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Part XIII: The Trials of a Pilgrimage
Welcome to 2023, everyone. Well, we certainly can't miss investigating this place, can we? Morgause is another of Arthur's siblings (who, as I mentioned previously, is occasionally conflated with Morgan) who is the mother of many famous names with her husband, King Lot of Orkney, including Gawain, Gareth, Agravaine, and most infamously, the traitor Mordred. While King Lot himself was an early enemy of Arthur, eventually becoming a vassal king, Morgause was, er, a bit more notable in her relations with her half-brother. By most accounts, Mordred is conceived through unintentional incest between Arthur and Morgause, with Lot unaware of the child's true parentage before sending him to Camelot.
It was gonna happen sooner or later. The Hat accessory, recovered from Yder Cave, is notable in that, even aside from altering the color via the in-game accessory menu, it appears in different colors depending on the character wearing it. For example, Sorey's Hat is white, but Rose's is black.
Upon entering the mansion... An unusual host
Uh...
Well, that was unexpected.
Oh no...that must be the Minotauros.
That's right! And with him standing guard there, we're all in a real bind.
Lady Lailah! *stares at her bust* You're as lovely as ever!
And you're as creepy as ever.
This seraph was also a Shepherd?
That's right. Depending on how you die, you can transcend your own race. Strange world we live in.
Strange world, sure. But we'll never get to the altar with that thing in the way...
*stares at Rose* Woof!
Huh?
You're here for the Shepherd's power, right? You're gonna take the trial, right? Right?!
Well, uh...
So she's not the Shepherd, then?
Are you SURE this creeper used to be a Shepherd?
Grating though he may be, the Shepherd Powan is renowned amongst all the seraphim for having quelled over 10,000 hellions.
A "Powan" is a fish, but I don't think they were going for anything in particular with that name.
*satisfied noise*
Seriously? You mean this dirtbag?
Well! Aren't you a precious little thing! Your name is Edna?
Aw please, mister! Edna's so cold!
Oh! B-But-- There's a trial, you see? We need to get to the altar, and...
Pfft. Useless.
Huh?
Is that all you can think about? The trial?
I mean, the Shepherd is here for the trial, and...
So you can't get to your altar with that oversized steak-face in the way, and so you want me to do something about it. Is that it? *walks off*
Well, uh, more precisely--
Wait!
Edna!
It's too dangerous!
Scram.
Now we walk to the altar?
Actually, uh, the trial is to quell the Minotauros.
Huh?
But it ran off somewhere!
Turns out it was a scaredy-bull.
I imagine it'll turn tail at the first sign of us now.
Right.
Well, why didn't you say so?! You stupid or something?!
*hangs head* I'm sorry.
Well, fine, whatever. You just go on ahead to the altar. We'll track down that bull hellion and quell it.
Kay... *skulks off*
All right, let's get this show on the road.
Edna... You're actually disappointed, aren't you.
Let's get. This show. On the road.
Again, Rose, this is what you signed up for. So a neat thing about these trial dungeons is they're all decently unique. With the exception of Fire, they all have some kind of, uh, *interesting* gimmick, to put it generously. Here in Earth, the critical path is *insanely* short. There are no grand puzzles, the dungeon itself isn't very big, it really is just a matter of defeating the Minotauros and going to the altar. But of course, we will not *just* be doing that.
These slimes are actually fairly dangerous, since they come in large groups and are much more dangerous than the ones we saw in Ladylake. I mean, they're still not very threatening, but they can do a surprising amount of damage in large groups like this.
So I don't know if the Minotauros' movements are random, but as far as this run went, this second room is the first time I ran into it. So, thanks to Edna torturing the poor bastard earlier, this guy will run away as soon as you get this close to it, and not even Stealthy Feet will help you get close. So what to do? Well, since it's reacting to seeing us, just use the Spectral Cloak. That's literally it. Cast Spectral Cloak while you're decently away from it, at least further away than this, and just walk up to it. So speaking of the Cloak, I should also amend something I said earlier. Enemies can still see you with the Cloak on and initiate battles and such. The Cloak only works in some specific contexts, which I guess is like, not that surprising compared to the other map actions, but it just feels more niche. Anyway, yeah, it doesn't actually make you invisible to normal enemies.
Now, it would be cool if it didn't work against enemies with strong senses of smell, like wolves and such, but I really don't think it's that detailed.
So although I can't say I care for the fairies in this game, these groups are easier than the ones in Dumnonia, since these maps are much wider and it's easier to dodge around them. Word to the wise, don't armatize unless you have to. Armatized attacks will cause spells to fire faster, and it can easily get out of control. Really just easier to have them constantly on ice between normal attacks and seraphic artes.
The boulder attack Earth throw uses is actually really neat in how it does damage. The boulder throw itself causes damage, of course, but since it shatters upon contact with a barrier like this, or the ground, the rubble from the boulder can split apart and also do damage, which is a really cool touch. That's what killed this last Fairy.
Look, malevolence gets in *everything* these days.
A full map of the dungeon. Now, the only puzzle you really have to solve is the door leading to that final area at the top of the map. There are some pillars blocking access, necessitating the collapsing of those pillars to proceed. You'll see how we do that soon. For now, we're headed to the central area, to that courtyard.
(Scorpstar) This definitely looks dangerous!
You better watch out for its tail movements and attacks!
They sometimes go underground. Stay calm and handle it.
Please, we killed the goddess of scorpions earlier, we can handle this.
But before we head to the courtyard, these are pillars whose foundations you can destroy, obviously with Giant's Strength. Because this is a video game, recklessly breaking everything is not only allowed, it's practically encouraged. You have to destroy all of a floor's supports to get any kind of return out of it. Destroying the pillars around here will get you a Feldspar Umbrella and a Peach Gel in the chests now available back upstairs.
Now finally in the courtyard, we do have a sight to take in the top right, but before, a Cowboy Hat for Dezel in the lower right corner of the map. It's getting a little crowded on his head.
Well, I don't know if it's a "vista", but it's worthy of comment, I would agree. Rose has certainly led an interesting life to imagine some of the "foods" she dreams of here.
Broken Hobbyhorse posted:
A broken toy horse of the kind given to young children. This particular item does not appear to be an artifact from centuries ago.
Really, we're not trying to bully you.
As you can also see, this area's sole normin is located up on that pillar. As before, you'll have to collapse the pillars to make it accessible. From this room, you can loop around to the start of the dungeon by destroying a boulder blocking the other door, which is why that opening scene talked about Minotauros being stuck in our way. Not mentioned is HOW everyone knew that door was blocked, but eh, details. Don't sweat 'em.
Believe it or not, I'm about a millisecond away from getting into a fight with another bunch of Faeries. This basement is accessed from the building located in the far southeast of the overall dungeon. Smash everything you can smash to access everything of relevance in that normin (amusingly named Fatty G) room above. And there's a Red Rosemary down here, in the southeast corner.
Further in the eastern wing of the dungeon, this long corridor leads to a couple treasures with a Kingly Waistcoat and a Life Bottle. Oh, and some Rock Giants. They're practically coming out of the walls now.
This is one of the pillars that need to be destroyed to access the room where Powan is hanging out. Well, he's not technically there right now, because Minotauros is still roaming about. He's well-hidden, let's say. There's also a monolith down in this room that you should pick up before you go. Accessing the other half of this is just as simple as going back up the stairs, then crossing over to the other side. You don't even have to cross through the courtyard to access it, it's just the same hallway.
Once both supports have been destroyed, the block or whatever is finally far down enough that we can make it to the trial's main chamber. Now, the reason why you want to *not* defeat Minotauros by now is because there's a skit attached to the save point right now that will disappear as soon as Minotauros is defeated. If you've progressed this dungeon too far by the time you reach this point, you're simply out of luck on getting this one. Apparently the Minotauros is...a bit more unusual than you'd think, at least according to Lailah.
From this save point, you can turn around to...
Get a nice view of the dungeon from the bridge that spans the courtyard. For reference, the building the camera is facing is where we first encountered Minotauros is in gameplay, whereas the building Sorey is facing is where we started this dungeon. This will lead you to a previously-inaccessible ledge with a monolith on it. Just jump down to proceed onwards.
Alright, let's do it right this time. Release
If you missed that skit previously, you'd be confused why you keep hearing children screaming as this battle continues, but if you didn't watch that, basically, the Minotauros is an accumulation of the anguish of the abused, which, in this case at least, seems to include children.
That certainly seems to be the case. As far as an enemy goes, Minotauros is actually pretty powerful, with powerful axe swings that are hard to sidestep effectively. It can also summon in boars from Aifread's Hunting Grounds, but they're fairly simple adversaries here. Wind form is very important here, because Minotauros doesn't have much HP and you need to fight fire with fire. Or, earth with wind, as the case may be. It also has a big ol' belly flop that's not too powerful, but, as always with this guy, it's not the easiest attack to stylishly dodge.
He also has this special downed state, where after a bit of damage, he'll get down on one knee for a second before resuming the fight. If you need to back off and heal, this is certainly a good opportunity to do so.
Its desperation arte is this one, and it comes out *very* quickly. I'd advise just blocking this one if you think it's coming. It only used this attack twice for me, but I think it continues until Minotauros hits one of those columns or the arena boundary.
I pray that we did.
... *walks off*
Sometimes, there just aren't answers.
Goodbye. Rest in peace.
Wait, did the spirits of the children turn into seraphim?
Dunno. *walks off*
Let's move on to the altar. Pawan is waiting for us.
Yeah.
Roger!
Even if it's a pain, I'll never take the easy way out again. Though it totally is a pain.
That's the Edna I know.
Edna is strong, but she does tend to hold a lot in.
Tricky, attaching two skits to the same save point. Edna's definitely not herself around here, actually helping out the conversation for once, but presumably even she has limits of bad taste jokes. This isn't the time for one.
There he is. Rumbling Earth
Looks like everything went well.
Yeah. Though I felt sad for the hellion.
I'll be honest. When Edna walked up to scare it off, I wasn't sure what would happen.
*turns around* Looks like she learned her lesson.
Yes. Bad Edna.
So does that mean that we've passed the trial?
Yes it does. Shepherd, Edna. Step forth to give a prayer unto the altar.
Sorey, none of his perviness rubbed off on you, did it?
Unfortunate phrasing, but Mikleo's probably new at this.
Huh? Can that even happen?
Can it?
Sorry, sorry.
*looks down* How's it feel?
I do feel stronger.
*nods*
Are you off, then?
Yeah. Thanks for everything, Pawan.
There is a cause and a reason behind all things. Grasp it, ponder it, and then proceed. Do not force the answers. Know that the journey of the Shepherd begins by understanding the basis for the emotions that swirl around this world.
I will. Thank you.
Tah dah!
Moron.
*recoils*
But still. Thanks. *warps into Sorey*
Ha ha hah! See you later.
Right!
Unfortunately, we don't learn what permanent status effect that removes, gonna have to check the game next for what status effect Earth tends to inflict. I think Slow? That sounds sensible. But nevertheless, we have half the spiritual powers and a second armatized Mystic Arte. We may just have a chance yet.
Um, what else would it mean?
Right. Of course.
Of course. If you've forgotten or never bothered to check out Lamorak Cave, talking to Rose and she'll point it out in one of her responses. That does make me think Wind is always going to be last, since three of four trial shrines are in Rolance, but if Wind wasn't available until after Earth and Water, you'd think Rose wouldn't mind pointing you in the direction of the closest trial. Food for thought.
I'm not sure how the game decides what save points you are not allowed to warp to. It *might* be if you can't get there normally on-foot at the moment, or special story sequences? Also food for thought. Since I'm swinging 172k gald right now, I can handle 6887 gald to warp to Lamorak Cave. Let's not tarry, shall we?
The save point warp literally couldn't put us in a better spot; the northeast exit here leads us as far as we made it last time, to...
This guy. Actually the first Code Red Daemon in Berseria. It is time to sever our fate, Bat Baron.
This is actually a fairly dangerous enemy, because the sonic waves it shoots out are only one part of its line-up. In addition to fast pecking attacks...
It can use sonic waves to drop down...rocks from the cave ceiling as an AOE attack. Uh, alright then. It's plenty potent, though. Overall, the difficulty of this fight is reliant on how good you are with Water form. It can open up Power Combos quickly, and with Binding Vortex + decent levels, you can melt Bat Baron's HP pretty quickly.
Overall, not a hard fight, but don't play around with him, either.
And the way is clear.
Oh hey, Bors Ruins. It's been a while, hasn't it? I think this Southeast area is where we fought the plant boss here with Alisha...I think. Doesn't really matter, does it? Although there are a few boulders to destroy here, there aren't really any accessible treasures of relevance right now. There is a gold chest in the far northeast of this area, but yeah, not relevant right now. Enemies in Hyland throughout haven't got even a slight buff since we left, so they should be no challenge at all with your current party.
That is rough.
You didn't have to say that much.
It's just a fact. Even he doesn't recognize me anymore.
Although this bird has been flapping around ever since we created a bridge to Marlind, it was never really feasible to fight it with the party we had in the first act. Remember, we couldn't even have four characters on the field at once because of Alisha's inability to enact the armatus.
Here, though, it's not really a problem. Rose does have a line in the opening discussion here, which is an interesting sight. I wonder if her line belonged to Alisha if you fight Horus as soon as possible, since, after all, it's not that Horus was invincible during that part of the game, just enormously difficult. Now, though, it's little more than a stumbling block. I wrapped this up in 40 seconds, and even a lot of that was just running after it.
Is that... The Princess
Alisha!
Sorey! What are you doing here? And the others?
Shame you can't see us, though.
Isn't that natural?
Hey!
Rose, was it? You were with the Sparrowfeathers who came to the palace.
Ah, you're more right than you know, Alisha.
Hahaha! Nice to finally meet you in person, Princess Alisha.
Just "Alisha" will do.
Rose's helping me out big time!
As Squire?
Don't worry. She's doing a great job.
I see. I'm sure it helps that you've grown into your power, but still, Rose must be incredibly special.
That's the nicest thing I've ever heard!
*giggles* Heh-heh... Well, you and Sorey are so alike.
Even here you can see they're pretty thick as thieves. Guess this is one character relationship Bamco really wanted to explore, given what was released after Zestiria was initially released. Well, I say that, but actually, the anime and game had different writers. Hikaru Kondo for the anime, who wrote all 26 episodes (and doesn't even work for Bamco), whereas Naoki Yamamoto and Takashi Hasegawa wrote the game. But, you don't get a script approved without the copyright holder signing off on it. I actually don't think there was much creative mind crossover between the two mediums, which, to be fair, is probably not that uncommon, since the way both work are pretty substantially different and expertise in one area doesn't usually transfer over.
That's...not the nicest thing I've ever heard.
Very true! My apologies!
Hey, what are you apologizing for?!
*long giggle*
^_^
Sorey, I'm glad you three are getting along, but we came here on a mission.
Oh, right. There's something I want to ask you, Alisha.
Hmm?
*fade for explanation*
Shrines of trials...
Ring a bell?
I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but just the other day, we received word of a ruin discovered at Lakehaven Heights. It's a military secret so I don't know the exact location, but the entrance is supposedly extremely well hidden. Lady Maltran has just gone off to investigate.
Maltran?
The discovery came about while apprehending a group of thieves. They turned out to have several famous swords in their possession. The military decided that further investigation might turn up something useful to them.
Something useful for the war?
Yes.
Lady Alisha! The captain is awaiting your report!
*turns around* Apologies. I'll be right there. Sorry, but I've got a job to do. Please come back to Ladylake again sometime. I shall pray that you overcome your trials safely.
Thanks. See you again.
The Sparrowfeathers commonly serve the Hyland royal family. I also met her during that Scattered Bones thing, if you recall. Don't think I'll mention that part, though.
Let's search for the next shrine.
Right there with you! Let's just hope the next place eases up a little, hey? Yeah, you're right. Fat chance. But a girl can dream!
You think Alisha is doing okay?
Well, if you're that concerned, why not find her and see for yourself? We're not in any big hurry.
I hope Alisha isn't still suspected of treason...
I'm guessing it's fine. They promised to lay off her if you helped them with the war, and you... Well, they can't say you DIDN'T help. But hey, if you're still worried, why don't we drop in on Alisha's manor and find out?
Huh, didn't expect all that. The standard thing would be you'd expect Rose to not get along with Alisha or get annoyed Sorey's asking about her so much, but no, there's nothing like that in this game, at least right now. It's a refreshing change of pace; Rose seems to genuinely like her. And let's be honest, Sorey probably wouldn't get why Rose would be upset in that kind of situation at all.
So you need to talk with Alisha again to continue the story, but the positioning here is very weird. You can see the speech bubble coming out of Sorey right now, but it seems to only trigger when you're standing behind her, like so. Any other angle, the balloon just will not pop. Odd.
Understood. I shall report as such to my superiors. *marches off*
It's just as you see. They sent me out to inspect the bridge.
Jerks.
Hey...
It's okay! Lady Maltran is helping me out a great deal, and I can still keep going.
You sure about all this?
Rose...
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.
No, no. You're probably right. No matter how I protest, I don't think the war can be stopped. I want to just drop everything and run, all the time. But whenever my thoughts drift in that direction, I stop. "The strength of a knight exists to protect, and their kindness serves the people." Those are the words I learned from my teacher.
Guess you have your honor too, Alisha.
Oh, not really. I'm just obstinate.
So you're just like Mikleo, then?
Is that supposed to be a compliment?!
Sure, laugh at my expense.
Hey, if it wasn't so easy, they wouldn't do it.
All right. And with that, I must be off. Be well, everyone!
You too.
Later!
*takes off*
If you want my opinion, a lot of what she's doing to herself was avoidable.
Maybe so, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but she is just positioned differently from Rose, who does have the wherewithal and mindset required to just drop everything and take up the adventure against the Lord of Calamity, since so much of what she does can be handled by trusted subordinates, and whenever her input IS needed, they have a way of finding her. So it's not exactly the easiest thing to compare their situations, especially with Alisha just not being on par with Rose, as a nearby save point skit goes into. In a different world, Rose is apparently eminently qualified as Zestiria's protagonist, which certainly would have been different.
So instead of heading straight to Ladylake, which does have a number of sidequests going on there and around there, we're instead heading up the Spiritcrest again. The place where we encountered Eizen previously was actually only about halfway up the mountain. Although we could return when we were first here and head past that arena, there wasn't really anything to do, because we were lacking Giant's Strength and Wind Rush as map actions, which sorely limited what we could find around here.
Now, though, there's nothing standing between you and where Eizen is hanging out, interestingly enough. This is actually the soonest we can fight him, but even with our fighting capabilities severly increased since we encountered him, he's still very far out of your league at this point in the game. Not to mention a particular gimmick with that fight which will lower your fighting capabilities even more, but that one's unavoidable no matter at what point in the game you fight the pirate malak-turned-dragon.
As always, though, I'll only mention notable treasures / normin. The paths around here are quite linear, with the occasional split path, but you shouldn't need me for those.
First up, this chest is near the shrine landmark, as opposed to that save point, which is on a different level. This one has the Bedhead accessory. I think this one's an ahoge (cowlick) accessory, actually...
This is just past where we "fought" Eizen. From here on, it's new territory.
See what I mean? That ! is Eizen and yeah, I believe I've made myself clear on that particular point right now.
Goes without saying all the enemies around here, save one, are early game rubbish.
Careful over there, little buddy. Let's not make any sudden noises. There's also a gold chest in another path near Windur, but yeah... This is about all you can realistically do at the Spiritcrest right now. From here we're headed to Ladylake, yes, but we do have a brief stopover to make at...
At Abandoned Kylfe. The last time we stopped by was, again, very early in the game after we heard from a guard there was some weird stuff involving ghosts happening around this abandoned town in Lakehaven Heights. Looks like we found our culprit. Ghost hunt
It was indeed a good thing we waited until now. There are three of these Phantoms, and they're all decently powerful spellcasters. At this point in the game, however, they really don't have much HP at this point and powerful artes like Dream Slasher (I should probably play as a seraph at some point, just to switch it up. I've said that seraphs will never initiate armatization on their own, but you can do so if you're actually playing as one, I believe) will quickly melt their HP. Unless you're feeling it, stay out of armatized form because these guys, not surprisingly, will very frequently fire off spells, and not a whole lot else. So, don't panic, and start thinning their numbers as soon as possible.
After the battle, you'll get a skit between Sorey, Mikleo, and Lailah, but do keep in mind you could potentially get this skit very early in the game, just after you finish the Galahad Ruins, so that does make sense.
Well, don't strain yourselves too much, because the entrance is behind the Great Morgan Falls, which is notable enough to receive a save point with its name on it but we haven't interacted with it until now. I guess it's decently well-hidden if you assumed they were just flavor, though.
As for the skit, well, seems Alisha might be in more trouble than she was previously, if that were possible. But the real reason we're here right now is because of...
Managarmr. There's...really nothing to say about this guy right now. Like with Horus, you are much more powerful than it is right now. Armatize with Edna, hunt it down, and bag it.
Oh, and the map straight-up gives away the location of where the Water Trial is located. Shameful. Well, once that wolf is slain, don't be a mook like me and run clear around the Heights to get to Aroundight Forest. See that narrow path southeast of Galahad Ruins? There's a big boulder there you can smash now to create a lovely shortcut.
Yes, it has been a while since we were here, and yes, we're headed back to Elysia, which at some point, Sorey finds it acceptable to return to, briefly. We had to very bruskly pass through here at the start of the game, but turns out, there's quite a bit to this forest we couldn't access because it was behind, you guessed it, boulders.
Like over here. That strange lump isn't an enemy waiting in ambush, though. There are no enemies here, because Zenrus' domain extends out this far and few hellions dare to test it, apparently. This guy, Pennetrayt, has a really cool ability: "No staggering when 40 damage or less". Pinprick damage can be very annoying when it causes you to stagger, so nice to nullify the stagger.
Further up that path from that handy lil' guy is a bunch of red mushrooms, apparently very interesting to our protagonists. Dezel here confirming something we've known since Berseria: Zenrus is not a seraph to be taken lightly. Even way back when, seraphs apparently had to answer to him, but he never actually took part in the plot. Probably one of the high-ranking ones like Eizen who were able to retain their sense of self even after the Advent.
Words to live by.
On the other side of the forest from the mushrooms, we have our second landmark: another beetle-related one. By the way, there is an infinite source of Elixirs to be found in this game, but that's not for a bit, and honestly, if you're using them now, haven't you played a JRPG before?
As for the beetle, well...Dezel seems proud of it, as you'd think, but he finally gets a bit of comeuppance here.
Aroundight Stag Beetle posted:
An extremely rare stag beetle thought to be extinct. It is a formidably stoic creature that can survive the bitterest cold.
Edible Mushrooms and Toxic Mushrooms posted:
Though the two species resemble each other at first glance, the purple one is highly toxic. Nature can be both kind and cruel.
Lots of blue rocks around here. Very odd. This bunch is special because you will eventually be able to interact with it, but we'll need to acquire a pickaxe first.
There are a number of herbs and minor treasures to be found around here, but the things I already mentioned are the big ones you should pick up before returning to the Home of the Seraphim.
This place doesn't seem to have changed a bit since we left. I can confirm that the Hyland Goats and bird's nest-on-Zenrus'-house landmarks are still availale, but there are no skits we can get for either, because they're meant to be found during the prologue sequence. Particularly the goats, since Alisha is in it.
Well, when you think about it, the hellions might be part of the romance. Not much of adventure, so much as a task, without the danger. Anyway, our business today is primarily with Zenrus, and he can be found where you think he might. Homecoming
You stupid brats!
Whoa, what's this all about?!
Don't you have something to say to me first?! I don't remember raising a fool!
*bows* I'm sorry for leaving without telling you.
*bows* It's good to be home.
Nice to meet you! My name is Rose.
Well, in any case I'm glad to see you're safe. The lady Squire is welcome here as well.
You can tell that I'm a Squire?
Of course I can! Sorey became the Shepherd, and Mikleo is now a Sub Lord, correct? Which woud mean that the Prime Lord is the lady of the lake, then.
*hops out* It has been a long time, Sir Zenrus. I--
You don't have to say anything. History repeats itself. It makes the world go 'round.
True. But I still want to believe in them, and believe that they can bring forth a new future.
Well, I'm glad you've all found such a nice Prime Lord! Hey, by the way, did my pipe come in handy?
Oh... Yeah.
Don't worry about the pipe. As long as it was useful to you.
*takes pipe out* But I'll give it back. I don't need it anymore.
Keep it for yourself.
Really, I'm okay. You know, I've grown up a lot through this journey.
Bratty as ever, aren't you... *takes the pipe* Please, take this with you.
Thanks, Gramps.
No, no. I should be the one thanking you.
What we received was actually...our third Elixir. Maybe I'll find the...appropriate occasion for using those... I do wonder how this all plays out if you don't have the pipe, or you never sold the pipe to the Sparrowfeathers right before the Sacred Blade Festival. Food for thought in a different timeline. Upon leaving...
Are you tired?
No, but it's a good idea to take a solid break to rejuvinate the soul.
Totes. Let's do it!
Sure. I did want to chat with everyone in Elysia, too.
All right. We'll meet up later.
And thus the party has temporarily disbanded. Everyone in the party is hanging around a different area of Elysia, with a special little event near where we fought Lunarre the first time at the start of the game. You can find talkable people by green dots on the map. Just to start us off, Dezel in the little outcropping on the right of this screenshot. There's also a Monolith down there if you haven't picked that one up then.
Also, this part is "temporary" in the sense that you can end it at any point by talking to Lailah, who's hanging out near Elysia's main gate, but you first need to see an event with her first. Not the gate you enter this area from, the gate to the town itself. But first, let's check out that ! mark... Future generation
What are you doing, Mikleo?
Shh.
I see. Just as I thought, they...
*turns around* C'mon.
Wait... *the two decide to leave*
I'm so sorry. I wasn't aware of it and made the pact.
No, no, it was of their own decision that they made the pact with you. What they make of it will be up to them.
I'll support them with all I have... So that we won't repeat the same mistake.
Don't be so hard on yourself. There was nothing you could do for the previous Shepherd.
Perhaps. But sometimes, I can't help but wonder. Surely I could have done more than I did back then.
Everything is tied to their fate, and their fates are yet intertwined.
Yes. Thanks to you, Sir Zenrus.
No, you and those kids forged that bond. My role in this is done. All I can do now is worry about them.
There are times when things go awry, but their purity and virtue gives me hope
I see. Perhaps this is also how humans and seraphim should co-exist as a whole.
I'm glad I was able to talk to you.
And I with you. Please, take care of them.
Heavy stuff, to be sure. Looks like Mikleo and Sorey are at the center of this, in more ways than they might know. Lailah and Zenrus certainly seem to go back a ways. So now that we've overheard at least part of that, Mikleo and Lailah are hanging out near the gate, Rose is a number of steps in front of Sorey's house, Edna is hanging out near where Rose is, and Dezel is...well, still where I mentioned he was, way separated from anyone else. Naturally. Edna actually has a higher opinion of us (namely, how Sorey ended up so pure of heart) based on finally seeing this place. Then there's this guy.
Yep, we've heard before that Zenrus found an infant Sorey and Mikleo and brought them into Elysia, and it seems the opening dungeon was where it happened. I do rather wonder what was with that mysterious door or passage or whatever we found in those ruins...
As for why seraphim here live in houses. Well, as sensible a reason as any.
Hmmm, malevolence at one point began seeping into Elysia, huh?
Well, if there was no particular sense of urgency in the plot right now, Loanna is here to provide it now.
Glad it has your approval. Once your're done taking a breather, as long as you saw that Zenrus / Lailah scene from earlier, she'll be hanging out near the gate (Zenrus is near the goats), and just select Yes to continue this adventure, for better or worse.
Ah Ladylake. It has been a bit, hasn't it? First up, we're stopping by the local inn for, you guessed it, another skit. This one triggers if you've found...30 normin, I believe.
Lemme guess...Phoenix, right?
I'm starting to think it might very well be.
The Noble District is the focal point of most of the sidequests to be found in Ladylake. The first one of will trigger soon after you arrive here, just as soon as that crowd finishes fading into existence. The Childrens' Hour
Darn...
That voice...
Specifically, it's that kid we followed into an alley and discovered he was a hellion when we first came to Ladylake and began investigating the place.
Purify him.
Yeah. *the two walk up*
You need something, oh great Shepherd?
Is it all right if I deal with this boy?
I'm afraid not. The only way to apprehend pickpockets is to catch them in the act.
But... But he's--
If you do the crime, you do the time. No matter how old you are.
THis kid just wasn't ready for real-world consequences.
Hey mister! Why don't you let Sorey have a talk with him before you take him away? Just a word from the Shepherd might steer the kid toward the right path in life better than any time in detention.
That would be pointless.
Come on! It won't do any harm! What, you got some problem with Sorey talking to this boy?
I never said that! It would simply be a waste of time!
You said this kid wasn't prepared to deal with the real-world consequences of his crimes. Are YOU prepared, mister?
What?
I'm part of a merchant crew that travels all over the world. You think I don't know why the pickpocketing problem is so bad?
Eh... Eh-heh-heh-heh... I see... How much do you want?
Don't put me on your level! We Sparrowfeathers value our customers' trust! Sorey, we're takin' this guy to jail, too!
L-Like hell you are, you lying brat!
You will not lay a finger on her.
Shepherd!
Oh, hey! Stop! Wait! Sorey!
Go after him.
Okay! *runs off*
*hops out* Tsk! If it ain't one thing... *follows her*
Sorey, I'll go after them as well. *hops out*
Please purify that boy.
Shepherd or not, I won't let you obstruct my duties!
...
Guard, leave him alone!
Even we can tell something about you stinks!
Yeah! What kind of guard you?
You think we don't know what you're up to when our backs are turned?!
You dirty crook!
I think we're good here. Let's go after Rose.
Yeah. You're right.
That he is. Rose and Co. are currently hanging out near where we saw those two guys fighting near the monolith early in the game. As always, a purple star indicates where a sidequest can begin or be continued.
You made it.
Is it over?
Maybe...
If it really bugs you that much, why don't you check up on him?
Well, how would we do that?
Let him lead us home.
Oh! So he wanders and we tail him!
That could work...
All right, then. Sorey, Rose, you guys hide. I'll go wake him up.
Well, as long as we only follow him...
*runs off*
*stands up* Now!
Yeah.
Mmmm, not so sure about that. I've heard word of pickpocket gangs.
Oh... Really?!
We need to find out whether he was doing it on his own or with a group.
After this line, the kid will disappear back into the Nobles District, and you'll receive the Goofy Glasses accessory, but this tailing job is far from over.
The enforcers let 'em off a lot of the time in exchange for part of the takings. Then when the guards need to hit their quotas, they round 'em up anyway. That's probably what that was about.
No way...
Look! He's going in!
A noble's manor?
It's clearly not his house.
I'm guessing a pickpocket gang, then.
Something tells me he's not gonna quit stealing.
Well, crap. C'mon, we're not done yet.
Rose... It's unfortunate, but I'm not sure we should...
Lailah means that this is just a problem of human society.
Right. It might not be something a Shepherd should get involved in.
...
Sorry! If he's doing it by himself, I'd be okay letting him deal with the consequences. But if there's a gang forcing him to steal, it's a completely different story. I gotta check to make sure.
Yeah, I thought so.
I understand. Let's go check it out just in case.
You sure?!
But no more than that! Understood! Sorey, Rose. Even if you don't intend them to, the powers of the Shepherd and the Squire can greatly influence human society and the spirits of men. Please don't forget that.
All right.
We'll just watch and see who goes in and out.
After a while...
Booored...
Who knew that we wouldn't see anything for days on end?
Well, I did say "a while".
You all can go back to the inn. I'm staying here.
It's okay!
Shh. Someone's coming out.
It's a bunch of little kids.
Those kids... You think maybe they're not being forced to pickpocket?
...
We've come this far. Let's see this thing through. *begins walking off*
Dezel?
You go follow those brats. I'll go check out the building.
Thanks!
Ohhh boy.
Are they gonna have anything like that?
That Shepherd guy did something, and now there's lots more people donating stuff to the sanctuary.
Oh cool, that sounds fun! Priests won't be mean to kids, and if there's any real problems, we can always start crying.
Hahaha! I'm good at that.
Hey. Is this really okay?
It's okay if you're us and not them!
Is this what kids are like these days?
Dangerous times... *sigh*
Those kids barely have any malevolence at all...
Children, in their brutal honesty, can be even crueler than corrupted adults. As you've seen.
...
And now returning to that alley near the temple...
Oh, Dezel. How was it?
The building was completely empty. Those scamps are probably just camping out there.
So then those kids are acting on their own...
And now continuing to the posterior of the temple itself...
*sigh*
Now that we know the score, do we want to report them to the guards and end this whole thing? After all, they're not hellions.
Well, there's no immediate need to get involved, but as long as we are, someone should start setting an example for these kids. It's a long dark road these kids are headed down, the way things are.
Let's tell the guards about it, and then put it all behind us.
Okay.
I can't do that! *runs towards the kids*
Hey, Rose!
Darn it! What do you want?! * all but one of the kids scatter* Look, I never did nothin'!
We know all about what you're up to. Fooling the priests into think you're helpless orphans, and then robbing them blind. You should be ashamed of yourselves!
Oh yeah? You got any proof?
This here is the Shepherd. His word is good enough.
Th-That's perjury! False witness!
Princess Alisha and the people of Ladylake all trust Sorey. Because HE'S been living an honest life. How about you? Will anyone trust YOUR word?
...
Give it up, kid.
What else can we do? The adults all abandoned us! If we wanna survive, stealing's our only choice!
Rose, maybe we ought to...
Come on, Sorey. Let's bring them to the guards.
They do just that, apparently...
And the other children?
They were all caught by the guards and hauled away.
I see...
Those who commit crimes must be punished, even if they are children. It's the way the world works... But it still pains the heart.
Yeah.
...
Only just noticed that the first guardian seraph you recruit is named Uno. Good one. Also, that Earthen Historia orb only spawns once you finish that kids sidequest.
Oh, that... That was a donation from someone in the city. It looks rather rare and precious, so we've been unsure whether we should sell it.
Nice! Good call, Mr. Priest-man!
Huh? Oh, uh, thank you.
Father Breunor, we're actually collecting these.
You think we could have this? We'd pay for it, of course!
No, no, no, please that's not necessary! If it's something the Shepherd needs on his quest, by all means, please take it. I'm sure the donor would be overjoyed to know that their gift had been of some help to the Shepherd.
Thank you, Father Breunor.
Curious. Definite confirmation, in addition to that previous Earthen Historia, that there at one point were many Shepherds active at once, instead of just the one apparently only possible nowadays with Maotelus being...somewhere. Still, the world is full of possibilities, as this skit points out.
The next sidequest will take us back to the Noble's District. Namely, Alisha's manor and the maid standing guard outside the terrace. A solo quest
Shouldn't you announce yourself? Or don't you have any respect for this family?
I'm sorry. My name is Sorey.
Sorey?! Pardon my rudeness! The princess has spoken highly of you. She's out right now. We're not sure when she'll be back.
This maid sounds like Kira Buckland doing a voice. Sounds like a higher-pitched Edna to me.
Work-related?
Y-Yes... She's going after a suspect who's leaked information to the Rolance Empire.
There definitely must be a spy going around, given the timing of their advancements.
Yes. Even Alisha was under suspicion for it before.
Wow. The princess of Hyland would go so far as to do that herself?
No, it's supposed to be the military's job. But she's acting by herself. Saying that she had to stop a clash between the two countries.
But isn't she taking it a bit too seriously?
Ever since the Battle of Glaivend, she's been pushing herself so hard...
That's very like her...
I'm worried. She behaves so recklessly when she's alone...
She just headed out to Aroundight Forest to gather info about the Origin Village, Camlann.
Huh... Camlann, you say?
It's the village where the Age of Chaos started, I think. But it's just some legend.
We first heard that name, and that legend, from the innkeeper in Ladylake, but it's certainly the first time we had heard it by that point (well, aside from Alisha muttering it to herself before we arrived in Elysia the first time). Seems it's a popular legend, or at least popular enough that Rose has heard about it, with her apparently extensive network of informants. Track record with video game legends...good bet that this "Camlann" is mixed up in this somehow.
Yes. She heard a rumor there were some clues in the depths of Aroundight Forest and headed out there.
So that's how she came to Elysia.
But her hunch was wrong. I've never heard of this Origin Village from Gramps nor the other villagers.
Yeah... I guess that's true...
...
And Lailah is mum about this line of discussion. Sensing something big is indeed to be found at this "Origin Village".
I'll take my leave. Please tell Alisha that I'll come visit again.
Ah, sometimes they'll be tricky and have a blue dot with a purple star. Those funsters at Bamco. This guy is complaining about a merchant named "Logos" who has wormed his way into some plum contracts. Sounds like sour grapes to me, but considering some random conversations in Ladylake also mention this guy, perhaps there is something of interest here.
Hm, even more complaining. Well, at least we can stop by the inn for a skit. Now, there's something special about this skit, namely its name, that I won't include in the skit video, because it...kinda gives away something that'll happen in...2 or 3 updates. You have to know what that "something" is to know exactly what I'm talking about here, but this is why this particular skit will start with the skit itself and not include the title of it for a save point skit name, as I usually do. Anyway, the subject of this skit is Dezel reflecting on our misadventures with those kids. He's not a fan of them, that's for sure.
There's another skit that'll trigger around this point in the game if Dezel has made a madeleine (a French cake, apparently) with his Support Talent at some point. I don't know if can trigger at any point when Rose and Dezel are in the party at the same time and that condition is true, but regardless, we're getting it now. Actually, if you look back at a previous screenshot this update, he made a Madeline. The first one he made? I have no idea, but point is, I have it.
However, from we learn from some other merchants around here, this Logos guy has been known to frequent the Marlind area, which I guess is where we're headed next. We are in the business of iris gems, after all.
Huh?! I don't get it. Why wasn't Lailah speaking?
Could someone hand Rose a mirror?
Dang, there are sparks flying around here lately.
Over in town, more merchants who aren't fans. Sounds like Logos has been getting some pretty sweet deals, which apparently has earned the ire of apparently every other merchant in Hyland. Where Bartlow's hand can be felt, though, trouble can surely not be far behind.
Over in front of the Dumnonia Museum, this guy is asking for peacock feathers to give up information on a Hyland rat who's been passing info off to Rolance in these tension-filled times. Seems this guy has some unusual tastes, but this is part of the reason we made that detour to Malory earlier, to prepare in advance for this sidequest. Let's just skip ahead a few dialogue boxes.
That seems fairly vague, but I can spoil a bit and what we're looking for is right near the entrance of the Aqueduct, so we won't have to look for very for "somethin' up [our] alley". Sounds good to me.
Rgh. *turns around, gasps* You! This is all YOUR damn fault!
Hurry up, kid!
*begins leaving* Ugh. All the grown-ups do is order us around, day in and day out. You call this saving us? Some Shepherd you are. Screw you.
In pop-ups afterwards.
Looks like they've turned to honest labor now.
Yeah. But it didn't make us popular, that's for sure.
That's fine. As long as they're keeping out of trouble.
Sorey...
Yeah, I'm with Sorey. It's not a popularity contest, first of all, and, while obviously we're not sticking around to do more investigating on the particulars here, it's better this than robbing decent folk and dodging responsibility for it. Her struggle
Looks like Alisha came to the same conclusion.
What is the meaning of this?
I-I'm sorry! This is just a misunderstanding. Please take your leave, princess! This is--
Don't make excuses. I've found evidence of connections to Rolance in this very residence! Renovations for Griflet Bridge, order forms of military arsenal, unauthorized transactions for--
That's simply a reward for his support!
Support?
Logos is an important person who connected Rolance and Hyland through unofficial diplomacy.
What does that mean?
On the surface, diplomacy between Hyland and Rolance has been cut. He must have been negotiating with them on his own for some time, in secret.
So then he's not a spy, but a liaison.
Meaning even with the war going on, there's been work done.
Such is politics.
This is a major problem! If the channel gets blocked, both countries will fight until they're both obliterated!
But no one ever told me anything about it...
Of course they didn't. Not to someone like you. I hope you're prepared to pay for your indiscretion! *storms off*
In any case, we must change our strategy. We will be expecting your sincere apology at a later date. *leaves*
Understood.
So the truth... Really poor Alisha. Unable to travel with the Shepherd, completely cut out major elements of her own government, seemingly powerless against the tide of chaos that threatens the world. It's a good thing for her strength of character she's managed up till now. Anyhow, that iris gem...
Again, Lailah's journey with a previous Shepherd. The resulting skit, though, is very cute. The seraph herself says she's having just as much fun on this journey as her previous one, where she evidently crossed paths with a number of familiar faces for Sorey. Lovely to know. Before we leave Ladylake, though, that previous scene wasn't the end of this Logos sidequest. You'll get a brief conversation with Sorey and Mikleo on the way out directing you to Alisha's house, in spite of the fact we were eavesdropping on that little exchange.
How...did it go?
Fortunately, we were able to prevent rumors from spreading. Though in the end I did have to prostrate myself.
That must have been hard.
*laughs* Don't worry, it's fine. I did go a bit too far, after all. The Diphda Family has been surviving as a branch of the Imperial Family. But my mother was born to normal citizens, and was later courted on a whim by my father. So everyone forgave me and assumed it was natural I didn't follow politics.
Milady...
*begins tearing up* And so... That's why... I wanted to do the right thing. I wanted to gain acceptance from everyone in honor of my late father and mother. *sobs* But was I wrong in the end?
I shall... Go fetch some more tea.
Let's leave her alone. Just for a moment.
Right...
That...is harsh. NOW we're done with business in Ladylake for now, but not before we have a skit about this sidequest and how Alisha's personality may be a foundation for why she's run into so much opposition and hostility lately. Maybe the adventuring life is good for her, with how welcome she seems among the powers that be lately.
But now we're ready to finish up this update with Zestiria's most infamous dungeon, the Water Shrine. Trial in the waterfall
It hasn't been eroded by the waterfall at all. If it wasn't recently made, then that means...
It's using seraphic artes. This ruin must date from the Temperance of Avarost.
??? Correct. This is Lefay, the shrine of the trial of water. It has been some time since we were visited by a Shepherd.
I'm the Prime Lord, Lailah. You must be a servant of the water lord, Amenoch.
Indeed. I am Altul, the protector seraph who serves Amenoch.
I'll get right to the point. What must we do to obtain the spiritual power--
??? My sword! Where? Where is my sword?!
Back!
Holy crap!
There's something above!
That is Asura.
I've heard of him. A powerful hellion, sustained by rage and able to fight eternally without rest.
Is the trial to quell Asura?
No. To receive the spiritual power, you must find out the reason why Asura became a hellion to begin with.
We can't just purify him? We have to know the reason?
If you truly are the Shepherd, you should know why that's important.
Right.
Psychotherapy, my favorite.
Hmph. It isn't called a "trial" for nothing. I wish you luck.
So before we start this dungeon, a little discussion on the name. Combined with the name of the falls we passed through, the Great Morgan Falls, this is all is a rather obvious reference to Morgan le Fae, Arthur's sister and chief antagonist. "le Fae" means "the fairy" in French, so her full name here would be Morgan the Fairy or The Fairy Morgan, a nod to her unclear, vaguely unhumanlike origins, either as a goddess, a fairy (fae), identified with the Lady of the Lake who bestowed upon Arthur Excalibur, a queen of the mysterious island of Avalon...it goes on. Morgan has assumed many roles (and names. There are like a half dozen ways to render her name) over the years and is a popular figure for the imagination, largely because medieval legend itself was particularly unclear or ambiguous on what she actually was at the end of the day and what truly motivated her. She's even the protagonist in a few modern renditions of Arthur's legend (the Mists of Avalon series in particular).
Her fame even spread beyond France and Britain, becoming a popular figure in Italian stories as well. You know the optical illusion the Fata Morgana? Yep, named after her completely ("The Fairy Morgana" in Italian), in reference to illusions that can frequently be seen off the coasts of Sicily, since it was believed that Morgan was using powerful magic to create those illusions, or at the very least, it was a popular enough name to permanently bear her name through the centuries.
So believe it or not, this is our introduction to this dungeon's major gimmick. Yep, already. Go ahead, stand in front of one of those eyes. Any will do.
Yep. If you stand in front of ANY eye in this dungeon, and there are a lot of them, you'll lose control, get this little cutscene, and will get warped right back to the start of the dungeon. There is no way to destroy them and no way to neutralize them, even after you finish this dungeon.
So how do you overcome this gimmick? It's the Spectral Cloak's only time to shine. The water bubble will shield you from the eyes teleporting you...until it pops. This either happens after around 8 seconds or you pass over, and this is crucial, *two* of these eye squares. You can start moving on a third but I assure you, it'll pop before it reaches even halfway across. The squares are also very important to pay attention to, because those indicate squares you have to stay off of because it's an eye's, uh, eyesight.
As for me in this screenshot? Yep, I'm gonna be teleported back very soon, since, as mentioned, the bubble will pop shortly after passing over two squares, regardless of how fast you move over them.
So we're headed to the right. Thankfully, the enemies in this dungeon aren't too bad, and in fact, there's one very fun one. Not either of these, sadly.
Why don't you go figure it out.
Always very helpful. Scyllas are fairly hardy mostly-spellcasters, but otherwise unremarkable adversaries.
??? But I wonder... Is a lowly swordsmith like myself truly worthy of becoming the Shepherd?
In this room, we have our first special treasure. Instead of standard treasure, this is part one of a diary. I don't actually know what happens if you proceed in this dungeon without finding these diaries (they're not items, and the chest will go back to normal after you close this dialogue box), but I'm guessing you just don't fight Asura in the inevitable boss room. We won't be finding out this playthrough, since one run through this dungeon is quite enough for one playthrough of this game.
Yep, Lefay is a pretty big dungeon. We're gonna be headed in the direction I'm currently facing, though.
(Hundrepede) They say it's the first hundred years that matter...
Huh?
It's a proverb. Could that be related to the number of legs they have? Its name says it all: Hundrepede! Isn't it wonderful? Can't you feel it?!
Can't you tell us something helpful?!
Yep, that's classic Lefay right there. Always look before you leap here.
Yep, the Aquaphant is what I was referring to as my favorite enemy here. Love these guys. Just look at 'em. It's also one of the very few generic enemy types originating from this game that didn't reappear in Berseria in any capacity.
Taking the door to the Central Cavern on 2F, see that purple circle? Despite purple generally meaning a bad thing in this game, this one is very good. Any purple points, once touched, become warp points that connect to the start of the dungeon (specifically, the first room with eyes), substantially cutting down on pointless backtracking.
This is actually the other room on 1F, the one with three eye tiles guarding it, so we needed to come here from 2F. The silver chest has 6000 gald in it, whereas a brown one, to Sorey's left has...oh wait, I stepped on another eye tile.
Well, I didn't wanna leave it hanging.
I love these guys, but all three using Aqua Breath at the same time can be pretty deadly. Luckily, Breath tends to push a target away, so as long as you're not backed up against the side of an area, you won't take as much as damage as possible.
Now, this is an interesting, but optional, room. The brown chest is easy enough to get to, just left and up against the side of the room, but that door on the right is much trickier. There are eye tiles all the way to the door, so we clearly can't access it from this side. Oh, yeah, and there are no evil "dummy" eye tiles, that look operational but aren't, so you see an eye tile, it's taking you back if you step on it without Spectral Cloak. Oh yeah, and don't even think about Wind Rushing over eye tiles. I can assure you that won't work.
Oh, speaking of that brown chest, the eye statue that *should* be facing you is actually damaged and isn't working, hence why we can even get close to it. This is a fairly well-hidden landmark, but its disguise was not good enough. The inevitable skit right afterwards gives us a little context on when this oft-mentioned Temperance of Avarost occurred. All we need to know is "A long-ass time ago", long before the events of Berseria, even. Even older than Edna, or so I've heard. But you didn't hear that last part from me. I'm just sayin', is all.
And yeah, proof that the Damaged Eyeball Statue is listed before the Earth Shrine landmark is, so I guess the intended path is Lefay -> Aroundight Revisited -> Aifread's Hunting Grounds -> Weylish Ruins -> Morgause.
For context, the Damaged Eyeball Statue is that statue on the far right, meaning we're back in this room, except on the opposite side, which is the only way you can access that door leading to a balcony on the Central Cavern. So how do you get there? Well, see the empty tile in front of Sorey, up and to the left? Go there.
Now here's the tricky part. If you cast Spectral Cloak from most anywhere on this blank square and go towards the door, it'll pop before you get to the door and you get sent back. So the solution here is to get to the very edge of this blank tile, cast the cloak, then immediately go towards the door. If you do it right, you'll have just barely enough time left to get to the threshold of the door and you're free. So your reward for doing that? A Red Sage, a Life Bottle, and a...Roll Cake. Yeah...not too amazing a reward.
It squirts things out from... Places.
Spare a thought for the quiet nobility of the Aquaphant. These enemies spam seraphic artes a lot, making them, as always, not particularly fun to fight.
Near the stairs to 3F, you can find another diary for Asura. Let's see...
25th Year of the Common Calendar, Month of the Sage posted:
It has been three years since the seraph named me the Shepherd. I have tried mightily to be worthy fo the role, but malevolence rises unabated. I must do more--I need to save as many as I can."
More of the Shepherd's diary.
Looks like it.
Remember to check your corners... I do mean "check 'em". The eastern exit, guarded by a single eye, there leads to another Central Cavern balcony, which has a Raspberry Mousse, a Peach Gel, and Lefay's sole normin, Animili. He has a nice view but we really must be off. The other side of that large previous room is completely locked down by eyes, so we need to circle around 3F the long way. Along the way, you'll come along a room with a little pool in it on one side of the room. One of the chests in that room has...
28th Year of the Common Calendar, Month of the Cycle posted:
It's no good... Every day, malevolence encroaches further upon the world. I can stop neither disaster nor war. I am the Shepherd, yet still I am weak. I need greater power if I am to vanquish this malevolence once and for all!
Why is a Shepherd's diary in a place like this?
Can't be a coincidence.
Now we're making some progress. And another warp, of course. On 4F, there's a square room packed with enemies, with another diary entry in it.
31st Year of the Common Calendar, Month of the Chalice posted:
I have obtained mythril, with which I mean to forge a mighty blade. Then will I at last have the power I need. Power, power, power... It is all I can think of, night and day.
Poor Shepherd...
He's veered into a dangerous headspace.
Hmph. What did you expect?
Thankfully, a lot less blocking our view here. There are no eye platforms overseeing, directly, that elevated platform, so we'll have to use that a resting point on our way to the far door. The room after this, a simple square one, has a bunch of eye statues about, so, again, watch those corners and proceed slowly. There's a chest in the corner that has a Feldspar Staff for Mikleo that you may or may not want to pick up.
Correction: YOU'RE a real piece of work.
Well...he's not wrong, on either score. Another diary in the next room after this conversation pops.
42nd Year of the Common Calendar, Month of the Blossoms posted:
It is complete at last. The sword that has been my dream for nigh on twenty years. With this blade, I will cut them down! The hellions! The malevolence! All the chaos!
Could the owner of this diary be...
Asura?!
Interesting thing about the previous room is there's a staircase leading down to 2F, but you can't use it as a shortcut because of too many eye tiles. But it similarly follows you couldn't use it if you were on 2F because of the same reason. So why is there a staircase in the first place if it's totally useless for its purpose? Mysterios. However...
The far side of THIS room is also a red-herring. There's an eye watching the column of tiles that leads back there, and more to the point, there's nothing of relevance there. But what is relevant is that elevated area, which has the only good eye in this dungeon, one that transports you between floors.
Just make sure you cast Spectral Cloak before you approach that door. So much backtracking if you get sloppy.
Only the Shepherd has what it takes to get anywhere in a place like this.
A Shepherd... Or his antithesis.
Maltran...? Oh, yeah, Alisha did mention the Hyland military found ruins in this area because of some bandits they captured. But yeah, can think it's a fairly safe bet we're the first ones that went this way in a long time. There's also a save point skit discussing Asura and guardian seraph. Does seem like a concern Asura seems to just be wandering about, but he hasn't caused trouble on the outside yet...
And look who it is, meaning we've reached the end of the dungeon. Lovely. I can't say this place doesn't deserve its reputation, but it's definitely not like, sheer torture to get through if you just proceed slowly and look carefully before you enter any room. Thanks to those warp points, you can really cut down on the backtracking once you activate them, and the dungeon room layout is simple enough it's simple to run through unguarded areas. Overall, it's the worst of these trial dungeons, but again, just don't try to bum rush it and it won't take too long. Took me about...30-40 minutes of dungeon time, discounting the time spent in battles. And that was with more than a bit of messing up. Surging Water
Is that Asura?
??? Where is it? Where is my sword?!
His sword?
Is it normal for hellions to attack each other?
??? *turns around* I am the Shepherd! It is my job to defeat the hellions!
So Asura IS a Shepherd...
A Shepherd who became a hellion!
??? Give it back! Give me my sword back!
Actually, "Asuras" are figures from Hindu mythology who, basically, are like this guy. They're just constantly upset and fighting with someone. There's a lot more to it than that, obviously, but you can think of them as pretty warlike fellows.
I don't know what it was, but I absolutely wrecked this guy. He's not overly aggressive, this is a large field to fight him on, and he doesn't really have any exceptional abilities or artes. I'm disappointed. Once he falls to about...5% HP, cutscenes resume.
??? Give it back! That sword has the power to cleave malevolence!
Enough. We know that you want to help people.
??? The power to cleave hellions... Chaos... And those filthy humans!
Humans?! Oh no...
What does he want to do, cut down the whole world?!
That's the reason why Asura became a hellion!
Correct.
??? Huh... That voice.
Huh, that's a little more deadly. I actually totally thought I had totally clowned this fight and cutscenes would just keep going, so I was surprised you still had to shave off that last little bit of HP.
That's not to say there's *much* more of this fight. Only took me about 7 seconds to wrap it up.
He's trying to say something.
??? Give me my sword back... Altul...
Altul?!
He's gone.
He was the Shepherd, long ago. Even if he was purified, his body has already deteriorated.
So his rage alone kept him going.
The problem is Altul. Do you think that he stole Asura's sword?
Let's go back and get the story from him straight.
And finally, those eyes finally come in handy. That's a redemption arc if I ever heard one. An unsure outcome
Much appreciated.
Are you...who we think you are?
It is as you suspect. I am the seraph who guided Asura to the way of the Shepherd, and used him as a vessel.
You stole his sword?
This is something special.
You can tell with one look.
This sword is made from a rare metal called mythril. It truly does have enough power to cleave the world.
Is that why you stole it and hid it?
Yes. I was probably the one he wanted to slay most of all. But I had no choice.
...
He was pure the core. And it was that shining purity that tore him apart with worry... And eventually cost him his very soul.
That's why he made that sword. To cut down anything that would be corrupted by malevolence.
But I have no qualms about giving this sword to you. If you can learn to use it, it might aid you even more than the spiritual powers.
*shakes head* I'll pass. I already got a sword anyways.
Well said.
So you pass the trial of the spirit as well.
??? If you don't need it, I'll take it off your hands.
Wait...Maltran? Actually, while I was playing, I didn't notice Maltran making a very brief cameo appearance at the end of the Asura video, since I generally tune out the game when cutscenes are going on, with full acknowledgment I'll get more than familiar with them when writing these updates. I almost missed it while watching this video back, too, since, as I mentioned during the Lulua LP, I watch these videos back at 2x speed unless I'm really needing a lot of screenshots in a short period of time.
Maltran?!
Sorey! Look closely!
No way! She's...
A hellion!
I apologize for ignoring you back then, seraphim.
So you really could see us!
What do you intend with the sword?
I shall cut down the world. Just as Asura wished.
But why?!
I should be asking you. Why don't you understand how Asura felt? Were we to erase this corrupted, chaotic world and all the humans in it, would that not rid of us malevolence once and for all? That is the clean, elegant logic of my master, the Lord of Calamity!
You're siding with "him"?!
If Alisha knew about this...
How sad she'd be. Boo hoo.
You've been using Alisha this whole time.
Ironically enough, to start a war, it is most effective to take a starry-eyed pacifist and get them all riled up over something. But now, everything is lined up for an all-out collision between Hyland and Rolance. Our sad princess...has outlived her usefulness! *swings sword, creating air pressure, leaves*
Whoa! *dodges* This can't be...
Well. This is a fine pickle, isn't it. For a Shepherd, I suppose reality is a far crueler trial than anything we could come up with.
In pop-ups afterwards...
...
Mikleo, Sorey seems off lately.
I think he's worried about Alisha. I wish it were as simple as telling him to stop.
True. I'm not sure there's anything we can do.
In another conversation...
So the last spiritual power is wind, right?
*cough*
Yeah, cute.
It's not cute. Your stupid wind stirs up my allergies.
To wrap this update up, there's a skit at the save point near the Morgan Falls. Difficult update for Alisha all-around to be sure. But there's only one spiritual power to go.