Recent Warrior of Light Questions of the Day (@wolqotd) have gotten me in the mood to share the personal significance of some of Grace’s classes/jobs. Not all of them have significance, but a fair few do. I’ll try to go in the order in which she learned them, so to start off: Archer. That’s right, Archer, not Bard.
Grace learned to shoot a bow from her foster father in the depths of the Black Shroud, starting in early childhood. Once she was a good enough shot, he had her hunt to help feed them, but he cautioned her to never kill without need, and to shoot for the most quickly lethal spot she could so her prey would suffer as little as possible. To him, hunting was an aspect of living as a part of nature, but it was important to not do more harm than necessary to sustain him and the mysterious Miqo’te girl he was raising.
By the time she arrived in Gridania, Grace was an excellent shot, and rose easily through the Archers’ Guild. Once they had nothing more to teach her, she took the opportunity that was offered to her and started studying as a Bard under Jehantel. Bardic song never suited her as well as archery, and she gradually lost enthusiasm for it, but she still fondly remembers hunting in the forest as a girl.