Summary: Tenzen meets Iroha. Soul of the Phoenix. Religious differences about the Gates of Paradise. The mystery of Prishe.
Mission: Crashing Waves (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel, ch.2)
-Outside the throne room, Tenzen talks to me… and Iroha is here too! This must be part of “Rhapsodies of Vana’diel.” Last time, we parted as I was told to progress a bit into Chains of Promathia before we continue our fight against the Emptiness.
-Tenzen and Iroha meet here for the first time. Which is weird for Iroha, because she knew Tenzen in the future she came from.
I immediately like this pairing.
-Tenzen is distraught to hear that in her future, he was swallowed by the Emptiness. It poured from the crystals and he couldn’t stop it. She comforts him though, saying NOBODY could stop it, and he was revered as a hero.
Tenzen hears this, and proclaims that he is more determined than ever to save Vana’diel now.
-YIKES – just then, the stone that Iroha had given me flares to life.
It scares Tenzen, but Iroha is pleased. “Sir Tenzen, your passion has brought new life unto the orb.”
We may yet change the future.
-The next step for us is to join up with Lady Prishe. Iroha swears that in the future, I often wax lyrical about what a badass Prishe is. Yup. Sounds about right.
-Tenzen leaves. Iroha heads to the port also to find Lady Prishe.
-The camera follows Iroha on her walk to the Port, but she stops. She clasps her chest, in pain perhaps, and speaks to nobody: “Please… let me rest here… until we meet Lady Prishe…”
-Hm. I’m not sure what to make of that. Iroha seemed to be communicating with someone, and I’m not sure who. My best guess is that since she knows she’s not supposed to be in this time period, she is just praying that she doesn’t get yanked away.
---
Mission: Call to Serve (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I head down to Port Jeuno, and there meet with Prishe, Ulmia, and Tenzen. Tenzen was apparently being pretty dramatic (reasonably so) about the threat of the Emptiness.
PRISHE: “This creepy old coot rushes in and starts blabbing about dying world this, dark future that… ugh. It was all I could do not to smack him right in the kisser!”
And once I fill her in on the details: “Ah. Well, that solves the mystery of his obnoxious prattling.”
XD XD XD
-So now we’re all on the same page. We all know about the Emptiness and want to stop it.
-Tenzen notes that while Iroha knows a lot about it, Volto Oscuro (the masked void dude) is the one most familiar with it.
-As Lady Prishe gets on board with kicking the Emptiness’s ass, the orb Iroha gave me flares to life again. It seems to be gaining power as more of us commit to stopping that empty future.
-Iroha was supposed to meet us here. She hasn’t come. I, the player, saw her in a bad way, but Tenzen and Detolilla don’t know what happened.
Mission: Crashing Waves (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel, ch.2)
-Outside the throne room, Tenzen talks to me… and Iroha is here too! This must be part of “Rhapsodies of Vana’diel.” Last time, we parted as I was told to progress a bit into Chains of Promathia before we continue our fight against the Emptiness.
-Tenzen and Iroha meet here for the first time. Which is weird for Iroha, because she knew Tenzen in the future she came from.
I immediately like this pairing.
-Tenzen is distraught to hear that in her future, he was swallowed by the Emptiness. It poured from the crystals and he couldn’t stop it. She comforts him though, saying NOBODY could stop it, and he was revered as a hero.
Tenzen hears this, and proclaims that he is more determined than ever to save Vana’diel now.
-YIKES – just then, the stone that Iroha had given me flares to life.
It scares Tenzen, but Iroha is pleased. “Sir Tenzen, your passion has brought new life unto the orb.”
We may yet change the future.
-The next step for us is to join up with Lady Prishe. Iroha swears that in the future, I often wax lyrical about what a badass Prishe is. Yup. Sounds about right.
-Tenzen leaves. Iroha heads to the port also to find Lady Prishe.
-The camera follows Iroha on her walk to the Port, but she stops. She clasps her chest, in pain perhaps, and speaks to nobody: “Please… let me rest here… until we meet Lady Prishe…”
-Hm. I’m not sure what to make of that. Iroha seemed to be communicating with someone, and I’m not sure who. My best guess is that since she knows she’s not supposed to be in this time period, she is just praying that she doesn’t get yanked away.
---
Mission: Call to Serve (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I head down to Port Jeuno, and there meet with Prishe, Ulmia, and Tenzen. Tenzen was apparently being pretty dramatic (reasonably so) about the threat of the Emptiness.
PRISHE: “This creepy old coot rushes in and starts blabbing about dying world this, dark future that… ugh. It was all I could do not to smack him right in the kisser!”
And once I fill her in on the details: “Ah. Well, that solves the mystery of his obnoxious prattling.”
XD XD XD
-So now we’re all on the same page. We all know about the Emptiness and want to stop it.
-Tenzen notes that while Iroha knows a lot about it, Volto Oscuro (the masked void dude) is the one most familiar with it.
-As Lady Prishe gets on board with kicking the Emptiness’s ass, the orb Iroha gave me flares to life again. It seems to be gaining power as more of us commit to stopping that empty future.
-Iroha was supposed to meet us here. She hasn’t come. I, the player, saw her in a bad way, but Tenzen and Detolilla don’t know what happened.
-ARE
YOU
FUCKING
KIDDING
ME
WELL AREY OU
Because as Prishe and Tenzen leave to search for Iroha, I got a reward: “Cipher of Prishe’s alter ego II.”
I CAN SUMMON PRISHE NOW AS A TRUST NPC FHDSFDSFJKLDHSFDLSF
I am blessed.
---
Mission: Numbering Days (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-Prishe said she was going to look for Iroha in Lower Jeuno. I go there.
-Not here. I’m apparently supposed to head to Upper Jeuno instead.
-Tenzen is here. He hasn’t found her.
-OH SHIT IT’S VOLTO OSCURO
-He knocks me unconscious and starts to use his shadow magic to sap me in some way.
Tenzen to the rescue.
VOLTO OSCURO: “I cannot be destroyed. Let the darkness fill thy soul... there is no other way… The reckoning is at hand. And you, Tenzen… will lead them there.”
-So Volto Oscuro believes that Tenzen, regardless of his intentions, will somehow help the Emptiness. I wonder if he’ll do this in an “oh crap I meant to stop you but only helped you” way, or if he’ll get corrupted and consciously work for the Emptiness.
-Volto Oscuro points to the distance, drawing our eyes towards… Iroha. Iroha is on her knees, seemingly in pain, and has this glow emanating from her. I get the sense that she’s suffering because she’s not from this time period maybe.
-Current theory: Tenzen will fall in love with Iroha and ultimately do something pro-Emptiness to hopefully save her.
IROHA: “He took it… he took it from me… Phoenix’s blessing.”
Aha! I think Phoenix’s Blessing is the thing that allowed Iroha to travel here in the first place, and Volto Oscuro seems to have robbed her of it with his magic.
-Iroha vanishes. Tenzen is pissed.
TENZEN: “This blade I wield also contains the blazing life force of the avatar Phoenix. I could feel Phoenix flare up upon meeting Iroha.”
Really? That’s pretty badass dude. And I’ll bet this is connected, since we know that in the future Iroha is close to Tenzen. I’ll bet Tenzen somehow passes his Phoenix’s Blessing onto Iroha down the line, allowing her to come back and meet him. A little time loop.
[Later edit: I’m happy that Phoenix is a thing in FFXI. Aesthetically she’s one of my favorite aeons/summons in the series – ESPECIALLY in FFV. Though I won't go into details here, as a friend of mine who may read this is still playing FFV.]
-He thinks that in the future, Iroha is “Phoenix incarnate.” His blade has only parts of Phoenix’s power, but he believes Iroha to be blessed by a fully-revived Phoenix.
-We have our next goal. We have to take Phoenix’s blessing back from Volto Oscuro.
YOU
FUCKING
KIDDING
ME
WELL AREY OU
Because as Prishe and Tenzen leave to search for Iroha, I got a reward: “Cipher of Prishe’s alter ego II.”
I CAN SUMMON PRISHE NOW AS A TRUST NPC FHDSFDSFJKLDHSFDLSF
I am blessed.
---
Mission: Numbering Days (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-Prishe said she was going to look for Iroha in Lower Jeuno. I go there.
-Not here. I’m apparently supposed to head to Upper Jeuno instead.
-Tenzen is here. He hasn’t found her.
-OH SHIT IT’S VOLTO OSCURO
-He knocks me unconscious and starts to use his shadow magic to sap me in some way.
Tenzen to the rescue.
VOLTO OSCURO: “I cannot be destroyed. Let the darkness fill thy soul... there is no other way… The reckoning is at hand. And you, Tenzen… will lead them there.”
-So Volto Oscuro believes that Tenzen, regardless of his intentions, will somehow help the Emptiness. I wonder if he’ll do this in an “oh crap I meant to stop you but only helped you” way, or if he’ll get corrupted and consciously work for the Emptiness.
-Volto Oscuro points to the distance, drawing our eyes towards… Iroha. Iroha is on her knees, seemingly in pain, and has this glow emanating from her. I get the sense that she’s suffering because she’s not from this time period maybe.
-Current theory: Tenzen will fall in love with Iroha and ultimately do something pro-Emptiness to hopefully save her.
IROHA: “He took it… he took it from me… Phoenix’s blessing.”
Aha! I think Phoenix’s Blessing is the thing that allowed Iroha to travel here in the first place, and Volto Oscuro seems to have robbed her of it with his magic.
-Iroha vanishes. Tenzen is pissed.
TENZEN: “This blade I wield also contains the blazing life force of the avatar Phoenix. I could feel Phoenix flare up upon meeting Iroha.”
Really? That’s pretty badass dude. And I’ll bet this is connected, since we know that in the future Iroha is close to Tenzen. I’ll bet Tenzen somehow passes his Phoenix’s Blessing onto Iroha down the line, allowing her to come back and meet him. A little time loop.
[Later edit: I’m happy that Phoenix is a thing in FFXI. Aesthetically she’s one of my favorite aeons/summons in the series – ESPECIALLY in FFV. Though I won't go into details here, as a friend of mine who may read this is still playing FFV.]
-He thinks that in the future, Iroha is “Phoenix incarnate.” His blade has only parts of Phoenix’s power, but he believes Iroha to be blessed by a fully-revived Phoenix.
-We have our next goal. We have to take Phoenix’s blessing back from Volto Oscuro.
-Prishe arrives fresh from her search. She met Volto Oscuro. He was
surprised to see her, that she hasn’t changed at all, even though she
hasn’t met him yet.
-Part of this makes sense to me. It makes sense that he’s crossed paths with her before, since we know in the future Prishe is heralded as a hero.
What surprises me is that Volto Oscuro said Prishe hasn’t changed. Does she not grow up? That makes me think there might be something more to Prishe than just being an incredibly badass and beyond-her-years Elvaan child.
-Before Volto left her, he mentioned something about “Astral Candescence.” He seemed to be talking with someone. The Emptiness itself maybe?
-Tenzen has heard of an Astral Candescence. Something from Aht Urhgan.
-So that’s our next stop. Aht Urhgan. I know it’s an empire to the east, and that the next expansion after Chains of Promathia is “Treasures of Aht Urhgan,” so I’ll hold off on continuing this storyline until then.
-By the way. It hits me that Lion hasn’t been in the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel storyline since she died at the end of Rise of the Zilart. That’s a great touch by FFXI. It keeps the storylines consistent, even though I was ready to suspend disbelief since those storylines were created at such different times.
---
Mission: The Road Forks (Chains of Promathia, ch.3)
-The ultimate mission here is to capture the Pale Kid, possible Keeper of the Apocalypse, at the fourth mothercrystal. But first, I have to revisit each of the three main cities – Bastok, Windurst, San d’Oria – to learn about the Multinational Expedition thirty years ago.
-My first stop is good ol’ home of Bastok. I know Cid was on that expedition to the northlands.
-Cid says that most who went on the expedition had bad times afterwards. That’s… kind of all he says. Just that it was a cursed expedition. (Figuratively.)
-San d’Oria next. This is much more promising. I get a cutscene of Ulmia (Prishe’s bodyguard) looking at the San d’Orian church. It’s one of the origins of the Tavnazian church after all.
-She’s here without Prishe. Prishe must be in Windurst or something.
-I speak to the priest in the cathedral, Arnau. He might know about the Multinational Expedition… aha! And he tells me what I was wondering, namely what it was an expedition FOR. It was a search for the Gate of the Gods.
-Arnau tells me to ctfo. He’s about to give a sermon on the subject.
-We see a quick montage of the beginning and end of the sermon. Sounds like it was pretty standard religious stuff about worshipping the Goddess Altana and finding your way to paradise.
-Ulmia approaches Arnau after the sermon. She heard stories of Paradise growing up:
“A legendary land where the gods slumber… A gate leading to that land, discovered by the ancients...”
But the ancients angered the Twilight God (Promathia) by attempting to open that gate. He punished them, cursing them. So why, if that’s true, is the San d’Orian cathedral attempting to convince people to open the gates?
-Part of this makes sense to me. It makes sense that he’s crossed paths with her before, since we know in the future Prishe is heralded as a hero.
What surprises me is that Volto Oscuro said Prishe hasn’t changed. Does she not grow up? That makes me think there might be something more to Prishe than just being an incredibly badass and beyond-her-years Elvaan child.
-Before Volto left her, he mentioned something about “Astral Candescence.” He seemed to be talking with someone. The Emptiness itself maybe?
-Tenzen has heard of an Astral Candescence. Something from Aht Urhgan.
-So that’s our next stop. Aht Urhgan. I know it’s an empire to the east, and that the next expansion after Chains of Promathia is “Treasures of Aht Urhgan,” so I’ll hold off on continuing this storyline until then.
-By the way. It hits me that Lion hasn’t been in the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel storyline since she died at the end of Rise of the Zilart. That’s a great touch by FFXI. It keeps the storylines consistent, even though I was ready to suspend disbelief since those storylines were created at such different times.
---
Mission: The Road Forks (Chains of Promathia, ch.3)
-The ultimate mission here is to capture the Pale Kid, possible Keeper of the Apocalypse, at the fourth mothercrystal. But first, I have to revisit each of the three main cities – Bastok, Windurst, San d’Oria – to learn about the Multinational Expedition thirty years ago.
-My first stop is good ol’ home of Bastok. I know Cid was on that expedition to the northlands.
-Cid says that most who went on the expedition had bad times afterwards. That’s… kind of all he says. Just that it was a cursed expedition. (Figuratively.)
-San d’Oria next. This is much more promising. I get a cutscene of Ulmia (Prishe’s bodyguard) looking at the San d’Orian church. It’s one of the origins of the Tavnazian church after all.
-She’s here without Prishe. Prishe must be in Windurst or something.
-I speak to the priest in the cathedral, Arnau. He might know about the Multinational Expedition… aha! And he tells me what I was wondering, namely what it was an expedition FOR. It was a search for the Gate of the Gods.
-Arnau tells me to ctfo. He’s about to give a sermon on the subject.
-We see a quick montage of the beginning and end of the sermon. Sounds like it was pretty standard religious stuff about worshipping the Goddess Altana and finding your way to paradise.
-Ulmia approaches Arnau after the sermon. She heard stories of Paradise growing up:
“A legendary land where the gods slumber… A gate leading to that land, discovered by the ancients...”
But the ancients angered the Twilight God (Promathia) by attempting to open that gate. He punished them, cursing them. So why, if that’s true, is the San d’Orian cathedral attempting to convince people to open the gates?
A GREAT question, but I assumed the San d’Orian message was more
metaphorical. Like, “live your life well and open the gates of Paradise
(namely, love, hugs, and puppies)!”
-Arnau is a bit taken aback by this. Maybe he’s having the same reaction I am. But Ulmia’s church explicitly taught that the Gates of the Gods, the Gates of Paradise, should never be fucked with.
-Oh. Wow. I was wrong lol.
ARNAU: “For the past twenty years, we have searched tirelessly for an entrance to Paradise. And it is during that search we realized that the only path to soothing the Twilight God’s wrath is to eschew all desire and embrace Altana.”
So… wow. Wow. Okay. This wasn’t a metaphor. Arnau and the San d’Orian Cathedral literally wants to open the Gates of Paradise, the Gate of the Gods, and just hopes to avoid Promathia’s curse/wrath this time by currying favor with the Goddess Altana.
That sounds like a bad plan. I’m just saying, they may need to think it through more.
-I’m also a bit confused, because the Gate of the Gods was the main thing that the Zilart were trying to open in the last expansion, and it sounded like if they actually opened it the world would end pretty quick.
Is this just the same plot? Is every FFXI expansion going to be about different people trying to open the Gate of the Gods? Maybe that’s what “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat” is ultimately about – I have to stop moogles from opening the Gate of the Gods, and in Aht Urhgan I have to stop the Urhganites or whoever from opening the Gate of the Gods, etc.
-Ulmia and I head to a side priest for further questions about Paradise, the missionary named Chasalvige.
-He leads us to the cathedral’s reliquary. This particular reliquary honors a former priest, a “papsque,” who led a good and noble life. Apparently, at the end of his life, the Goddess Altana showed him the path to Paradise.
CHASALVIGE: “His final words told us that to obtain Paradise, one must eschew all desire and embrace the Dawn Goddess.”
-Arnau is a bit taken aback by this. Maybe he’s having the same reaction I am. But Ulmia’s church explicitly taught that the Gates of the Gods, the Gates of Paradise, should never be fucked with.
-Oh. Wow. I was wrong lol.
ARNAU: “For the past twenty years, we have searched tirelessly for an entrance to Paradise. And it is during that search we realized that the only path to soothing the Twilight God’s wrath is to eschew all desire and embrace Altana.”
So… wow. Wow. Okay. This wasn’t a metaphor. Arnau and the San d’Orian Cathedral literally wants to open the Gates of Paradise, the Gate of the Gods, and just hopes to avoid Promathia’s curse/wrath this time by currying favor with the Goddess Altana.
That sounds like a bad plan. I’m just saying, they may need to think it through more.
-I’m also a bit confused, because the Gate of the Gods was the main thing that the Zilart were trying to open in the last expansion, and it sounded like if they actually opened it the world would end pretty quick.
Is this just the same plot? Is every FFXI expansion going to be about different people trying to open the Gate of the Gods? Maybe that’s what “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat” is ultimately about – I have to stop moogles from opening the Gate of the Gods, and in Aht Urhgan I have to stop the Urhganites or whoever from opening the Gate of the Gods, etc.
-Ulmia and I head to a side priest for further questions about Paradise, the missionary named Chasalvige.
-He leads us to the cathedral’s reliquary. This particular reliquary honors a former priest, a “papsque,” who led a good and noble life. Apparently, at the end of his life, the Goddess Altana showed him the path to Paradise.
CHASALVIGE: “His final words told us that to obtain Paradise, one must eschew all desire and embrace the Dawn Goddess.”
-Again, this sounds like a metaphor. When a Christian tells you to
embrace Christ and do good deeds to obtain Paradise, they’re not
providing you some FMA:B-style formula to bust down the literal doors of
Paradise.
-The San d’Orian Cathedral heard this message, and took it literally, scouring ancient tomes and even warring with other nations to find the literal gate to Paradise.
“…All this to find a Paradise that was only meant to exist in our hearts.”
AHA. Okay. This makes sense. So the Tavnazian Cathedral teaches you to avoid the literal gates of Paradise, but the San d’Orian Cathedral teaches you to open the FIGURATIVE gates of Paradise.
-The San d’Orians are currently in a state of repentance for their attempts to literally find the gates of Paradise, and now want to live a life of love and enlightenment.
-Ulmia understands. She has one last question: how do we break free of Promathia’s curse? Chasalvige’s response gives me chills.
“It is forbidden to speak of the abhorrent one. Of all things, you should know this well, child of Tavnazia.”
UHHH. DOES THIS MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS??
(Probably not.)
The first thing that popped into mind is that the elders of Tavnazia call Prishe “the abhorrent one.” I just checked back to my earlier notes, and that was LITERALLY the term they used for her. Prishe herself even joked that the religious elders in Tavnazia find it blasphemous even to speak to her.
And Chasalvige makes it seem like the Abhorrent One isn’t just a general term for the Devil (which seems to be Promathia in this universe), but rather is something localized to Tavnazia.
AND… Ulmia’s response is: “…Yes… I see now…” which could just be her apologizing for accidentally crossing a line with this missionary, but could ALSO mean that Ulmia isn’t just Prishe’s bodyguard.
AND AND AND we learned earlier this session that Volto Oscuro implied Prishe might not age normally.
Again, it’s probably wrong, but fuck it, I’ll just say it: is Prishe some kind of avatar or representation of Promathia? And if this is the case, and Ulmia is aware of it (both HUGE assumptions), is Ulmia’s role more than just a simple bodyguard?
-Anyway. Ulmia next wants to find a group called “the Knights Mistelle,” and Chasalvige tells us to go to Carpenter’s Landing, a zone adjacent to San d’Oria.
---
Next time: continuing to backtrack and explore the Multinational Expedition from 30 years ago.
-The San d’Orian Cathedral heard this message, and took it literally, scouring ancient tomes and even warring with other nations to find the literal gate to Paradise.
“…All this to find a Paradise that was only meant to exist in our hearts.”
AHA. Okay. This makes sense. So the Tavnazian Cathedral teaches you to avoid the literal gates of Paradise, but the San d’Orian Cathedral teaches you to open the FIGURATIVE gates of Paradise.
-The San d’Orians are currently in a state of repentance for their attempts to literally find the gates of Paradise, and now want to live a life of love and enlightenment.
-Ulmia understands. She has one last question: how do we break free of Promathia’s curse? Chasalvige’s response gives me chills.
“It is forbidden to speak of the abhorrent one. Of all things, you should know this well, child of Tavnazia.”
UHHH. DOES THIS MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS??
(Probably not.)
The first thing that popped into mind is that the elders of Tavnazia call Prishe “the abhorrent one.” I just checked back to my earlier notes, and that was LITERALLY the term they used for her. Prishe herself even joked that the religious elders in Tavnazia find it blasphemous even to speak to her.
And Chasalvige makes it seem like the Abhorrent One isn’t just a general term for the Devil (which seems to be Promathia in this universe), but rather is something localized to Tavnazia.
AND… Ulmia’s response is: “…Yes… I see now…” which could just be her apologizing for accidentally crossing a line with this missionary, but could ALSO mean that Ulmia isn’t just Prishe’s bodyguard.
AND AND AND we learned earlier this session that Volto Oscuro implied Prishe might not age normally.
Again, it’s probably wrong, but fuck it, I’ll just say it: is Prishe some kind of avatar or representation of Promathia? And if this is the case, and Ulmia is aware of it (both HUGE assumptions), is Ulmia’s role more than just a simple bodyguard?
-Anyway. Ulmia next wants to find a group called “the Knights Mistelle,” and Chasalvige tells us to go to Carpenter’s Landing, a zone adjacent to San d’Oria.
---
Next time: continuing to backtrack and explore the Multinational Expedition from 30 years ago.
