New Island: Maati

[lifeaftr_mods]

NEW ISLAND: MAATI

The votes are in! And despite the abstracted nature of this round of voting, most characters elected to vote for the fourth option presented: the one represented by golden flames, a set of scales, and a number of shapes that resemble birds.

The newest addition to LifeAftr can be found on our Locations page. The Storyteller alert explorers on the night prior that the new island will be ready for exploration via the mana pools on November 10th.

Transportation
The Storyteller will manage to link Maati's mana pool with Ensō's. As they are still in a state of recovering from the havoc the fabric of Mu has played on your psyches, as well as the multiple resurrections they had to enact all at once, they do not - or rather, cannot - inform you of any specific dangers or things to watch out for on the island of Maati.

The mana pool is present on the E5 square, should the characters choose to arrive via that method. In addition, characters are free to sail there on their own, if they so choose.

The Storyteller does mention the name of the island, at least, in the initial dream.

MAATI has now been added to the Locations page.

Be the Power to Compel Me
The island itself is relatively bare, surrounded on all sides by cliffs. The cliffs are sheer, so much so that attempts to climb them will come with a high chance of failure unless characters invest a few stories into proper climbing gear. Those with powers of flight and teleportation will also be incapable of reaching the top until these areas have been explored...or otherwise made available to them.

This land lacks very many natural resources due to how rocky and desolate it appears to be. However, that does not mean that nothing can be uncovered in this area at all - old tools and equipment can be uncovered with enough searching, as though a great many struggles or battles were fought here, a long time ago.

However, from a distance, it can be discerned that Maati is a peculiarly shaped island: a seven-pointed star. While the center remains the only part of that land that can be initially charted, the different prongs of the star are each walled off with a large door, each bearing a different, glowing sigil. Those who remember the caves underneath Ensō might recall this occurrence as worryingly similar. No matter how they are approached, the doors refuse to open; they will not yield to magic, to pleas, to prayers, or to brute force attack. Yet that doesn't mean they won't ever open. As for the rest, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?

Won't You Liberate Me?
The avatar of Maati, similar to Harv, will make their presence known rather quickly. Their temple can be found at the island's center, and it will be fairly obvious when one draws close: some of the only green on Maati can be found there! Their temple is a fairly simple thing, built of iron and copper. Yet more copies of the same seven sigils that can be found on the doors are inlaid periodically across the exterior, carved from differently-colored variants of jasper. Twined about the metallic construct, woven neatly throughout the composition of the building, several chestnut trees rear out into the sky. And everywhere you look, the symbol of the eagle can be found - fanning wings, hooked beak, outspread talons - carved into the walls, in the form of simple ornaments mounted on ledges and peaks. Maati's avatar will answer to a great many titles: Tyreg, Utag, the Iron Will, and others. For their part, they prefer Anbaki. Their shape is unsurprising to anyone who has so much as glanced at their temple. Anbaki takes the shape of a golden eagle, slightly larger than average, but despite the fearsome curve of their beak, they are surprisingly gentle.

Surprisingly gentle, we say, because Anbaki is the avatar of justice. And they might be able to explain those symbols mounted on all those doors, too...

---

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[shatteredlenses]

Player: Neko Sandy
Character/Username: Ignis Scientia | shatteredlenses

Prior to coming to LifeAftr, what is an aspect of your character that they struggled with - be it a shortcoming, a fear, a bad habit, or eccentricity?

Ignis accepted the role of Noctis' Advisor/Chamberlain/insert one of the million roles he fills here when he was six. SIX. That's when most kids are going into kindergarten or maybe 1st grade depending on where they are. Instead of doing that, Ignis took on the burden of raising the next king of Lucis and he took it on with abandon. As a result, he learned early that he was always--at least--second if not farther back in the line of priority. Every aspect of himself is defined by his duty to Noctis. He has no hobbies of his own--cooking and driving are both things he does because of Noctis--and he has no future goals outside of seeing Noctis retake the throne as king. This is why Ignis was set so off balance when he lost his vision. If he could no longer do his duty, then what was left for him? And, after seeing the vision of Noctis' death, if he allowed that to happen, what future would there be left for him?

He has no idea who he is or what he wants outside of being there for Noctis and it terrifies him when he is forced to think on it.

What do they struggle with now? Is it the same as the above?

His current struggle is much the same now as it is above only more intense in a way, because being on the island has given him some time to realize there are things he wants outside of his duty to Noctis. He wants to see Ardyn at peace with whatever ending he chooses for himself. He wants to have a family with Gladio. He wants to see Noctis live to rule as the wise king he knows he will be. He wants all this, and he feels guilty for splitting his attention, especially knowing all he does about how the future will play out. The knowledge is his and yet he has no way of applying it to stop the pain that waits for all of them. It makes Ignis feel so helpless, and he hates being helpless.

What personal demons, specifically, haunt your character from canon or from past game experiences?

Altissia will never stop haunting him. While he doesn't regret donning the ring, he does regret what came after. He stepped over that forbidden line and what came of it? Noctis lived, but so did Ardyn. The Lucii took his vision instead of his life, but if he could no longer do his duty, what life did he have left to live? He acted to keep his little family together and in the end, those actions only helped to drive them apart.

It rained throughout the battle in Altissia and so the sound of falling water (rain, waterfalls, even showers sometimes), bring back all those memories, feelings of failure, and fears.

Umui--Ignis almost let himself die from the flower disease and hearing the rustle of petals and leaves reminds him of how foolish he was and how much he hurt those who cared about him. The smell of the flowers he was hit with will forever make him feel that guilt, fear, and sadness all over again.

What is the type of person your character hopes to become?

Ignis wants to be the kind of person who others look to because they know they can trust and rely on them. Unfortunately, he feels the only way he can do this is through the perfect handling of whatever responsibility comes to him.

The longer he is on the island, though, he is also slowly starting to want to be someone besides that. He wants to be a father, friend, brother, something more than just his duty.

What is the type of person you hope your character will become?

I want Ignis to find a balance between his devotion to his duty and being a person in his own right. He will never be happy if he is completely parted from his duty, but the man deep beneath all those layers of selflessness and devotion deserves a chance to live too.

Do any of the Seven Deadly Sins or Virtues stand out as applicable to your character? Why?

Sins:

• Pride: Despite the fact that Ignis has a tendency to place himself behind others worth-wise, he does take great pride in how his talents and skills benefit the group, especially Noctis. He's been praised for his intelligence and levelheadedness since he was a child, and as a result, he is used to things working out according to his plans. The fact that the others look to him for so much only serves to boost his confidence. (And then Altissia happened.)
• Wrath: To a lesser degree, Ignis does have certain buttons that when pressed, will cause him to throw all his plans and levelheadedness out the window. Surprising no one, the strongest one is when someone threatens Noctis like Ardyn did in Altissia. Normally, he would never have considered doing something so forbidden as donning the Ring was, but his back was to the wall and he was enraged that someone was threatening Noctis while he himself was being forced to watch helplessly.

Virtues:

• Charity: Ignis has given all of himself to raising and taking care of Noctis since he was six. On top of that, he was more than willing to trade his life to the Lucii if they would let him use their power just long enough to save Noctis from Ardyn in Altissia. Enough said.
• Diligence: After losing his vision, Ignis didn't just find some house to hide in during the 10 years of darkness that followed. He pressed forward, learning to walk, move, cook, and even fight again. In fact, he regained so much skill that he arguably became a better fighter after he was blinded than before. He even went out to fight daemons on his own during the darkness all so he could be ready when Noctis returned.
• Patience: Depression has always been something Noctis has had to suffer through and that made it especially difficult to deal with him during his teen years. Aside from one large argument we are shown in Brotherhood, Ignis takes it all in stride despite being a teenager himself who has way too much on his own shoulders. He cleans and cooks for Noctis, doing it all over again when the apartment inevitably is trashed a few days later. He bakes version after version of the dessert that Noctis had and liked so much, but couldn't remember the name of determined to get it right based off Noctis' memories of it alone.
• Kindness: So much of what Ignis does is not because he has to, but because he wants to. He wants to see Noctis happy and successful and that is what brings him joy. It's not about having power or being close to the next king; it's about making his friend and his brother's life better. By extension, his kindness also extends out to the rest of the group as Noctis would never be able to be happy if his friends were not as well. If picking up a few more duties makes things easier for others, then Ignis will do it...with an extra can or two of Ebony to get him through.

[lifeaftr_mods]

At some point after December 10th, Ignis will awaken to find this curious symbol emblazoned on the back of his hand. It emits a strange, colorful glow, and not unlike a tattoo, seems to exist almost beneath the skin. Attempts to remove or destroy it appear futile. Its true meaning, whatever that might be, will only come to be clear in time. -- ♛ --