Fiend Lyrics & Lore Book Updates

[Fernehalwes]

Hello all!

Fernehalwes here. Allow me to apologize for the extended radio silence. The lore book has had a rusty dirk to my kidney these past few months, threatening to gut me should I even let my thoughts stray from completing my mission.

That does not mean, however, that the LOC team and I have not been keeping a close eye on the forums...which is precisely where I realized (albeit a few months too late) that we had yet to release the lyrics for the Sephirot battle theme, Fiend. So, without further ado, here they are:

What is it like when you pull back the curtain
And realize every wrong is a right?
Your world is rusted like a dirty razor
The edge is calling tonight

The edge is calling tonight
The edge is calling tonight
The sun is setting, darkness taking over
A date with chaos and you're dressed to the nines

Salt of the earth salting your own fields
Road to destruction that is true and tried
You walk the path laid before you
The call of reason, you refuse to abide

Necessity is an inventive mother
Promising sanctum that She cannot provide
She is the hand that rocks the cradle
The wind that breaks the bough and leaves you to die

And there She leaves you to die
And there She leaves you to die
You'll find slumber when the world comes tumbling down
Sweet dreams, baby. Sleep tight!

Retreat where lesser men lead
Flee from what you do not see
Heed the dark within your being
Turn away
Disobey

I'm the end and the beginning
The faith that feeds the unbelieving
A tightening knot to staunch the bleeding
Say my name
Say my name
Sephirot

The seventh hell's become your seventh heaven
Rose of redemption but a thorn in your pride
Waste no more time fighting your demons
Lay down your arms and let the evil inside

And then you let it inside
And then you let it inside
You let it eat you till there's nothing left at all
So you can feel that you are truly alive

Better to serve in a waking nightmare
Than rule in their paradise
What is gold, always glitters
But it still comes with an unpayable price

Treading out upon the stagnant waters
Our savior waiting for a turn in the tide
You are the night at the end of the tunnel
The empty void where the serpent lies

Where the serpent lies
Where the serpent lies
The angels graze in the meadows of excess
They must needs go that the devils drive

Retreat where lesser men lead
Flee from what you do not see
Concede your mind unto the fiend
Turn away
Debts are paid

I'm the end and the beginning
The drug that gives the wretched meaning
The answer every soul is seeking
Say my name
Say my name
Sephirot!

And, while we’re here, how about an update on the lore book as well? I thought you’d never ask!

As I mentioned in my PAX East interview with Gamerescape, the book is planned to clock in at a little over 300 pages of content. Going by what I’ve written so far, each page will have, on average, between 600 and 700 words, along with several illustrations. Only about 10% of the written content will be taken directly from in-game text or Lodestone/official website articles. The rest is all new. Now by “all new,” I do not necessarily mean “never-before-seen.” Our plan behind the lore book is not have it serve as a comprehensive guide to Eorzea and her history, which means we’ll be touching on a lot of stuff that (if you’ve paid attention during quests) a lot of players are already familiar with. That said, I’d still estimate that at least a third of the info you’ll find in the book is completely new...or at least things that have been hinted at but never actually confirmed in an official forum

The next month will be a mad dash to get the remainder of the text translated (such as the bestiary I’ll be tackling this week), edited, and formatted...as well as put the finishing touches on some text regarding the Deck of Sixty and its minor arcana that I was asked to write in English first and translate into Japanese for the JP version. All this needs to be done by the end of July... ULP! Then we’ll use part of August to do the final layout editing before sending the finalized PDFs to the printing press to make sure those books are done in time for the Las Vegas Fan Fes. I’ll try to see if I can’t get an OK from the team to post some early images from the book once font licenses, etc. have been worked out.

Until then, have fun everybody! Deep Dungeon is coming!

[Khalithar]

Snip

Hey Fern, I don't know if you can answer this or make the suggestion or if you'll even reply to this post. But the orchestrion roll for Fiend has different lyrics than what you listed above.

The first chorus verse it says "concede your place in history" and there are a few other lyrical differences, is there any specific reason for that? No I'm not mishearing the lyrics either, the orchestrion version is genuinely different.

[Anonymoose]

Thanks for the updates! Can't wait f- BESTIARY? Ohoho... I look forward to seeing how badly I butchered Raimdelle.

[PArcher]

Ugh...can't go to Fan Fest, but really want to get my hands on one of those books ASAP...

[Fernehalwes]

Thanks Khalithar!

We've got people looking into that as we speak. Hopefully we can have an update on that issue for you sooner than later.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

I also hope there is a way to get the book or at least a digital version for those of us that cannot make it to the fanfest. I am a sucker for bestiaries!

[MercAB3]

Thanks Khalithar!

We've got people looking into that as we speak. Hopefully we can have an update on that issue for you sooner than later.

Wait, that's considered an issue now? Like a defect or bug type issue? Whether or not it's "fixed", maybe you guys could put both versions in the next CD, the original orchestrion version being a bonus track?

[Zohar_Lahar]

I still feel like Fiend has some of the most ambiguously meaningful lyrics of XIV battle themes.

[Arwen]

Thank you for your hard work!

[ChocoFeru]

Can't wait for the Lore Book! Oh my goshhh~