Thread: [Spoilers] The Patch 4.2 Discussion and Speculation Thread!

Eh? Asahi is right there next to his mother in the cutscene.


He was definitely in the cutscene. Yotsuyu refers to the woman as her mother, the woman considers Asahi her son (and the Imperial officer seems to think Asahi and Yotsuyu are her's). The mother does refer to Yotsuyu as her sister's (therefore making them cousins) but we don't hear anything about a brother, and Yotsuyu definitely mentions a brother selling her. It's possible having never known he real mother (the Doting Mother says Yotsuyu's mother died) she is unaware that they aren't brother and sister, or it could be that her mother hates her and wishes she wasn't her child.

In the cutscene we SEE Yotsuyu being worked as an ox or an ass or some other beast of burden--so we don't have a reason to assume she's lying there. The doting mother only attempts to "come to an understanding" with the Imperial about Yotsuyu not being educated; I don't get the idea that this is when she was sold off. After the Echo the Warrior of Light narrows his eyes at the dead Imperial, then their gaze softens. I don't think we were witnessing the sale of a child.

Fun Fact: the game script refers to "Doting Mother" as YOTSUYUSMOM and the Imperial as HENSO. While not necessarily canon, I thought it was cute.

I like the theory that Yotsuyu's amnesia probably isn't gonna be "cured" with friendship or love, but through sheer hatred. That's a nice twist

But onto more serious matters:

Originally Posted by Theodric

Asahi is likely to be an antagonist, I feel. He's the cousin of Yotsuyu and we know that her family turned a blind eye to her torment. I'll be disappointed if Doma's sins end up being linked to Garlemald itself as that would be quite a cheap cop out - though I'd prefer Asahi to be an antagonist over a protagonist as I want the 'Larsa' figure to be a Pureblood Garlean.

I have my doubts that Asahi is the same individual shown clenching their fist in Garlemald's palace. Could that individual show up and expose Asahi as a fraud?

Well the glove of the misterious person seem to match Asahi's gear (saw the stinger again to check). Could always be a fake out, sure, but i don't think it would make for that good of a plot twist. More than one dude in the Garlean Army using the same oufit? AUDIBLE GASP! Our good ambasador with a suspicious surname being more than he seems could definetely make for an interesting plot however.

Now onto the juicy part. I think somebody on this thread mentioned that the smoke that comes out of Byakko when he transitions from tiger to man-tiger bears some resemblance to the visual effects associated with Ame-no-Habakiri. While that by itself doesn't say that much, the lore fluff released about the trial mentions a "peerless samurai" named Tezen, which apparently is a reference to FFXI, where, as far as i could understand based on secondary sources, he was a samurai that housed the spirit of Phoenix on his katana. Seems like a great candidate to be the original wielder of the sword.

What if the Ame-no-Habakiri is deeply related to the Four Lords? Maybe it's used to contain them, maybe it was made by them and gifted to Tezen and for some reason Zenos using it awakens them. The reason i'm bringing this up is... the sword seems to be a perfectly exploitable plot point/mcguffin yet seemed to be discarted so fast. I'm sure it'll make a comeback and this seems to be a nice way to integrate it.

Well from a recent interview it sounds like Doma's story will play out over 4.2 and 4.3.

Originally Posted by Rocl

Eh? Asahi is right there next to his mother in the cutscene.

Oh you are right. I still doubt Asahi sold her of. He seems a bit young to be involved in that type of thing. The same interview I mention aboved indicated that Asahi came from Garlemald proper so I don't think he has be home much recently, particularly considering he has risen to the highest rank he actually can.

Originally Posted by Ametrine

Yotsuyu specifically mentions forcing her to marry that dignitary was HIS idea, and that she had to grin and bare it partly for his sake.

I'm leaning more towards this dignitary giving Asahi better opportunities within Garlemald. Endearing his clan to this powerful figure could be quickly done through a political marriage, and he had a sister right there.

She was basically a piece of property to his family, anyway, so why not sell her to make friends in high places?

She also says it was her brother that had the idea. Whether this means she thought she and Asahi were siblings or if there is another person in the family we haven't met is yet to be seen.

I'd say take that statement with a grain of salt until we have more information. Children will often blame siblings, or cousins in this case, for things their parents do if they feel they're being slighted or the other child is getting the better deal. People can hold onto grudges like that for years.

Personally, I have trouble believing a young child could come up with something like that, and he looks younger than Yotsuyu, both in the past and in the present (but that might be because life has worn her down). Not to say it can't happen, but, still.

Nice catch! I didn't even make that connection! I'm excited to see its conclusion finally, if that is the case.

Also, re: Asahi selling Yotsuyu is weird "because he's so young." I don't think there's any likelihood whatsoever he did this as a child. I would definitely expect him to concoct this plan while in Garlemald proper receiving his education. I don't believe we're given any indication of how old that Echo flashback was--you figure it was 25 years ago Doma was annexed. You figure that gives a whole 24 year window (let's say ~10 minimum) that Asahi comes up with this. Do we ever know how long Yotsuyu was married? Eh? Do we even know she was sold to a Garlean? She just says "a vicious old drunk" and then when she's sold a second time to pay her ex-husband's debts does she become an Imperial spy.

We also know Gosetsu knows Yotsuyu's ex-husband he was sold to and it was a distinctly Doman name "Sashihai." He also refers to her as the "orphan of the Naeuri" which is ... curious? The Garlean says the Naeuri would receive compensation for Asahi's training. The mention of these names to her is precisely what leads Yotsuyu to step on his head in Isari.

Heh, in this very quest Yotsuyu compares her sins to Gosetsu's. Both survivors, both pledging loyalty to the Empire to further their own goals despite having no love for it. (Yotsuyu to get her revenge on Doma, Gosetsu to return to his master's side).
Given limited wikipediaing, in Japan, 96% of women take their husband's surname and it's a requirement for a couple to have the same last name to receive married status. (Of note, this is obviously the MODERN day, and not whatever medieval period Doma in XIV is based off of.) Which... makes me curious... Asahi's mother (married) is Naeuri, and her sister was also Naeuri (Gosetsu says Yotsuyu is an orphan of the Naueri) ... shouldn't this be impossible? Yotsuyu's family is definitely muddled. All languages refer to the Naeuri family being compensated for Asahi's prowess or something. Unless Yotsuyu's mother and Asahi's mother married into the same family.... I think there's something ridiculously hidden here, lol. Naeuri is definitely the "surname" / "house name" / "family name" but I'm having difficulties finding the dialogue I linked above in other languages currently.