#dragonofdoma

Around Post-ARR, I figured I'd pick up some alternative classes to pad my gameplay while I waited for friends to catch up or become available. I decided to start leveling Black Mage -- or Thaumaturge, as it were -- because I had heard of the challenge associated with leveling it. As a result, BLM was my first Lv.90 caster, though it's one of my least-played jobs at this point in the game. SMN and RDM just feel much better for me, and I think the reason is I can't get my head around how Enochian is meant to work.

I also didn't count Blue Mage as a Magic DPS class, since it's so different from every other job in the game and can't be leveled normally.

And, as for the title of this small collection, I wanted to use a Proverb like I had with the Tank Job Collection (Fall Seven Times, Rise Up Eight). I decided on "Frog in the Well" because it encapsulated Zaya's canon relationship with magic. Her body has so little aether within that she'll never know the arcane mastery she could achieve.

Now, there's a lot to go through about the Three Flowers Mochi. Firstly, the real-world variation.

Three Flowers Mochi would actually be a trio of assorted Daifuku Mochi, each one filled with a different popular Japanese fruit; those being Cherries, Strawberries, and Plums. Outside the fact they are fruits can be found in the East, these fruits go quite well as a set of three, and individually with the matcha flavor of the green tea accompaniment. Ideally, they'd have a little of the flour used to roll them sprinkled on top, as if they were snow-capped hilltops, resembling the mountainous terrain of Yanxia.

The green tea itself would be fairly standard -- using matcha instead of sencha for a more distinct earthy flavor that would complement the sweeter notes in the daifuku mochi. However, I think that the green tea would feature a garnish of a single shisho leaf, which in itself won't change the tea's flavor, but make it feel less like an additive and more as part of the dish entirely.

In-game, the recipe would call for five ingredients, all of which would be found in and around Yanxia (though most are currently collectibles): 2 Crescent Spring Water, 1 Othardian Plum, 1 Azim Strawberry, 1 Koshu Sticky Rice, and 1 Steppe Tea Leaves.

Now... why daifuku mochi? Why fruit flavors, rather than the standard red bean paste and matcha? Why is its item level much higher than other recipes using the same ingredients? Well, there's a lot to unpack.

Firstly: Why Mochi? By its design, mochi tends to have a distinct sweetness that very easily implies the emotional core of who Zaya is: incredibly sweet and empathetic, yet incredibly calm and responsible -- of which is represented by the matcha green tea. Now, I had originally intended to pick Dango for the dish of choice, but not only is it the name of Zaya's pet boar, the small colored balls of pounded rice flour didn't fit the image I had for Zaya. Still, mochi is extremely similar to dango, which helps tie in the fact that Zaya cannot cook to save her life. Don't ask, it's just how it is. But the final part is that daifuku means 'good luck', and the chosen fruits each carry important significance as well (Cherries representing both life and death, strawberries being a symbol of love, and plums being a protective charm against evil and a sign of perseverance.)

The choice of fruits over the traditional red bean and matcha is a rather simple one to answer; I much prefer fruits, and wanted to include a variety of flavors to the dish in question. But this does ground Zaya's core in Othard and the Far East, as all the necessary ingredients are found within Yanxia, Hingashi, and the Azim Steppe.

Lastly, the level. I specifically chose Item Level 520 because it is the same level as the first Endwalker recipes, creating time between the end of Stormblood and when the dish would become available, which in turn helps imply the growth of Doma after its liberation, and the impact I hope for Zaya to have on the people thereof. A fun aside on this, actually; I had thought that it would be Mitsuba, from the Ten Thousand Stalls of the Doman Enclave, who would first create Three Flowers Mochi, and let it spread from there. Finally, the boosted stats also give a hint toward Zaya's character: With Determination being the first on the list, and Direct Hit being the last: These show that Zaya is tough, sturdy, but has learned to strike back swiftly and efficiently.

The easiest place to start is with my primary character, Zaya Dalamiq. She is a Xaela Au'ra from Doma, whose parents immigrated from the Azim Steppe.

Zaya's story is one of connections and vulnerability, culminating in her replacing Gosetsu as one of Hien's trusted retainers and advisors, alongside Yugiri. Zaya is a (non)wol x Yugiri ship, and sees Hien as a non-blood related sibling. She also has close relations with Lyse Hext, Magnai Oronir, and Aymeric de Borel.

Zaya has two custom jobs called Demon King (DMK) and Sohei (SOH). Demon King mixes aspects of Dark Knight, Warrior, and Samurai; while Sohei is a very straightforward blend of Monk and Dragoon. She does not possess the echo, and was born with unnaturally thin aether, to the point she is unable to use magic of any sort without the use of crystal conduits. In exchange for this defecit -- and to explain her DRK capabilites -- Zaya has a natural affinity for Dynamis, to the point she is able to freely manipulate the energy as if it were aether.

Zaya is also a talented artisan, specializing in metalwork such as Armorcraft, weaponry, and goldsmithing. A lot of her spare time is spent around the Doman Enclave, training the guard and working to help Doma's reconstruction in the wake of Stormblood.

She's an extremely emotional woman with a measured and controlled exterior that she's developed to oppose her empathetic nature. She is strongly loyal to her friends and Doma both, and puts 110% into every single thing she does. Unfortunately, she does suffer from Impostor Syndrome, and always assumes herself at fault for problems or tragedies, so there's still some stuff that could be worked on.

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Next on the list is Lernea, Zaya's Ancient counterpart. She's much less developed than Zaya, but still has a good bit of lore surrounding her place in the world and how her story goes.

Lernea is a researcher in Elpis, though 'researcher' is a lofty title for what she really does. Put as simply as possible, Lernea's job is to fight things. Despite lacking the level of aetheric control necessary to actually test and evaluate concepts, Lernea serves to test a being's combat capabilities and to determine whether a certain concept will be a threat to the outside world.

Compared to Zaya, Lernea is far more confident and headstrong, to the point of appearing arrogant and brash. She has a short temper, and lives for the thrill of battle, though this comes from an innate desire to protect -- one that, for the most part, could only be satisfied with testing -- which has persisted into her various shards, including Lyna, who I've picked to be Zaya's reflection in the First.

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Moving on to the more... conceptual characters, we have Kanemi and Kawami Munakata, two Hingan Au'ra that come from a wealthy mercantile family near Kugane. Originally conceived to be foster siblings for Zaya, these two have ended up being their own characters with their own stories.

The older of the two, Munakata Kanemi, is usually depicted as a soft-spoken caretaker, leaning heavily into the stereotypical Healer Archetypes. Being the next head of the Munakata family, she doesn't get to do much in the way of combat, as her talents lie more in commerce and communication. Her job is a custom rendition of White Mage, meant to present a far more Eastern aesthetic than the normal job allows.

The younger, Munakata Kawami, is actually from a branch family of the Munakata clan. Despite that, she grew up in the same house as Kanemi, and the two are more like sisters than cousins. Kawami is much more rambunctious and mischievous, fitting well into the 'gremlin' caricature. While originally designed to be a Monk, I've recently changed Kawami to being a Samurai, having trained with the Sekiseigumi in Kugane before eventually swearing her sword as Kanemi's personal protector.

To that end, the two are never far from one another, and I struggle to picture them without the other.

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Of course, I've some other characters that I may eventually explore, but for the time being these are the ones most likely to appear!