Summary: Rallying to Ishgard’s defense against a dragon assault. Starting the bard job.
In Memory of Moenbryda
-The Scions hold a memorial for Moenbryda at a shrine to Thaliak, guardian deity of Sharlayan.
-I like that we don’t skim past her death. We see both Minfilia and Yda grapple with loss.
-Amidst all this, Midgardsormr reminds us that the dragons are swarming to Ishgard.
“The song riseth to a crescendo.”
-OH SHIT HERE THEY COME!!
---
Defenders for Ishgard
-The Ishgard delegate tells how the dragon assault hit them harder than expected. They want our help. Considering how isolationist Ishgard has been, I doubt the Grand Companies will respond well.
-Scene change to the outskirts of Ishgard. The music is some great and dramatic organ work.
-IT’S LADY ICEHEART! She’s the Dravanian who channeled Saint Shiva.
“The sons must answer for their fathers’ misdeeds. Only then will the cycle be broken.”
-She summons some sort of frosty magic...
Crap. She dissolved the prime magical barrier defending Ishgard.
-The dragons soar on unimpeded.
---
The Wyrm’s Roar
-I meet Ser Aymeric of Ishgard. He introduces a new ally: Estinien.
WAIT…. Estinien? He was an antagonist in the dragoon job questline. IIRC, he got consumed by the will of Nidhogg. Is this intended to happen before the dragoon questline I did?
-The Dravanians want to reclaim the eye of Nidhogg, one of the “seven great wyrms.” A legendary dragoon plucked his eye and used it for dragoon power. It’s a powerful relic that can revive Nidhogg to full power.
-We never directly fought Nidhogg in the dragoon storyline. He was more of a corrupting puppetmaster.
-Midgarsormr’s chimes in and calls Nidhogg “my vengeful son.” Midgardsormr must count as one of the seven legendary dragons. I wonder if he’s the apex, or if any are above him.
By the way, it’s still disturbing af that I and only I can hear Midgardsormr’s voice. I’m getting strong memories of Supernatural’s season 7, when fnz unyyhpvangrq yhpvsre. Ur rira urycrq fbzrgvzrf! Ohg... it ended badly.
-The Ishgardians hold the Eye deep in the Holy See (the Ishgardian Vatican, basically). I’m super concerned. A cutscene a while back showed the Ascians manipulating Ishgard’s leadership.
-Ishgard wants our help against the dragons. If we don’t help them and they lose, beastmen will reclaim Coerthas. The Garlean Empire would follow soon after.
It would be bad to have them on our doorstep.
In Memory of Moenbryda
-The Scions hold a memorial for Moenbryda at a shrine to Thaliak, guardian deity of Sharlayan.
-I like that we don’t skim past her death. We see both Minfilia and Yda grapple with loss.
-Amidst all this, Midgardsormr reminds us that the dragons are swarming to Ishgard.
“The song riseth to a crescendo.”
-OH SHIT HERE THEY COME!!
---
Defenders for Ishgard
-The Ishgard delegate tells how the dragon assault hit them harder than expected. They want our help. Considering how isolationist Ishgard has been, I doubt the Grand Companies will respond well.
-Scene change to the outskirts of Ishgard. The music is some great and dramatic organ work.
-IT’S LADY ICEHEART! She’s the Dravanian who channeled Saint Shiva.
“The sons must answer for their fathers’ misdeeds. Only then will the cycle be broken.”
-She summons some sort of frosty magic...
Crap. She dissolved the prime magical barrier defending Ishgard.
-The dragons soar on unimpeded.
---
The Wyrm’s Roar
-I meet Ser Aymeric of Ishgard. He introduces a new ally: Estinien.
WAIT…. Estinien? He was an antagonist in the dragoon job questline. IIRC, he got consumed by the will of Nidhogg. Is this intended to happen before the dragoon questline I did?
-The Dravanians want to reclaim the eye of Nidhogg, one of the “seven great wyrms.” A legendary dragoon plucked his eye and used it for dragoon power. It’s a powerful relic that can revive Nidhogg to full power.
-We never directly fought Nidhogg in the dragoon storyline. He was more of a corrupting puppetmaster.
-Midgarsormr’s chimes in and calls Nidhogg “my vengeful son.” Midgardsormr must count as one of the seven legendary dragons. I wonder if he’s the apex, or if any are above him.
By the way, it’s still disturbing af that I and only I can hear Midgardsormr’s voice. I’m getting strong memories of Supernatural’s season 7, when fnz unyyhpvangrq yhpvsre. Ur rira urycrq fbzrgvzrf! Ohg... it ended badly.
-The Ishgardians hold the Eye deep in the Holy See (the Ishgardian Vatican, basically). I’m super concerned. A cutscene a while back showed the Ascians manipulating Ishgard’s leadership.
-Ishgard wants our help against the dragons. If we don’t help them and they lose, beastmen will reclaim Coerthas. The Garlean Empire would follow soon after.
It would be bad to have them on our doorstep.
ESTINIEN: “Through the power of the Eye, I have become the vessel of
Nidhogg’s strength. His essence has stolen into my very blood.”
I knew this from the end of the dragoon questline. But it seems that Estinien has somehow regained control of himself. And now Estinien can hear Nidhogg’s will. A tactical advantage.
-Nidhogg plans to destroy the remaining wards protecting Ishgard. So it’s true. Nidhogg is one in control of this attack.
---
Volunteer Dragonslayers
- Alphinaud will ask the Alliance cities for aid. I’ll stay in Mor Dhona with the adorable Tataru (Scion secretary) to organize supplies and rally support for Ishgard.
-It’s hard. Most local adventurers don’t feel invested in what’s going on in Ishgard.
-The Crystal Brave, Riol, pulls me aside. A young Brave named Wilred went missing during our last skirmish with the Empire.
RIOL: “Around the time Wilred stopped turnin’ up for duty, them black market weapons went missin’ from our vault in Ul’dah.” A traitor?
-Or not? Wilred was naïve and idealistic, unlikely to backstab the Braves for money. Wilred also hinted that he found accounting discrepancies in the Crystal Brave ledgers.
This is… concerning. There’s likely a traitor, and one higher-up than a new recruit.
-I finish my recruitment rounds. Only a few adventurers agree to help.
---
An Allied Perspective
-Alphinaud has convened a meeting of Alliance leaders in Ul’dah to discuss aid for Ishgard.
-The leaders support the Crystal Braves, but in a “thoughts and prayers!” way. Alphinaud wants more.
-Each city is reluctant to provide troops. They all have their own concerns – beast tribes to fight, cities to guard, etc.
-I can’t really blame the faction leaders. Extending themselves with a huge force in support of Ishgard might leave them undefended.
It falls to the Free Companies to provide support. (The players.)
-The Sultana is here at the table. She seems distracted. I’m worried.
-Our allied counterattack begins. I head to Coerthas and start picking off packs of dragons, but they’ve done a ton of damage to the volunteer dragonslayers.
-We’ve done all we can on the outskirts of the city. Our next step is to defend Ishgard itself. It’ll take a group.
I knew this from the end of the dragoon questline. But it seems that Estinien has somehow regained control of himself. And now Estinien can hear Nidhogg’s will. A tactical advantage.
-Nidhogg plans to destroy the remaining wards protecting Ishgard. So it’s true. Nidhogg is one in control of this attack.
---
Volunteer Dragonslayers
- Alphinaud will ask the Alliance cities for aid. I’ll stay in Mor Dhona with the adorable Tataru (Scion secretary) to organize supplies and rally support for Ishgard.
-It’s hard. Most local adventurers don’t feel invested in what’s going on in Ishgard.
-The Crystal Brave, Riol, pulls me aside. A young Brave named Wilred went missing during our last skirmish with the Empire.
RIOL: “Around the time Wilred stopped turnin’ up for duty, them black market weapons went missin’ from our vault in Ul’dah.” A traitor?
-Or not? Wilred was naïve and idealistic, unlikely to backstab the Braves for money. Wilred also hinted that he found accounting discrepancies in the Crystal Brave ledgers.
This is… concerning. There’s likely a traitor, and one higher-up than a new recruit.
-I finish my recruitment rounds. Only a few adventurers agree to help.
---
An Allied Perspective
-Alphinaud has convened a meeting of Alliance leaders in Ul’dah to discuss aid for Ishgard.
-The leaders support the Crystal Braves, but in a “thoughts and prayers!” way. Alphinaud wants more.
-Each city is reluctant to provide troops. They all have their own concerns – beast tribes to fight, cities to guard, etc.
-I can’t really blame the faction leaders. Extending themselves with a huge force in support of Ishgard might leave them undefended.
It falls to the Free Companies to provide support. (The players.)
-The Sultana is here at the table. She seems distracted. I’m worried.
-Our allied counterattack begins. I head to Coerthas and start picking off packs of dragons, but they’ve done a ton of damage to the volunteer dragonslayers.
-We’ve done all we can on the outskirts of the city. Our next step is to defend Ishgard itself. It’ll take a group.
---
A Song of Bards and Bowmen (Bard)
-Pausing the story for the moment to work on my new job, the bard.
-I’m curious how archer will transition into bard. Dragoon seemed a reasonable transition from lancer, black mage a natural evolution of thaumaturge. But archer to bard?
(This is putting aside the imagery of Bard the Bowman in “The Hobbit.”)
-On a separate note, I am REALLY excited to try bard. Bards are both rare and in MMOs and consistently interesting. It was the coolest class in EverQuest by a long shot, a high-difficulty jack-of-all-trades. Lord of the Rings Online’s minstrel class was also great, if more straightforward as a healer or damager.
Is that it? I can’t think of many other instances of MMO bards. So I’m pumped to try one in FFXIV.
-The quests start at the archery guildmaster. Jehantel the Godsbow recently returned to Gridania. Jehantel was a legendary archer and has become a great bard too, skilled in raising others’ morale and inspiring others.
-The Archers’ Guild has tried to convince Jehantel to teach its students, but he’s said no. Sounds like he’s about to get a new, Lalafell-shaped student. *brushes off shoulder*
-I find him in the woods near the city. An older guy. He gave up archery for the more peaceful art of being a bard.
-Jehantel asks me to go see a wandering moogle who will assess my potential as a bard.
-He approves. Jehantel gives me a crystal, the Soul of the Bard. A gift from the moogles.
JEHANTEL: “The Soul of the Bard harbors memories of the past – verses and refrains sung by the bards of old.” As I grow/level up, new songs and old refrains will reveal themselves to me.
---
Next time: the defense of Ishgard.
A Song of Bards and Bowmen (Bard)
-Pausing the story for the moment to work on my new job, the bard.
-I’m curious how archer will transition into bard. Dragoon seemed a reasonable transition from lancer, black mage a natural evolution of thaumaturge. But archer to bard?
(This is putting aside the imagery of Bard the Bowman in “The Hobbit.”)
-On a separate note, I am REALLY excited to try bard. Bards are both rare and in MMOs and consistently interesting. It was the coolest class in EverQuest by a long shot, a high-difficulty jack-of-all-trades. Lord of the Rings Online’s minstrel class was also great, if more straightforward as a healer or damager.
Is that it? I can’t think of many other instances of MMO bards. So I’m pumped to try one in FFXIV.
-The quests start at the archery guildmaster. Jehantel the Godsbow recently returned to Gridania. Jehantel was a legendary archer and has become a great bard too, skilled in raising others’ morale and inspiring others.
-The Archers’ Guild has tried to convince Jehantel to teach its students, but he’s said no. Sounds like he’s about to get a new, Lalafell-shaped student. *brushes off shoulder*
-I find him in the woods near the city. An older guy. He gave up archery for the more peaceful art of being a bard.
-Jehantel asks me to go see a wandering moogle who will assess my potential as a bard.
-He approves. Jehantel gives me a crystal, the Soul of the Bard. A gift from the moogles.
JEHANTEL: “The Soul of the Bard harbors memories of the past – verses and refrains sung by the bards of old.” As I grow/level up, new songs and old refrains will reveal themselves to me.
---
Next time: the defense of Ishgard.
