Migrate to XIVData Oxidizer, reorganize repo (#92)

* reorganize files

* en oxidizer export

* de, fr, ja oxidizer export

* cn, ko, tc submodules

* Update README.md
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xiashtra
2026-01-04 18:32:55 -06:00
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0,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_CFC_TO_INSTANCE_CONTENT","<Sheet(ContentFinderCondition,IntegerParameter(1),3)/>"
1,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_001","Have you come here to share a heroic yarn with me, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>? Please, do go on─you have my rapt attention. "
2,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q1_000_001","What story will you share?"
3,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_MENU_CANCEL","Nothing."
4,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_002","Oh, have you come just to say hello? I appreciate the gesture, to be sure, just as I appreciate that you are a busy <If(PlayerParameter(4))>woman<Else/>man</If>. Even so, I do hope you find time in the future to regale me with a tale or two."
5,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_003","...Ah, I understand. You have no tales worth telling─yet, that is. I know for certain 'tis but a matter of time until you are thrust into the heart of matters most dramatic."
6,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_004","Fortunately, the denizens of this city are great lovers of tall tales and thrilling verse. They simply cannot hear enough of your exploits, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>! Thank you for being my ever-dependable muse."
7,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_005","So, what have you brought for me today?"
8,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_006","You did battle with Valigarmanda!? The tural vidraal of legend, dubbed the Skyruin, who ruled the heavens by beak and talon. Many are the legends of this beast among beasts, but I would wager the telling of your battle is more thrilling than the most harrowing tales!"
9,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_007","By the hands of a devious scoundrel was the seal put in place by Gulool Ja Ja broken, and thus was the living calamity unleashed again upon the world...only to be struck down by Wuk Lamat and her mighty companion!"
10,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_008","This glimpse into the events of the rite of succession shall provide me with more than enough inspiration for my next song. Thank you for sharing it with me, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>."
11,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_009","By the by, do you know the meaning of the term “tural vidraal”?"
12,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_010","In the language of the Mamool Ja, it means “that which clings to the earth.” A fitting description for beings powerful enough to claim an entire continent as their territory. And Valigarmanda was said to be the most formidable among them."
13,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_011","Though you emerged victorious, the fiend was but recently roused from slumber. What do you suppose would have happened had Valigarmanda been given sufficient time to regain its strength?"
14,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_012","Hah, such questions are why we have imaginations, yes? And imagine I shall... The mightiest heroes of Etheirys matched against the full fury of Valigarmanda. A story for the ages!"
15,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_020","So, what have you brought for me today?"
16,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_021","Ah, the final moments of the former Dawnservant's firstborn. His story gives rise to a complex mixture of emotions, and it would be insulting to call it something so trite as an adventurous tale."
17,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_022","As the only true son of Gulool Ja Ja, he doubtless felt a heavy burden of responsibility to be deemed worthy of succeeding his father. This weight was likely made all the more stifling by the fact he had but one head."
18,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_023","And so he sought great power to make up for his perceived shortcomings. Yet he could never quite live up to the expectations he set for himself, and in his blind pursuit, he stepped upon a crooked path..."
19,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_024","For thirty long years did he keep company with anger in that dome... Yet no amount of anguish can justify the countless lives he stole. "
20,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_025","You know what I believe, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>? I believe the moment Zoraal Ja killed his own father, whose admiration he fought so hard to win, his life lost all meaning."
21,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_026","His sins cannot be forgiven, 'tis true. Yet his story is a tragic one, and I suspect each of us can see parts of ourselves reflected within it. "
22,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_027","Thank you for sharing it with me. A dark shadow loomed over the rite of succession, and we would do best not to forget he who cast it."
23,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_028","While many will view Zoraal Ja as a murderer and tyrant, reducing him to a mindless villain will blunt the impact of the lessons we can learn from his fate. This is a tale that must be told with great care..."
24,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_030","So, what have you brought for me today?"
25,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_031","The trials and tribulations of Queen Sphene, who was confronted with many a difficult decision as she sought to protect the citizens of her nation, Alexandria..."
26,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_032","In that realm, people regard souls as merely a resource. And when they die, the aether of their memories is used to create the Endless, simulacra of the departed that can only be sustained with life force harvested from the living..."
27,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_033","Being so very different from what we know, such a way of life is difficult for us to accept. Indeed, it seemed only inevitable that you should come into conflict with Sphene."
28,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_034","She herself was not among the living, but an entity brought forth to fulfill a certain objective. And therein, I believe, lay the root of this tale's tragedy."
29,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_035","Recreated from the noblest of souls though she was, she was helpless to defy the purpose to which she had been bound: protecting the Endless no matter the cost."
30,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_036","Thus did she continue on her destructive path, though she knew it led only to a dead end."
31,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_037","A question if you may, my friend. Deep in your heart, do you believe that the Sphene whom you met was alive?"
32,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q5_000_001","What will you say?"
33,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_002","She was alive, in her own way."
34,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_003","Though she was many things, she wasn't alive."
35,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_004","I'm not sure..."
36,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_038","So you think that. Even with the knowledge that her existence differed from the living, you hold that she was alive..."
37,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_039","I see. Indeed, her existence differed greatly from the living. There is no changing that fact."
38,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_040","I see. Though her existence differed much from the living, precisely what does it mean to be alive? 'Tis no easy thing to define."
39,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_041","I thank you for your honest answer. I shall take it to heart."
40,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_042","For my part, whether or not she was possessed of life, I believe that there existed an individual called Sphene, who cared deeply for her people. Who heard the voices of her people, felt as they did, and thought only for their welfare. "
41,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_043","That is why, at battle's end, she returned as the gentle soul you knew."
42,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_044","But here, a thought fills me with dread. What if that soul failed to return, and the fearsome entity she had become continued its relentless onslaught?"
43,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_045","Might it have succeeded in its objective, and plundered life force from other realities at the cost of untold destruction...? Of such a possibility shall I sing, that we might give thanks for the path we were mercifully spared."
44,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_046","By golden light two rulers walked,
Their paths in conflict lying.♪
One bound to slay, one sworn to save,
They forged ahead untiring.♪
"
45,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_047","The mem'ries of departed days,
Endure as fate and fetters.♪
For keepers staunch a blessed warmth,
Oblivion for the breakers.♪"
46,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_SYSTEM_000_98","Chaotic alliance raids pit up to twenty-four adventurers against a fearsome foe who has been made even more powerful than before."
47,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q2_000_99","Do you wish to unlock the Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic)?"
48,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_100","Ah, that reminds me. Some days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting your good friend G'raha Tia."
49,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_101","He approached me, wondering if he had seen me elsewhere before, and so I told him about my endeavors in verse."
50,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_102","Taking an interest in my work, he invited me to join him at Xbalyav Ty'e, where we discussed tales of heroism over tacos and churrasco."
51,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_103","'Twas then that he shared a story that is especially close to his heart."
52,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_104","The fellowship of NOAH's foray into the Crystal Tower... You played a vital role in it, did you not?"
53,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_105","Together with more than a score of your fellows, you triumphed over numerous formidable foes to secure the structure."
54,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_106","How do you recall the experience, pray? As adventurers typically work in small groups, I daresay it felt quite different to be part of a large contingent."
55,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q3_000_107","What will you say?"
56,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_108","It was thrilling!"
57,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_109","I may have been a little nervous..."
58,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_110","I just played it by ear."
59,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_111","Haha, you truly are fearless, my friend!"
60,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_112","Truly? I would not have expected that!"
61,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_113","Hehe, I do favor such an approach myself."
62,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_114","Now, I can only speak as an observer, but I imagine it must be uniquely satisfying to sally forth as a member of a great collective to accomplish tremendous feats."
63,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_115","And to defeat the dreaded Cloud of Darkness is a tremendous feat indeed."
64,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_116","She is a ruler among her kind, occupying the highest rung of the hierarchy of voidsent."
65,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_117","Full oft has she left her mark upon mankind's history, not least of all when she forged a pact with Emperor Xande."
66,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_118","And according to records, she employed powerful magicks the likes of which defied mortal comprehension."
67,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q4_000_119","What will you say?"
68,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A4_000_120","She did...?"
69,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A4_000_121","Didn't she use beams and...more beams?"
70,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_122","Hmm... It may well be that you saw merely one aspect of the Cloud of Darkness."
71,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_123","As I understand it, voidsent are changeable beings, their forms dependent on factors such as the aether at their disposal. Another time, and you may have faced a somewhat different foe."
72,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_124","'Tis an intriguing possibility to consider, would you not agree?"
73,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_125","...So together with your comrade Ryne, you gave rise to a being based upon the Cloud of Darkness?"
74,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_126","A familiar yet distinct entity shaped by your combined impressions of the voidsent queen..."
75,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_127","That gives me an idea! I shall compose a song about the <Emphasis>true</Emphasis> Cloud of Darkness as I imagine her, for which I shall draw inspiration from your account!"
76,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_128","'Tis an intriguing possibility to consider...and it gives me an idea!"
77,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_129","I shall compose a song about the <Emphasis>true</Emphasis> Cloud of Darkness as I imagine her, for which I shall draw inspiration from your account!"
78,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_130","Without further ado..."
79,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_131","When Light and Dark as one become,
to oblivion all to cast,♪
A champion dauntless shall arise,
to cleave them at the last.♪"
80,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_132","Into their hands entrusted be,
the hopes of all mankind,♪
Upon the wind eternal borne,
a bright and shining sign.♪"
81,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_133","The time is come, so go you forth,
unto the battlefield.♪
The final confrontation looms,
To test your blade and shield.♪"
82,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_134","Though it may pale in comparison to facing the Cloud of Darkness, it gave me great satisfaction to compose these verses. And should they give you satisfaction as well, then naught would please me more!"
83,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_200","So, what have you brought for me today?"
84,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_201","Well now, that is quite a tremendous tale... If I may, I shall attempt to recount it in my own words, the better to reflect upon the events for song."
85,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_202","A century past, the hero Ardbert fought and felled the Ascian Mitron. By the power of Light, the villain's body was transformed into Eden, the first sin eater, who unleashed the Flood of Light that engulfed the First."
86,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_203","Despite being locked in a stupor, Mitron mustered the strength to call from the prison that was his vessel, in the desperate hope of reaching his fallen comrade, Loghrif. And reach Loghrif he finally did, in her reincarnated form as the maiden Gaia."
87,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_204","From a young age, Gaia had heard Mitron's voice in her mind. She referred to it as “the faerie,” and there were times when it even took over her consciousness."
88,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_205","And be it by chance or by fate, Eden's subsequent awakening by Ryne, the Oracle of Light, led to Gaia's appearance in the Empty, where the two maidens first encountered each other."
89,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_206","At length, Mitron restored Loghrif's memories in Gaia, and the two Ascians returned once more. But in no small part due to your valor, the worst was prevented from coming to pass..."
90,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_207","'Tis truly a stirring tale, and no moment of it more so than when Gaia lay on the verge of being erased. How beautiful to imagine that her memories of Ryne served as an anchor that kept her from fading away."
91,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_208","Yet as perfectly as that unfolded, I cannot help but wonder what might have happened if something else had gone awry. For instance, in the moment that Ryne roused Eden, what if Mitron had likewise reached out and interfered...?"
92,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_209","Yes, I believe I have the makings of a song. One that speaks of a future that was not, yet may very well have been..."
93,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_210","A villain dark a gaol did break,
The Light to liberate.♪
A maiden pure her eyes unsure,
He sought to change her fate.♪"
94,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_211","Undying soul a gaol did flee,
The Dark to stir awake.♪
A maiden lost to find once more,
And good a promise make.♪"
95,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_212","The First, a reflection that lay on the verge of annihilation by Light... Though I but speculate, many a tale must lie untold that steered its course."
96,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_213","As you tell it, the immortal Ascians were behind the calamities that befell the reflections."
97,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_214","If so, is it not a possibility that they, too, were responsible for the Flood of Light?"
98,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_215","The Flood was then forestalled by the Oracle of Light, Minfilia, whose power was inherited by maidens after her. Souls who, by virtue of their gift, were destined to die fighting the sin eaters."
99,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_216","Theirs was a cruel path, but I wish to believe that they did not walk it alone. That someone stood with them, who sought to break the tragic wheel of fate."
100,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_217","Said someone might have been like them in some ways, yet the complete opposite in others. For instance...a maiden of like age, but who has ties to the Ascians─an Oracle of Darkness."
101,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_218","Yes, I believe I have the makings of a song. One that speaks of legacies inherited and destinies reshaped..."
102,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_300","So, what have you brought for me today?"
103,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_301","Zelenia Triantafylli, second-in-command of Alexandria's royal knights... Chivalry is a timeless subject, indeed! Long has it been the inspiration for some of our most beloved tales."
104,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_302","Stirring epics of heroes who give every onze of their strength to defend their charge. Some recount heart-wrenching tragedies of the disgraced, who live bearing the burden of failure, while others tell of selfless figures who pay the ultimate price for their virtue."
105,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_303","These yarns captivate listeners because they venture beneath the celebrated image of the gallant knight, providing a glimpse of a person ordinary and flawed. A person not unlike you or I."
106,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_304","And while 'tis plain that as captured in the queen's memory, Zelenia was a devoted subject, hers is certainly a tale driven by more than mere loyalty. After all, a life lived by the sword must inevitably be stained with crimson."
107,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_305","The queen viewed her as a stalwart guardian, and ever found comfort behind her imposing form. Yet from that position, Sphene could not see the steely gaze with which Zelenia regarded her foes, nor feel the rage that burned within her heart."
108,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_306","And I imagine the chaos of battle, as well, appeared quite differently from each of their perspectives. A fascinating duality, perhaps best illustrated with a song..."
109,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_307","A steadfast blade she wields for me,
Her gaze upon the foe.♪
In mem'ries deep that form engraved,
Her knightly pose just so.♪"
110,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_308","All threats that rise against my liege,
With sword and spell struck down.♪
Deservéd death awaits the fools,
Who dare assail the crown.♪"
111,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_309","No rose is without thorns. Zelenia was doubtless an honorable fighter and protector, yet that selfsame honor fueled the merciless fury she unleashed upon the enemies of the royal family."
112,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_310","How would you have fared had such fury marked Queen Sphene's memories? Would you have bested Zelenia, or would her thorns have left you bloodied?"
113,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_400","So, what have you brought for me today?"
114,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_401","Ah, you speak of Calyx, genius born of a bygone era, and the primal he nourished upon a feast of mortal terror..."
115,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_402","Powerful was the onset of fear felt by a people who had long escaped death's mournful memories. And powerful was the entity which that fear begat."
116,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_403","Yet would Calyx not have nurtured that selfsame dread since the moment of his birth?"
117,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_404","Was he not fated to succumb to his childhood malady ere he reached his full growth?"
118,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_405","The chirping insects which lulled him to sleep in the evening. The birdsong which called him awake come the morn... Such sounds must have been as chalk on a slate, marking the passage of his dwindling days."
119,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_406","Surely 'twas Calyx himself, more than any other, who nurtured the deepest, darkest fear of death."
120,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_407","Dwelling upon that beleaguered heart, I am inspired to sing of the horror it may have spawned..."
121,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_408","Forget thee not the hand of death,
For all shall feel its grip.♪
At queenly feet lay down thy fears,
Dark prayer be on thy lip.♪"
122,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_409","Forget thee not the hand of death,
For even Endless end.♪
Where queen awoke stoke thee thy hope,
'Pon heels of Light ascend.♪"
123,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_500","So, what have you brought for me today?"
124,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_501","Arkveld, the white wanderer from a faraway world... I daresay that the word “hunt” suffices not to capture your struggle with the creature."
125,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_502","Intrigued though am I by the device described in the Felyne's tale, what strikes me most of all is the nature of this Guardian. That is, its predilection for energy."
126,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_503","In the animal kingdom, a predator devours other beasts for its survival. Yet Arkveld appeared not to be driven by this fundamental need."
127,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_504","Instead, it harbored an extreme obsession for aether─an obsession which saw it slaughter the beasts of Shaaloani to assert dominance over its newfound realm."
128,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_505","In response, the Serpentlord rose up to face this interloper, as if the land itself wished to repel a common threat."
129,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_506","Without such resistance─and your timely intervention─there is no telling how grave a threat Arkveld might have become."
130,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_507","Finding itself in an unfamiliar land, the Guardian merely did what its instincts bade it do. Were I to render such a savage life in verse, it might go thus..."
131,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_508","In silv'ry coat its body cloaked,
From distant world it came.♪
On reddened earth the Guardian roamed,
The lives of foes to claim.♪"
132,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_509","In hunger deep was locked this beast,
In silv'ry chains entwined.♪
To conquer all its savage fate,
New paradise to find.♪"
133,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_600","So, what have you brought for me today?"
134,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_601","A man-made horror thundering across a levin-struck plain..."
135,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_602","...Kingdoms it was to vanquish now vanished in all but name."
136,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_603","With even the battlefields they were born to besiege reduced to ash, the locomotive and its fearsome cargo were condemned to run hither and thither along the rails till time's end."
137,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_604","One wonders how the entity housed within perceived its fate."
138,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_605","Did its union with the train allow it to take joy in the simple embrace of speed? Had it an innate love of bloodshed, the thrill of each violent encounter may have driven it ever faster in search of foes to slaughter."
139,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_606","Or was it fueled by belief that those tracks would, someday, deliver it home? Perhaps it was unable to understand─or accept─that Lindblum and its people were no more..."
140,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_607","I should like to see it reunited with those who created it, if only in song. Let the melody carry it where steel did not..."
141,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_608","O the wild charge it made!
Beasts aboard and wheels ablaze,♪
Entrusted with a nation's fate,
'Pon glory fixed its gaze...♪"
142,"TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_609","When that kingdom too was razed,
With nowhere left to go,♪
O the wild charge it made!
And ne'er did it slow...♪"
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4 0 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_CFC_TO_INSTANCE_CONTENT <Sheet(ContentFinderCondition,IntegerParameter(1),3)/>
5 1 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_001 Have you come here to share a heroic yarn with me, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>? Please, do go on─you have my rapt attention.
6 2 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q1_000_001 What story will you share?
7 3 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_MENU_CANCEL Nothing.
8 4 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_002 Oh, have you come just to say hello? I appreciate the gesture, to be sure, just as I appreciate that you are a busy <If(PlayerParameter(4))>woman<Else/>man</If>. Even so, I do hope you find time in the future to regale me with a tale or two.
9 5 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_003 ...Ah, I understand. You have no tales worth telling─yet, that is. I know for certain 'tis but a matter of time until you are thrust into the heart of matters most dramatic.
10 6 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_004 Fortunately, the denizens of this city are great lovers of tall tales and thrilling verse. They simply cannot hear enough of your exploits, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>! Thank you for being my ever-dependable muse.
11 7 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_005 So, what have you brought for me today?
12 8 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_006 You did battle with Valigarmanda!? The tural vidraal of legend, dubbed the Skyruin, who ruled the heavens by beak and talon. Many are the legends of this beast among beasts, but I would wager the telling of your battle is more thrilling than the most harrowing tales!
13 9 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_007 By the hands of a devious scoundrel was the seal put in place by Gulool Ja Ja broken, and thus was the living calamity unleashed again upon the world...only to be struck down by Wuk Lamat and her mighty companion!
14 10 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_008 This glimpse into the events of the rite of succession shall provide me with more than enough inspiration for my next song. Thank you for sharing it with me, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>.
15 11 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_009 By the by, do you know the meaning of the term “tural vidraal”?
16 12 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_010 In the language of the Mamool Ja, it means “that which clings to the earth.” A fitting description for beings powerful enough to claim an entire continent as their territory. And Valigarmanda was said to be the most formidable among them.
17 13 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_011 Though you emerged victorious, the fiend was but recently roused from slumber. What do you suppose would have happened had Valigarmanda been given sufficient time to regain its strength?
18 14 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_012 Hah, such questions are why we have imaginations, yes? And imagine I shall... The mightiest heroes of Etheirys matched against the full fury of Valigarmanda. A story for the ages!
19 15 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_020 So, what have you brought for me today?
20 16 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_021 Ah, the final moments of the former Dawnservant's firstborn. His story gives rise to a complex mixture of emotions, and it would be insulting to call it something so trite as an adventurous tale.
21 17 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_022 As the only true son of Gulool Ja Ja, he doubtless felt a heavy burden of responsibility to be deemed worthy of succeeding his father. This weight was likely made all the more stifling by the fact he had but one head.
22 18 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_023 And so he sought great power to make up for his perceived shortcomings. Yet he could never quite live up to the expectations he set for himself, and in his blind pursuit, he stepped upon a crooked path...
23 19 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_024 For thirty long years did he keep company with anger in that dome... Yet no amount of anguish can justify the countless lives he stole.
24 20 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_025 You know what I believe, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>? I believe the moment Zoraal Ja killed his own father, whose admiration he fought so hard to win, his life lost all meaning.
25 21 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_026 His sins cannot be forgiven, 'tis true. Yet his story is a tragic one, and I suspect each of us can see parts of ourselves reflected within it.
26 22 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_027 Thank you for sharing it with me. A dark shadow loomed over the rite of succession, and we would do best not to forget he who cast it.
27 23 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_028 While many will view Zoraal Ja as a murderer and tyrant, reducing him to a mindless villain will blunt the impact of the lessons we can learn from his fate. This is a tale that must be told with great care...
28 24 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_030 So, what have you brought for me today?
29 25 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_031 The trials and tribulations of Queen Sphene, who was confronted with many a difficult decision as she sought to protect the citizens of her nation, Alexandria...
30 26 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_032 In that realm, people regard souls as merely a resource. And when they die, the aether of their memories is used to create the Endless, simulacra of the departed that can only be sustained with life force harvested from the living...
31 27 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_033 Being so very different from what we know, such a way of life is difficult for us to accept. Indeed, it seemed only inevitable that you should come into conflict with Sphene.
32 28 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_034 She herself was not among the living, but an entity brought forth to fulfill a certain objective. And therein, I believe, lay the root of this tale's tragedy.
33 29 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_035 Recreated from the noblest of souls though she was, she was helpless to defy the purpose to which she had been bound: protecting the Endless no matter the cost.
34 30 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_036 Thus did she continue on her destructive path, though she knew it led only to a dead end.
35 31 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_037 A question if you may, my friend. Deep in your heart, do you believe that the Sphene whom you met was alive?
36 32 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q5_000_001 What will you say?
37 33 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_002 She was alive, in her own way.
38 34 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_003 Though she was many things, she wasn't alive.
39 35 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A5_000_004 I'm not sure...
40 36 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_038 So you think that. Even with the knowledge that her existence differed from the living, you hold that she was alive...
41 37 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_039 I see. Indeed, her existence differed greatly from the living. There is no changing that fact.
42 38 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_040 I see. Though her existence differed much from the living, precisely what does it mean to be alive? 'Tis no easy thing to define.
43 39 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_041 I thank you for your honest answer. I shall take it to heart.
44 40 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_042 For my part, whether or not she was possessed of life, I believe that there existed an individual called Sphene, who cared deeply for her people. Who heard the voices of her people, felt as they did, and thought only for their welfare.
45 41 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_043 That is why, at battle's end, she returned as the gentle soul you knew.
46 42 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_044 But here, a thought fills me with dread. What if that soul failed to return, and the fearsome entity she had become continued its relentless onslaught?
47 43 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_045 Might it have succeeded in its objective, and plundered life force from other realities at the cost of untold destruction...? Of such a possibility shall I sing, that we might give thanks for the path we were mercifully spared.
48 44 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_046 By golden light two rulers walked, Their paths in conflict lying.♪ One bound to slay, one sworn to save, They forged ahead untiring.♪
49 45 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_047 The mem'ries of departed days, Endure as fate and fetters.♪ For keepers staunch a blessed warmth, Oblivion for the breakers.♪
50 46 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_SYSTEM_000_98 Chaotic alliance raids pit up to twenty-four adventurers against a fearsome foe who has been made even more powerful than before.
51 47 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q2_000_99 Do you wish to unlock the Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic)?
52 48 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_100 Ah, that reminds me. Some days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting your good friend G'raha Tia.
53 49 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_101 He approached me, wondering if he had seen me elsewhere before, and so I told him about my endeavors in verse.
54 50 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_102 Taking an interest in my work, he invited me to join him at Xbalyav Ty'e, where we discussed tales of heroism over tacos and churrasco.
55 51 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_103 'Twas then that he shared a story that is especially close to his heart.
56 52 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_104 The fellowship of NOAH's foray into the Crystal Tower... You played a vital role in it, did you not?
57 53 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_105 Together with more than a score of your fellows, you triumphed over numerous formidable foes to secure the structure.
58 54 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_106 How do you recall the experience, pray? As adventurers typically work in small groups, I daresay it felt quite different to be part of a large contingent.
59 55 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q3_000_107 What will you say?
60 56 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_108 It was thrilling!
61 57 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_109 I may have been a little nervous...
62 58 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A3_000_110 I just played it by ear.
63 59 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_111 Haha, you truly are fearless, my friend!
64 60 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_112 Truly? I would not have expected that!
65 61 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_113 Hehe, I do favor such an approach myself.
66 62 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_114 Now, I can only speak as an observer, but I imagine it must be uniquely satisfying to sally forth as a member of a great collective to accomplish tremendous feats.
67 63 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_115 And to defeat the dreaded Cloud of Darkness is a tremendous feat indeed.
68 64 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_116 She is a ruler among her kind, occupying the highest rung of the hierarchy of voidsent.
69 65 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_117 Full oft has she left her mark upon mankind's history, not least of all when she forged a pact with Emperor Xande.
70 66 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_118 And according to records, she employed powerful magicks the likes of which defied mortal comprehension.
71 67 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_Q4_000_119 What will you say?
72 68 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A4_000_120 She did...?
73 69 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_A4_000_121 Didn't she use beams and...more beams?
74 70 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_122 Hmm... It may well be that you saw merely one aspect of the Cloud of Darkness.
75 71 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_123 As I understand it, voidsent are changeable beings, their forms dependent on factors such as the aether at their disposal. Another time, and you may have faced a somewhat different foe.
76 72 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_124 'Tis an intriguing possibility to consider, would you not agree?
77 73 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_125 ...So together with your comrade Ryne, you gave rise to a being based upon the Cloud of Darkness?
78 74 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_126 A familiar yet distinct entity shaped by your combined impressions of the voidsent queen...
79 75 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_127 That gives me an idea! I shall compose a song about the <Emphasis>true</Emphasis> Cloud of Darkness as I imagine her, for which I shall draw inspiration from your account!
80 76 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_128 'Tis an intriguing possibility to consider...and it gives me an idea!
81 77 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_129 I shall compose a song about the <Emphasis>true</Emphasis> Cloud of Darkness as I imagine her, for which I shall draw inspiration from your account!
82 78 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_130 Without further ado...
83 79 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_131 When Light and Dark as one become, to oblivion all to cast,♪ A champion dauntless shall arise, to cleave them at the last.♪
84 80 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_132 Into their hands entrusted be, the hopes of all mankind,♪ Upon the wind eternal borne, a bright and shining sign.♪
85 81 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_133 The time is come, so go you forth, unto the battlefield.♪ The final confrontation looms, To test your blade and shield.♪
86 82 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_134 Though it may pale in comparison to facing the Cloud of Darkness, it gave me great satisfaction to compose these verses. And should they give you satisfaction as well, then naught would please me more!
87 83 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_200 So, what have you brought for me today?
88 84 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_201 Well now, that is quite a tremendous tale... If I may, I shall attempt to recount it in my own words, the better to reflect upon the events for song.
89 85 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_202 A century past, the hero Ardbert fought and felled the Ascian Mitron. By the power of Light, the villain's body was transformed into Eden, the first sin eater, who unleashed the Flood of Light that engulfed the First.
90 86 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_203 Despite being locked in a stupor, Mitron mustered the strength to call from the prison that was his vessel, in the desperate hope of reaching his fallen comrade, Loghrif. And reach Loghrif he finally did, in her reincarnated form as the maiden Gaia.
91 87 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_204 From a young age, Gaia had heard Mitron's voice in her mind. She referred to it as “the faerie,” and there were times when it even took over her consciousness.
92 88 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_205 And be it by chance or by fate, Eden's subsequent awakening by Ryne, the Oracle of Light, led to Gaia's appearance in the Empty, where the two maidens first encountered each other.
93 89 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_206 At length, Mitron restored Loghrif's memories in Gaia, and the two Ascians returned once more. But in no small part due to your valor, the worst was prevented from coming to pass...
94 90 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_207 'Tis truly a stirring tale, and no moment of it more so than when Gaia lay on the verge of being erased. How beautiful to imagine that her memories of Ryne served as an anchor that kept her from fading away.
95 91 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_208 Yet as perfectly as that unfolded, I cannot help but wonder what might have happened if something else had gone awry. For instance, in the moment that Ryne roused Eden, what if Mitron had likewise reached out and interfered...?
96 92 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_209 Yes, I believe I have the makings of a song. One that speaks of a future that was not, yet may very well have been...
97 93 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_210 A villain dark a gaol did break, The Light to liberate.♪ A maiden pure her eyes unsure, He sought to change her fate.♪
98 94 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_211 Undying soul a gaol did flee, The Dark to stir awake.♪ A maiden lost to find once more, And good a promise make.♪
99 95 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_212 The First, a reflection that lay on the verge of annihilation by Light... Though I but speculate, many a tale must lie untold that steered its course.
100 96 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_213 As you tell it, the immortal Ascians were behind the calamities that befell the reflections.
101 97 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_214 If so, is it not a possibility that they, too, were responsible for the Flood of Light?
102 98 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_215 The Flood was then forestalled by the Oracle of Light, Minfilia, whose power was inherited by maidens after her. Souls who, by virtue of their gift, were destined to die fighting the sin eaters.
103 99 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_216 Theirs was a cruel path, but I wish to believe that they did not walk it alone. That someone stood with them, who sought to break the tragic wheel of fate.
104 100 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_217 Said someone might have been like them in some ways, yet the complete opposite in others. For instance...a maiden of like age, but who has ties to the Ascians─an Oracle of Darkness.
105 101 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_218 Yes, I believe I have the makings of a song. One that speaks of legacies inherited and destinies reshaped...
106 102 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_300 So, what have you brought for me today?
107 103 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_301 Zelenia Triantafylli, second-in-command of Alexandria's royal knights... Chivalry is a timeless subject, indeed! Long has it been the inspiration for some of our most beloved tales.
108 104 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_302 Stirring epics of heroes who give every onze of their strength to defend their charge. Some recount heart-wrenching tragedies of the disgraced, who live bearing the burden of failure, while others tell of selfless figures who pay the ultimate price for their virtue.
109 105 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_303 These yarns captivate listeners because they venture beneath the celebrated image of the gallant knight, providing a glimpse of a person ordinary and flawed. A person not unlike you or I.
110 106 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_304 And while 'tis plain that as captured in the queen's memory, Zelenia was a devoted subject, hers is certainly a tale driven by more than mere loyalty. After all, a life lived by the sword must inevitably be stained with crimson.
111 107 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_305 The queen viewed her as a stalwart guardian, and ever found comfort behind her imposing form. Yet from that position, Sphene could not see the steely gaze with which Zelenia regarded her foes, nor feel the rage that burned within her heart.
112 108 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_306 And I imagine the chaos of battle, as well, appeared quite differently from each of their perspectives. A fascinating duality, perhaps best illustrated with a song...
113 109 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_307 A steadfast blade she wields for me, Her gaze upon the foe.♪ In mem'ries deep that form engraved, Her knightly pose just so.♪
114 110 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_308 All threats that rise against my liege, With sword and spell struck down.♪ Deservéd death awaits the fools, Who dare assail the crown.♪
115 111 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_309 No rose is without thorns. Zelenia was doubtless an honorable fighter and protector, yet that selfsame honor fueled the merciless fury she unleashed upon the enemies of the royal family.
116 112 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_310 How would you have fared had such fury marked Queen Sphene's memories? Would you have bested Zelenia, or would her thorns have left you bloodied?
117 113 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_400 So, what have you brought for me today?
118 114 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_401 Ah, you speak of Calyx, genius born of a bygone era, and the primal he nourished upon a feast of mortal terror...
119 115 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_402 Powerful was the onset of fear felt by a people who had long escaped death's mournful memories. And powerful was the entity which that fear begat.
120 116 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_403 Yet would Calyx not have nurtured that selfsame dread since the moment of his birth?
121 117 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_404 Was he not fated to succumb to his childhood malady ere he reached his full growth?
122 118 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_405 The chirping insects which lulled him to sleep in the evening. The birdsong which called him awake come the morn... Such sounds must have been as chalk on a slate, marking the passage of his dwindling days.
123 119 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_406 Surely 'twas Calyx himself, more than any other, who nurtured the deepest, darkest fear of death.
124 120 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_407 Dwelling upon that beleaguered heart, I am inspired to sing of the horror it may have spawned...
125 121 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_408 Forget thee not the hand of death, For all shall feel its grip.♪ At queenly feet lay down thy fears, Dark prayer be on thy lip.♪
126 122 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_409 Forget thee not the hand of death, For even Endless end.♪ Where queen awoke stoke thee thy hope, 'Pon heels of Light ascend.♪
127 123 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_500 So, what have you brought for me today?
128 124 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_501 Arkveld, the white wanderer from a faraway world... I daresay that the word “hunt” suffices not to capture your struggle with the creature.
129 125 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_502 Intrigued though am I by the device described in the Felyne's tale, what strikes me most of all is the nature of this Guardian. That is, its predilection for energy.
130 126 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_503 In the animal kingdom, a predator devours other beasts for its survival. Yet Arkveld appeared not to be driven by this fundamental need.
131 127 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_504 Instead, it harbored an extreme obsession for aether─an obsession which saw it slaughter the beasts of Shaaloani to assert dominance over its newfound realm.
132 128 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_505 In response, the Serpentlord rose up to face this interloper, as if the land itself wished to repel a common threat.
133 129 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_506 Without such resistance─and your timely intervention─there is no telling how grave a threat Arkveld might have become.
134 130 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_507 Finding itself in an unfamiliar land, the Guardian merely did what its instincts bade it do. Were I to render such a savage life in verse, it might go thus...
135 131 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_508 In silv'ry coat its body cloaked, From distant world it came.♪ On reddened earth the Guardian roamed, The lives of foes to claim.♪
136 132 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_509 In hunger deep was locked this beast, In silv'ry chains entwined.♪ To conquer all its savage fate, New paradise to find.♪
137 133 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_600 So, what have you brought for me today?
138 134 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_601 A man-made horror thundering across a levin-struck plain...
139 135 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_602 ...Kingdoms it was to vanquish now vanished in all but name.
140 136 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_603 With even the battlefields they were born to besiege reduced to ash, the locomotive and its fearsome cargo were condemned to run hither and thither along the rails till time's end.
141 137 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_604 One wonders how the entity housed within perceived its fate.
142 138 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_605 Did its union with the train allow it to take joy in the simple embrace of speed? Had it an innate love of bloodshed, the thrill of each violent encounter may have driven it ever faster in search of foes to slaughter.
143 139 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_606 Or was it fueled by belief that those tracks would, someday, deliver it home? Perhaps it was unable to understand─or accept─that Lindblum and its people were no more...
144 140 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_607 I should like to see it reunited with those who created it, if only in song. Let the melody carry it where steel did not...
145 141 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_608 O the wild charge it made! Beasts aboard and wheels ablaze,♪ Entrusted with a nation's fate, 'Pon glory fixed its gaze...♪
146 142 TEXT_CTSOPN70WANDERINGMINSTREL_00897_WANDERINGMINSTREL_000_609 When that kingdom too was razed, With nowhere left to go,♪ O the wild charge it made! And ne'er did it slow...♪