˗ˏˋ⛧ final fantasy xiv au ⛧ˎˊ˗

Claudius is the Warrior of Light, and Hydaelyn's champion.

He's a xaela auri trans man with a good heart that's weighed down by responsibility.

Recovering from his lack of value of self, he's learning to balance his love of other's with a healthy love of self, and accept help from others.

Richard is Claudius's right hand man - tank to his DPS.

He's a keeper of the moon miqo'te trans man with a chip on his shoulder. Haunted by his past, he's trying to live fast and leave it behind.

Struggling with putting trust and vulnerability in others, his need for connection clashes with his insecurities. He'll have to choose which wins out.

Claudius was a quiet and often lonely kid. He usually kept his head down and worked without complaint. Natural curiosity led him to befriending the slyphs of the Shroud, and a young lancer, Foulques. As a teenager, enraptured with the idea of adventuring, he stowed away to Limsa. Claudius would stumble into the current rogue's guild, befriending fellow guildmember Jacke, and leading to a heated rivalry with a miqo'te pirate, Richard. Claudius would stay in Limsa until the fall of Dalamud, the beginning of the Seventh Umbral Calamity. Worried for those back home, he'd rush back to The Black Shroud to give aid, starting events for A Realm Reborn MSQ.

Pre-Birth - Azim Steppe to Coerthas

Claudius's parents, Jenkshi and Chotan, were part of the Kagon tribe on the Azim Steppe. Before Claudius was born, the tribe had traveled further from the Steppe and encountered Garlean occupational forces. This resulted in Kagon members being conscripted, Chotan being among them. She was sent to Aldenard while pregnant with Claudius. She worked until she could no longer hide she was with child, choosing to run from the empire, desperate not to give birth to Claudius in that environment. She feared what might happen to him if she remained. Chotan traveled northwest, following the coast, and happened upon the Orl tribe, who took her in and gave her medical aid. While among their number, she safely gave birth to Claudius, born Sarangerel, named for the light of the moon in their reverence of Nhaama. Unfortunately, Ishgardians mistook the group for Dravanians. While the Orl and Chotan successfully defended themselves before the Ishgardians fled, Chotan had a sinking suspicion of retaliation. To protect her newborn, she hid Claudius amongst cargo on a caravan bound for The Black Shroud, hoping to reunite with him after recovering from childbirth. At next dawn, Ishgardians ambushed and burned down the entire camp. The Orl tribe, including Chotan, were slaughtered - save for a young Sidurgu, who was saved by Ompagne, arriving just too late to aid any others.

Childhood - The Black Shroud

Claudius would be found in the caravan, swaddled in an imperial jacket and animal wool, by residents of the Nine Ivies in the East Shroud, and taken in by the local Mun-Tuy Cellar workers. He grew up believing he was abandoned by his parents, never knowing either of them. Care of Claudius, named Elizabeth, was passed around the various residents of the area. He worked in the cellars and farms there from a young age. Most, having never traveled beyond the Shroud, first speculated if he was Padjali, though it was obvious as time passed that this wasn't the case. For his Auri features, and the implications of his origin, most kept him at arms length. Feeling ostracized, Claudius would occasionally wander, taking more to the company of forest animals than others. In his wandering, he would meet and befriend a number of sylphs, who were still friendly to outsiders at that time (pre-Garlean presence in Eorzea/tempering by Ramuh). Though a bit of a culture-clash, Claudius would come to see the sylphs of the forest as his family, aiding them and learning from them. In turn, the sylphs would take Claudius in whenever he'd wander into the Sylphlands, later giving him the name Kailexio. Other times, however, he'd encounter the voidsent that litter the forest. Ill-equipped to handle them, he'd get injured and run back to the sylphs. On one such occasion, being threatened by some manner of foe, a young Duskwight kid charges out of the bramble and skewers the threat. This apprentice lancer, Foulques, scolds Claudius of how dangerous voidsent are and how foolish it is to wander the forest without battle experience. Claudius, immediately thinking the Elezen boy an incredible adventurer, begged him to show him how to lance. From then on, Foulques and Claudius would find spots in the Shroud to meet, train, and hang out, becoming fast friends.

Teenage Years - Limsa Lominsa

Foulques would gift Claudius an old lance of his during their training days. By 15 summers, Claudius had a decent foundation as a lancer due to Foulques teachings. One late night, Claudius confessed to Foulques that he didn't feel like a girl. In this heart-to-heart, the two vowed to each other to work hard and be true to themselves: Foulques aiming to leave for Gridania and secure a livlihood, becoming a Wood Wailer, and Claudius to find himself and become an adventurer. They promised to stay in touch, and when they meet again, they'd recount their exploits together. Before leaving the East Shroud, Claudius stopped by Larkscall, careful not to go too far into the Sylphlands due to the beasts. He said goodbye to the sylphs as they wished him well, telling him he'll always have a place there. Gathering what little he had, Claudius carefully traveled The Black Shroud, offering labor in exchange for information or goods. He caught a boat from Sweetbloom Pier to Gridania, doing the same. Wanting to save as much gil earned as possible, he managed to stow away on an airship to Limsa.

born to ala mhigan parents, richard was still very young when their abuse began

as a child, he was sent off to a survival wilderness camp - his "mentor" being a sadistic man

richard would go on to kill the camp mentor and return home to retrieve his things, but was forced into an altercation in which he kills his mother (and seemingly also his father)

now a young teen, hed run off to become a sky pirate, meeting his first lover, victor

victor would lose his life not a couple of years later, leaving richard grief-stricken

he would run off to limsa to get away from it all, where he would meet and become rivals with claudius

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