Summary: The conclusion to A Realm Reborn’s main story and black mage story.
Black Mage – Always Bet on BlacK
-The time to close the voidgate draws nigh, but I’m short on details. Time to see the black mage prophet who started me on this path, Ququruka.
-He’s not around? Oh shit, he was conning us the whole time!
-After he disappeared, Lalai searched his chambers and found that he was actually the greatest criminal in his day. 100 years ago, he conspired with Beastmen to summon some apocalyptic monster, Barbatos. The Order of Nald’thal stopped him and closed the Voidgate before Barbatos could emerge.
Ququruka claimed to be a black mage prophet of Nald’thal, but no. He tricked his way out of what was intended to be eternal prison and wants to open the Voidgate once more.
LALAI: “Four is the answer. Four spells of black. Four artifacts of eld. The blood of four races. By four alone shall the true power of destruction be woken from the voidgate.” All these things I’ve been working on – the blood, the spells, the artifacts – all were designed to OPEN the Voidgate.
-The Beastman Trio and I head to Southern Thanalan to stop Ququruka. Hopefully it’s not too late.
-His summoning is underway. He calls forth a titanic demon. Barbatos.
-WHEW – that was an AWESOME fight! I had to take on both Barbatos and hordes of voidspawn from the gates that opened up in the area. Lots of area damage, target-swapping, crowd-control, the works.
-The defeated Ququruka looks at us. He’s familiar with the Beastman trio, with their ancestors.
QUQURUKA: “And the black mage Ququshu. Splendidly done. Few could have vanquished Barbatos as you have.”
….wtf is going on. Is Ququruka doing a face-turn? Is he a good guy? He’s happy we stopped Barbatos.
-In his youth, Ququruka studied the arcane and uncovered black magic. It intrigued him, that something so powerful was left alone.
He met the ancestors of the Beastman trio. They accelerated his studies. They helped him gather relic garb, the Gem of Shatotto, the magic.
-Together, they uncovered a ritual they hoped would restore black magic. It did got go as planned.
“Our command over the ancient powers we summoned was lost. I watched as the chaotic aether washed over my friends, ripping them apart, only to fuse them together into an… abomination.”
The dude we just vanquished, a.k.a. Barbatos, a.k.a. all of the Beastman Trio’s ancestors stiched together.
JESUS. BARBATOS WASN’T SOME RANDOM DEMON – HE WAS THE HORRIFYING RESULT OF QUQURUKA’S RITUAL, AN AMALGAMATION FUSED OF THE BEASTMAN TRIO’S ANCESTORS
-Ququruka sealed Barbatos away. He was afraid he’d been corrupted, and manufactured the whole “I summoned ancient horrors, lock me away” story so that the Order of Nald’Thal would imprison him.
Until me. He taught me black magic in order to redeem his mistakes. We’ve dealt with the voidgate now, and put his old friends to rest.
Black Mage – Always Bet on BlacK
-The time to close the voidgate draws nigh, but I’m short on details. Time to see the black mage prophet who started me on this path, Ququruka.
-He’s not around? Oh shit, he was conning us the whole time!
-After he disappeared, Lalai searched his chambers and found that he was actually the greatest criminal in his day. 100 years ago, he conspired with Beastmen to summon some apocalyptic monster, Barbatos. The Order of Nald’thal stopped him and closed the Voidgate before Barbatos could emerge.
Ququruka claimed to be a black mage prophet of Nald’thal, but no. He tricked his way out of what was intended to be eternal prison and wants to open the Voidgate once more.
LALAI: “Four is the answer. Four spells of black. Four artifacts of eld. The blood of four races. By four alone shall the true power of destruction be woken from the voidgate.” All these things I’ve been working on – the blood, the spells, the artifacts – all were designed to OPEN the Voidgate.
-The Beastman Trio and I head to Southern Thanalan to stop Ququruka. Hopefully it’s not too late.
-His summoning is underway. He calls forth a titanic demon. Barbatos.
-WHEW – that was an AWESOME fight! I had to take on both Barbatos and hordes of voidspawn from the gates that opened up in the area. Lots of area damage, target-swapping, crowd-control, the works.
-The defeated Ququruka looks at us. He’s familiar with the Beastman trio, with their ancestors.
QUQURUKA: “And the black mage Ququshu. Splendidly done. Few could have vanquished Barbatos as you have.”
….wtf is going on. Is Ququruka doing a face-turn? Is he a good guy? He’s happy we stopped Barbatos.
-In his youth, Ququruka studied the arcane and uncovered black magic. It intrigued him, that something so powerful was left alone.
He met the ancestors of the Beastman trio. They accelerated his studies. They helped him gather relic garb, the Gem of Shatotto, the magic.
-Together, they uncovered a ritual they hoped would restore black magic. It did got go as planned.
“Our command over the ancient powers we summoned was lost. I watched as the chaotic aether washed over my friends, ripping them apart, only to fuse them together into an… abomination.”
The dude we just vanquished, a.k.a. Barbatos, a.k.a. all of the Beastman Trio’s ancestors stiched together.
JESUS. BARBATOS WASN’T SOME RANDOM DEMON – HE WAS THE HORRIFYING RESULT OF QUQURUKA’S RITUAL, AN AMALGAMATION FUSED OF THE BEASTMAN TRIO’S ANCESTORS
-Ququruka sealed Barbatos away. He was afraid he’d been corrupted, and manufactured the whole “I summoned ancient horrors, lock me away” story so that the Order of Nald’Thal would imprison him.
Until me. He taught me black magic in order to redeem his mistakes. We’ve dealt with the voidgate now, and put his old friends to rest.
-Ququruka is dying. He sees me as a successor in keeping black magic safe.
"My time to join Thal… has come. May He greet me as a friend.”
He vanishes in a puff of void magic. RIP Ququruka.
-The Beastman Trio and I regroup. There’s a sense of both sadness and satisfaction. The Beastmen Trio carried out the legacy of their ancestors well, and in doing so saved those same ancestors.
-I’ve taken the black fully and been taken in turn. I unlock the (as-of-pre-expansion FFXIV) ultimate black magic: Flare.
I immediately went back to a starting zone and tested Flare.
Casting Flare on a poor, defenseless level one marmot. FOR SCIENCE!
Ququshu strutting around in her new black mage garb.
-And that’s the base game’s black mage storyline. A message tells me the story continues when I get the first expansion. Onto the conclusion of the main story in A Realm Reborn.
---
Counterattack
-It makes me happy seeing the Waking Sands (Scion HQ) full of living people again.
-The Ascians are immortal, without physical form. So Thancred isn’t part of a race of Ascians; he’s possessed by/in thrall to one.
-Lahabrea often spoke in his own voice and then had some shadowy voice speak as well. That other voice must be the Ascian itself.
-Ascians possess men using Crystals of Darkness.
-The current theory is that the Ascian only recently possessed Thancred. I’d assumed he was an Ascian for much longer, since Lahabrea first saw me.
-Counterattack time. The Eorzean Alliance will strike all Imperial outposts simultaneously to distract and cut off Imperial resources, and also to make room for me to take out Ultima Weapon.
---
Operation Archon
-My first task is to take out Rhitahtyn, the Imperial commander at Cape Westwind
-Rhitahtyn is a true believer. He sees the Empire as a noble, meritocratic dictatorship..
-We take him down. His dual-shield-gun things are so great!
-Scene change to Imperial high command. Gaius, Nero, and Livia are shocked that I killed Rhitahtyn and that the Eorzeans rejected their ultimatums.
-Next up, Castrum Meridianum. Gaius van Baelsar’s fortress.
-The fortress is under siege. Largely destroyed (I assume by Eorzean forces, but dunno).
-RIP Livia. A really cool boss that we have to activate cannons to defeat. One of my favorite designs in the game.
-Gaius van Baelsar himself is here. I wonder if he’ll be a boss in this place.
-He provides Cid some backstory that I’m struggling to process. We already know that Cid’s dad, Midas, grew obsessed with the Meteor Project and that drove Cid away.
What Gaius claims here is that Midas didn’t actually enjoy it. That Midas knew Cid wouldn’t be happy working on armaments, and somehow devised a way to push Cid away for Cid’s sake. Hm.
"My time to join Thal… has come. May He greet me as a friend.”
He vanishes in a puff of void magic. RIP Ququruka.
-The Beastman Trio and I regroup. There’s a sense of both sadness and satisfaction. The Beastmen Trio carried out the legacy of their ancestors well, and in doing so saved those same ancestors.
-I’ve taken the black fully and been taken in turn. I unlock the (as-of-pre-expansion FFXIV) ultimate black magic: Flare.
I immediately went back to a starting zone and tested Flare.
Casting Flare on a poor, defenseless level one marmot. FOR SCIENCE!
Ququshu strutting around in her new black mage garb.
-And that’s the base game’s black mage storyline. A message tells me the story continues when I get the first expansion. Onto the conclusion of the main story in A Realm Reborn.
---
Counterattack
-It makes me happy seeing the Waking Sands (Scion HQ) full of living people again.
-The Ascians are immortal, without physical form. So Thancred isn’t part of a race of Ascians; he’s possessed by/in thrall to one.
-Lahabrea often spoke in his own voice and then had some shadowy voice speak as well. That other voice must be the Ascian itself.
-Ascians possess men using Crystals of Darkness.
-The current theory is that the Ascian only recently possessed Thancred. I’d assumed he was an Ascian for much longer, since Lahabrea first saw me.
-Counterattack time. The Eorzean Alliance will strike all Imperial outposts simultaneously to distract and cut off Imperial resources, and also to make room for me to take out Ultima Weapon.
---
Operation Archon
-My first task is to take out Rhitahtyn, the Imperial commander at Cape Westwind
-Rhitahtyn is a true believer. He sees the Empire as a noble, meritocratic dictatorship..
-We take him down. His dual-shield-gun things are so great!
-Scene change to Imperial high command. Gaius, Nero, and Livia are shocked that I killed Rhitahtyn and that the Eorzeans rejected their ultimatums.
-Next up, Castrum Meridianum. Gaius van Baelsar’s fortress.
-The fortress is under siege. Largely destroyed (I assume by Eorzean forces, but dunno).
-RIP Livia. A really cool boss that we have to activate cannons to defeat. One of my favorite designs in the game.
-Gaius van Baelsar himself is here. I wonder if he’ll be a boss in this place.
-He provides Cid some backstory that I’m struggling to process. We already know that Cid’s dad, Midas, grew obsessed with the Meteor Project and that drove Cid away.
What Gaius claims here is that Midas didn’t actually enjoy it. That Midas knew Cid wouldn’t be happy working on armaments, and somehow devised a way to push Cid away for Cid’s sake. Hm.
-WE GET TO WALK AROUND IN MAGITEK SUITS AND BLAST SHIT WITH THEM WHEEEEE!
-Nero is the next boss. Gaius doesn’t interest me that much, but Rhitahtyn and Nero and Livia are awesome. Nero constantly felt overshadowed by Cid’s legacy.
Interesting to me how much Imperial pride and rage centers around how it succeeds or fails as a meritocracy.
-Nero’s weapon is one of my favorite things EVER. It’s some sort of mechanical hammer-revolver.
-Gaius coming up next. He’s super invested in the idea that Eorzea’s gods have failed them.
He has kind of a great point here: the Beastmen attacking us always summon their gods. What about the Twelve that the Eorzean races worship? Why don’t they respond to our need?
-We defeat Gaius head-on, but he’s still alive. He heads into the room with Ultima Weapon, awaiting us.
---
The Final Confrontations
-Gaius starts the fight by mounting Ultima Weapon, entering its head, and piloting it directly.
-We defeat Ultima Weapon’s first form, to Gaius’s shock. He doesn’t understand how we can win.
-“It is the blessing of Light that confounds you.” LAHABREA IS HERE.
-Asks him to use the Heart of Sabik, the weapon’s core. The Ultima spell lays dormant within it.
That’s why Lahabrea powered up Ultima Weapon. And not just that – that’s why Lahabrea worked with the Empire in the first place. To get to this point.
“No more than was necessary for my god to be reborn.”
-Gaius is pissed at being used this way, but first things first, he wants to get rid of us.
-The Ultima spell goes off, and hooooly shit. It leaves the entire fortress and the surrounding area a smoking crater.
-The only reason we survived is because of Hydaelyn’s protection, but doing so exhausted her strength.
-The battlefield in this next phase of the Ultima fight is amazing. A burning ring. The fight itself largely centers around magitek bits that pop up all around the circle and turn it into a disco ring where I constantly have to dodge out of area effect lines.
-He goes down. Whew.
-Lahabrea pops in. He’s SO DISGUSTED by Gaius. I don’t really blame him. He gave Gaius the keys to the kingdom! He gave him Ultima, the power to use Ultima, and Gaius still couldn’t close the deal.
“The growing imbalance afflicting the planet must be redressed.” He says Hydaelyn is the source of some sort of planet-wide corruption. Only the return of Lah’s One True God will do this.
-He needs some chaotic actions to prepare the way for this, and needs the Primals.
-WAIT WE’RE FIGHTING LAHABREA? NOW??
-He goes down, and it’s like the start of the game again. Both of us, floating in space, as Hydaelyn speaks.
“If thou wouldst pierce the shadows, make thee a blade of light.” I do so, and slash out at Lahabrea.
-ALL OF THE SCIONS OF THE SEVENTH DAWN BLAST OUT OF HYDAELYN AND RIP LAHABREA APART
[Later edit: it was more than just the Scions. It included the Grand Company leaders.]
-Back in reality. The remains of this fortress is coming down around us. “Maggie,” the AI-infused magitek we befriended, scoops us up and runs us out!
-We see Gaius stagger up. Poor Gaius. (…not really.) The exploding fortress finishes him off.
“Hear. Feel. Think.” Hydaelyn gives me a farewell/good wishes speech.
-Scene change. The faction leaders praying for me to escape safely.
-AND WE BLAST OUT OF THE EXPLODING PLACE ON MAGGIE THE SENTIENT MAGITEK
Thancred made it out with us too. Unpossessed.
-Scene change to Mor Dhona. The credits roll.
---
Credits
-The game’s credits start to roll as the good guys celebrate.
-Well, a moderate celebration. Lahabrea is still out there. The Ascians too, with their unknown god. And the Empire too, despite Gaius’s death.
-Alphinaud celebrates with us. He’s thankful for his grandfather. (99% sure that’s Louisoux.)
-This is the end of the Seventh Umbral Era. The Seventh Astral Era has begun.
“And thus is ours a realm reborn.” Lol title drop
Final credit roll with a slideshow of characters from the game as a backdrop.
-The end of the credits features a huge, huge list of names that I can scroll through. “Meteor Survivors.” So, FFXIV released. It got terrible reviews, and after a while they pulled it from the market and re-released it to “A Realm Reborn,” the version I’m playing now, that takes place five years later.
I’m fairly certain these names are the players at the time of the Meteor, when the first release of FFXIV went offline. Giving them all a shout out here and immortalizing them is SO FUCKING COOL.
Some personal favorite names on this list include Will Smith and Whiskers McKatkat. Long may your legends reign, Warriors of Light!
And many, many Steves.
[Non-rhetorical question: what exactly is this list? Does Meteor Survivors mean people who recreated their characters in FFXIV:ARR?]
-He goes down, and it’s like the start of the game again. Both of us, floating in space, as Hydaelyn speaks.
“If thou wouldst pierce the shadows, make thee a blade of light.” I do so, and slash out at Lahabrea.
-ALL OF THE SCIONS OF THE SEVENTH DAWN BLAST OUT OF HYDAELYN AND RIP LAHABREA APART
[Later edit: it was more than just the Scions. It included the Grand Company leaders.]
-Back in reality. The remains of this fortress is coming down around us. “Maggie,” the AI-infused magitek we befriended, scoops us up and runs us out!
-We see Gaius stagger up. Poor Gaius. (…not really.) The exploding fortress finishes him off.
“Hear. Feel. Think.” Hydaelyn gives me a farewell/good wishes speech.
-Scene change. The faction leaders praying for me to escape safely.
-AND WE BLAST OUT OF THE EXPLODING PLACE ON MAGGIE THE SENTIENT MAGITEK
Thancred made it out with us too. Unpossessed.
-Scene change to Mor Dhona. The credits roll.
---
Credits
-The game’s credits start to roll as the good guys celebrate.
-Well, a moderate celebration. Lahabrea is still out there. The Ascians too, with their unknown god. And the Empire too, despite Gaius’s death.
-Alphinaud celebrates with us. He’s thankful for his grandfather. (99% sure that’s Louisoux.)
-This is the end of the Seventh Umbral Era. The Seventh Astral Era has begun.
“And thus is ours a realm reborn.” Lol title drop
Final credit roll with a slideshow of characters from the game as a backdrop.
-The end of the credits features a huge, huge list of names that I can scroll through. “Meteor Survivors.” So, FFXIV released. It got terrible reviews, and after a while they pulled it from the market and re-released it to “A Realm Reborn,” the version I’m playing now, that takes place five years later.
I’m fairly certain these names are the players at the time of the Meteor, when the first release of FFXIV went offline. Giving them all a shout out here and immortalizing them is SO FUCKING COOL.
Some personal favorite names on this list include Will Smith and Whiskers McKatkat. Long may your legends reign, Warriors of Light!
And many, many Steves.
[Non-rhetorical question: what exactly is this list? Does Meteor Survivors mean people who recreated their characters in FFXIV:ARR?]
---
Post-Credits
-The celebration continues. It’s ominous now – there’s no music, no sound.
-The room starts spinning and I see another vision.
-A huge purple crystal in space. Some kind of anti-Hydaelyn.
This MUST be the Ascian god oh SHIT
-An earthquake rocks the land. Stops the celebration. “Chaos and carnage! …A primal has awakened!”
-We hear a roar. Fade out.
---
Ascians in the Wings
-Scene change. A prison. Lahabrea perhaps, or another Ascian… and ANOTHER Ascian with him!
PASHTAROT: “Bahmut stirs.”
IGEYORHM: “As will the others ere long.”
-So many Ascians here. Lahabrea too, possessing some new host.
All of them together: “To the one true god!” “To Zodiark!” The Ascian god finally has a name.
If a single Ascian could cause so much chaos, then many Ascians united is a terrifying prospect.
Some wrap-up text on screen: “And thus did Dawn Break on a Realm Reborn. But where there is light, there is always shadow.” We definitely have not heard the last of the Ascians.
---
Random Images
A cool mount. Phoenix maybe.
A wind-up Kain minion from FFIV.
A gaelicat minion. First met him back in FFV on the Big Bridge.
A mummy minion.
My friends posing like superheroes or K-Pop stars or something. THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL! For your help, your patience, your humor, letting me watch cutscenes during dungeons, and being the literal best.
A player in beautiful white-gold armor.
---
Next time: I don’t plan to get the first FFXIV expansion just yet. I want to level another job or two up to 50 (the initial max), and dive into some of the story that was patched in before the first expansion.
Post-Credits
-The celebration continues. It’s ominous now – there’s no music, no sound.
-The room starts spinning and I see another vision.
-A huge purple crystal in space. Some kind of anti-Hydaelyn.
This MUST be the Ascian god oh SHIT
-An earthquake rocks the land. Stops the celebration. “Chaos and carnage! …A primal has awakened!”
-We hear a roar. Fade out.
---
Ascians in the Wings
-Scene change. A prison. Lahabrea perhaps, or another Ascian… and ANOTHER Ascian with him!
PASHTAROT: “Bahmut stirs.”
IGEYORHM: “As will the others ere long.”
-So many Ascians here. Lahabrea too, possessing some new host.
All of them together: “To the one true god!” “To Zodiark!” The Ascian god finally has a name.
If a single Ascian could cause so much chaos, then many Ascians united is a terrifying prospect.
Some wrap-up text on screen: “And thus did Dawn Break on a Realm Reborn. But where there is light, there is always shadow.” We definitely have not heard the last of the Ascians.
---
Random Images
A cool mount. Phoenix maybe.
A wind-up Kain minion from FFIV.
A gaelicat minion. First met him back in FFV on the Big Bridge.
A mummy minion.
My friends posing like superheroes or K-Pop stars or something. THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL! For your help, your patience, your humor, letting me watch cutscenes during dungeons, and being the literal best.
A player in beautiful white-gold armor.
---
Next time: I don’t plan to get the first FFXIV expansion just yet. I want to level another job or two up to 50 (the initial max), and dive into some of the story that was patched in before the first expansion.
