Summary: Finishing
the 5.5 MSQ. My first run at the Paglth’an dungeon. The purpose of
Fandaniel’s towers. The Scions get a new member. Zenos gets a new
weapon.
---
The Flames of War
-Team Fandaniel is attacking Paglth’an, and Ul’dah leads the defense.
-One
strange piece of news is that despite Lunar Bahamut getting close to
the besieged Amal’jaa, he hasn’t tempered anyone. Maybe he’s not a
primal the way Bahamut was.
-New dungeon time! Going with my trust NPCs into Paglth’an.
-okay
that dungeon was GREAT! I absolutely loved the aesthetic, the sunswept
golden fields and orange of a burning battlefield at sunset, and how it
all ended with a fight against the aesthetic antithesis in Lunar
Bahamut.
I
also like that it wasn’t all that overwhelming mechanically. No Mist
Dragon-style challenges here, where it’s not uncommon to wipe a couple
of times as the group remembers the mechanics when it’s no longer
current content.
Oh, and seeing Tiamat wrecking face was BADASS. (yeah yeah, a bit sad too since many were her brood, but STILL)
-It’s
so dang strange to see the Amal’jaa praising us for defending them
afterward. Square talked about how there’s going to be a huge shift
after Endwalker with the main story going away from Hydaelyn and
Zodiark, and I see one of the impacts of that wrap-up here.
The
beast tribe and primal situation on Eorzea was largely driven by the
Ascians, after all. Not solely, and the game has effectively shown the
role the allied cities played, but the Ascians poured gas on the fire.
-I’m
surprised that we’re now just walking away from Fandaniel’s tower.
(Lol, eating my words two seconds later. I guess I forgot that this was
Fordola and Arenvald’s mission.)
---
Some time earlier, inside the Paglth’an Tower.
-UHHH
WHAT AM I LOOKING AT??? Fordola and Arenvald are INSIDE one of the
towers. The walls are littered with Amal’jaa in stasis, frozen in
carbonite or something.
-Arenvald starts trying to pull one out when the tower activates, glowing red.
I
was wrong before. It doesn’t feel like the stasis of carbonite. It
feels more like a Borg incubation chamber, where things are rewired and
assimilated. Or humans cocooned by xenomorphs preparing to explode with
new aliens.
-The Amal’jaa on the wall have their cells glow blue and they scream out. This is bizarre and eerie.
-Some sort of pseudo-Ifrit (Lunar Ifrit??) drops from below to stop the fleeing Arenvald and Fordola.
I
wonder if this will herald a re-run of the various primals with lunar
versions. I personally hope not. The Eden storyline revisited those
primals in phenomenally interesting ways, but I’m ready to move on.
---
When the Dust Settles
-Back in Ul’dah, Arenvald is badly wounded and in the infirmary. [Non-rhetorical
question: Alphinaud is especially upset. Remind me – what’s his
relationship to Arenvald (if it’s something I’m supposed to know)?]
-Fordola’s also standing watch. She seems to legitimately respect the guy.
-Ouch,
Fordola’s got some bite. (This isn’t surprising.) She thinks Alphinaud
is being way too sensitive here, mourning the potential death of a
single soldier.
…and yet I notice she’s still standing watch here.
[Later
edit: I wonder if this concern for his wounded friend and the
powerlessness he feels here is going to be the impetus behind
Alphinaud’s class change to sage. He’s already a healer so idk if
that’ll make sense, but maybe he’ll think sage is a better healer or
something.]
-btw I LOOOOOVE Fordola’s voice actress. So much.
-We
regroup with the Sultana to debrief. Yeah, that was Lunar Ifrit. The
towers exist to force those captives to summon these lunar primals.
-Ohhh
of course! The Amal’jaa worshipped Ifrit, and so tempered Amal’jaa who
are, like, Double Stuf Tempered to Garlemald end up summoning some
pro-Garlemald version of their primal.
-The other towers did the same, summoning variants of local primals. Nothing too bad just yet though.
-The
Sultana also confirms that the Amal’jaa are formally allying with us.
Personally, I’d LOVE if this opened up the future possibility of making
those beast tribes playable races, but I’m not holding out hope.
Just saying. Ququshu may have to race-change to sylph if that becomes an option.
-Back to the Rising Stones. Where Krile proposes going to Sharlayan for aid, despite their non-interventionist policy.
And THERE’S the Endwalker link.
-The
conversation turns to Hydaelyn. She’s been quiet for a long, long time
(beyond the general “Think, Speak, Spell” broadcast).
So what’s the theory? That Hydaelyn’s being suppressed?
-OH SHIIIIIT ESTINIEN IS JOINING TEAM SCION WOOOO, BOUT TIME
---
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace…
-Weapons litter the place. Zenos seems to be trying them out, seeking the best one. Or maybe the right one.
Fandaniel
is playing the sommelier. I already know from the Endwalker trailer
that he’ll end up with a scythe, and I don’t see one here.
FANDANIEL:
“Speaking of preparations, is it safe to assume that you will be ready
to control you-know-what?” Even the frigging Ascian is going to
cliffhanger me lol.
-Zenos finally finds one he likes. It’s
off-camera, but again – I’ve seen the trailer. And Fandaniel’s right. It
does seem apt to go with a scythe if Zenos’ goal (BIG if) is the
destruction of the star.
---
Next time: starting the 5.55 MSQ continuation.
