We're about half way through the game now.
Cybil, Belgger, Ivanna, and a soldier sit around a table.
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"Is that true? Rictor's heading north?" Belgger asks.
The soldier nods. "It's true. We know he took a few subordinates with him and headed for Naja, but we don't know his purpose or current location. As for the rest of his troops, it seems they'll be returning to Felis as soon as the ship comes."
"He must be acting on his own," Cybil muses. "That means Felis was also looking for the spear."
"Yes, Belgger admitted as much," Belgger tells her. "He said his troops had a different mission from the beginning. But, how much does the Church of Lodis really know?" Lodis is pretty much run by the church.
"Since we have no way of knowing the true power of the spear, all I can do now is make assumptions," Cybil says. "If the Duke of Felis obtains the spear and doesn't hand it over to the church, it's possible that church elders will send troops to arrest him for treason."
"Then, a war is sure to start. We can't afford to have internal conflict," Belgger says. "That will leave Ovis defenseless to an outside invasion."
"It only takes a small spark to start a flame... the Duke may have already learned of our presence on the island. I'm sure he's been doing his research... but if we can get the spear first... then it's over for him. Because of the church, he's had to do his treasure hunting in secret."
"If the White Fang Troops hadn't invaded the South, then the Duke of Felis couldn't have sent his troops here. That means..."
"Dispatching you here could have been part of the plan. The Lord of Rananculus and the Duke of Felis may have been in contact with each other... it's a possibility."
"But then, some things don't make sense. If they were cooperating, why was I captured at Formido, and why would Rictor follow the White Fang Troops to Urodela? I think the Duke of Felis and the Lord of Rananculus are pursuing different goals, but we don't have enough information to be certain. Ivanna, can you offer any insight?"
"I've never heard anything about a Sacred Spear," Ivanna tells him, "but I do recall a story about a family member who fell in love with a mermaid 400 years ago. He supposedly cut ties with our family and ran away with her." That would have been useful to know sooner.
"Was his name... Lucius?"
She nods. "Maybe. He was considered such a coward because of his fear of war that we hardly talked about him. So, I don't remember much."
"If a member of the Batraal family had a relationship with Berevra, then it's no wonder they know about the Sacred Spear."
"There's one other thing we can't forget," Cybil says. "15 years ago, when William Batraal passed away due to illness, his brother Naris succeeded him. So, which Batraal was the Duke in contact with, William or Naris... and is Rictor just doing what his father tell him to? Either way, the information we gathered from Berevra only gives us a small advantage over them."
"I haven't told anyone about the Sacred Spear... not even you. Eleanor has been with me the whole time, so I'm sure she hasn't, either. I plan to keep my promise to Berevra."
"Don't worry about it. But, sitting around will get us nowhere. Do we have any other information?"
The soldier says, "We've learned that there are survivors secretly living in Blete, the village that was burned down during the Reformation. Perhaps they know something useful. Also, there's a skilled spellcaster living by the ruins north of Tinea. If we can convince him to assist us, it would surely be to our advantage... but, I heard he's a strange fellow."
"...Maybe Rictor had a different purpose for going north. Let's head that way for the time being. Everyone, get ready."
Eleanor and Orcus talk on the ramparts.
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"...Heading north? ...Through the Naja Forest?" Eleanor asks.
"Yes. The shrine on the beach where Berevra hid the spear, the report about Rictor going to Naja, the mysterious death of the former lord, William, and the Reformation to Lodism 15 years ago... every clue points to Rananculus."
Eleanor walks and stares over the ramparts. "The north side of the forest is very different from this side. There, it starts snowing at the end of fall, and the ground is usually covered in deep snow. Do you still want to go there?"
"I can't just sit here and do nothing. I need to find out what Rictor's been scheming."
"You know, I'm not very anxious to go there." Belgger walks over beside her. "Belgger... I don't think you could ever understand how scary it was escaping from the forest. It was so dark, and I got lost many times. I hate snow. Snow is so cold and harsh, and it hides everything in existence."
"Eleanor, you're not alone anymore. But, if you really don't want to come, you can stay behind..."
Eleanor shakes her head. "That's even worse!" She looks at Belgger and bows her head. "I'm sorry, Belgger... sorry for being so selfish. I know I've said this before, but I don't want to be a burden. I ant to be strong so I can fight at your side." She pauses. "Belgger, I want to be acknowledged as a soldier. I want to be your comrade."
- I misunderstood...
- No, I can't allow that.
This choice is extremely important, as it affects whether or not Eleanor come with you, and you need Eleanor to get the ending we're aiming for. Also, she needs to come along to get a good item later on. I'll explain the endings after this cut scene. I pick the first option.
"I'm sorry... I misunderstood. With us being together, I guess I took things for granted." So yep, they're lovers.
"You don't have to understand everything all at once... just little by little..."
Belgger does... something. Kind of hard to tell. I think he holds her hand, but it looks like he's patting her head like a dog. "Let's go together, Eleanor."
"Thank you, Belgger. Please watch over me."
Screen fades out. A shit load of areas appear.
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Let me explain endings. There are six endings, listed best to worst, at least alphabetically.
- A+: To get this ending, you need to follow the A path (which we are; the A and B path are the choices you could select when asked whether or not to capture a mermaid: A is saying you have no better ideas, B is saying it doesn't feel right), include Eleanor in the party when you fight the final boss (I will), beat the game in under 25 hours (probably not), have Alphonse get at least 50 kills (probably not), and let less than 10 people die (I could do that). This ending is the exact same as the A ending and is also canon, except it plays an additional cutscene after the credits. I will add the extra cutscene at the end of this playthrough. I will not say so at the end (to not break the tension of the ending). If I get this ending, cool, but I won't aim for it.
- A: Requires that you follow that A path (yes) and include Eleanor in the party when you fight the final boss (I will). This is the ending I am aiming for. It is the canon ending (A+ is also canon, but it's the same thing but with another scene added).
- B: Requires you follow the B path (I did not) and include Eleanor in the final battle party. I damned myself from getting this ending when I went down the A route. It's debatedly happier than the A ending, but it's not canon.
- C: Follow the A and B path, and do not include Eleanor in the final party. Not gonna get this one.
- D: Kill Eleanor before reaching the final boss. No.
- Game Over: Get killed during the final boss. Do I really need to say I'm ignoring this one?
As I said above, I will not be noting that the video at the end of the playthrough is from the A+ ending as to not break the tension (I will add ending comments after the video, including a small section where I note what the generics did with themselves after the game ended). So yeah, Eleanor is really important to keep.
I train everyone to level 15, including Eleanor. Glycinia was a stand-in for Eleanor, so I'll no longer be bringing Glycinia into battle. Eleanor is actually a pretty good unit, and gets a special spell at a certain INT level (90, I think). I give her a great bow. Her necklace which she comes with means she won't be inflicted with status ailments.
The shop has some new spells. I get Heal Plus (healing in a plus radius) and Exorcism (kills undead) for Flauros. I get Aniole Firestorm, a fire spell with AOE, and replace Fireball with it. Aniole gets my spare Robe of the Wise, which increases INT. Some people get accessories I've just left hanging around. Allos gets the Armlet of Agility, which increases agility. Belgger gets Dragon Eyes, which means he does not get status ailments. So does Ivanna.
Next time, I'll do the optional battle at Gryllus.
