" &image=ctgic; &style=stDetail1;04/13/2006 Life in Vana'diel&style;&br; &style=stDetail2;Blue Mage&style;&br; &br; &li=ng01;Memories of Azure Blood&li;&br; &image=im00;&image=389_5.png; A fire to fight a fire...&br;A thief to catch a thief...&br;A beast to kill a beast...&br;- The Scriptures of Balrahn&image=im00;&br; Emperor Balrahn, the then ruler of Aht Urhgan, was shocked by the futility of his veteran palace guards and mages in the face of a chimera rebellion--an incident in which his son, the crown prince, was assassinated. &br;&br;The alchemists responsible for creating the chimeras (organic weapons) were charged with discovering a means to defeat them. They eventually came to the conclusion that the guards themselves had to become monsters to stand a chance at victory. Without delay, the most loyal and physically sound members of the palace guard were chosen to be the subjects for monstrous experiments.&br;However, the initial attempts to graft beastly appendages ended in disaster. One subject's face erupted in a mass of thrashing feelers. Another was transformed into a horrific mound of quivering flesh. Even if rejection of the transplants was somehow overcome, the subject's blood was eventually tainted by the blood of the monster. &br;&br;In a final attempt, the alchemists devised a brutal new technique utilizing the power of magic that fused the essence of a creature directly to the mortal spirit. &br;And thus blue magic was born.&image=im00;&br; "