Taking a bit of a break from the main story this session. Going to explore what opened up since I completed the main A Realm Reborn story and try a new combat job.
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Odin, the Dark Divinity
-Sightings abound in Gridania of a ghostly horseman. The head archer believes this is Odin.
-Odin is said to have rode into our world with a dark blade. He killed “Urth herself, and countless multitudes of her people.” (Assuming Urth is a powerful queen or a goddess.)
-A hero of Allag defeated Odin and sealed his spirit within a forest spring’s crystal, in Urth’s Fount.
-I check this out, and the binding crystal is cracked. Ruh-oh.
-The Scion Urianger isn’t worried about Odin. He hints that things may not be as they seem – maybe Odin isn’t really evil or wantonly destructive.
Why was he really imprisoned? Why has he now broken out?
-Later, I learn that Odin has been hunting in the woods outside Gridania. Adventurers have even defeated him, but he keeps returning. Who’s resummoning him?
-I can now a new trial to take on Odin. My item level isn’t high enough. I’ll come back later.
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Stardust Rod
-Unlocked a quest for an ultimate black mage relic weapon, a Stardust Rod. I remember that from back in FFIV, when you could use it as an item to cast Comet for no mana iirc.
“Ages ago, there lived a female mage of no small repute who was known by all sorts of unsavory epithets. ‘Death’s Handmaiden’ was one. ‘The Black Witch’ was another… an’ the proper dunces called her ‘She-Devil.’ Her name was, er… Shantotto. Or was it Shatoto? Ah, right – Shatotto.”
SHANTOTTO MY HERO! Even if in the XIV-verse she’s Shatotto, she’ll be Shantotto to me.
-This weaponsmith, Gerolt, offers to reverse-engineer it if I can get a hold of one.
-I retrieve one from some marauding kobolds and bring it to Gerolt. It’s in pretty rough shape, so he asks me to grab some materials for a new case.
-Next, I have to slay a Dhorme Chimera for some minerals on its body. This was a particularly brutal monster back in FFV.
-The quest seems like it’ll continue for a while as I built the weapon up and upgrade it. Not rushing to complete it now.
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Lancer – Spear of the Fearless
-I spend hundreds of hours in FFXI as a dragoon. I’m ready to check that out in FFXIV.
-The guild is in Gridania. The lancers are guards, scouts, hunters too. A group called the Wood Wailers.
The Lancers’ Guild.
-My trainer is a guy named Ywain. The job is offensive, using leather/chain armor for better movement.
-First lesson The level five lesson focuses on composure and resolve, even when faced with overwhelming odds.
-I turn in the quest to the receptionist, a woman named Jillian. She has some history here.
“Gods know how much I struggled. You may suffer untold humiliation and more frustration than you can bear… but you must persevere.
“Whenever you engage an opponent, make a conscious effort to fight with composure and resolve. Over time, doing so will become second nature, and you will acquire such courage as you never thought could be yours.”
I immediately like her.
-A clamor comes from the training area. Some mysterious lancer, an Elezen, is kicking our guildies’ asses. He even challenges the guildmaster, who is above provocation.
-The Elezar sees me enter the room and charge with his spear. I don’t move. He stops inches from my face.
-Not sure what’s happening, but he leaves.
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Lancer – Stone of Courage
-My next quest is to fight through a gauntlet of beasts and retrieve the Stone of Courage as proof.
-The stone is a fake. The Elezen replaced it with a fake, and taunts me.
-His name is Foulques. He thinks I have more courage than the guild itself – he finds the Lancers’ Guild too weak and cowardly. He moved the stone somewhere more dangerous.
-Its new location is a demon-infested cave. Definitely tougher than the location for the first Stone.
-I return the Stone to Ywain. He’s pissed about Foulques’ change.
“That a lancer’s courage can only be forged in the midst of great danger is vainglorious tripe. As you have already learned, a lancer’s courage is the product of composure and resolve.”
I lean strongly towards Ywain here, but like that Foulques isn’t outright evil. Just misguided.
Lancer Ququshu.
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Lancer – A Dangerous Proposition
-Foulques kept returning to the guild, and eventually one of the younger lancers got offended to the point where he challenged Foulques to a duel. I have to head to the East Shroud, outside Gridania, to confront this.
-The student who challenged Foulques is lying wounded beneath Foulques.
-Arg. Okay, Foulques is more evil than I expected. He considers himself my true mentor, and says fhat if I don’t complete his next challenge, he can’t “guarantee the safety” of my fellow lancer.
-It’s like Foulques saw “Whiplash” and thought, “Wow, that J.K. Simmons is such a great teacher!” He lures a monstrous tree against me, then has me fight a pack of wolves. He gets “bored” midway through the wolves fight and throws blinding powder in my face to make it more interesting.
-When I return to Ywain, he insists (rightly) that Foulques’ idea of virtue is reckless and wrong. I agree with him.
But what do we do about it? Ywain will consider.
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Lancer – Lance of Destiny
-At level 20, another test. I have to defeat three consecutive lancers in the guild hall.
-Foulques arrives afterward. He’s disgusted by how easy things seem in the Lancers’ Guild. He intends to close the guild for good. Still not sure why – I’ll bet he was a failed student or something.
-Ywain takes Foulques’ challenge – but not himself. He offers to pit me against Foulques, to show his confidence in his students.
-The two of us head into the forest to take on a titanic boar.
It defeats Foulques, but I hold fast against it. Foulques is clearly shaken by this, but refuses to concede anything to Ywain. It really seems personal.
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Hildibrand Quests
-I have to give a special shout-out to a series of confusing, odd, and delightful side-quests ever.
-An Inspector HIldibrand tried flying to the moon before it exploded five years ago. He was presumed dead, but his assistant Nashu and I discover he’s alive. (Alive-ish. He still is probably a zombie. Idk.)
-The whole feel of this quest is like something straight out of Looney Tunes. Two examples:
1) While investigating whether Hildibrand is still around, we find him leading a cult of GentleDead – zombies who bow and preen and act dapper. Turns out Hildibrand is their leader.
2) When we find Hildibrand, he doesn’t have his full memories. Thinks his name is “Zombiebrand.” So Nashu takes two cartoonishly large bombs and hurls them at him. Even the sound effects are silly as they whistle towards the ground.
-The next series of quests follows Hildibrand investigating a marauder in Thanalan, beating people up and taking their weapons. [Later edit: in hindsight, I should’ve seen reveal coming.]
-GILGAMESH HAHAHAH WHAT? IS GILGAMESH THE PERSON DUELING ALL THESE PEOPLE SEEKING A WEAPON.
He’s no doubt seeking Excalibur. And will no doubt find Excalipoor instead. This questline is only beginning.
-To reassure me of this fact, the game presents what seems like a movie trailer for more HIldibrand quests. Wow.
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Random Stuff
-Wanderer’s Palace is a new dungeon. We only make a bit of progress here, but I have to mention its core terrifying mechanic. Giant Tonberry Stalkers roam behind us throughout the dungeon. We can’t target them – we can only run. If they catch up to our party because we’re too slow… STAB STAB DEAD.
-Unlocked glamours, a mechanic that allows me to transmogrify gear to look like other gear.
-Starting to unlock “hard mode” versions of lots of dungeons. Something I’m really liking about them is that the game doesn’t just pretend I didn’t do easier versions of the dungeons already. Instead, it builds new stories for each dungeon, gives me a reason to go back.
An Ixion mount.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/FP5jWVy.png"?
Carbuncle snuggling up to Rikku.
A spriggan wearing a TITANIC ROCK GOLEM skin.
A higher-level mage in a cool costume with what looks like a teddy bear.
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Next time: Continuing with the lancer, doing some crafting, and continuing the main story post-Ultima.
