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Chapter V: Under the Sultantree

Music: A New Hope



Now that Crash has reached the level requirement for the next main scenario quest, he'll be able to continue the story. It's at this point that the game decides to take a break from the tutorials and provide some story developments. Unlike the old 1.0 release of the game, the Ul'dah story arc actually has an ending.

To actually progress the story, Crash will need to speak to Momodi in the Quicksand - the Adventurers' Guild. Since work isn't really finding Crash right now - after all, he's an unknown stranger in this city - Momodi can point our protagonist towards some work.



Momodi knows someone who's looking for work in the Ul'dah Dispatch Yard in central Thanalan. We've actually been pretty close to it before, but it'll give us a chance to give it a proper look.




Music: To The Sun

I didn't really get to show central Thanalan off very well before, so here it is. We're currently in an area known as Spineless Basin, which is separated by that bridge over yonder. It might be a little bit confusing, but each region is split into smaller zones like central Thanalan, presumably mostly for the PlayStation 3's sake. Each of these zones is split into a number of areas, each with their own marked landmark. In central Thanalan, each area is separated by Soot Creek, which we can see flowing under the bridge there. Regarding the dispatch yard, it's actually located in the Spineless Basin area.

Thinking about it; it's a shame that we're not here at night since the local flora can light the arid plains pretty nicely.



The dispatch yard is towards the eastern side of the map. The railroad enters Ul'dah from here, but that passageway is blocked off from wandering pedestrians and curious adventurers. If you follow the railroad in the other direction, you'll actually have to pass through a cave. It reaches another dead end located within this zone, which leads to the Copperbell Mines. Don't expect to see any actual transport roaming around, though. The world is much more lived-in than 1.0's, but it's also very static.



The dispatch yard station master, Papashan, notes that Ul'dah is still a long way away from reclaiming its former glory prior to the Calamity. It sounds like they're rather short-staffed, and that they need adventurers to help flesh out their numbers. The quest will finish before he actually gives Crash any work, though. In exchange for talking with him, Crash is rewarded with Lightning Shards. These won't matter for a while, so you can forget they even exist. Let's chat with him and begin the next quest.



They have long been away from the shade and featherbeds of the city. The hot days and cold nights can play hells on the mind and body out here. It isn't much, but go and give them these twilight pretzels, would you? I find comfort food always helps when I feel like killing myself.

As with any important landmark, the Ul'dah Dispatch Yard is littered with security. Delivering them each a single pretzel doesn't sound like any kind of glorious work for Crash, but Papashan actually has a hidden agenda here too.



Typically, each guard is marked on the minimap, so there isn't really very much reason for me to point out how to find them. They do seem rather on edge for a simple guard detail, though, so that suggests something might be off. Actually, there's a bit more off about these guards.



The game labels them as Sultansworn, and their armour certainly does lay credence to this. The Sultansworn are an elite guard that are sworn to protect the Sultana of Ul'dah, and are often found on security detail within the walls of Ul'dah. Specifically, they're in an upper level location known as Hustings Strip.



It's pretty strange to see these guys in the fields of Thanalan, carrying out a duty that you'd expect would be the Brass Blades' work. What on Hydaelyn could they be doing here?



What? Nothing? Are you sure? I...oh, oh dear. Take this for your troubles, then. And stay a moment - there is more I would ask of you.

Papashan seems really desperate as well. There's definitely something going down over here in the Dispatch Yard. He also rewards Crash with some potions, which is the staple healing item in Final Fantasy. Potions have a separate cooldown to Crash's actions, and also heal based on a percentage of his max HP. You can actually get a high quality version of them, but he just hands Crash the normal quality potion that can only heal up to 160 HP.

Starting the next quest with Papashan initiates another cutscene.




Music: Twilight Over Thanalan



I've instructed the others to expand the search, but Thanalan is vast and there are only so many of us. The young noblewoman's name is Lady Lilira. I want you to go south and look for her in the vicinity of the Sultantree. Good luck!



So, some noblewoman named Lady Lilira has run away and it's up to Crash to find her. Now this sounds a bit more becoming of a fantasy protagonist.



The Sultantree is where Papashan wants Crash to search for the runaway noble. We still have a little distance to cover, and it already looks pretty big over in the left here. Lady Lilira can be found there, but I'm a giant idiot and lost the footage between now and the cutscene.







A young Lalafell woman is found praying underneath the tree, but Crash is rude and decides to interrupt.



As it turns out, Crash isn't the only one to sneak up on her.

As you command, O Lilira.



I don't recall requesting an escort! Simply pretend we never met and continue on your way.

We both know I can do no such thing. It isn't safe for you here alone. It isn't safe for anyone - not with this aetheric disturbance... It's as though the dead are watching us...



The pair finally acknowledge Crash's existence, as the unknown man turns around.



You'll have to forgive Her Impetuousness. What she lacks in discipline, she makes up for in stubbornness. You should return with us. The stationmaster will be eager to thank Lady Lilira's protector in person.

The unknown man is a rather sarcastic man, to say the least. It's one of his defining traits.





Sadly, the celebration is a bit premature as a badly textured demon randomly shows up. It's a bit out of the blue, but it'll get an explanation. Sort of. The most we have to go on right now is that there's "aetheric disturbance".

Soundtrack ends.










New Music: A Fine Death

Alright, so we have our first boss battle. As a nice little extra detail, the screen transitions to the boss battle in the same way some of the classic Final Fantasy games do. I really like that.



Since Crash could easily be a squishy mage instead of an armoured gladiator, the man who Crash perceives as a handsome stranger takes front and centre in this boss battle. In 1.0, Crash could even have participated as a crafter instead of a combat class, so this type of fight would have been the norm back in the day. That's really not going to be the case in this game.



The Blanga is a significantly higher level than Crash, and that makes it very dangerous. Fortunately, it also only has eyes for the stranger. Expect to miss a lot because of the level difference. A good way to increase your chance of successfully hitting is to attack from the rear. You can tell where that is from the empty gap in the UI element below the demon.



Lesser Blangas will eventually spawn in. These are all a lower level than Crash, which means they're not too bad. The new adventurer can deal about a quarter of their HP in one hit.



The stranger will heal Crash if things get a little too dangerous. Most single-player duties (read: instances) will have an NPC that can heal you, but you'll need to stay in their range. You probably won't need to worry about this too much, though.





Two more pairs of Lesser Blangas will eventually spawn in. It's basically a rinse and repeat of last time, though if your damage is good then the two pairs can overlap when they spawn in. It's still not too dangerous when the stranger can heal you easily enough.



One final pair of Lesser Blangas will then show up. Do you know that they're based on an enemy in Final Fantasy XI? Since A Realm Reborn was put together within a really short time, and while 1.0 was still getting development, the development team cut some corners by reusing older assets. The Blanga was a Notorious Monster (basically a wandering boss on the open field) for level 90 players.



After the sixth Lesser Blanga goes down, Crash is free to wail on the boss. The stranger should have it almost dead by now, so it's smooth sailing from here and we're treated with another voice acted cutscene. The kiddie gloves are still on, but it's the first boss fight.







Thancred lets out a sigh of relief and returns to Lilira.



Meanwhile, Crash spots something in front of him. It looks sort of like a crystal shard. What? Did you really expect crystals to not show up in a Final Fantasy game story? They take center stage here, as they usually do.



I don't think he knows what it is either, but he's certainly perplexed by it. The crystal looks like it was dropped by the demon voidsent.



He approaches it, his head looking really small because of the armour.



And then it rises up in front of him, his consciousness slowly fading away.



He finds himself enshrouded in darkness. There isn't a single source of light beyond that of the crystal before him.





Light suddenly explodes below Crash, forming some sort of magic circle.



One of the smaller circles suddenly explodes into a beam of light. If this were a Marvel movie, the world may have been screwed.





The beam hits that floating orb of light with the disembodied voice that showed up in Crash's dream, back when he was on a carriage to Ul'dah.


Music: Prelude - Discoveries





Crash starts to look around for the source of the voice. This is all very weird and unusual.



Suddenly, clouds begin to swell around him and multiple lights start passing by.



It's a meteor shower. This is similar to the one seen in the three city-states at the beginning of the 1.0 storyline, though this game won't dwell on what it means quite so much. The narrative consequence is still there.



The screen then flashes again, and the scene changes.





A Light there once was that shone throughout this realm...yet it hath since grown dim. And as it hath faltered, so hath Darkness risen up in its stead, presaging an end to Life. For the sake of all, I beseech thee: deliver us from this fate!





A bunch of small crystals appear, and begin orbiting a much larger crystal - Hydaelyn herself, the mothercrystal and namesake for the planet Eorzea is on.

By thy deeds shall the Crystals reveal themselves to thee.



It turns out that Crash isn't the only audience for Hydaelyn. Another adventurer is seen in the distance.





This is pretty fucking weird.



The adventurers all begin to start flying, and Crash does the same.





Other lights start to follow behind Crash's own, as they fly towards the mothercrystal.





Crash flies across the surface of Hydaelyn, dodging the peaks and cracks.


















































































Soundtrack ends.

Crash slowly wakes up as his vision comes into focus, staring up at the Sultantree.








Music: Twilight Over Thanalan

If only I knew. A denizen of the void, at any rate.

A voidsent? Here? But how?

The question isn't "how", but "who" - we're not dealing with bookless bandits.



Dude, you don't want to know what goes on in Crash's dreams.

No sooner did you fell the beast than you fell asleep. Too much aether, no doubt.



Crash motions as he explains what happened, without any dialogue of course. We can't see his exchange.

Interesting... I hadn't considered the Crystal. But of course... This changes everything. At any rate, we haven't a moment to spare. I must return and report this at once. I leave Lady Lilira in your capable hands!



I shall return and tell them myself!

Knowing Lilira as she is later in the story, a lot of this feels out of character for her. It's interesting seeing her dynamic with Thancred, as well as how she behaves when she gets to break out of the confines of her home and all of its societal pressures. In any case, she storms off on her own. I suppose she got here fine by herself.



The man then speaks to Crash.

I suspect we shall meet again before long. Until then, do try to stay awake!





Soundtrack ends.

A lot kind of happened there. It looks as if, much like the protagonists of many of the Final Fantasy games before, Crash has become a crystal bearer, though what this means won't become apparent for quite some time.



In any case, the strange bard leaves without giving Crash his name and the noblewoman decides that she can escort herself, leaving Crash all alone. Mission complete!

Also, I apologise for the /tell during the cutscene. Back before we could right click and report players in the chat log for real-money trading, the game was rife with gil sellers sending out private messages. I forgot to set Crash's status to /busy.



It looks like everyone else has already arrived back at the station, sans the stranger who has to file a report. There's no dialogue bubbles popping up, so let's just speak to Papashan and end the quest.





Why, Her Majest the sultana would be beside herself with grief - and so would her subjects! I daresay they'd be weeping in the streets!

You know, all this chaos over one person really makes you wonder just who Lilira is to be so important.



Oh. She's the Sultana under a fake name. Crash has just successfully rescued the Sultana herself. She's not very good at hiding that fact, though.

Please, Your - You're not to say such things! We will find it, I swear to you! It is not my place to make demands, m-my lady, but I beg you, please stay out of harm's way.

...I apologize for causing you undue worry, Papashan. I shall refrain from traveling unescorted in the future.



Crash gets a glimpse at a possible future as everyone leaves. Also, I didn't cut anything out there. They just decide to bail on the conversation from there. Papashan still has some words for Crash once everyone has left the scene. This should be big money given that Crash just saved the sultana, though it does seem pretty early in the game to bestow a lot of riches.



Go on.

For your gallant service, you deserve all the riches in the royal vaults. Alas, a small token of my gratitude is the best I can offer.

Papashan then proceeds to reward Crash with 132 gil. That wouldn't even buy him toast in Eorzea, I'm not even joking. Crash, undeterred by the pocket change, then asks Papashan about "a sarcastic man with a strange contraption strapped to his shoulder".



As for you, Crash - you're just the sort of adventurer we need around here. I pray you show the same kindness to the people of Thanalan as you did to us today.





With his good deeds done, Crash gains another level. The work is done here, so it's time to move on and find more things to do. Papashan wants us to help out Ul'dah some more, so maybe there's someone needing help nearby?





All Cutscenes and Dialogue

Main Scenario Duty



We haven't seen any Elezen yet, but we'll be seeing them soon. I figured we'd have a look at them today.



The Elezen were the first settlers in Eorzea, besides the local beast tribes that they immediately turned their nose up to. They were in a long-lasting conflict with the Hyur when they immigrated, as the Elezen believed that Eorzea was their divine right.

As for their clans, the Wildwood are essentially forest elves. They live in the woods of the Black Shroud, though they've been slowly spreading throughout the realm. Meanwhile, the Duskwight are the darker, cave-dwelling elves that prefer the stone and rock. You'll find more of them in the now frozen lands of Coerthas.

Regarding attributes, the Wildwood tend to be stronger archers and rogues than the Duskwight. On the other hand, Duskwight Elezen are stronger casters.