Summary: The relentless goodness of Prishe shines through. Ulmia believes in her, and so do I.
Mission: Sheltering Doubt (Chains of Promathia, ch.4)
-I head to the Tavnazian stronghold to regroup with Prishe, Tenzen, and Ulmia before we set out for Bahamut.
-Cutscene. Introducing the next chapter of CoP.
"Cradles of Children Lost."
Holy shit. Talk about an ominous title.
-Prishe was expecting a joyous homecoming, but everyone looks sour. People here in the Tavnazian Stronghold are reluctant to talk.
-Elder Despachiaire walks up to them Prishe and Ulmia and he looks sour af. He has some bad news to break it looks like.
-I follow to Despachiaire’s room.
-Oh, right! I somehow forgot that Tavnazia has been in isolation for like 20 years. My arrival here has opened communications back up with the outside world. That’s a huge change for these people.
-Tenzen comes in, introduces himself. Requests an audience with Bahamut. Despachiaire asks him to refrain though, and I can’t blame him. Bahamut is so nearby that Despachiaire is afraid an adverse reaction could cause Bahamut to wreck Tavnazia’s shit.
-Nag’molada will be heading soon to Bahamut’s lair. Despachiaire asks that we go with him. One trip, fewer disturbances.
-Tenzen then asks about Prishe. He tried vistiing Prishe recently, but Prishe turned him away. Is she okay?
DESPACHIAIRE: “I apologize for her actions. Lady Prishe’s body is cursed by a terrible sickness… I am amazed her body holds at all…”
????? What are you talking about dude? And even so, Prishe has never been worn out until now – why would she all of a sudden stop seeing Tenzen? What did you tell her?
-Despachiaire wants Prishe to get rest now because Nag’molada, the “Jeunoan diplomat” (lol and so much more), promised to engage in trade talks between Jeuno and Tavnazia.
-I leave, and find Justinius, one of the Tavnazian captains.
JUSTINIUS: “[Prishe’s] presence is a special one – a miracle bestowed upon us by the Dawn Goddess. However, there are now rumors that the miracle is about to fade… What will become of Tavnazia?”
-WHAT. ARE. YOU. TALKING. ABOUT?
-This cutscene is brief. Justinius basically tells me that Ulmia (who is Elder Despachiaire’s granddaughter) argued with Despachiaire, and headed to the coast.
-I return to the Misareaux Coast, where Ulmia was playing her harp alone before.
-She’s here. Playing and singing again. She seems in a bad way right now, praying.
-When she was a kid, she came here to pray too. And that prayer was answered?
-Flashback. We see CUTE LI’L ULMIA OMG SO CUTE. On this same coast, praying.
???: “What’s the matter with you?”
-IT’S PRISHE. THIS WAS WHEN THEY FIRST MET. And Prishe looks the EXACT SAME AGE as she does now.
Mission: Sheltering Doubt (Chains of Promathia, ch.4)
-I head to the Tavnazian stronghold to regroup with Prishe, Tenzen, and Ulmia before we set out for Bahamut.
-Cutscene. Introducing the next chapter of CoP.
"Cradles of Children Lost."
Holy shit. Talk about an ominous title.
-Prishe was expecting a joyous homecoming, but everyone looks sour. People here in the Tavnazian Stronghold are reluctant to talk.
-Elder Despachiaire walks up to them Prishe and Ulmia and he looks sour af. He has some bad news to break it looks like.
-I follow to Despachiaire’s room.
-Oh, right! I somehow forgot that Tavnazia has been in isolation for like 20 years. My arrival here has opened communications back up with the outside world. That’s a huge change for these people.
-Tenzen comes in, introduces himself. Requests an audience with Bahamut. Despachiaire asks him to refrain though, and I can’t blame him. Bahamut is so nearby that Despachiaire is afraid an adverse reaction could cause Bahamut to wreck Tavnazia’s shit.
-Nag’molada will be heading soon to Bahamut’s lair. Despachiaire asks that we go with him. One trip, fewer disturbances.
-Tenzen then asks about Prishe. He tried vistiing Prishe recently, but Prishe turned him away. Is she okay?
DESPACHIAIRE: “I apologize for her actions. Lady Prishe’s body is cursed by a terrible sickness… I am amazed her body holds at all…”
????? What are you talking about dude? And even so, Prishe has never been worn out until now – why would she all of a sudden stop seeing Tenzen? What did you tell her?
-Despachiaire wants Prishe to get rest now because Nag’molada, the “Jeunoan diplomat” (lol and so much more), promised to engage in trade talks between Jeuno and Tavnazia.
-I leave, and find Justinius, one of the Tavnazian captains.
JUSTINIUS: “[Prishe’s] presence is a special one – a miracle bestowed upon us by the Dawn Goddess. However, there are now rumors that the miracle is about to fade… What will become of Tavnazia?”
-WHAT. ARE. YOU. TALKING. ABOUT?
-This cutscene is brief. Justinius basically tells me that Ulmia (who is Elder Despachiaire’s granddaughter) argued with Despachiaire, and headed to the coast.
-I return to the Misareaux Coast, where Ulmia was playing her harp alone before.
-She’s here. Playing and singing again. She seems in a bad way right now, praying.
-When she was a kid, she came here to pray too. And that prayer was answered?
-Flashback. We see CUTE LI’L ULMIA OMG SO CUTE. On this same coast, praying.
???: “What’s the matter with you?”
-IT’S PRISHE. THIS WAS WHEN THEY FIRST MET. And Prishe looks the EXACT SAME AGE as she does now.
PRISHE: “What are you so worked up about? You’re so full of angst, I could hear your thoughts from malms away!”
-This is So. Fucking. Weird. Not just that Prishe hasn’t aged since we kind of guessed that, but rather that she seems to be psychic. [Later edit: maybe. It’s also possible she’s just familiar with the culture enough to guess what’s bugging this rando. Hm.]
Ulmia is frozen still at the appearance of this random girl, and Prishe immediately guesses something she couldn’t possibly have known. That Ulmia is sad because she was too scared to audition for the Tavnazian cathedral choir.
“I guess I can understand why you’d wanna join the cathedral choir. You get to wear those pretty clothes, and every meal is a feast!”
Prishe comforts her. This is really sweet.
“But it’s not the end of the world, you know. Listen to me. You might be too young to realize it, but this world is one damn big place!”
Implying that she, Prishe herself, is far from young.
“Lemme put it this way. The world that stretched away to the right and the world that stretches away to the left… Combined with the world above and the world below… That’s a whole lotta world around you!”
I’m almost tearing up a bit at this. Mostly because this is such an overwhelmingly kind gesture and kind thing to say to a kid who is scared to audition.
-I remember something that Roger Ebert (rest in peace), one of my favorite writers, wrote: that moments of sadness don’t make him cry so much as moments of goodness. Amen.
-Prishe continues, and I’m blown away by this. Sure, Ulmia’s chances of getting into the cathedral choir right now may be closed, but the version of Vana’diel where Ulmia sings and sings beautifully? It’s a big world after all. There’s time.
“C’mon, let’s hear you sing! Let’s make that world right here!”
-They sing together staring at the sunset. This is amazing.
-Just then, an adult comes by. Cardinal Mildaurion. “Prishe, you’ve snuck out of the cathedral again!”
The Cardinal is keeping her locked away in the Cathedral?
-We don’t actually see the Cardinal herself in this scene – just a zoomed-in glimpse of her back - leading me to be even more certain that the blond Zilart woman working with Nag’molada, who attacked Bahamut, is Cardinal Mildaurion.
-Prishe waves goodbye to her new friend.
-The flashback ends. Back in the present now.
-Ulmia says that this conversation really encouraged her. She even managed to try again and join the choir.
ULMIA: “That was when I learned she was the ‘abhorrent one’ who had long been connected with the Tavnazian Cathedral.”
-This is So. Fucking. Weird. Not just that Prishe hasn’t aged since we kind of guessed that, but rather that she seems to be psychic. [Later edit: maybe. It’s also possible she’s just familiar with the culture enough to guess what’s bugging this rando. Hm.]
Ulmia is frozen still at the appearance of this random girl, and Prishe immediately guesses something she couldn’t possibly have known. That Ulmia is sad because she was too scared to audition for the Tavnazian cathedral choir.
“I guess I can understand why you’d wanna join the cathedral choir. You get to wear those pretty clothes, and every meal is a feast!”
Prishe comforts her. This is really sweet.
“But it’s not the end of the world, you know. Listen to me. You might be too young to realize it, but this world is one damn big place!”
Implying that she, Prishe herself, is far from young.
“Lemme put it this way. The world that stretched away to the right and the world that stretches away to the left… Combined with the world above and the world below… That’s a whole lotta world around you!”
I’m almost tearing up a bit at this. Mostly because this is such an overwhelmingly kind gesture and kind thing to say to a kid who is scared to audition.
-I remember something that Roger Ebert (rest in peace), one of my favorite writers, wrote: that moments of sadness don’t make him cry so much as moments of goodness. Amen.
-Prishe continues, and I’m blown away by this. Sure, Ulmia’s chances of getting into the cathedral choir right now may be closed, but the version of Vana’diel where Ulmia sings and sings beautifully? It’s a big world after all. There’s time.
“C’mon, let’s hear you sing! Let’s make that world right here!”
-They sing together staring at the sunset. This is amazing.
-Just then, an adult comes by. Cardinal Mildaurion. “Prishe, you’ve snuck out of the cathedral again!”
The Cardinal is keeping her locked away in the Cathedral?
-We don’t actually see the Cardinal herself in this scene – just a zoomed-in glimpse of her back - leading me to be even more certain that the blond Zilart woman working with Nag’molada, who attacked Bahamut, is Cardinal Mildaurion.
-Prishe waves goodbye to her new friend.
-The flashback ends. Back in the present now.
-Ulmia says that this conversation really encouraged her. She even managed to try again and join the choir.
ULMIA: “That was when I learned she was the ‘abhorrent one’ who had long been connected with the Tavnazian Cathedral.”
I FUCKING KNEW IT.
Wait. Chill, Coldrun. It’s possible that this doesn’t mean that Prishe is necessarily Promathia or some avatar of Promathia.
ULMIA: “I also discovered that the power she was born from should be reviled – not Prishe herself.”
Ah. So Prishe is some sort of Promathia-spawned Anti-Christ type?
OH SHIT WAIT WAIT WAIT – what if PRISHE HERSELF is the Keeper of the Apocalypse, and the Pale Kid is someone else altogether?
No. No way. If that were the case, then why would “Cardinal Mildaurion” keep Prishe alive at all?
-Ulmia says that this was far from the last time Prishe helped. Prishe’s aid in the evacuation of Tavnazia during the war, in keeping everyone safe, was astounding. A miracle.
-Anyway. Back to today. Tavnazia pled with Nag’molada for Jeuno’s aid while we were away, and I can’t blame them. The Tavnazian Stronghold is a glorified survivalist’s bunker. They must want to get back on their feet.
ULMIA: “The eyes of the people of Tavnazia were shining so very brightly. Just as they did that time… when Prishe was still called the abhorrent one…”
-Again: WAIT. Hold up. When she was still called the abhorrent one? Maybe she’s, like, a reincarnation of Promathia? God I have NO IDEA LOL. And I assumed people still called her the abhorrent one.
-Ulmia begins to pray.
“Dawn Goddess, bless me with your wisdom. We need guidance in choosing the right path of action.
What must I do? Is Prishe truly deserving of such revilement?
“I wish to save her, but in doing so do I damn myself? Surely such an act can be forgiven?”
Just now, we see Bahamut’s image screaming across the sky. Ulmia takes this as a sign. She’ll go to him to seek guidance, and asks me to come.
-Whew. I’m getting more and more, but there’s still so much I’m missing here, so much I don’t understand.
-Another question: how much does Prishe herself know?
---
Mission: The Savage (Chains of Promathia, ch.4)
-Before joining Ulmia, I check in with Justinius. He wasn’t able to dissuade Ulmia from her journey. “I understand how much she wants to prove that Prishe is not the abhorrent one, but…”
-So it’s a good bet that she is this “abhorrent one.” The next question: what does that mean exactly? Cause it sure as hell doesn’t mean that she’s bad. She’s not. Maybe this is like Dawn in Buffy season 5, where she herself isn’t bad but her initial purpose was bad and can be potentially used for evil.
-I head to Cape Riverne, the entrance to Bahamut’s zone. Ulmia meets me here – and Justinius came too, yay!
-And Tenzen, with the Phoenix Blade. Now it’s a party. Let’s go.
???: “Can’t let you do that.”
Nag’molada?
NO IT’S THE FUCKING TARUTARU TRIO
“Meeting with Bahamut is forbidden! Mister Nag’molada said so! Trespassers are to be punished! Time to get warped, lawbreaker!”
DO NOT FUCKING WARP ME AWAY
-LOLOLOL THE RED-HAIRED ONE CAST THE WRONG WARP AND WARPED THE BLUE-HAIRED ONE AWAY BY ACCIDENT
-Justinius is done with these kids. He takes out his axe. “It’s about time someone taught these pranksters a lesson.”
We go on ahead.
-One of them tries to cast a spell on me as I leave, but I just barely dodge into the portal ahead to get ot the floating Riverne.
-I honestly thought these kids would just be nuisances, but they’re legit becoming threats. Another lesson I should’ve learned from Buffy: the seemingly harmless and annoying Trio may end up as anything but.
-I traverse this next set of floating islands, approaching Bahamut’s domain at Monarch Linn. Really love the look of these floating islands. Something the FF series has always done well, even as far back as the first game.
-A “battlefield” (boss fight) waits ahead. No way will I have to fight Bahamut now, right?
---
Next time: encounter with Bahamut.
-And Tenzen, with the Phoenix Blade. Now it’s a party. Let’s go.
???: “Can’t let you do that.”
Nag’molada?
NO IT’S THE FUCKING TARUTARU TRIO
“Meeting with Bahamut is forbidden! Mister Nag’molada said so! Trespassers are to be punished! Time to get warped, lawbreaker!”
DO NOT FUCKING WARP ME AWAY
-LOLOLOL THE RED-HAIRED ONE CAST THE WRONG WARP AND WARPED THE BLUE-HAIRED ONE AWAY BY ACCIDENT
-Justinius is done with these kids. He takes out his axe. “It’s about time someone taught these pranksters a lesson.”
We go on ahead.
-One of them tries to cast a spell on me as I leave, but I just barely dodge into the portal ahead to get ot the floating Riverne.
-I honestly thought these kids would just be nuisances, but they’re legit becoming threats. Another lesson I should’ve learned from Buffy: the seemingly harmless and annoying Trio may end up as anything but.
-I traverse this next set of floating islands, approaching Bahamut’s domain at Monarch Linn. Really love the look of these floating islands. Something the FF series has always done well, even as far back as the first game.
-A “battlefield” (boss fight) waits ahead. No way will I have to fight Bahamut now, right?
---
Next time: encounter with Bahamut.
