FFXIV – Part 213: Ascian of Light

Summary: The Fourteenth. The Heroes’ Gauntlet. The Seat of Sacrifice.

 

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Etched in the Stars

-Still in Amaurot, there’s a red crystal lying on the floor. A distorted, ancient voice rings out from it.

-More crystals lie ahead. Each has a different constellation-type decoration and a different color, but all the same anchor shape. Each crystal’s recorded memory addresses some joyful wish.

-Some “speak” of the doom of Amaurot. This is a record of the lead-up to Zodiark.

Near the end:

COLORLESS CRYSTAL: “From the life, our savior born… May I be worthy of the honor.” Must have been Elidibus’ final words before stepping into that role.

-A final crystal is a first-person account of anger and regret. How after all the sacrifice, all that’s left are malformed creatures.

???: “Well, well. We meet again, my new old friend.” HI HYTHLODAEUS! My waiting buddy at the DMV.

-He confirms that these “star” crystals are accounts from each member of the Convocation of Fourteen.

-Hythlodaeus is hilariously casual about our encounter.

“So, how fare you of late? Feuding with Elidibus this time, I believe?” XD XD XD

-They use their magic to fuse the crystals together. I wonder how I’ll use this.

-Hyth again brings up the fourteenth member of the Convocation who defected after opposing Zodiark’s summoning. I assume at this point that that was me.

Ho ho!! Hythlodaeus secretly created a crystal for “that person”!

The office of the Fourteenth was charged with gaining knowledge of the wider world. She wandered, gathering friends, solving troubles.

“Such is the magick sealed within that crystal – the magick to summon the stars to your side.”

…will I summon the spirits of the Ascians to help me with something? That’d be incredible.

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The Converging Light

-We regroup in Eulmore. (Where Chai-Nuzz has apparently been kicking ass as mayor.)

-Lol, Thancred is almost annoyed with how easy it was to beat the lesser Ascians. But they were just intended as incentive for budding heroes, not as an active threat.

-So what’s his plan? Elidibus is a primal, and he’s fostering belief in the Light… does that power Zodiark?

-Once again, a starshower hits. This time, with AMAUROT SHIMMERING IN THE DISTANCE. XIV is so great at these titanic visual set pieces.

-The vision gives more “Hear, Feel, Think” visions to those with us in Eulmore.

-Just as suddenly, spectral light warriors arise to attack us. The rings summoning these light phantoms is similar to the magic used by G’raha in our fight against Hades. Someone hijacking him?

-We book it for the Crystarium. The escape itself is the next dungeon, “The Heroes’ Gauntlet.” 

-It’s a neat conceit! Not my favorite dungeon just due to its reuse of the First’s zones we’ve seen, though it fits the context.

-To my surprise, this feels like a “goodbye to Shadowbringers” dungeon. This is only patch 5.3, right? I get that the last patch is usually a lead-up to the next expansion, but even so, 5.3 is early for goodbye.

-IT MADE ME SO FRIGGING HAPPY TO SEE ALL THE OLD CHARACTERS FROM THIS EXPANSION! From Aenc Thon (leggy frog boi) to Titania. My favorite was Giott. Bless her.

-I also like the bosses. Just flat out different jobs that we don’t have yet in XIV. Perhaps down the line. Thief, necromancer, berserker. I’d take any of them.

Necromancer is an especially interesting choice. [Non-rhetorical question: was that boss a reference to someone specific?] I only remember necro appearing once, in FFV’s iOS version.

-Interesting! Urianger thinks these light elementals are heroes summoned from other shards to protect this world.

“Hopes for salvations of realms near and far resonate and converge… lending still greater strength unto our adversary.”

-Even as we reach the Crystarium, a new swarm of Light arrives. The Scions will stay here, fighting to create an opening for me to bust through.

-Back in the Crystarium, Beq Lugg and the Crystal Exarch successfully finish the transfer crystals. All are ready to go.

-The doors open, and Elidibus walks through. He explains his Master Plan. Summon this army of phantom heroes, whisper to them “Here lies darkness. It must be destroyed.” So he’s tricking them into thinking we’re evil.

-He attacks the Exarch, presumably to rip more summoning magic from his death.

BEQ LUGG WITH THE SAVE! They summon that fire elemental we fought as the dungeon boss.

It lasts about two seconds. And then Elidibus notices the vessel.

-Scene change to outside the Crystarium. I stumble across the dying Beq Lugg and G’raha Tia. Shit.

-All the crystal covering G’raha Tia is fading. He’s disappearing.

-They fended off Elidibus, but Elidibus still got the vessel with the Exarch’s memories. Well. Crap. Now he can summon all the phantom armies he wants.

[Later edit: That scene we just witnessed must have been from before the starshower!]

-Whoops, briefly forgot I was playing FFXIV. Neither of these two are dying. Beq Lugg will rest up. G’raha Tia basically gets up and is ready to push on even now.

CRYSTAL EXARCH: “The time has come to bring my strongest card to bear.”

-Elidibus is locked into the Crystal Tower.

-On our way there, we get a lovely interaction between G’raha Tia and Lyna. They’ve known each other so long. Lyna’s whole life. It’s like they’re sharing a goodbye.

My favorite moment may be when they depart. We see Lyna shuddering and weeping briefly, before running to help command the guards.

Lyna has never been a central party member or anything, but she’s a brilliant side character. Love her.

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Hope’s Confluence

-G’raha and I climb the tower. He stumbles on the way, wounded and exhausted. The crystal continues to flake off him. He’ll have to stay back, holding his own against Elidibus’ Light phantoms.

-There’s a parallel drawn here between Elidibus and the Exarch. Each found themselves carried down a very specific path, though the Exarch’s seems to be less automatic. His purpose is drawn from his current relationships while the Exarch’s is drawn from those thousands of years ago.

-He’s DEFINITELy about to die. Even though this is XIV. He’s giving the lastest words ever to last. Remembering our time together, the joy he felt in being part of adventures…

“Rest assured, you haven’t seen the last of me. I wouldn’t dream of playing my trump card save in your presence.” Oh nm lol, not dying yet. I run ahead.

-Elidibus stands atop the tower, where we fought Xande.

-As I walk to him, he remembers our first meeting. Long ago at the Waking Sands.

-He’s preparing for his final stand, but those who were relying on him (the other Ascians) are gone now, right? What’s his mission?

“I am Elidibus! And it is my duty to steer mankind and the very star upon their true course. This I swore to… to someone.”

He can’t even remember to whom he made his vows. He’s going on autopilot. This is tragic to see.

[Non-rhetorical question: Even after the trial, I don’t quite understand his plan in summoning the Light phantoms or his role as Emissary.

My best understanding is that he was sent to try to keep humanity in different worlds as strong as possible. I suppose doing so would lead to the Rejoining because he’d make each world so imbalanced with its heroes and thus its aether. Like, if the phantoms killed us and everyone went full WoL in the First, it’d tip to the Light.

But if so, how is that different from Emet-Selch’s plan and role? Would love any of your thoughts or clarifications.]

-This is an AMAZING reversal of the Hades fight! He draws on my lines from that fight even as he draws on the power of the phantoms of light from across the world.

-He takes on the form of that horn-helmed warrior from FFI.

-He attacks me but Hythlodaeus’ crystal protects me. It names me as the traveler of the Fourteenth seat, “Azem.”

WARRIOR OF LIGHT: “An invocation of eld… though not of Hydaelyn’s making… What are you?”

[Non-rhetorical question: Is this saying that the source of my power isn’t Hydaelyn initially, but rather than wishes of the Council of Fourteen?]

-The next trial, “The Seat of Sacrifice,” is now available. Whew - here we go.

-What a beautiful fight, full of comic splash panels.

-I loved the limit break mechanic, how he used all the player limit breaks.

-THAT WAS EMET-SELCH BROUGHT TO OUR SIDE! I don’t quite get why he went against Elidibus though. That’s why I only realized when editing that it was Emet-Selch, not Hythlodaeus. I get that he respects us, but not enough to betray the Rejoining.

[Non-rhetorical question: What do you think is up with this?]

-G’RAHA COMES IN WITH THE SAVE! Uses the power of the Crystal Tower to trap and destroy Elidibus, similar to white auracite. (RIP Moenbryda.)

-It’s drawing a lot of energy from G’raha. Ququshu steps into tag-team support, and…

That’s it. Elidibus disintegrates. The Crystal Tower’s power disperses the star showers.

-As with Emet-Selch, Elidibus appears to me once more in his non-boss form.

“Divided – over the fate of the star. A rare occurrence, always fleeting. But not this time. Not this time.

“Reconciliation. Elidibus. I was needed. I withdrew myself from Zodiark. For them. My people. My brothers. My friends.

“Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty’s end, we will meet again. We will. We will.

“The rains have ceased. We have been gifted another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it…”

He disappears for good. JESUS THAT FINAL LINE. I keep thinking of Zodiark as this force for evil, but (at least in the short-term) he was a savior. He saved the Ascians and Elidibus is his heart.

-That’s the end of Elidibus. I was wondering how they’d differentiate him from Emet-Selch. The way they made him pitiable with how little he remembered of his purpose, how diminished he was, succeeded on that front imo.

But I still barely know wtf was up with his plan. HALP lol

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Next time: Leaving the First.