Skyltbraena Wilfwys

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Memories

These are the memories of Sky that we treasure, as shared by those who knew faer. Please contact Bronze Heliconia@Goblin to add a memory here.

"Back in September of last year, when I really started getting back into playing, I found myself doing my first run of Copied Factory. I'd started developing a migraine, and was in as the Tank for Alliance A, but I could see another Femroe in Alliance B once we got going. Fast forward through to the end, after a very blurry 30 minutes or so, I started messaging Sky, having seen faer name quite a bit around the Femroe Heroes group.
We had a short conversation, exchanged greetings and went seperate ways. After that, however, it seemed like I couldn't get away from faer. Aetherytes, roulettes, fae and I seemed to pop in with eachother quite a bit. I started getting more involved with the community events, like the costume party for Halloween (If anyone remembers both crashes I had during Labyrinth), and a few other gatherings, while seeing faer posts for the Eden weekly once 5.4 came around.
I didn't know faer as much as most others, or as much as I'd like to, but I do credit faer for helping get me out of my shell, and opening up to such a loving community, and helping express my self even more outside it as well. I know fae is loved, and sorely missed by everyone here. I know fae would be proud to see such a large group in celebration of faer life.
Thank you Sky." - Kryssmoen Zaenrysswyn

"One of my favorite memories of my time with Sky was unlocking the Alexander raids with faer. We duo'd them unsynced, and fae was so excited for the challenge, and spent each cutscene on the edge of faer seat waiting for the next twist in the plot. It always was one of faer favorite raids." - Bronze Heliconia

"Even if I didn't knew this person, I will remember faer name for what fae did, being a light in the darkest night for many who met faer and now that fae's resting, let's bright the night like fae did !" - Ghiala Blaetwyn

"I remember when we did the Final Step of Faith together. We sat in the side area on the bridge as we queued and listened to the music play. We ran the fight together, and watched the cutscene and comforted one another afterwards. It's a memory of the game I will always remember." - Miah'to Zhwan

"I saw Sky's name pop up in the community but I first met faer in what would become regular game nights. While these game nights were fairly short, when you meet someone as kind and sincere as Sky then they're bound to make a positive first impression. I quickly found myself looking forward to these weekly game nights; the memes, jokes and shenanigans that happened with the group and particularly with faer were absolute highlights.
It struck me just how much love Sky clearly had for the people fae played with, always making sure that we were comfortable and felt appreciated. After hearing about the hardships fae faced it became obvious just how strong willed fae is, not letting it get in the way of spending time with the people fae cared about whenever possible.
Fae was a fantastic tanking buddy during the raids; keeping up with the mechanics and adapting to sudden changes in the situation all the while cracking jokes and keeping up with the banter. Fae was always able to pick up the slack when I did something silly and when the raids were all done fae always made sure to encourage the group.
I'm so thankful that I got to be friends with Sky, fae will be sincerely missed." - Tyldoen Frydankawyn

"As metamours, we had talked to Julie a number of times through Miah'to. Even if our time of knowing faer was short, fae was always approachable and easy to open up to, and gave us nothing less than the impression of someone giving folx a comfortable, supportive place to exist and share parts of themselves.We got into XIV because of faer's passing. Whilst we never got the chance to play this game together, we still feel that Eorzea is fae's world, and that by journeying through this experience, we feel we're getting to know a part of Julie that was incredibly dear to faer. Witnessing the care and effort that had gone into faer's FC house being just a small example of many for this.Julie, and the memorial faer friends and partners held, inspired us to be more compassionate, friendly and open to others, both on and offline. This community, the femroes from the discord in particular, have been so welcoming and kind to us, that we feel locked in as a comitted fan at this point. Of the game and all we have been blessed to meet so far. Thank you all, and we will never forget you Skyltbraena." - Yraydynyl Devouring

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Memorial Service

This is a transcription of the memorial service held for Sky on March 8th, 2021 at Mih Khetto's Ampitheater on Goblin. A stream recording of the service is included following the transcription.

Bronze Heliconia:
Thank you all for attending this memorial service for Skyltbraena Wilfwys. I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone who is able, to change their title to “The Fae-Touched” for the duration of the service. You would have this title available if you are past the level 73 MSQ quests in 5.0.

We are gathered to celebrate the life that Sky lived here in Eorzea, and the memories that those of us here shared with faer. These memories live on in our hearts, and the ripples of faer touch on our lives will continue on forever. The purpose of this service is to share these memories, that we may carry them, and faer memory, together into the future.

After the eulogy, there will be an opportunity for those of you who wish to share your memories of Sky. If you would like to take this opportunity, please send a /tell now or as soon as possible to Eyrilona Kesstrysswyn, who will call upon those who wish to share at the appointed time.

After the sharing of memories, I will speak another word in closing. After that, we invite you all to walk together with us in a short procession to the Twin Adder, for one more memory that will be explained by Eyrilona at that time.

At this time, I would like to share a song that had great meaning to Sky, and to myself. This piece of music is a selection from Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem”. It brought faer comfort through hard times, and it brings me comfort now. After sharing this link with you, we will observe a two minute silence which will double as time for those of you interested to start the piece. After these two minutes, which is a lot shorter than the video, we will continue with the service.

Blessed are they that mourn
For they shall have comfort
They that sow in tears
Shall reap in joy
Who goeth forth and weepeth
And beareth precious seed
Shall doubtless return with rejoicing
And bring his sheaves with him

Bronze Heliconia:
We shall now proceed with the memorial service.

For those who do not know, I was one of Sky’s partners. We met by chance, emoting in the Twin Adder barracks, and connected through an event organized in a mutual discord server. We would both maintain that it was the luckiest thing that would ever happen to us. Over time we communicated back and forth more and more, in-game and out of game, and each message endeared us more to one another.
We connected over our complementary tank-healer dynamic, over our shared love of music, and eventually over our sharing of our real world troubles. Sky always provided a listening ear for whatever problem I had, from the most trivial inconvenience to the weighty burdens which fae offered to share. Fae had a way of helping me find the right thing to do, often by leading me to the conclusion myself.

Sky faced many challenging health struggles through much of faer life, and found solace here in Eorzea, a world with no pain, no limitations, and endless possibilities. Eorzea was a place for self-expression, and fae shared often that Sky was the ideal self that fae held in faer mind.
In true Sky fashion, fae used faer ideal self to help others, grinding through the levels on all classes to better understand the game, learning mechanics of fights to better understand and explain to others, and acquiring enough commendations to gain the mentor status to have access to better tools to help others.

Sky spent a great deal of time in-game due to real-life limitations, and used the time in Eorzea to cultivate friendships and spend time with others. Whether it was leading members of the FC fae led through new content they had unlocked or running dailies, fae always had time to spend with friends.
One of the things that we did together often was grinding in Eureka. Fae was so excited to unlock that piece of content, and we saw many, many hours slip away hunting down sprites and ashkin for challenge logs, chatting away on voice all the while. Some of my fondest memories of faer come from our time there, when fae would invent characters, performing them in silly voices and giving each a personality. I will never forget Raoul the Elder and his toothbrush of power.

No matter how full of wit and whimsy fae was, Sky always had the time and desire to talk about the serious issues of life.
Our conversations were full of educating one another on the struggles we faced in our own corners of life, discussing the big ideas of life, whether it was the vastness of space that fae loved so much, the inequities of the systems that touched our lives, or the fight for rights for all. Fae was a wonderful champion for the vulnerable, and would always be the first to stand on the side of those on the margins.

Sky through the health struggles fae faced, had spent much time contemplating faer mortality. One of the greatest things that fae taught me was how to live a life fully open and vulnerable, no holds barred and leaving everything on the table.
Sky was acutely aware that no one has forever, and fae lived faer life as a reflection of that. Fae never held back when telling those fae cared about what they meant to faer… fae never saved an ‘I love you’, an ‘I miss you’, or a ‘You matter to me’.

Despite Sky’s great attention to telling others how fae felt, because of various circumstances in faer past fae struggled to accept the same from others, no matter how often we told faer how special fae was.
But in the time since faer passing, I have seen an enormous outpouring of love into my life, through friends reaching out to connect over shared memories, or strangers honoring someone they did not know because they saw the effect that fae had on people. It is my sincere belief that fae is watching over me, and all those that fae loved, and it is my hope that fae can see us gathered here today, and that fae can feel the love that we have for faer, living on in our shared memories.

I love you, my Sky, and I always will.

I’d like to invite Miah’to Zhwan to speak next.

Miah'to Zhwan:
I'd like to thank all of you for coming here tonight, it's a bittersweet thing to see how many people cared about Sky and are dealing with this loss too.

Who you all knew as Skyltbraena, I knew as Julie. Me and Julie had known and been dating each other for 3 years as of February this year. Fae was, to me, the most perfect a person is able to be. Fae brought me nothing but happiness and love for as long as I knew faer.

Fae was so incredibly kind and supportive to anyone who needed it, and I can definitely attest to that personally. As many of you know fae was trans and I am too, but we started dating before I realised I was. Faer support and encouragement throughout my discovery of myself cannot be overstated, I wouldn't be where I am today without faer.

Fae was kind and sometimes shy, but fae was also the most outspoken person I knew. Fae would never tolerate injustice, bigotry, or abuse. Fae held faer principles strongly, and always hoped for a better safer world for marginalised people and was not afraid to give people who disagreed a piece of faer mind.

Skyltbraena was who Julie was inside, what Julie would be if not restricted by faer physical health issues. And I could see that in Sky so clearly. This virtual world was where Julie spent so much of faer time, that meant a lot to faer as fae couldn't really go anywhere outside faer house due to COVID-19 and faer disabilities.

Julie was the one who had gotten me into the game in the first place, me and Julie lived an entire ocean apart so most of our time was spent together online. One of the ways we liked to do this was by playing an MMO together. When we met Julie was playing World of Warcraft and that's what I used to play with faer. But after a dissapointing expansion and some bad decisions from the company that made the game, Julie wanted something new.

That's when fae returned to FFXIV, a game that fae had played years before. FFXIV Online was the perfect MMO for faer. Fae had been a long time fan of the Final Fantasy series and the world of FFXIV suited faer so well, I without a doubt know that fae enjoyed this game so much more. I do too.

I was lucky enough last year, to visit and stay with faer for an entire month. This still remains the happiest month of my life. Just getting to be around faer was wonderful in itself, but we got to go places together, socialise together, cook together, and wake up next to each other every morning I was there. It gave me a sense of what life with my beloved would be like.

There was so much time, an entire life together, that has been taken from us. And the hurt of that will never fully go away, but I have the memories of that month to hold onto, and I always will hold onto them.

I had been less active on this game for the past few months. I had been burnt out after continuously playing every day all the way through ARR, Heavensward, and some of Stormblood. Fae understood, and I would log on and make some progress now and again.

That is why I owe a lot of thanks to Bronze, Eyrilona and the FemRoe linkshell, along with every other friend fae made here. You were Julie's friends and community and fae enjoyed playing with you all so much. It helped me to know that fae had you when I wasn't up to playing the game.

It saddens me that fae will not get to enjoy the new expansion, and that we did not get a chance to go through Shadowbringers together.

But for as long as we’d played, fae had talked about getting a house in the lavender beds, and late last year fae was finally able to achieve that and decorated that house with a passion. And I’m so happy that fae got to achieve that dream.

We would spend part of every day on call with each other and messaging each other, and it's really been driven home how much of that we did now that it's not happening.

The hurt of losing faer will never fully go away, but I have to try and carry on and keep moving forward with my personal journeys, for faer. I will love you Julie, forever and always. May fae forever walk in the light of the Crystal.

Thank you all for listening.

Now Eyrilona will share some words with us.

Eyrilona Kestrysswyn:
To me, Sky was a dear and deeply relatable friend. Sky came here, to Eorzea and to other realms of grand fantasy even before that, to live free of impairments fae endured in real life, and.. we drew to each other in a way that let us so naturally trust each other, sharing pain and solace like connected souls.

I would like to put on a braver face than this, but I broke down crying so many times looking for the words to describe who Sky was, and what fae meant to me. So instead, I would like to say this..

Every now and then,
I will look up at the moon and think of you
As I continue to walk the world you loved
Now that my hand may no longer touch you
The clearer your touch stays on my heart

I miss you, Sky.. my beautiful, dear friend. Let your memory forever be one to inspire us to be kind to each other, to see the need for help where it exists, and to find the ongoing strength to reach out where we can.

At this time, I would like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory of Sky. If you wish to share and have not already, please send a /tell to Eyrilona Kesstrysswyn, who will announce each speaker. Please use /say chat for your message.

Kryssmoen Zaenrysswyn:
Back in September of last year, when I really started getting back into playing, I found myself doing my first run of Copied Factory. I'd started developing a migraine, and was in as the Tank for Alliance A, but I could see another Femroe in Alliance B once we got going. Fast forward through to the end, after a very blurry 30 minutes or so, I started messaging Sky, having seen faer name quite a bit around the Femroe Heroes group.

We had a short conversation, exchanged greetings and went seperate ways. After that, however, it seemed like I couldn't get away from faer. Aetherytes, roulettes, fae and I seemed to pop in with eachother quite a bit. I started getting more involved with the community events, like the costume party for Halloween (If anyone remembers both crashes I had during Labyrinth), and a few other gatherings, while seeing faer posts for the Eden weekly once 5.4 came around.

I didn't know faer as much as most others, or as much as I'd like to, but I do credit faer for helping get me out of my shell, and opening up to such a loving community, and helping express my self even more outside it as well. I know fae is loved, and sorely missed by everyone here. I know fae would be proud to see such a large group in celebration of faer life.
Thank you, Sky.

Bronze Heliconia:
Thank you for attending this memorial service for Skyltbraena Wilfwys. Fae lives on through our shared memories, and as long as we hold faer in our hearts, fae will live on. Sky did not believe in goodbyes, and never ended a call or message chain without a ‘talk later’. And in that spirit, we do not say goodbye here, but only ‘until we next meet’.

We end this portion of the memorial with words that Julie faerself used after a passing, written by T.S. Eliot in “The Waste Land”. I hope it echos in your heart the way it does in mine:

Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.
Shantih shantih shantih.
Be self-controlled. Be charitable. Be compassionate.
Peace, peace, peace.

Eyrilona Kestrysswyn:
One place very near here bears special significance to both Sky and Bronze.. The headquarters of the Twin Adder is both where they first really got talking, and also where later on they first shared with each other their real world names.

So.. now at the end of things, to bring them back around to their beginning, we would like to ask you to follow and walk with us in a small procession to the Twin Adder, where we will re-create the scene in which Skyltbraena first connected with Bronze.. Silly dancing on the Grand Company’s deck.

And it would have pleased Sky if, being there, you did what fae did - look around you with kindness, take a chance to talk to someone new. Maybe discover a new friend.

Bronze Heliconia:
Please follow us.

Bronze Heliconia:
Thank you all for attended this memorial for a beloved friend. Please stay as long as you like, and in the spirit of Sky, I hope that you're able to make a new connection because of faer.

May fae ever walk in the light of the Crystal.