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Hail to the Queen
-The new relic weapon quest just dropped. Never done those before, but I’ve heard this is meant to be soloable (unlike Eureka). Let’s try it.
-The Bozjan Resistance is working with Doma against their Garlean oppressors
-I don’t recognize the Bozjans. Maybe we heard them in passing? They seem to be a Hrothgar city-state.
-The IVth imperial legion holds it. The Dalmascans help a bit but Fran is busy with Dalmascan infighting.
-Part of our goal here is to find a standard behind which the Bozjan Resistance can unite and rally.
MARSAK (resistance Hrothgar): “Lacking a living figurehead such as Lord Hien, my comrades and I looked to our nation’s past for inspiration. There we found the answer we sought: Gunnhildr’s Blades.”
They were the old queen’s personal guard, each of whom mastered a unique weapon. We’ll try to reclaim those relics.
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Path to the Past
-I’ll be doing this on red mage, favorite job.
-We fly to their HQ. The resistance’s leader is an AWESOME looking Hrothgar named Bajsaljen. He’s got, like, a coeurl-style mustache and a sweeping haircut.
-Hey, Gerolt is here too! From the blacksmith quests iirc.
-The relic weapons were lost in the Fourth Umbral Calamity. The Bozjans are trying to forge replicas, but they lack a holy etching from Queen Gunnhildr herself.
-Any notes were lost in the Bozja Citadel. Fifteen years ago, the Garleans were experimenting with the early stages of the meteor project. The entire citadel was reduced to ash.
OH RIGHT! That’s where I know Bozja from. The Bozjan Incident, where Cid’s dad blew up their citadel experimenting with the Meteor Project.
-The music here is pretty awesome btw. It’s in the vein of the Rak’tika theme.
-Helping with the reforging is a scholar named Mikoto from the Rabanastre quests. She can use crystals and aether to visualize someone’s memories (however distorted those memories might be).
-We both suddenly get an Echo hit, a vision from the future. Cid lying on a table, screaming about Lord Varis…
That’s right, Cid was at the citadel then! The citadel had accurately-etched replica weapons, which should be in Cid’s memory somewhere.
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The Bozja Incident
-I catch up with Cid in Doma. This is going to be a rough time for him. The Bozja Incident was his father’s fault, but he blames himself for not doing more to stop it.
-I bring Cid to the resistance HQ. This is… awkward. He’s the son of the guy who basically caused the worst disaster in their history.
-Here we go. Mikoto, Cid and I will dive into Cid’s mind to hopefully view those relic weapons. God, this is gonna be brutal. These are some of his worst memories.
-This is AMAZING! Before heading in here, my chat log showed a bunch of players getting the “Cidception” achievement, and I see why. This has a very “Inception” feel to it. A dreamscape of fragmented and askew memories, with planes intersecting at strange angles, streets going vertical, etc.
-The memory begins to fill in, showing an incursion from the Bozjan Resistance.
-Speaking of “inception,” we even have to fight off the “antibodies” that are trying to purge us from this dream. Antibodies that suppress terrible memories.
-We finally reach the main tower.
WHDJKSLHFDSHFDLSH DALAMUD, ABAHMUT
-It’s not even a real memory. Just another attempt to bring Cid’s nightmares to life against us.
This is… I’m blown away. The haunting music, the imagery, the Bahamut mechanics, everything.
WE EVEN GET TO SEE A CONVERSATION BETWEEN YOUNG CID AND HIS FATHER, MIDAS!
As my friend Almaeron told me, this is basically AU of FFV’s Cid and Mid.
Cid trying to stop Midas, trying to get him to review data that said he was going to cause a disaster.
But at that point, Midas was already in Bahamut’s thrall, right?
-Pressing on, we see all the replicas of Gunnhildr-etched weapons all here.
-Then another memory. Old Emperor Solus (the inimitable Emet-Selch) warning Cid to back off… wait, this is another fake memory. Solus wasn’t here. It was Varis.
Varis shoots past the dream!Cid and onto the real!Cid. Blood everywhere. Clearly a traumatic memory, but just a memory.
VARIS: “Cid Garlond, bringer of ruin. Herald of ash. Your father must be proud.” His memories tormenting him.
-Huh. Varis is still a false memory. What’s the real memory?
-Cid draws on strength to fight this “Varis,” memories of his allies. Those memories give us a raid team. Just as with real life, newly found friends can provide strength to face down old demons that would’ve destroyed you before.
-fhJKLSFHDLSFHDS THIS FIGHT THOUGH
I’m so glad the game has built in trust mechanics. It makes things feel just so natural, like I really am doing a trial alongside the main story NPCs.
-Defeating him resets the memory. Solus didn’t shoot Cid here. Neither did Varis.
Midas did. Cid’s own father. Jesus.
-But even now in this memory, Midas’ eyes glow blue.
He was already tempered by Bahamut.
[Later edit: I thought we already knew this, but it’s being treated as a revelation. Maybe it was just guessed at previously, or maybe I’m mixing Midas up with Louisoix.]
-It also means that the Bozja Incident wasn’t an accident. It was intentional, caused by Bahamut via Midas.
-Cid wakes back to reality. JEEEEESUS WHAT A TRIP!
-Mikoto got a good look at the inscriptions on the weapons in Cid’s dream.
-The truth uncovered here is healing (to a limited degree anyway) for both Cid and the Bozjans. Cid now knows he really couldn’t have done anything to convince his father. He was tempered at that point.
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Meanwhile, at Valnain in Dalmasca…
-An imperial group. The Empires… including an XII-Judge-looking fellow we saw once before.
Hee! He’s directly named Noah van Gabranth. Their spies report our progress with the weapons.
NOAH: “They are welcome to them. Who has need of such trinkets when the lady of blades will soon be in play?”
The lady of blades? Are they going to find a way to resurrect Gunnhildr herself as a primal or something?
NOAH: “The Empire is fated to fall. But in its place a new nation shall rise, grander and mightier than anything the Garleans could ever have dreamed.” VERY interesting. The Emperor is dead, Zenos is no successor, and the remnants are starting to rebuild with their own visions.
“And it shall be made possible by the very power they abhor.” This confirms for me that they’re going to turn to the power of primals for this new Empire.
-The camera pans to a mural of a multi-armed woman. I’ll bet that’s Gunnhildr, though even if the Empire summons her, I don’t know why she’d fight for them instead of being basically the patron primal of Bozja.
“Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr. Chapter the First.”
THIS IS SO FRIGGING COOOOOOL
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Fire in the Forge
-They call these reforged weapons Resistance Weapons. (“Gunnhildr’s Blades” was the name of the group of queen’s guards, so calling the replica weapons that would be confusing.)
-Rowena, a prominent XIV merchant – and Gerolt’s former lover? – provides us the material.
-Gerolt forges it into a SWEEEEET new rapier for me. “Talekeeper.”
What a beauty.
-I’m surprised that that was it! I expected something far grindier. This was a creative, brilliant storyline. I’m intensely excited to see where things go from here.
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The Eggth Umbral Calamity/A Procession Eggstraordinaire (Hatchingtide Event)
-Easter comes to Eorzea. Lol that terrifying quest accept window.
A nightmarish plague of rabbits.
-The lead rabbit, Jihli, dreamed of swarms of rabbits bringing delight to children. And here we are.
-The meat of the quest is two-fold:
1) A FATE where I catch their precious escaped chickens and wrangle them back. (Someone’s gotta lay the eggs, and it’s not rabbits.)
2) EGG PUNS. SO MANY EGG PUNS.
-With the chickens back home, it’s time to prep for the Hatchingtide parade. People will dress as rabbits and distribute decorated eggs to kids.
-The NPCs who deliver me eggs beforehand are disguised, but feel like I should know them. The only one I do recognize (maybe?) is “Well-Oiled Rabbit” who’s just in underwear and a bunny head.
Gotta be Godbert Manderville.
-The parade itself is pretty fun. A FATE in the city itself, distributing eggs to kids.
Ququshu in a little pink bunny suit.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
A blazing Segway:
Some great player names I’ve seen:
Pnut Butter
Tobe Daye
The Mandalorian
Barley Parley
Buddy Whasisname
Hooti Nanni
Rawbert Redfurred (a red-furred Miqo’te)
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Next time: the 70-80 Shadowbringers tank role quest.
