Summary: Minfilia meets her ancestor. The Lightwarden of Amh Araeng. Ququshu’s tank nears full.
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Crossroad
-Minfilia and Ququshu continue in Nabaath Areng through some ruins when we’re hit with an Echo.
-oh my GOD WE SEE THE FLOOD HIT! Citizens are panicking at the literal tide of light.
-The Oracle of Light floats above the fray and stops the Flood magically.
And not alone. One-by-one, the Warriors of Darkness give their lives to empower her spell.
-Ardbert offers himself up last, and the Oracle denies him.
ORACLE: “We shall stay the Flood.”
ARDBERT: “But this is what I want! It’s my sacrifice to make!”
-She just shakes her head. His time hasn’t come yet.
I’d been wondering if he’d just be around in our time as a reminder of the past, but it seems he has a more tangible role to play yet.
-This is surreal. Ququshu and the two Minfilias come face to face amidst a visually stunning backdrop of watery golden light.
-The Oracle comforts Minfilia. Thanks her, tells her what a crap hand she’s been dealt.
-This is a moment of choice that the Oracle was waiting for. What does Minfilia want?
“To defeat the sin eaters, and bring this world back from the brink.”
Of course, but I remember that this wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Minfilia has BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT. At many points beforehand, giving up would’ve been her choice and nobody could blame her.
-Minfilia wants do whatever it takes and find the Lightwarden.
-The Oracle gives some pretty grand and subtle advice. If in the future, Minfilia feels doubt, don’t give in to those whispers – but don’t deny them either. Don’t suppress them.
“Look instead to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others.”
-The Oracle lends her strength to Minfilia. How will this work? Will one take over as they meld?
-She looks… different. Red hair instead of blond, with normal eyes instead of glowing blue eyes.
-This is the Oracle’s gift. She’s granting Minfilia a life of her own beyond just being the next in the line of fighting Minfilias. She’s someone new.
-And she senses the Amh Araeng Warden. We’ll go regroup.
MINFILIA: “You don’t think Thancred will be angry with me, do you?” SHE DOESN’T KNOW DJFKLDSFJ
-We return to a nearby deserted mining outpost, and… WHEW. Thancred is here. Wounded, but alive. Urianger found him and healed him up.
[Later edit: I was glad cause I like Thancred, but tbh I would’ve preferred Thancred died. It was a perfect end. I wish XIV didn’t suck so much at killing off characters.]
-Thancred notices the change in Minfilia, and immediately puts the pieces together. “You saw her.”
-I wonder if Minfilia will join us in the next dungeon as a trust NPC to track the Warden.
-She’s bracing for Thancred to be angry with her. He just happily places his hand on her head.
“I’m glad you’re back. You’re family. How else would I feel?” AWWW
-Y’shtola suggests that Minfilia take a new name. Something of her own choosing, since she’s now free from the line of Minfilias.
-Thancred, as her sort-of-father-figure, offers the name “Ryne.” It’s Fae for “blessing.”
She happily accepts. (“Ryne” doesn’t knock my socks off, but she’s the one that counts!)
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A Fresh Start
-Ryne senses the Warden underground to the west.
-Time for the next four-player dungeon, “Malikah’s Well.” Going with Thancred, Ryne, and Urianger.
-The second and third bosses in this well are my favorite parts. The second because it’s so dang goofy, a stone golem covered in buckets with a water attack.
The design of the third boss, Lightwarden Storge, is also incredible, in a more ethereal way. A disc with a face on it surrounded by disembodied feathers that it tosses out for different attacks.
[Later edit: In hindsight, Storge’s name DOES fit within the naming convention set by Philia! I didn’t notice it at the time, only after looking up the Greek classifications of love afterward to check. Philia, storge, eros, and agape. Perhaps the last boss will be Lightwarden Agape.]
-At the end, Ququshu absorbed Storge’s light… and something’s different. She seems shaken by it, almost nauseous. Rapidly approaching that moment Urianger and Y’shtola fear.
Only one Lightwarden to go. Something bad’s happening after that one goes down.
-Scene change. The mining camp watches in awe as the light departs and night falls.
-The part-sin eater kid from Shadowbringers’ start watches too.
Impassively on the surface, but his stony anatomy makes reading his true feelings impossible.
-We emerge from the mine.
ALISAIE: “We’ll save this broken world yet, Tesleen. You see if we don’t.”
-Eulmore’s airships fly away, retreating in the wake of the Warden’s demise. BYEEEE
-OOH, THEORY TIME: What if LORD VAUTHRY HIMSELF is the Lightwarden of Kholusia?
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More than a Hunch
-Back to the Crystarium, where Ryne and Y’shtola confront me.
RYNE: “The Light within you has grown monstrous.”
-And right then, Ququshu doubles over in pain. Her sight films over with white. A pre-sin eater sign.
-I push it down, but for how long?
-Back to the Perpetually Haunted Inn Room Because Ardbert is Always Watching to rest up.
-He wasn’t in Amh Araeng, so I update him on the Warden and Minfilia’s merger.
-Oh, God. I didn’t even think of the impact on the Oracle’s “disappearance” from his perspective.
ARDBERT: “The reason I must suffer this purgatory shall forever remain a mystery.” Take heart, friend! There’s still plenty of expansion and patch content to go.
-Again, Ququshu suffers more light convulsions. It burns Ardbert to get too close to me. Wow – I didn’t think anything could touch him.
ARDBERT, to himself: “Not even the most valiant hero can stand alone…”
Theory: after the next Warden, he’ll absorb my light, sacrificing himself to save me. Perhaps even become one final trial/boss fight during a temporary transformation from all the Light.
-The Exarch knocks and enters. He’s shocked to hear the Light-induced pain.
-He gives me one command: “You must survive this… you must return to your world. For the battles to come and wars yet unwon.” I mean, I’ll try?
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Somewhere, Somewhen
-Ququshu goes to sleep, and sees a vision.
-We flash to someone’s perspective reading a book, talking about doing something after the liberation of Ala Mhigo. This must be the past.
-The book’s cover shows Shinryu. It makes me wonder about Zenos briefly before remembering “lol no.” He didn’t want the libration of Ala Mhigo.”
-Their compatriot is urges this unnamed person to flee the city and the attack. Whose? The Empire’s?
???: “Is there anything else we can do?”
GUN-TOTING COMPATRIOT: “This isn’t a war. It’s a sickness, and it’s spread to every corner of Eorzea.”
No uniform I recognize on the compatriot.
Wait, maybe this is the present and Black Rose has been used.
GUN-TOTING COMPATRIOT: “I never tire of that story. When the hero swoops in a stride a white dragon to save the little girl…”
Could this be Thancred’s perspective from when he was young? That sounds like a story relevant to his interests… Nah, seems like an adult.
-One final message as they fade to black: “Have faith, my friend: we will find her.”
-What the actual hell was that??? I don’t have a good guess.
-Ququshu wakes up in her room, as confused as me.
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Next time: Probably starting towards Kholusia and the final Lightwarden.
