Summary: The end of the Four Lords questline. Seiryu the Serpent. Koryu breaks out. Soroban’s future.
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The new Four Lord quests came out with patch 4.5. It’s been a while since I did the last one, since September 24th.
http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p...
Basically, a beast called Koryu will break free from his prison. I’ve been gradually soothing and recruiting three Lords to help contain Koryu: Genbu the Turtle, Byakko the Tiger, and Suzaku the Firebird.
The last post I did on this was September 24th, with Suzaku:
The final Lord to recruit is Seiryu the Serpent.
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Surpassing the Samurai
-Koryu’s ward in Reisen Temple burns brighter now, thanks to the three Lords reinforcing it.
-Seiryu arrives now at the temple, ready for me to quell his aramitama.
-He and Tenzen has a friendly rivalry. Tenzen defeated him, and Seiryu had been working hard to get stronger when Koryu struck Tenzen down.
-After becoming an auspice, a “voice” began whispering to Seiryu of his chance for vengeance. The primal and savage voice of his aramitama.
-The 8-player trial to fight him is called the Wreath of Snakes.
Boss: Seiryu
Not sure on Seiryu’s gender, but I think he’s male.
PHASE 1
-Onmyo circle: Get out of melee range
-Dragon ring: Get into melee range
-If a fan tethers me, face it away from other players
-If a shiki tethers me, get away from other players
-Kill head adds with single-target DPS.
Transitioning to phase 2, calling forth water and sea serpents.
PHASE 2
-Get to the platform as soon as possible.
-Stand on the edge when snakes are about to rush to avoid getting knocked off.
Snakes about to rush.
-Watch the giant’s hands to avoid getting slammed.
-When arrows pulse from the center for the platform, stand close to – but not IN - the middle
-WHAT A GREAT FIGHT THAT WAS! The music in the second phase was especially incredible.
-Defeated, Seiryu acknowledges me as Tenzen’s successor. He shares his story.
-Seiryu was born on an island where people revered them as kami. Those beliefs later changed when disaster struck and they assumed Seiryu was the cause. The islanders brought him a child sacrifice.
He didn’t do anything, but the disaster got better on its own. They attributed it to Seiryu, and kept bringing him more human sacrifices. Good Guy Seiryu – or at least, Not Horrible Monster Seiryu - secreted them away to new lands for safety.
Poor snake couldn’t communicate to tell them “STOP GIVING ME SACRIFICES.” He did the best he could.
-The islanders came to regard him as a demon rather than guardian. They hunted him.
-Tenzen came along with the other auspices, in the guise of a hunter. He defeated Seiryu, but didn’t kill him.
“Join me. Let us begin anew.”
Seiryu vowed to train, grow, and become a worthy auspice. Everyone here owes so much to Tenzen.
-Us defeating his aramitama helped him remember this vow.
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The Fifth Lord
-We return to Reisen Temple to find Koryu’s wards all but broken. The Four Lords prepare to fight.
This REALLY surprises me. I thought Koryu would be a separate, final trial.
-Koryu breaks out. A titanic, fiery horse. Maybe he’s friendly?
“ALL SHALL BURNNNNN!” lol nm
-He blasts us with a fiery attack. Genbu barely protects us and goes down with the effort.
-Koryu thinks I’m Tenzen. That keeps happening, especially through what we saw in the Suzaku fight. I’m fulfilling his role.
-TENZEN HIMSELF ACTUALLY APPEARS! Or maybe this is his spirit channeling through me?
-We’re still one animal auspice short with Genbu down, so Soroban steps up to the plate. HELL YES
He performs the ritual he messed up last time, summoning a great tortoise kami into himself. Offering himself. Sacrificing himself. SERIOUSLY YOU’RE KILLING OFF SOROBAN???
-Genbu takes over Soroban’s body and the Four Lords are back, plus Tenzen. They re-trap Koryu in the temple. The wards strengthened anew.
-Tenzen’s spirit gives the Lords a final smile and fades away.
I thought the “fifth lord” from the quest title was going to be Koryu. You could argue it’s Tenzen, but I think not. Soroban is the fifth lord.
-wait, genbu says Soroban isn’t dead?
TATARU: “Let me guess: in our hearts or some such? Honestly, if you’re going to try and comfort us, you could at least do better than offer trite clichés!” Stole the words out of my mouth.
-WAIT NO HE’S LITERALLY ALIVE! Genbu poofs and turns into Soroban. Do they share a body now?
-Sort of. They share a body temporarily. Soon, Genbu will depart. Soroban will become the next Genbu.
-The Lords reward me and Tataru a giant cache of gold for our help. She’s SO HAPPY. I’d forgotten this quest began when Alphinaud put the Scions in debt buying a sword on credit lol.
-omg they still have 500 years in the same body before Genbu fades. A short time, but only in relative “eternal turtle” terms. We get a wonderful moment of Soroban and Genbu yelling at each other within the same body. XD
Spirit battle!
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That’s the end of the Four Lords quest line for now.
I adored it. The fights were beautiful and cinematic. The characters, their personalities and relationships were all wonderful. The FFXI callbacks were with Tenzen himself and Reisen Temple were unintrusive. It was also pretty hilarious at times.
My favorite part was probably Suzaku. Her storyline, the fight itself, her love for Tenzen. (I’m a sucker for phoenix stuff.)
One of the final quest rewards is this sketch of the four lords I hung in my room:
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Next time: Wrapping up Stormblood’s Ivalice raids.
