Summary: Ultima takes possession. The viera emerge. The true history of Ramza, Alma, Orran, and Delita.
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Return to Ivalice
I also want to tackle the new raid this expansion, which may wrap up Stormblood’s Ivalice raids. I tackled the prior Ivalice raids in parts 98-100:
http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p... http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p... http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p...
In the last raid, the Ridorana Lighthouse, we chased down the noble Ba’Gamnan. He was consumed by auracite, twisted into a Lucavi, Yiazmat. Ramza and his sister Alma have been chasing the mysteries of the ancient kingdom of Ivalice.
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The Path of Most Resistance
-Back aboard the Prima Vista.
-Alma has been “ill.” Ill or possessed?
-We already discovered that Rabanastre lies atop the ruins of the ancient city of Lesalia. We then found the Clockwork City of Goug, repurposed into the Ridorana Lighthouse. Both appear in Orran Durai’s accounts of Ivalice.
-Jenomis is still determined to prove the truth of Ramza Beoulve’s role in King Delita’s ascension, and the innocence of Orran Durai from the church’s accusations. A nice little Tactics/XII mishmash.
-lol I forgot Montblanc and Hurdy were here
”When it comes to usefulness, I am first in the field… or was it furriest in the field? Would you like to feel my fur, kupo?”
-Jenomis discovered that during the War of the Lions, Delita struggled with a mysterious, unknown force. The Lucavi, no doubt, born of auracite.
-The final battle took place at the Orbonne Monastery, Princess Ovelia’s home. According to the story (and FF Tactics), Delita emerged “victorious” (lol) and married Ovelia to legitimize his claim to the throne.
I’m still blown away by how dark that Tactics ending was.
-The source of the auracite slept below the monastery. “Ultima, the High Seraph.” Of course! Of course she’d be the final boss.
-Because this is XIV, Ququshu immediately ties that name to Ultima Weapon, the Allagan weapon. It cast the massively destructive Ultima spell at the end of A Realm Reborn.
“What if the spell… was in fact an Allagan interpretation of the very magicks introduced to Hydaelyn by the High Seraph?”
I thought it’d be the other way around. Interesting. Could Ultima have brought magick to Hydaelyn?
-The moogles know the location of the Monastery. The problem is that it’s in Viera country (EEEEE!!), and they don’t like trespassers.
We need a friendly viera to help us. It’s gotta be Fran, right?
-Meanwhile, Alma has been seeing visions from the auracite. That’s a time bomb if ever there was one.
-The bangaa, Bwagi (hi!), offers to help us find a viera contact.
THIS FFXII MUSIC WHEN FLYING
---
Return to Ivalice
I also want to tackle the new raid this expansion, which may wrap up Stormblood’s Ivalice raids. I tackled the prior Ivalice raids in parts 98-100:
http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p... http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p... http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/09/ffxiv-p...
In the last raid, the Ridorana Lighthouse, we chased down the noble Ba’Gamnan. He was consumed by auracite, twisted into a Lucavi, Yiazmat. Ramza and his sister Alma have been chasing the mysteries of the ancient kingdom of Ivalice.
---
The Path of Most Resistance
-Back aboard the Prima Vista.
-Alma has been “ill.” Ill or possessed?
-We already discovered that Rabanastre lies atop the ruins of the ancient city of Lesalia. We then found the Clockwork City of Goug, repurposed into the Ridorana Lighthouse. Both appear in Orran Durai’s accounts of Ivalice.
-Jenomis is still determined to prove the truth of Ramza Beoulve’s role in King Delita’s ascension, and the innocence of Orran Durai from the church’s accusations. A nice little Tactics/XII mishmash.
-lol I forgot Montblanc and Hurdy were here
”When it comes to usefulness, I am first in the field… or was it furriest in the field? Would you like to feel my fur, kupo?”
-Jenomis discovered that during the War of the Lions, Delita struggled with a mysterious, unknown force. The Lucavi, no doubt, born of auracite.
-The final battle took place at the Orbonne Monastery, Princess Ovelia’s home. According to the story (and FF Tactics), Delita emerged “victorious” (lol) and married Ovelia to legitimize his claim to the throne.
I’m still blown away by how dark that Tactics ending was.
-The source of the auracite slept below the monastery. “Ultima, the High Seraph.” Of course! Of course she’d be the final boss.
-Because this is XIV, Ququshu immediately ties that name to Ultima Weapon, the Allagan weapon. It cast the massively destructive Ultima spell at the end of A Realm Reborn.
“What if the spell… was in fact an Allagan interpretation of the very magicks introduced to Hydaelyn by the High Seraph?”
I thought it’d be the other way around. Interesting. Could Ultima have brought magick to Hydaelyn?
-The moogles know the location of the Monastery. The problem is that it’s in Viera country (EEEEE!!), and they don’t like trespassers.
We need a friendly viera to help us. It’s gotta be Fran, right?
-Meanwhile, Alma has been seeing visions from the auracite. That’s a time bomb if ever there was one.
-The bangaa, Bwagi (hi!), offers to help us find a viera contact.
THIS FFXII MUSIC WHEN FLYING
-We fly down towards bombed out Rabanastre. Where the Dalmascan resistance lives on.
What a beauty of a city.
-Yup. The contact is Fran.
“I am Fran, proud daughter of Dalmasca and general of Lente’s Tears [a Dalmascan resistance faction].”
[Non-rhetorical question: does she have the same voice actor here as in XII?]
And look, I love Fran. She’s amazing.
But her character/costume design is still… not great. Still has that chainmail bikini aesthetic.
-Before helping me reach the Monastery, Fran wants me to prove myself. Help get manpower and funds for her resistance. We go.
FRAN, to herself: “Not that I expect [our demands] to be taken seriously. You are a fool to trust them, Princess.” Is she talking to the spirit of Ovelia or something? OR WAIT, is it Ashe??
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Welcome to Their Jungle
-Viera in this world are like those in XII: some choose to leave the Wood for good. Fran was one.
-I just noticed a theatrical dragon’s head hanging up in the Prima Vista.
That must refer to the head Baku wore in the FFIX tutorial fight.
-I take Fran’s demands to the Alliance, the Domans, the East Aldenard Trading Company… all rejected. Oof. They think the Dalmascan resistance is too chaotic, splintered for their help.
To my surprise, Bwagi is happy with this reply. Fran has apparently been trying to prove a point to her “princess,” and this should do it.
-Just making the ask sufficiently proved our sincerity. Fran agrees to take us into the Golmore Jungle.
-Alma emerges from her room, and it’s what we feared.
ALMA: “The High Seraph beckons. She speaks to me through the Otius.” Alma plans to ask the High Seraph to bring her mother back. DUDE, HAVE YOU READ ANY FICTION EVER ABOUT MAKING DEALS WITH OTHERWORLDLY BEINGS?
“Ultima has bid me come to her place of imprisonment. If we free her, she will reveal unto us the secrets of her creations!” Yeah, definitely. That’s definitely what she’ll do.
THIS IS CREEPY AS FUCK
A portal rips open behind Alma and sucks her inside.
-We set off on our now-rescue mission, landing in the Golmore Jungle.
-As soon as we land, another portal pops open. Alma appears. We pull her out, and Ramza gets sucked in in her place.
The voice of Ultima beckons, wanting a vessel to fulfill an ancient pact. This makes sense.
-A phantom appears briefly. “Have you the courage to face true evil?” That MUST be the phantom of ancient Ramza Beoulve.
What a beauty of a city.
-Yup. The contact is Fran.
“I am Fran, proud daughter of Dalmasca and general of Lente’s Tears [a Dalmascan resistance faction].”
[Non-rhetorical question: does she have the same voice actor here as in XII?]
And look, I love Fran. She’s amazing.
But her character/costume design is still… not great. Still has that chainmail bikini aesthetic.
-Before helping me reach the Monastery, Fran wants me to prove myself. Help get manpower and funds for her resistance. We go.
FRAN, to herself: “Not that I expect [our demands] to be taken seriously. You are a fool to trust them, Princess.” Is she talking to the spirit of Ovelia or something? OR WAIT, is it Ashe??
---
Welcome to Their Jungle
-Viera in this world are like those in XII: some choose to leave the Wood for good. Fran was one.
-I just noticed a theatrical dragon’s head hanging up in the Prima Vista.
That must refer to the head Baku wore in the FFIX tutorial fight.
-I take Fran’s demands to the Alliance, the Domans, the East Aldenard Trading Company… all rejected. Oof. They think the Dalmascan resistance is too chaotic, splintered for their help.
To my surprise, Bwagi is happy with this reply. Fran has apparently been trying to prove a point to her “princess,” and this should do it.
-Just making the ask sufficiently proved our sincerity. Fran agrees to take us into the Golmore Jungle.
-Alma emerges from her room, and it’s what we feared.
ALMA: “The High Seraph beckons. She speaks to me through the Otius.” Alma plans to ask the High Seraph to bring her mother back. DUDE, HAVE YOU READ ANY FICTION EVER ABOUT MAKING DEALS WITH OTHERWORLDLY BEINGS?
“Ultima has bid me come to her place of imprisonment. If we free her, she will reveal unto us the secrets of her creations!” Yeah, definitely. That’s definitely what she’ll do.
THIS IS CREEPY AS FUCK
A portal rips open behind Alma and sucks her inside.
-We set off on our now-rescue mission, landing in the Golmore Jungle.
-As soon as we land, another portal pops open. Alma appears. We pull her out, and Ramza gets sucked in in her place.
The voice of Ultima beckons, wanting a vessel to fulfill an ancient pact. This makes sense.
-A phantom appears briefly. “Have you the courage to face true evil?” That MUST be the phantom of ancient Ramza Beoulve.
---
The City of Lost Angels
-Back aboard the ship, I get an Echo blast, a vision of the past.
-Orran kneels before Deilta.
ORRAN: “I did not say [Ramza] was dead, my Lord Delita, merely that he had abandoned his mortal vessel, entrusting his aethereal soul to the auracite.”
-Delita is devastated at his friend’s sacrifice. (I’ll admit I’m pretty confused on the mechanics of this whole storyline, but w/e.) He’s heading to Orbonne to save his friend.
ORRAN: “Wait! Ajora Glabados, first of the Zodiac Braves, was not the hero the church would have you believe. He betrayed Mother Hydaelyn for the promise of coin and power, summoning forth a terrible evil from the depths of the celestial abyss.”
This blending of XIV and XII/Tactics lore is SO COOL!
-Only a Warrior of Light can stand against this darkness, so he warns that Delita can’t do anything.
-Then the ancient Alma Beoulve (the namesake of our Alma bas Lexentale) appears.
ALMA BEOULVE: “My brother’s final wish before he surrendered to the aether was that his name be struck from the annals of history.”
-I see. When Ultima awoke, Ramza could only do so much. He wasn’t the Warrior of Light. He sacrificed himself to reimprison Ultiima, “what Hydaelyn Herself did countless centuries past.”
That certainly vouches for Ultima’s power if frigging Hydaelyn could only imprison rather than kill her.
Ramza feared if people knew of his sacrifice, they’d seek out the auracite themselves. Removing himself from the story was Ramza’s way of safeguarding the world from rediscovering Ultima.
-IIRC, Delita is far nobler here than in Tactics.
-Suddenly, Ramza’s spirit appears before the mourning and broken Delita. Ramza urges Delita to become a just and good king before fading.
-This is very much like the end and framing of Tactics. Orran leaves the court and pens a secret, true history chronicling Ramza’s role.
-I also get the impression that Alma and Orran were a thing. The ancestors of the current Jenomis/Ramza/Alma family.
-Back to the present. This blows Jenomis’ mind. The Durai Papers, Orran’s hiding… all of it was set in motion by Orran himself.
-Ultima calling out for the “blood of her invokers” is referring not to the bloodline of Alma and Orran, but rather to the line of Hydaelyn’s Warriors of Light. Ultima wants to use me as her vessel. Ramza’s abduction was the bait.
-Fran has been listening to all this… and admits she was stringing us along. Her goal was to get the auracite and use it to lay waste to the Garleans.
But hearing all of this changed her mind, hearing how corrupting the auracite is. GOOD. She doesn’t go all Boromir on us.
Fran instead agrees to help us in the Monastery. Stopping the High Seraph’s return is the best thing she can do for her people.
The City of Lost Angels
-Back aboard the ship, I get an Echo blast, a vision of the past.
-Orran kneels before Deilta.
ORRAN: “I did not say [Ramza] was dead, my Lord Delita, merely that he had abandoned his mortal vessel, entrusting his aethereal soul to the auracite.”
-Delita is devastated at his friend’s sacrifice. (I’ll admit I’m pretty confused on the mechanics of this whole storyline, but w/e.) He’s heading to Orbonne to save his friend.
ORRAN: “Wait! Ajora Glabados, first of the Zodiac Braves, was not the hero the church would have you believe. He betrayed Mother Hydaelyn for the promise of coin and power, summoning forth a terrible evil from the depths of the celestial abyss.”
This blending of XIV and XII/Tactics lore is SO COOL!
-Only a Warrior of Light can stand against this darkness, so he warns that Delita can’t do anything.
-Then the ancient Alma Beoulve (the namesake of our Alma bas Lexentale) appears.
ALMA BEOULVE: “My brother’s final wish before he surrendered to the aether was that his name be struck from the annals of history.”
-I see. When Ultima awoke, Ramza could only do so much. He wasn’t the Warrior of Light. He sacrificed himself to reimprison Ultiima, “what Hydaelyn Herself did countless centuries past.”
That certainly vouches for Ultima’s power if frigging Hydaelyn could only imprison rather than kill her.
Ramza feared if people knew of his sacrifice, they’d seek out the auracite themselves. Removing himself from the story was Ramza’s way of safeguarding the world from rediscovering Ultima.
-IIRC, Delita is far nobler here than in Tactics.
-Suddenly, Ramza’s spirit appears before the mourning and broken Delita. Ramza urges Delita to become a just and good king before fading.
-This is very much like the end and framing of Tactics. Orran leaves the court and pens a secret, true history chronicling Ramza’s role.
-I also get the impression that Alma and Orran were a thing. The ancestors of the current Jenomis/Ramza/Alma family.
-Back to the present. This blows Jenomis’ mind. The Durai Papers, Orran’s hiding… all of it was set in motion by Orran himself.
-Ultima calling out for the “blood of her invokers” is referring not to the bloodline of Alma and Orran, but rather to the line of Hydaelyn’s Warriors of Light. Ultima wants to use me as her vessel. Ramza’s abduction was the bait.
-Fran has been listening to all this… and admits she was stringing us along. Her goal was to get the auracite and use it to lay waste to the Garleans.
But hearing all of this changed her mind, hearing how corrupting the auracite is. GOOD. She doesn’t go all Boromir on us.
Fran instead agrees to help us in the Monastery. Stopping the High Seraph’s return is the best thing she can do for her people.
---
Random Stuff Around Eorzea
Some notable player names:
-Katman Dude
-Mr Waifu
-Mild Salsa
-Phoenix Wrong
-Olivia Armstrong
-Spooky Ghost
-Road Block
A new minion, Conditional Virtue, from the FFXI-centric zone:
Playing off the FFXI superboss, Absolute Virtue. See also this article from 2008, “Final Fantasy XI boss causes vomiting, takes 18 hours to beat.”
https://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-xi-boss...
The busiest mount I’ve ever seen. You can see the player nestled in the crook of the right arm:
---
Next time: the Orbonne Monastery, last of Stormblood’s Ivalice 24-player raids.
Random Stuff Around Eorzea
Some notable player names:
-Katman Dude
-Mr Waifu
-Mild Salsa
-Phoenix Wrong
-Olivia Armstrong
-Spooky Ghost
-Road Block
A new minion, Conditional Virtue, from the FFXI-centric zone:
Playing off the FFXI superboss, Absolute Virtue. See also this article from 2008, “Final Fantasy XI boss causes vomiting, takes 18 hours to beat.”
https://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-xi-boss...
The busiest mount I’ve ever seen. You can see the player nestled in the crook of the right arm:
---
Next time: the Orbonne Monastery, last of Stormblood’s Ivalice 24-player raids.
