Tales from the Dragonsong War

[PArcher]

I wonder...could van Hydrus be the star of one of these Tales? Wonder what's going through his head with regards to the Triad and our "meddling"...

[MilesSaintboroguh]

I wonder...could van Hydrus be the star of one of these Tales? Wonder what's going through his head with regards to the Triad and our "meddling"...

Seems unlikely since all the stories so far has always been from the heroes' point of view and while Charibert was an exception, that chapter seemed to focus more on the people he influenced or was affected by him rather than his motives or goals. I predict the next tales are going to be about Emmanellain and Lucia.

[Rocl]

While a marked increase (new information! better twin!), I'm still left a little disappointed. We got to learn where Alisaie was from 2.0->3.1 (or, should you have cleared the Final Coil, from 2.4->3.1) and that she was definitely following the Warrior of Darkness (and not Elidibus, should that have been your guess). I guess the bit with the young merchant girl was supposed to be some sort of character development, but I would've been far more interested in Alisaie's rambling thoughts on her time in the Studium or how she reacted to the charges against the Scions in Before the Fall (obviously she didn't put much stock in them, but still!). I guess this also explains how she gets in contact with [insert the caravan brother you meet] at the end of 2.55 though.

The Tales always do a good job of surprising me with the focal characters, but I'm feeling the final Tale will either be a segue into 3.4 or a final bow on the Dragonsong War. That is, someone deeply connected with the Ala Mhigan arc coming up (or perhaps an old Ala Mhigan friend of ours in an ultramarine coat...) or a rather safe choice in Aymeric or Edmont to neatly stow away Ishgard in our "been there-done that" book.

Listen, they really set the bar too high with the first Tale, okay. Action! Drama! Intrigue! New characters; light shed on old ones--so much!

[Nalien]

I kind of hope the last one will be Derplander at this rate... I'm not sure what SE has planned with their plot point, but I hope they tie up the Ascian plot nicely before 4.0 (albeit with room to come back to them later) so we can focus on more human stories going forward... That would leave us with very little room to really get anything out of Derplanders group though, so additional backstory through these Tales would be great... I guess it's possible Derplander and friends could stick around through 4.0, but I'm really not sure I want them to, they're just not that interesting to me... How they came to be the evil goatee Warriors of Derpness could be interesting, but where they're at now is painfully close to a joke IMO... Any interest I have in them is placed firmly in the past, what I've seen of them in the present has me hoping they're gone in the future... That could change, but given their relation to Elidibus, I hope not... I'm tired of the whole Ascian/Hydaelyn plot, I don't want it looming about going forward...

I also think, narratively, a Derplander tale could be quite interesting... There is potential there to play with expectations, start out with "Oh, this is about me, the Warrior of Light", then slowly it becomes apparent that it isn't... Urianger is another contender IMO, he has had a lot going on in secret throughout 3.0, and there is a lot of potential to fill in some gaps there, though I'm not sure it would be as interesting... In a similar thought, Unukalhai could be a great possibility... I'd really like to know more about this other world he spoke of, and I'm doubtful we'll get much more on that out of the remaining two patches, same as Derplander... It could make for a very interesting read, and shed some much needed light on his character... Similar ability to play with expectations as well; A kid recounting tales of the Warriors of Light...

Any of the dragons could be interesting as well... Nidhogg through the lens of Estinien during his possession could be amazing, and perhaps finally answer that damned plot point from 3.1! Ugh, why is there only one more of these?! Could we make something like this a weekly/monthly thing sort of like the Vana'diel Tribune? There is soooo much potential here...

Who am I kidding though, the next one will be about Moglin and we all know it... That or Lahabrea...

[Theodric]

The story did a pretty great job at showing just how dangerous Eorzea is. I'd love to see more of that - both in-game and outside of it.

[LineageRazor]

I was a bit disappointed by Alisaie's story. When she and her brother parted ways, she seemed gung-ho about finding her own way to save the world. So, while Aphinaud has been at our side investigating Primals, thwarting Garleans, and entreating peace with dragons, I would expect Alisaie to have been engaging in similarly breathtaking ordeals. Instead, the story chosen to highlight her adventure is her travels with a not-particularly-notable merchant caravan?

Well, at least we have the Binding Coil of Bahamut to show that Alisaie DID find at least one world-threatening crisis to deal with.

I get the feeling that this story is meant to endear Alisaie to the audience by giving her a chance to live life for a bit as an ordinary girl practicing an ordinary trade and making friends like an ordinary girl would. I guess it just fell a bit flat for me; I don't think we've seen enough of the extraordinary Alisaie to justify a vignette featuring the ordinary Alisaie.

[Alleo]

SE sure loves their tragedy moments..*sob* every time he is mentioned I still get kinda sad so Alphinaud's story still hit me in the feels. While Alisaie's story also was kinda sad it did not hit me that much because we never new that girl so she was only introduced in this story to kill her off and I also did not find it that interesting because it really did not give much new information either.

I would have been nice if Alphinaud also had more thoughts about us as a friend and not that much about Estinien..He did mention us and sees us as friend but it was still not enough imo.

Still looking forward who the last one will be.

[Nalien]

As a complete (and cruel) aside, can we please have Tataru make Alisaie a new outfit and send her off to gather materials for it? "I need to craft a Ruby for your new gear, can you get me some Emery?"

I'm increasingly sure that Elidibus' endgame is "Hydaelyn allows death, so join me!"... There are enough subtle hints in song lyrics, and now everyone is focusing on stories of loss... Prime time for him to swoop in and go "Yo, Hydaelyn allows death and suffering, Zodiark doesn't dawg!", though after Emery I guess Alisaie is just as likely to buy that as everyone else... Not sure who'd be left to step in and slap some sense into everyone by pointing out that overcoming adversity is a fundamental part of our existence... Mmmhmmm, please let it be a Garlean villain... Would set them up as a more sympathetic enemy nicely (and it damn well fits their character, seeing as they overcame a serious heredity disadvantage to conquer a world of magic with technology), and make up for Gaius being an utter moron in his dealings with Lahabrea... Assuming they go this route at all...

[PArcher]

I only read it quickly, but my initial impression of this Tale was disappointment. Alisaie hasn't really done anything worthy of a Tale, and the Tale itself was...meh. The only thing of note was that she started to track a group hunting Primals (the WoD), but we kinda knew that already.

Maybe the last story will tie this one with the story better. Idk. Still am interested in a Tale from van Hydrus considering we have a bit to go with the Triad, and they may tie back to the msq in the end...

[Nalien]

The only thing of note was that she started to track a group hunting Primals (the WoD), but we kinda knew that already.

Now that I think about it... What Primals, exactly? We saw them take on Ravana, but there must have been others for such rumors to spread...

I also wonder if the settlement in the Sea of Spires might actually show up in game... We're seemingly getting Lily Hills in 3.4 for unknown reasons... Any reason I can speculate (from "meh housing" to "omfg hamlet defense!") has me thinking Limsa and Ul'dah should be getting similar areas, so a settlement in the Sea of Spires being mentioned has my attention...

We've seemingly missed some Primal summonings though, as have the Grand Companies, since they've not mentioned anything... You'd think they'd inform us right away if they noticed Primals surfacing and being put down... The Scions took a pretty big hit recently and could do with gaining some competent allies, and the Companies have no reason to know Derplander and co are jerkfaces... I wonder if they're new Primals or familiar ones... If Derplander and friends have been taking on the current Beast Tribes independently, that could trigger new aggressions between them and the Grand Companies... Please SE, just put me out of my misery and announce that Hamlet Defense is dead and buried...