Time to start Izayoi's part of the story. We start at Troia.
Epopt: Are you ready to begin today's training, girls? For generations, Troia has been governed by a group of eight Epopts who serve the Crystal. However, one within our order has been afflicted by a grave illness. As a result, we must act quickly to choose a new Epopt. Keep that in mind as you go about your training. Today, we'll work on your spiritual fortitude. You shall cleanse yourselves with cold water and wash away any distractions. This will help you focus your internal energies. Once you're ready, please assemble in the large pond in front of the village inn.
The Epopt leaves. We're left with four trainees here, one of which has Izayoi's hair.
Trainee: Hey... did you hear?
Trainee: They say a war's about to break out.
Trainee: I heard the same thing!
Trainee: Word has it that Baron's deployed their airship fleet again.
Trainee: My mom said things are looking out just like they did before the previous war.
Trainee: And that's not all...
Trainee: I heard that Leonora will be taking her final exam shortly.
Trainee: Say, that reminds me... Remember the rumor about how she needed to master black magic first?
Trainee?: ! Black magic?
Trainee: Mm-hmm. Supposedly, they're requesting a mage from Mysidia to instruct her.
Trainee?: ...
Trainee: I don't know...
Trainee: It sure looks like there's going to be a war soon, doesn't it?
Epopt: Girls, what are you doing? Hurry up and assemble in the pond!
Trainee: Yes, ma'am!
They leave. Thanks for the summary of the first half of Palom's Tale.
Trainee?: (I've been here for a while now... What could be happening within Baron, though?)
Okay, cutscene over, we're in control, time for a character introduction.
Izayoi
Class: Kunoichi
First off, characterisation. She's a woman. There, that's everything the game will give us. Anyway, Izayoi is pretty bad. In addition to Ninjitsu, she has Illusions, which is a chance to confuse an enemy. Is that really worth an ability? I don't think so. The majority of her spells are weaker versions of White Magic spells. Honestly, I'd rather have one of the actual White Mages.
Well, let's look around Troia. ...There's not that much really, although I do get the best equipment I can buy. Into the pond, then!
Epopt: You're the last one here.
Trainee?: I'm sorry.
We join the others.
Epopt: All right. You will now cleanse your bodies in the pond and train your spirit.
Trainee: Ma'am? Um... what should we be thinking about while we're doing this?
Epopt: You must try to sharpen your heart and soul as you concentrate. Do not think about anything else. Make your consciousness one with the water surrounding you.
Trainee: Er... yes, ma'am.
Epopt: No one is allowed to leave until all of you have achieved full concentration. You may now begin!
Now we have to stay still.
Trainee: I-I can't take this anymore! It's too cold!
Epopt: You can't expect to become an Epopt if you can't even get through this training exercise.
Trainee: She's a very frail girl, ma'am!
Trainee: Her face is turning blue!
Trainee: Please, ma'am, you need to let her rest!
Epopt: Very well. That'll be all for today.
Everyone leaves but us.
Trainee?: (Why is Troia so eager for a new Epopt? They've gotten to the point where they've built an entire tower solely for training purposes...)
There's nothing else here, so I guess we'll head for the Tower of Trials. The door's locked, considering Leonora hasn't been here yet.
Trainee?: (A magical seal? No matter.)
Izayoi takes the trainee outfit off and jumps up one of the walls.
Izayoi: (I'll just scale the outer walls.)
We're doing this at a slight disadvantage here. Attack is down, and Izayoi's accuracy at the moment (1x77%) is horrid, so her Attack is nearly useless. On the plus side, the monsters have crap Attack as well, which is pretty good for us right now.
We climb up a couple of floors, head into a door and find a Crossbow and Ice Arrows. Better than what I bought at Troia.
One monster drops the Cockatrice summon. Well, I guess I'll give that to Rydia once everyone meets up later in the game.
We reach a Save Point and rest up. Moon phase doesn't change, so we're still safe from enemy attacks. The fact that Izayoi's picked up 2 attack multipliers through levelling helps as well. We also find a Thorn Whip, but the bow and arrows we have are better.
We reach the top, and a monster appears.
Izayoi: (What!?)
Once again, the game tries to play this as a boss battle, but a Zu with Attack down is mostly harmless. And as a flying creature, it's weak to arrows.
Izayoi: (I'm impressed. Building a tower like this simply as a training tool? There's an intensely powerful monster presence inside. I can feel it from here. The Troian Epopts must have something in mind... What!?)
Hey, we can see Babil from here! Glowing, of course.
Izayoi: (The Tower of Babil is glowing. It's still weak, but it's just as it was before! I knew that moon was bad news from the start! Time is of the essence! I must hurry back to Eblan.) ...That's it!
She can see the ship across the bay from us.
Izayoi: I'll catch a ride on that ship.
We now have to walk all the way back down this linear, boring path. This is really great level design here. We learn Heal Salve on the way down, which I guess is the equivalent of Cura? It's an improvement over her starting Heal Pill, which is kinda like Cure, anyway.
Once we get down, we head for the ship.
Izayoi: Are you the captain of this ship?
Captain: Y-yes, but...
Izayoi: What is your destination?
Captain: M-Mysidia, ma'am!
Izayoi: I'm actually headed in that direction. Would you mind if I came along with you?
Captain: What man of the sea would turn down a pretty lady like you? Right, you guys!?
Sailors: Aye-aye, sir!
We get on the ship.
Captain: So, where are you headed?
Izayoi: The land of Eblan.
The ship leaves and heads south.
Izayoi: !
Sailor: C-Captain!
Captain: What is that thing!? The tower! It's... glowing!
Izayoi: We need to go faster!
Captain: B-but...
Izayoi: I'll pay you however much you want!
Captain: J-just as long as we don't go anywhere near that tower, okay?
Izayoi: (Hang on, Master Edge! Izayoi is on her way!)
Which character would you like to play? (Waning Moon)
I guess we'll pick up with Gekkou next time.
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