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The Wheel Turns
-With the Il Mheg Lightwarden down and Eulmore repulsed, we head back to the Crystarium.
-UHHHH HI??? SOLUS ZOS GALVUS JUST WALKS UP TO US AND SAYS HELLO.
-He even reveals his Ascian mask face and name: Emet-Selch. (Which I’d mostly guessed.)
-Emet-Selch is pissed about our Lightwarden killfest. “Do you have any idea how much you have delayed the Rejoining?”
-He thought of siding with Vauthry to just kill us, but that was Lahabrea’s tactic. He’ll try something else.
“Cooperation!”
LOLOLOL. He’s offers détente, maybe even help with the Lightwardens. That sounds like a bad idea.
-He claims that he still has the objective of the rejoining, but that we don’t know his motive.
-Emet-Selch is immortal. If cooperation doesn’t work, he can always try again later.
This is reminding me of Flowey in Undertale, in reverse. Ur fgnegrq jvgu gur trabpvqr ebhgr ohg vf gelvat cnpvsvfg sbe n punatr.
-He leaves, lets us think it over. I head back to my room in the Crystarium’s inn to rest up.
-The Crystal Exarch even left a sandwich platter for me. Aww. Ququshu must be hungry af.
-Ardbert is here. He likes the Exarch, mysterious as his past is. (As he looks at the sandwich tray, I wonder if he misses eating.)
-When the First was about to be consumed by Light, the Ascian in white (now Zenos) told Ardbert that the only way to save their world was to bring about the Rejoining.
“Desperate as we were, we heeded his words, not realizing that the Flood was of the Ascians’ own making.”
I hear this. Whatever good Emet-Selch may soon appear to provide, it’s probably all a long-con.
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A Party Soon Divided
-We regroup the next day in the Ocular. The Ascian included.
EMET-SELCH: “Prove yourselves heroes brave and true, and I will be glad to embrace you as allies.” Suuuuure. It’s that simple.
“Allies worthy of bearing the burden of truth.” …I actually buy this. Even if he won’t join Team Scion, I think he may tell us more truth of his motive if we meet whatever his conditions are.
-And BLESSEDLY, we don’t agree. It’s just too hard to believe for our party. I’m certain we’ll call on him eventually – and he leaves the offer open – but it makes sense story-wise to not jumping on this.
“Whatever you choose to do, make sure it’s worth watching, will you?”
His voice actor is killing it. See ya later, Emet-Selch.
-Anyway. Two Lightwardens are down – Lakeland and Il Mheg. Three remain in Kholusia (home of Eulmore), Amh Araeng, and the as-yet-unvisited Rak’tika.
-We don’t even know WHERE the Wardens are in those regions. We’ll split up to investigate.-
-Alisaie and Alphinaud will return to Amh Araeng and Kholusia, respectively. The rest of us will meet up with Y’shtola in Rak’tika.
-The Crystal Exarch will remain here. Lord Vauthry invited the Exarch to meet in Eulmore.
WHY? Why would he think you’d go into his city willingly?
-Whatever the reason, he was right. The Exarch will go with Alphinaud. He must be more even more powerful than I thought to feel safe going to that meeting.
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A Little Faith
-The Exarch suggests we first get a gift for Y’shtola, a tablet from a nearby ruined church.
-The Church of the First Light fell into ruin with the Flood. The sin eaters were seen as divine punishment, eating sin and sinner alike. Hence the name.
URIANGER: “As faith in the Light did wane, so rose reverence for the Dark.” Makes all the sense in the world.
-Y’shtola is with this group in Rak’tika, the Night’s Blessed in Rak’tika.
-In the church, we find a tablet that predates the Night’s Blessed. It’s from the ancient Ronkan empire, whose capital once stood in what is now Rak’tika. I’m excited! A neat FFV throwback.
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Into the Dark
-The Night’s Blessed usually use alises, to not speak their names in the light of day.
Y’shtola has taken on the name Master Matoya, her teacher. Aww.
(This explains why Urianger called Y’shtola “Master Matoya” in the trailer. My prior theory was that Matoya was a title, like Titania.)
-We cross into the Rak’tika Greatwood.
-And who’s along for the ride but Emet-Selch? He gets a weird nostalgia trip about those days he helped Garlemald rise. “Exploring virgin territories, subjugating primitive peoples…” The good ol’ days.
-He’ll observe with us, but can’t fight. He’s a creature of the dark and just lacks the strength to fight in the light-suffused land.
-THE MUSIC HERE THOUGH! It’s Rusted Rootsy. It's fantastic.
-Our first stop here is a ruined swamp settlement. The Night’s Blessed ambush us, thinking we’re sin eaters.
-Never mind lol. It’s actually an ambush by the Night’s Blessed, thinking we’re sin eaters.
-Hee! Emet-Selch is bored and annoyed, so he peaces out.
[Later edit: I’m really enjoying this dynamic. It reminds me of Lucifer and Sam in Supernatural, or Lasciel and Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files books.]
-Their leader approaches to resolve this. HI Y’SHTOLA!
-Huh. She doesn’t recognize me. Sees my aether suffused with light and still thinks I might be a sin eater at first. I forget how long we’ve been apart from her perspective.
-I love Y’shtola’s look! She seems to have job changed from conjurer to black mage.
-She leads us to their current HQ.
-The Night’s Blessed worship no specific gods. Just general reverence for the Dark itself.
-Y’shtola isn’t on good terms with the Crystal Exarch thanks to “his penchant for secrecy and the telling of half-truths.” Yeah, I can imagine that pissing her off.
-Relics of the Ronkan Empire can be found in the east, in Yx’Maja (ix-MAH-yuh). But it’s home to a tribe of warriors who claim Ronkan heritage and defend the area fiercely.
Our working theory for now is that the Lightwarden is hiding there, guarded unwittingly by the tribe.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-Some great player names:
Mastah Shake
Horrendous Lol
-I’m still so impressed with how XIV portrayed the fae of Il Mheg. Their mix of whimsy and terror. Even now, after having helped them so much and formed pacts with them, Thancred doesn’t feel at home there or anything like that.
THANCRED: “Let us away before the faeries think to play with us again.”
They can turn on a dime, and you do NOT want to be the object of their amusement.
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Next time: Settling in and exploring the Night’s Blessed settlement.
