#rykergrimm

KNIGHT OF HOUSE FORTEMPS FOUND DEAD, PRESUMABLY KILLED BY FORMER KNIGHT CAPTAIN

"The Congregation of Our Knights Most Heavenly was riled up after Fortemps Knight Ryker Grimm sent a message accusing Mephiston Godefroy, former Knight Captain of House Fortemps in charge of their forces within the Holy See of Ishgard, of high heresy. Due to former accusations and investigations regarding the former Knight Captain, a force of Temple Knights was immediately sent out towards his residence within the Empyreum. After storming the office of Mephiston, they discovered the dead body of Ryker Grimm, wittnesses say he almost looked like he was drained of energy. Following said discovery, the Temple Knights sent out search teams throughout the entire City, looking for the former Knight Captain. It did not take long before a group of Knights found him standing on an edge near the Fortemps Manor in the Pillars. Witnesses report that he had stood there for quite a while before the Knights arrived, looking out at the horizon. After he had noticed the Knights approaching him, he stepped forward and fell from the edge, getting impaled by a pillar on a lower level of the City, he has been confirmed deceased. Futher investigation will occur, however current evidence suggests Mephiston Godefroy was responsible for the death of Ser Ryker Grimm."

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"Dearest family de Marteau, I have caused you many troubles in my short time of knowing you, troubles that can never be truly excused, however despite my frankly impressive ability to make your life hard you have always been good to me. Several months ago I had the device that was supposed to hold my urges at bay removed; I have been working with a learned Scholar to completely eliminate my nightkin curse and get rid of said urges entirely, however that pursuit has proven quite fruitless. Though I could simply ask to have the device attached to me again to avoid risk of submitting to the curse, I have decided that perhaps I should let the inevitable pass. It has been getting harder and harder to stay sane and I am afraid by the time you read this letter it may already be too late. I cannot tell you what exactly will happen; While I can still think freely though, I want to thank you for what you have done for me once again. My life has been long and though Knightdom has certainly kept me from being bored, the past year and a half has been by far the most adventurous and fun time of it all. I'm afraid my legacy will not be a good one, but I hope that I will not be remembered as an aether-thirsty creature in your hearts and minds and instead as a friend. Sincerely Mephiston Godefroy"

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"Dearest Anithiya, I do not know how aware of the troubles I have been going through you are, especially as you yourself had to deal with the nature of your own being, however I believe you have heard at least a little about my own condition. Not all too long ago, after I ended my time in hiding, Frayeur attached a device that supressed the urges that my nightkin curse wrought upon me, however in my frustration of being shackled, I established contact with someone that could remove said device and perhaps help me remove the curse entirely. To my dismay, though the device was removed, the curse still remains, as our efforts have proven quite fruitless. Now while urges grow stronger and stronger everyday, as I am getting worse and worse at resisting them, I feel my end is near. We planned to do so much together, you wanted to teach me some magic, I wanted to perhaps show you a trick or two with the sword, however all our plans have never quite come to pass and I'm afraid now they never will. Do not mourn me in any way, truth be told I do not know how exactly I will pass, but I feel it won't be pretty, as by the time I will truly perish, the Mephiston you knew will already be long gone. Your condition remains a mystery to me and I never got around to talking to you about it, truth be told I do not know if you ever found a solution to your troubles, but if you did not, please do not give up for I do not want you to end up like me. I loved talking to you Ani, and I hope you shared a similar feeling. Sincerely Mephiston Godefroy"

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"Hey, Ant, this is the third time I have started writing this letter, with the previous two attempts I tried to stay professional as that has been the measure of our relationship ever since I returned, however I see no point in keeping my manners for my last words to you. As you know I had the device that kept my nightkin curse at bay removed a few months ago, I have rarely been around anywhere since then as Veldreth and I had been hard at work looking for a way to completely remove the curse and rid myself of these urges entirely, however we have not made any progress. I will not act like I have no options, afterall I could come running to Frayeur and shackle myself again, but I would rather not repeat that mistake and instead just let fate take its toll on me. The urges are actively taking me over and I'm afraid my age is showing, as it is getting harder and harder to resist; The recent lack of the daily training I had undergone during my Knightdom has proven to weaken my willpower quite a lot and it feels like I will be gone entirely any day now. While I'm still somewhat sane, if I ever truly was, I have something to tell you though. I've known you for just a little more than a year and we've both caused each other a non insignificant amount of trouble, but I'm glad to have experienced every little bit of it, no matter how unpleasant it was. You don't need to feel the same and frankly I couldn't care less if you simply just hate me, for I won't be here to know. We fought quite a lot, some people have probably never seen us talk normally to each other, without you calling me a coward for one thing or another, but now here I am, having gotten rid of my shackles and bearing the fruits of it, you were right, I should never have been the coward I was in rejecting my curse, I should have accepted my end long ago. Whether you like it or not and whether these feelings were shared at any point of our friendship or not, you were one of my closest friends, and I hope you will at the very least not remember me as the coward that disappeared without warning. Sincerely Mephiston Godefroy"

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"My only remaining Patron, I do not presume you will care about this letter, frankly I do not expect you to, as I have caused you quite a lot of trouble, but nevertheless I felt it appropriate. Though in the other letters I will send out I went into detail as to why, those details don't really matter to you, so I will get straight to the point; In the following days, presumably by the time this letter reaches you, I will die. The details as to how exactly I die are a mystery to me, but I do know that it will happen, for the urges of my nightkin curse grow stronger and stronger and soon enough Mephiston will be gone, for my power to resist it has been dwindling as of recently. You and I aren't so different in many ways, you might not agree but I certainly feel that way, therefore I do believe many words I could say right now can remain unsaid and you will understand me regardless. Though you certainly make no efforts to prove the opposite, somewhere deep within your bastard heart you're not as miserable and bad as you act. I've already asked much of you, but please take care of Ant, you need each other. Your personal Barkeep Mephiston Godefroy"

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Wahoo!!! I will gladly answer a few asks about the most pathetic of my little men (that says a lot), so here I go! LEAVE: What was the first time your OC left home? Why? If they’ve never left home, do they want to? Where would they go?

Ryker left Gridania when he was 17 years old, he knew he wanted to serve in a military of some kind but the Serpents of Gridania weren't to his taste and the thought of becoming a righteous Knight of Ishgard was too tempting not to pursue.

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LOSS: What was the first significant loss that affected your OC? What made it significant? How did they deal with it? Have they gotten over it since it happened?

Though nowadays Ryker doesn't get too close to his fellow Knights, he did befriend a few during the start of his career, however as you might guess from where I'm going with this, the Dragons did not care if someone was a friend of his or not. Even though the War is over, Ryker is far too deep in the hole he's found himself in to go back up again.

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PAYCHECK: What did your OC spend their first paycheck on? If they’ve never had a paycheck, what would they buy if they were to get a sudden windfall today?

Though it is a bit unspectacular, he started serving Ishgard while the Dragonsong War was still very much going so Knights of Ishgard didn't get the best provisions and lived mostly on scraps, therefore his first paycheck was spent on getting some proper food and drink at whatever establishment he found first. What would he do if he were to get a sudden windfall? I have no clue, he has no clue either, Ryker barely uses his current paychecks for anything, if he were to suddenly get a lot more he'd just.... put it away.

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ENEMY: Who was your OC’s first enemy? What was that relationship like? Do they still consider that person an enemy, or have they moved past that?

Ryker - 🎮, 💍, 💯, 🚫, 🐈, ❤️, 🤩

Veldreth - 🖊️, 📚, 💯, 🔺, 🐉, 🍎, 🤍, 🤔, 😓

Have fun :3c

I apologize for delaying this for so long, but here it finally is!!!!

It's quite a lot so read at your own discretion....there might be a lot of nonesense in here but that's my OCs (and my writing in general) in a nutshell, really.

Anon, thank you for this, though I had my troubles with some of it and had to think quite a long time about things I never considered for some of these OCs, it was incredibly fun and I do love finding out new stuff about my OCs!!!!!!!!! <3<3<3<3

"Young Ryker,

I was beginning to think I should look for your head on a pike beyond the walls of Ishgard.

Dear boy you may as well have considered yourself a criminal from the moment you penned your first response instead of turning over the letter to the authorities. No use having second thoughts about it now. Same goes for Ser Godefroy, although I suspect he knew far more about what he was getting into. Not to mention you bemoaning the Temple Knights. It's a wonder you can even bear to call yourself a knight.

And what with your brother living in Gridania, do pardon me for prying, but you are not Ishgardian born are you?

Regardless, your efforts to secure such documents are appreciated, believe me. But I am also inclined to agree with you on that point, the past feels largely unimportant but may hold some clues. My own sources lead me to believe our Dearest Barkeep had made a discovery of sorts. A big discovery. Something he could not tell anyone about, and something he knew he would likely not return from. But what? I need more information. I'll keep digging on my end.

And sincerely, do enjoy your vacation time while it lasts Young Ryker, I expect it will only get harder from here."

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Greetings,

although I doubt you worried about me, I apologize for not contacting you about further progress for some time now, though I finished reading the documents about Ser Godefroys past quite early into my vacation, digging deeper into it took more effort than I wish to admit and with a nosy brother around it is hard to stay concentrated for very long.

Before I report to you what I found out, yes, I am not Ishgardian born, I am very much from Gridania, but that did not stop me from aspiring to become and succesfully becoming a Knight of Ishgard, so I would very much appreciate if you did not put my Knighthood into question, I can tell you that as cruel as we Gridanians can be to outsiders, the people of Ishgard would much rather have had another one of their own than me, I worked hard to gain this title.

Now back to the matter at hand, the documents which I claimed to be about Ser Mephistons career turned out to be a bit more than that, which makes me even more glad that I am not the one that will be in trouble should anyone notice their temporary disappearance. What I find in my possession is the report of a very thorough investigation of Ser Mephiston and his life that seems to have been set into motion a few months back and while it most definitely contains a very detailed description of his career, it also contains a whole lot more.

Among mountains upon mountains of small details about Ser Mephiston that make me question how many graves the assigned Investigator had to dig up, there was a few bigger points that were brought up, though I already feel guilty enough for having read these things without Ser Mephistons permission and sharing them with another person seems respectless to an extent I dare not think about, I shall tell you about them.

Despite the often very noble mask Mephiston put up, it seems he was born in the Brumes of Ishgard, among beggars and thieves, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on his Mother other than that she was supposedly a Duskwight, his father however is a whole nother deal. Ser Calistarius his name, he seems to have been every bit as dedicated to Knighthood as his son grew up to be, he served for a good bit of his life until he could not fight anymore following a grave injury he had endured in battle, after which he had lost his rank and then subsequently lost his last few gil in a bet, ending up in the Brumes, however from what I read it also seems that Mephiston had only been able to join the Temple Knights in the first place because his Father still had a favor with a former friend within the organization. Nowadays Calistarius Godefroy is said to live somewhere in the Empyreum within Ishgard, it seems the Investigator didn't count Mephistons father as all to important to the case, since this is where the notes on him end.

Another interesting bit about our dear Ser is that he seems to have had a big run in with the Temple Knights a only few years into his career, though all reports say he excelled as a Knight for all of his early career already, he overestimated his abilites during an attack on Whitebrim and put his own life and the life of a few other Knights stationed at the front in great danger. After said confrontation, Mephiston had a run in with his fellow Knights and commanding Officer that resulted in him deserting and leaving Ishgard for a few years, details on these years are close to nonexistent, though supposedly he traveled throughout Aldenard and Vylbrand during these times, following his return to Ishgard he had to pull quite a few strings to be allowed back into the City and even had to renew his Knightly oath.

Following that incident, the next 40 years up to now seem quite boring, Mephiston served with full commitment and was invited to become a Knight of House Fortemps about ten years after his return, it seems he did not do a lot outside of his Knightly duties, though within this past year that seems to have changed.

Though it is unsurprising that there are more notes on the past year compared to any other, since it is obviously easier to acquire information on recent events, I am still quite blown away by just how much is noted down, it seems that both Ser Mephistons social contacts and overall interaction with the world outside of his job have skyrocketed, though once again it is scary just how much the Investigator seems to have been able to find out. Aside from a bunch of details on a supposed side job as a Butler, the opening of a Tavern and his promotion to Knight Captain, the main reason behind this entire investigation is mentioned, that being his connection with House Marteau and specifically the Murder of a certain "Mrs. Bunty", the former Housekeeper of the Marteau family. Plenty of listed evidence suggests he is connected to her death, among this evidence are official documents signed by Mephiston which were supposed to conclude the investigation on her death, which Ser Mephiston led, that were later proven to contain false information. All this ended in Ser Mephiston answering before the Ishgardian Tribunal and Halone, he requested a trial of combat that would prove him worthy and innocent in the eyes of Halone and he won, though these documents seem to suggest that he was still being investigated afterwards.

The notes on the weeks following his trial tell of him continuing as usual, until the week of his disappearance, which is quite interesting, Mephiston seems to have taken care of absolutely everything that needs to be taken care of for him to be able to disappear without a trace in one single week, he seems to have suddenly been in quite a hurry, he told me that he was gonna leave on the same day he left, so I did not quite pay attention to the way he acted the days before that.

I could go on longer and longer but this is already a lot to take in, I hope that at least some part of this helps with your investigation, I will leave for Ishgard again and see these documents returned to where I obtained them from.

Wish me luck and in turn I will wish it for you

"Young Ryker,

Of course its Gridania. Of all the places. That's just peachy. Next you are going to tell me your brother is one of the wood wailers or with the snakes, or worse. I pray he is as trustworthy as you say he is.

If you are reading this Adrian, I know where you live now and would strongly advise you keep one eye over your shoulder at all times, may you never know peace again.

You may disregard the brewery letter sent to the previous address. It's a decoy to throw those Temple Dogs off our scent, at least for now. Leave it around somewhere for them to find should they decide to follow through with searching your apartment. Say you were handling his accounts and records with his suppliers and at worst maybe you'll get a slap on the wrist and stern talking to. I'd like to see the disappointment on their faces. But alas.

Do not make me regret helping you."

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Greetings,

I am writing this letter from the safety of my brothers home, he was of course nowhere nearby when I read your letter and is out visiting some friends of his while I am writing this.

Your decoy letter worked wonders, though at first I was confused by it, I quickly connected the dots, the Temple Knights left my apartment with nothing but a faked document and an annoyed expression, while I received no punishment other than a small gil fee for suspicious behaviour, Ishgardian Authorities sure are strict.

I couldn't risk heading out for Gridania too soon so I waited a few days before making any moves, as far as Ishgard is concerned I am currently simply taking a few days of long overdue vacation, though I am sure someone is still keeping an eye on me, nothing I can't handle though.

Together with the normal range of things one would take on a vacation to a family member, I managed to acquire some documents on Ser Mephiston Godefroys past and overall career within the Temple Knights and later within House Fortemps, how I acquired them is currently unimportant, all I will say is that if anyone notices that they are gone I for sure will not be the one that loses their rank.

Though, as far as I know, there is no evidence that explicitly suggests Ser Godefroys disappearance has anything to do with his past, I believe learning a little bit more about the man could still help with this.

If I find anything interesting you will read about it in my next letter, I cannot expect you to do the same for you still do not have a good reason to trust me, but if you find anything that you feel ready to share, I would appreciate reading about it.

Though I am still not quite sure how to feel about having ended up in this mess, I suppose I'm in too deep to give it up now.

Greeting from a small hut somewhere in the Lavender Beds

"Greetings Ser Grimm, how do you do.

Now the pleasantries are out of the way do excuse my language but what the bloody hell are you talking about?! Missing? Declared dead?? I know the man was old but I'm hard pressed to believe he had gone loopy and wandered off somewhere to die.

These letters were for the Knight Captain Godefroy's eyes only, just how much do you know about me and the letters we exchanged? Begging your pardon but I have no reason to believe you until I've done my own sleuthing on the matter, unless you can provide a good enough reason as to why I should trust you, young Ryker.

Regards."

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Pleasantries seem out of place here.

I cannot give you a reason to trust me, Ser Godefroy told me that there was someone anonymous sending him letters every now and then, but he did not tell me about the content of those letters, all I know about you is what was written in your previous letter.

If you plan on setting out to confirm everything I have told you, I can only encourage you, if I had been told these things out of the blue, I would not have believed them either, Ser Godefroy never struck me as the kind of person to suddenly disappear, especially without the proper ceremonies to step down from his position, but here we are.

The Isghardian authorities declaring him dead is less a matter of his death having been confirmed and more a matter of protocol, I've known the man for a few years now and have served under him for the better part of the past year and if I have learned anything about him, it is that he doesn't die that easily.

Good luck,

"Dearest Barkeep,

A certain dog of the Immortal Flames has been sniffing about my tail lately and muttering about death and deep water. I've had to set up an entirely new drop off point just to send this letter in order to shake him. You wouldn't happen to know what that was all about, would you?

Apologies for the delay, it took a while for word to reach mine ears, and I couldn't be certain you weren't dead in that castle of yours. I'm still uncertain to tell the truth. But I hope this letter reaches you all the same.

Regards, Your very concerned patron."

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Greetings,

my name is Ryker Grimm, I am a Knight of Ishgard that served under former Knight Captain Godefroy, he has left Ishgard without warning and has been gone for a while, therefore he has been stripped of his title and declared dead by Ishgardian authority.

I was one of the few people he told about his departure and he entrusted me to intercept the delivery of letters to his old place of residence, since the Temple Knights have been keeping an eye on it, and answer them, so here I am.

Ser Godefroy had told me that there was someone contacting him and calling him their "Dearest Barkeep" and despite all the mystery surrounding you, he also told me that you could be trusted, that's the only reason why I gave you all that information.

Though I cannot speak for him, Ser Godefroy spoke of you in highest regards, so I'm sure whoever set that "Dog" on your trail does not start with the letter "M" and ends his name with "ephiston".

I apologize that I cannot help you any further with that problem, should you however have any more questions concerning the disappearance of Ser Godefroy, I would do my best to answer them.

With respect for a friend of Ser Godefroy,