Final Fantasy XIV: The Winter Calamity

I wouldn't be getting word on who was responsible for each paper for a while. I didn't mind this though, as I needed time to create a good shell company that would swallow Eorzea's media up. I would also need plenty of funds and a judge to help me write solid contracts. For that I'd need to see Momo-nee. My little big sister had the best knowledge when it came to legal matters. 

As for money, it would come in the form of solid assets. Things that would appreciate in value come the Calamity. If I picked the wrong assets, such as land, water, food, or anything essential, there would be a high likely-hood that the desperate and the powerful would come for my life. In addition, I wasn't a fan of that type of thing anyways.

Instead, I'd capitalize on the rich who had far too much money to burn. Momo-nee had connections with almost every business in Ul'dah. With these connections I had found unexpected characters that I connected with as soon as possible. Good business was all about relations. Very little of it had to do with what you were selling.

Some thought of themselves as above the Adventurers' guild, however after the Calamity, that very same guild would become the most powerful force on Eorzea. It is through the hands of the Adventurers' guild that an entire city-state could be burned to the ground or saved. Adventurers follow the gil. And who controlled which contracts got approved or denied? 

There was always the odd independent contract, but I worked my ass off with Momo-nee to set her work up in such a way that she wouldn't get screwed over with legal disputes and strangely forced settlements. I recalled there being such a thing connected to a Thanalan dungeon, but I couldn't recall which one. The Order of Nald'thal were Ul'dah's arbiters. They handled all things legal and justice related. 

One would think that they were somehow in the pockets of the Syndicate however if they were, the hands on their shoulders were light. Adventurer family members would come in all the time demanding compensation for the lost life of their, usually foolish, kin. While the Adventurers' guild had many benefits attached to it. Generous life insurance policies were not one of them. With how cheap life was in the Age of Calm, who on the star would dare to pay for you?

knock-knock-knock

"Sir High Priest?"

I looked up from my study. The Suns of Yda had taken up residency within the halls of what would eventually be known as, the Arcanists' guild. As their master was out and no one was coming in, I simply asked for the Church to occupy a part of the building to manage our operations for a time.

After all, without a guild master, technically they shouldn't even have the permit to occupy this building. If the authorities paid too much attention, it could be pretty nasty.

To help them with their rouse, I decided to act as their guild master in name and directly took his office and rummaged around his possessions. I just had to make sure he didn't leave anything around that could rot and stink up the whole building. Of course I wasn't looking for things to steal from that bastard and his annoying class quest-line.

I wasn't seeing anything surprising. Higher level Arcanist spells, documents about the lost city of Nym, theorizing its location, things of that sort. Something I was indulging in at the moment was more details about the previous Calamities. While there wasn't any new information, in fact, there was less than I knew, I found it important to brush up on my knowledge.

The years had taken a toll on my memory and I had to use my journal often to study and refresh. The one I brought with me was my 3rd copy. The first copy sat in my room in the Quicksand. The second copy was being held by my Minfilia. Everything was written in English. As long as Urianger didn't pop out of the Aether and take one to study for a few years, I had no concerns of anyone reading them.

"Yes?"

"The goddess has arrived! She wishes to grace you with her presence!"

Damn.

"Make way, do not hinder her footsteps. May the light set you free."

"May the light set you free!"

Yda Hext was a strange character. Her sister even more so. She was goofy, however she was still an Archon. Yda obviously had the mental acuity of any other Sharlayan. And yet she acted so bizarrely. Not that I minded.

"Winwin~"

I stood up to greet her. At the door. Her involvement wasn't really needed for the Suns to run. The ideology, a desire to live freely and unburdened, did most of the work. However she had somehow grown attached to her subjects. I had spotted her comforting a woman who had joined the Suns just yesterday. Such a gracious deity boosted the Suns' popularity. I would need to make a few orders for marble busts to serve as idols. Then I'd need to contact someone to make a kind of Rosary. 

I was hesitant to contact the Goldsmiths' guild. Maybe I would make them out of wood instead?

I opened the door and surprise, the one and only Yda appeared.

"Hey, Yda."

She jumped into my arms with a carefree smile on her face. Her pliable breasts pressed into me, making me very aware of how attractive she was. 

bite-suck-slurp

Yda softly bit down on my neck and sucked my skin like a leech. Not enough to leave a mark, but enough to taste me. I slowly dragged her into the room while she continued to go at my neck. 

pop

"Win-mmh!"

I decided to tongue wrestle after all. 

slururp kiiiisss sluurp pop kiiiss

Our mouth noises easily filled the room. Yda's tongue was softer than anything else I had experienced. I used my hands to explore her body, measuring her breasts, big enough to overflow from my hands. I squeezed and pushed using my palms to crush her hardened pink nipples. They were a bit darker than my Kan-E and Minfilia. 

"Mm! Mmmph! sluuuurp kisss mmmnnnph~"

Yda twisted and got more red as I massaged her supple breasts, I had already removed that cumbersome turban and mask, letting me see her full beauty on display. A thin nose and big watery azure eyes gazed at me with passionate heat. Her hair was a short bob, being held in place by a hairband that matched the color of her now loose bra. A minimal looking pale tattoo accented the left side of her face.

I moved my hands down her fit and tight form. Another difference between her and my women. As a woman skilled with her fists, she had developed a very lean body. Not to the point of developing abs, but not too far off either. Despite that, she still had the soft flesh of a woman. Beautiful curves that I slid my hands on and a round bubbly ass that I cradled carefully while rubbing my tongue along the inside of her cheek.

pop huff haah puff

We stayed close, looking each other in the eyes and trading breath.

kiss - pop

Yda would kiss me then pull back, inspecting my face carefully as she did so. 

kiss-slurrr-pop

It reminded me of how I explored my Kan-E. How I warmed her with kisses before drilling her mindlessly while squeezing her massive ass for dear life.

kiiiiss-sluuuur-pop

I unconsciously was squeezing Yda's ass while thinking about it. Her tongue was so soft. I wanted to know what it would feel like while working my cock. 

knock-knock

Yda tried to pull away suddenly, but I held her tight and started invading her mouth. I brought my hands back up and massaged her generous breasts. 

SLUUUURP KIISS MMMMNN KIIIISSS

"Sir High Priest? Are you there?"

She couldn't push me too hard or I'd get hurt, so she had to bear with it as long as I wanted. 

POP

I finally released her lips, but put my hands on her curved hips to hold her still. My cock, which was plenty hard at this point was poking her toned belly, but it would have to starve for now. I had things to do. Too many things to do.

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of communion. Is it important?"

"Ah! No Sir! Please continue, I shall return anon!"

I looked at Yda with a smile on my face. Her parted lips looked slightly swollen and her eyes were hazy, not exactly knowing where too look.

"Did you like it?"

I felt too amused not to ask. As it turned out, the best way to get this woman to calm down was something so simple. Her arms were still weakly wrapped around me, her daze, enduring. I carefully leaned back in to gently nibble on her bottom lip. Her heavenly tongue would softly stoke my upper lip and suck when she could.

---

After securing Yda's clothes and especially her turban I simply pushed her out of the room. My pants were still being stretched, but I really couldn't afford to fuck around and end up ready to sleep. I wanted to create the structure for my shadow company as soon as possible. The longer its presence is known within Eorzea, the better off we'd be.

But first, I had to establish the most critical part of the company that would form the foundation for how it's perceived.

A sick name.

Don't laugh, the name was easily the most important part of an organization. It could inspire differing emotions depending on who heard it and when. 

'... Should I just call it Shinra???"

No no no, that'd be lame. I wanted something original.

knock-knock

Hells bells!

"Come in."

It was the a different guy than the one from before. With reverence that I certainly didn't deserve, he handed me a letter.

"Thank you, brother. May the light set you free."

"Aye! May th' ight 'et ye free!!"

There's a sense of tactility that one could feel when they enter a productive state. Little "clicks" and "clacks" align in your mind, your fingers gain an extra sense, your thoughts grow orderly and "full". 

Something like that was certainly how I felt at the moment. Here in Limsa Lominsa, I had access to many contacts and methods that were too advanced for Gridania and too shadowy to be done in Ul'dah. I didn't want the Syndicate on my ass until I couldn't avoid them any longer.

"Rowena..."

Rowena was an incredibly important NPC, and likely one of the richest people on the star. Though that would happen after the Calamity. The current Rowena was a victim of the Butterfly Effect. 

When I still worked the Quicksand and ran Alchemy as a side hustle, I got the chance to meet many merchants and salt of the earth types in Ul'dah. Being associated with the god-king, Fridurih, opened many doors in the world of commerce. Merchants talked to each other in the currency of trust and to customers in the currency of gil. It was trust that earned me candid talks and extended discussions.

It was then that I met a woman who had been working as a weapon seller. I didn't recognize her, but she identified herself as Rowena. She was not just shy, but also wearing a linen smock. The same shabby clothing that I wore upon arriving in Ul'dah. It seemed strange that this woman, tanned and lacking in her glorious jewelry, was the same Rowena.

The story was supposed to go that she would fall in love with a legendary Blacksmith named Gerolt and follow him into exile or something of the like. I didn't know why he was exiled, but it was important that she followed him as they would get married afterwards. Then, her newly minted husband would steal her money to pay off crazy debts that she accrued while trying to follow him. Of course, he did this without telling her his intentions.

Yes, it was common sense, back once more to strike. I didn't understand that culture's obsession with someone doing good in the shadows, but this action would destroy their relationship and turn Rowena into a cold bitter businesswoman while her ex-husband would turn into a sad sack of shit who spent his days drinking his life away. 

That is, until your player comes along and "persuades" him to pick up his hammer to craft the most powerful gear in the game at the time. Zodiac Weapons.

But I had hit a snag. For some reason, after Gerolt was exiled, Rowena did not follow him. She just stopped doing business with his ex-master and friend. 

I had no idea what happened and it did make me panic for a while. I had potentially broken my chances to obtain the strongest weapons in the game. Even now I wasn't exactly sure how the future would play out. Without the crippling sadness of losing his wife, would he still be driven to drink? If he didn't become an alcoholic with a ruined life, could he be persuaded to make those powerful weapons?

As for Rowena, I had to roll with the punches and capitalize where I could. Her business sense was still sharp and so I continued to help her close deals and find new clients. I told her about something she would come to learn on her own, out there were rich bastards that loved to buy strange things. Artifacts, relics, tomes, and rare monster materials.

We forged a binding contract. As I had invested in her business from a pretty low point and demonstrated my belief in her ability, she allocated me 45% of her market share if she started to make more than 1 million gil a week.

We did this so she had enough gil to create runway and build out her business. While she was sharp, she wasn't perfect. I knew the future and how much money she would suck out of the star's pockets. Instead of letting her set a percentage per week, I put it at an, at the time, absurd number of 1 million a week. She was the one who slapped on the 45%. I suggested 30.

I wasn't sure where the favoritism came from, but I was happy to take part. Our business relationship was born and from there we would send correspondence back and forth.