Well, hello there... What's this!? I can't believe I just found my journal under my magna armor in this old coffer that's been sitting in the corner of my Mog House! It's been a few years since I've seen this journal and now that the dust is off, I can't believe I left it to moulder in storage so long.

Looking back through the pages, I recall fond (and painful) memories of the many adventures I've had. Though I haven't been active at all for some years, a read through my chronicles echos a call I heard many, many moons ago, and was powerless not to answer.

The call to adventure...

Many San d'Orian's have heard this same call and, like me, rushed quickly to answer. What I never really realized though, is how the call never stops sounding. Even when my adventures were winding down and I'd resigned myself to the the life of a Professional Angler, the call whispered to me in the salt air and beckoned me in the quiet nights alone.

Once again, I find myself powerless to resist that call. I feel an energy welling up in me that can only mean there's something amiss in Vana'diel and I'm needed to help right a wrong.

After finding my journal today, dusted by years of idleness, I realize I will be writing once more upon its pages as I go forth to answer the call to adventure. I hope that once again, I can help my fellow San d'Orians and experience all Vana'diel has to offer; as long as it doesn't hurt too much.

I guess I'd better pull my armor out of that coffer as well, hadn't I?

What a great day! Today I dropped off the last fish I'll ever have to give Fennella for the Fishing Guild's catch of the day! Today's catch was jungle catfish and I just happened to have four of them sitting on ice crystals in my Mog House. With the few thousand guild points from the catfish, I finally saved enough to purchase the last guild item available; the Fisherman's Signboard. This signboard indicates my guild's services to the public. No only that, it is also a significant symbol of a veteran fisherman. Not too many professional fisherman have the patience and wherewithal to acquire the signboard.

Now that I've finished my duty to the Fishing Guild, I believe I may sign up with the Carpenter's Guild for a while. It will certainly be a welcome change of pace and I've been meaning to work on my carpentry skills once again. For now though - I'm taking a well deserved and much need break from fishing. I have much to be proud but there's still one more thing to do. There'll be plenty of time for it when I'm nice and refreshed...

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I know I haven't been writing much in my chronicles but, in my defense, there hasn't been much to chronicle lately.

I feel as if I'm a slave to Fennella, the fishing guildmaster. Everyday I bring here the catch of the day. Day in and day out, another type of fish. I swear it's almost enough to drive a balance Elvaan mad (not that I was so balanced to begin with). After becoming the best fisherman I could ever be, I figured I would finish my promise to the guild in the hopes of parting with my own fisherman's signboard. Little did I realize just how much they'd expect from me.

We'll I do feel I'll be done soon and I think I'll be moving on to the Woodworker's guild. It will be nice working for another guildmaster for a while. In any case, once I'm back out adventuring again. I'll have many tales to tell. Tsuim's been bugging me lately about rescuing that little girl Palometta so I'm sure there'll be an adventure waiting for us.

The last time I attempted to fish up zebra eels for Fennella and the fishing guild, I got as far as the little underground pond in the Den of Rancor and turned around and went home.

The Den of Rancor is a nasty place and once I'd reached the fishing spot where I figured I could find some zebra eels, I met the two huge Den Scorpions that made the place their home. I quickly decided it was safer to not fish that day. Well, zebra eel came up again as the guild's catch of the day and since I just got my fishing skill as high as I ever will, I felt brave enough to go back there.

This time I carried the always reliable silent oil. It wasn't really too tough to get to the little pond and I knew I'd have no trouble at all if the scorpions couldn't hear me. As a matter of fact, I found the perfect little alcove where I could fish in relative safety. I kept the silent oil on and easily fished up five zebra eels with a shrimp lure and my trusty Lu Shang's rod.

I felt so good about this little outing that I figured I could let my silent oil drop off without much risk. I did and continued to fish for a little while right under the noses of the scorpions. Of course, when you've feeling over confident is when hubris steps in with nemesis following close behind. In my case, nemesis was four quick swipes of a scorpion's tail to the head (and thank Altana it didn't sting me!).

I warped back to my Mog House after the knock out and nursed my aching skull. Fortunately, I still had the zebra eels I'd caught. I hope Fennella appreciates what I do for the guild - sometimes these fish don't come easy! Next time I'll know better how to protect myself when I'm back in the Den of Rancor (hopefully not anytime soon).

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Today I've become the best fisherman I can be! On a scale from 1 to 100 - my fishing skill is now at 100. This is a day I knew was coming ever since I decided to become a professional fisherman and I certainly feel a sort of pride in the accomplishment. It happened while I was on the Selbina ferry. I'd hooked one of the nastiest Ryugu Titans I'd ever hooked in my entire fishing career and I was lucky that I'd worn my Albatross Ring so I had enough time to wrestle it in. This squirmy fish wasn't going down without a fight!

Right when I was sure I'd wore it down to exhaustion, I started to pull it in and suddenly, *snap*, my line broke. Even though I didn't land that fish I felt my skill increase as far as it ever would. Of course, this won't put and end to my fishing days. I think I'm going to spend some time looking for the silk and wood Irmilant said he could fashion into a fishing rod...

There's a certain something in the air that only comes around every once in a while. It's a sweet, warm smell, with cheer and joy swirling around. It's a feeling that only a Smilebringer can evoke and it tells me that it's nearly Starlight Celebration time!

In honor of this great time I, of course, had to bring out my dream suit to make myself look as the Smilebrings from the North do. I set about the enjoyable work of putting up my decorations in the Mog House and taking a welcome break from all the fishing and adventuring I usually do.

Snowmen, trees, dream coffers, platters, and stockings all come together to make the old Mog House a brighter place for this Starlight season. This is a great opportunity to slow down, relax, and spend some time with family and friends. Even my buddy Tsuim got into the spirit by wearing her own Smilebringer outfit! What a character she is!

I heard from my Moogle about a dream bell that was built by a master instrument craftsman and after asking around San d'Oria, I was able to find a very high-quality one. Of course, I had to do some work to bring joy to the kind folk of Vana'diel to attain the bell. I hope it's heavenly tone can calm the savage beastmen and make both young and old delight in the Starlight Celebration cheer.



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As we've been out adventuring together quite often lately, Tsuim has asked me a few times about the "Emptiness." Up until now, I didn't think she was strong enough to handle it but I realized that all my training with her has made her stronger. I decided I'd finally show her what she's been asking about. I had her meet me at Crag Mea and we proceeded to use the shattered telepoint there to gain access to Promyvion Mea.

Once inside, the gloom of the Emptiness always makes me feel cold. I thought Tsuim would feel enough fear to force her to turn back but her youthful naiveté only made her more curious. We tramped around a bit (I did not let her go through the Memory Receptacle). Eventually she grew tired of fighting Cravers, Weepers, Wanderers and the like and we decided it was time to go.

Before leaving, Tsuim gave me a Tactics Pearl. It is much like the Signal Pearl earring I use to call Tsuim but it doesn't have the communications limitation on it so I can call her more often. Unfortunately, it seems to wear out pretty quickly and I can only use it four times before it's no longer functional. Tsuim has promised she can provide me with more however, as long as I take her to the Emptiness again. What did they say about curiosity killing the cat...?

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When I was in Jeuno putting some fish up for sale at the Auction House, I passed through Upper Jeuno on the way to Ru'Lude Gardens. I realized it had been quite a while since I'd spoken with Luto Mewrilah last. I figured it was about time I paid her a visit. After all, Tsuim had asked me about Palometta a few times.

Luto told me she'd found a source for the rare metal she needed to repair the mirror. The metal is called vitrallum and could be found in some slime deep in the Korroloka Tunnel. I'd been there before and didn't have any problem going there again. I felt pretty confident there was nothing in the cave that could upset me much.

Tsuim joined me in the cave and once we found the metallic slime Luto spoke of, Tsuim, a Crab Familiar, and I beat the metal out of it together. It didn't take us long at all. Upon returning the vitrallum to Luto, she explained how we'd need the water from a very still lake to make the repair. I knew of just the lake in Jugner Forest but a tip from a fellow adventurer had us go to the far north-west side of the lake through King Ranperre's Tomb.

At the lake, the strangest thing happened. Palometta and Luto showed up and while Palometta began to repair the mirror, a man appeared. It was rather obvious his intention was to steal the mirror. He cast what felt like bind and sleep spells (my energy was drained and I couldn't move) on Palometta, Luto, and I. While we were disabled, Tsuim approached the man. He tried to cast the spell on her as well but some kind of force within her repelled his magic. Once he saw that she couldn't be bound, he quickly warped away.

We don't know who this man was or what his motives for stealing the mirror could have been but it has become quite clear there is a much deeper story in regards to this mirror Luto is trying to repair...

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I met a fellow fisherman at Qufim the other day while fishing off the north-eastern cliffs. He turned out to be a really helpful guy which was very lucky for me that day. I un-luck would have it, I actually got knocked-out there on that cliff side. I'm sure purely by accident, I was invited to to a party and mistakenly I joined it.

As forces work these days in Vana'diel, my fighting skill (and my power and defenses) were reduced to the level of those already in the party! This was very unfortunate for me as their levels were significantly lower than mine. I disbanded as soon as I had joined but the limiting force didn't lift so quickly.

One of the Goblin Bounty Hunters took this opportunity to attack and it laid me out in a single blow! Not only did it hurt, it also hurt my pride. Being the kind adventurer he is, Napolian made his way home via the outpost and returned to me to cast a raise spell upon my nearly lifeless body. Had he not been there, and had he not been as noble as he was, I might still be lying there today!

I wish Napolian all luck in his fishing an his travels and I hope that one day our paths will cross again. Who knows, I might even be able to help him in a time of need as well...

As I'd mentioned in a previous entry, I entered my third fish rank contest recently. While in Selbina today, I realized they were finally posting the results of the contest.

With bated breath I asked Chenon to show me the results board. After she "prepared" it for what seemed like forever, it was finally presented to me. I was both happy and sad to see I was in third place with my score of 741. Above me was a 744 entry and 745 entry. I had hopped for the top position of course but I was happy to be in the top three!

I am pretty pleased with my award of a Penguin Ring and 10,000gil. I also go the title of "Silver Hook" this time around. I think I like it much better than the "Copper Hook" title I got before.

I'll certainly be entering the next competition. I'm striving for that "Gold Hook" title!

I was off to the frozen canyons of Beaucedine Glacier today in search of emperor fish. This is the first time I had caught these fish and I wanted to be prepared. I consulted my fishing almanac finding the best bait to be trout balls.

From San d'Oria I ventured out to East Ronfaure to the Cheval River to fish up some shining trout. After I'd caught half dozen or so, I hopped down (not literally) to Raimbroy's Grocery where I bought some rye flour and distilled water from Benaige. With my cooking skills and the bonding properties of an earth crystal, it was easy as pie (well, again not literally) to whip up some trout ball paste. In fact, I crafted it right there in the grocery store (To Benaige's obvious irritation).

Finally, I made it out to the cold north and had forgotten exactly how cold it is at Beaucedine Glacier! Fortunately, most of the time was clear with a light snow flurry but a couple times the whether broke out into a full blizzard. I actually think I caught more emperor fish during the white outs! It was pretty frigid there, made worse by the two ice elements meandering around my small frozen pond - being near those things will chill you to the bone.

Back in Windurst I made the delivery to Chenon - four fish - and had many left over to sell. I am happy to be back in more tolerable temperatures!

I had perchance a recent opportunity to acquire an interesting artifact that is not only curious by its rarity but also by it's function. I'd met an "adventurer" (was he really?), who shall go nameless in my recount here, that tipped me to a very rare metallic pendant. He said these were sometimes found in Olduum burial sites in the far west of the empire of Aht Urghan. The pendant itself was fashioned as the great sea serpent Leviathan coiled around a pillar said to hold up the heavens. It was indeed an impressive relic.

He continued his story stating that these ornaments were worn by Olduum diplomats and possessed peculiar qualities. Once adorned with the jewelry, a "phantasmal robe" (as he called it) was projected over the wearer's body giving him limited powers of teleportation. Of course, I thought this story quite questionable; that is, until the "adventurer" showed my the piece and amazed me by it's powers.

Of course, once he offered to sell it, I couldn't turn away from the opportunity. Being even a bit wary of each other, we decided to conduct the transaction through the Moogles as mediators - a sort of escrow. Once he'd been compensated (I won't go into the price of this piece), I was able to pick the pendant up from the Festive Moogle in Windurst.

The Moogle called the jewelry a "Tidal Talisman." And it works as the man said it does...

The sunny oasis town of Rabao was today's setting for Fennella's "catch-of-the-day;' sandfish. Sandfish are nice in that a sibiki rig can pull in up to three at a time. While they're much easier for me to fish now days than they were way back when I first started trying to catch them, they're still small and feisty little guys that put up a pretty good fight.

After I'd caught 32 of them, I stopped by to speak with Irmilant (and old fisherman who hangs out in Rabao). We spoke a little about serpent rumors and he told me more about a story I'd heard where some legendary sea monsters swallowed opal silk thread and a saber shoot branch. Irmilant explained that he is the only one alive who can fashion these things into a legendary fishing rod impervious to breakage. It sounded far fetched, but I have heard parts of this rumor elsewhere. I plan on keeping my eyes open for these legendary sea monsters. Perhaps if I should catch one, I'll have Zaldon gut it for me to see if I can find the legendary items Irmilant speaks of...

Fennella had a pretty easy catch today: nosteau herring. It was no problem pulling up a stack (12) of these guys will waiting at Port Jeuno for the Windurst airship. Using a shrimp lure I was actually able to pull up some tiger cod, black sole, and a few cobalt jelly fish. I'll carve up the tiger cod into sliced cod bait and use it to catch some more black sole while working on my fishing skill. The black sole and cobalt jellyfish I'll sell at the auction house. I like when things work out nicely!

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I spent some time (not much time) at one of the cutest little lakes; Lake Tepokalipuka in East Sarutabaruta. I've been here a couple times before catching other fish for Fennella. This time around, I was catching pipira and all I needed were 16. I didn't even take me a full Vana'diel day to handle that request! This fish were practically jumping out of the water for my minnow lure. I can't argue with an easy catch of the day! I guess I'll use the spare time to do some black sole fishing on Qufim Island...

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