A series of blog posts that sometimes reads more like a manifesto. <<< First | <<Previous | Next >>——————————————————————————————————————————————
"The peasants are revolting!" cry the rich of Ul'Dah. For once, they talk not of the paupers' scent nor their fashion sensibilities. Trends are pointing to a guillotine season, but much to the chagrin of Dominique and I, circumstances have forced us to join the war on the rich on the side of the rich.
Truth being told, what I had expected to be a moral dillema proved more of a regrettable compromise. The refugee crisis simmering in Ul'Dah had finally reached a boiling point and erupted into protests against the regime, and after a squad of Brass Blades shot into such a throng of people, some openly took up arms. This revolution was doomed from the start. Not because of lack of middle-class support, organisation, clear goals, materiel, or other such catalysts to a regime change. No, it had to be just a pissy little merchant trying to get his hands of prime real estate. Teledji, how could you?
Pretty easily. The plan was simple even if the execution by means of strategic bribes and shite-stirring merchants was not. Get the city riled up, make the Carteneau Reclamation Bill which would conveniently send all these refugees away look like a good idea, and ignore all the fallout from the other city states with their own claims on the land as you set up your big company to dig up Omega, a weapon to surpass
Metal Gear Ultima Weapon.
There was no proof to convict him, of course. Just circumstancial nonsense. The city gets to rumble on another day by surgical application of violence at the hands of Dominique, but the threat remains, for this was Ul'Dah at its very worst. A plutocracy where the only measure of a man is coin sets its participants against one another by its very nature and is thus a broken foundation. And what lies on top of that foundation?
Any system of government that doesn't have a mechanism for the smooth transition of power has a fundamental problem: you
will get bad leadership, and you
will want to kick them down the septic pit, but you
won't be able to. Even Nanamo, an intrinsic part of this arrangement, can do naught but weep in the arms of Radahn. Imagine how bad a Sultana that worked to perpetuate the system would be in this situation? The mounting rage at all of this had almost overtaken Dominique, but there was an opportunity to redirect it elsewhere.
Ramuh, Lord of Levin (Guy Real Good with Lightning to use a more modern turn of phrase), had manifested. Another knock-on effect of the refugee crisis with the tempered fey-kin fearing the influx of people running to the forests. Dominique was looking mighty conductive to diplomacy with all that plate armour. The other Scions, for some reason unafraid of tempering, tagged along, but we were on pace for a new boss fight. A trial in the literal sense, for Ramuh wanted to see if the "civilised" races were worthy of respect by wit of their champion. Not the most well-reasoned method of debate for the wise Ramuh, but a favourable one. Ramuh fell to the axe, and in the fight, Urianger in the crowd got struck by an stray idea. I just didn't expect Minfilia to follow it up with a PowerPoint presentation.
I jest (when do I not?) but the talk on the nature of the aether helps fill some gaps in my understanding of the world. When people die, they dissipate into the aether. From the aether, new souls are drawn as needed. The primals are aether, both body and soul, so they need it to sustain themselves, but persist in the lifestream. The Ascians, cheating bastards that they are, get to pick the best of both worlds, getting both souls and persistence. However, they reside in the borderland between the material and immaterial and need those fancy shadow crystals. Crush the crystal, grab the soul, and... I dunno, feed it to Ifrit or something? The Scions are still working out the kinks. No more shall Lahabrea recover from the Care Bear Stare.
Meanwhile, the Paragons plot perniciously. As ever, their patter eludes the conveyance of meaning by lack of context, but I endeavour to impose my own. What did the cutscene dimension reveal to me? That they plot to create primals with intentionality. That they need to "nurture the strength of the gifted." That they call the Calamities "rejoinings." That Elidibus still remains the only white-robed Ascian in sight, indicating serious deficiencies in fashion amongst their people. Later, that they shadow the Ishgardian pope — no mean feat, considering that the word "Ascia" translates to "shadowless" when pronounced with the proper kappa of its native Greek.
Dominique's adventures for the day were not to end here. First, a meeting and a jovial scrap with a pair of the newer scions for the adoring hearts of the Doman Adventurer's Guild (membership: four children.) Then, a diversion to Coerthas in search of some lost supplies, where a suspiciously voice acted
and mocapped cutscene featuring Haurchefant leads to nothing... for now. The Dravanians robbed the supply caravan under the command of a Lady Iceheart. A cutscene shows a mere Elezen that might match that description, looking on as we run into a dead end, yet the few men we could fight were suspiciously zealous even by "heretic" standards. Haurchefant, the courteous gentleman that he is, just sent the Scions another bunch of supplies so we can continue on with the story. No doubt we will return to this plot point; the only question is whether it will happen before Heavensward or not. Finally, the creation of Militaires Sans Frontières, to add another Metal Gear reference to this blog post.
I haven't talked of Alphinaud yet in spite of his work during these events, and this is because I believe he deserves his own section. To my great distress, he continues to grow on me, and not even in the manner of a fungal infection. Do you recall that first meeting of ours, where he sneered at the locals with an ego the size of a celestial body? So does he, and regrets it. "I thought Eorzeans a foolish and childish people" Not an inaccurate assesment, but out of place. Yet, ever since then, he has never failed to put his money where his mouth is, and he hardly has a lack for either. Even earlier, during the Ul'Dah expedition, he took a brick to the forehead (or thereabouts) and still found it in himself to help investigate, set up meetings, and find a lost child's parents. I checked the wiki, you know. This man is sixteen!
His newest idea is a mission of unification, starting at a smaller scale with the Crystal Braves, an international unit subordinate to the Scions and clad in dashing ultramarine. Sadly, the Tempest already had red shirts covered. The way Dominique sees it, Alphinaud is planting the seeds for a fifth city state on top of the four, but it is yet a superior plan to doing nothing as the city states fail to their natural state of petty infighting. A bit of running around has us collect a motley crew from quests past as recruits. Godspeed, you glittering fools. So many of you are going to die to the quests to come, aren't you?
My thoughts as well as Dominique's turn back to Ul'Dah. It's easy to get lost in the sauce of it all and see the systems we make as these unassailable monoliths. However, as I wrote this post, I came to see things in a different, more correct light: The system is people. These people can change or be exchanged. Why, Alphinaud is trying to set up his own system and we get to see its atoms with the naked eye! If the system feels like a cage, one must only remember how arbitrary its bars are. I hope Dominique will get a chance to hack through some of those bars soon.
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OPEN QUESTIONSMore quests, same questions.
WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE ECHO? WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF ISHGARD AND THE DRAGONS? We have returned to their borders, but we don't know more. Perhaps Lady Iceheart shall reveal some secrets?
WHAT ARE THE ASCIANS?WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASCIAN WHITE ROBES?WHAT IS THE NATURE OF A PRIMAL? Ramuh continues to be an exception. We fought him, yes, but he was content to keep to his lands, even if he was territorial. Yet, he tempers, he sups on aether, but it's clear enough that not all primals are keen on dominion.
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CRACKPOT THEORIESFor our third and final Metal Gear reference today: conspiracy theories!
Haurchefant will be important to Heavensward. Mocapped cutscene, full voice acting, actual personality? Doubtless that the plot wizards of Square Enix are planting seeds of storytelling here.
The Ascians plot to sap Hydaelyn of energy by the creation of more and more primals. She seems to be likened to the planet herself, an Anima Mundi of sorts. Therefore, sapping aether from the land saps aether from Hydaelyn. Forcing her to intervene also weakens her. All the while, Zodiark stirs. Does he also lie in the boundary plane between the aetherial and the mundane?
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Thank you for reading my
TED talk blog post. I will link no socials. They plot against me.
