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xiashtra 03d949abaf 7.45 follow-up (#99)
* Update cn

* 7.45 follow-up
2026-03-03 21:04:14 -06:00

14 KiB

10TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_00Alphinaud is eager to return to the search for Minfilia.
21TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_01It would seem that Krile and Thancred's foray into Castrum Meridianum was a success. According to Alphinaud, the pair have called a meeting in Idyllshire, where they will share their findings. But what could they have learned, and how might it lead you to the Antecedent?
32TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_02You learn that after concluding their investigation in the Praetorium, Krile and Thancred journeyed to the Sil'dih Aqueducts, where Minfilia was last seen. Apparently, the readings from these two locations yielded a unique aetheric signature─one which was also detected at the Isle of Val, where Krile claims she was shielded by the blessing of Light. The conclusion is clear: Hydaelyn's intercessions can be measured and traced. Furthermore, Krile states that not two but three people were caught in Y'shtola's Flow. Unlike the Archons, however, the third individual appears to have vanished without a trace. Though it is something of a logical leap, Krile surmises that Hydaelyn─who has a demonstrated capacity to summon the consciousness of those blessed with the Echo to Her realm─may have guided Minfilia into the teleportation magick's compass, and thence summoned her, body and soul, unto the aetherial sea. Should this be the case, then the search must continue in that near-mythical place. Fortunately, it would seem that the Sharlayans built a structure to study the aetherial sea, and that its custodian yet remains, in defiance of the exodus...
43TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_03All things come at a price, and Matoya's permission is no different. Although she grants your company access to the Antitower, she demands that Krile stays behind to help her restore the ward over the door, while you are to tend to any unruly familiars you encounter. Knowing better than to argue the terms, you quietly prepare to sally forth into the Sharlayan structure. ※Challenge the Antitower with other players via the Duty Finder, or with a party of NPCs via Duty Support. Both systems are accessible from the main menu as well as the dungeon's entrance point.
54TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_04As you drive back the last of the tower's magical guardians and silence descends, you take in your surroundings. What was it you thought to find here, in this forgotten place, left to molder until the end of time? And then, on the edge of hearing, a voice. “Hear... Feel... Think...”
65TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_05Once more, you bask in the light of the Crystal, in the midst of the aetherial sea. A voice, familiar yet strange, welcomes you; Minfilia's at times, but at others... She calls herself the Word of the Mother, and with one will do they tell you a tale of the beginning─of when Light and Dark dwelt as one, before Zodiark's covetousness forced Hydaelyn to banish Him to the distant heavens. Not only was the star sundered in so doing, but the barriers between realities as well, giving birth to reflections of the Source, wherein shards of light and dark were scattered. To restore Zodiark to His former glory do the Ascians ever labor, and each Calamity marks a Rejoining─the obliteration of a reflection, and a triumph of the Dark. Alas, before she can say more, the Word cries out in pain, and the Mothercrystal shudders. Your Crystal of Light, whose power she drew upon, is all but spent, and she has no choice but to return you to the tower. With a final desperate plea, the Word bids you farewell, before shattering into a thousand thousand pieces. Upon returning to Matoya's Cave, your fellow Scions listen in solemn silence as you tell of your meeting with Minfilia, and of her transformation into the Word of the Mother. Alphinaud, at last realizing the implications of your encounter, cries out in despair for the loss of your leader, prompting Master Matoya to scold him for his childish naivety. She reminds him that wars are not won without sacrifice─that Minfilia made her choice, and that the Scions must move forward without her. Unimpressed by her lecture, Y'shtola leaves with Krile in tow, while Thancred storms out without uttering a word, leaving you alone with Alphinaud and Matoya.
76TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_SEQ_06Though he does his best to accept that Minfilia made her choice, and that you must carry on without her, Alphinaud cannot help but wonder if there was not another way. Loss after loss, sacrifice upon sacrifice... Your victories have ever come at a price─one which Alphinaud seems increasingly unwilling to pay.
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2524TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TODO_00Rendezvous with Krile in Idyllshire.
2625TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TODO_01Speak with Matoya.
2726TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TODO_02Enter the Antitower.
2827TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TODO_03Enter the Antitower.
2928TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TODO_04Speak with Alphinaud.
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4948TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TATARU_000_000It'll all be like it was. Just you wait and see!
5049TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_010Thancred and Krile contacted us a short while ago. It would seem that their foray into Castrum Meridianum bore fruit.
5150TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_011They ask that we rendezvous with them and Y'shtola in Idyllshire, where they will share their findings.
5251TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_012Rude though it is to depart without speaking to the guest of honor, I expect she will forgive me if I return with her daughter.
5352TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_TATARU_000_020What are you still doing here? They're waiting for you in Idyllshire!
5453TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_THANCRED_000_025How is F'lhaminn, by the way? Enchanting as ever, I trust. I shall have to pay my respects when time allows.
5554TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_030'Twas rather less than I had hoped...though mayhap I asked too much.
5655TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_040My apologies, I see I am the last to arrive. So─what news have you for us?
5756TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_041Well, as we postulated, there were indeed what appeared to be the remnants of an unexplained disturbance in the aether at the scene of the Ultima Weapon's destruction. A ripple at odds with the presiding pattern.
5857TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_042Though faint, the waveforms bore a strong resemblance to those observed following the destruction of the Isle of Val─when I believe Hydaelyn shielded me with the blessing of Light.
5958TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_THANCRED_000_043To confirm our findings, we paid a visit to the Sil'dih Aqueducts.
6059TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_THANCRED_000_044There we detected the same waveform, but orders of magnitude larger...as one would expect of a more recent disturbance.
6160TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_045Hydaelyn. There is no other explanation.
6261TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_046But there is more. When I studied the site where Y'shtola used Flow, it appeared that not two but *three* beings had been affected.
6362TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_047Yet unlike Y'shtola and Thancred, there was no trail to follow. Our unknown third party was simply there...and then not there.
6463TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_048Now, recall your visions of a vast crystal floating in a sea of aether. Though this too is but a theory, studies of gifted subjects suggest that, when communing with Hydaelyn, we briefly leave our bodies behind.
6564TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_049So, let us consider the facts. One─Hydaelyn interceded. Two─a third being was caught in Y'shtola's Flow and vanished without a trace. And three─Hydaelyn may have the capacity to summon the consciousness of gifted individuals to Her side.
6665TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_050You are implying, I take it, that Hydaelyn guided Minfilia into the compass of my magick...that She might summon her, body and soul, unto the aetherial sea?
6766TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_051In which case, we must needs continue our search there. For a blessing, the means to do so already exists.
6867TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_052I speak of the Antitower─a Sharlayan construction conceived to provide scholars a vantage point over the aetherial sea.
6968TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_053Though I know not where its entrance lies, we need only ask its last custodian─a contrary old crone who, for *another* blessing, refused to join the exodus.
7069TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_054*Master Matoya* was the keeper of the Antitower!? I had no idea...
7170TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_055Then our course is clear. We must petition her aid once again.
7271TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_060Oh, what a surprise. Well? What secrets have you come to extract from me this time?
7372TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_061Ah. Though it pains me to admit it, your words strike close to the mark. We humbly ask that you grant us entry to the Antitower, that we might use it to seek a friend who we believe has been transported to the aetherial sea.
7473TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_062And who told you I could do such a thing, I wonder.
7574TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_063The tower was abandoned to its magical keepers fifteen years ago. They have the run of the place now. If that is no deterrent to you, then by all means.
7675TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_064Is that all? I felt sure you would seek to dissuade us from our course, given your role as custodian.
7776TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_065Role? Hardly. The Forum foisted the title on me.
7877TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_066During the exodus, every entrance to the Antitower was sealed save one.
7978TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_067My *role* consists of making sure no one with ill intent sneaks through it. Such was the Forum's final “order” to me.
8079TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_068Well? I can remove the wards right now. Will you be going or not?
8180TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_069We will, Master Matoya. We will do whatever it takes to find Minfilia!
8281TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_070...We'll see about that.
8382TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_100_070You, Baldesion girl─you're staying here with me. I need your help to restore the wards to their original state.
8483TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_071The rest of you can go─on the condition that you clean up the mess in the tower. If you encounter any unruly familiars, you're to tend to them. Those are my terms, and I'll hear no argument.
8584TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_THANCRED_000_072Well, it appears the mistress has spoken. Lead the way, Player.
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9392TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_THANCRED_000_085Whatever it takes, we will find Minfilia. *Whatever it takes*.
9493TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_090Long did I wonder what awaited beyond that door. Several times in my youth, I even tried to open it, but the wards were beyond my ability to dispel.
9594TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_YSHTOLA_000_091All I earned for my efforts was a mountain of menial chores, and I had given up on ever satisfying my curiosity. To think that I'm about to step through the threshold after all these years...
9695TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_KRILE_000_95To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what you'll need to do once you reach the bottom...but you've always been so resourceful, so...
9796TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_100Fair warning, but the arcane entities in the Antitower are a troublesome lot. Try not to die in there.
9897TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_110'Tis a blessed few who get to choose how and when and for what they die.
9998TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_111Not that you need reminding, I suppose. But that boy... <sigh>
10099TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_MATOYA_000_112For all the suffering he has known, he still clings to the notion that there is a cosmic justice, a morality by which we are saved or condemned. And there isn't.
101100TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_120She...she's not coming back, is she.
102101TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_Q1_000_121What will you say?
103102TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_A1_000_122She did what she thought was best.
104103TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_A1_000_123...What now?
105104TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_A1_000_124...
106105TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_130I know that, I do. To give all for her beliefs was ever her way.
107106TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_131So will we, as we must. What greater calling could there be than to stand against the Dark as defenders of the Light? And yet...where does it end? The sacrifice, the loss...
108107TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_135...We carry on, as we must. She went to great lengths to inform us of the enemy's designs. We stand, as ever, against the Dark, as defenders of the Light.
109108TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_136Yet for how long, I wonder. How much more loss must we endure...?
110109TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_140It weighs on you too, I know. I understand why she made her decision, and yet...
111110TEXT_HEAVNC102_02232_ALPHINAUD_000_141Every time we lose another friend, I have to ask myself if there was not another way...