Tales from the Storm Discussion

[Anonymoose]

It's that time of year again!

The First story is up, and it's Lyse and Papalymo behind enemy lines before the rise of the Griffin.

Chalk up another mention of Gaius van Baelsar as "killed", but yet again from an in-world source educated by hearsay while more objective measures hold their silence...taunting me...mocking me...

Second story is up! Yshtola meeting Alisaie and Lyse in Limsa Lominsa.

[Belhi]

Still reading but..

Gatty had a cameo.

[YianKutku]

I was wondering about Lyse calling M'naago without her tribe prefix, and whether that was considered the "proper" way to do so, at least among close friends. (It's certainly the case with family, as seen with Y'mhitra and Y'shtola.)

Especially since I was doing the SCH Job questline, where Alka Zolka referred to R'ashaht Rhiki as "Rashaht", no apostrophe.

I was also curious about the story skimming over the revelation of "Yda" being Lyse, but on further thought it probably wasn't that big of a deal to the Resistance. Lyse is still the daughter of Curtis Hext, and she is a member of the Scions. The only things she might have deceived them about is which daughter she was (and since the Resistance only knew of her as "Curtis Hext's daughter", they likely didn't see a meaningful difference), her name, and whether she actually went to Sharlayan.

Speaking of which, did Lyse actually go to Sharlayan with Yda? I have the vague impression that she didn't, but that would imply Yda left Lyse with some other unknown guardian while she went off to become an Archon, complete with neck-tattoo. Given Papalymo's original willingness to go with the Yda/Lyse charade, it's plausible that Papalymo knew Lyse from the beginning.

EDIT:
x Conrad
o Curtis

[Belhi]

Yda and Lyse ended up in the colony. Lyse might have been a bit young to have received official training though before they up and left.

[PArcher]

Wonder who the other three tales are going to focus on? Sure one will be out of left field, but there's so many possibilities for the other two...

[TinyRedLeaf]

A lovely story, and one that pretty much corroborates a lot of what I've tried to bring up in other places, about the importance of Lyse to Stormblood.

I greatly enjoyed how she grew as a character throughout the story, and was very much startled by the hostile response that so many players had towards her. It was almost as though they played a different game and watched a different movie.

It was yet another example of how there's no accounting for subjective opinion. A reminder to me that what someone gets from a story can vary wildly from what I take from the tale. It all depends on our perspectives, shaped by a lifetime of different experiences.

I understood almost from the beginning that Lyse had symbolic importance to the Resistance, and was heartened by her efforts to overcome her lack of self-confidence, all the while fully aware that she couldn't afford to let down the friends who supported her, unconditionally. She was refreshingly guileless, in a story full of conniving villains and cunning tacticians.

Most of all, I was pleasantly surprised that, towards the end of the story, Lyse was the only one among the heroes who had developed a clear understanding of what justice meant to her, and why it was vital to ensure that the revolution does not become a pogrom. On that score alone, she's more than qualified to be the new leader of the Resistance.

You can train a person who hasn't yet achieved his or her full potential. But you can't change a person's character. At least, nowhere near as easily.

Conrad correctly recognised that a Resistance made up of people from different backgrounds and different motives needed a unifying symbol to rally around. Lyse was that symbol. That was clear to me.

Not for what she did — Lyse was clearly outshone by everyone else around her, a fact that she's fully cognisant of — nor for her strengths (again, she's well aware of how stupid she currently is; but even the Bull of Ala Mhigo was once a callow youth, uncertain of his potential), but vitally, for what she believed in.

Justice. A concept that everyone thinks they know, yet, when challenged, few can properly explain. History is replete with examples of revolutionary leaders — from Napolean to Mao and to Castro — who won the war, but lost the peace. They all became the dictators they overthrew.

In Lyse, I see a potential leader who would secure a lasting peace for Ala Mhigo.

[Anonymoose]

was very much startled by the hostile response that so many players had towards her

I think for some it was just asking too much too quickly. Yda was a ditz; she was the brawn to Papalymo's brains. Together they made one actual, functional Archon, more or less. But they were also two of the oldest Scions and Yda hadn't had much character development in 20 years; so they put her to rest, preserved her legacy, and retconned in this young firebrand (an arguably more versatile, relevant character) to take that passion to the Empire for better or worse, stumbling along the way. And then suddenly the character we knew for "NANA, IS THAT YOU?" is leader of the Ala Mhigan Resistance?

That's where I differ with the people who find it hard to accept. But I also differ from people who accept it too easily.

It's going to take more than persistence and the right dad to make an actual leader out of her. She's not there yet, imho. The Resistance had spent twenty years being whittled down, fractured, broken, and killed off. Conrad saw in Lyse a sort of reset button; if the Scions and the Alliance were willing to be brought to action, if the Resistance might see a surge of new recruits, they needed someone symbolic; someone who could sympathize with many different plights in the world and not lose hope. People are coming from all over to join Ala Mhigo, and they need something more than battered loyalists who haven't left the Fringes or stopped fighting Garleans for longer than they can remember.

Yet she's growing right alongside them. She literally just decided who she was and has little experience in the role shes in, but all of Ala Mhigo is about to lose the one thing they had in common: the desire to see it liberated. I think things about to get tense fast, and I don't think she's ready to deal with it. Perhaps that's what will mold her into a TRUE leader, or perhaps that's what convinces her to come back to the Scions, instead.

But for her to just suddenly decide who she wants to be and just as suddenly have those skills right when that's needed most? Awfully convenient for someone we knew a few patches ago as the most clueless person in the room during Minfilia's powerpoint presentations.

At the very least, though, this makes it a lot easier to defend why Conrad suddenly chose her to those for whom it wasn't clear.

[Belhi]

To be fair, Lyse is a ditz too. I was worried she would just be a different character but the ditz came out several times. Frankly Yda/Lyse wasn't that dumb either. She was just surrounded by people who were very smart.

I think the characteristics that I noticed that was probably why she is supposed to be a good leader to bring Ala Mhigo together is that she is a solid figurehead, she is strong, she is passionate, she cares for people and she wants an Ala Mhigo for everyone involved. That last part is pretty important. The Ala Mhigans are now going to have to decide what type of nation they want and you need someone who is open to listening to all voices and finding a place for everyone at the table. Anything less and your going to have a lot of infighting and conflict and potentially end up with more blood being spilled.

[Alleo]

Well liking a character will always be subjective. I mean I love Alphinaud and his development but there are many people that still hate him. Different tastes for different people.

I dislike Lyse because first there was more "tell" and less "show" with her and secondly she took our hard work and put herself in the first line.

We are told how she changed through the story and that she would be a great leader and would inspire other people, yet we never truly see it in a believable way. After she was appointed the leader she already tried to act stupid by wanting to go on a mission alone..I just facepalmed a little at that moment because I truly asked myself why not someone like Naago would be made leader? Also the only place she inspired someone (as far as I can remember) was at the very beginning with the new recruits in her hometown. Yet this was not only because of Lyse but because everyone helped the people in that town, while Lyse was throwing a bit of a hissy fit at "her" people not wanting to go to war after all they have been through. Sadly I saw no true change in that view at the end of 4.0. She did not make a great speech towards the soldiers, she did not plan anything at all and at the very end she did not even defeat the big bads. All the hard work and plans were mostly done by Raubahn and us. Heck it was Alphinaud together with the WoL that talked the Lupins out of it and it was Conrad that tried to talk Fordolas underlings out of further attacking.

I really hope that if we see her much more in SB that they will mature her a bit. Because I cant just see someone like her leading a rebellion after the war. Because being an inspiration (which was at least not shown ingame) is not enough to rebuild a torn city.

It might be nice to see more insight in such tales outside the game but one should show such things ingame too. We have the echo as a great way of looking into the past so I am a bit disappointed that it was not truly used much.

Anyway I am kinda curious who we will get for the rest of the stories. Hien is probably in one and I am looking forward to read about him.

[Belhi]

Lyse is supposed to be someone who can act as a figurehead and someone who can represent all the different people in Ala Mhigo. Do remember there are a lot of Resistance groups, plus the beast tribes and all the citizens including those previously working for the Garleans, who are going to have to come to the table and agree. Lyse is the daughter of a cultural hero, who represents both those Ala Mhigans that have lived outside Ala Mhigo while still showing a connection to those living within. She shows care for all Ala Mhigans, is passionate and leads from the front, which given Ala Mhigan culture, is probably something that would be highly respected.

Good leaders don't need to be great strategists or even warriors though Lyse is certainly above average. They just need to be someone with vision, the confidence to lead and someone people trust enough to follow. M'Naago had the skills but she isn't someone all Ala Mhigans can rally behind and that is what is really needed. Lyse doesn't need to come up with everything. She just needs to be able to get everyone to talk and work things out together. That was the whole reason behind Conrad's decision. Lyse was someone others beyond just his own people might be willing to accept to guide them to a new Ala Mhigo.

Secondly I wouldn't say its fair to say she took credit for our hard work. The WoL gets gushed over constantly. Hell someone even makes a comment about how we must be getting pretty sick of it by now.