Mission: Cauterize (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-It’s been 22 sessions since my last RoV quest. http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2017/05/ffxi-pa...
The tldr: Volto Oscuro (ambassador to the Emptiness) is drawing power in our time. Iroha (priestess from the future) keeps dying because she’s not supposed to be in this time. The Phoenix’s power keeps her coming back. Cait Sith mighe help.
-I meet Cait Sith inside the Walk of Echoes. Atomos keeps rejecting Iroha – can he not?
-She suggests I ask for help from Altana directly.
-How do I commune with her? Cait Sith suggests talking to Lilisette.
---
Mission: Ganged Up On (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-Lilisette arrives. The Walk of Echoes seems to be a neutral zone, where she can communicate with me even from Lilith’s war-torn future.
-She’s seen the same visions of the Emptiness future as I have – but more. She saw me in this vision.
“Your visage was even more noble than usual, and you had become… a god.”
Holy shit. Where is this questline going? AM I ALTANA? FFXI BY M NIGHT SHYAMALAN
-Volto Oscuro found his way here. Shit.
---
Mission: Sacrifice (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-Volto Oscuro is hovering by the Maw, draining power from him. He sees us and summons a sword.
“I shall change the world… But without the power of darkness, I cannot.” Is he gonna get the Lilith treatment, using evil power for a sympathetic reason?
-Suddenly, Atomos appears behind Volto Oscuro, trying to devour him.
It doesn’t kill Volto Oscuro – instead, it draws some kind of titanic beast out of Volto.
---
Mission: Somber Dreams (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-That beast – Cetus – and I get sucked back out into the world through Atomos.
-During the Cetus fight, Volto Oscuro fled. But not before absorbing Atomos’ power.
-Lilisette notices something: if he had enough power to drain Atomos, he could’ve killed us easily, but didn’t. He’s holding back for some reason.
-Lili’s idea to contact Altana is to talk with a priestess. Iroha.
---
Mission: Temporary Farewells (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I check in with Gilgamesh in Norg, who says, Iroha’s been spotted on Tavnazia.
-Iroha is doing better, recovered a bit from her last death.
-She saw Siren recently, who told her: “Your presence here brings naught but chaos to this world.” Rude.
-I catch her up the story of Aht Urhgan, and our recent encounter with Volto Oscuro. Apparently, the sword he used in our last fight was frigging EXCALIBUR.
IROHA: “But only one of those exists in the world! How could he…?” I can’t help but think of Final Fantasy IV. On the SNES there was a bug where you could duplicate an item. I remember duplicating 99 Excaliburs as a kid to throw at the final boss. Maybe that’s what Volto Oscuro’s doing.
-It’s news to me that his Excalibur is a duplicate. I haven’t come across it yet in the game.
-Iroha feels like the fight against Volto Oscuro may be coming up soon. She asks for training.
---
Mission: Brushing Up (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I now have the choice how to train Iroha. Strength, endurance, or style? I go with endurance, and get her some special endurance-boosting food from Bastok.
-After our training, we discuss that weird interaction with Volto Oscuro. What was all that about him wanting to change the future and needing the forces of darkness to accomplish that?
-Whatever the case, we should take out the ambassador sooner rather than later. Each time Iroha comes back from the dead, the Phoenix blessing sustaining her is a bit weaker.
-I bring up the idea of asking for Altana’s help.
IROHA: “If any would know how to meet with Altana, it would be the ancients.” Kam’lanaut and Eald’narche would count as these, but they died back in “Rise of the Zilart.” She means the Kuluu.
---
Mission: The Cursed Temple (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I head back to Norg to discuss this with Gilgamesh. There are some Kuluu nearby, in the Temple of Uggalepih. Tonberry country.
-Tenzen, Iroha and I arrive at the temple and find the spirit of Gravi’ton Berisacci herself, Kuluu leader of the Tonberries.
-She says that we can meet Altana by traveling to a place “that hold a grand crystal” to cross the boundary to her realm.
-One problem: only the dead can make this crossing. But she suggests that the terrestrial avatars might provide an alternative method.
-Gravi’ton thinks this whole thing might relate to why she’s still here. She’s dead, but hasn’t returned to the crystal. That’s unusual, even in this world.
-One of her Kuluu brothers is in a similar position, clinging to this world after death. Selh’teus. HAHA THIS IS AWESOME! This quest chain is like a callback to literally everything.
---
Mission: Where Divinities Collide (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I head to the mothercrystal in Konschtat Highlands. We fall unconscious when we enter.
-We wake up in a dream dimension. HI SELH’TEUS!
-And suddenly, it’s Godapalooza in this dream. Diabolos comes. Odin comes. Atomos. Fenrir.
-And it’s kind of hilarious? These gods are just talking to each other so casually.
DIABOLOS: “Atomos, your ramblings remain as incoherent as ever. Is there no one who can understand him?”
-A new one appears, that demon jester type I glimpsed once in Aht Urhgan. His name is Balamor.
“Starting in the year 884, the power of the spirits and avatars of Vana’diel began to be absorbed by a mysterious force.”
Balamor is introduces himself to the assembled gods as someone associated with darkness. A new player.
-They debate what to do. They heard Siren plans to attack Volto Oscuro, but he’s too strong.
-And then Volto Oscuro enters. “Your gathering here together… makes my life much easier.”
-The gods start to peace out, teleporting out of this dream.
-I’m confused by what just happened. Super confused. My main takeaway is that Balamor seems to have orchestrated this in some way, and Siren may be our next lead.
---
Mission: To the Skies (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I return to Norg. Zeid and Gilgamesh are talking about Escha.
-Reports are that there are TWO Sirens about, in Escha near Tavnazia.
---
Mission: Escha – Ru’Aun (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-I meet Kagero and Tenzen on the Misaraux Coast.
KAGERO: “Whenever a woman from the Far East comes to a life-altering fork in the road, she undergoes a purification ritual.” Iroha is preparing to help Siren against Volto Oscuro.
-I head into the nearby confluence to Escha – Ru’Aun, a shadowy version of Ru’Aun Gardens – that floating island from “Rise of the Zilart.” I dig the zone design. It’s black and white, but the characters are full-color.
-Siren meets me and Tenzen.
SIREN: “A cloud of nothingness descending from a different dimension created this land, devoid of all time and color. It passed through the crystal, devouring all in its wake.”
Is this cloud an FFIII reference to the Cloud of Darkness?
-Siren offers to help us meet Altana. But first, we have to banish the Emptiness around Reisenjima, Iroha’s home in the east. We need Selh’teus to help us with that.
SIREN: “Never forget your charge, even should Iroha and I fade from this world.”
Tenzen has a huge crush on Iroha. This freaks him out, but before she can elaborate, Siren leaves.
-Tenzen’s not going to just accept that to find Selh’teus. He charges ahead to help Iroha.
---
Mission: The Decisive Heroine (Rhapsodies of Vana’diel)
-We see both Sirens – Siren and Siren Prime – binding Volto Oscuro. Iroha’s here.
IROHA: “Phoenix, when I am gone, scatter my essence to the skies that I might soar with you.”
-They’re performing a ritual to banish all those who don’t belong in this timeline – including Volto Oscuro and Iroha both. A sacrifice.
-They summon a mystical bell. The ritual’s about to be completed.
-FDHSJKLFDHSF FUCKING TENZEN KNOCKED THE BELL OUT OF THE AIR, STOPPING THE RITUAL
-I get that Tenzen cares for Iroha, but come on, dude. She wanted to do this.
[SPN season 8 spoilers: Guvf erzvaqf zr bs jung V ungrq nobhg gur raq bs frnfba 8. Qrna fgbccrq Fnz sebz fnpevsvpvat uvzfrys bhg bs ybir, ohg vs Fnz unq tbar guebhtu jvgu gur fnpevsvpr, vg jbhyq unir FUHG GUR TNGRF BS URYY SBERIRE? Yvxr... V trg gung lbh pner nobhg uvz, ohg yrg uvz qb guvf ovt vzcbegnag guvat. Vg'f abg nobhg lbh.]
-And yet, Kagero steps in. She understands sacrifice, but only for her master. If I, Detolilla, am her master, shouldn’t he stay and help me?
SIREN: “You are here in the year 884, and have already formed strong bonds with those around you.” This is a good point. Just because she’s from the future, doesn’t mean she doesn’t belong in the present.
-The Sirens disappear. Volto Oscuro is free. LET’S DO IT.
-But we’re not alone. Balamor, the demon jester, arrives.
“I’m going to take our little ambassador friend on a tour of my embassy. Ta-ta for now!” Balamor and Volto Oscuro teleport away. What the hell is Balamor’s deal? Is he on Team Emptiness?
---
Next time: seeing Selh’teus for help.
