhid Tia.
Four changes of clothes.
“We are now at Mealvaan’s Gate! Hurry it up, all of you! Wake up, wake up, and don’t forget your customs forms!”
And so, I took my first step onto Eorzean soil.
I could not have known then that I was stepping into a storm… a journey that would consume the next eight years of my life.
