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Hello everyone and welcome back. This next quest... it's a little hard to describe what happened to it. The short version that I can come up with is that the developers took three useless quests and smashed them all together to create one quest that actually helps us.

Don't fret, now-I know exactly where to find a corrupted crystal comprised of ice-aspected aether. An associate of mine in Gridania has been studying the effects of one such crystal on living beings. Eh? What's with that expression? I thought you would be pleased to hear this news! This is not another wild-dodo chase, I assure you!

And what's even better is that this time, you needn't use that warded pot of yours to protect yourself from this crystal's energies. Hedyn's findings suggest that it is quite safe. Why, you ask? Well...let's just say that it has undergone a unique process that has rendered such precautions unnecessary. Anyway, do not let me keep you. It has been a pleasure, Ginger. Come back and see me sometime, all right?

Hedyn is over here in the middle of Gridania. Now let me try and describe exactly what's going on here. The old quest had him sending us out to speak to the Sylphs. The quest then ended and the next one started. Those Sylphs then sent us to the Sanctum of the Twelve to save a Spriggan and talk to a goldsmith. That ended the second quest. That quest is just straight up gone now.

Then the goldsmith had us kill a golem to get an item called a True Heart. We had to show that to someone else who then directed us to a thing called Giggity to get our Ice crystal. Got all that?

Greetings and salutations. Miss Pepper, I presume? Ceana informed me of your adventures in Aleport. Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding. Though, as Professor Lamberteint is fond of saying, "No action taken in the name of science is ever truly wasteful."

To the matter at hand-corrupted crystals possessing the properties you seek could be found in abundance at the Standing Corses following the Calamity. Alas, that is no longer the case...and while there is at least one suitable crystal that remains to be found within the Twelveswood, precisely where it is at any given moment is more difficult to say.

Permit me to explain. You are familiar with spriggans, yes? The furry little rascals that are wont to seek out ores and other stones? Well, one such creature with an infamously insatiable appetite has single-handedly devoured every corrupted crystal in the Twelveswood. Fortunately for you, these crystals take an eternity to digest-assuming they can even be digested-and I am reasonably confident that one still resides within his gut.

It's quite fascinating, really. My theory is that this "Giggity" first consumed a corrupted crystal when... <sigh> You couldn't care less about all this, could you? To the point, then. Giggity seldom makes his presence felt unless there is particularly fine fodder to be had. Therefore, we shall require a lure, and I have precisely the sort he will find impossible to resist.

Simply place this true heart-I shall save the story of the origin of its unusual name for another occasion-outside of the spriggans' lair and wait for the opportune moment to pounce. As for the method by which you retrieve the crystal from his gut...I shall leave that to your discretion.

So yeah. Three quests got condensed into one so hard that the middle quest was deleted and the remaining objectives got merged. So we just skipped a lot of the fruitless running around that was just blatant filler.

All we have to do is dip out of the White Wolf gate that I called out like 30 updates ago and go down a nearby ramp. Seriously.

There's a big cave over here.

We just need to put the True Heart down on this boulder and wait...

Giggity shows up and we just need to beat it to death.

And it's that easy!

I'd claim that we didn't need to do the rest of the arc, but honestly? It was just there so we'd have something to do and reasons to explore a couple of high level areas we'd no doubt been curious about. Without those quests there, this arc would have been 5 quests long.

Ah! Pray do not sneak up on me like that. I was engrossed in-wait, what is that-<sniff> <sniff>-what is that gods-awful smell?

I pulled the crystal out of his intestines. It was awesome.

My word, that is a breathtakingly beautiful crystal. I see my supposition was not mistaken. Ugh... And I also see you weren't averse to digging through spriggan entrails for your prize.

We owe our furry friend a debt of gratitude, you know. This thick coating of digestive juices is protecting us from the harmful effects of the crystal, just as the warded pot you once used did. Why so glum, friend? You've finally obtained the corrupted crystal you sought-one overflowing with earth-aspected aether!

Calm down-I jest, I jest! It is comprised of ice-aspected aether, worry not. I suppose that joke was in poor taste, considering your previous two attempts were for naught...

Beg your pardon, Ginger-I forgot to return your crystal to you. Oh, and there was a message for you from Professor Lamberteint. Something about a man named Marques? Apparently the professor misses the intellectual stimulation. Forgive me, I should have written it down.

It occurs to me that I have yet to ask why you needed that crystal. You aren't planning anything nefarious, are you? 'Twould reflect poorly on me and my research if it was used for evil ends...

I'm going to commit deicide!

Ah, well, perhaps it's best I remain ignorant. I didn't become the professor's greatest pupil by filling my head with unnecessary information.

All we need to do now is return to Cid!

I understand why people used to hate this arc. Check out CrashScreen's LP of the game to see just how bad these quests used to be. But now, it's so breezy and while it's still not great for wasting your time like that narrative-wise, I completely understand why they did it from a gameplay persepective.

All repairs and modifications have been completed, Ginger. Once you bring me that crystal, nothing will stand between us and Garuda.

You will not believe what I had to go through for this...

I'll need to run some tests to be sure, but this looks to be exactly what we need. Worry not, Ginger. I'll see that your hard work doesn't go to waste. The Enterprise is already more than a common airship. But mark my words: soon it will become something greater, something extraordinary. This...this is me. This is what I was born to do.

This quest, right here, is the approximate point where the game starts pulling out its A-game. Unlike 99% of the rest of the quests in this game, Lady of the Vortex is extremely long and has many lengthy cutscenes. So this quest will probably take a couple of updates to resolve.

This will happen more and more frequently as the LP wears on.

According to my tests, the device is now functioning in perfect harmony with the crystal-meaning we can leave whenever you're ready. But you must understand: tests can only tell one so much. Until we approach the Howling Eye-until we attempt to breach the barrier itself...I cannot be sure that this will work. I think it only fair to tell you that there is a small but statistically significant chance that the crystal could trigger a massive...

Hmmm... Mayhap it is better that we remain positive. Ginger, I want to thank you. For reuniting me with my ship, for trusting in me to develop this plan...for everything. You've helped me to rediscover a part of myself I'd forgotten. I am not the man I once was, and I do not know if I ever shall be...but I do know one thing: this feels right.

...My apologies for the sudden outpouring of sentiment. I would have waited until after the mission, but...well, you understand.

Cid Remembers

There...she's ready...

Ah, she stirs... To Coerthas! And an audience with the harpy queen Garuda!

Cid closes his eyes, but...

Alphinaud and Ginger have his back.

And off it goes!

Phew...

Cid takes off his goggles.

...revealing that he's Garlean. You can tell because he has a third eye.

Damn it!

I...I once flew in this airship. And I was not alone.

There were adventurers on board...adventurers like you.

*heartbeat*

Oh no... it comes once again!

Just how long have I worn these damn goggles?

We're having a flashback in the middle of a flashback memory.

Ah, yes. I fancied myself a trendsetter in my younger days.

Babyface Cid is cursed.

Born and raised in Garlemald...

Some things are universal kid things. Stuff like "balancing on top of stuff they shouldn't be standing on."

Cid is slowly growing between scenes.

It was only natural that the precocious young student should become an engineer. Had his father not done the same?

Father... When did we stop seeing eye to eye?

When did Meteor become your everything, and your loved ones cease to matter?

In Garlemald, Meteor project was the project to weaponize Dalamud. Nael van Darnus, Legatus of the VIIth Legion, took over the project and intended to crash it straight into Eorzea. The Calamity was the result.

You abandoned us all. But he was there for me, Father-there for me when you were not.

Though he proved no better in the end. Gaius was just another man with an all-consuming obsession.

And so I ran-left the Empire behind and came to Eorzea, where I built the Ironworks.

That logo on the airship's bladder is the Ironworks logo.

Biggs and Wedge are sleeping. Sssh.

A white flash of light illuminates the deck...

Uh... okay.

Apparently Ginger showed up in Cid's past.

And then as quickly as she came, she left.

Ah, yes! It was then that I first donned these goggles.

...but she gave him his signature goggles.

Eorzea opened my eyes. It was home to so many manner of people, each with their own hopes and dreams. People worth saving. And so I fought beside them. I wanted to prove that my knowledge could serve a nobler purpose. I wanted to prove that there was another way...

And it all began that day, when I found my new home...

I had forgotten how wonderful it was. The wind in your hair, the endless sky...

That light-it was you, wasn't it?

To this day, this plot point has yet to be revisited. Cid shows up a lot in the game's side content and so far the player character has yet to go back in time to give him his goggles.

I have a pretty strong guess where it's gonna become relevant once more, but that's just the realm of supposition.

It's surprising how few people know this, but all pureblood Garleans have a third eye. Perhaps mine helped me recognize you-or perhaps it was just a lucky guess.

I am proud to be able to call her my own.

Cid-what exactly do you remember?

Alphinaud, my boy-sorry to have been such a burden.

Cid pronounces it "Alphy-nawd" which I will eternally laugh over because it's so goofy.

My name, my people, and my purpose. Everything. Come! It would be rude to keep Garuda waiting!

The group lands somewhere in the Coerthan highlands near Xelphatol. Also the very first time I saw this was in 2016, long after WoW's Legion expansion came out. When I saw it, I couldn't help but marvel at how much it looked like the Highmountain zone.

I know I said I've been playing off-and-on since 2014. That is strictly true. My first character made it all the way to the Stone Vigil, but never went in. She's still there waiting for it to this very day.

All our efforts...all our travails...all of it was for this. Make ready, Ginger, for the end is nigh-be it hers or our own. Beyond those gates awaits our foe. Are you prepared to meet with her?

While I was waiting for the queue to pop, someone came by on the same quest. They then changed jobs and started crafting. You remember way back when, when I lamented being unable to find a specific comic?

I found it.

After seventeen and a half minutes of waiting, the queue finally popped. This wasn't recorded in the middle of the night. It was recorded in broad daylight, during a period where lots of people are online.

Who dares intrude upon my sanctuary!? Your insolence shall not go unpunished, landwalkers!

Twelve preserve...she's...she's huge!

As I live and breathe... Over there-look.

Amalj'aa and kobold prisoners. But why would the Ixal bring them here...?

Wherefore come you hither, foolish mortals!?

Garuda! We are come to put an end to your reign of terror!

Hear you this blasphemy, my children? These landwalkers would bring me low! You who are bound to crawl upon the earth should revere me-FOR I AM THE WIND!

Did we not take to the skies, and slip your defenses!? We are bound by nothing, Garuda!

You think your playthings give you strength? They will not help you here, landwalker. This is my realm, where none can challenge my supremacy! Struggle though you may-I shall slake the roots with your blood, and festoon the canopy with your ENTRAILS! HAHAHAHAHAAA!

Squaaawk! Slay the unfeathered ones, we shall! As an offering to Garuda, they will serve!

Leave the Ixal to us, Ginger! We will keep them distracted while you deal with her!

Do not fail, Ginger! Remember: you fight for the Scions! For Eorzea!

*nods*

Fallen Angel

LISTEN TO THIS

This worm would die by mine own hand! Come, then...I shall grant you that which you seek!

Garuda screams and unleashes a torrent of feathers.

That's a lengthy one, huh? Now let's kill this witch!

Garuda is pretty simple.

The tank just needs to face her away from the group.

She'll eventually hop up into the air...

And when she does so you're supposed to hide behind the rocks. I forgot to. It only mildly hurts.

A moment later "Countless feathers rain from the sky" and you just need to destroy them. Ginger gets a lot of them with an AOE tag.

Those feathers will start destroying the rock formations. We need those to survive Garuda's ult.

At half health, she jumps up again...

And more feathers. This is going markedly slower than usual. Normally you don't get a second feather phase.

I'm the only one killing feathers and this kinda sucks as a result.

I finish and she jumps up again.

THE RECKONING COMES!!!

Like I said, we need the rocks to survive the Ult.

In the final phase, Garuda creates "a pocket of calm in the storm." Standing outside of it slowly hurts you I'm pretty sure.

NOW FALL

Falling too far from the light

Deeper into the night

Lost here inside my own hell

I am a broken angel

The fight isn't hard, but it is a step up. And she likes to drop aggro whenever she jumps up. So tanks need to be on the ball!

Garuda flags and falters...

and then recovers.

What!? How in the hells-!?

HAHAHAHAHAAA! This...is...MY REALM! You have no hope here! None! NONNNE!!! Did you truly believe you could defy a god, landwalkers!?

She's just flexing her power here.

The Ixal are powering her up with fervent prayers.

My power is limitless! My children legion! And they have rendered unto me a wealth of crystals.

None save my children will escape the reckoning, mortals! And those who would use my crystals to waken the rest shall realize the folly of their faith! Then all shall worship none but me! The one true god! HEE HEE HEE HEE HEEEEEE!!!

...Of course! Worship! So long as the Ixal keep praying, she will never fall!

Then let's stop them!

What the fuck guys. Weren't you "taking care of" the Ixal while Ginger battled Garuda? What did you even do offscreen, because that doesn't look like taking care of them!

Garuda blasts Alphinaud and Cid with wind.

Ugh!

HAHA hahaha HEEHEE heehee HAHAHA!!! No harm will come to you, my children!

This is only the beginning, landwalkers! All who oppose me shall suffer for their defiance! Soon, the worms of the forest shall receive my judgment! The desert vermin next-their walls of stone will not shield them from the tempest! And then will I take vengeance on the sea lice! Their wooden boats cannot outrun the wind!

Tremble, mortals, for I shall visit you all in time! And all shall be mine! ALL MIIINE!!!

A Realm Reborn is every NPC thinking that they can be lazy because Ginger Punch Good. This consistently bites everyone in the ass.

You, landwalker-you who dared to raise your hand against me-you shall be the first to pay for your sins! Not with your death-but with your LIFE! You will serve me, landwalker...to your last breath!