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Part XVIII: The Truth of an Age
So this is a sidequest we could have started as soon as we arrived in Lohgrin (sort of), but I'm just getting to now after taking care of some business off-camera. This guy will direct you to find some mythril for him, but the way it triggers is a tad askew. Namely, you appear to need at least 3 stars with every item shop (including the Peddler, who shows up in a few locations, like Westronbolt Gorge and Aifread's Hunting Grounds), which just involves buying stuff and Fusing stuff. Basically, just spending money at each shop. Once you've done that, you can trigger this conversation. You might think "Go mine for mythril" isn't much to go on, but this guy does explicitly point you toward Aroundight Forest, so that works for me.
Specifically, it's this lump of mythril you're supposed to be interested in. It's the only one you can interact with, and it's marked on the map, so everything works out.
And that we did...
Well, he definitely wasn't lying. Mythril is the second-highest tier of "material" equipment, that is, equipment named for what material they're made out of. The highest tier is Adamantine, but equipment is...well, it's a thorny issue in Zestiria, to say the least. The thing with equipment is that, unlike in most Tales games, there's no "Ultimate" equipment, per se. That is, weapons that are basically universally agreed-upon that are the best of the best. Most of a build's power will come in terms of the skills attached to them, and even then, you can't truly access the dizzying heights of power until *at least* the second playthrough and a lot of preparation. I can certainly talk about it as I understand it, but if you want to truly plumb the depths of Zestiria's equipment system, well, that's on your own time. You actually cannot begin, in any meaningful sense, developing powerful builds until you hit the endgame of your first playthrough. I mean, you *can*, but it is so hilariously unrealistic to do so that you'd certainly have to be some kind of nut to do it that way, without access to special stuff you get in the final and bonus dungeons.
As for now, if you buy any piece of mythril equipment and head to the save in Lohgrin, you'll get this skit to pop.
Damn straight.
At least, that was the rumor I heard a long time ago. No idea if it's true, though.
Doesn't really help us find Katz Korner, but it's something I guess.
So I spent a while recording grinding, just because I knew the critical content for this update would be fairly short, but that still doesn't excuse grinding. Well, it was done, and what's done is thus: setting normin to grind their respective skills for while in the Lohgrin area. Grinding equipment is, as you might guess, quite dull, and there are...catches to it, that make building ultimate builds on *this* particular playthrough quite a pain by this point in the game. I eventually decided it was neither worth describing nor showing, so allow me to put it this way, for now: really, really don't worry about grinding equipment before the endgame. And I mean the *very* endgame. It's just not worth it for a variety of reasons, and you can only seriously do it on NG+, if you're like me and spent the vast majority of this playthrough on Hard. Toward the end of my little grinding sesh, I did up the difficulty to Intense, because I do want to at least unlock Chaos by the end of this LP, and that's the only way to do it. Intense is, well, not a *huge* step up from Hard, at least from what I played, but Intense and Chaos are both kinda meant for NG+. Well, I'm having my fun on Hard, so why not?
My equipment grinding wasn't in *total* waste, just mostly. Anyhow, like the party was talking about at the end of the previous update, just go talk to Mayvin in Lohgrin to continue the story, once you've fully united the Earthen Historia. He's just chilling out on some debris in front of the equipment shop. The road to this moment
We know that Heldalf was stricken with a great deal of pain and hardship.
It seems almost like some kind of curse.
I can see that. Bound to the curse that is eternal loneliness.
Hmm.
During our most recent encounter with him, he taunted Sorey, preying on his emotions and trying to bait him into becoming a fallen Shepherd. But afterwards, he reached out to Sorey and tried to convince him to join his ranks.
The Lord of Calamity, reaching out to the Shepherd...
I want to know. Just what happened to Heldalf to make him the man we see today?
But that would infringe on the old man's taboo.
We don't even have a clue what that really means. Maybe this is selfish of us. But still.
Is there no chance you can help?
*turns around* Follow me.
Mayvin. Are you sure about this?
*walks off*
Open sesame...
*hops out*
Oh man, NICE! Check it out! That huge thing has carvings all over it!
Is this from the Era of the Gods? I've never seen anything like it before.
Oh boy, more fodder for our resident nerds.
Heh heh.
So you can grab the two treasure chests on either flank of this room, and the Red Rosemary Sorey can detect through a door, but make sure you don't examine the giant monolith right now. Although we have a full party and can discover that landmark now, you will *not* get the skit you'll always get for landmarks if you check it out now. It's a bit unfortunate "Check" is also the prompt to talk to Mayvin, but just to be safe, talk to Mayvin when you're right in front of him. The beginning
The Storyteller of Time?
The one who passes stories to future generations. Stories of humans, seraphim, hellions, Shepherds, the Lord of Calamity. It is my clan to whom that fate has fallen. A storyteller is to be a dispassionate observer. He must not interfere in world events. But I am prepared to accept the consequences.
So, going back to Magilou / Melchior one more time. Those two never talked about any of this business, and to say they interfered in the course of human events, that would be putting it mildly. Well, Zestiria itself doesn't go much into this, but this is one instance where I think Zestiria the X nicely elaborates a bit. I mentioned before, waaaay back in Berseria when we first learned the nature of malevolence and its impact on the world, that the knowledge of what malevolence was was not lost to time in-between games, but merely became secret knowledge. In the X, Sorey and company actually meet with Rolance's emperor, and in his possession was a large trove of knowledge that chronicled the events of Berseria, in presumably an abridged form. Included in this knowledge was the impetus for Velvet's vengeance (Sorey first hears her name during this scene) and the nature of malevolence.
Meeting with the Emperor, the old man tells Sorey that "Mayvin" is the name given to a clan that chronicles the world's history, with an oath that prevents them from revealing what they discover, but one of the members of this clan had broken that oath to tell the Rolance imperial family about the nature of malevolence and why things turned out the way they did.
As evidenced from this screenshot (episode 6 of season 2, if you're curious), this figure is very heavily implied to be Magilou (the emperor is telling this story when this image pops up), and certainly, she would have first-hand knowledge of much of what happened, so she could certainly spin a yarn if she were so inclined. He certainly does not say this in so many words in the show, so officially brand the next few thoughts as pure speculation, but he considers it a singular duty as emperor to pass this knowledge on from one generation to the next. The cost of a Mayvin revealing their knowledge is death. I prefer to think of it as the Rolance imperial family, for 1000 years, has been honoring Magilou's sacrifice in telling the human world all of this, so they could put this knowledge to good use. Again, this is just my interpretation, but this is certainly one instance of where I think the X nicely supplements the setting. Doesn't contradict anything that occurs in either game and adds a nice conclusion to Magilou's eventful story.
*pulls out an orb*
Is that an Earthen Historia?
There are more of them?
The others were fine, but this one had to be shielded from the eyes of men. So I kept it for myself.
Then this must be...
Yes. This is a record of the Dawn of Chaos. Come. Experience the truth of the dawning of this age. Perceive the light. Perceive the darkness. Place your hands upon the monolith.
*everyone nods*
O Lord of the Earth. By the authority of my pact, bare us your soul!
Where is this? I've never seen this place before.
We're experiencing the Dawn of Chaos. So I suppose this would be...
Camlann, the Origin Village!
Well, might as well go on.
Undisagreed.
This is a very unique *area* of the game where you proceed via Resident Evil-style fixed camera angles. So it's not always immediately obvious where you're supposed to go next, so if you see me stumbling about, looking for what advances this very long scene, that's why. The exit for this screen is to the southwest.
No kidding.
General, this is absurd! How long must we keep living like this?!
I am protecting you from the invasion of the forces of Hyland. I'd expect you to be more grateful, Shepherd.
Huh?! This guy's the previous Shepherd?!
The previous Shepherd is the guy with the mop-top standing across from a human Heldalf.
You have occupied our village for half a year now! This isn't protection... It's house arrest!
Not to mention, the Kingdom of Hyland is only acting against us because Rolance moved their army here in the first place!
Looks like they can't hear us.
The Earthen Historia shows that which has transpired.
The strategic importance of this location cannot be overlooked just because the Shepherd founded a village here. You can trust Hyland would say the same.
What, so it was inevitable?
When one considers the rise of the Hyland Valkyries, yes.
I've had enough. Just leave us.
*leaves, taking his soldiers with him*
Michael! Are you really okay with this? Those bastards are treating Lord Maotelus' shrine as their own fortress! How much longer must they blaspheme the seraphim?!
Brother!
It's okay, Muse. He's right that Camlann happens to be a strategically crucial location, given that we're here along the northern border. An army that controls this territory can send troops to the enemy's capital at will. Their interest in our land is sad but understandable.
Do you really trust the words of that tyrant?!
They will do as they will. We must focus on what we believe in. As a lone Shepherd with no other family in the world to call his own, I vow to protect Muse and everyone else. I swear it.
So the Origin Village was occupied by Heldalf.
And then dragged into the chaos of war.
Still... You can understand why neither army could leave it alone.
...
Is something wrong, Mikleo?
Huh? Oh, well... The humans were treating Maotelus with scorn and contempt. No wonder his blessing was lost. But there's probably more to the story. Let's head towards the shrine.
Right.
For this screen, the exit is about at 7 o' clock.
No. Much more likely it's just a feint to draw out the forces of the northern territory. They just wanted a pretext to declare war.
This is absurd.
Thoroughly absurd. But that's humans for ya.
Definitely Kira Buckland doing a voice. Helps when she says something Edna might say, minus the "ya".
You said it. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Exit for this screen is at the end of the little dirt path there.
Oh no... Is Maotelus going to become a hellion?!
Let us put faith in the Shepherd. He said he would never allow that, even should it cost him his life.
But still. If the Shepherd would be lost anyway, wouldn't it be better for us just to evacuate while we can?
There's no way that someone like Michael could ever do such a thing.
Right. He's the Shepherd. He couldn't just abandon Maotelus and let him succumb to malevolence.
Sorey...
I looked very closely, and for some reason Lailah's lip movements are animated, but Sorey's aren't, for some reason. It made it hard to tell he was the one talking here until the last line. Good example why I just have to listen to these videos sometimes. Exit for this screen is continuing down the path toward the background.
Hey, isn't this...
Then I can suffer the ire of one measly Shepherd.
*runs up*
What is it?
An enemy attack!
The northerners have arrived!
N-No! It appears to be the Hyland army!
I will not rise to their bait. Assemble the troops. We shall retreat.
We will make no counterattack?
Would you have me throw men away on some meaningless skirmish with Hyland? Don't be an imbecile.
Guess this town is destined for the scrap heap after all. Have the order to retreat given at once!
*runs off*
Unbelievable! Doesn't he care about the happiness of the villagers?!
This trivial nonsense is what got the entire village wiped out?!
*pained grunt*
Stop it!
Sorey...
Knowing we can't do anything to intervene just makes it worse.
What on earth is Heldalf doing?!
Filthy Rolance scum! Sneak into the mountains, will you?!
How could this happen?
Shepherd! Muse has gone to the shrine!
What?!
To beg the Rolance army for assistance...
But Heldalf's already run away! *begins running* Muse... Please be safe!
Hurry to the shrine!
Right!
Instead of following where Michael went, you have to head to the northern exit of the screen.
I understand that, as a fellow Shepherd, you feel strong empathy toward him. That is normal. But please, do not forget what Mayvin told us.
...
You too, Mikleo.
I'm sorry. It's just...
We can already tell this isn't going to end well.
We've learned more than enough here to put the pieces together at this point.
But we still need to see this through, don't we.
*nods*
*turns to Mikleo* Let's go.
Right. *both run off*
Mikleo looks out of character, to say nothing of Sorey.
Well of course. He was bound to notice before too long.
Yeah. And when you add in the fact that none of this is heading for a happy ending...
We all picked up on it. Mikleo, Muse, and the Shepherd all look too similar not to.
Let's go. We're very close to the whole truth.
He's alive... He's alive, but... My god... Maotelus... All is lost... Maotelus has become a hellion, and this...this innocent child... All due to the insipid ambitions of one man...
Wait! No, don't! Please! Brother!
Heldalf. Live now and forever in a hell of your own making.
Lightning?! General!
Heldalf! Prepare yourself!
*tears the arrow out*
*begins running* S-Stay away from us, you monster!
So that's what went down.
So kittybeard didn't BECOME a hellion... He was MADE one.
One bearing the most terrible curse there could possibly be.
And the one responsible for it...was the previous Shepherd.
So then, I...
If it's not over yet, then there must be more to it.
It's not over, huh?
Mikleo...
We gotta be close to the end. Shouldn't we just take a quick gander before we head back?
This skit pops up immediately afterwards. Everyone's feelings here definitely understandable. Sorey and Mikleo are getting a lot dumped in their laps all at once, even if all of this has long since happened.
The way forward, counterintuitively, is behind your party, rather than the path in front.
My goodness... What happened?
Such thick malevolence... I feel sick...
Malevolence of this impossible magnitude can only mean one thing...
Not Maotelus?!
*walks over to the nearest body* Born far too early, by the looks of it. Poor mother and child... Neither of you deserved this.
Perhaps this too is fate...
That child's human!
Are we not all the same when we first breathe this air, save for the vessel we chance into?
But a child born so premature won't last but a few months.
Probably so.
This child is Sorey. The dead woman is Selene, his mother, who you definitely don't get a good look at in the game but does show up in more detail in Zestiria's manga adaptation.
Zenrus!
Muse. My goodness! What happened here?
I'm afraid there's no time to explain. We have to seal off the malevolence before it drifts into Elysia! *notices the kid* Who's that child? Selene's? Could it be she... She was with child?
In order to contain Maotelus within this land... You would be the sacrifice to seal the path to Elysia? But Maotelus is using the land itself as his vessel. Even if we can trap him here, it would no more than empty consolation.
I understand. But, even so, this is something that we humans have brought upon ourselves.
And the Shepherd?
*shakes head*
I take it that...the Shepherd has finally fallen?
That may be so. But fate has blessed us with a thread of hope.
You don't mean to say... You will raise these children to become the Shepherd and his Sub Lord?
For a human and a seraph child raised together, anything is possible. However...
I humbly accept your two small beacons of hope.
Gramps...
Zenrus! I have not the words to thank you!
Gramps!
So, Sorey... You were a survivor from that village.
And our boy Mickey was refashioned into a seraph.
So I was a sacrifice.
You can cry if you want.
Why would I cry? I'm surprised, to be sure, but I'm not sad. And now we know where Maotelus is. Now the only thing left is our answer.
Right.
So does this mean we've found it?
I know now what path I want to take, though I'm not sure that counts as an answer.
Very well, then. Let's consult with Mayvin once more.
Hey, where'd he go?
Just a little while ago he was activating the hidden powers of this monolith. He's probably still around here somewhere.
You're right. Let's go look for him.
You can always count on Rose to lighten things up. Now that you've finished that vital...well, "flashback" would technically be correct, wouldn't it, NOW you can safely examine Mayvin's monolith.
He would know...
Mysterious Monolith posted:
A mysterious monolith that lies within the Lohgrin tower. This fact alone lends it an otherwordly presence.
The nearby save point also has a skit attached to it. It's definitely a complicated situation that has no clear villain. Everyone had a hand in it. Incidentally, the true story of what happened in Camlann is pretty substantially different in the X, but it, of course, had the same overall outcome: the previous Shepherd, Michael, the one we've seen with Lailah in a few Earthen Historia, blighted Heldalf, a former general of Rolance, into becoming the Lord of Calamity. The proper story is that near the end of his journey as a Shepherd, Michael had become aware of the fact that Maotelus was being venerated in Pendrago's shrinechurch, and, concerned with the continuing growing power of human malevolence, decided to move Maotelus back into a more secluded land high up in the mountains near Elysia, which is why the inner sanctum of the shrinechurch had that engraving dedicated to Maotelus. It actually lends Zestiria a pretty dark air compared to the strangely positive overall conclusion of Berseria. Even with how much faith Laphicet had in the future of humanity, how he'd lend them his aid as they created their own future, humanity learned absolutely nothing from all that and kept their bickering and fighting through the centuries, even to the point where the most powerful Empyrean succumbed to the malevolence. The party has a lot to discuss about all this, but the most important audience of all awaits in the tower's former mess hall... Answer
You're back.
What are you doing here?
Oh, I just wanted to make sure the monolith doesn't get damaged. Your thoughts?
No one involved was fully in the wrong, but no one was fully right either. That's how it felt to me.
A useful understanding to reach. Now...your answer.
Sorey. Let us hear your answer to this.
The Shepherd's job doesn't just boil down to "quell the Lord of Calamity", or even "clean up the previous Shepherd's mistakes". When malevolence consumes seraphim and turns them into hellions, we save them... Yet when it brings misfortune and grief to humans, we say they only have themselves to blame. It doesn't seem fair.
So that is your answer.
Dunno if it counts as one.
There are humans out there just like Heldalf. He just happened to play one part in a cascade of terrible events.
I'm not gonna say you shouldn't sympathize with him. But I will say it would strike me as bizarre to completely let him off the hook for the horrors he brought to such a peaceful village... And what he's trying to do now is still messed up... Right?
Absolutely. It's wrong, period, and I will stop it.
But even so, you would save this man?
I see... So then, you...
...Really ARE an idiot.
Yep! Sorey is Sorey, and we love him for it.
That's right! He couldn't be anyone else even if he tried.
So, Mr. Teller. That what you were looking for?
For such a man... Ending his loneliness would be the sole path to salvation. Do you understand what that means?
Sorey...
Can you carry that burden with you?
Indeed. That, even more than your answer, is the crucial matter.
Right. What's important now is whether you truly will not waver... Or rather, whether you truly believe in your answer, and are willing to accept its repercussions.
No matter what happens, and no matter what cost.
Wait, are you asking him to prove his determination in battle?
Put bluntly, yes. In order to defeat one who has been abandoned in time, the bonds of strength must be severed. Show me how that is done.
Defeat the one who has been abandoned in time... You can't be talking about...
How to sever the bonds of strength?
So eternal loneliness is a curse, you say... It makes sense now.
Old man...
Now then! Show me!
Mayvin fights in an...interesting way. No doddering old man he, but he doesn't like to get up close and personal with his attacks. He either has a variety of utensils at his disposal, and I mean a lot of them, or he throws them like boomerangs and we just can't see.
Hm, might be the former. I'm pretty sure it's not possible to open up Power Combos against him because I don't *think* there are any artes that are meant for the very occasional Human enemy (Mayvin is one of like a half dozen in the game, I believe), and he has no elemental weaknesses nor resistances. So it's not a fight you can utterly wreck with a well-placed armatized Mystic Arte, but you don't need to play in any specific way. As always, Water!Sorey or Rose is good for locking down Mayvin at range while the other human goes in to attack.
I definitely didn't want to finish him before he unleashed his Mystic Arte, Luminous Sabre. Luckily he obliged.
His most dangerous arte, which he only unleashes when he's low on health, is Crate. Despite seeming comical at best, this is a pretty deadly attack because it locks down a radius in front of him (marked by an orange circle moments before his utensils come raining down), perfect for him following up with more powerful artes. Reminder that armatization won't save a human victim from this, since, no matter if you're playing as the human or seraphim, the human is the host for the armatus and the two will link up where the human is. If a seraph gets caught, though, that's a perfect moment to bail someone out for free.
What I want to see is not a mere display of strength.
So you really are immortal?
You understand by now, don't you? The way to defeat me.
Yes. Turn my friends into attacks with wills of their own, and use those strengths to pierce through the bonds of strength.
What Dezel said he did.
Then why aren't you doing it? I'm not a hellion. Even if you make use of that means, your friends will not be consumed with malevolence.
...
You won't admit it. After all, to demonstrate that method upon me is tacit acknowledgment that is is your only option with Heldalf as well.
But Mayvin, isn't there any other way at all?
No. Even Lailah's power is not enough to purify one as consumed with malevolence as he is. You should know that.
Sorey... Rose...
If you weigh lives on scales, you will falter at the crucial moment. All the more so if it is your friends' lives in question. But if you do waver, and your wavering leads you to a faulty answer, you may never recover. In this way does virtue become vice.
...
But if you will die for the answer you truly believe in, even failure will not stop you from rising again. What you should fear is not failure, but rather that fear itself will compromise your belief in your answer.
Lailah...
Now then, Sorey!
If you intend to make this a farce, then I shall end it!
The pipe bounced off Sorey's sword and Mayvin caught it again.
But with the spirit of belief!
It is a damned shame, Lailah. Unfortunately it looks like they still don't understand.
No. Just a little bit more. Even when they resented their own helplessness...
Even when evil schemed to lead them astray... Sorey and his companions have pushed ever on, never losing themselves.
You're really something.
I don't like having regrets, and I don't like giving 'em to other people, either. Don't you forget it.
Sorey, Rose. You paralyzed or something? Going up against hellions is already life or death! This shouldn't be new to ya!
Edna... Zaveid...
It's just as they said, Rose. Sorey, do you remember what I told you? Back at Ladylake? I didn't come all this way just to be a liability. I said it before. Do I need to say it again?
No.
If the Shepherd Sorey truly believes in his answer, then surely may he bring an end to the Age of Chaos!
Then show us. Show us your answer.
Everyone: Sorey!
Everyone...
You have good friends, lad.
Darn right.
Come at me!
If it's gotta be like this...
Also, not to kill the mood too much, but I was going *nuts* looking for the song that plays over this scene, as well as the same song that plays at the scene where the party rescues that woman who was about to fall off the top of Guinevere. I went over the soundtrack with a fine-tooth comb and just couldn't find anything that sounded like it, but I think I have MY answer to this riddle. The reason I couldn't find it? Because it's not *on* the official OST, bizarrely, for such a nice song. It's Journey's End -instrumental-, which is an instrumental version of the credits theme, I believe. It's just not on the soundtrack, for some reason. I always ignored that one while looking because I listened to a bit of it and was like "Oh, vocals. Well *obviously* you don't want a vocal song playing over cutscenes". How very odd, but that's Zestiria for ya.
I guess I should have been tipped off by the fact that, like Berseria, the Zestiria soundtrack basically (there are some notable exceptions) divides up its discs depending on the part of the game where you'll first hear the songs therein. Disc 1 covers the start of the game to just before Glaivend Basin, Disc 2 is roughly from there to just after clearing Pendrago's skies, Disc 3 covers the spiritual trials part of the game (where we first heard Journey's End, near the end of Wind), and Disc 4 covers the final act, including the post-game dungeon. So if it had to be anywhere, it would have been Disc 3, where Journey's End may be found, but again, you don't expect them to just leave off a song that plays over some memorable moments in the plot.
Old man?!
Mayvin?!
I thought I could hold out until you finished it, but...
Mayvin?
Oh... I'm so sorry it came to this.
You're an idiot, too.
You're not wrong... But I have no regrets.
What's going on? What are you saying?!
C'mon!
It's because I violated the taboo...
If the user breaks the terms of the oath, the special powers granted by the oath likewise vanish.
*weakly nods*
This is why, as aggravating as it might be, Lailah not telling us what she knew about Shepherd Michael and Maotelus was the correct choice overall. Her powers of purification, passed down to Mikleo, Edna, Rose, and Zaveid, through Sorey, would be lost if she broke her oath to keep her own mouth shut about them.
You should have told us!
Please... Do not blame Lailah... She merely did what she believed was right for all of you... And it was my decision to make as well...
I believe, too. In my answer, and in my friends. And for their sake, I will not waver in what must be done... So there will be no regrets!
I promise... I'll never forget what you've told me, Mayvin. And I'll teach it to others as well!
Sorey, you've...
*exchanges another look with Rose*
Heh. Never did I imagine I would die with others... By my... Side...
Let's go!
To Camlann?
Yeah. Maotelus should still be there.
Let's make for Elysia first.
*nods* There should be a road there leading to Camlann. We saw Gramps come running when the village fell.
Oh, that makes sense. So Camlann was close to Elysia.
Very likely. That fits with the idea tha tit was a strategically important location for Hyland, Rolance, and the northern powers.
Yeah, good point. But it looked to me like the road to Camlann was sealed off.
Yeah. By my mother.
You can cry if--
I told you I'm not going to cry!
Let's end this.
Right on!
The road to the end is open... Also, like the previous act, there are some skits to peruse before we go on. First one is a save point skit about what comes next after we cut the bond between Maotelus and Heldalf, and the other two are obtained by resting at the inn. First up is about what may have been motivating Mayvin in reaching out to Sorey and Rose. Whatever the truth...what Velvet could not do 1000 years previously, we'll finish. There's also a final one discussing Siegfried, and it's funny how we know Zaveid is lying his ass off about where he got it. Well, whatever the case, if it's possible to beat Heldalf, this is how we do it.