Draco: This one would require completion of the Main Scenario Quest "In Darkness the Magatama Dreams". I imagine some of the dialogue would change based on your progression with the questline starting at "The Palace of Lost Souls".

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Lv. 65: A Radiant Blue So Deep

When Ayleth came to check up on Zyaire and company, she found them at a table in the aetheryte plaza. Kiyomi was happily munching on a stick of dango, though she looked up in pleasant surprise when the adventurer approached. "Hffo affn, Mff!"

"What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?" Panha scolded.

Kiyomi swallowed down what was in her mouth. "Sorry, Mama." Then, to Ayleth; "Hello again, Miss!"

→"Hello again, Kiyomi."
→"Seems someone's enjoying herself."

Ayleth's words had the Auri girl beaming.

Zyaire took the opportunity to speak up. "She remembered something new the other day, while we were looking around. She said she remembered being led somewhere by someone... and then passing through 'a lot of blue'." He crossed his arms. "Which... sounds awfully like someone dragged her underwater at some point."

The words raised a thought to Ayleth's mind, and she made a point to share it.

Panha started at the description. "You're telling me there are underwater villages in the Ruby Sea?" she exclaimed. "And one of them is home to the Raen?" Her gaze fell. "If she was dragged all the way to Eorzea from there..."

"We don't know for sure," Zyaire observed, "but we might as well ask." He turned to Ayleth. "Could you pay a visit to this Sui-no-Sato and ask around?"

QUEST COMMENCED

+x+x+x+

As Ayleth had anticipated, Shiosai was not in the most pleasant of moods when she made to approach him.

"The outsider from before," he recognized. "Why have you returned?"

With a deep breath, Ayleth explained the situation.

Shiosai started on hearing what she had to say. "A Raen girl found in the west, with no memory of her arrival? And you say she remembers being in Hingashi, and passing through a blue expanse..." He set a hand on his chin. "I cannot deny the implications... And yet, our sanctuary beneath the waters does much to prevent those of hostile intentions from seeking us out. There are those who have left Sui-no-Sato, but all of them have done so by their own choice, or because they were exiled as punishment."

He turned back to Ayleth. "...Even so, I will not dismiss this situation out of hand. Pray bring the child to the Ruby Price. I will meet you there, and see her for myself."

+x+x+x+

Zyaire and Panha were relieved to hear what had happened; once Kiyomi was finished her dango, they made their way to the dock on the Ruby Sea.

Shiosai was waiting when they arrived, and bowed in greeting. "Westerners. Thank you for coming." His gaze turned to Kiyomi. "This is the lost child?"

Kiyomi looked very uncertain. "H-Hello..."

"...You are no child of Sui-no-Sato," Shiosai observed. "And yet... there is a resemblance."

Panha angled her head. "A 'resemblance' to who?"

Shiosai turned to. "Though we strive for isolation and independence," he explained, "there are rare times when we have no choice but to engage with others in diplomacy. Many years ago, there was a woman present for one such negotiation, who insisted we stood to benefit if we were to open ourselves to the world. If we would trade and share, without qualm; if there was nothing we would not give away, and no one to whom we would not give it, if we stood to receive something great enough in return."

"There's a bold line between being open to the world, and having nothing you won't give away," Zyaire observed.

"Indeed," Shiosai asserted, "and so we denied her suggestions. When she would not cease, she was banished from Sui-no-Sato." He turned back to Kiyomi. "We have not seen her again since... but I cannot deny that you have a resemblance to her."

Kiyomi's gaze fell.

"...Thank you for your time," Zyaire insisted. "Pray forgive us for troubling you."

With another bow, Shiosai turned and made to depart, and Panha turned to Ayleth. "Let's head back to Kugane."

+x+x+x+

Zyaire was alone in the aetheryte plaza when Ayleth returned to Kugane.

"Kiyomi wanted to rest," he explained. "Panha took her to our room at the Bokairo Inn." His gaze fell. "I keep thinking about what Shiosai told us. A woman who wanted to trade without any qualms whatsoever... who resembles Kiyomi. A more naive man would say it couldn't be... but I've spent enough time in Ul'dah to know better."

With a shake of his head, he raised his gaze to Ayleth. "All this time, I was worried about how her parents might react to the way Kiyomi addressed me and Panha. But if she was sold off by her own mother... then we can't bring her back to someone like that. She deserves a better life than to be sold away. I..." He closed his eyes. "Is it selfish of me, that I want to be the one to give it to her?"

→"What's so selfish about wanting to see a little girl grow up happy?"

Zyaire sighed. "Maybe I'm overthinking this..."

→"I'd say she chose you and Panha already."

Ayleth's words brought a smile to the champion's face. "...I suppose she did."

He turned away, looking in the direction of Bokairo Inn. "We still need to be careful. For all we know, her mother is still out there, and she won't be happy to learn that her child isn't where she left her. We'd better make plans to head back to Eorzea." He glanced back at Ayleth. "I just hope Kiyomi isn't too upset to learn that we're leaving so soon."

QUEST COMPLETE


Draco: Shiosai mentions when you first speak to him in the MSQ that Sui-no-Sato does engage in diplomacy with other nations, albeit always with caution. To be fair, most examples throughout the existing canon have negotiators coming to Sui-no-Sato, but I think "young child who may or may not have been taken from home" is the sort of situation where someone from Sui-no-Sato would go to the negotiation.