Summary: A group of “heretical” Ixal team up with a Lalafell engineer to construct an airship.
Intro
As with the other ARR beast tribe quests, I opened this up a long time ago and don’t have good notes. From the completed quest logs, this set focuses on the Ehcatl Nine, a group of friendly Ixal.
They’re working to build a balloon airship for some religious purpose.
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A Designer Job
-The mechanical engineer Bozol Eduan has gone missing.
-I find him in the wild. Some of the Garuda worshippers are harassing him. Seems like the Ehcatl Nine’s plans offend them somehow.
It makes sense that they find something heretical here. The Garuda worshippers get their flights powers via “airstones,” stones blessed by Garuda. The Ehcatle Nine want to go around that with engineering.
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The Boy from Gridania
-Tatamaru is a lalafell who’s been helping a lot on this project. He sends me back to Gridania for some supplies…
-…where I find out he’s kind of a big deal who left town without notice. Heir to an airship empire.
-He came to help the Ixali because business bores him. He wants to design and build ships. The Ixali mission seems to feel romantic to him.
-The leader of this project, Sezul Totoloc, supports this! Doesn’t care about Tatamaru’s fortune or background. All he cares about is Tatamaru’s passion and ingenuity.
I can definitely see the appeal.
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Lathe to the Party
-The Dezul Qualan is progressing well. Next, we need a special lathe to improve the wings.
-Tatamaru and I head back to Gridania to search his grandfather’s old workshop. What we find is unexpected. It’s a lathe with an engraving:
“For my dear friend, Dezul Qualan. On these wings I pledge our everlasting bond. -Tatanora”
So… Dezul Qualan was a person? And a friend of Tatamaru’s grandfather?
-Sezul fills in the blanks. Dezul Qualan was the Ehcatl Nine’s first engineer and Sezul’s mentor.
-I was afraid at first that this would add another chapter to the Alliance stealing from the beast tribes, this time with stealing their engineering. But no, Sezul confirms this was collaboration.
-…Huh! I assumed that would be the end of the quests, since the Sylphs and Sahagin each had only 4 reputation levels. But no, there’s at least a 5th.
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Standing at the Helm
-Suddently, a band of mercenaries attacks the Ehcatl Nine?
-Ah, it’s a group led by Tatamaru’s dad to “recapture” him (as if he’s here involuntarily).
-Omg his dad is a GINORMOUS GAPING ASSHOLE. Condescending as hell towards the Ixal and he ACTUALLY kidnaps Tatamaru. By force.
As far as I can see, it’s just because it looks undignified for his son to be hanging with the Ixal.
-It
gets worse given what we found last quest. Despite their airship
enterprise arising based on cooperative knowledge, the dad claims it was
all the Alliance work. Doesn’t give credit to the Ixal when credit is
clearly due.
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Never Be Royal
-Rescue time! I manage to break Tatamaru out from his captors.
-I love his passion, and I love also how much Sezul cares for him. Even tears up when Tatamaru returns.
-The Garuda-worshippers found the Ehcatl Nine HQ and they’re pissed. We’re now on a clock.
I’m
glad this is the specific clock. I’m not against Tatamaru’s plotline,
but it’s by far less interesting than the Ixal themselves.
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Spread Your Wings and Soar
-We’re
close. It’s just a matter of calibrating the finishing touches before
Garuda’s fanatics arrive. (My crafting jobs are all at 80 at this point,
so the crafting itself is no challenge.)
-Just in time. The attack’s on its way.
SEZUL TOTOLOC: “Thick-skulled zealots! ‘Obey goddess or face annihilation,’ they say! Shriveled and dead, their souls are.”
They
haven’t really harped on it much here, but in the back of my mind is
that Sezul probably worships Garuda too. XIV has made it clear that
primal worship is something corrupted and separate from simply
worshipping the gods themselves, which sounds more like a deep respect
for nature.
-I try to sabotage the hostile Ixal, but it only stalls things briefly.
-OHO,
TATAMARU’S DAD TO THE RESCUE?!? He’s still an asshole, but his ship
(the Blackjack lol, nice FFVI callback) intercepts the Ixal attack
balloons.
-In
a meeting back in Ehcatl Nine HQ, the dad even apologizes. Seems ready
to make reparations, to heal any harm done as much as he can. Good.
ANYWAY, take-off time. To soar and make for their goal of the mythical land of Ayatlan.
-It’s
a genuinely touching and triumphant moment when the balloon lifts off
(and similarly stressful when a strong wind nearly knocks it off
course).
-Test
flight successful. Though much like the Sylph beast tribe quests, it
kind of cliffhangs me. Or… hm, not exactly a cliffhanger, but there’s a
really interesting next chapter it just leaves open.
I seem to
remember a friend saying that there are easter eggs in Azys Lla related
to this, so I’ll head back there at some point.
What a cool
questline this was! Much longer than the other ARR beast tribes so far
with many more reputation levels. Makes sense I guess – those others all
helped you level up combat jobs, but this was the only
crafting/gathering-specific one.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-My new Ixali wolf mount: 
-And my new Ixali minion: 
-I love this fashionable and unusually tall dwarf: 
-XIV’s Illuminati do not stop until they achieve their ends: 
-Some great player names seen recently:
Anya Yanka
Catra Adora
Yoggers Poggers
Popoto Pototochan
Sarelia Calmine
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Next time: starting the gladiator/paladin quests.
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ReplyDeleteYou kinda saw the revelation that caps off this quest before the end of the quest proper since you did Fractal Continuum (Hard), but I'll hold off on it to be safe either way.
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