WIP: The Viera of Ivalice 0.3.2

"The Viera may begin as part of the Wood, but the Wood is not the only end that we may choose..." -Fran

LORE:
The Viera come from a land known as Ivalice, where they began their life of seclusion within the forests of the world. Ever-cautious of all outsiders due to major conflicts with the power-hungry Humes, the Viera hide their villages within forests with the aid of a powerful, enchanted powder known as "Vision Dust." With red complexions, leporine features, and consisting almost entirely of females, the Viera genders dwell apart from one another within their race. Possessing superb eyesight, speed, hearing, a vast life span, and a divine connection to the essence of Life in the forests known only to outsiders as "the Wood", the Viera have earned the name "The Children of the Wood." With their reverence for life and the forests as the Mother of their people, the Viera are very philosophical and devout to their path. It is said that the Wood communes with the Viera that dwell within the forest; that Her voice can be heard only by their ears. There are however those that have chosen to leave the boughs of the Wood, against their own laws. These wanderers were believed for ages past to have lost their ability to commune with the Wood, and once were deemed exiles by the elders. That was long ago, before Viera even ventured to the stars that hung above Ivalice. It was then that we discovered there are those that always carry Her voice with them...

Viera Hybrids:
There are tales of a mating between a full-blooded Viera and Feolthanos, an ancient leader of a winged race of Humes known as the "Aegyl." The offspring of this line bear shorter ears than the full-blooded Viera, and are fair of skin, with an even longer lifespan than the full-blooded. This line of Viera became known as the "Feol", named for the Aegyl leader. In the past these Viera were viewed as impure abominations by their full-blooded kin, having been tainted by the power-needy Hume blood, and many Feol left the embrace of the Wood. It is said that most of their Warren were decimated in a brutal strike, but they endured, few in numbers even now. Most believe their ears far too harsh and inferior to hear the Green Word of the Mother, but that cannot be true for all.

Prologue:
Not long after the reclamation of Dalmasca, a disturbance was sensed from within the Wood. It was elusive, even to our senses, but the Wood spoke it on the winds; something was amiss. A team of Wood Warders, Salve Makers, and allies of the Viera were dispatched to investigate the disruption within the sacred depths. They came upon a sinister blight that led a trail to it's source: the ancient tree of Mhoore, one of our most sacred. Hiding silently within the flora, the party witnessed hooded figures performing dark magicks upon the ancient tree, attempting to bring forth a consuming void. The depths of the tree spilled open with waves of empty, umbric energies and a massive being emerged. Thus a void Esper was summoned. It's choking essence began to spread wildly through the roots and soil as our troupe, Viera and Hume ally alike attempted to battle the foe. Whilst our warriors fought, Salve Makers struggled to fight back the void essence with sacred mixtures of the Wood, but even as quickly as it was cleansed, the dark energy redoubled. It was a force of such immense power that the party had to withdraw and warn the others.

No warning was needed, as the Viera surveying from the canopy of the trees could see the blight spread and even begin to consume the land outside the reach of the Wood. The whispers of the Wood echoed upon the ears of the Viera in the village and the elders conjured magicks through magicite crystal to protect the rest of the forest around them with an ethereal seal as they awaited the group's return. The darkness inched closer and closer to the village edge, but was halted when reaching the sacred seal as the essence of the Wood Herself stood in defiance against the wave. The barrier gave them time to begin preparations, and the group returned from their journey. Informing the elder Viera of the dread that lurked outside the barrier, they witnessed the void being approach like a storm on the horizon within the Wood. It's strength weighed heavy on the crystal seal in attempts to break through, and the barrier began wear.

The ethereal energies reverberated, stretched and gathered within the village center. Magicite energy and the Wood's essence melded and shaped a bright, humanoid being that took the form of a tall Viera, clad in a white gown with long flowing hair. Bathed in the light of the ethereal barrier, the being opened her eyes and floated to the void that pressed upon the village edge. She raised her arms to the heavens as waves of energy gathered within her hands and eyes and poured into the seal. The barrier quickly gained renewed strength and began to spread outward across the forest, retaking the blight and renewing the flora of the Wood. She met the void being at the edge of the barrier and with a final push of energy expelled the dark force's grasp to the outskirts of the forest, forming a shell of energy around. The blight rolled and spilled outward from the impact, spreading across Ivalice. The void being's energy began to split open the veil between worlds, consuming areas of the terrain. The Wood was safe for now, but the rest of Ivalice stood at the void's mercy.

The bright lady returned to the village center, to convene with the people. "You must be the legend spoke of, the avatar of the Wood, the Lady Eithne" said Jote. The lady nodded. "In ages past, you came to our aid to save our people from complete annihilation in the Hume conflicts. We are humbled by your refuge again." The bright lady then smiled warmly and spoke. "The Esper that threatens this land can do no harm to all within the barrier, but the world outside faces certain demise. The barrier may not be infinite should the Esper strengthen. You will find the answer in the stars. You must come with me and flee this place..." The Lady led them through the forest depths to a long forgotten haven and a natural spring. She raised a hand and pointed to an opening in the terrain. "Through there you will find a vessel capable of carrying you to the heavens. The void may follow you across the universe, but so may I. Use the ancient ways to hide yourselves in the forests of the universe and trust few. You will find the answer, and when it is uncovered, this land will be the battlefield to send the evil back from where it came." She held out her hand. "Take these seeds. When sown, they will grow and we may commune once again through them." Many of the elders stayed behind to ensure the barrier held including Jote, and others simply did not wish to leave.

The large vessel hummed to life and sent the travelers into the heavens. Weeks turned to months and months to years. More than a decade has passed and we have since built many settlements across the universe, and many more vessels for travel, but have found few leads to answer our questions. Eithne was right, the void has pursued us despite our successes in hiding, though we still are blessed with Her protection and remain adamant at finding the solution to the woes of Ivalice...

CHARACTER CREATION:

SHIP:

Currently a placeholder until the final ship is completed. All objects (except the overhead ship lighting) are custom and for the final ship.

PET CHOCOBO:
Five variations of the ship's pet Chocobo

Tiered Armors:
These armors will be replaced by job armors in the future, but currently serve as tier gear for the Viera following in line with Starbound's armor setup. Only tiers four, five "s", & six "s" have male versions. All others utilize female versions in their animation. All but tiers one and two have color options for dyes.

Tier I

Tier II

Tier III

Tier IV

Tier V - Accelerator

Tier V - Manipulator

Tier V - Separator

Tier VI - Accelerator

Tier VI - Manipulator

Tier VI - Separator

Vanity Armors:
Vanity versions of previous job armors from Final Fantasy games featuring the Viera are available to craft at the Viera tailoring center. As vanity armors they do not provide any stats.

Fencer

Red Mage

White Mage

Elementalist

CRAFTING:
Currently, the Viera crafting stations mimic the recipes of the Vanilla stations, but this will be changed in the future. Equivalent and additional recipes will be added eventually.

WOODWORKING TABLE
Crafts all Viera building materials and objects


TAILORING CENTER
Crafts all Viera vanity armors and racial gear, as well as dyes)



STONE HEARTH
Crafts all furnace equivalent recipes and refines Magicite. Magicite can be used to craft various objects, and can even be used to fuel the Viera ship both in it's raw and refined form.



SALVE MAKER'S SET
Crafts all healing and buff items



WOOD WARDER'S TABLE
Crafts all farming equipment

BUILDING MATERIALS, OBJECTS, & TENANTS:
Over one hundred building materials, all with color options!

TENANTS:
Pair one of the following objects with several Viera objects and a colony deed to spawn the corresponding Viera. You can purchase these objects from Nanzie's (currently a craftable shop found on the wood working table--this will change in the future). Add a combat tagged object (Ex: Viera bow or sword rack) and you'll spawn a Viera guard tenant!

Heart of the Wood
Spawns female Veena/Rava Viera

Spirit of the Wood
Spawns a male Veena/Rava Viera

Ruby Feol Crest of Wings
Spawns a female Feol Viera

Emerald Feol Crest of Wings
Spawns a male Feol Viera



VIERA BUILDING:

**Below are building examples, but are not a part of the spawnable village (which will be reworked)**





DALMASCAN BUILDING MATERIALS:

SETTLEMENTS:
There is currently a setup for Viera settlements to spawn on forest, savannah, jungle, and tundra biome types, however it is currently being reworked with the help of member @bk3k . The settlements will soon follow the lore of being hidden, with the way only opened by Vision Dust.

DONATIONS:
If you wish to support my creative abilities with mod work with donations of any kind, click the link below to view my Patreon page: AmazonValkyrie's Patreon

FUTURE GOALS:

- Completely custom ship
- Magitek Mech Mount
- Tiered Job Armors and weaponry to replace current tiered gear
- Settlements Rework
- Companions/Crew Rework for the Viera
- Chocobo Mount
- Hub City - Central for Viera Questing

If you enjoy the mod, please review and rate it below! Your feedback and rating really mean so much to my work ^_^


NOTICE:

- This mod does require a character creation extender mod in order to appear in your character creation menu!

- The reviews section is for reviewing the overall quality of the work contained within this mod, and is NOT to contain bug reports, etc. Please post all problems, crashes, and bug reports in the discussions thread so that I may address and solve them!

Mod Pack Permissions:

You must get the author's consent before including this mod in a compilation.

Mod Assets Permissions:

Do not alter or redistribute the assets included in this mod.