Summary: Memorial services. Choosing a Grand Company. Sylph diplomacy. From thaumaturge to black mage.
Main Story – Memorial Day
-I’m kind of a big deal after defeating Ifrit. Grand Company reps try to recruit me and I have to pick one.
-It’s not a tough choice. I plan to join Ul’dah’s Immortal Flames. I’m an Ul’dah thaumaturge. The city feels like a good fit for Ququshu.
-I first must attend memorials to the Battle of Carteneau in the main cities. Gridania first.
-Kan-E-Senna runs the Gridania memorial service.
-The Grand Company’s sigil shows two intertwined serpents. It represents the Hyur and Elezen who worked together to found the city.
-The Garuda-worshipping “Ixal” constantly test Gridania. The sylphs too. The sylphs are more mischievous than malevolent, but still flirt with worship of the primal Ramuh.
-Two twins – Alphinaud and Alisaie – introduce themselves to me. Alphinaud seems to be in his own MST3K episode, providing snarky commentary on the memorial.
-Next up, Limsa Lominsa. Admiral Merlwyb runs the Maelstrom Grand Company. I love her ferocity.
-The Maelstrom’s sigil centers a pirate ship on red cloth symbolizing the blood of fallen crewmates.
-The background voice acting cracks me up. My fave is the pirate guy yelling “WHERE’S ME CUTLASS?”
-Kobolds and sahagin are Limsa Lominsa’s prime threats. The sahagin worship Leviathan and the kobolds worship Titan. Plus, internal strife, given that Limsa Lominsa is made up of pirates.
-Last up is Ul’dah’s memorial service led by Raubahn and the Sultana.
-Ul’dah’s sigil is a scale balancing a jewel (prosperity) and a flame (might).
-Raubahn urges the attendees to heal the divides between soldier and trader, Monetarist and Royalist. Urges us to unite against the Amal’jaa and the Garlean Empire.
-These are ongoing themes in the memorial services. The Grand Companies were once great. They now suffer from internal strife as well as external pressure from Beastmen and Imperials.
-The Sultana is more idealistic than Raubahn. She emphasizes that Ul’dah’s true wealth lies in its people’s happiness and hope.
RAUBAHN: “For Victory and Fortune, stride fearless into the inferno, for we are by fire reborn!”
-Scene change, later. Alisaie and Alphinaud talk about the memorials in a bar together.
-No speaker mentioned the Warriors of Light, the player characters from before A Realm Reborn. Alphinaud empathizes with the desire to forget the past, while Alisaie is enraged.
“Our grandfather would never entrust the fate of the realm to despots who rewrite history to their convenience!” Are these Louisoix’s grandkids?
-The siblings part.
-Back to me. I choose the Immortal Flames of Ul’dah.
Main Story – Memorial Day
-I’m kind of a big deal after defeating Ifrit. Grand Company reps try to recruit me and I have to pick one.
-It’s not a tough choice. I plan to join Ul’dah’s Immortal Flames. I’m an Ul’dah thaumaturge. The city feels like a good fit for Ququshu.
-I first must attend memorials to the Battle of Carteneau in the main cities. Gridania first.
-Kan-E-Senna runs the Gridania memorial service.
-The Grand Company’s sigil shows two intertwined serpents. It represents the Hyur and Elezen who worked together to found the city.
-The Garuda-worshipping “Ixal” constantly test Gridania. The sylphs too. The sylphs are more mischievous than malevolent, but still flirt with worship of the primal Ramuh.
-Two twins – Alphinaud and Alisaie – introduce themselves to me. Alphinaud seems to be in his own MST3K episode, providing snarky commentary on the memorial.
-Next up, Limsa Lominsa. Admiral Merlwyb runs the Maelstrom Grand Company. I love her ferocity.
-The Maelstrom’s sigil centers a pirate ship on red cloth symbolizing the blood of fallen crewmates.
-The background voice acting cracks me up. My fave is the pirate guy yelling “WHERE’S ME CUTLASS?”
-Kobolds and sahagin are Limsa Lominsa’s prime threats. The sahagin worship Leviathan and the kobolds worship Titan. Plus, internal strife, given that Limsa Lominsa is made up of pirates.
-Last up is Ul’dah’s memorial service led by Raubahn and the Sultana.
-Ul’dah’s sigil is a scale balancing a jewel (prosperity) and a flame (might).
-Raubahn urges the attendees to heal the divides between soldier and trader, Monetarist and Royalist. Urges us to unite against the Amal’jaa and the Garlean Empire.
-These are ongoing themes in the memorial services. The Grand Companies were once great. They now suffer from internal strife as well as external pressure from Beastmen and Imperials.
-The Sultana is more idealistic than Raubahn. She emphasizes that Ul’dah’s true wealth lies in its people’s happiness and hope.
RAUBAHN: “For Victory and Fortune, stride fearless into the inferno, for we are by fire reborn!”
-Scene change, later. Alisaie and Alphinaud talk about the memorials in a bar together.
-No speaker mentioned the Warriors of Light, the player characters from before A Realm Reborn. Alphinaud empathizes with the desire to forget the past, while Alisaie is enraged.
“Our grandfather would never entrust the fate of the realm to despots who rewrite history to their convenience!” Are these Louisoix’s grandkids?
-The siblings part.
-Back to me. I choose the Immortal Flames of Ul’dah.
FFXIV – Part 8: Taking the Black (continued, 2/?)
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Main Story – Biggs and Wedge
-I head to Immortal Flames HQ to officially join. Before the ceremony, news arrives that the Imperials attacked our airship.
-The downed airship is west of the city, surrounded by Imperials. They comment “that traitor Garlond has been busy.” Sounds like Ul’dah has an Imperial defector as a shipwright.
-LOL THE AIRSHIP IS THE “TINY BRONCO!” I just hope the Lalafell engineer trapped on board is less of an asshole than the last Tiny Bronco engineer.
-This “Garlond” is missing. A future plotline perhaps.
-The Immortal Flames and I take out the Imperial soldiers and their magitek robot backup.
-The Tiny Bronco’s engineers are Biggs and Wedge HI GUYS!!
-Back to the Immortal Flames for my official initiation. For coin and country!
-I start as a private third class. I can rank up by doing Grand Company quests.
-Lady Minfilia recalls me to Scion HQ. Biggs and Wedge thank us, and will help out the Scions of the Seventh Dawn longer-term. A great addition to Team Scion!
---
Main Story: Sylphs
-Yda and Papalymo (the Gridania Scions) report on the sylphs. They’re a semi-peaceful beast tribe. We have a chance to set up diplomatic ties and help keep them away from Ramuh-worship.
-Gridania also wants to stay on their good side to avoid a two-front war. The Garuda-worshipping Ixal are trouble enough.
-So do we strike out at Ramuh and risk alienating the sylphs, or do we leave the sylphs alone?
-I learn sylph customs. Present the right food (a hallucinogenic milkweed), dance the right dance, etc.
Bloodthirsty and footloose.
-The sylphs are unusually wary. The Empire, “strange steel walking ones,” lurk nearby.
-Both friendly sylphs and Ramuh-tempered sylphs exist.
-The sylphs are both annoying and adorable. I feel especially bad for my Free Company friend ZZ here. FFXIV dancing annoys her, and here I have to /dance for sylphs over and over in greeting.
-The elder I wanted to meet with left for the forest and hasn’t returned. I hope he’s not tempered.
-My investigation doesn’t turn up sylphs; it turns up Garleans. They infiltrated the forest thanks to a Gridanian traitor within the Wood Wailers, Gridania’s rangers/spies/guards. Laurentius.
-The fight against Laurentius is pretty great. He keeps summoning Garlean reinforcements, while I keep getting Gridanian back-up. FFXIV has done this before, and it’s really effective.
Afterwards, he’s clearly ashamed and sincerely turns himself in. He joined the Wood Wailers in good faith, and only recently lost hope. A prime target for Garlean corruption.
-Sylph Elder Frixio has been sighted fleeing Imperials into a nearby dungeon. In we go.
---
Main Story – Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak
-The dungeon is an old, overgrown prison. It’s pretty gross, with lots of ooze and goop and bugs.
-I finally meet the villain from the intro, a guy in a dark robe and fang mask. “Lahabrea of the Ascians, servant of the one true god.” Bahamut? Odin? Idk.
-He describes the Echo as crucial, all that stands between the darkness and this world. And he wants to destroy the crystal.
---
Main Story – Biggs and Wedge
-I head to Immortal Flames HQ to officially join. Before the ceremony, news arrives that the Imperials attacked our airship.
-The downed airship is west of the city, surrounded by Imperials. They comment “that traitor Garlond has been busy.” Sounds like Ul’dah has an Imperial defector as a shipwright.
-LOL THE AIRSHIP IS THE “TINY BRONCO!” I just hope the Lalafell engineer trapped on board is less of an asshole than the last Tiny Bronco engineer.
-This “Garlond” is missing. A future plotline perhaps.
-The Immortal Flames and I take out the Imperial soldiers and their magitek robot backup.
-The Tiny Bronco’s engineers are Biggs and Wedge HI GUYS!!
-Back to the Immortal Flames for my official initiation. For coin and country!
-I start as a private third class. I can rank up by doing Grand Company quests.
-Lady Minfilia recalls me to Scion HQ. Biggs and Wedge thank us, and will help out the Scions of the Seventh Dawn longer-term. A great addition to Team Scion!
---
Main Story: Sylphs
-Yda and Papalymo (the Gridania Scions) report on the sylphs. They’re a semi-peaceful beast tribe. We have a chance to set up diplomatic ties and help keep them away from Ramuh-worship.
-Gridania also wants to stay on their good side to avoid a two-front war. The Garuda-worshipping Ixal are trouble enough.
-So do we strike out at Ramuh and risk alienating the sylphs, or do we leave the sylphs alone?
-I learn sylph customs. Present the right food (a hallucinogenic milkweed), dance the right dance, etc.
Bloodthirsty and footloose.
-The sylphs are unusually wary. The Empire, “strange steel walking ones,” lurk nearby.
-Both friendly sylphs and Ramuh-tempered sylphs exist.
-The sylphs are both annoying and adorable. I feel especially bad for my Free Company friend ZZ here. FFXIV dancing annoys her, and here I have to /dance for sylphs over and over in greeting.
-The elder I wanted to meet with left for the forest and hasn’t returned. I hope he’s not tempered.
-My investigation doesn’t turn up sylphs; it turns up Garleans. They infiltrated the forest thanks to a Gridanian traitor within the Wood Wailers, Gridania’s rangers/spies/guards. Laurentius.
-The fight against Laurentius is pretty great. He keeps summoning Garlean reinforcements, while I keep getting Gridanian back-up. FFXIV has done this before, and it’s really effective.
Afterwards, he’s clearly ashamed and sincerely turns himself in. He joined the Wood Wailers in good faith, and only recently lost hope. A prime target for Garlean corruption.
-Sylph Elder Frixio has been sighted fleeing Imperials into a nearby dungeon. In we go.
---
Main Story – Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak
-The dungeon is an old, overgrown prison. It’s pretty gross, with lots of ooze and goop and bugs.
-I finally meet the villain from the intro, a guy in a dark robe and fang mask. “Lahabrea of the Ascians, servant of the one true god.” Bahamut? Odin? Idk.
-He describes the Echo as crucial, all that stands between the darkness and this world. And he wants to destroy the crystal.
-Throughout this conversation, there are two more voices than ours in the room. One an evil god supporting him, one the voice of the Crystal supporting me.
-He corrupts a nearby mite into monstrous size and flees.
-Afterwards, the sylph elder Frixio emerges. Safe and sound.
-I see another Echo vision. Nero tol Scaeva’s Imperials in Gridania. They’ve been trying to provoke the sylphs to summon the “eikon” Ramuh. No luck.
-Nero’s plans, whatever they are, near completion. I like Nero’s character/personality.
-Frixio and another sylph watched this whole thing.
-Back to the present, I meet Elder Frixio back in town. Frixio was caught spying by the Imperials, fled into Toto-Rak, and was there caught by Lahabrea.
-We have the desired peace talk between Gridania and Frixio. Frixio wants peace too. Lord Ramuh was last summoned against his recommendation to protect the woods from the Empire.
A pretty terrifying zoom-in of silhouetted Ramuh.
-A pleasant surprise: Lord Ramuh isn’t cruel like the other primals. He only attacks those who threaten the Twelveswood. The tempered sylphs take on this fierce protectiveness of the homeland.
-Frixio thanks me with a Ramuh-related crystal. I see a vision of a magic circle, now with Ifrit’s and Ramuh’s crystals filled in. And a blue one? I’ll apparently need the crystal later.
-The Gridanian leaders are overjoyed to hear that the sylphs mean no harm.
---
Thaumaturge -
-The next class quest is to track down Cocobusi, possessed by the voidsent Morno, and exorcise her. “Cocobusi” has been spotted in Vesper Bay.
-People around town noticed him. He hit on some ladies and left with them. Morno likely means to kill them and drain their power.
-“Cocobusi” is nearby. The thaumaturge Cocobuki offers himself as a substitute for Morno, and Morno powers up. Sheds the Cocobusi shell and unveils her true form. Now’s our chance.
-Mormo is a tough fight. She uses Fire II and Blizzard II, and summons tough skellies. The adds kill me once. I get her on my second attempt.
-OH SHIT COCOBUKI IS UNCONSCIOUS! He gave up his energy to Mormo so we’d have a chance.
YESSSSS!!! This is an amazing ending. Cocobusi wakes up and uses one of his alchemy potions to revive Cocobuki.
Everyone lives – and Cocobusi’s life path is validated.
-AND NOW I GET A QUEST TO RISE FROM THAUMATURGE TO BLACK MAGE!
---
Taking the Black
-An Ul’dah prisoner claims to be a black mage, and that the god Nal’dthal demands I, Ququshu, obtain a Gem of Shatotto (hi FFXI!). Interestingly, the thaumaturges think black mages are long extinct.
-I go to the “testing site” and kill some dark magic beasts spilling out of a portal. A friendly Amal’jaa sees this, judges me worthy, and gives me the Gem of Shatotto.
-The thaumaturges react with shock. The Gem is legendary, only granted to those blessed by Nald’thal.
-AND THEN BLACK MAGES APPROACH HOLY! They look classically black magey, like Vivi.
-Ququruka is the master, Lalai the student. Ququruka claims Nald’thal declared to him that the “seal on the voidgate will be broken.” The bearer of the Gem of Shatotto can close it.
-A nearby thaumaturge hears this and interprets it as blasphemous somehow. I don’t quite understand the relationship between thaumaturgy and black magic, but it’s clearly hostile.
-This Gem of Shatotto is the first key required to seal the voidgate. Whatever that means.
QUQURUKA: “You have taken the black, but time is needed before the black takes you – before it permeates mind and body, and colors every fiber of your being dark as pitch.”
EEEE!!! I’M NOW A BLACK MAGE. My next class quest will be a job quest at level 35 for Black Mage.
---
Random Stuff
-I can create two “retainers.” They are NPC helpers that serve as banks, inventory dumps, and other stuff I’m not sure of yet.
-Cool! I get to go through a full character creation! I’ll randomize it.
Retainer #1: a Dunefolk lady Lalafell.
-I also get to pick her personality. Polite, rough, carefree, etc. Random.org chooses: polite. I use fantasynamegenerators.com to also randomize her name. Shoshodi.
-My next randomly-created retainer is also a Dunesfolk Lalafell. A lively male named Shijo.
-Ah, the retainers are more than just walking banks! I can assign them a class, equip them, send them on missions. I turn Shoshodi into a Gladiator and Shijo into a Fisher.
-WOOOHOOOO!! I GOT A CHOCOBO MOUNT!! I also have an Ahriman mount available to me.
-I gained access to the Palace of the Dead. I thought this would be a regular dungeon. Nope. I can enter it solo or in a party. I start at level 1. I can only use a new type of armor and weaponry in there called “aetherpool.” Each floor is randomly generated.
That sounds SO COOL! I have to try that soon.
---
Next time: With Ifrit and Ramuh dealt with for now, I’ll return to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn for my next assignment.
Taking the Black
-An Ul’dah prisoner claims to be a black mage, and that the god Nal’dthal demands I, Ququshu, obtain a Gem of Shatotto (hi FFXI!). Interestingly, the thaumaturges think black mages are long extinct.
-I go to the “testing site” and kill some dark magic beasts spilling out of a portal. A friendly Amal’jaa sees this, judges me worthy, and gives me the Gem of Shatotto.
-The thaumaturges react with shock. The Gem is legendary, only granted to those blessed by Nald’thal.
-AND THEN BLACK MAGES APPROACH HOLY! They look classically black magey, like Vivi.
-Ququruka is the master, Lalai the student. Ququruka claims Nald’thal declared to him that the “seal on the voidgate will be broken.” The bearer of the Gem of Shatotto can close it.
-A nearby thaumaturge hears this and interprets it as blasphemous somehow. I don’t quite understand the relationship between thaumaturgy and black magic, but it’s clearly hostile.
-This Gem of Shatotto is the first key required to seal the voidgate. Whatever that means.
QUQURUKA: “You have taken the black, but time is needed before the black takes you – before it permeates mind and body, and colors every fiber of your being dark as pitch.”
EEEE!!! I’M NOW A BLACK MAGE. My next class quest will be a job quest at level 35 for Black Mage.
---
Random Stuff
-I can create two “retainers.” They are NPC helpers that serve as banks, inventory dumps, and other stuff I’m not sure of yet.
-Cool! I get to go through a full character creation! I’ll randomize it.
Retainer #1: a Dunefolk lady Lalafell.
-I also get to pick her personality. Polite, rough, carefree, etc. Random.org chooses: polite. I use fantasynamegenerators.com to also randomize her name. Shoshodi.
-My next randomly-created retainer is also a Dunesfolk Lalafell. A lively male named Shijo.
-Ah, the retainers are more than just walking banks! I can assign them a class, equip them, send them on missions. I turn Shoshodi into a Gladiator and Shijo into a Fisher.
-WOOOHOOOO!! I GOT A CHOCOBO MOUNT!! I also have an Ahriman mount available to me.
-I gained access to the Palace of the Dead. I thought this would be a regular dungeon. Nope. I can enter it solo or in a party. I start at level 1. I can only use a new type of armor and weaponry in there called “aetherpool.” Each floor is randomly generated.
That sounds SO COOL! I have to try that soon.
---
Next time: With Ifrit and Ramuh dealt with for now, I’ll return to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn for my next assignment.
