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Renna's first ever visit to Little Ala Mhigo just so happens to land on her 30th birthday.
She doesn't tell anyone that it's her birthday. She simply follows Chuchuto's orders and meets her at their destination, trying desperately to still the beating of her heart. She has no idea what to expect and her imagination runs wild.
Maybe Little Ala Mhigo is a bustling city, full of refugees who've made new, better lives for themselves. Maybe, like Ul'dah, it's a city of wealth and its citizens have all the comforts they didn't have before. Maybe, just maybe, the people here are doing better than those back home.
When she finally arrives, her heart sinks to her stomach.
Little Ala Mhigo is nothing more than a tiny village with downtrodden people, cast away from the main city and left to shoulder the burdens of survival on their own. The people of Ul'dah couldn't care less about them. So focused are they with lining their own pockets and building their own wealth, they have little patience for those with nothing, and force them away so as not to be reminded of their plight.
Renna seethes with rage, forcing the burning in her eyes and the tightness in her throat to go away as she tries to cope with the reality of what she sees. She'd been so hopeful that this place would've been something better. But now she knows that her people will never find peace until their home is saved. It stokes the fires of her passion to free Ala Mhigo.
Though she sees Chuchuto waiting for her at the village's entrance, she can't help but walk in and throughout the place. Every villager she speaks to has the same desire as her, but their will power to see it through is so little, so dim, that she wonders if she herself has any chance more than them. Each of them has a story similar to hers. How could she think herself different, more powerful, than any one of them? How did she ever think she had the strength to do the impossible?
After attuning with the aetheryte, she slowly walks out, head low, and tears brimming her eyes.
"Renna, are you alright?" Chuchuto asks softly, looking up at her with concern. "Did something happen?"
"Are these all of Ala Mhigo's people?" Renna chokes out. "Is this what's left of the people who fled?"
"Well, no," she answers, "though these are some of the more downtrodden of them. Ala Mhigan refugees are spread throughout Thanalan. Little Ala Mhigo just houses a more concentrated group."
"Chuchuto, I came to Ul'dah to become strong enough to free Ala Mhigo," Renna admits as she wipes her eyes. "I thought that if I trained under Holyfist, that I could become strong enough to get support to fight the Empire. But so many people here had the same dream. So many people share my story. What do I have that will make me different? What can I do that will spare me their fate?"
Chuchuto grimaces under the intensity of Renna's stare. She's not used to seeing her friend so upset.
"I don't know."
Renna looks away, clutching the front of her shirt as she collapses to her feet and sobs.
"What I do know," Chuchuto continues, trying to comfort her, "is that you're the best pugilist among us. The people here may have given up trying, but that doesn't mean that you do too. If you stop training now, you'll never know what you could've done. You just have to keep going."
Renna clutches her head, running her fingers through her hair as she tries to breathe deeply and will herself to stop crying. Chuchuto is right. She won't accomplish anything if she gives up at the start. And maybe, if she works hard and builds her reputation, she'll light the fires of the people here and inspire them to fight too.
So, with a deep breath and a wipe of her eyes, she stands, ready to brave the next task Chuchuto has in store.