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In Soroban We Trust
-I applaud the game for its quest description here:
“Soroban is about to show you a shining, shimmering, splendid new world.” Aladdin on the half shell.
-He chants a prayer to the kami to complete the ritual. We can now breathe underwater.
I’m nervous. Some games apparently do underwater mechanics well, like Subnautica (though I haven’t played it myself), but many don’t. Zones like Kedge Keep in EverQuest, or Vashj’ir in World of Warcraft. They feel slow, awkward, with weird z-axis targeting issues (stuff above or below me aggroing).
-The kojin HQ is in a protected bubble from the ocean. We jump through and are swimming.
-Soroban summons “steeds” for us. Rays! What cool mounts. Off to find that magatama.
-I swim towards an underwater bubbled city. It has buildings and everything. Sui-no-Sato. There are no enemies on the way. Maybe we avoid combat in the submerged parts altogether? That’d be fine.
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Forever and Ever Apart
-This is a Raen (Au Ra) village, led by a Shiosai (overseer).
-The Shiosai corrects me. He’s not an overseer, rather a high priest of Shisui of the Violet Tides. Must be their god, or perhaps their religious structure/church.
-Lyse starts asking for help finding the Kojin’s magatama when he cuts us off. He doesn’t want us disturbing his village, treasure hunting around. He can’t help.
-The Ruby Princess rules the Shisui. The Raen fled their homelands long ago, finding refuge beneath the sea. The Ruby Princess kept the Raen out of the conflict when Doma fell 25 years ago.
They’re invested in that isolation at this point. They won’t help us.
-Scene change to Isari, where Yutsuyu and her imperials kick the SHIT out of Gosetsu.
-Gosetsu refers to Yusetsu as “orphan of the Naeuri, widow of Sashihai.” I want to know more about that RIGHT NOW. Those epithets enrage her.
YOTSUYU: “My appetite for your agony is an abyss – bottomless. Insatiable. Before you die, you will cry and beg and prostrate yourself upon the earth. You will crawl on your belly through the muck and the piss, and debase yourself for my amusement. All of you.”
That “all of you” jumps out to me. She’s generally sadistic but with personal hatred for Doma. I’ll bet it’s about that “orphan of the Naeuri, widow of the Sashihai” business.
-Yotsuyu taunts Gosetsu about the death of his master, Lord Kaien.
-WAIT, GOSETSU FIGHT FOR THE EMPIRE? Yotsuyu says the Empire let Gosetsu out of jail to return to his master eventually in exchange for pledging his blade to his enemy. Thousands of deaths on Gosetsu’s head in service to the empire.
Gosetsu doesn’t deny it – though he sure regrets it now.
So Gosetsu’s former master died, and now everyone’s searching for the heir, Lord Hien.
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In Darkness, the Magatama Dreams
-A pair of villagers overheard my conversation with the Shiosai. They want news from Doma, since their daughter fought in the rebellion.
“Her name is Yugiri.” !!!
-Little Yugiri “and another child” (who I’m sure is a major, since they so casually drop that in) explored outside the village. They went to Doma and learned of Imperial oppression.
She believed the Garleans would one day come for this village. That’s why she became a Doman shinobi.
-The Ruby Princess learned of this and forbade Yugiri’s return, lest she bring misfortune to the village.
-Now that this couple knows we helped their daughter, they want to help us. Ihanami tells me that if we shine a particular light on the magatama, it shimmers brightly.
-He gives me a special lamp and suggests I start searching at a nearby sunken ship.
-Success! I soon find it near the ship.
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The Whims of the Divine
-I bring the Yasakani-no-Magatami back to Bunchin. Now let’s find out how to stop the Red Kojin.
-He gives me a ceremonial knife that unlocks a sacred Kojin treasure vault guarded by the Red.
-So if I understand this, we attack the vault to draw in Red Kojin away from imperial service to answer the religious call to defend it.
-Uh. That plan sounds terrible? I can’t imagine it’ll impact more than a small number of the Red Kojin.
-Attacking the vault would normally be a sin, even to the Blue, but if we finish our trespass by adding the magatama to the vault, we’ll be forgiven.
Which is another part of the plan I don’t get. This seems a supremely temporary way to deprive the Empire of their Red Kojin, right?
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Breaking and Delivering
-We fight our way to the vault entrance, deliver the magatama. It flies into the air, circling around with two other sacred relics.
???: “Who…? Who hath made us whole?”
They’re sentient. I’m getting strong memories of Masa and Mune from “Chrono Trigger.”
-The Red Kami stop fighting us and look reverently up at the trio of sacred objects. A kami.
-Hee! The kami is excited. I’m the Red Kojin’s enemy and still delivered their treasure here. It loves my audacity.
“A contest of wills to mark the occasion! Let lines be drawn! Let sides be chosen! And for their loyalty, we shall stand with the caretakers of our greater part.”
A battle against this kami and the Red Kojin who protected them.
-The objects radiate with power, and combine into some sort of giant metal warrior.
“We are Susano, and in revelry do we rejoice!”
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The Lord of the Revel
-Susano is an 8-person trial. They’re a really fun fight with all kinds of dodging and positioning stuff. They remind me a lot of Gilgamesh in their boisterous yet friendly style.
My favorite part is the phase where Susano goes giant-mode.
-Scene change. Meanwhile, off the coast of Othard.
-The Confederate ships sail with the Reds are distracted.
-Tansui and Rasho lead here. Rasho decides to take the opportunity we gave him.
”All that is theirs is ours for the taking. We will strip them of everything they hold dear!”
They’re moving on the fishing village of Isari.
-Scene change to the inn. The imperials have been beating on Gosetsu without him breaking.
HERE COME THE CONFEDERATES YAY!! [Later edit: not a sentence I ever thought I’d write.]
-Yotsuyu hears them. She isn’t worried.
“I shall just have to drain them of every last trace of honor and compassion. Every last drop.”
This woman is Satan and I love her so much.
-Rasho busts into the inn with a spear.
-Scene change back to Lyse and Alisaie. Fighting off Red Kojin, until news breaks that “the shell-less one” slew Susano.
-Red smoke in the distance from Isari.
-Before we keep fighting them, Alisaie sues for peace. Claims our only quarrel is with the Imperials. It doesn’t work lol. Alisaie will guard our backs while we move to Isari.
She’s so great.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-In this session, I heard about the Ruby Princess, some religious leader among the Au Ra.
A man in black went to the palace, claiming he’d bestow divine protection upon the Ruby Princess. Instead, he summoned a swarm of Voidsent. I have to go inside to Shisui of the Violet Tides, the palace, and save it.
The palace is that underwater bubbled area we saw in the trailer:
-Ghido the turtle minion:
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Next time: I’m really curious how the Yutsuyu is dealing with the Confederate attack.
