The Patch 4.45 Lore Discussion Thread! (Spoilers)

[Theodric]

So, the latest content patch went live recently which means there's new nuggets of lore to discuss! In this case, it's only a minor patch so that means the story stuff is limited to Eureka and Hildibrand this time around.

I haven't dabbled in the latter yet but I have tackled Eureka. The latest installment is Pyros - though the southern half of the map is covered in ice much like Pagos and the upper portion of the map consists of magma filled caves.

At the time of writing, I've reached level 46 - I need level 50 to complete the final set of Pyros quests. This time around the story is better paced.

Some things to note on Pyros:

- Thus far, Krile has not mentioned the situation regarding Thancred, Y'shtola and Urianger. I put that down to Eureka being a self contained story.
- Krile proclaims that the situation regarding the Isle of Val isn't due to Ascian meddling but rather a teleportation spell.
- G'raha Tia is briefly mentioned. A nice throwback to The Crystal Tower raid series.
- There's an Echo flashback involving Krile and Ejika that shows that although they were often frustrated with one another, deep down they respected each other. Galuf is also shown briefly in the same scene.
- Ejika is being manipulated by the mysterious masked figure. It's not confirmed, yet my suspicion is that the masked figure is Galuf. Ejika conjures a sword of pure aether.

That's all for now, though if anyone has gotten further than I or wants to mention anything I've overlooked then feel free to share - likewise if you've completed the Hildibrand quests if there's any new lore of note.

[Fenral]

Wait, they finally mentioned him? By name, even?


Guess I'm obligated to put the Eureka boots back on... 20-50, here we go...


*trudge, trudge*

[Jonnycbad]

Ejika conjures a sword of pure aether.

It looks EXACTLY like Zantetsuken.




Note: The pinkish glow in Ejika is just due to the blur and lightning effect. It is, in fact, the exact same model as Zantetsuken.

After we defeated Odin, nobody mentioned the fate of Zantetsuken. In fact, we just LEFT it there. Unukalhai mentioned that the sword has gone missing. Perhaps someone gave it to Ejika, and the Primal that Krile mentioned is Odin.

[Rocl]

With all the references to XI, it would be fitting for the Eureka big-bad to be Odin.

I know Rhapsodies changed some of that in XI, but that's neither here nor there!I know I know it's Eureka, the Creator....

[Cilia]

Hildibrand's story is short (only 2 quests) and provides a significant amount of context to the Wolf Burglar's crimes.

Inquiring around Kugane reveals that he's revered as a Robin Hood like figure, stealing from corrupt businessmen and giving to the poor. The party comes to the consensus that questioning him will lead them to Yojimbo and the stolen Soboro Sukehiro, so (along with the Dead Gentle Man in tow) they pay a visit to the Wolf Burglar in prison. After typical Hildibrand shenanigans, the Dead Gentle Man is left impersonating the Wolf Burglar in his cell while the Wolf Burglar absconds with the party. After making more inquiries in Kugane's underbelly, they come to the belief that Yojimbo is pursuing the Ame-no-Murakumo (yes, Susano'o's colossal blade) and give chase to the Ruby Sea.

Upon arriving there, some idle conversation gets the Wolf Burglar to reveal his backstory: he was after the Soboro Sukehiro and that alone, and his rash of hits were designed solely to draw out the weapon. It was a keepsake from an unnamed samurai who fled the Imperial occupation of Doma and effectively adopted him as a foster son, only to be taken when he died due to Akebono (the merchant) worming his way into his finances. The party then inquires around Sakazuki asking about Yojimbo, eventually sussing out Daigoro who leads the party to Yojimbo. Through Hildibrand shenanigans, the Wolf Burglar gets the Soboro Sukehiro back, but absconds when the Sekiseigumi show up having figured out the ruse and intent on returning him to prison. Shigure is carted off to prison for his part in the fiasco, though Hildibrand and Nashu vow to free him due to the extenuating circumstances making his unlawful actions justifiable as they were for the greater good.

It was pretty obvious that Akebono was not entirely on the up-and-up from the beginning (he tried to sell Hildibrand as a statue and a live qiqirn for human consumption). The Wolf Burglar being Kugane's Robin Hood puts his crimes in a new light, but samurai are supposed to be Lawful Neutral... so the Sekiseigumi insisting on hauling him in anyway is hardly surprising.

Oh, and the shenanigans led to Shigure regrowing his hair with a tonic Nashu supplied as well as donning a new outfit to move about incognito. Didn't fool the Sekiseigumi for a second, though.

[Alleo]

I played all the SB Hildi quests in one go and found them funny but also quite interesting. I do wonder how it will end.

At one hand I could understand the motivation of the thief better but at the other hand just because those people he stole from might not be the greatest too does not stop him from being a thief. He also did not only steal from one person but from countless others and I do question if all of those are corrupt or not. So I can fully understand that people are a bit angry that he got caught since they got money from him but at the same time I can also understand that he needs to be arrested because if you dont then this opens up quite the problems and would make stealing in some ways even fine.

Wolf man is also not 100% trustworthy because he broke his part of the contract and went away, and with that hurting Shigure who risked a lot and is a good person.

I do wonder what Mr. Evil beard has planned..that guy really needs to be put down.

[Cilia]

The important thing to remember about the Wolf Burglar is that, while what he did benefited the poor and downtrodden in Kugane, doing so wasn't his goal. His only aim was to get the Soboro Sukehiro; helping the poor was just a consequence of him not caring about the rest of the things he stole. Therefore calling him "Kugane's Robin Hood" reflects how the citizenry sees him, but it's not entirely accurate to who he really is. (Chaotic Good vs. Chaotic Neutral)

[Alleo]

The important thing to remember about the Wolf Burglar is that, while what he did benefited the poor and downtrodden in Kugane, doing so wasn't his goal. His only aim was to get the Soboro Sukehiro; helping the poor was just a consequence of him not caring about the rest of the things he stole. Therefore calling him "Kugane's Robin Hood" reflects how the citizenry sees him, but it's not entirely accurate to who he really is. (Chaotic Good vs. Chaotic Neutral)

Thats true too. Also even if he wanted to really help the people he is still stealing. So I really hope that its not ending with him getting completely free. Maybe a decrease in the punishment for helping against the real villian of this case but letting him go would just feel a bit like "its fine to steal if you do it to rich people and give some of it to others" which would morally feel quite wrong to me.

[ObsidianFire]

So... someone made a suggestion that the eikon in Eureka is Raiden. And no, that wouldn't be an Far Eastern kami associated with thunder... In FFVI, Raiden is the upgraded form of of the esper Odin. Yeah.

That would go a long way in explaining why Odin would have still been sealed in Urth's Fount at the time Galuf and Co. were sealing another eikon with a Zantetsuken-like blade in Baldesion.

[Balipu]

The Hildi storyline in Stomblood is far better than in HW. A lot of people say that SB is terrible and a massive step back from HW, but to me SB has better music, patch story, Hildibrand story, job quests and job skills.