Art by @mmmofuni
Tyym Paanih:
Movements of Fate
A growing compilation of side stories to give context for the story and personality of Tyym Paanih.Movements are not ordered by number. The order they're listed on this site is the rough chronological order.
Movement VII:
Calamity
The Seventh Umbral Calamity doesn’t really need an introduction. It was devastating, and changed the course of Eorzea. In a weird way, though, it brought out the best in people as well. For Tyym, it showed how she could be even better.
During the actual event, Tyym was still with her family, and in Old Sharlayan; far away from the actual disaster. Once the news of Dalamud’s destruction reached the city and Tyym’s family, they were immediately ready to take action. One thing that Tyym noticed, however, was how they seemed to be the only ones ready to do so. As her family quickly worked out a way back to Eorzea, everyone else seemed to simply dig deeper into their books and labs. Even securing a boat took longer than normal, as travel seemed to slow to a crawl as people seemed to be less willing to leave. Although they eventually did make it on their way, the whole experience left a bad taste in Tyym’s mouth. The people of Old Sharlayan sought to improve lives with their research, and yet here they were now, refusing to actually put it to practice?
The family made it to Eorzea soon enough, entering a nation of suffering. Though the immediate emergencies were mostly taken care of, the land was still scarred by death, ruin, and sorrow. All of this suffering was nearly too much for the young girl, with no earthly idea where to start and how much they could really help. But her parents remained calm about it all, reminding her to just start with one person and see where their song takes them.
Over time, they were able to cross the entirety of Eorzea, supporting all those in their wake. When they could, they got in the trenches to help clear rubble, care for injured (within their abilities), and other tangible assistance. Often, though, there wasn’t anything tangible; just despair and pain. In these moments, the family simply wielded their instruments and chakrams and performed. Many people just needed some kind of hope to cling to, and even a simple song and dance was all they needed. Just a little moment of respite from all the chaos.
It was ultimately one of the most emotionally and physically draining times for Tyym, but it also showed her how and why she could push her limits for the sake of others. It helped her learn how to look for those in need as well, and understand that those needs may be widely different, yet always of the utmost importance. As she began to adventure on her own, she never forgot this and steadfastly kept her eyes out for those in need, even if they just needed a song to keep them going.
Movement XII:
A Study of Music & Romance
Tyym was never much of a scholar, only really enjoying her music lessons when growing up. That makes this adventure of hers a strange one: why would she decide to enroll at the Studium?
It wasn’t exactly a decision made on a whim, though it was made quickly. Originally, Tyym’s plan was to spend a few days around Old Sharlayan to see where she could be useful, then move on as usual. This often included saving students from stray monster attacks, as their research often distracted them from danger. Normally for Tyym, these were quick jobs: she saved them, got her thanks, and left. One young man, however, kept the conversation going after watching his tools react to Tyym’s musical fighting style. He introduced himself as an up-and-coming Studium student, studying aetherology. This led to a discussion about the aetherologic properties of music and an invitation to join him at the Studium to move this into actual research. Tyym eventually agreed, seeing it as another adventure and another way to do some good for people. However, it wasn’t hard to tell that she was quickly smitten by the man as well. She found it surprisingly easy to keep a conversation going (by her standards), and she wanted to get to know him further.
Thus, Tyym ended up as a student. As a student she was pretty average, and ended up enjoying the student life more than actually studying like one. However, the research she did with her new friend was exciting and fruitful. The concept of music as an offshoot of magic became novel, with a base for how to “cast” it in different ways. From there, aether was tracked in different notes, chords, and songs of varying tones, pitches, volumes, and more to find correlations between different kinds of playing. This led to many theories of how to create more effective songs meant for healing, boosting morale, and other tasks. This also led to a better understanding of older legends like the “Song of Oblivion”, learning why they became the powerful and legendary songs they were. Additional research hinted at the potential of the song’s recipient to further influence a song’s effects, though the exact reason couldn’t be determined. (Once dynamis was discovered and researched, this became the missing reason.)As a result of their shared interest in music, the two ended up meeting a wide variety of music fans at the Studium. Things started pretty simple, as they just enjoyed playing for each other from time to time and discussing the music they loved and created. However, they eventually realized they could share this love of music further, and created a club for music performance. They would often create their own works or adapt older ones to their group, and then host impromptu concerts to show their works off to other students. They called themselves the Réveille Corps after multiple incidents of waking students and faculty up at sunrise, and other traditions began to form as they became closer-knit with each other. These included things like rings fashioned for each other’s Studium achievements, and a “War Hymn'' that they carefully created to celebrate their bonds. The Réveille Corps became well-known for their bonds with each other through all of these traditions. Though this “recurring friend” deal was still fairly new for Tyym, she was overjoyed to find her first true friends through this ragtag group of musicians.
Outside of the Réveille Corps, Tyym and her research partner bonded further through their shared musical tastes. They quickly found they were very similar in personalities as well, so it was easy for them to grow closer and closer. This led to hanging out together more, followed by a series of formal dates. Eventually (“Finally,” according to their friends), the two officially started a relationship together. Outside of her family, Tyym had never met anyone that she felt so comfortable with, and this meant the world to her. Since her travels began, she had never had anyone to confide her problems with or trust with anything. And suddenly he was always there to support and encourage her when she had problems. Of course Tyym was always there for him as well, and she even helped him get outside of his research and on small adventures, when their schedules allowed. They were inseparable and truly in love.Some time after graduation, however, their bond was severed. Tyym had been helping to organize some research documents one day, to have them formally submitted for future studies. While managing to sort out the mess of paper, she discovered a series of opened letters addressed to her boyfriend, from an unknown organization. Taking a break to leaf through them, she discovered a few unfortunate truths about this organization, and their contact. Although the Twelve are naturally worshiped across Ethirys, this group sought to warp this worship into something for their own ends. By taking existing doctrine and legends and “adjusting” them, they targeted people who were gullible and wouldn’t know any better, and tried to show them why their methods of worship were the only legitimate ways to celebrate the Twelve. As they emotionally exploited people to join, they tried to guilt people into participating more and more, seeking to keep their members exclusively with them while reaping all the support and funds from these unknowing victims. Based on the letters, it seemed Tyym was next on the docket to be recruited. With her musical and aetherological prowess, and since she was so willing to help anyone, they saw her as a very useful tool to sway more people into joining. Even if that meant influencing their very aether to convince them.
Reeling from all of this information, Tyym confronted her boyfriend about everything. And he confirmed that it was all true. Their initial meeting had been about more than just a passing interest in aetherology, as he had been studying for the good of his organization. He realized Tyym could be useful in their cause, as they needed people who understood aether and music. He remained adamant that, after they got to know each other, his love was true, and it only strengthened his mission. He wanted to bring Tyym into their fold so that they could remain together after their time in the Studium. After all, he couldn’t be with her if she wasn’t in the organization as well. Though she could tell his feelings were true, Tyym was crushed by this betrayal. The person she trusted the most in the world turned out to be manipulating her for the good of some cult, just so they could use her further. All of those adventures, all of their time spent building each other up and encouraging each other on, all of their smiles and laughs shared together… all of it was, even indirectly, part of this grand scheme. There was no way to truly trust him after that. She ended their relationship from there and left him for the last time, with all of their work.
For the next few days, Tyym remained incredibly elusive. Even her friends usually couldn’t find her. She only appeared at the Last Stand occasionally for food, and even then she never remained for long before going back into hiding. This was her first heartbreak, and she was in no mood to see or talk to anyone. The Studium features many places for students to go into hiding while they study, and Tyym took full advantage of this to hide away from everything and sit with her emotions. Eventually she felt better enough to come out of hiding, not saying much but being with her friends as they tried to help her out. And not too long after that, she was off on her next adventure. While she realized she was ready for something new after staying in one place for so long, she was also secretly ready to get away from the pain of everything that had just happened, and bury herself in her adventures to forget about it.This hasn’t totally worked; she’s still occasionally haunted by the betrayal, and she tends towards extreme caution when even thinking about romance. But her time at the Studium provided a lot of good in her life as well. It was Tyym’s first successful social experience, and the first people she could truly call friends. In fact, the Réveille Corps still exists in the Studium, and she still catches up with her friends from time to time around the world. And she better understood why music was so impactful, increasing her drive to be there for everyone she met. After consorting with those who just want to tear others down for their own ends, she was more than ready to give them a true song to hold onto.
Movement LXIX:
A New Lute and a New Friend
During a particularly capricious trip to the Black Shroud, Tyym encountered a botanist being chased by a treant. As usual, she stepped in to help them out, grabbing its attention to fight it herself. This treant was more aggressive than most, however; though it went down, it managed to grab her lute as she was using it for magic, and smash it.
Tyym came out of the scuffle uninjured, but nearly inconsolable as a bard without her instrument. She’d had that lute since she started her journey, and it had been there for every adventure she found herself on. And here it was, smashed beyond repair in a matter of seconds. Fortunately the botanist was able to recommend a skilled woodworker they regularly visited, Jahleh Xurlhi; before they could offer to pay for the replacement lute, Tyym was gone and off to see her.
From the second she opened the door to Jahleh’s shop, Tyym was a whirlwind of emotion as she haphazardly tried to explain her situation amidst her panic. Fortunately Jahleh was able to read between the lines; she managed to calm the elezen down and understand the commission and its importance to her. After thinking for a moment, she summoned her apprentice, A’rhenu Tia, and asked him to take this job on. Tyym was hesitant at first to have an apprentice take this job on, instead of the actual shop owner, but Jahleh assured her that he was perfect for the job.
Tyym stuck around during A’rhenu’s work, often watching him during the day. Besides her anxieties towards the final result, she was also curious about the woodworking process; she rarely had opportunities to see it up close. A’rhenu would often ask about the specifications she was looking for in her lute; besides making her feel more comfortable in his work, it gave her multiple opportunities to share her adventures with him. She noticed a spark in his eyes as she told her tales, and it made her excited to share more and more.
Soon enough, A’rhenu finished her lute. It exceeded her expectations; it was hard for Tyym to not keep playing it as she thanked her crafter for his amazing work. However, she soon realized she hadn’t negotiated payment beforehand; she wasn’t in the most financially stable place at the moment. As she sheepishly asked if she could do anything to help out around the shop as her payment, A’rhenu piped up. He was apparently inspired by Tyym’s music, and wanted her to teach him how to play. With Jahleh’s blessing, this became her payment.
Thus, Tyym stuck around the woodworking shop a bit longer as the lessons began. Tyym was able to teach A’rhenu about the basics of musical performance, and he was a fast learner. In no time, he became a respectable musician in his own right! Tyym was occasionally inspired by his music through dance; these impromptu performances would catch the eye of passers-by, and led to more customers for Jahleh in the process. These lessons also allowed Tyym to share more adventures through the music she taught A’rhenu. In return, the carpenter began to share more of his life. Though she hadn’t learned everything, his music expressed the trials and struggles he’d been through for a lot of his life. She was curious to learn more, but also happy knowing he was doing much better where he was now. The two became fast friends through these lessons and their exchange of stories.
Eventually Tyym had fulfilled her end of the bargain (and then some, as Jahleh noted her increase in clients), and she was ready to set off on another adventure. As she headed out, she thought about the wanderlust she began to see in her new friend’s eyes, like she often felt. She knew it wouldn’t be the last time she’d see A’rhenu Tia, and couldn’t wait to see him out on his own adventures.