Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn



Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn is a non-playable character from Final Fantasy XIV. She is a Roegadyn pirate who became leader of one of the three Grand Companies of Eorzea, Limsa Lominsa's Maelstrom. Ironically, she proceeded to impose strict regulations on piracy within Limsa Lominsa.

Appearance
Merlwyb has pale bluish skin and short white hair swept backward. She wears a long, low-cut black coat and boots, and white cuffs and gloves. On each shoulder are red decorations resembling Limsa Lominsa's flag.

Personality
Merlwyb is a female Roegadyn of the Sea Wolf branch. She bears her race's physique and proud demeanor, honest and steadfast in her own way while also stubborn and uncompromising.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Merlwyb is first seen by players starting in Limsa Lominsa when she arrives to personally commend them for thwarting a massive Sahagin & Serpent Reaver raid in Western Thanalan, and invites them to a banquet in their honor. She then asks them to become her personal envoy to the other city-states, granting an airship pass. For players that start in Gridania or Ul'dah, she is seen when delivering a letter from their respective city-state's leader. She can be seen again during the memorial service for the five year anniversary of the Battle of Carteneau.

Merlwyb doesn't reappear until the kobolds have summoned Titan. Meeting the player and Y'shtola at Maelstrom Command, she admits to violating the treaty with the kobolds in the wake of the Calamity, which prompted the current crisis. She is not seen again until late in the story, when she and the other leaders receive the ultimatum from Gaius van Baelsar. They discuss whether to capitulate or resist the Legatus' demands in the face of his ultimate weapon, until Minfilia convinces them to band against the Garlean threat. She is last seen along with the other leaders by Lake Silvertear in celebration after the fall of the Praetorium.

Patch 2.2: Through the Maelstrom
The Scions of the Seventh Dawn warn the Admiral of the Sahagin becoming dangerously close to summoning their Primal, Leviathan. The Maelstrom are mobilized to begin a preemptive strike, with Merlwyb accompanying them. Reaching the depths of the Sapsa Spawning Grounds, they discover a Sahagin Priest praying before an Aetheryte crystal, attempting to summon Leviathan and claiming that he will soon achieve immortality. During these events, Merlwyb shoots him dead....only for the priest to manifest as a blue orb that enters another Sahagin, transforming into him completely. As she shoots the remaining Sahagin dead, a massive sea serpent suddenly emerges from the ocean waters and absorbs the priest. With the Lord of the Whorls now fully summoned, they are forced to regroup when they realize he is preparing a tidal wave in open sea.

Using a tactic once employed by the pirate Mistbeard, they jury-rig a barge loaded with corrupted crystals in order to neutralize Leviathan's defenses and allow the players a means to confront the Primal on the sea. After its defeat and the crisis ends, Y'shtola privately confronts Merlwyb regarding the motives behind the Sahagin and Kobolds actions. The Admiral admits that the beast-tribes summoned their Primals out of desperation due to the people of Eorzea encroaching their territory and threatening their survival, but people in turn claim territory and resources in order to survive themselves. She grimly notes that in the end, with such mutually exclusive conditions only the strongest will prevail.

Creation and Development
Merlwyb was developed for the Seventh Umbral Era storyline, being the first female Roegadyn to be introduced into the game.

Etymology
In the Roegadyn language, her name translates directly to Sea-woman Bloefhis-daughter. Her last name hints that her father is named "Bloefhis" (Blue-fish).

Trivia

 * Merlwyb's two muskets, Death Penalty and Annihilator, were rumored to have previously been owned by the pirate king, Mistbeard. They are maintained using a rare lubricant from an aggressive plant called Night Shade, which is also used by Limsa Lominsa's cannons.
 * Annihilator and Death Penalty are named for the Relic and Mythic guns from Final Fantasy XI.
 * A replica of Merlwyb's Death Penalty called Death Sentence appears in a sidequest.
 * Merlwyb was often mistaken for an Elezen by the fan community for her height, build, and proud demeanor. Female Roegadyns had not been widely known to exist until they were announced as a playable Roegadyn gender in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
 * A miniature doll in Merlwyb's likeness can be summoned as a minion through the "Wind-up Leader" item if the player is allied with the Maelstrom.
 * In 1.0 a quest sparked a rumor that Merlwyb and the pirate Rycharde Mistbeard were lovers. Merlwyb's father, Bloefhis, led the League of Lost Bastards in a war against Mistbeard (a battle that gave Bloodshore its name), which may be the reason she declined leadership of the Lost Bastards.
 * Quests added in patch 2.2 & 2.3 strongly imply that her second in command Eynzahr Slafyrsyn is none other than Mistbeard himself.
 * According to Tales from the Calamity, she had a destrier named Vicky that perished during the retreat from Carteneau. She named the new flagship being built at Moraby Drydocks Victory after her fallen chocobo.
 * She is voiced by Jean Gilpin in the English version.