It's Not Unacceptable: Let's Play Bravely Default

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Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

It's not particularly a stretch for them to assume Ringabel is the author given the book was in his possession from the outset. It's not like he found it somewhere, after all, and he has amnesia.

Also, if I was several hundreds of years old, I would totally live in a frozen castle and have kids fight dragons to the death for the privilege of decorating my door with fancy trinkets.

# ? Mar 20, 2018 05:06

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# ? May 9, 2024 21:12

Omobono: Feb 19, 2013; That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

I mean, after the kids' kids' kids' kids still wouldn't get off his lawn or stop using his castle for weird proof of courage poo poo, I can't blame DeRosso for increasing security.

# ? Mar 20, 2018 05:16

BioEnchanted: Aug 9, 2011; He plays for the dreamers that forgot how to dream, and the lovers that forgot how to love.

Everyone thinks DeRosso gave Edea his blessing because nothing bad would happen, but what if he doesn't care anymore? It may be that after a thousand years with the Eternian Chucklefuck Brigade he's ready for whatever disaster will befall the world and finally kill him.

# ? Mar 20, 2018 05:46

Rainuwastaken: Oct 30, 2012; Another blue ribbon for Hecarim.

BioEnchanted posted:

Everyone thinks DeRosso gave Edea his blessing because nothing bad would happen, but what if he doesn't care anymore? It may be that after a thousand years with the Eternian Chucklefuck Brigade he's ready for whatever disaster will befall the world and finally kill him.

"Awakening the earth crystal will probably blow up the world or something but gently caress it, I'm gonna see if I can surf a chunk of the planet all the way to Fantasy Mars."

# ? Mar 20, 2018 16:31

Greyarc: Dec 29, 2016

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

I don't envy you for having to write up the next update.

I'm used to typing up large amounts of text on a regular basis, but transcribing this next update still gave me hand cramps. Hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I did writing it! :unsmigghh:

Actually, I've got something a bit different in mind to help, uh, get through the segment. It might delay the next update, but hopefully it'll be worthwhile. We'll see how it goes.

# ? Mar 20, 2018 18:30

cdyoung: Mar 2, 2012

Greyarc posted:

I'm used to typing up large amounts of text on a regular basis, but transcribing this next update still gave me hand cramps. Hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

Actually, I've got something a bit different in mind to help, uh, get through the segment. It might delay the next update, but hopefully it'll be worthwhile. We'll see how it goes.

the flowery language SE seems obsessed with these last few years probably doesn't help at all, I mean most of the vernacular was horribly outdated by the mid 19th century.

# ? Mar 30, 2018 23:25

Commander Keene: Dec 21, 2016; Faster than the others

cdyoung posted:

the flowery language SE seems obsessed with these last few years probably doesn't help at all, I mean most of the vernacular was horribly outdated by the mid 19th century.

At least in these fantasy-styled RPGs, that's probably the point. SMT IV had all the Samurai speaking in the same sort of old-timey language, and then when you got to Tokyo, everyone spoke either plain English or with a Brooklyn accent.

# ? Mar 30, 2018 23:39

EagerSleeper: Feb 3, 2010; by R. Guyovich

Greyarc posted:

I'm used to typing up large amounts of text on a regular basis, but transcribing this next update still gave me hand cramps. Hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

Actually, I've got something a bit different in mind to help, uh, get through the segment. It might delay the next update, but hopefully it'll be worthwhile. We'll see how it goes.

I can't wait. :getin:

# ? Mar 31, 2018 04:59

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

Oh dear, I hadn't realized it's been 11 days.

Some say Lord DeRosso is still monologuing to this day.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 06:27

Greyarc: Dec 29, 2016

Entry 75 - Part 1: Did Someone Ask For Exposition

:siren:

The following portion of the game contains large amounts of exposition with a minimum of animation or imagery. As this is not a visual novel, the decision is an unfortunate example of telling instead of showing in a format built around playing.

As such, I have undertaken emergency measures to try and alleviate the situation for the Let's Play format. Supplementary images have been scribbled and will be provided, hopefully giving a small amount of additional context to the proceedings.

Complaints can be directed to middleware/game developer Silicon Studio, or Square Enix, they of infinite life-giving crystals.

:siren:

With the defeat of the sixth elemental dragon, the party has completed DeRosso's trial. They return to the Vampire Castle and, one by one, set the keystones into the door.

Once the last is placed, there is a sound of creaking heavy metal.

That was anti-climactic. He could've at least included a flash, a bang, or a puff of smoke.

Let's head in before Ringabel has a chance to flap his gums again.

Here's a better view of the complete door. How cheery!

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Family posted:

The Vampire Gallery 1:
We traveled the world collecting keystones as Lord DeRosso bid, and have now finally gained entry to Vampire Castle.

Their handiwork now fully admired, the party steps inside.

Look at all those paintings.

Did we just stumble into an art gallery?

They all have a sort of forlorn look to them.

Vampire Castle is an optional dungeon.

DeRosso keeps hellish residents around, presumably to ward away intruders who somehow bypass his keystone lock.

The creatures all have a connection with legends of vampires.

Wolves are sometimes seen as allies of vampires.

These hellhounds can easily wreck the party's day, by the way. DeRosso was at least kind enough to not give them three heads.

The last type of encounter is an actual demon. Whether DeRosso summoned them or they took up residence here on their own, who knows.

Melusine is a water spirit/fairy from western European myth. She isn't known for doing anything particularly evil. Maybe she's just helping DeRosso out.

This seems like it should be the start of a Drakengard weapon story. You know, where in the end the patron murders everyone, then himself, in a frenzy of bloodlust to try and appease an insatiable demon god. But this is Bravely Default, so it's more likely the patron wanted the sword because he thought it sounded cool and stuck it on the wall of his castle unused where he could admire it every so often.

One painting has pride of place on the first floor, just before the staircase leading up. The party pauses to take a closer look.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Family posted:

The Vampire Gallery 2:
The castle interior is heavy with silence, and a chill to put the snows outside to shame fills its halls. The halls are lined with a host of solemn paintings. The room before the stairway housed a particularly large work, depicting a man nearly identical to Lord DeRosso and a woman (likely the man's wife), a babe held in her arms.

His wife was sure an attractive one. Oh, and it says something under the painting.

So that's his mother, not his beautiful young wife. And that little baby is Lord DeRosso.

Clergyman? Of the Crystal Adventists?

Hm? Is something the matter, Agn�s?

The Crystal Adventists were the predecessors of the Crystal Orthodoxy. It is now known as the old Faith.

How could he have been a member of the Adventist clergy? According to this portrait, Lord DeRosso is incredibly old. Even...ancient.

Yes, indeed, for I was born of these frozen lands in a time some two thousand four hundred years from this day.

And right on cue, in a cloud of smoke:

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Family posted:

The Vampire Gallery 3:
The family painting, it seems, depicts Lord DeRosso shortly after his birth; the couple portrayed are his parents. Just as Agn�s questioned a passage in the inscription saying "clergyman of the Crystal Adventists and cardinal of the Crystal Orthodoxy," Lord DeRosso appeared to explain.

The party glances back when he shows up, but is far too experienced at this point to be alarmed.

And this portrait?

I was but an infant, as you can see. This is a reproduction, however. The original was lost long ago to fire.

And what of the part that reads, "Clergyman of the Crystal Adventists and cardinal of the Crystal Orthodoxy"?

Hmm, yes... As wind vestal, you would be expected to take interest in such matters. But ere I delve into the matter of the Old Faith and the Orthodoxy, allow me to tell of the founding of this land.

However, fifteen years past, the templar rose up and occupied their lands. Thus was the Duchy of Eternia born.

Yes, my father attacked the Orthodoxy's head temple and seized the Earth Crystal.

Indeed, it was the templar's military might that was the Orthodoxy's ruin. In the eyes of a vestal, he was a traitor and usurper.

......

However, the templar did not found a new state. In truth, he restored an ancient dynasty.

He did?

Long before the Crystal Orthodoxy ruled this land, it was known as the Kingdom of Eternia.

The Highlands were not as lofty as they are today. People and ideas flowed freely from other lands.

To the west lay the castle of the House of DeRosso, hereditary dukes of Eternia with royal blood in their veins.

Relations with the royal family were good, and ever did the kings of Eternia treat the dukes of our house with kindness. In return, the House of DeRosso did faithfully serve generations of Eternian kings.

DeRosso trails off there, disappearing again in a poof of smoke.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Family posted:

The Vampire Gallery 4:
All of the paintings in Vampire Castle, including the family portrait, were painted by Lord DeRosso himself, he explained. Strangely, that was the LEAST surprising part of his revelation. The original paintings had been lost in a fire and, bored with his immortal(!?) existence, he had taken to painting while reminiscing about the old days.

The party takes one last glance at the painting.

Little did he know of the approaching maelstrom--such tragedy that we could not possibly fathom.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Family posted:

"Family" 1:
Lord DeRosso was born some 2,400 years ago, in an era when, as the inscription suggests, the Old Faith and the Orthodoxy both existed. According to him, Edea's father the templar did not found Eternia fifteen years ago, but rather revived a kingdom that had existed two and a half millenia prior.

"Family" 2:
At the time, this land was a hub of international trade blessed with four seasons. Eternia's king took the Earth Crystal and the Crystal Adventists under his aegis, and peace reigned for generations.

"Family" 3:
At Eternia's west stood the ancestral castle of the DeRosso clan, a line of dukes descended of royal blood who had long enjoyed a close bond with the ruling family. The court treated the DeRosso family kindly, and the Dukes DeRosso gave their fealty in return.

Ringabel does writeups on each of the paintings. These are mostly a repeat of the conversations, but sometimes they have new info, so they're worth reading through if you want the max number of plot questions answered.

On the second floor, the party scrounges around DeRosso's shoe closets. Score!

They couldn't find a matching belt, but I guess this'll do.

Their closet raid is interrupted when they spot a second eye-catching painting.

DeRosso pops up behind the party.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Ordainment posted:

The Vampire Gallery 5:
The hall leading to the third floor housed another large painting, this time of a figure in colorful vestments--a record of Lord DeRosso's investiture as a cardinal of the Orthodoxy. This time, he appeared before us with a momentary smile before speaking on his youth and the whims of fate that shaped the course of his life.

I was born of the House of DeRosso, hereditary dukes of Eternia.

And the king bestowed favor upon me as well. Upon royal recommendation, I was made a cleric of the Crystal Adventists, the Old Faith, in my nineteenth year.

I devoted my body and soul to my clerical duties. For king, for kingdom, for faith. Sleep became an oft-missed luxury. But before long, a new tide began sweeping through the Crystal Adventists.

That belief formed the core of the Crystal Orthodoxy. The Eternian royal family, keepers of the Earth Crystal, immediately assented to this new way.

I soon found myself appointed to the position of cardinal in the Orthodoxy--me, a mere cleric. Cardinal DeRosso... Those were my days of glory. Even now, the mere sound of the then new title is dear to me.

Thereupon, cardinals throughout the world gathered for a conclave to elect the first grand patriarch. Amid the conclave's maelstrom, I was approached by a cardinal who wished for me to vote for his choice.

But that was my downfall, for I was forced from the position of cardinal by the fraudulently elected grand patriarch.

I had been but fervent in my beliefs and ideals. What I did, I did only for the Orthodoxy and for the people of this world.

The Old Faith and the Orthodoxy... The Kingdom of Eternia and the Duchy... That was all a bit hard to follow.

I agree.

There are no major differences in teachings between the Old Faith and the Orthodoxy. They both revere the four crystals. I have heard that the Adventists gave way to the new and truer ideas of the Orthodoxy, and faded away.

No wonder the Old Faith was abandoned.

Yet there is more to the story, for history is naught more than accounts recorded by the victorious.

So it was those who held the reins of power within the Orthodoxy relentlessly pressed for the Adventists' eradication. No one recalls the words of the vanquished if the victorious write them out of history. 'Tis as if they had never existed.

I'd been taught that the battle between the two faiths had been fierce, and in its wake, devastation persisting to this day covered all the lands.

That is an uncharacteristically accurate account for the Orthodoxy, save for their false reckoning of time. It was after the Orthodoxy had begun ruling the world that the endless conflict with the Adventists began.

I should know, for I was there to bear witness firsthand.

Lord DeRosso, how could you possibly be that old!?

Good point. We know DeRosso is old, we know he loves bragging about it, we don't know how he got that old in the first place.

But DeRosso does not answer, electing instead to do his vanishing act.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Ordainment posted:

"Ordainment" 1:
Born of royal blood into the DeRosso clan, he grew up loved by his parents, the people, and even the king himself. A blessed childhood... At nineteen, the king recommended him for priesthood among the Crystal Adventists--now known as the Old Faith. He took the cloth and worked tirelessly for the faith, the king, and the good of the people.

"Ordainment" 2:
It was shortly after that a new faction rose to power within the Adventist ranks.

They proposed that the world's four crystals not be placed under the stewardship of disparate kings and leaders, but brought under the aegis of a central body--a new faith. It was the birth of the Orthodoxy.

"Ordainment" 3:
The Eternian king, who had long guarded the Earth Crystal, was quick to support this new movement. Perhaps due to the king's warm support, Lord DeRosso was made a cardinal of the Orthodoxy, a position of considerable power.

"Ordainment" 4:
As the transformation of Adventism into Orthodoxy concluded, only the election of the Grand Patriarch remained. The cardinal gathered to hold a conclave. Shortly after it began, however, Lord DeRosso was approached by another offering a deal in exchange for his vote.

"Ordainment" 5:
Still in its first days, the new faith had already succumbed to the taint of corruption. Lord DeRosso rebuffed the offer, and within four short months of the Patriarch's selection secured by bribery and collusion, he had been driven out of the office of cardinal.

"Ordainment" 6:
Old Faith and Orthodoxy, Kingdom of Eternia and Duchy... Faced with a flurry of terms, Tiz and Edea seemed lost. When Agn�s explained that the Adventists succumbed to the rise of the Orthodoxy due to the greater truth of the latter's teachings, Lord DeRosso offered a patient, somehow melancholy rebuttal.

"Ordainment" 7:
History's victors are given to heaping derision upon the losers in order to solidify their position as just and true. Those who held power in the Orthodoxy preached the ills of Adventism, shaping the records of the era in their desired image. In time, the voices of the Adventists were silenced entirely, lost to posterity forever.

"Ordainment" 8:
By Lord DeRosso's account, the fierce battle between the Adventists and Orthodoxy did not take place before the Orthodoxy's rise, as history suggests, but after the world had already been unified under the Orthodoxy's banner. "I should know," he claimed, "for I was there to fight it." His smile was wry, and cold as ice.

"Ordainment" 9:
It seems the timing of the conflict, the notion that it arose from unilateral aggression on the part of the Adventists, and that it concluded in the decisive victory of the Orthodoxy are all fabrications. The transition from Old Faith to new, he claims, was actually a peaceful, bloodless process the likes of which history has seldom seen.

Sawing logs?

She means you were sleeping.

Ah, so it was that obvious?

Obvious? You were snoring like a bear!

I was!? You'll have to forgive me. Even I know that's really rude.

That it is. Even if that was an incredibly long bit of oratory.

That's right, Ringabel! You were really rude!

I mean, your snoring even woke me up!

What!? You mean you were sleeping, too, Edea!?

Tiz sighs and turns back to the painting.

From the Old Faith to the Orthodoxy... Lord DeRosso's fate was sealed upon his ordainment.

To recap, since this is the foundation of the rest of these conversations: The Old Faith/Crystal Adventists were Luxendarc's crystal-worshipping religion back over 2400 years ago. They had the whole vestals, temples thing going on. They also had other members of the clergy, implied to be made up of holy men (as compared to the crystal temples being occupied solely by holy women). Eventually, these holy men decided they wanted more power, so they restructured the religion to center around themselves rather than the individual temples. This new version of the religion was christened the Crystal Orthodoxy.

To solidify the power shift, these clergymen elected a grand patriarch as their leader. This grand patriarch position was decided by vote, and some of the clergy banded together to threaten and pay off others to get their guy elected. DeRosso got caught up in this political game and ended up on the unpopular side of the vote, putting him on the outs with the current grand patriarch.

As mentioned before, Crystalism, both in its Old Faith but especially its Crystal Orthodoxy form, is heavily based on the Catholic Church. Japan in general has never had a great relationship with the Catholic Church, as shown in the number of media where the church is depicted as comically evil. To Bravely Default's credit, the depiction of the Crystalist faith is more nuanced and realistic, with various factions within battling for control.

Having all these paintings is understandable -- a guy's gotta have a hobby when he's alive for millenia. But the coffins lying around? Is DeRosso also a really morbid carpenter?

Thamasa is a reference to a village in Final Fantasy 6. Though outwardly a normal village, the residents were secretly the last descendants of the powerful Magi, the only humans able to naturally use magic.

At the end of the third floor...

Is another large painting. The party crowds around.

A large army surrounds it. It looks as if it could fall at any moment.

Is this not this very castle? See, this is the western corridor right here.

There's another castle burning in the distance. It's near where Eternian Central Command is today.

So then, that's the Orthodoxy's head temple in flames?

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The Siege posted:

The Vampire Gallery 6:
The hall before the fourth floor entrance bears a painting of a castle bathed in fire, surrounded by a vast army. The western corridor, the second castle burning in the distance... It bore an uncanny resemblance to the castle in which we now stood. But Lord DeRosso appeared once again to correct our false assumptions.

Exposition-Man to the rescue!

Nay, the distant castle in flames belonged to the king of Eternia. And the castle in the fore...

...'tis the abode of my family, the House of DeRosso.

But why? Why would such a terrible thing...!?

The Kingdom of Eternia was suddenly beset by a great host from another land.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The Siege posted:

The Vampire Gallery 7:
The distant castle, he explained, was that of Eternia's king, while the burning structure at the fore was his own ancestral home, the castle of the clan DeRosso.

Just what transpired in this land that day?

They had been told that the king of Eternia sought a return to Adventism and was arming for war against the Orthodoxy. The grand patriarchy used this fiction to order a great muster of forces from across the lands.

...but he succeeded in luring votes from other factions, and his became the ruling faction of the grand patriarchy.

It was they who wished to establish Crystal Orthodoxy as the uncontested world religion. Under their orders, the castle of the Eternian king was besieged. It fell in mere weeks.

Before long, the great host was at the gates of our castle, and my father lay brutally murdered.

By then, the castle sheltered naught but the elderly, the young, the wounded. There was no hope of resistance.

I was forced to sue for peace, even offering my own mother as hostage per their demands. Yet that failed to break the siege. The commoners who had placed their faith in my family and me slowly starved to death.

The fiend was now the officer in charge of the attack. He wrote that he would not accept my surrender. Such was the hatred he bore for me. Such hatred that he was willing to let countless innocents die.

My mother had been murdered.

......

Our castle was consumed in flames. That is the painting you see here.

How could the Orthodoxy do such a thing?

This all reminds me of what happened during the Great Plague.

Indeed... Perhaps the templar and I are not so very different. To be betrayed by what you believe in... To have your family and those you protect murdered...

Though we do not see eye to eye, perhaps it is a shared sorrow that binds us.

DeRosso leaves the party once again.

Lord DeRosso's castle siege painting...

The party would love nothing more than to go after the cardinal, but it's far, far too late now. Heroes aren't always there to save the day.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The Siege posted:

"The Siege" 1:
The Kingdom of Eternia, it seems, fell to a sudden invasion. Reports reached the Grand Patriarch's chambers that Eternia was agitating for a return to the Old Faith, that it was amassing armies to strike the Orthodoxy down. In response, a force was gathered from the world's nations, the process so swift and smooth it appeared almost pre-planned...

"The Siege" 2:
The royal palace fell after only half a month's siege. The royal family was slaughtered to the last, together with many of their subjects. The same king who had so readily accepted the Orthodoxy and turned over the temple to them met his end at their hands. This revelation struck Edea dumb--all of us, really.

"The Siege" 3:
Lord DeRosso and his parents took shelter in their home, joined by relations and commoners alike. When a messenger from the king came begging aid, Lord DeRosso's father gathered a force and rode to save his king. In truth, the royal palace had already fallen, the messenger a fake... He died in battle in the central passage.

"The Siege" 4:
Soon after the palace fell, the Orthodoxy turned to the DeRosso home. Poison was cast into the water supply, and the siege force was packed tight beyond hope of escape. Only women, children, the old and injured remained within. Lord DeRosso surrendered, sending his own mother as a hostage in accordance with the Orthodoxy's demands.

"The Siege" 5:
But the siege did not break. Those family members and commoners who had followed Lord DeRosso began to waste away. As starvation began to claim them, one after the next, a letter arrived. Its author was the cardinal who had propositioned Lord DeRosso at the conclave--the man now leading the siege.

"The Siege" 6:
It claimed no surrender would be accepted, and that his mother had been slain. It was Lord DeRosso who then put his own home to the blaze. The lofty precepts of the Orthodoxy, it seems, are a hollow hypocrisy. We were all struck silent. When at last Edea noted a similarity to the events of the Great Plague, Lord DeRosso nodded.

Ringabel's writeup has details on how DeRosso's father died. Everyone involved with DeRosso was doomed far before the siege started.

Moving on and up to the fourth floor, the party finds a nice new pair of gloves to add to their wardrobe. There are no dwarves in this game so far as we see. Are they a myth or an ancient race?

The next painting is to the north. Something about it is...

Unsettling.

This looks fun.

Such fierce flames.

Lord DeRosso appears once again.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Immortality posted:

The Vampire Gallery 8:
Before the stairs leading to the fifth floor hung a painting of immortality. The question was on all of our minds: how had he survived? Tiz was the first to give it voice, and Lord DeRosso began his explanation.

Ah... Though I wish not to remember that day, it is indelibly etched upon my mind.

How did you survive?

The Orthodoxy lay siege, yet would accept no surrender. My mother, father, relatives, and my people lay dead. It was then that I set my castle ablaze. But as the flames began to lick my body, something slipped into me...

Betrayed by the precepts I believed in, was I not bitter? Robbed of my beloved homeland. My dearest of kin, my people, slain... Amidst such despair, was I content to simply welcome death? Nay!! I heard a voice:

Did I forge a dark pact with some fiendish entity that day? Or was it a rebirth, triggered by a future me reaching back to the past?

Panicked upon failing to find my body, the Orthodoxy chose to denounce my family and me as ghoulish vampires. Thus have I been living an immortal existence ever since.

Then the name Vampire Castle is...

A lie that has been perpetrated by the Orthodoxy for some two thousand four hundred years. Though it is true I am immortal, I am no vampire. I find the smell of blood too revolting to ever drink it.

Having said that, I have done naught to quell the rumors. In truth, I endeavored to embellish them.

Tell me, O Vestal of the Wind... What does the Crystal Orthodoxy have to say about the passing of the first grand patriarch?

He chose the second grand patriarch, and prayed for peace and the wellbeing of the faithful as he passed peacefully from this world.

Hmph, passed peacefully from this world, you say? I know the truth to be far different.

What do you mean?

The first grand patriarch was assassinated, along with his archbishop--the man who had been my bane. The assassin himself tells you this. There is no other truth.

Agn�s flinches, but doesn't respond.

I became a veritable duke of darkness, forging ties with those bearing hatred toward the Orthodoxy and those it had oppressed.

And after some five hundred years, a fateful encounter with one whom you all know well...

No, let us leave the matter for another time.

DeRosso leaves.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Immortality posted:

"Immortality" 1:
Surrounded by the Orthodoxy's force, family and countrymen slaughtered at their hands, Lord DeRosso set his own home ablaze. Just as the flames encircled him, he felt something enter his body. Betrayed by that in which he had believed and robbed of those he had loved, he prepared to enter death's embrace bereft of all save his own despair...

"Immortality" 2:
But as his consciousness began to fade, he claims he heard a voice:

"Accept me and I shall grant life everlasting. Though it shall be filled with grief, thou shalt have all eternity to wreak vengeance upon thine enemies."

"Immortality" 3:
The source of that voice remains a mystery to him, even now. When his body could not be found among the remains, the Orthodoxy panicked. To justify their actions, they branded Lord DeRosso and his clan vampires, cursed to be reviled by the annals of history.

"Immortality" 4:
It seems the legends of Vampire Castle that Edea grew up on are but remnants of a slander perpetrated 2,400 years ago. The fangs, the ability to assume the form of a bat... Lord DeRosso dedicated his all across the centuries to perfecting thet role the Orthodoxy had cast him in, that he might strike fear into their hearts.

"Immortality" 5:
Lord DeRosso crisply denied the established tale of the first Grand Patriarch's peaceful demise, insisting instead that the Patriarch and his aide, the Archbishop, were assassinated. He named himself their killer, his eyes a blend of mad rage and melancholy.

"Immortality" 6:
His vengeance wrought, Lord DeRosso left Eternia. He fostered relations with those who hated the Orthodoxy, those who suffered under its oppression. He styled himself a leader of the darkness that stood against it, an enemy to mankind, an accursed vampire lord... He would spend the next five centuries garnering infamy.

The portrait depicting Lord DeRosso's immortality...

In fiction, immortality can sometimes drive individuals to insanity. All considered, DeRosso's been handling it well so far.

But we aren't at the top floor yet.

Next: A vampire, an angel, a prophecy, and a new job!

--

Event Viewer
Sub-Scenario:
Worthy of the Truth
Into Vampire Castle
Family Portrait - A
Family Portrait - B
Ordainment Portrait - A
Ordainment Portrait - B
Castle Siege Painting - A
Castle Siege Painting - B
Immortal Portrait - A
Immortal Portrait - B

Party Chat:
Lord DeRosso's Epic Oratory

D's Journal: Lord DeRosso posted:

We heard a surprising tale while viewing a family portrait at Lord DeRosso's castle. Lord DeRosso says he was born 2,400 years ago. He was the eldest son of the Ducal House DeRosso, a noble family of the Kingdom of Eternia that collapsed after the birth of the Crystal Orthodoxy.

A reformation took place after calls to reclaim the crystals from those in power and administer them under a unified religion. The royal house of Eternia passed the Earth Crystal on to the Orthodoxy, and the young cleric DeRosso was made a cardinal. However, he was forced out after refusing to help rig the election of the Grand Patriarch.

On the orders of the fraudulently elected Grand Patriarch, the Kingdom of Eternia was invaded by forces from various lands. DeRosso's father was put to death, and the castle of House DeRosso besieged. Its well was poisoned, and his mother slain when she was sent out as a condition of surrender. The castle fell, enveloped in flames.

As the fire raged, Lord DeRosso heard a voice. "Accept me and I shall grant life everlasting. Though it shall be filled with grief, thou shalt have all eternity to wreak vengeance upon thine enemies." His body was never found, and he became immortal. In the 500 years that followed, he slew many key figures in the Orthodoxy, including the Grand Patriarch.

Greyarc fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Apr 8, 2018

# ? Mar 31, 2018 20:59

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

This is a fantastic LP. I can tell you enjoy these games immensely to put so much effort into these updates.

Also, I forgot how ruthless DeRosso was. "Yeah, he didn't pass peacefully into the night. Ask me how I know." :allears:

# ? Mar 31, 2018 22:00

Alxprit: Feb 7, 2015; <click> <click> What is it with this dancing?! Bouncing around like fools... I would have thought my own kind at least would understand the seriousness of our Adventurer's Guild!

Not only is Thamasa an area in FF6, but the item "Soul of Thamasa" existed in that game as well - though you wouldn't know it unless you played the newer non-Woolsey translation. It's the item that allows one to Dualcast magic. Such a skill would be pointless in this game, of course, considering you can just Brave to get the same effect.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 22:35

Aerdan: Apr 14, 2012; Not Dennis NEDry

It's my opinion that both the town and the item, and thus the item here, was intended to be named Samatha instead.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 22:38

EagerSleeper: Feb 3, 2010; by R. Guyovich

Man this game is so much better when the characters are actually explaining things to each other.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 23:09

Epsilon Moonshade: Nov 22, 2016; Not an excellent host.

Am I misremembering that every one of the painting stories opened up with "Lord DeRosso!"? :v:

# ? Mar 31, 2018 23:31

GimmickMan: Dec 27, 2011

The photoshops make these vampire castles of text much easier to digest. High tier update.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 23:37

Silegna: Aug 20, 2013; Hey, heads up. I'm about to unleash my rage.

EagerSleeper posted:

Man this game is so much better when the characters are actually explaining things to each other.

If only the Exposition dump wasn't so late in the game.

# ? Mar 31, 2018 23:47

RedMagus: Nov 16, 2005; Male....Female...what does it matter? Power is beautiful, and I've got the power!; Grimey Drawer

Considering the author of the Journal was looking for answers and we found them here in Exposition Castle, would this make him Vampire Hunter D?

# ? Apr 1, 2018 02:12

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

I like how DeRosso is just like. "Yeah I am not actually a vampire. The turning into a bat and growing fangs stuff is just something I taught myself to do over the years for fun."

# ? Apr 1, 2018 05:39

Rainuwastaken: Oct 30, 2012; Another blue ribbon for Hecarim.

MonsterEnvy posted:

I like how DeRosso is just like. "Yeah I am not actually a vampire. The turning into a bat and growing fangs stuff is just something I taught myself to do over the years for fun."

Look, a guy's gotta have hobbies.

# ? Apr 2, 2018 16:40

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

DeRosso spent 2000 years becoming Batman and I can respect that.

# ? Apr 2, 2018 17:38

Mr. Locke: Jul 28, 2010

I know that technically the reason for this is that we�re getting some very important world building out of this, but after the way the rest of the game has gone, cynical me just can�t help but see this as DeRosso seeing four young adults absolutely starved of any kind of useful explanation about what�s going on, willing at this point to listen to anyone who�s willing to talk, and going �Finally someone who I can fool into listening to my life story� when they show up again so eager for anything they actually get the keys to his goddamn door from murderbeasts.

# ? Apr 2, 2018 20:34

Dirk the Average: Feb 7, 2012; "This may have been a mistake."

Oh hey, you found the Blood Blade. It's probably simultaneously my favorite and least favorite weapon, but at the moment it's not terribly special, just fairly useful.

# ? Apr 2, 2018 22:56

Glazius: Jul 22, 2007; Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.; Clapping Larry

Oh, interesting. So, over time, the Earth Crystal has been making its terrain higher and more mountainous, the Wind Crystal more windblown, the Fire Crystal more volcanic, the Water Crystal more marshlike?

# ? Apr 3, 2018 01:37

Omobono: Feb 19, 2013; That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

Gotta admit, I absolutely respect DeRosso for going all out on the vampiric imagery.

Although, who (or what) turned him immortal? Technically this area is optional so it may not come up again. Was it the Yulana sage? Comedy option it totally was the sage.
Jokes aside, from the way DeRosso and the sage interact the latter is also an immortal, so there are decent chances he's another old school Adventist too, turned immortal from the same source.

Considering how they both helped overthrow the Orthodoxy, I don't think their mysterious patron is aligned with the Crystals, but then why is the sage actively helping the party?

# ? Apr 3, 2018 08:53

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

The source of his immortality is meant to be intentionally vague.

# ? Apr 3, 2018 13:31

hey girl you up: May 21, 2001; Forum Nice Guy

Mr. Locke posted:

I know that technically the reason for this is that we’re getting some very important world building out of this, but after the way the rest of the game has gone, cynical me just can’t help but see this as DeRosso seeing four young adults absolutely starved of any kind of useful explanation about what’s going on, willing at this point to listen to anyone who’s willing to talk, and going “Finally someone who I can fool into listening to my life story” when they show up again so eager for anything they actually get the keys to his goddamn door from murderbeasts.

Yeah, I can't believe that all this worldbuilding is completely missable, locked away behind a long dragonhunting sidequest.

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

The source of his immortality is meant to be intentionally vague.

quote:

Did I forge a dark pact with some fiendish entity that day? Or was it a rebirth, triggered by a future me reaching back to the past?

That's a very weird and specific phrasing. I can see how some future him could save him in the moment, but not how he would continue to live for another 2400 years. Listen: Billy DeRosso has come unstuck in time?

There's so many weird halfassed maybe time travel references (Ringabel/D's Book, Ringabel and Din never seeing each other, both being obsessed with Edea, Din being sent away, and now this) that, given how this game works, I assume another missable sidequest will be forcing Din to somehow go back in time and accidentally join the party. And also that we'll never get a Ringabel explanation without it. Or maybe I'm completely off-base here but that journal ugh.

Also, the Crystal "Adventists"? Adventism is waiting for the coming of someone or something. What's coming? :ohdear:

(Given that someone said this is only the halfway point or so, I assume a new world map.)

# ? Apr 3, 2018 15:00

RandomMagus: May 3, 2017

hey girl you up posted:

Yeah, I can't believe that all this worldbuilding is completely missable, locked away behind a long dragonhunting sidequest.

That's a very weird and specific phrasing. I can see how some future him could save him in the moment, but not how he would continue to live for another 2400 years. Listen: Billy DeRosso has come unstuck in time?

There's so many weird halfassed maybe time travel references (Ringabel/D's Book, Ringabel and Din never seeing each other, both being obsessed with Edea, Din being sent away, and now this) that, given how this game works, I assume another missable sidequest will be forcing Din to somehow go back in time and accidentally join the party. And also that we'll never get a Ringabel explanation without it. Or maybe I'm completely off-base here but that journal ugh.

Also, the Crystal "Adventists"? Adventism is waiting for the coming of someone or something. What's coming? (Given that someone said this is only the halfway point or so, I assume a new world map.)

Crystal Jesus is coming to die for their sins. He'll give you the Messiah Asterisk when you beat him up.

# ? Apr 4, 2018 06:46

Omobono: Feb 19, 2013; That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

What's the menu symbol? Catholic cross, Orthodox cross or Protestant cross?

Sorry _{_{_{not sorry}}}.

# ? Apr 4, 2018 07:18

Commander Keene: Dec 21, 2016; Faster than the others

Omobono posted:

What's the menu symbol? Catholic cross, Orthodox cross or Protestant cross?

Sorry _{_{_{not sorry}}}.

Can't be Orthodox, they beat these guys up and took their collection plate money.

# ? Apr 4, 2018 09:03

Greyarc: Dec 29, 2016

Just a heads up, added last week's entry properly since the forum posting's been fixed. Did some small edits to the entry as well, mainly just moving walls of text from one section to another.

Next entry should be up Monday, and hopefully after that will be back to a more consistent schedule, knock on wood.

# ? Apr 8, 2018 01:29

Regalingualius: Jan 7, 2012; We gazed into the eyes of madness... And all we found was horny.

No rush, this is probably the wordiest part of the game by far.

# ? Apr 8, 2018 07:26

cokerpilot: Apr 23, 2010; Battle Brothers! Stop coming to meetings drunk and trying to adopt Tevery Best!

Lord General! Stop standing on the table and making up stupid operation names!

Emperor, why do I put up with these people?

after catch up on this again all I can say huh.

# ? Apr 8, 2018 20:00

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

Regalingualius posted:

No rush, this is probably the wordiest part of the game by far.

Imagine a conversation between Khamer and DeRosso.

# ? Apr 8, 2018 20:03

Blademaster_Aio: Jan 22, 2017

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

Imagine a conversation between Khamer and DeRosso.

It would fail because Khamer would hide in fear.

# ? Apr 9, 2018 18:59

Greyarc: Dec 29, 2016

So, awkwardly enough, once all the links and stuff were put in place, today's entry was too long to post. I'd rather not hit up against the post limit anyway, so I'm splitting the post in two. First half will be up shortly. The second half'll go up in a few days.

cokerpilot posted:

after catch up on this again all I can say huh.

Reasonable reaction.

# ? Apr 10, 2018 00:33

Greyarc: Dec 29, 2016

Entry 75 - Part 2: *Exposition Continues*

The fifth floor houses DeRosso's jewelry.

He's quite the collector! You don't find old god artifacts everyday.

This story is from Greek myth, and follows a very, very familiar pattern for that mythology: The god Zeus finds a pretty human lady and knocks her up (willingly or not, he's a real class act), woman bears child as a result, Zeus's god-wife Hera discovers Zeus's indiscretion and deals with it by creatively torturing the human lady (and sometimes the kids). Greek myth is just fun times for everyone.

Lamia was turned into some manner of child-eating monster, often depicted with the lower half of a serpent.

These paintings are looking progressively more violent.

DeRosso appears behind the party again, all too eager to chat about his work.

It represents the long and hard fought war between the Orthodoxy and we denizens of darkness. For five hundred years, my thirst for vengeance remained unsated.

...

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The War posted:

The Vampire Gallery 9:
Before the stairs to the sixth floor, we encountered a painting of war. Lord DeRosso called it "the long and hard-fought war between the Orthodoxy and we denizens of darkness." An act of vengeance, played out over five hundred years...

It had also been five hundred years since the Orthodoxy had been founded. The world was in the midst of an age of seafaring and piracy. Compared to the great exchange of ideas and information, the once hallowed Orthodoxy began to lose its luster.

Fearing irrelevancy, the grand patriarchy acted rashly to regain its authority. This led to the unusual decision to select a commoner--the gifted young Yulyana--for an important task.

Yulyana? Sage Yulyana?

Yes, indeed. At age twenty, the young Yulyana became High Inquisitor of the Crystal Orthodoxy.

Ha ha... It's hard to believe he ever was young.

*snrk* It was no laughing matter, for there was no one more skilled at rooting out enemies of the faith than he. The shadowy ones, those who had been working against the Orthodoxy, were crushed by the host he led.

In the several decades that saw him age, I cannot count the number of times we have crossed swords, he and I.

You mean the rift under Eisen Bridge?

In the battle at the foot of Mount Fragmentum, our armies smote the mountain to its very roots.

So that's how that ravine was created!

And in the battle fought on the Harena Plain, the once fertile earth was reduced to desolation. The loss of that fertile plain is believed to have ushered in the downfall of the Harena Dynasty.

To think any sort of battle could change the face of the earth so!

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The War posted:

"The War" 1:
Five centuries after the Orthodoxy's rise, the world saw an age of seafaring, then of piracy. The advance of technology saw ships grow larger, navigation more refined. Trade flourished, the world's cultures mingled, and the Orthodoxy's miracles were steadily replaced with scientific fact. The Grand Patriarch's power waned.

"The War" 2:
The panicked Orthodoxy set about restoring its authority through fear. Its enemies, those who might become enemies, even those merely inconvenient to the Patriarch were branded heretics. Any who failed to flee in time were dragged before an inquisition and executed. The clash between "justice" and "darkness" spread in scale.

"The War" 3:
Using terror, the Patriarch regained his former influence...for a time. But soon enough, even that was insufficient. It a panic once more, the Orthodoxy turned to more extreme methods. A new High Inquisitor was named--a young genius of 20, of common origin (rare for the time). His name was Yulyana.

"The War" 4:
A military marvel, even by Lord DeRosso's admission, Yulyana had purged Eternia of the elements of darkness in the blink of an eye. In the decades that followed, he and DeRosso fought in countless battles the world over.

"The War" 5:
The scars left by their battles remain even today, some 1,800 years hence. Their powers carved the massive rift the Eisen Bridge spans, and split Florem's Mount Fragmentium. Their fighting transformed what was once a fertile grassland into the modern-day desert of Harena.

Ringabel includes more details on the Orthodoxy's inquisition and competition with science. The crystals seem undeniably powerful, so probably science was taking issue with the Orthodoxy's supposed sacrosanct ties to the crystals, not the power of the crystals themselves.

The Norende Heights? That's where the Great Chasm opened up!

In the end, Yulyana, High Inquisitor of the Crystal Orthodoxy, utterly defeated me, Lord DeRosso, leader of the shadows.

You were defeated? But you're here with us today!

Yes, well, there was more to that final battle than meets the eye. You see, I ceded the glory of victory to young Yulyana that day. I say young in my reckoning, for he was already one hundred then.

Yulyana returned triumphantly to Eternia with what he claimed to be my remains. What he brought them was not human.

Ever dreading the darkness and my return, the Orthodoxy kept those duplicitous remains under arcane seal for over one thousand years. Hmm... 'Tis a tale replete with irony, is it not?

DeRosso vanishes again before the party can pepper him with questions.

It's hard to imagine a war lasting five hundred years.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: The War posted:

"The War" 6:
The final clash between them took place atop the Norende Heights of Caldisla--the later site of the Great Chasm. I could not help but sense fate's hand in this. Their epic struggle spanned a hundred days, and cut what were once mountains in the same range as Eternia's highlands in half.

"The War" 7:
For some reason, Lord DeRosso withheld the details of this final battle, but history tells that the High Inquisitor Yulyana vanquished Lord DeRosso, leader of the forces of darkness, then returned triumphant to Eternia. Lord DeRosso allowed that that was fact, in one strict sense, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"The War" 8:
Lord DeRosso allowed the sage to claim victory, he explained. The bones Yulyana brought back to Eternia were not DeRosso's--were not even human, in fact. When the templar struck the Orthodoxy fifteen years ago, they found Lord DeRosso's grave sealed deep beneath the head temple. He was barely able to hold back laughter as he spoke.

More detail about Norende's geography. Wonder if the bones were goblin, considering the high goblin population in Caldisla.

We're almost to the top of the castle.

The next painting looks abstract from a distance, but is in fact a portrait.

As usual, DeRosso shows up.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Archbishop posted:

The Vampire Gallery 10:
Before reaching the seventh floor, we found another portrait. It was the sage, festooned in the gaudy vestments of an archbishop, his expression a mix of wry smile and tedium. I cannot help but marvel at Lord DeRosso's skill with a brush. Still more stunning were his words.

Yes, indeed. No one would mistake such a man for young now. Having put down the blood-sucking Lord DeRosso, bane of the Crystal Orthodoxy, he became the first-ever commoner to become an archbishop.

Perhaps it was a small honor they threw his way, for he was already one hundred and one years old, and would not long count among the living.

That makes it sound...despicable.

Agreed. The truth is, however, that was when Yulyana's plot was at its most clever.

The sage's plot? What was he plotting?

He was taking measures to separate you vestals, and the faithful among the people, from the Orthodoxy's corruption. After serving some eighty years, he had witnessed firsthand hwo corrupt the institution had become.

So it was he vowed to rid the Orthodoxy of the source of this poison--the concentration of power.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Archbishop posted:

"Archbishop" 1:
For his victory over the Orthodoxy's nemesis, he was named its first commoner archbishop--a hollow gesture, that he might live out his few remaining years in glory. Little did they know, his plot was already in motion... When Edea balked at the term, Lord DeRosso offered an explanation.

"Archbishop" 2:
The war with Lord DeRosso behind him, the sage now thought only of distancing the vestals and the pious from the festering corruption within the Orthodoxy. After eight decades' service, he was well aware of the organization's state and the readiness with which it turned upon its defenseless constituents.

"Archbishop" 3:
Where power gathers, so too do leeches and vipers, and the Orthodoxy had long become a noxious marsh. What had begun as a body to serve the crystals and preserve world order now worked solely to further its own corrupt existence.

"Archbishop" 4:
Left to fester, this fallen faith would soon do irrevocable harm to the vestals and the world's people, he was certain. And so he thought to sever the source of the corruption: the power amassed within the Orthodoxy's hands. But to do this, he would need time--something he lacked after the long war with Lord DeRosso.

But how?

For the great feat of defeating me, Yulyana had been made archbishop, but in name only. But such was not key to his plot. Timing was the key--the proper time to separate the vestals and the faithful from the Orthodoxy.

And just what timing would that be?

The great upthrust of the Eternian Highlands. At the time, the highlands were not so formidable as they are today. But a colossal movement of earth and rock thrust the highlands to lofty heights, thereby isolating Eternia from the world.

Hold on a moment! He was waiting for the earth to move? How could he have known when such an event would take place?

And at last, it happened. The highlands ringing Eternia did thrust up to about half its height today. The Orthodoxy-ruled Eternia now found itself completely isolated, for this was an age preceding the airship.

This, what you believe to be the true form of Crystalism, is the fruit of Yulyana's efforts.

That was the sage's doing? I won't ever call him a miserable old lech again.

Sage...

After DeRosso leaves, the party takes another look at the portrait.

He looks just as he does today, save for that elaborate attire.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Archbishop posted:

"Archbishop" 5:
With the ornamental title of archbishop came one material privilege: access to the head temple's treasury, and the writings sealed within it. There, he found a text--the Rite of Agelessness--and an arcane elixir of longevity beside it.

"Archbishop" 6:
Though incomplete, the sage supplemented the text with knowledge acquired in battlefields the world over. Even Lord DeRosso was shocked at how quickly Yulyana perfected the method, and how readily he used it upon himself. He was 103, and an archbishop of the Orthodoxy; he would betray all expectations by remaining both.

"Archbishop" 7:
Now free of age's grasp, the sage bade his time until the chance to cut loose the vestals and the pious arose. The next 1,700 years saw the once gentle highlands rise to prohibitive heights, severing Eternia from the outside world. It was the opportunity he had awaited.

"Archbishop" 8:
With airships not yet in existence, the highlands' rise was enough to cut Eternia off entirely. The Earth Crystal remained in the Orthodoxy's hands, but stewardship of the crystals of fire, water, and wind reverted to their respective temples.

Here's a big addition: Ringabel explains how Yulyana's lived so long. This Rite of Agelessness seems pretty game-changing.

The party goes up the stairs one more time, to the castle's top and final floor.

Not far through the 7th floor, another painting catches everyone's eyes.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Asterisk posted:

The Vampire Gallery 11:
Soon after reaching the top floor, we came upon a familiar sight. The next painting depicted a glowing stone which Lord DeRosso confirmed was an asterisk: the same curious objects we had amassed through our victories over the Eternian Forces. But what connection to the sage and Lord DeRosso did they bear?

DeRosso pops up.

I believe you have seen a similar sight countless times. It is known as an asterisk.

An asterisk? As in those objects we possess?

Yes, indeed. The second stage in Yulyana's plot against the Orthodoxy's authority was to deprive them of the power to grant vocations.

Grant vocations? I'm afraid I don't follow.

Before Yulyana intervened, special approval was required to change vocations within the Crystal Orthodoxy. In this way, the institution grew rich through fat profits they called alms.

Oh, so the Orthodoxy cornered the job market and the fees to participate therein.

In layman's terms, yes. But Yulyana exposed this fact before the reigning grand patriarch. It was then that Yulyana approached panicked high officials and the grand patriarch himself with a proposal of pure genius.

Those who sought such vocations would apply to the Orthodoxy and pay a fair price. Anyone with the means to pay could thus learn a new job.

That's no different from the old system where people had to pay alms.

No different, indeed, but the grand patriarch and his officials had naught but the material profits of the Orthodoxy in mind. Hence, they accepted Yulyana's proposal without question, even appointing him to the important position of overseeing the new asterisk system.

I fail to see how that really changed anything.

Well, it did far more than you would guess, for he was the only one who knew how to make asterisk stones.

Why, that wily old fox!

Ringabel gives a better explanation of the sage's plan:

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Asterisk posted:

"Asterisk" 1:
By Lord DeRosso's account, the asterisk was the keystone of Yulyana's plot to strip the Orthodoxy's power; he would steal their exclusive right to confer vocations. At this point in his explanation, Edea and Tiz's eyes glazed over. Even Agn�s appeared to be struggling to understand.

"Asterisk" 2:
Lord DeRosso was quick to elucidate. Before the sage's intervention, someone seeking a job would have to acquire approval to commune with the corresponding crystal. In addition to controlling access, the Orthodoxy profited from the requisite alms given to the temples which soon after flowed into the head temple's coffers.

"Asterisk" 3:
In this way, wealth flooded in without any effort on the Orthodoxy's part. No lofty ideal could hope to survive such an environment long, and soon any who called for reform were the targets of swift removal. The sage saw through this system, and his efforts exposed it for the fraud it was before the Grand Patriarch's very eyes.

"Asterisk" 4:
He gathered the Patriarch and other high officials together to behold the tremendous new rite he had invented. Coming from the hero who had saved the Orthodoxy from the wicked Lord DeRosso, they were all too eager to see it. His demonstration: the autonomous acquisition of a legendary vocation, without the aid of a crystal...

"Asterisk" 5:
Despite the efforts of a desperate Patriarch, word of the sage's feat soon spread. Soon, the common man was rejoicing at this new discovery, and the Orthodoxy lacked the means to return the genie to its bottle. Had they but stopped the sage's demonstration... But it was too late. Yulyana advanced to the next stage of his plot.

"Asterisk" 6:
The sage then presented the asterisk, proposing that vocations be mediated using the stones, under the Orthodoxy's management. Those who desired a job would secure permission from the Orthodoxy and pay a corresponding cost. The asterisk allowed anyone to attain any job--his proposal seemed an expansion of the existing system...

"Asterisk" 7:
Blind to all but their own profits and unable to return to the previous paradigm, the officials eagerly agreed to his proposal. So great was their enthusiasm, they not only adopted the asterisk, but appointed Yulyana to oversee its implementation.

"Asterisk" 8:
But the sage's actions left us puzzled. He had exposed the Orthodoxy's scheme, only to supplant it with another. A smile played on Lord DeRosso's lips as he revealed the catch--the method of the asterisks' creation is known only to the sage. Apparently even Lord DeRosso is in the dark.

"Asterisk" 9:
And so it was that the sage successfully robbed the Orthodoxy of its control over jobs. Originally, jobs were acquired through dedicated training by those who bore a natural affinity for the vocation. In order to revive that model, Yulyana began to distribute jobs and abilities in secret to all who desired them, free of charge.

So in simple terms, Yulyana essentially broke a monopoly:

- Orthodoxy uses crystal power to give exp, charges people a ton for the service.
- Yulyana shows way to get same exp without going through Orthodoxy.
- Orthodoxy panics, hires Yulyana to develop Orthodoxy-exclusive new and improved exp.
- Yulyana makes asterisks, which provide new and improved exp. He tells no one else how to make asterisks.
- Yulyana hands out asterisks to everyone behind Orthodoxy's back.

Result: Public no longer has to deal with terrible Orthodoxy customer service and prices.

What of the Orthodoxy's profits? Wouldn't they demand Yulyana transfer the proceeds to their coffers?

Yulyana was long gone. Abandoning the seat of archbishop, he fled with his knowledge of the asterisk craft.

He also took arms and armor the Orthodoxy had seized from around the world...items of such power that their use was forbidden. He took them all and sealed them away in a hidden location.

He then hid himself in Yulyana Woods, until those who knew him reached the end of their natural lives. But that did not take long, for I led the forces of the shadows to ensure their swift demise.

I had always believed the Crystal Orthodoxy required naught but the crystals, the vestals, and the faithful. With the institution free of corruption, I returned to my homeland of Eternia after a seven hundred-year absence.

Meanwhile, Yulyana retired to that land to tend to the vestals, but you know of that better than I.

Sage Yulyana...

Sage Yulyana created asterisks to chip away at the Crystal Orthodoxy's authority.

D's Journal: The Vampire Gallery: Asterisk posted:

"Asterisk" 10:
So, what are asterisks, ultimately? Lord DeRosso suggests they are a sort of secret manual, housing within them the requisite knowledge and experience. In short, they are traditional training, distilled. Perhaps, he posited, they exist now to place one in contact with true masters of a given trade. We've met our share...

"Asterisk" 11:
But surely the Patriarch was quick to notice the lack of alms coming in. Lord DeRosso's answer was cut and dry--they did, but Yulyana was long gone. He abandoned his seat as archbishop and absconded with the forbidden arms the Orthodoxy had amassed, sealing them away in a secret location.

"Asterisk" 12:
The sage then took up hermitage in the woods, awaiting a time when all who knew of his existence had died. In addition, Lord DeRosso's efforts saw this process greatly accelerated... To think these two who had battled around the world would come to forge such a partnership--just what transpired between the two of them?

"Asterisk" 13:
Am I alone in feeling that the actions of these two men took a drastic turn following the clash at Norende that marked the end of their warring? And Lord DeRosso's words, that the Crystal Orthodoxy requires naught but the crystals, the vestals, and the faithful... Has his desire for vengeance truly been slaked?

"Asterisk" 14:
Having completed his purge of the Orthodoxy, Lord DeRosso returned to Eternia for the first time in seven centuries. There, he erected a castle of ice atop the ruins of his former home and from it kept watch over the Orthodoxy. Elsewhere, the sage assisted the vestals from his hermitage, as Agn�s and the rest of us well know.

Ringabel finally explains how asterisks work. As some guessed, they basically contain the info of a master which the wielder can tap into. FF14 has a similar concept for its job stones.

Lilith is a demon from Jewish myth, but in the past thousand years has gained awareness for another supposed aspect: her role as Adam's (of Adam and Eve) first wife. The story goes that Adam and Lilith were created together, roughly equal to one another. Then when Adam told Lilith to obey him, Lilith said "screw you" and ditched Eden to be with Lucifer. Afterwards, God made Eve from part of Adam so she'd be guaranteed to be subservient.

Anyway, the myth's origin is disputable, but it's an interesting story nonetheless.

Adventurer! Buddy! You a friend of DeRosso's?

DeRosso's finally decided to stay visible and is hanging out in his throne room. Let's say hi.

Oh, no more paintings?

The final painting lies beyond this throne. I shall reveal it to you if you defeat me in battle.

What!?

The last test is a test of strength. I shall only reveal the painting to those whom I deem worthy.

But be forewarned, I am a formidable foe. I trust you are well prepared.

If we politely decline DeRosso's offer, it's no big deal.

Yes, perhaps it is for the best.

But screw that, we got this far.

Next: Part 3 of 2!

--

Event Viewer
Sub-Scenario:
War Landscape - A
War Landscape - B
Archbishop Portrait - A
Archbishop Portrait - B
Asterisk Painting - A
Asterisk Painting - B
Immortal Lester DeRosso

D's Journal: Sage Yulyana posted:

As we gazed upon a battlefield landscape on the fifth floor of Vampire Castle, Lord DeRosso shared a surprising secret regarding the sage. It seems the sage was the High Inquisitor of the Crystal Orthodoxy, born 1,900 years ago. He fought many battles against Lord DeRosso, who led the forces of darkness, and in the end achieved a triumphant victory.

While viewing the portrait of the archbishop on the sixth floor of Vampire Castle, Lord DeRosso told us of the sage's actions when he was made archbishop. It seems he worked to diminish the power of the Orthodoxy, and shield the vestals and the faithful from its corruption.

As we looked upon the asterisk painting on the top floor of Vampire Castle, Lord DeRosso told us how the sage deprived the Orthodoxy of the power to grant vocations, and sealed away a cache of weapons of forbidden power that the Orthodoxy had seized from around the world.

D's Journal: Lord DeRosso posted:

Over the ages, the Orthodoxy began to falter. To regain the power they once had, they turned to the tactic of fear-mongering. With the young warrior Yulyana as their High Inquisitor, they eliminated their enemies one by one. The battle between the shadowy Lord DeRosso and the High Inquisitor is said to have continued until Yulyana was 100 years old.

1,800 years ago, the conflict between Lord DeRosso and High Inquisitor Yulyana came to an end. Yulyana struck DeRosso down, and in recognition of this, he became the first commoner to be made archbishop. He set about purging evil and corruption from the Orthodoxy, supported by Lord DeRosso from the shadows.

D's Journal: Harena Region posted:

Desertification:
According to Lord DeRosso, the Harena region was once temperate and lush with vegetation, but a great battle he waged against Sage Yulyana 1,800 yeas ago commenced the region's decline into a desert waste, which in turn led to the fall of the Harena Dynasty. The name Harena is all that remains.

D's Journal: Mount Fragmentium posted:

The Rending of Mount Fragmentium:
The rift that tore the mountain asunder and opened up a pass between Florem and Yulyana Woods was the result of the fierce battle Lord DeRosso and Sage Yulyana waged against one another 1,800 years ago.

D's Journal: Yulyana Region posted:

The Land Grant:
This land was granted to Yulyana upon his victory against Lord DeRosso and his shadowy forces while the sage was still High Inquisitor of the Crystal Orthodoxy. It has ever since been known as Yulyana Woods. After he left the Orthodoxy and retired to its verdant depths, no outside power or authority reaches these woods.

# ? Apr 10, 2018 00:46

YggiDee: Sep 12, 2007; WASP CREW

I played the gently caress out of this game but completely forgot this entire data dump. Asterisks actually have an in game justification? Dude.

# ? Apr 10, 2018 01:16

ultrafilter: Aug 23, 2007; It's okay if you have any questions.

I'm guessing after the fight is when we get into the meat of the exposition.

# ? Apr 10, 2018 01:17

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# ? May 9, 2024 21:12

Commander Keene: Dec 21, 2016; Faster than the others

Greyarc posted:

Afterwards, God made Eve from part of Adam so she'd be guaranteed to be subservient.

I'd heard a version where both were made from one of Adam's ribs each - thus "explaining" why men have two fewer ribs then women.

# ? Apr 10, 2018 01:32

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