Gil Farming and Exploration
-Did a round of Sacrobless Island. Grand Dragons give great xp, and Gimme Cats give the best gil.
-I noticed that Dagger has one spot left in her Summon roster that hasn’t been filled. Perhaps a new summon we’ll find in the Iifa Tree. Eden maybe.
-Just had an idea. What if I use Dead Pepper where the water is coming out of the cliff above Daguerreo?
-Nothing happened. Same when I tried using a Dead Pepper on an Iifa Tree root.
-Revisited Madain Sari. Lani still runs from me before I can talk to her.
-The Mist has made fishing worse. Also started eroding records… does that mean the eidolon drawings? No. Drawings are still there.
-I’m going to try something incredibly foolish: fighting on Vile Island. A.k.a. Yan central. (I thought it was north of the Outer Continent, but was wrong – it’s southwest.)
-Well. That idea’s going in the hall of fame for terrible ideas lol. First fight was against two Yans that wrecked me. Hard.
-I really like the animation on Freya’s Dragon Crest ability.
-Trying out the Dragon’s Hair lance for Freya. It grants a new ability, Dragon’s Breath, and has some badass flavor text: “Legendary spear made from the dragon king’s hair. It is known as ‘The Divider of Heaven.’”
-I’m pretty sure that Trance!Amarant is a naked Amarant.
-Got up to 78 frogs caught around the Qu Marshes of the world. I’m sure there’s plenty I’m missing about the frog hunt. Like, I’ll bet there’s some system around releasing adults or babies that makes for better min/maxing.
-Hee! When I hit a Gimme Cat early in the fight, he sometimes says “Meow! I’m mad!” and LOBS A COMET AT MY HEAD.
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Madain Sari
-I didn’t have Eiko in my party last time at Madain Sari. Will try it with her.
-SUCCESS! Lani didn’t run away.
-Whew. Even Lani gets character development. She had a change of heart when she couldn’t get back to the Mist Continent, saw that Fossil Roo was blocked, and watched the Alexandrian navy get obliterated.
LANI: “I’m glad I lost our lost fight.” Holy cats. This is awesome.
-She directs me to a message inside Eiko’s room. It’s another time puzzle of some sort: “Time moves forward once. Time moves backward once. Nine is the last number. It is also the first.” If it’s clock related, may refer to a code of 9-10-10-9.
Not sure of the context. I don’t remember seeing a clock in Madain Sari.
-Played Lani in Tetra Master. She’s got a couple of interesting cards, foremost among them being an enemy called “Ash” who looks like a classic Satanic image. A sitting half-goat/half-man with wings, fingers in a teaching position.
Also got a card called Hecteyes, one of those gross eye mound enemies that first appeared in FFII.
-Maybe it refers to something in this circular Eidolon Wall area?
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Madain Sari – Eidolon Wall
There are nine wall outcroppings. Could have something to do with it.
-Ok, I’m almost CERTAIN this Eidolon Wall is involved. When I make a full circle of the place, there’s a tone that sounds.
-I think I got it. If I did, that was underwhelming. I walked back and forth in circles around here nine times, hearing the tone nine times. That restored my HP and MP.
-Ooh, a sign I didn’t see before on the wall:
“This is where the fault lines collide. Listen to the planet’s heartbeat. Breathe slowly and calm your mind.
“Let memories return to you. Memories shape time. Time overlaps. The overlap becomes our memory. Memories construct time.
“History repeats itself. We must stand in the flow and understand the world. Such is the goal of our tribe.”
There’s something that’s very Dark Souls about this. History and time as a palimpsest.
Now each of the drawings of the Eidolons on the wall gives me history and insight!
-The messaging eventually speaks directly to Eiko.
That she should wait until she’s 16 with her own Eidolon to leave the village.
-Something about a previously undiscovered Eidolon, last seen in Esto Gaza.
-Some people theorize that Eidolons were created FROM legends, not the other way around.
-Eidolons adapt their form to the culture and time they exist in. This may help explain why the same eidolons look differently across the various FF games. Seriously meta, and seriously fascinating.
-ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! Literally. It’s “Cracking the Code.” Not sure what the achievement is for. I’m trying to understand the final message I read on the wall that unlocked this achievement:
“I survived the storm. I wonder if you two are okay? I see the two of you smile every time I close my eyes. I imagine I see you when I open my eyes.”
Could this… could this be from Dagger’s mother? And if it is, and refers to seeing “two of you,” could it be implying that Dagger and Eiko are sisters? Whew. Hoooooo boy. This is a lot to take in. It’s just a theory right now, but dang if it isn’t interesting to me.
“I have a mortal wound. I won’t be able to wait for you very long. I regret being so unemotional for all these years. I’m writing down everything here in the hope that you’ll read it someday.”
Unemotional? I feel like I’m missing some key context to grasp this.
“To my dearest wife, Jane, although we fought many times and I may not have shown my affection enough, I love you very much. To my beloved daughter, Sarah, my life changed when you were born. You made me happy. These are the things I want you to know.”
It’s from Eiko’s father perhaps. So this would mean that the two he keeps in his mind are his wife and daughter. ...but wait, “Sarah?” We know that Eiko is Eiko’s real name, but never knew Garnet’s real name. Perhaps Dagger is Sarah, and this message is from Sarah’s father.
That seems most likely to me. Probably incorrect, but based on what I’m seeing here it seems like a reasonable guess.
-The other messages on these walls are for Eiko…
FHDJKLSFHDSJKLDS I JUST GOT IT
One of the messages is specifically to Eiko, “treasure of a dying village.” It is from the villagers, written as they are dying. That if the theory I mentioned before was true, that eidolons can be born from legends, they will return to the stars wishing for such a legend to be born to be “friend and protector to humans.”
I thought at first that the eidolon they wished up was Mog, but Mog grew up alongside Eiko before the town got destroyed. I don’t know.
In case you want some heartbreak.
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Wrapping Up
-Started to make some efforts towards getting the 10,000 Hot & Cold points for Robe of Lords, but I stopped at 4,100. Was just looking a bit too grindy and I don’t want to become bitter/resentful towards one of the most fun side-games in the series. Feeling ready to progress at this point.
-Two things I want to remember when the Iifa roots recede: check Esto Gaza for that new eidolon, and check the Ice Cavern for that moogle, Mois, that can help solve Mognet Central.
-A thought just hit me. What if the moogle that the dying citizens of Madain Sari wished into existence was Ozma? Ozma didn’t seem evil. Used holy magic. Perhaps that’s it.
Or not. I dunno. Holy magic or not, nothing about Ozma screamed “friend and protector to humans.” Perhaps I get to summon it if I can defeat it, and then it’ll be my friend.
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Next time: the Iifa Tree.
