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Part II: The Vengeance We Started
Just a heads-up, but Velvet's supposed to be in a tattered version of her normal villager clothes here. Let's just say that in this playthrough, the quality craftsmanship on this thing really shines through. The depths of despair
I will... I will...make you pay!
So did my world come to an end.
I sat in that pit of darkness...and fed.
Devouring daemons... *eats daemon* So I could live. So I could live long enough to kill him... And be my brother's vengeance.
Well, she doesn't really "eat" them, per se. Just absorbs their life essence or something through her hand.
*tosses her away* Where is he?
First, there will be a test. It will decide if you are worth teaching.
Again, tutorial fight, so there's really nothing to tell you. She'll occasionally try to run off and cast a spell, but any of Velvet's moves can interrupt her and she only attacks sparingly. Definitely not taking this seriously. Once you've depleted her HP...
...Why are you holding back?
You noticed. Well done. You pass.
Of course. His malak would never be so weak as that.
I am his malak no longer. First, let me tell you what has transpired these past three years. There are exorcists now throughout the land, challenging the reign of daemons with the help of--
Tell me. Tell me where Artorius is!
...You may find him in the capital city of Loegres, in Midgand.
Loegres is another Arthurian reference. It's actually the traditional name for the core of Arthur's kingdom, which would roughly be what's now called England. "Midgand" both follows the naming scheme of the continents in this game and probably as a reference to Midgard, the world of mortals in Norse mythos.
*begins leaving*
You won't stop to listen? I can tell you what it was you saw that night.
*stops*
That night...the ritual he performed shifted the very course of the world. A host of malakhim descended, and with their strength the emergent exorcists quelled the daemon tide. Now, he serves as leader of the exorcists' Abbey, an institution that enjoys the unconditional faith of the kingdom and public. A shield to guard the people and a sword against daemons. Artorius Collbrande, the world's savior.
With power stolen by sacrificing Laphicet.
*nods* Indeed. But his power is not yet absolute. The man can still be killed.
...Why are you doing this?
Make a successful escape from this place, and I'll explain.
Escape? So that's your game. Fine. I don't care what the world thinks of me. What matters is my vengeance against Artorius. That's all.
*nods*
I have shattered your yoke. We must hurry.
Once you resume control, you can see what Velvet's supposed to be wearing right now. Take note of this portrait, because you'll only get like, a minute's worth of time to appreciate it in-game. That's even if you pause here at all to see it. Actually, right now, you can't access anything in your inventory, because it's all been confiscated, which makes sense.
But this particular section is very linear. There's nothing in the cell block you start out in that's interesting (just some trade materials or something), and also hardly anything on the way. Once you go through this door, we'll get a skit, and also a skit that pops up after you open the chest, but they're both very short.
By the way, the chest has a virtual cornucopia of fashion items and gels in it. How odd. Nevertheless, Velvet's ready for action after opening this. She also picks up a rope, which will probably come in handy somewhere. Gotta have a rope if you're making a prison break.
Of curious note in the second skit is this rather large sword, which Velvet won't take because she doesn't know how to use swords that big. She leaves it behind, which is kind of a shame, but she seems to be doing pretty well for herself with that little arm gauntlet thing.
Velvet's supposed to be in her default outfit here, which we'll be slipping into just as soon as this scene ends.
All right.
Are you ready, then?
What's going on here?!
Guy may be an exorcist orderly, but he's no match for you and Seres.
Yep, Seres now joins you in battle, but her actions are totally up to the AI and out of your control. On the plus side, because she doesn't get a little party member window there, she is invincible. Enemies can stun her if they attack her, but she can never be KO'd.
You didn't even flinch.
...I already told you. I am his malak no longer.
Is there a ship waiting?
So you already know we're on an island.
Yes. I've learned that this is a prison island for violent criminals, and that there are scores of daemons locked away here. Daemons say lots of things when they don't want you to eat them.
...The prison has docks at both the front and rear entrances. Our ship is on the back side.
Got it. The back docks.
And after this scene, we slipped into Velvet's default appearance. Definitely looks like she's trouble.
Hmm...what an odd...thing, that is. By the way, any time you see a white diamond on the radar, that's an exit you can't use. Approaching this thing gives you a skit, where Seres explains these are souls from a certain malak family that began appearing after the Advent, which is the proper name for Artorius' little ritual there. These things are sort of a collectathon and sort of aren't, but I'll explain more next update.
On the next floor...
This way.
Did you hear? The path around the island is off-limits now. They say the ground's weak and could collapse.
The path that goes under the watchtower? That's all right, nobody uses it anyway.
True, but it was a nice shortcut to the docks...
(A shortcut to the docks... Under the watchtower...)
All exorcists, break into two groups and converge on the front and rear gates.
Understood. No one will get past us.
Stay sharp. The threat could be serious.
Yes sir. *the group separates*
This isn't going to be easy.
Then we'll need reinforcements of our own. Where are the cells?
They should be on this floor. You plan on involving the other prisoners?
I'll use any tool I have at my disposal.
And the other time-honored prison break method: starting a riot to cause a distraction. Since Velvet's been locked up in here for three years, safe to assume there are lots of daemons hanging out around around here. They should be a nice distraction.
Is getting killed by exorcists better or worse than ending up as a snack for Velvet? Food for thought...so to speak. Breakout
Another note about the battle system: don't attack enemies who have their guards up. You'll burn through the Soul Gauge very quickly if you do. If you see an enemy blocking, just wait until they aren't.
Easy.
*walks over to another door* Listen up! I'm opening every door to every cell! We're getting off this island!
What the hell? You serious?!
Split into two groups and rush the front and rear gates! Break through the gates, and you'll have a ship!
But aren't they guarded by exorcists?
I mean, that pirate Van Aifread's the only one who's ever broken out of here!
Tales veterans will certainly recognize that name, or at least just the "Aifread" part. A recurring name for a pirate captain in this series, the name is usually for a character who doesn't appear but left a legendary treasure in this place or another that the party can recover. One notable exception to this rule? In Vesperia PS3 / Definitive Edition that game's Aifread is a playable character.
And he didn't pull it off just by himself. He was hauled out by some old exorcist named Melchior or something.
(Van Aifread? And Melchior...) I won't force you! You want to rot in here, then rot!
*various chattering indicating approval of the break-out plan*
Seres.
*removes barriers from all the cells*
That ought to draw the attention of the guards. In the meantime, we'll search for that watchtower. From there we can follow the outer path down to the docks.
...So you're leaving them all to their fates.
I told you. I'll use any tool I need.
Yep. Velvet doesn't seem the type to care about the great unwashed daemon masses. Not enough hours in the day.
The only real point of interest in this cell block is chatting up this friendly goblin-man. This is also the only Conversation for this section of the game, unfortunately.
Mostly he talks up the Abbey as being incredibly powerful, and he's better off staying here than dying at the hands of some exorcist. He seems to be getting along pretty well for himself, but that's his thing.
The ones hanging back have all sorts of excuses for not joining the fun, but seems most of the prisoners want a shot at freedom. Good for us, probably bad for them. A silver chest in the back of this particular block has Battle Boots for Velvet in it. Though, Battle Boots are unisex equipment.
Once we leave... The witch
Hmph! What is WRONG with you people? There I was, sleeping like a sweet babe, when suddenly... From paradise down to hell! No, worse! A grimy prison cell! ...You see why I'm not feeling well.
And you are?
...Yeah...I'll be sticking with Magilou, if you don't mind.
Maggie-lou?
No! "Mah", like "soggy shoe" or "doggie doo" or "call me any of those things and I'll turn into a froggy-stew!"
*glare*
*sigh* I suppose you'll never understand. Hmph! People can be so tragically unlearned... But hey... Like I care! ♪ *saunters off*
*saunters off*
I somehow doubt she's the last weirdo we'll be encountering here... Let's just get out of here as soon as possible. A skit afterwards has Velvet ruminating on the strange creature that appeared before us. Presumably she wants to get out of here, but she's not taking *our* boat, I'll tell you that.
Getting back to the gameplay, one of the nearby rooms is quarters for guards, the only thing of particular interest being Sage that grows in a pot (+10 to maximum HP). Unlike other Tales where herbs were only good for a stat increase, here, they also replenish all of a character's parameters at the same time. How nice. Elsewhere...
Awkward... To be fair, Velvet says she doesn't know anything about this guy's friend, just that he was a werewolf. She says she doesn't remember anything, which seems plausible enough, but let's just say it probably didn't end too well for him.
A zombie and werewolf chatting each other up. Not a sight you see every day. Anyway, there's some minor treasures in various cells, but nothing too fascinating. Probably should have expected that. Let's just keep going.
On the next floor, this pretty valuable early game accessory. Non-elemental attacks are, as you might guess, by far the most common type of attack. Until we get something more exciting, onto Velvet this goes. Once we get to a long corridor on this same floor... The swordsman
*various sounds of fighting*
More?
There's supposed to be hair over this guy's right eye (but you can still see the gleam of his eye through it), so the thing with his right eye isn't as noticeable there. Still, seems like this guy is trouble.
This one... He's a daemon!
Welcome to your first real challenge of the game. It's not much of a challenge, but this guy is fast and can do pretty good damage. Well, it's more like his damage isn't great, it's just he attacks a lot, is the thing. Best strategy for attacking him is to bait an attack, then strike while he's flailing around in the place where you used to be standing. Isn't too long of a fight and it ends when his health drops to 50%.
...He's strong.
Chips in the blades already? Brittle, these exorcist knives. I've got to reclaim Stormhowl.
Stormhowl? That sword we found?
It's in a storage room... Down below.
Down below? You have my thanks! *runs off*
...He's an odd daemon. If things settle down, we'll miss our window. Hurry.
After this most recent odd encounter, we get another skit. Seems Seres has some idea of who this guy could be, but that's got nothing to do with current plans.
Before we go on, these are what these glacite and ventite things we've been getting are. They basically provide passive buffs to various game mechanics, such as this one. It provides that equipment we gather from fallen enemies can have one of these random skills on it once that equipment is Mastered, which is just using that particular piece of equipment enough times in battle. Once you Master that equipment, you get that buff. Simple.
The other one gives us the ability to hold block for a second, then receive a buff to the next attack if it's performed immediately after it triggers. If you remember the whole Power Charge mechanic from Xillia 2, where you blocked for a set amount of time to receive important buffs to the next attack that character did, basically the same thing. After defeating some orcs on the next floor...
All business, these two.
Hm, things seem to have gone according to plan for us. The exit on the lower floor, where we encountered that dagger-wielding daemon, has a similar sight. Which means this watchtower is our next destination. Onto the next floor.
Unfortunately, we won't just be retreating up the ladder. This is actually a fairly meaty enemy group for the tutorial dungeon and with three of them, they're bound to go after Seres for a little while. Pick off the orderly first, since he's pretty vulnerable. As for the other two, try to double team them with Seres and attack from both sides to pretty quickly melt their HP. After the fight...
The prisoners are doomed.
Time is short. We need to get down to the path.
There's a chest at the top floor of the tower that has 320 gald in it, but that's about it for this area of the prison. Under a darkened sky
Rope or not, Velvet would have to be nuts to jump that.
The path has collapsed. That rope won't do any good here.
*unsheathes arm, gets up on ledge*
Wait! You're not seriously going to try it, are you?!
He fell further than this back at the shrine. *jumps off*
Yep. Definitely has a death wish.
I see you are truly committed to this. *teleports down*
...You're strong. I would almost think you made an "oath". It's a ritual that grants special powers if the oath-taker abides by certain restrictions. The harsher the restrictions, the greater the power one may command. In a very real sense, an oath is a sort of--
Curse, right? *marches off* Well, guess what? You're the ones who did this to me.
Sounds like we're on the right track, then. And indeed, the far door has the entrance we've been looking for. Malevolence begins
That's enough.
You surprise me, Seres. Aiding criminals now, are you? Did Lord Artorius request this?
...No. I'm acting on my own.
A malak with free will? And yet...I sense someone's strings guiding you. *looks over at Velvet*
*gets into battle stance*
Hold on. A praetor is far more dangerous than an orderly.
I'm all out of subterfuge. And besides, if we can't overpower this one, our end goal was hopeless to begin with.
You're a daemon, but still a lady, so I'll show you due respect. I am Oscar Dragonia, praetor of the Abbey of the Holy Midgand Empire. Who might you be?
There's actually something special about this guy's surname in particular, but that's not for a loooong time. Like, not even in this game "loooong time", so not today.
...
Hm... All right, "Graceless Daemon" it is, then.
As you might expect, taking out Oscar's two flunkies is the first order of business. If things work out normally, Oscar will care more about attacking Seres than you, which is perfect. Those two don't have much health at all so Velvet can destroy them quickly.
Oscar himself has some fairly standard attacks, but a few of them have been in prior Tales games. He only attacks right in front of him, so you can easily get behind him and punish him with hardly any fear of retaliation. Once he drops to 75% HP...
...You're skilled. I will have to expend a malak or two for this.
What are you doing?!
*rushes at Velvet* "Control your feelings to control the tide of battle!"
More of your vaunted "reason"?
*Oscar and Velvet jump away from each other*
No!
A malak...with daemonblight?!
Ungh! It's lost control!
Velvet! *rushes toward Velvet*
Seres!
My wounds are fatal. Please...consume me.
I'm not about to--
My form is bound by an oath whose price is my life. The time has come to pay. Feeding on my form will grant you strength. The strength to press forward. I ask only that you devour me. A flame burns in my heart, too. A flame I cannot quench, no matter how hard I try. Just like you, Velvet. *takes out a comb*
*gasp* This was Laphi's!
That is why I cannot abide it... This frozen world... This frozen people... *body goes limp* I'm just...that stubborn of a woman... Hurry! Before my life fades! Do it now!
*unsheathes arm*
I offer no apology or thanks.
I need neither. Our wishes... are one...and the same.
*gasp*
I treasured those days... When you and I... and Arthur were...together.
*yells* *breaks Seres' neck*
*grabs ring*
Ungh... What is happening?
Move.. If you don't... I'll eat you!
The Drake probably counts as the first real boss fight (sorry Oscar). Unfortunately, if you're on a NG+, you won't get a fairly important tutorial here. Namely, Break Souls. Break Souls are special attacks that consume diamonds on the Soul Gauge (reducing the max by one) but provide some kind of powerful attack as compensation. Every party member has their own Break Soul effect, and Velvet's is unsheathing her arm and swiping in front of her. The advantage of this is that she'll activate some effect unique to the enemy she attacked, so she'll gain some kind of buff against them or to herself. Forgot what that is for Dragons because, as I mentioned, you don't get this particular tutorial during this fight on NG+.
You better believe it.
Thankfully, like Oscar, the Drake is quite vulnerable because its attacks only target the area in front of its head. As long as you're not there, this fellow can't do any damage.
When it's down to 25% HP, it gains two new attacks: Whirlwind and Range Breath. Whirlwind has a slightly larger area of effect than its previous attacks but it still has no ability to attack behind it or to the side of it. As long as you're not in its line of sight, you have basically nothing to worry about.
Its other new attack, Range Breath, has some ability to hit to the side, but has no answer to hitting Velvet attacking from the rear. Pretty simple fight as long as you don't attack from the front. Let's just beat this thing. The escape
Apologies... But I can't let a nasty daemon like you roam freely, now, can I?
*pant* ...Velvet.
*gasp*
That's my name. You can give Artorius my regards. *begins devouring Drake* My name is Velvet Crowe. And I will devour daemon, malak, and exorcist alike. I am a monster. I am a THERION!
The malak teleported him out after he caught fire. Bet he didn't see this encounter ending like this.
Oho! Finally someplace that might not be a death-trap! When we tumbled from the tower, I thought, this is it, Magilou, the end!
It would've been less risk if you hadn't suddenly appeared and jumped on my back. Oh hey, it's you! It's thanks to you that Stormhowl is back in my care. Rokurou Rangetsu at your service. This blade is my life. I owe you a great debt, one I vow to repay.
Yes, yes, she's a peach and a model citizen. Can we get our move on? I think they're just about done massacring the rioters.
The docks are just ahead. Give me a hand.
We picked up a new battle buff via a glacite and a level, but never mind that, we've got a ship to steal. The rising tide
*collapses* Guess the weather's feeling as crummy as I am!
Careful. Sea's looking mighty choppy.
Are you a sailor?
No. But I do know the difference between a sail and a rudder.
I'll take what I can get. Do what you can.
*pops up in front of Velvet* You're leaving without a proper crew?!
Very well then. I certainly owe you this much, at least.
Brave words... But ten minutes in this storm, and you'll lose all sense of direction.
No, we won't. Ships have compasses for a reason. *storms off*
So it's rot in a jail cell or rot in a fish-tummy. Welp, guess it's your lucky day, fishies!
I'm coming for you, Artorius.
And that is how it begins...