FFXIV – Part 250: Under the Darkened Moon

Summary: The 5.55 main story quests. Stopping the Lunar Primals. Fourchenalt Leivelleur is the worst dad. The orange moon waxes.

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The Company We Keep

-The lunar primals are being gradually taken out (they’re clearly just a side thing for Fandaniel’s plans), and we’re even negotiating with the Ixal for an alliance. Totally new landscape.

-Full Alliance council meeting time in Ala Mhigo. Including ALL the beast tribes.



I don’t see a moogle. I thought it might be because that was a crafting/gathering beast tribe, but so were the Ixal. Maybe they’re just too flaky to be useful in this sort of combat alliance.

-XIV has done a great job of setting this up too in the recent patches so that it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of nowhere. The untempering of the kobolds and how hostile they felt even when UNTEMPERED towards Merlwyb was a perfect microcosm for the challenging road ahead.

-We all bond here, as the newly (re-)founded Grand Company of Eorzea.

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! It’s Alphinaud’s dream reborn, a new chance at the promise held by the Crystal Braves. He’s even crying and I love it.



-Speaking of which. The Sylphs are trying to improve one of their companies, so Alphinaud’s experience with the Crystal Braves will be invaluable. We set about checking with other previous Crystal Braves for their input.

-First, Riol and Alianne. It’s been a MINUTE since I thought of Riol.

-They attribute the problems to the mixed reasons for joining. Some were in it idealistically, but others were in it for coin or glory.

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On Official Business

-An envoy from Sharlayan interrupts this: Fourchenault Leveilleur. The twins’ dad.



-He seems relatively warm in meeting his kids again. Good. [Later edit: this may be the shortest duration of time I have ever liked a person.]

-Conversation turns to Louisoix. The Kan-e-Senna expresses how Louisoix basically saved the world at the end of ARR.

FOURCHENAULT: “I must confess that I opposed his decision to intervene.”

And we come to the crux of his visit. Sharlayan will not intervene in the conflict brewing between Eorzea and Garlemald/the Ascians.

-Sharlayan doesn’t see this battle as some herald of the Final Days, but rather as yet another “petty squabble” between nations.

-oops, I was wrong, the dad’s a dick. When the twins object, he starts in on how he was wrong to let them leave Sharlayan, they’re undisciplined fools, etc.



AND THEN HE DISOWNS THEM WTFFFFFF

-Later, Krile phones in. While pleading her case unsuccessfully in Sharlayan, she found their responses unusually secretive and shut down. Some shenanigans are afoot. 

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Death Unto Dawn

-More bad news. Apparently the Telophoroi have attacked the Ixali and moved towards Carteneau.

-Followed by some good news: Arenvold is alive! In a wheelchair, but alive.



-He urges Alphinaud to take on his role as a martial hero. “I’m entrusting my dreams to you.”

-To Alphinaud’s credit, he’s really hesitant to accept this sort of responsibility. Good. I think this is a sign that he knows what it means, and that he’s more mature and ready to take it on than he was when he started the Crystal Braves.

-And I LOVE that Fordola comes in at the end here and basically tells Arenvald (in her own overly harsh way) that he can still be a hero himself. There are other ways he can contribute.



They’re a great pair. I really like them together. (Not romantically, though I’m open.)

-Then, it’s instance time. Not a multi-player dungeon, but rather a solo dungeon.

-This was fun! I like how we bounced between playing different characters. I usually don’t like vehicle fights, but something about these is fun for me. Maybe because I already have a personal connection to the likes of Y’shtola and Alisaie rather than just riding a random tank or dragon or whatever.

-I’m glad the Lunar Primals are getting taken out now rather than being a thing in Endwalker. I’d rather see new things rather than redone old things (as much as I ADORED how Eden redid the ARR primals!).

-I personally didn’t wipe, but I was really happy to hear that unlike prior solo instances such as the Naadam in Stormblood, if I had died midway in, I wouldn’t have had to redo the whole thing.

-The credits that rolled after this instance took me a bit by surprise, but they shouldn’t have. This was the last MSQ of Shadowbringers, and the real end of the expansion.

Honestly, one of the best MMO story experiences I’ve had. It’s hard to compare this to my experience in, say, World of Warcraft when I was playing super hardcore, like in the Burning Crusade or Warlords of Draenor expansions. In those expansions, I was hyper-engaged in the raiding scene. It was great spending time multiple times per week with my friends trying to conquer different challenges.

It wasn’t about the story. The story was okay enough, but it wasn’t the point. The story in Shadowbringers? DEFINITELY the point.

-After the credits, we hear the next steps. Our main goal will be to find a way to deal with the towers. Solve the mysteries of the secretive Sharlayan. And stop the Final Days.


The revealed moon.

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Meanwhile, in the Garlean Capitol...

-We see Zenos testing out his new scythe that we saw in the fanfest trailer.



-Fandaniel talks about how they still need aether: “The obvious solution would be to draw on resources a little closer to home, though that would require our dreamer to dream a trifle more deeply…” Zodiark?

-ooooh what’s that spiky tower in the distance?



ZENOS: “While I await you, I shall drink a sea of souls and gorge myself upon the darkened moon. And then shall come to me all roiling rage and rancor. And the stars shall be witness to our final contest.”



Is… is he going to try to consume Zodiark? The moon now glows orange. This was a huge thing in the FFIV sequels iirc, though I don’t remember the details. I just remember a second red moon.

-Zenos has strangely grown on me. I was annoyed that he was still a thing at first, but I’m interested to see where this new Ascian-style power he has goes.

-The scene returns to the Scions, investigating aethereal levels. Depleted. The towers have been drawing from the land’s aether to summon the primals.

-IS THAT HYDAELYN?

“Hear me… Hear me… Darkness comes, and with it the end. The fate of the star is in your hands.”

-It’s an image of Minfilia I think, but she’s definitely coming across to me as the Voice of Hydaelyn here.



-The final image we see now is the orange moon.

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Random Stuff Around Eorzea

The credits featured some fantastic character art. My favorite was probably this Ryne art showing her on the attack:



A couple of great player names I’ve seen recently:
Claustro Fobia
Meowchael Jackson

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Next time: trying the new Bozja stuff.