McDuff's
Menagerie

Fergus was one of nine brothers, raised in La Noscea by eccentric and loving parents whose household was rich in character rather than coin. Out of gratitude, the brothers ensured their parents never wanted for comfort. No matter the trade nor distance - monster hunting, scholarship, commerce or even privateering - Gil and gifts always found its way home.Fergus chose the sea, spending years as a merchant deckhand across Eorzea. Though the life was modest, he supplemented his income with his talents in dockside fighting pits, where his immense strength earned him quiet renown. His only limitation was his relentless metabolism; poorly fed at sea, he fought below his true capacity, yet with proper sustenance he was formidable.After many years, he finally left the waves behind, settling on land with a respectable fortune. He turned to crafting and cooking - developing an unsurprising affection for the kitchen.Quiet living did not really suit him, however, and a desire for adventure burned in him hotter than ever. Rather than simply joining the Adventurers’ Guild, he developed a grand idea to try establishing one himself with his amassed wealth - envisioning a bustling hub of like-minded individuals joined together to solve less fortunate people's problems.Reality would set in rather quickly when he would realise the median adventurer's goal proved more mercenary than noble. Altruistic folk still existed of course, but they were a much rarer breed. A long and constructive conversation with one such weary, noble soul would soon lead to a new business partner and plan moving forward - to not so much accommodate a veritable troop of adventurers, but to focus more on a close-knit band of comrades - of friends, and in time, a family.

Ser Knight is an enigma even among adventurers. A hedge knight with no allegiance to noble house or city-state, he wanders from region to region guided only by his personal code of honor and a loud, unshakable belief in glory well earned. He is rarely seen without full armor and NEVER without his helmet, the steel visage becoming as much a symbol as the man beneath it.He appears where innocents are in need, answers the call with theatrical bravado, and departs once the deed is done. He is not the strongest blade on the field and certainly not the wisest, but what sets him apart is his staunch endurance. Ser Knight does not yield. He absorbs punishment, rises again, and presses forward long after wiser warriors would withdraw.Beneath the armor, however, is a fractured mind. His grasp on identity and purpose is tightly wound around the persona he has constructed. What came before, manifested it or exists without it is a mystery - one that, even in moments of clarity, he is too afraid to explore.Despite the ailments of his mind, his heart is still one of gold. Ser Knight may not be well, but he is steadfast - and for those he protects, that is enough.

Orphaned during a caravan raid, Killian was rescured by two mutineer criminals unwilling to murder a child. Raised between reluctant domestic care and deliberate criminal mentorship, she grew into a capable thief and fighter within their rebuilt crew - her surrogate family.A Twin Adder raid destroyed that life.Captured and blackmailed by a calculating noble, she was forced into clandestine service under threat of her crew’s execution.Isolation and manipulation refined her into a lethal operative. Believing her obedience preserved her family’s lives, she endured increasingly severe assignments.Isolation hollowed her. To cope, she pursued perfection in combat - her focus on training was the only therapy she had left.
As targets were met and goalposts shifted further, she discovered and sought out the art of the Reapers and bound herself to a powerful voidsent - lured in with the promise of companionship, rather than power; the creature out of curiosity rather than mercy. The pact granted a formidable ally, but also intrusive presence, night terrors, and a gradual erosion of emotional restraint.Her master’s world of nefarious dealings eventually began to collapse under intense Twin Adder scrutiny. In the chaos, Killian searched for proof of where her crew was held, only to find a crippling truth.They had been executed years ago.
The leash had never existed.Her revelation was responded with slaughter, egged on by the Voidsent who fed off of the carnage. After her master's gruesome demise and newfound freedom, she fled to Ul’dah, descending into self-destructive habits while surviving as a sellsword to get by.Eventually a well-presented fellow extended an invitation to a private adventuring guild to her. Her distrust required some patient persistence, but she would eventually take the leap of faith that would lead to her to rediscovering the warmth of family once more.

Valentina began as a devout priest of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church and rose to serve as an Inquisitor during the height of the Dragonsong War. Fiercely zealous and unflinching in her duty, she earned the nickname “Van-Schtabb” for her unsettling enthusiasm in rooting out and executing heretics.Her life shifted when she met a gentle scholar whose temperament stood in stark contrast to her own. Where she was rigid, he was patient. Where she was wrathful, he was reflective. The relationship tempered her, and brought out a more loving and composed side of her. In the war’s aftermath, his steady guidance helped her reevaluate the institution she had served so fervently. She did not abandon her faith, but she relinquished her role within the Church, choosing to pursue her principles without its authority.Still, Valentina was not one for domestic idleness. Still determined to fight genuine wickedness, she hired a small retinue and took to hunting monsters, cultists, and those who preyed upon the helpless.Missions were often perilous, ending in blood and unintended consequence. Companions were lost, and each failure weighed heavier than the last. Misfortune seemed to follow her blade, and without institutional certainty to anchor her, she began to question whether she carried divine purpose - or merely violence dressed as virtue.Her wavering spirit found unexpected steadiness in a chance encounter with an eccentric but earnest benefactor. An enlightening conversation inspired her to move forward and relax her goals, while still using her skills to benefit those in need. By their parting, she established a new business partner and a plan not to rebuild a deadly retinue - but something stronger and more amicable.

Afro is a intelligent and studious mage whose reputation for rhythm and flair belies a far quieter beginning. In his youth, he was much more introverted and dorky, preferring books to people and losing himself in study rather than conversation.Over time, he discovered a love for music and dance. What began as private indulgence gradually reshaped his demeanor. Music loosened his reserve and provided a language more fluid than scholarship ever had. Though he attempted to learn instruments himself, he found he preferred being immersed in music rather than producing it.During his magical studies, he made a pivotal discovery: his spellcasting grew stronger when rhythm and a enjoyable beat occupied his thoughts. Aether flowed more smoothly, incantations landed with greater force, and his overall control improved.From that realization, the “Afro Wizard” was born, and groove became both method and identity. He casts with flair and rhythm, weaving performance into precision - Fire ignites on the downbeat; lightning strikes with deliberate cadence; and a lightshow bursts with brilliant showmanship.Though still a scholar at heart, Afro chose to step beyond the library. He studies to refine his art, then ventures outward to apply it - helping where he can, turning grim work lighter with well-timed flair and infectious rhythm.

Separated from her nomadic parents as a child, Ivana survived alone in the harsh wilds of the Azim Steppe. Superstition from local Au Ra tribesmen marked her as a monster, and rumor transformed her into a supposed “Oni” haunting the Steppe. Forced into the mountains, she endured isolation and hardened into a towering, formidable hunter.To survive (and occasionally to indulge her newfound taste for sake) she extorted travelers crossing her pass. Each encounter reinforced the myth surrounding her. Attempts at diplomacy failed; fear always preceded her. Eventually, calls to “cleanse the demon” drew adventurers. Most sought glory. One party chose conversation.Through persistence and small gestures of goodwill, A knight, a rogue, a brawler, and a duelist earned her trust. For the first time since childhood, Ivana was offered companionship rather than hostility - revealing that the monster of the Steppe had always been something far more human.

In his first life, Bonaparte was Ernest Mallory - heir to a wealthy family whose fortune rested on illicit dealings and strongarm manipulation. A bitter feud with a rival house ended in mutual slaughter, Ernest trading fatal blows that extinguished both bloodlines. The Mallory estate was abandoned, left to rot as time erased its relevance.Centuries later, an aspiring necromancer claimed the ruin as her workshop. After repeated failures to reanimate lesser remains, she eventually succeeded in raising Ernest’s skeleton - though the resurrection was flawed. At first he obeyed, disoriented and addled from death’s long embrace. But as clarity returned, so did his outrage. Ernest had been arrogant and unscrupulous in life - but never submissive.Through sheer force of will and unyielding self-importance, he fractured the spell that bound him. He lacked the prowess to destroy the witch, and she, amused by her defiant creation, refused to leave. It was she who mockingly named him “Bonaparte”, a title he bregudgingly just had to come to terms with.Reacquainted with his decayed ancestral home and furnished with a fragmented recounting of the centuries he had missed, Bonaparte faced an unfamiliar dilemma: what does a disgraced aristocrat do with a second life?Reluctantly, he began to suspect the witch was correct. If one must return from death, one might as well make it memorable.

Blair is a free-spirited witch with little regard for the rules of polite society. She prefers forests, ruins, and forgotten stretches of land to cities - partly by choice, partly because her more spectacular mischief has earned her a hefty bounty.An accomplished spellcaster and alchemist, Blair’s talents are undeniable. Her magic ranges from explosively destructive to creatively indecent, but if a spell can be made louder, brighter, or more inappropriate, she will improve it accordingly. Her potions are no less unpredictable - volatile brews, dubious elixirs, and questionably ethical concoctions - all for sale, for the daring (or desperate) buyer.Her curiosity has led her into darker studies as well, including necromancy. After settling into a long-abandoned estate, she experimented on its former residents. One reanimation proved successful. The resulting skeletal aristocrat was less than thrilled about being dragged back from the afterlife - which Blair considers incredibly ungrateful.Blair’s chaotic tendencies frequently require outside intervention. A recurring band of adventurers frequently ends up addressing the fallout from her “projects”. Rather than deter her, their persistence has made her fond of them - particularly the mysterious knight among them. His complete immunity to her shameless advances has become a bit of a personal challenge for her.

Daring Reapers seeking to bind a powerful voidsent often find their way to her, drawn in spite of (if not because of) the horror stories. Tales of vanished aspirants and blood-soaked ruins serve less as warnings and more as advertisement. Those hungry for power convince themselves they will be the exception. They never are.When a Reaper-in-training summons her through her rift to the void with talk of partnership, she sets simple terms: defeat her in combat, and she will consider a pact. Fail, and she will consume them - body and aether alike. The duels serve a dual purpose: Sport, and sustenance - Either outcome benefits her.Most prove unremarkable - predictable motives, insufficient strength, brief entertainment; but a meal is a meal.Then one arrived who felt different.Desperation radiated from the girl, but not the usual hunger for power. There was resolve in it. A strange acceptance. The duel that followed was vicious and prolonged, forcing the voidsent to exert herself in earnest. Honed blades and razor sharp talons clashed. Blood stained the ground. It was the most entertainment she had enjoyed in decades.But as always, she won.Instead of feeding, she indulged her curiosity and offered a single question: what did the girl truly seek?The answer was unexpected - companionship.She laughed, not in scorn but fascination. Such a motive was rare among those who sought her out - even rarer from someone with such a resolved will. Intrigued by the path such loneliness had carved, she broke her own rule and offered a pact.Not from mercy. But from interest in what would follow.

The Infernii sisters have left a long trail of smoke, broken fences, and deeply exasperated tribe elders across the Steppe. Pranks, theft, fistfights, vandalism - any tribe generous (or foolish) enough to take them in eventually live to regret it. Their ejections are rarely quiet and often memorable.Despite their chaos, their loyalty to each other is immutable. They bicker constantly, blame each other reflexively, and escalate minor inconveniences into public incidents - yet when consequences arrive, they stand shoulder to shoulder. Whether the disaster was Fumi’s idea or Igni’s temper, the other will always jump in to share the blame - very often making the situation much more spectacularly worse.Igni, the elder of the two, is towering and physically imposing - especially for an Au Ra woman. While Fumi can hardly be called the "brains", Igni is most certainly the muscle. Quick-tempered and confrontational, she resolves disputes with her fists and prefers problems that can be struck hard and struck repeatedly.
Her martial style began with traditional foundations but quickly evolved into something uniquely her own - direct, aggressive, and fueled by stubborn fury. Luckily for her, this method has helped her punch above her weight quite significantly.

The Infernii sisters have left a long trail of smoke, broken fences, and deeply exasperated tribe elders across the Steppe. Pranks, theft, fistfights, vandalism - any tribe generous (or foolish) enough to take them in eventually live to regret it. Their ejections are rarely quiet and often memorable.Despite their chaos, their loyalty to each other is immutable. They bicker constantly, blame each other reflexively, and escalate minor inconveniences into public incidents - yet when consequences arrive, they stand shoulder to shoulder. Whether the disaster was Fumi’s idea or Igni’s temper, the other will always jump in to share the blame - very often making the situation much more spectacularly worse.Fumi, the younger sister, is small, shrill, and catastrophically enthusiastic. She treats the line between “harmless prank” and “serious crime” as a vague suggestion.
Her fascination with fire borders on devotional; arson is less a vice and more a hobby she insists is misunderstood. Ironically, the only times she demonstrated consistent discipline were while studying aether manipulation under various tribe elders - though her education was fragmented by frequent expulsions.She is genuinely talented with flame, which is precisely the problem.