[5.55 Bozja spoilers] Additional post-ending Bozja story hidden in the field record

[PangTong]

Before reading this, if you haven't read the field notes for Noah van Gabranth, I reccommend you go and do so because this is the main thing this post is regarding.

Essentially, within Gabranth's field notes there is an additional epilogue for the Bozja/IVth Legion story which, shockingly, describes the ultimate fate of the IVth Legion and Dalmasca.

Summed up, the notes say that following Gabranth's failure in Bozja, Lyon mutinied against him and succeeded in assassinating the legatus. This led to the collapse of the IVth Legion, allowing the Dalmascan resistance to easily swoop in and liberate the nation. The note ends with the vague suggestion that Gabranth might still be alive, but it's framed as a rumour or superstition.

So that's it. Dalmasca is free. Whether the story about Lyon betraying Gabranth is true or not, Dalmasca is free. We weren't there to see it and the entire thing was resolved in a few paragraphs in a text log that most people will never read. This, coming right after a cutscene where Fran tells us that she hopes for us to be there when it comes time to liberate Dalmasca.

What I want to discuss is why on earth they did this and what it means for the future of this particular storyline. Why go to all the trouble of setting up some story hooks in the preceding cutscene, with the found Bozjan relics and Fran's comments about Dalmasca, only to immediately resolve it in a field note? If they weren't sure if they wanted to continue with this storyline, it STILL doesn't make sense to just resolve Dalmasca right now instead of waiting until they had decided that for sure. Why spoil it all now, and why do it in a note?

The only explanation I can think of is that they weren't sure if they wanted to continue this storyline or not. So they resolved things, but left enough doors open that they can continue it in the future. But EVEN SO, it still doesn't seem right to have such a major event as the liberation of Dalmasca relegated to a field note.

Let's say they do continue this story some day. How are they going to deal with all the plot they just skipped over in this note? It wouldn't make sense to have a "Liberation of Dalmasca" questline when we now already know how it ends. Are they just going to quickly explain it in a few lines of dialogue and then move on? In that case, why bother spoiling it now? Why go to the trouble of resolving it all now (in text, no less) instead of just waiting until they decide to continue?

But even if this is truly meant to be the end of the story of Dalmasca and the IVth Legion and there is no further content planned for this story, even if we're never ever going to Dalmasca or see Gabranth again, why resolve such a major event with an obscure text log instead of at least a cutscene or some NPC dialogue or something? Why do it right now? Something isn't right here. I can't think of a single good reason for doing it this way.

Maybe there's an angle I'm missing here. Let me know your thoughts.

[Ryaz]

I agree. I honestly wished this campaign was the end to the IVth legion story, especially with next expac bringing an end to the Garlean story altogether. I thought Lyon should have perished when the Dalriada went down in flames. They gave an out in the notes with the corpse possibly being "someone else's burnt corpse", but it still seems weird all that set up at the end and then the field notes undermining it. They set up Gabranth as this big bad of the storyline and then kill him off camera? Seems odd.

[KageTokage]

If you have Lyon's second field record either from his duel or the raid, it further resolves loose threads with him inexplicably showing up at Dalmasca with Pagaga to turn in Sicinius for punishment before fleeing the scene.

Which makes sense considering his prior mention of disliking neither the guy's actions or how he kept himself holed up away from where all the action was, but whether it's meant to be teasing his future involvement in something or not is anyone's guess.

[RyuDragnier]

I'm not so sure it's over. Lyon would not have stood by Noah this long if he didn't like him or his strategies. Fake off screen deaths like this were part of the backstory of FF12, with both Basch and Ashe's deaths faked before the game even began. Not to mention Menenius' 2nd entry mentions that Noah most likely already has a pawn in Dalmasca to guide it the way he wants it to go. Considering we haven't met the dalmascan princess, I would bet money on her being the pawn. And if I were Noah, I wouldn't leave the pawn unattended...he's likely been at her side the entire time.

[Iscah]

It sounds like they might have had a third act planned but everything got knocked around and rescheduled and they simply can't afford to make it at this stage, so they've hurriedly stuffed the plot details into the field record instead.

If so, maybe they'll come back to it and do it justice sometime when they can.

[Anonymoose]

I saw it as a Please look forward to the third act., myself. Matsuno-san doesn't strike me as the kind of storyteller that adds

It is believed that the legatus had sustained injuries in battle with the Dalmascan resistance and was recuperating at the time, and that after an exchange of words, Gabranth accepted his fate before Lyon delivered the fatal blow. The assassin then set the room ablaze before fleeing Castrum Valnaini with his accomplice.

with the intent that it be closure; that looks like laying groundwork, lol.

Especially with the specific time-push in them notes, something the MSQ has yet to ever do in non-vague terms.

Curious if that delay has anything to do with lampshading the time we'll spend completing 6.0, lol.

[PangTong]

I saw it as a Please look forward to the third act., myself. Matsuno-san doesn't strike me as the kind of storyteller that adds

It is believed that the legatus had sustained injuries in battle with the Dalmascan resistance and was recuperating at the time, and that after an exchange of words, Gabranth accepted his fate before Lyon delivered the fatal blow. The assassin then set the room ablaze before fleeing Castrum Valnaini with his accomplice.

with the intent that it be closure; that looks like laying groundwork, lol.

I'm not really questioning that they've clearly left the door open for a possible future continuation, although they could just as easily leave it as-is. The story of the assassination reeks of BS, I don't think Lyon would do it. My point is more how bizarre it is to relegate a major event like the liberation of Dalmasca to a field note, ESPECIALLY if they're planning to continue the story. Doubly so because in the ending cutscene, Fran tells us how she hopes for us to join her in freeing Dalmasca. It's just so weird. If they continue the story, how are they going to handle this massive event essentially being spoiled in advance? Ignore it? Have us go through the liberation even though they've already said what happens? It's so weird.

I also have mixed feelings about the idea of a future piece of content that's locked behind all of Ivalice AND all of Bozja. It's going to end up as a second MSQ at this rate.

[myahele]

I doubt he's dead, it just seems like things were rushed so they had to do what they did. I just want to know if Dalmasca's liberation will be for the Relic Weapon quest line or will it be a new plot point for 6.1+. That said ...

We also find out in another field record that Princess Ashe is still alive and she had an elaborate fake death that only a select few people knew about. It was intentional that people loyal to her think she's really dead so that the ruse can perpetuate itself. With Ashe faking her own, I just don't see Gabranth truly dying either. But why would he fake his death? To give Dalmasca false hope and distraction while he's out doing something

[PangTong]

I doubt he's dead, it just seems like things were rushed so they had to do what they did. I just want to know if Dalmasca's liberation will be for the Relic Weapon quest line or will it be a new plot point for 6.1+. That said ...

We also find out in another field record that Princess Ashe is still alive and she had an elaborate fake death that only a select few people knew about. It was intentional that people loyal to her think she's really dead so that the ruse can perpetuate itself. With Ashe faking her own, I just don't see Gabranth truly dying either. But why would he fake his death? To give Dalmasca false hope and distraction while he's out doing something

It kind of doesn't make sense for Gabranth to fake his death seeing as it leads to the total defeat of the IVth Legion. The last cutscene implies that Gabranth is terminally ill, so I think it's possible he really did die, but even in that case, why do this grand assassination conspiracy? He would be better off if he could die in secret and potentially pass the identity of Gabranth onto someone else. If he really died, I think this is also a possibility, since there's still the rumours of him being alive.

[myahele]

It kind of doesn't make sense for Gabranth to fake his death seeing as it leads to the total defeat of the IVth Legion. The last cutscene implies that Gabranth is terminally ill, so I think it's possible he really did die, but even in that case, why do this grand assassination conspiracy? He would be better off if he could die in secret and potentially pass the identity of Gabranth onto someone else. If he really died, I think this is also a possibility, since there's still the rumours of him being alive.

Maybe to weedout potential traitors/defectors within the 4th legion now that the Empire is in shambles and they lost Bozja, so that's where Lyon comes in with the mutiny. If he really is dying then he must be looking for a cure, maybe he plans on cloning himself and use the resonant or some other device to transfer his soul into the new vessel. He did have Aulus student and other people within his Legion.

Alternatively, Basch is still alive and Noah, in his lust for power, is keeping his father locked up in secret. Lyon somehow found out about this and rebelled freed Basch who will now help the Dalmascan resistance. Hopefully I'm wrong.