Eulogy for Monkfish.
Since October 2004 I have been using this cute little Taru dude.
It all started when I created him as a monk, not knowing anything about FFXI and the interworkings of it all. I didn't start on lvling any other job until level 12 where I started leveling the black mage job.
He wasn't always a weaver. He started life in FFXI as a cook, making juices to take into battle with him.. With his love for apple pies in mind, he leveled cooking to level 30. Alas, the income of cooking didn't suppliment his thrist for gil.
It wasn't until his black mage was around level 40ish, with trusty Darksteel Baselard in hand (signed by infamousfrog) where he began harvesting for gil. Aside from camping Hoo Mjuu the Torrent for gil, he farmed Yagudo necklaces in Giddeus on the side. And it wasn't until when he used a wind crystal with a Yagudo necklace to make grass thread that he began his clothcrafting career.
He travelled all over Vand'iel, looking for adventure where ever the road (or teleport) took him. He established a group of friends with him that travelled the road with him, but he also loved his quiet time. The countless times that he went to Tahrongi Canyon and the Maze brings back a lot of wonderful memories.
The first time he visited Ifrit's Cauldron was with a pickup group for ZM4 headstones. The unfamiliar surroundings, the heat of the magma running around him not only made him disorientated, but it affected the group as well. With no map and no clear leader of the group, it led to a whole party wipe. Not only once, but twice.
After that he travelled to Ifrit's Cauldron a few times. For the span of almost a month he was in there trying to find those elusive oricalcum ores that he could sell for a hefty price. His adventures in there could become fill pages of this by itself, but we'll leave that for another time.
As well as Ifrit's Cauldron, he also mined alot in Oldton. He made quite a few friends with the locals, miners and moblins alike. His friend, the Moblin Ashman, who couldn't be here today for this, as he was in a freak bomb toss accident that he couldn't contain with his frying pan, sends his utmost regards to the little dude.
After reaching level 75 in Black Mage, he grew tired of the leveling scene. Going out into the wilderness and blowing things up bgan to lose its appeal. Instead he decided to concentrate on this clothcrafting. He honed his skills through arduous levels, making thread after thread, cloth after cloth. His notable items include signing his own demon's cloak, prism cape, mahatma slops. The latter became a bit worn, since he spent so much time on his backside crafting. He made a sold a lot of expensive gear; Blessed Trousers +1, Cursed Slacks -1, Aristocrat's Coat, and numerous Royal Cloaks.
His first chance to face a God in Sky was when he went with his HNMLS to fight Genbu. Genbu was not much more than a large tortoise that has a love for melon pies. If Monkfish and Genbu met on other terms, I believe that they could have become great friends.
Dynamis was an aspect that he loved also. Every Tuesday he would gather to join in. He went with his dynamis linkshell to Dynamis-Jeuno for 5 weeks running before they finally completed it. Dynamis was one of the only occasions where he would eat a Marron Glace, as a treat for himself. One party trick that he used to do was that he could put the whole Marron Glace in his mouth all in one go... Even though afterwards he would have to wash it down with copious amounts of pineapple juice, which was also one of his favourites.
After completing all 4 cities with the same dynamis linkshell (stories that doesn't have room here), they moved onto the ice lands. Though he was top of the list to get the AF from the icelands due to his high standing and lotting points, it is sad that he may not ever get the chance of wearing that piece.
After getting to 99+6 clothcraft, Monkfish grew tired. At one point he had over 70mil in gil, and his pockets became heavier day by day. He knew that he was no spring chicken, and that he was paying the toll for the hardships that he has been through, added on by the burden of crafting.
Leveling to 100 clothcraft, although an accomplishment, was just an empty number. Getting all the pieces of dynamis AF was not something that required skill... Just some thing that required time.
Maybe that is how he viewed crafting too. He was woke up early in the day just to craft. Everything around him became grey. He would have no time to level the jobs that he wanted to level. No time to finish the CoP missions that he started.
He grew tired and weary. His Mog in his Moghouse knew it too. He still had goals to reach in his FFXI career and he didn't want it to end. And yet, he knew that those goals were so far-fetched, it would take him tens of thousands of Vand'iel days in order to achieve them. He knew that it had to end.
He was a powerful Black Mage, an established and respected Clothcrafter, and above all else for the last year and half, he has been my trusted friend. The portal to a world where there are so many things to see and people to meet, I bid thee farewell.
R.I.P Monkfish. | 
