New Tales from the Storm (August 18)

[Ramesses]

Really great story, and I like the fact that those two were the ones that seemingly developed the prototype for the cylindrical Garlean fighter airships seen in the 1.0 trailers.

And yes I agree, the math seems off that they were aged 12 in the 38th year of the empire... unless we can assume that the Empire is somewhere in its 60th year now since the Encyclopedia lists Cid as being aged 34 at the moment--- give or take a year or two?. I also noticed there was a subtle hint of foreshadowing established within contents of the story... it reflects the obvious notion that Nero and Cid are going to be doing a lot more collaborations in the future. Collaborations that will undoubtedly help save their country (from imploding on itself?).

I also really like the way Nero would snarl the name "Garlond" and it just confirms yet again how much Nero always had a grudging respect for his self appointed rival, Cid... but was always deeply jealous of the Garlond fame.

In Garlean culture, social standing and acknowledgement was everything... and here was this exceptional prodigy from the provinces, a nobody (at least until we find out more of his past) with nothing but his sheer driven determination to succeed using his keen intelligence.

In his mind, he had to struggle to prove himself while he thinks Cid had effortless sailing being recognized (being the son of the incredibly famous Midas Garlond). In other words, Cid had the perfect lineage and family name he desired so badly... hence, the consistent badgering and minor bullying. But deep down he still respected Cid's abilities.

This tale now gives much more depth to the excellent dialogue he had with Cid at the end of the Sigma story arc... they have really matured since their first meeting.

[LineageRazor]

I wasn't too fond of this last Tales - largely because I felt it did not jive well with canon as established in the Praetorium. When Nero chats with Cid just prior to the boss fight against him, Cid is utterly perplexed when Nero rants and raves and basically spells out his rivalry against him. The impression was that Cid had never noticed Nero's envy or obsession with beating him, until that very moment when Nero tells him in no uncertain terms.

This story, though, indicates that not only was Cid aware that his peers would like to show him up, he was aware of Nero in particular! Maybe his confusion was due to some remnant of the bout of amnesia he was suffering under while convalescing in Eastern Thanalan? Regardless, it really pulled me out of the story.

Even apart from that, the story wasn't that great. I anticipated every beat as it came, a story of teeth-clenched-teamwork between rivals reluctantly forced to cooperate. Definitely the weakest of the four entries this batch (though, to be fair, the first three were great so it was a high bar to hurdle).

[Anonymoose]

I had thought Cid's confuzzlement was more that he'd been gone for fifteen years and Nero was accusing him of continuing to hog the spotlight, not understanding that his defection only brought his legend to new heights and solidified him as a myth that could never be beaten - either you fall short because you are not Cid nan Garlond, or you walk the trail he blazed. Nero was counting on the Ultima Weapon to shatter that legend - to show a man could rise higher than Garlond, to show that not even Garlond could stop it.

Perhaps Cid always knew they were rivals and that Nero was particularly bitter about it, but hadn't realized the degree to which he'd suffered for it. He wasn't just coming in second place, he was technically and culturally forbidden to exceed it. Garlond had become not just his arch nemesis, but the emblem of his own glass ceiling.

Imagine thinking of yourself as merely absent from a rivalry for fifteen years to find out, after all that time had passed, that your ghost haunted them every day of it.

[EnigMatt]

I'm interested to see what Cid's trump card is for dealing with Omega. Given that the information he requested was sequestered in Garlemald, I think that it's possibly something with a significant connection to him. As his father was key in initiating contact with Dalamud, and hence enabling its later descent, perhaps the information is a schematic of a prototype Lunar Transmitter. Finding the right frequency and using enough power could perhaps drag Omega out of its literal hidey-hole and allow the WoL to engage its physical form directly. And as history has proven, it's likely he'll need Nero's help to finish the job despite the risk of Nero using the knowledge for morally ambiguous deeds later.

[ObsidianFire]

I have a feeling one of the narrative purposes of the Omega raid is for Cid to get over his knee-jerk reaction of "seal it away" to dangerous technology. While Eorzea might accept that as a valid response, there's no way the Garleans will. And the Scions are going to need Cid (and Nero, if he survives) when they go to Garlemald.

[Iscah]

I have a feeling one of the narrative purposes of the Omega raid is for Cid to get over his knee-jerk reaction of "seal it away" to dangerous technology. While Eorzea might accept that as a valid response, there's no way the Garleans will. And the Scions are going to need Cid (and Nero, if he survives) when they go to Garlemald.

Yeah, I think so. There even seemed to be hints of that theme in the Crystal Tower storyline when I replayed that recently. (Can't remember exactly what, just that there was a line or two that seemed to tie in with Cid and Nero's future conversations in Omega.)