Lord of the Whorl
-Time to formulate a plan to deal with Leviathan.
-There used to be a hamlet called Halfstone that Leviathan wiped out. Some heroes stopped him before he could do worse.
-The plan is to use corrupted crystals to weaken Leviathan’s hold on water. We need that to get close to him in the deep ocean without getting obliterated.
-Yugiri notes that primals are only legends in her eastern home of Doma. I like how little is known about Primals in XIV, since it opens up the possibility of constantly dealing with new ones.
-Rumor arrives of a man who claims to have defeated Leviathan years ago. Let’s go talk to him. Lol I hope it’s not the same guy who pretended to have beaten Titan but kept calling him “Tidus” cause he didn’t know wtf he was talking about. XD
-omg. It’s the same guy. The same exact guy. Ready to regale us with the story of how he defeated “Leviabeetus.”
-He sees me and immediately apologizes. Anyway, we’re ready now to go after him. The vessel we’ll use is called the Whorleater. Here we go.
-The fight, as these trials always are, is awesome. We ride the ship out to Leviathan and the fight takes place on/around the ship.
Leviathan has two targets, his head and tail. Both keep changing their angle of attack, lashing us with water. Some Sahagins even help him out.
We celebrate afterwards in Limsa Lominsa. Lady Yugiri is especially glad to have helped, and wants to continue to aid us. She offers to train others as ninjas. I wonder if the level 30 rogue quest uses her.
-Admiral Merlwyb thanks Yugiri by agreeing to send provisions regularly to the Domans in Mor Dhona.
-Later. Y’shtola speaks privately with Admiral Merlwyb, though Yugiri eavesdrops. Y’shtola mentions that, like the Kobolds with Titan, the Sahagin summoned Leviathan in response to a threat. What threat?
-This is really interesting. The Sahagin sought to secure a place to thrive and multiply. Limsa Lominsa saw it as a threat and attacked.
Y’SHTOLA: “And so you kill, that you might live. Yet if living is a right, then that right belongs to all peoples, be they men or beastmen.”
-There’s no real good answer here. Y’shtola walks out.
-I really love Merlwyb. Like, I don’t know that I agree with her, but her leadership and character are so hardcore. “Eorzea has become as a raging sea. If we are to keep our heads above the waves, we cannot scruple to drown the man next to us.”
-Yugiri reacts reflectively to this. She wonders, in a large scale sense, how it relates to her own people’s struggles with the Empire.
Both nations fight for their place in the world. (I still think they’re WAY different, but I get where she’s coming from.)
-I take Yugiri to the rogues’ guild to introduce her. She has a new home for now.
-An interesting detail we learn from this last bit is that Thancred used to be a rogue. Had no idea!
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Trouble Stirs in Ul’dah
-We regroup with Minfilia at Scion HQ. The Sahagin elder used the Echo to summon Leviathan – a power previously reserved for us. The power effectively made him immortal.
-…Sort of. Leviathan absorbed him in the end. So if the Ascians He was still absorbed by Leviathan and ended. So maybe if the Ascians use this method, we CAN destroy them.
-Minfilia describes a legend of souls reborn before each Umbral Calamity to help against the oncoming darkness. This legend may describe the Echo.
-Urianger (Balthier’s VA!) busts in with news about our allies that went silent, the Students of Baldesion.
“The Isle of Val, which for many years hath been the order’s home, is no more.” A massive aetheric wave was detected, then no more island. He thinks someone used a magic similar to Ultima.
-Scene change. We see Teledji Adeledji – one of the powerful leaders of Ul’dah’s Syndicate – sitting alone in a candlelit room. His servant comes in: “It is done, my lord.” He’s just not sure why he did whatever actions he just did.
TELEDJI ADELEDJI: “Revolution.”
-Back to Scion HQ. As if things weren’t bad enough, Minfilia says that the aetheric fluctuations that we’d previously attributed to Good King Moggle Mog XII were really from something else.
-Ul’dahn refugees just arrived in Revenant’s Toll. Minfilia wants to help them, but lacks the resources.
-Tataru interrupts. There’s been a refugee riot in Ul’dah, and Alphinaud was wounded.
-The Ul’dahn refugee overhears this. He’s CERTAIN that the Brass Blades (Ul’dah’s corrupt guards) started it. They now have an excuse to capture/kill the refugees.
-This changes Minfilia’s mind. The Scions will investigate the situation. This is doubtless the result of Teledji Adeledji’s plans.
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The Rising
-A break from the main story. This is a seasonal quest called “The Rising.”
-This event celebrates the anniversary of the realm’s rebirth. Last time a horde of mechanical bugs disrupted things. They’re back.
-The Wandering Minstrel who helped rid us of them last year is missing. Let’s find him.
-Found him in a prison cell of sorts, a rom that drained his teleportation powers. He’s inspecting a drained mechanical bug. Something about it can help us get out of here.
-So I delve into the bug’s mind, which is in itself a solo dungeon called “Cheap Dungeon” (lol).
-The Cheap Dungeon is a mini-game. Dunno what I was expected, but this is NOT it. It’s a maze! An old school “3D” maze.
I doubt anyone has played this shitty game, but it reminds me a LOT of the mazes in “Fester’s Quest” on the NES. Like, if those Fester’s Quest mazes were fun instead of sucking horribly. To see what I mean, see 12:19 on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaNx83K4jpA
-The random messages in the maze feel like game develop inside jokes.
“It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.”
“Man, I hope the players like it.”
“An S rank bug? We’re in for it now.”
“They changed spec again? That’s the tenth time this week!”
I get the gist of it and it cracks me up, though I’m unfamiliar with certain terms (e.g. “changed spec”).
-Each floor has codes. Not sure what finding them does or doesn’t do. For the first floor, its numbers 1-7. Second floor, it’s letter: V R G M N T A O S L C B Y X
-OOH, I HAVE TO USE THE CLUES FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR TO PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A PASSWORD!! That’s REALLY cool.
The password: CRYSTAL. Of course.
-I leave the puzzle maze. With the password broken, the Wandering Minstrel’s teleportation magic returns.
-But I’m now in space? Surrounded by armored dudes? I’m getting FFIII vibes, from when the Warriors of Darkness met me before the final boss.
-A variation of the Wandering Minstrel reveals himself, now called Naoki Yoshida. He thanks me for participating in this world. He must be one of the game designers.
-This is incredibly sweet. It’s basically a thank you letter to players for being a part of FFXIV’s rebirth. I still marvel at how amazing it is that Square Enix was able to take such an apparently shit game, pull it, and revive it.
-Back in Eorzea. The Wandering Minstrel is here, and doesn’t seem to have any knowledge of the metastuff that just went on. I get the sense that Naoki Yoshida’s avatar/character is this Wandering Minstrel, though I doubt the Wandering Minstrel knows who Yoshida is.
-We regroup. The Minstrel thanks me with a song, and we watch the fireworks celebrating the Realm Reborn. Beautiful.
This image of a falling meteor or moon, a core XIV symbol.
-The game rewards me with two minions that I don’t yet know. One is Lyse, the other is Gosetsu. I imagine I’ll meet those characters down the line.
-God, this was SUCH A COOL QUEST! Reminds me of the Developer’s Room in FFIV, but with some more heart/emotion at its core.
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Next time: Trying the Yo-kai Watch event going on now in XIV, then back to the main story and dealing with that Ul’dah “revolution” plot.
