Thread: Revelations from Patch 5.4

Leá Monde actually has one of the best backstories for a Deep Dungeon type content, or even 6.x's answer to Eureka/Bozja. Granted, I think XIV's version of Leá Monde is, last I recall, inhabited and doesn't have a...n undead problem, to put it lightly. It's instead known for its wine.

That said, I could see it made playable, anything could happen between now and 6.0-6.1. I could also see it becoming the new 24-man, in the style of CT: the Catacombs and Wine Cellars lead to the City proper, next tier we're forced to take a detour through the Undercity towards the Grand Cathedral, finishing the series with the Iron Maiden.

Side-note: Matsuno's endings tend to be... bittersweet, at best. And his setting go bleak with some hope spots here and there.

I wonder if

the ship will keep its name from XII

Varis: Gabranth, why did you name your Flagship after one of the savages Eikons?

Gabranth: "Loud sweating"

Originally Posted by Ronald_Bloodwings

I can get behind that but it feels like no one is getting a happy ending right at this moment... The WoL is going to need a lot of therapy... to say nothing of Mikoto...

Oh somebody will, but it's going to be a Bittersweet ending. The fact of who all we've lost so far in the Bozjan story should tell you that. I'm suspecting this will either end on a cliffhanger, or where the 4th Legion are pushed out, but not exactly defeated (leaving them open to be reoccuring foes in a future storyline).

Originally Posted by WhiteArchmage

Side-note: Matsuno's endings tend to be... bittersweet, at best. And his setting go bleak with some hope spots here and there.

We've just gotten into bleak with what looked like a hope spot. The bittersweet is likely coming at the end of the next update to it.

So, my fourth run of DR concluded with me getting the dossier for the final boss of the instance, which I've transcribed here.

Save the Queen

A trigger weapon forged by the fallen Allagan Empire, Save the Queen was born from painstaking study of eikons and a desire to simplify and streamline the process by which they were summoned. Such devices—of which this holy blade stands as a prime example—serve as the catalyst by which an eikon may be called forth.

As for how this legendary sword did come to ancient Bozja, none can say. In light of Bozja's military weakness, it is inconceivable that they could have seized or stolen it themselves, and there is little reason to believe that Allag favored the Bozjans so much to have presented it as a gift. A more likely possibility is that an Allagan apostate who no longer looked kindly on the empire defected to Bozja and gifted his new countrymen the artifact of his own accord.

In any event, the fact remains that the holy blade of Bozja, that which could be wielded only by the hand of Queen Gunnhildr, was a trigger weapon—a relic of Allagan ingenuity.

In the days of ancient Ivalice, the crystal known as auracite was worshipped as a reliquary. Come to this world from the heavens on the wings of Ultima, the High Seraph, it houses power beyond mortal comprehension—a power that resonates within the desires of man, giving them concrete form. It was in their quest to artificially improve upon this natural phenomenon that the Allagans did create such a fearsome weapon, which forges the wielder's deepest desires into a trigger for calling forth an eikon. Having succeeded in the summoning, the Allagans then sought a means by which to bend said eikon to their will, and—after much trial and error—came to the conclusion that this could only be accomplished by one possessing the power of the Echo. The discovery was a testament to the terrifyingly boundless knowledge of the Allagans.

In time, Misija—having heard tell of the blade and the tragedy of Bozja's final queen—sought to manifest its primal power with herself as conduit. Yet summoning along would not suffice—she required a means by which to retain control over her body and will throughout the process. For this ,she would need the power of the Echo. So, with knowledge gained through the Empire's vast information network, she located a Sharlayan scholar by the name of Mikoto, known to possess the gift. Having succeeded in kidnapping her quarry, Misija employed techniques developed by Lord Aulus mal Asina at the Resonatorium to reproduce Mikoto's powers within herself, thus becoming Resonant.

Misija then sought to use the residual aether left in the blade by its former wielder—the woman born as Nevembya Votyasch—and her memories to conjure the shade of Queen Gunnhildr. Which these reserves were sufficient to temper the Resistance warriors who stood before her, however, they were woefully insufficient to accomplish her ultimate goal of becoming an eikon. When she learned that a fount of abundant aether such as she required could be found in the ruins of the ancient Bozjan palace Delubrum Reginae, her path was clear. There, with the power of the great crystal housed in its innermost chambers, Misija at long last made the holy blade's true power her own.

So it was that the queen stood before the Warrior of Light, with years of bitterness in her heart, that she might see Gabranth's vision made real by her own hand...

Originally Posted by RyuDragnier

Oh somebody will, but it's going to be a Bittersweet ending. The fact of who all we've lost so far in the Bozjan story should tell you that. I'm suspecting this will either end on a cliffhanger, or where the 4th Legion are pushed out, but not exactly defeated (leaving them open to be reoccuring foes in a future storyline).


We've just gotten into bleak with what looked like a hope spot. The bittersweet is likely coming at the end of the next update to it.

I can take bittersweet and I think I have a good idea of what could happen...

In Mikoto's little vision at the end I was getting some major Ysayle vibes; falling from an airship, a giant warship being our next big problem, and her seeming eerily calm for falling to her "death". And while I don't think I see Save the Queen in her possession I wouldn't be surprised if that was excluded from her vision to keep it vague or if it's just the good old JRPG magic pockets at work. Anyway, I could see her assuming the form of The Queen and calling forth the Blades to defeat said giant warship giving them a chance to turn the tide for the resistance and a proper "We're alright now, don't let what happened to us be for nothing; keep fighting!" moment before fading away.

As for Mikoto's fate... I give it a 50/50 on her surviving, she does have the Echo so we know she can control the pseudo primal that The Queen is, just like Ysayle did with Shiva. So, that's my take I suppose."

Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch

So, my fourth run of DR concluded with me getting the dossier for the final boss of the instance, which I've transcribed here.

Save the Queen

A trigger weapon forged by the fallen Allagan Empire, Save the Queen was born from painstaking study of eikons and a desire to simplify and streamline the process by which they were summoned. Such devices—of which this holy blade stands as a prime example—serve as the catalyst by which an eikon may be called forth.

As for how this legendary sword did come to ancient Bozja, none can say. In light of Bozja's military weakness, it is inconceivable that they could have seized or stolen it themselves, and there is little reason to believe that Allag favored the Bozjans so much to have presented it as a gift. A more likely possibility is that an Allagan apostate who no longer looked kindly on the empire defected to Bozja and gifted his new countrymen the artifact of his own accord.

In any event, the fact remains that the holy blade of Bozja, that which could be wielded only by the hand of Queen Gunnhildr, was a trigger weapon—a relic of Allagan ingenuity.

In the days of ancient Ivalice, the crystal known as auracite was worshipped as a reliquary. Come to this world from the heavens on the wings of Ultima, the High Seraph, it houses power beyond mortal comprehension—a power that resonates within the desires of man, giving them concrete form. It was in their quest to artificially improve upon this natural phenomenon that the Allagans did create such a fearsome weapon, which forges the wielder's deepest desires into a trigger for calling forth an eikon. Having succeeded in the summoning, the Allagans then sought a means by which to bend said eikon to their will, and—after much trial and error—came to the conclusion that this could only be accomplished by one possessing the power of the Echo. The discovery was a testament to the terrifyingly boundless knowledge of the Allagans.

In time, Misija—having heard tell of the blade and the tragedy of Bozja's final queen—sought to manifest its primal power with herself as conduit. Yet summoning along would not suffice—she required a means by which to retain control over her body and will throughout the process. For this ,she would need the power of the Echo. So, with knowledge gained through the Empire's vast information network, she located a Sharlayan scholar by the name of Mikoto, known to possess the gift. Having succeeded in kidnapping her quarry, Misija employed techniques developed by Lord Aulus mal Asina at the Resonatorium to reproduce Mikoto's powers within herself, thus becoming Resonant.

Misija then sought to use the residual aether left in the blade by its former wielder—the woman born as Nevembya Votyasch—and her memories to conjure the shade of Queen Gunnhildr. Which these reserves were sufficient to temper the Resistance warriors who stood before her, however, they were woefully insufficient to accomplish her ultimate goal of becoming an eikon. When she learned that a fount of abundant aether such as she required could be found in the ruins of the ancient Bozjan palace Delubrum Reginae, her path was clear. There, with the power of the great crystal housed in its innermost chambers, Misija at long last made the holy blade's true power her own.

So it was that the queen stood before the Warrior of Light, with years of bitterness in her heart, that she might see Gabranth's vision made real by her own hand...

Save the Queen

This reveal of Allagan "trigger weapons" might explain why Amon wanted Owen's research on tempering suppressed. It would also suggest Eureka may have been an Allagan eikon created assist in manufacturing these trigger weapons, similar to how the Mother Porxie was created to manufacture copies of Angelo. Now what I want to know is: was Ultima the High Seraph created to distribute auracite, and was she also summoned on the Thirteenth World? (curious how auracite never comes up on the First itself)

Originally Posted by Ronald_Bloodwings

I can take bittersweet and I think I have a good idea of what could happen...

In Mikoto's little vision at the end I was getting some major Ysayle vibes; falling from an airship, a giant warship being our next big problem, and her seeming eerily calm for falling to her "death". And while I don't think I see Save the Queen in her possession I wouldn't be surprised if that was excluded from her vision to keep it vague or if it's just the good old JRPG magic pockets at work. Anyway, I could see her assuming the form of The Queen and calling forth the Blades to defeat said giant warship giving them a chance to turn the tide for the resistance and a proper "We're alright now, don't let what happened to us be for nothing; keep fighting!" moment before fading away.

As for Mikoto's fate... I give it a 50/50 on her surviving, she does have the Echo so we know she can control the pseudo primal that The Queen is, just like Ysayle did with Shiva. So, that's my take I suppose."

Personally...

I'm just expecting her sister Kagura to show up and save her at this point.

I feel like they mentioned her in way too much detail to not be getting herself involved in things sooner then later, not to mention it's most likely Sharlayan's isolationist/non-interference policies she didn't agree with; only she chose to oppose them aggressively instead of just quietly accepting it and making do with the restrictions like the Scions and others have.

Mikoto was mentioned as only recently stepping out to try to make a difference in the world, which I could see being a reason for her to try to bridge the gap that existed between them.

So uhh, about the bangaa, I found out this from Bwagi. I'm...not sure what to make of that knowledge. Hiding it because I personally feel it's cursed knowledge, and also because I don't want to take up too much space.

I mean, I'm not that surprised. Bangaa in FFXII could be pretty hairy, with Vaan and Penelo's father figure/caretaker looking more like Falkor than a reptile.