The FFXIV Swap Discord proudly presents Ancient May, or, more colloquially, #Mayncient! On the discord, many of our members have ancients that are not Azem, and I know that goes for here on Tumblr as well. So we wanted to make an ancient OC based month that would not feel limited to only Azems. Azems are of course welcome, but not required, as are any OCs that hold other seats, or are even just normal people trying to get by in the pre-Sundering world. We want to see all your Ancients!

Mayncient is open to all types of art, be it gpose, drawing, writing, anything you can do is welcome for Mayncient! And we're posting nice and early so everyone can have a chance to participate, even if you need to prep before May.

We hope you have fun, and we're excited to see all your beautiful and unique Ancients!

Edit: Please don't think that you can't participate because your only ancient is Azem, Azem is still welcome! We just wanted to be inclusive of all Ancient OCs, not only Azem. :3 So bring your Azems! All Ancients are welcome, including Azem.

MAYNCIENT :: Day 3 - Friends

She's got a lot of them!

Iris and Ariadne are my terrible ancients

Icarus - @hermits-hovel

Timoria - @lilbittymonster; Minthe @tallbluelady

Panthea - @whatsthisascianbullshit; Erasmos - @azure-dragonsinger

Ares Nemo - @abyssalmermaiden

Mnemosyne - @hermits-hovel; Outis - @mythandral

Kytheon - @mythandral

Day 1 of Mayncient; Introduction~ ~ Iris ~

Iris, my Azem and the creator of the Elpis flower, an ancient form of pictomancy, and able to manipulate her own dynamis. She might be a horrid liar but she makes up for it with her sincerity in all she does.

Mayncient Day 1: Introduction

Anthea, Creationist of Elpis // Constantinos, Assistant to Emet-Selch Deimos, Word of Lahabrea // Iris, Creation Follow Up

lore below the cut

Hi Hello and welcome! Have a little lore and details to my four ancients and where they started!

Anthea

They grew up on Elpis and followed, mostly, in their parent's footsteps in creating and researching concepts, where they differed was picking flora over fauna. Anthea had many a great idea and wanted to so desperately make something perfect worthy of the star but never could get their creations exactly how they wanted them and even when they could it could never be replicated in the exact same manner. It was an attempt to create a flower with rainbow edges that a stray thought gave birth to what would be dubbed the Elpis flower, the most life changing flora they had created.

Constantinos aka Conner

With a passion in the application of plants to the body in various forms, it was a surprise he wasn't sent to be a Word of Halmarut. Instead he found his post to becoming the assistant to the newest appointed Emet-Selch, though metaphorical guard dog was a more apt description at times. While not ideal Conner embraced the role and found his skills and detail orientated brain worked well with the seemingly random data brought up from the Aetherial Sea. It was through this job that he would meet all manner of people of the utmost importance to their society....and he never finds out that he was placed there as an attempted prank by Emet-Selch's brother Azem.

Deimos

Born and raised in Amaurot not far from his cousin Hades, Deimos was always a bit of an odd one. Always over excitable, had to be moving, and always had a million questions for his older cousin Hades. The two were raised closely to a point it was just easier to call one another brother, especially when Deimos' natural talent in magic and intelligence led to him skipping enough grades to soon share a classroom with Hades wherein soon the boys were always associated with one another. Once they were out in the world as adults, Deimos set to work on setting himself apart from his brother, finding a passion in the creation and process of doing so among the Words of Lahabrea. Still eccentric as ever Deimos would run the other Words that mentored him, when Lahabrea could not, ragged. It was after his latest suggestions on adding "cuteness and more fighting features" to someone's little fluffy transformation familiar that the Words pushed him onto the current Azem that was looking for assistance on their adventure. His out of the box thinking and fearlessness impressed Azem and had her taking him under her wing to become the next Azem.

Iris

She was always the honor student it was no surprise that she would end up in a class with a young Hades who was relieved to have a class without his brother or his best friend Hythlodaeus. As assigned partners though these two both had their own opinions on how things should be done and couldn't get along to start....that is until she defended his harshness of another student with a subtle harshness of her own that the two found they had much in common. Getting closer in the classes to follow where Hades was without his other two companions, they started a bit of a relationship that came to an end with the end of required schooling. Iris had a thirst for adventure and had always set her sights on following up on the creations released into the world, that Hades never wanted to stifle and she didn't want to stifle him and his plans that he had for his life. Staying in touch the best they could over the years it would take an AU for them to end up together.

day 1: Introduction

"So Notus, are you prepared to be introduced to the convocation as my successor?" "Oh yes, I just can't wait to see the look on the face of the most honorable Emet-Selch when he sees me"

"Try not to give him too much trouble ... even though I know you will." "You know me too well, Venat. I'm more worried about their reaction to your announcement."

5. duty

the people of eitherys seldom speak of death. of ascension, of returning, certainly; but death is a mere unkindness, too sudden, too brutal, ugly and graceless in its inevitability.

to return to the star is noble. to die is a misfortune.

but even unpleasant business must be taken care of. such is the domain of the siopiloi, or the silent ones. they are the guardsmen of the underworld, and theirs is the duty of balancing the books of life and death, of transporting lost souls across the veil, and of performing the necessary funereal rites to ensure their safe passage.

and as astero came to learn all too well, theirs was the duty of delivering a swift and final end.

Day 1: Introduction

Please allow me to introduce two Ancients of wealth and taste:

The first image is Lycoris Anados, Head of Concept Validation at the Bureau of the Architect and a close friend (occasionally more) of Azem's. She is direct, no-nonsense, and dependable--much like a certain sorcerer of Eld I could mention. What can I say? Talia has a type.

The second is Ajax Telamonian, a man who, by the time of the Sundering, holds the distinction of being one of the longest-tenure Words of Azem alongside his friend Solis. He is kindhearted, shy, and loyal to a fault--which ultimately proves to be his downfall.

"My dear friends, Azem, Hythlodaeus. Allow me to introduce the two of you to my new ward, Melinoe."

Mayncient Day 1 and 2: Introduction and Meeting

Mayncient Day 1 - Introduction

I unnoo how far I'm gonna go with this but here we go!

This is Hachiko's Ancient Etia! I'm still kind of... working on her story. XS But so far she's a self-insert that got Isekaied into FF14 from my world, into Ancient Etheirys as my Vessel.

This is Ilar's Ancient Tiberius! He was created by Etia for companionship after talking to Hermes about Meteion. He's an oc I decided to drop into FF14 with me cause I love hims. ouo

The Picrew I used to make them is here!

MAYNCIENT :: Day 6 - Dawn

It's another beautiful day And I can feel it rising up in my throat

MAYNCIENT :: Day 1 - Introduction

(reposting this bit because i think it works very well as an introduction to my scumbag botanist ancient; featuring erasmos @azure-dragonsinger and mentions of timoria @lilbittymonster)

Ariadne rushed through the humid halls of the Words of Halmarut, one arm rustling about in her bag for a concept crystal she needed for today’s lecture, the other wrapped around several rolled charts. She was running inexcusably late, as was usual whenever Timoria was back in town. Even as harried as she was at this moment, Ariadne smiled to herself, recalling the unique sensation of Mori’s latest experimental body modification: a biforked tongue. She’d have a couple more days with her before Mori’s work took her outside the city again. Resolving to pace herself this week, for once, she turned a corner and ran smack into Halmarut.

“Oh! You’re running late, aren’t you?” Halmarut laughed softly.

“Late night-” she began, but Halmarut waved his hand.

“It is important to have fun, especially at your age. Just make sure you’re not inconveniencing your students because of it.” He smiled beneath his mask, stepping out of her way. Ariadne began jogging away, before Halmarut called after her. “Oh! Speaking of students, you have a new one!” She slowed down and turned, continuing to walk toward her destination, but backwards, cocking her head to the side in a gesture approximating a question. “Just transferred from Lahabrea! Keep an eye on him, hm?”

Wonderful. A new student, and already half a bell late. The young botanists in her teaching group were used to her frequent tardiness, but this was a disciple of Lahabrea. She briefly conjured an image of a typical Phantomology student: serious, somber, driven. Lahabreas in miniature, she thought, scowling. She slowed as she approached the corner of the Phytobiology halls where her students met twice a week and peeked her head around to observe them before approaching.

The familiar botanists were undergrads, so in sync with each other as to be indistinguishable with their masks on and hoods up. They stood, huddled, observing the new student, who was significantly taller, leaning against the side of a bookshelf and watching them with a frown. His hood was off, revealing a mess of long, wild dark brown hair and, strangely enough, a goatee. Ariadne’s eyebrows knitted. An oversized Lahabrea, perhaps? What did Halmarut mean by “keep an eye on him,” anyway?

Perhaps by way of answer, the tall student produced a cigarette from his robes and lit up in the middle of Phytobiology, taking a long drag and turning away from the scandalized botanists, who tittered and whispered amongst themselves with a shaking, quiet furor.

That was definitely against the rules. She couldn’t imagine Lahabrea would ever accept such behavior from a student. As he exhaled, he caught Ariadne peeking from behind the stack. He crossed his arms, and his frown set in deeper, just as a mischievous grin began to spread across her face. A peer, she thought as she approached her students to begin lecture for the day. She’d ask him for a cigarette after class. Who knows? Maybe he was fun, too.

MAYNCIENT :: Day 4 - Mask

Do you want to go down to the pits of yourself all alone? Not much. What if an actor could do it for you? Isn’t that why they are called actors? They act for you. You sacrifice them to action.

(Anne Carson, Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides)

MAYNCIENT :: Day 11 - Hope

"Up we get. There's much more to do yet."

so that time that ariadne and panthea (beloved, @whatsthisascianbullshit) pre-sundered themselves and invented faeries (scholar mains, you're welcome)

MAYNCIENT :: Day 7 - Familiar

Protomyke 987 : A variety of fungus identified in the Chlorophospond, and deceptively unintelligent even given the low expectations such a description establishes.

MAYNCIENT :: Day 13 - Flames

well, they're flames at least in the music video i was deliberately basing some of the shots off during this posing session at least

MAYNCIENT :: Day 12 - Shine

It is possible to get Icarus @hermits-hovel out of the city, he just needs a bit of coaxing. And a lot of flattery. And a fair amount of bullying.