Free Company
Lolorito’s eyes met Finn’s briefly, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“You’ve done well today,” he said. “There is more to learn, but my other matters demand attention.” He straightened and gestured subtly. “Attendant, take Finn to the Immortal Flames hall. He should begin setting up his Free Company. Continue your instruction as you see fit.”
The attendant stepped forward, bowing slightly. “Right away, sir.”
Finn glanced at Lolorito, a mix of gratitude and curiosity in his expression. Before he could ask another question, Lolorito was already walking away, blending into the crowd of Ul’dah’s streets.
The attendant turned back to Finn. “Come. I will guide you through the registration process.”
Finn followed the attendant through the polished marble halls of the Immortal Flames, the banners of crimson and gold fluttering gently above them. Recruits and officers moved with practiced precision, but Finn’s focus was inward — thinking of the first step of his new venture.
The attendant stopped at a desk toward the back, where a sharp-eyed Elezen clerk looked up from her ledger. “Name of your Free Company?” she asked, pen poised.
Finn paused. He let the name form in his mind, considering how it would reflect his style and approach.
After a quiet moment of thought, he spoke. “Wikiwaltz.”
The Birth of Wikiwaltz
Extract from the minutes of the Syndicate’s Registry of Companies, 12th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon
“…the petitioner presented papers for registration under the name ‘Wikiwaltz.’ The clerks expressed uncertainty as to spelling and asked thrice whether the title were not an error of transcription. The patron, an attendant of Master Nanarito, merely smiled and insisted the name stand unaltered.
Initial reactions among the guild were varied: some laughed, calling it a child’s fancy; others dismissed it as a folly unworthy of Ul’dahn seriousness. Yet several noted, in hushed tones, that Master Nanarito does not waste coin on trifles. If he lends backing to such a whimsy, perhaps the joke is not the name itself — but those too slow to see its design.”
Finn Verci 