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Scion of the Seventh Dawn
Sage
Son of House Leveilleur, it was at the tender age of eleven that Alphinaud and his twin sister, Alisaie, were accepted into the prestigious Studium. There, he specialized in the study of arcane entities, history and natural history, and pursued advanced studies in the magical arts and aetherology. Upon graduating at sixteen, the Sharlayan age of adulthood, he resolved to sail for Eorzea in spite of his father’s objections. Alphinaud has since worked to see his grandfather’s wishes made reality. It is why he joined the Scions, and later why he founded the Crystal Braves. With the latter, however, the Ul’dahn elite utilized Alphinaud’s inflated confidence to their advantage, wresting the Braves from his control and delivering the young man a bitter defeat.
Swallowing his despair, Alphinaud traveled with the Warrior of Light and Tataru to Ishgard, a nation locked in the thousand-year Dragonsong War. There he engaged with various factions and individuals who sought to resolve the conflict in their own way, among them Archbishop Thordan VII, Ser Aymeric, the Azure Dragoon Estinien, and the heretic Ysayle. The experience prompted him to reevaluate his view of the world as well as his purpose, and as the war neared its conclusion, he reached his own: he would not be a man who sacrifices friends and family for a cause. In spite of the risk to himself, he swore to rescue Estinien, who had been corrupted by the influence of Nidhogg’s shade, and with the aid of the Warrior of Light succeeded in saving the dragoon’s life.
Alphinaud’s involvement in the provincial rebellions that followed taught him further life lessons. He saw firsthand the crushing defeat dealt to the Ala Mhigan Resistance in Rhalgr’s Reach by Zenos and the XIIth Imperial Legion. Undeterred, the young Scion then journeyed to the Far East with his comrades, braving haunted seas, and helped the Domans to free themselves from imperial rule. Having won an ally in Hien, Doma’s rightful king, he returned to Eorzea to once more aid the Ala Mhigans in their fight against the Empire. At length the Eorzean Alliance laid siege to Ala Mhigo, where Zenos ruled as viceroy, and succeeded in vanquishing the imperial occupiers. With peace thus restored to the land, Alphinaud enjoyed a moment of adventure as he joined the Warrior of Light and fellow Scion Arenvald in a quest for lost treasure.
In the course of these experiences, Alphinaud learned of the Populares, a moderate faction in Garlean politics that sought to bring change to its provincial policy. Together with one of its members, a soldier named Maxima, he embarked on a diplomatic mission to the imperial capital. An unexpected attack en route put a premature end to his plans, but his subsequent chance meeting with Gaius led to another opportunity. Long thought dead, the former legatus had taken to working independently in the shadows, and their encounter resulted in an unlikely alliance that set in motion events which would alter the course of history.
After coming to the First, Alphinaud applied himself earnestly and continued to ponder the true meaning of salvation. He did not shrink before Lord Vauthry, the godlike mayor of Eulmore, who believed himself to be mankind’s sole deliverance, nor did he hesitate to voice his opposition when Emet-Selch revealed his intent to restore the past at the cost of the future. By these acts, he showed that the salvation that he had once striven to bring to others had transcended hollow ideals and become a tangible endeavor. And in the face of the Telophoroi threat in the Source, his long-held dream was realized with the formation of the Grand Company of Eorzea. With the combined might of not only the city-states but the myriad tribes besides, this organization united the realm in a way its ignominious precursor, the Crystal Braves, could not.
As he continued to walk his long path, Alphinaud was unexpectedly reunited with his father Fourchenault. In their first meeting since he left Sharlayan behind, he was made to question the wisdom of his course─of going to war to effect change. But encouraged by his comrades, his sister Alisaie not least of all, he was able to find his answer: for those he holds dear, he would always choose to fight.
Even now, with the Final Days averted, Alphinaud labors on behalf of those in need. And he will ever do so, forging ahead one step at a time towards the better tomorrow he envisions.