Summary: Starting patch 5.1’s main scenario quests. The Grand Cosmos dungeon. The Nu Mou soul magician.
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Shaken Resolve
-Onto patch 5.1’s main story content, picking up with my return to the Source post-Emet Selch.
-I share the tale of the First with Tataru and F’lhaminn (Minfilia’s mother). She reacts with sympathy and grace to hearing about her daughter and Ryne.
-The Scions’ spirit-less bodies are showing signs of instability, in order of how long they’ve been there.
-I report this back to the folks on the First in the Crystarium.
- I can travel freely between worlds. Me… and my possessions. So what if the others could bind themselves to something I possess? White auracite should do.
(though I like the suggestion that I should just think about the others as my possessions REALLY HARD)
-How do we do this though? Transferring souls is a tricky business.
-G’raha points me to a great elven palace. It lay empty after the Flood, but “a certain Nu Mou” took up residence there. Someone we’ve met?
-They’re a recluse who attack all intruders.
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A Grand Adventure
-So we’re gonna just bust down the front door, take out this Nu Mou’s familiars. That should get their attention.
-The dungeon is the Grand Cosmos.
-The dungeon is opulent, with a bright and noble elvish flavor.
-My favorite mechanic was in the final boss, a fire elemental.
They’d set you on fire, and you had to reach some piano or sofa or something to transfer the fire off.
-The Nu Mou takes off the plague doctor costume… and they’re ADORABLE. As are most Nu Mous.
“Beq Lugg…” Yeah, I don’t know the name.
OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THE NU MOUS AS DOGS THING. G’raha invokes as many dog commands in a sentence (“sit,” “beg”) as possible.
-Beq hid themselves away to avoid being tempted by such commands.
-Alphinaud sympathizes… until he uses the same tricks. “I’m certain whatever mistrust you feel for man will begin to… heel.”
YOU’RE ALL TROLLS AND I LOVE YOU
-Beq Lugg is fighting the urge to obey hard… and perhaps for good reason.
BEQ: “That damned court mage seemed to have the best of intentions too, and countless innocents died for my naivety!” Court mage? What exactly happened here?
-They’re incredibly concerned about how we’re going to use their soul transfer/binding power, and whether we’ll misuse it like that unnamed court mage.
-I LOVE THE NU MOU’S VOICE ACTOR SO MUCH!
-They relent and accompany us to the Crystarium.
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A Welcome Guest
-Hearing our deeds (i.e. defeating the sin eaters) wins their trust a bit more.
-They suggest tweaks to our soul transference plan, such as separating the souls from bodies… and it rings a bell. It seems a bit like what happens to the poor folk who transform to sin eaters.
-Wait, can Beq help those in the Amh Araeng hospice? Field trip time.
-Halric (the stone-faced near-sin eater from the expansion’s start) is still here, in danger of turning. But things are at least a bit better with the night’s return.
-Beq crafts a tonic help restore some of these near-sin eaters’ aether. One that the knights of Voeburt used once “then for far darker purposes.” [Later edit: I’m really excited to see where this loose end winds up, with the corruption in Voeburt!]
-It helps those earlier in their transformation, brings them some relief. But those as far gone as Halric as unaffected. The problem lies in their soul’s aetheric balance.
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Good for the Soul
-Beq Lugg himself was a court mage of Voeburt specializing in soulcraft.
BEQ: “In the end, my knowledge brought only suffering. A plague the like of which none had ever seen.” [Later edit: I wonder if THEY are the aforementioned court mage who misused that power. Probably not, but maybe.]
-They want to conjure a familiar to amplify energies poured into them. It’ll serve as a conduit for aether-revitalizing magic to hopefully save these folks.
-The twins and I gather the needed magical water and clay to shape the familiar.
-Alisaie wants to cast the magic. I almost forgot; she spent a long time here fighting the sin eaters before I arrived. She’s got a deep and personal connection.
ALISAIE: “I’ll give it my all. For Halric. For Tesleen…” Still not over that horrifying Tesleen transformation.
-omg a porxie. Beq Lugg wants us to sculpt a porxie for this solemn ritual
LOLOLOL ALISAIE IS SUCH A BAD SCULPTOR
-The skill doesn’t matter. That abomination of a porxie becomes a real flying pig. God, I love the fae. Now she just has to name the porxie to complete the ritual.
SHE NAMES IT ANGELO, THE FFVIII CALLBACKS ARE REAL THIS PATCH
-Naming it channels magic into Halric. It suffuses him with blue light, and he starts pushing out words.
“M… Mother…. I…” Tears run from his eyes. It’s working.
His soul will heal (but still PLEASE get him whatever XIV version of a therapist exists).
-All this has given Beq Lugg insight into the initial problem of getting back to the Source. What if we reverse this Halric healing – somehow push TOWARDS stagnation of the soul to help the Scions survive the trip?
(I’m not following the metaphysical mechanics at play here, but whatever. I’m rolling with it.)
-Alisaie wonders if this soul magic can help someone tempered back in the Source. Who?
OH RIGHT, GA BU THE KOBOLD! What a callback. This game is fantastic about continually building on and returning to old storylines.
[Later edit: I had to review my notes on this. Ga Bu accidentally summoned Titan in grief for seeing his parents killed. Titan tempered him (maybe? probably? I think it was also left open that he could have just been grieving) and he hasn't spoken since.
That was June of 2018: http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/ffxiv-p...
Then in Stormblood, back in October of 2018, we briefly saw Alisaie take time during a break in the action to visit Ga Bu: http://coldrungaming.blogspot.com/2018/10/ffxiv-p...
She cares so much for him. It's amazing to see an MMO keep this kind of ball in the air so long, and it's one of the things I love about XIV.]
Btw it’s really hard to take this seriously when a flying piglet is hovering just over her shoulder XD
-Suddenly, Kai-Shirr (our cat person ally from Eulmore) approaches. Dullia Chai is in a panic over something.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-A creepy-faced staff:
-An army of flying pigs guards the Grand Cosmos:
-The Grand Cosmos featured backwards-speaking brooms in a nice nod to Matoya’s Cave in FFI:
-Some great player names:
Keaneo Reeves
Sausage Mccheesy
Koko Puffz
Shining Dragon
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Next time: Eulmore rebuilds after Vauthry.
