Mission: Path of Darkness (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
-FINALLY!! My friend Avarii came and helped keep Naja Salaheem healed up. We took down Amnaf over three phases.
-In the last phase, the blue mage Amnaf transformed into a mindflayer. I guess she overexerted herself or something.
-She’s about to let out some final blast of magic at me when Raubahn, another Immortal blue mage, appears behind her and kills her. A mercy killing of a corrupted comrade.
-Naja and I escape. We failed to rescue Luzaf, but at least we survived.
RAUBAHN: “Detolilla… one day I shall feast on your soul. One day.”
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Mission: Fangs of the Lion (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
-I return to Salaheem’s Sentinels.
-Nashmeira is here. I like that Naja Salaheem shows genuine respect for her.
-What now? The defenses around Luzaf and the colossus are entrenched.
-Nashmeira pulls out a “mithril mirror,” something her mother used to transport directly to the center of the ruins.
-She wants to come and persuade her brother to disable the colossus. We’ll be her back-up.
NASHMEIRA: “(Watch over us, Ovjang… Mnejing… and Rishfee, lend us your courage.)” RIP puppets.
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Mission: Nashmeira’s Plea (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
- Nashmeira and I arrive at the Alzadaal Undersea Ruins.
-Ghatsad and Razfahd are here with the cannon. So is this cannon Alexander? I assumed he would be, like, the size of a castle, not the size of a room.
-This machine isn’t Alexander yet. It can be used to summon Alexander
-Razfahd isn’t convinced Ragnarok will happen.
“The might of Alexander will flood Urghuum with divine illumination, and bring about an eternal peace for the Empire.” I doubt it, my dude. Hubristic af to think you can change Alexander’s nature.
-I like that even now Grand Vizier Razfahd just wants to save his country. He legitimately thinks Aht Urhgan is beset by enemies and on the brink of destruction, with Alexander as the last resort.
He’s wrong, but still.
-Change of plans. Talking didn’t work. Nashmeira wants me to distract them while she takes control of the control panel.
-Razfahd climbs inside the Colossus and starts powering up. Raubahn the Immortal sees me and moves to stop me.
-Raubhan takes three separate phases to go down, the third phase going immune to physical damage, but he goes down eventually. The colossus is damaged.
-OH SHIT ALEXANDER ARRIVES, NOW POSSESSING THE CONSTRUCT
-GOT HIM!!!
-I like though that we didn’t defeat Alexander really. We just distracted him and survived long enough for Nashmeira to take control of the colossus.
-Luzaf is here. Yay! Since Alexander is defeated, Odin doesn’t need to control him!
-WAIT WHAT THE FUCK
-A LASER BLAST FROM THE COLOSSUS LANCES THROUGH NASHMEIRA
YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FUCKING KILLED HER I WILL BREAK THINGS
ALEXANDER IS BACK ONLINE
WHICH MEANS ODIN IS BACK ONLINE TOO
ALEXANDER: “Odin… Once again, the Age of Judgment has come. Thy demise shall be swift.”
ODIN: “Thy words ring empty! I shall shower the earth with the shards ofthine iron shell.”
-Alexander starts counting down.
ODIN: “Thou seek to unleash Divine Judgment? Then Gungnir shall pierce thine intent.”
-Alexander’s light meets Odin’s spear in midair.
-The countdown continues, and each is charging up again. Over their fight, we hear a narration about their last encounter that birthed a violent cataclysm.
-Nashmeira is still alive. Screams out, “You mustn’t do this! Nooo!!”
-The countdown finishes. An explosion of light.
-Scene change. We’re in… somewhere. A weird celestial pink and blue dimension. Razfahd and Nashmeira are here.
-Razfahd sees now that he was wrong about Alexander bringing peace to the continents. “I will not allow these deities to destroy our beloved Aht Urhgan.”
(If only someone TRIED TO TELL YOU THAT BEFORE ughh. #listentowomen)
-His voice is weak. He turns to her, says farewell.
-Back in the ruins. Alexander starts to power down. Odin too.
-I don’t exactly know how, but Razfahd somehow used the rest of his life to stop Alexander from the inside.
-Luzaf does the same! He’s able to take control back, sheath Odin’s blade, and banish Odin.
-Admiral Luzaf runs up to Nashmeira. She’s wounded – near death. He takes her body to the nearby Astral Candescences, and beckons to Odin.
LUZAF: “Great Odin, Lord of the Underworld! I have defied your will! And yet I live. Why? Why do you spare me? I relinquish this pseudo-life of mine to the girl, Aphmau. It is time I returned to serve you in the halls of Valhalla.”
-The Candescences light up, and Luzaf directs the light into Nashmeira. SHE LIVES PHEW
-Nice job, Luzaf. Bravo. His time here is done. It’s Nashmeira’s time now.
LUZAF: “It is not your future alone. The citizens of the Empire and of Ephramad… You carry the burden of their hopes and dreams.”
NASHMEIRA: “You’re right. I must be strong. I will be the Empress that Aht Urhgan needs.”
-With that, Luzaf fades. RIP ghostbae.
-Nashmeira turns to me, in full-on Empress mode. “We have neglected our duties for far too long. Aht Urhgan is waiting.”
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Mission: Ragnarok (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
-I return to President Naja Salaheem.
-Wait, is this not over? “We’re about to enter a warzone that will decide the fate of this company.”
-oh lolol she’s talking about the coronation ceremony to reinstate Nashmeira. It’s her warzone – she has to go in and nurture all the relationships she possibly can for future business leads. Love you SO MUCH Naja.
-Naja invites me to be her guest with all the sweetness she can muster: “If ya show up late to the ceremony, I’ll have your hide for a thrrrow rug!”
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Mission: Imperial Coronation (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
-I dress to the nines and head to the coronation.
-Hee! I’m announced as “Ordinary person and preventer of Ragnarok.”
I also see Shantotto here, Volker, King of Hearts, and more.
“The coronation ceremony of Nashmeira II, the 16th Empress of the Majaab Dynasty, will now commence.”
-Nashmeira wants to address the guests directly. She comes out from behind the curtain, and the foreign guests are shocked by how young she looks.
“My distinguished guests. We are certain there are those among you who hold little love for the Empire.”
Lolol what if this coronation just turned into the red wedding and she fucking kills everyone XD
“Yet despite all that has come to pass, you have chosen to bestow your blessings on our coronation, for which we humbly thank you.”
aw, red wedding averted
“Traditionally, we would hold a grand ceremony that would span the entire nation. However, as we desired your presence and acknowledgment, this somewhat more intimate setting was devised.”
Poor Naja! She was psyched to meet all the nobility, the officers, and now her business connections will have to wait.
-She apologizes to the west for all the chaos, and for shooting down their airship.
-Captain Wolfgang of Jeuno interrupts: no lives were lost in the airship crash. WOOHOO!! Naji saved everyone with his first aid!
-Nashmeira wants a neutral rather than friendly relationship with the west. Aht Urhgan still is at war with kingdoms to the east and surrounding beastmen tribes. She fears that if they were close allies, the west would get drawn into their conflicts.
-Gessho arrives just in time! He was delivering a message of peace from Nashmeira to the Mikado, his ruler. The reply is open to exploring peace. A first step.
-Gessho will continue as an envoy between the Empire and the East.
-Next topic: How can the Empire assure the west that it won’t repair and restart the colossus?
-It’s not enough to destroy the colossus’s scraps. There is now a “warp in the fabric of reality” within the colossus. It has become an “astral gate.” Somewhere that links the world of the avatars and the colossus.
-Shantotto is delighted to explore this further.
-Time for the actual coronation. I do the honors.
-Ghatsad had the crown melted down to help build the colossus. Awkwaaaard.
-OH SHIT HAHAHAHA NEVER MIND!!! GHATSAD MELTED DOWN THE CROWN NOT FOR THE COLOSSUS, BUT TO REBUILD OVJANG AND MNEJING!!
I’M SO HAPPY THEY’RE ALIVE
-So no crown. I just do a pretend crown blessing thing.
-The Empress turns now to her most trusted subject, Naja Salaheem Zhwan. She officially recognizes Salaheem’s Sentinels as a legitimate mercenary company of the Empire.
-oh and she also rewards Naja with 1,000 Imperial platinum pieces with is a shitload it seems. YAY FOR THE ONE TRUE SHIP: NAJA/MONEY
NASHMEIRA: “I have already commanded my ministers to comply with your request for independence for your home nation of Zhwa. We trust you will make good use of the coin you received today to ease the poverty of your people.”
WAIT WHAT??? NAJA BACKSTORY NOW?? SHE’S ACCUMULATING MONEY TO RESTORE HER HOME’S INDEPENDENCE AND BRING THEM OUT OF POVERTY??? NAJA MY QUEEN HFDJKLSHFKLFDSHL
NASHMEIRA: “We hope you [Detolilla] continue to be Aht Urhgan’s champion. And perhaps, one day… but no. It cannot be.” Huh? Does she have romantic interest in me or is this hinting at a future storyline? Idk. [Later edit: I think she meant that she wants to go on more adventures with me, but an Empress has other duties.]
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Mission: The Empress Crowned (Treasures of Aht Urhgan)
-I return to Naja. She thanks me for my job “rakin’ in the profits” as her mercenary.
-OMG SHE FINALLY GIVES ME BACK THE GLORY CROWN
“Ya can think of it as a rrreward from the Empress, as well as the acknowledgement of your prrresident.”
-She asks if I want to retire, to leave the company. HELL NO. I’m never leaving you, you brutal kitty.
-…dammit I made a mistake. She starts rattling off how much I owe her for her “saving” me against the Immortals. She’s even charging me by the INDIVIDUAL ABILITY SHE USED.
-She charges for the food she ate and coffee she drank to keep her energy up. Oh, and for the clothing that got scuffed in combat.
I owe her 98,000 gold imperial pieces.
Y'know what? Not even mad. It’s a privilege to work with you, Angry Selfish Kitty.
-And I got my crown back.
-That’s it. That’s the end of “Treasures of Aht Urhgan.”
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Some Brief Final Thoughts
-I liked this a lot! The environment was wonderful, the city design and costumes and everything.
-The length was perfect. Like a novella rather than an epic, which I’m okay with from these expansions. Short and sweet.
-The main characters were great too. Probably my favorite thing. Nashmeira and Naja and Luzaf, the puppets, Gessho, even Grand Vizier Razfahd.
-Probably the only weak part was the Alexander/Odin storyline. I liked it, but it felt like it got short shrift. I didn’t have a great sense of the motivations – or maybe it was just that the motivations were kind of shallow. They just wanted to fight each other. Okay then.
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Next time: this was the last post for this week, but next week I’ll start on the next expansion: “Wings of the Goddess.”
