Styrmswys Merlabylwyn

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Personality

• As a child, Styrmswys was very excitable and full of energy. She was fiery, loved exploring and partying, and was not afraid of standing up for herself. Her years on the pirate ship tempered her; She learned to hold in her anger (although it certainly didn't go away), and didn't tend to speak as much. However, when she's able to relax, Styrmswys returns to her old self, outwardly expressing herself and joking around. No matter how hard life gets, her inner fire will never truly die.
• Styrmswys continues to experience loss of those she cares about in life, leading her to hold those left closer. She will always prefer to throw herself in front of harm's way before them, and stands up for them stronger than she does herself.
• Despite her proficiency with picking up skills, Styrmswys's childhood lacking a lot of social interaction, then leading into being trapped with a pirate crew, means she lacks societal knowledge most others might have. She isn't great with money, not really understanding the correct worth of items. She also isn't great with words and politics, but manages to get by enough by following her gut.

Story

• Her family were fishers, living pretty relatively isolated outside Limsa Lominsa. She didn't care much for the slow life, however, and often wandered off to explore, both on and off the water. Equipped with a shoddy wooden sword, Styrmswys was surprisingly capable of taking down any monsters that attempted to attack her, wielding a strength no child should realistically hold. Despite being a handful, her family lived a very happy, peaceful life together.
• The turning point of Styrmswys's life is the day a band of pirates decided to raid the single home they spotted on the coast. While they tried to protect their daughter, Styrmswys's parents were killed. She attempted to fight back, able to knock out a couple of the marauders, but wasn't able to overcome the entire crew. The captain liked her ferocity, and took her on board. The captain "raised" her as a pirate, but throughout the years, Styrmswys never let go of her rage, and never forgot who killed her true family; who ruined her life. She fought back at first, but began to bide her time until she was strong enough to get revenge.
• The awakening of Bahamut and the Calamity brought chaos to Eorzea, including on the ship. A lack of victims with wealth (as well as people At All) led to the pirate crew low on funds and morale. The captain was getting desperate, and Styrmswys knew her chance would be soon. As the crew was terrorizing a small village for food, drink, and bed, she would follow any one splitting off on their own, and take them out. The captain had eventually noticed this, calling Styrmswys out on her mutiny; she declared her lack of loyalty from the start, that she waited for this day, and took on the rest of the crew. After years of training added on top of her already unnatural strength, Styrmswys completely dominated her captors, and saved the village. Stomping him under her boot, she told her "captain" her parents' names, her real family, before ending his life just as he did theirs. Styrmswys gave the village as much as she could from the ship, before burning it down and sending it to sea.
• She spent a couple years away from Vylbrand, enjoying her reclaimed freedom, but also as an escape from piracy. She would wander aimlessly, doing odd jobs for gil and continuing to train her skills, before eventually longing for home. Styrmswys purchased a ticket on a passenger ship heading for Limsa Lominsa. On this ship, she would dream of a crystal and a strange man in black robes, and be awoken by a merchant, having a conversation before the ship was attacked by pirates. This would be the start of the next, and greatest, chapter of her life.

Relationships

• The Scions of the Seventh Dawn - The group is more than just her closest friends, the Scions are Styrmswys's family. She cares immensely for each member, and would do anything to protect them. She hates it when they try to get themselves killed, which is quite often.
• Alphinaud - Her "little brother". Alphinaud is an expert at most (keyword: most) skills that Styrmswys isn't, and she covers him in the same way. She loves to join along Alisaie's teasing of him, but hates actually doing harm. Styrmswys and the Leveilleur twins are the closest trio out of anyone.
• Alisaie - Her "little sister". They are very alike, but Styrmswys tends to be more of an outward emotional balance to Alisaie, holding in her emotions in moments of stress compared to Alisaie always wearing her heart on her sleeve. Styrmswys and the Leveilleur twins are the closest trio out of anyone.
• Y'shtola - While they aren't very similar as people, Styrmswys still considers Y'shtola her first friend, as the Miqo'te was the one who introduced her to the Scions. She gets very frustrated with Y'shtola's consistent lack of care for her own life, and is liable to tackle if it happens again.
• Thancred - Initially, there wasn't much of a connection between the two, with Thancred's flirtatious nature going against her own outward stoicness, especially added on top of his percieved betrayal (which was actually Lahabrea). But over time, they've gotten much closer, holding very similar values and pasts. If he had just waited a few time bubble years, he might have succeeded.
• Urianger - In what might be surprising to most, Styrmswys is quite capable of understanding Urianger, his speech, and his actions. She never really considered any of his "betrayals" as such, as he never actually harmed anyone, nor was there any period of time where she would have assumed he had. She appreciates where his heart lies, and tries to make sure that he knows this, almost echoing Moenbryda in a way.
• Tataru - Styrmswys respects Tataru immensely, as the Lalafell is skilled in nearly every expertise Styrmswys is not (she can almost match crafting skills (almost)). They balance each other very nicely. She might also be a LITTLE afraid of Tataru, but who isn't?
• Krile - They haven't spent as much time together as they'd like, but they both enjoy the other's presence, and become a menace when together, joking, laughing, and teasing the other Scions (lovingly, of course).
• Estinien - They are both EXTREMELY alike, everywhere from their titles of Azure Dragoon, to their skills, their relationship with Alphinaud, and even their lack of economical knowledge. Styrmswys respects Estinien greatly, and tends to get very competitive with him in battle. She also wishes he would hang around more, and doesn't completely understand why he always disappears without a word.
• G'raha - She feels for G'raha immensely, knowing he's gone through many years of pain and loss, not too dissimilar from herself (even if it's to a much lesser extent). For this, she's glad that she can be a source of joy for him, and wants to adventure together more.

Other

• Her name translates to "Storm Sister, Daughter of Sea's Rage". It is pronounced "Sturm-svis Murl-ah-bull-vin".
• As shown in her name, her father's name is Merlabyl. Her mother's name is Ronnlona.
• Her soul being 9/14ths of Azem leads her to be incredibly capable in all prowesses, including the magical arts. However, she will always prefer to be more physical and up close in battle. The magical job she tends to prefer is Summoner, in part on being from Limsa Lominsa, where Arcanism is practiced.
• She essentially runs a high Intelligence, medium-low Wisdom build.

Author's Notes

• My Warrior of Light in Final Fantasy XIV. She is peak character design, and someone that hasn't been able to be changed even if I've tried. Her name is the source of my current username. I also like to think her name continues the trend of FF protagonist names being weather, like Cloud, Squall, and Lightning.