Part 15: The mandatory optional boss fight

Update 14: The mandatory optional boss fight




Music: Dusty Wind

Video: Keepers are annoying


So this is the Celestial Tree...





What a breathtaking sight! This is a huge colony, made up of countless trees growing in symbiosis. I've never seen a colony of this size and vitality. Most colonies would have decayed from the inside, turning into hollow vestiges...


The spring in Sadal Suud, the cave in Diadem...Here, in Anuenue, it's the trees. Water, air, wood...


I'm pretty sure “wood” isn't an element. Unless it's “earth”. But then, there are only four elements, and five islands, so unless Leeloo is chilling out in Mira we can bet on this not really going anywhere.


Is it really here? Is the third End Magnus around here somewhere?





Strangers aren't allowed to set foot here. Turn back immediately.


This woman is another noteworthy VA. She Over aNUN ciates EVery thing.


So you're one of the Keepers, huh?

Of course. Please don't make things difficult. Mayfee has caused enough trouble already...She seems to have gone up the tree on her own. Her grandmother fell sick all of the a sudden. Tree vermin have really been worked up lately...which means it's extra dangerous! Climbing the tree without permission is strictly forbidden, even for experienced Keepers...

She must've gone looking for buds from the Celestial Tree...


Savyna decides she's done putting up with this shit...





Sorry, lady. We're in a bit of a hurry here.

I'm sorry.

Please excuse us.


They all walk past. Kalas stops next to the crabby, angry woman...


Don't worry. We'll find Mayfee for you, and bring her back safe and sound.

No! Wait! All of you! ...Don't say I didn't warn you...Ohhhhhhh dear...


Well, that's finally over. The Celestial Tree doesn't have as much to offer as Holoholo did, but there are still a few things worth noting.











There are a few splits in the path. Taking this left path first is highly recommended.





This is Savyna's class up item. I don't know why they couldn't have just made her join at the same Class Level as everyone else...it would save having to dig up ten new half-decent Magnus for her, not to mention the return trip to Opu to class her up. Oh well, might as well head back for that.





I forgot to grab this while exploring Opu in the last update. It looks like I'm making a decent dent in the constellations sidequest.



Crater.











Hmm...not great, but decent. I don't know if higher level cameras take better pictures, but they do have more numbers for combo making.




Savyna has a hidden weapon in her home. It's pretty powerful, though Savyna's deck is heavily fire based at the moment so I didn't get as much chance to use it as I wanted.







Okay, I've got Savyna set up, so let's head back to the tree.









The enemies here are nothing special. The bigger guys do fire damage, which I wouldn't have expected from enemies that live in/on/near a giant tree. The bat things are utterly trivial.










Daaamn, I forgot how good the drops are here.













Post-grinding status update. When did Gibari's stats fall so far behind? They're about as low as Lyude's, now.





Yes...Thanks for coming for me, Savyna.

...What were you thinking, coming up here all alone? Being a Keeper, you should know how dangerous this place is.

I'm sorry...Grandma got real sick, so I had to do something. I came up here to find a Celestial Flower bud, to make it bloom somehow. I couldn't get too far on my own, though...

Savyna...I wish I was strong and brave like you.

Don't be silly! Strong and brave like me? You've got quite an imagination. I'm not really so...Don't make too much of me. You need to believe in yourself, Mayfee...and live your life in your own way.

…


I wonder how Mayfee got to be so worshipful of Savyna, anyway? I'm surprised they really ever interacted at all, and yet Savyna apparently trusted her enough to talk to her about meeting us. Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter.





Of course. We can't just leave her alone here. Besides, when we get to the top we'll be needing Mayfee's help. She's a Keeper, you know...Will you help us, Mayfee?

Sure! Thank you, Savyna.


After that exchange, it's...more tree climbing! There's yet another split, and this one has something I managed never to find before...









Hey, I wonder if this is going to let me turn things to gold? Curious...

That's about all there is to see here. Time to head onwards to the top!


Video: The Gate to Che











I wanted to get a better shot of Mayfee's magic thing, but those bluebirds got in the way. It must be their revenge on me for helping Hawqal kill their friends.







It must be. This is the heart of the Celestial Tree, where its flowers bloom. An old woman once told me of this...She also spoke of a dreadful power lying dormant within the tree. What she didn't tell me was how one could release that power from its slumber...

*looks to Xelha* But I'm sure you know what to do.








I am definitely not liking the looks of that acorn heart thing.





A millennium of sleep thou hath broken. The powers of a god thou hath awakened. Each and all must pay the price. What will thou contribute?


Is...the Celestial Tree talking?!


No, it's not! It's the voice of a guardian, which resides in this tree. The guardian of the third End Magnus!








I'm kind of amused by the idea that the boss shoots Mayfee out of nowhere like that. It's like the developers thought they needed a reason for Mayfee to not participate in this boss fight, because “she's like eight or something” isn't a legitimate reason in JRPGs.


Mayfee!

Damn! Here it comes!






Music: The True Mirror: Guitar Version


The acorn heart guardian whatsit is perhaps the least threatening guardian yet. I actually managed to kill it before it even got to use any special attacks, although GFAQs tells me it has one called Banishing Water that can paralyze.

The only noteworthy thing about this boss is that it is the first one to have flunkies. The two tentacles on each side get their own turns. They are extremely weak, and I don't really think they're even worth bothering with.




They can, however, put a character to sleep, which is...really just an annoyance, like the boss allegedly being able to paralyze you is just an annoyance.









As you can see, the boss' damage dealing capacity is quite limited. That last picture was from an attack that I used zero defense cards against. The Imperial Beetles back in Diadem could outdo that.




The boss also isn't very smart and puts Kalas to sleep while he's already asleep.









Savyna can handle herself well in this fight. Since I have her mostly fire-oriented at the moment, she can do high damage, especially if I get a good combo with her. Sadly, that only happened one or two times during this battle, but she still managed to make a decent contribution.




But in the end, it was Lyude who stomped the shit out of it so hard that both it and its flunkies gave up and died.











They look like shooting stars!






Heyyy, two finishers at once. Freezing Axe is one of my favorites for Savyna.








Fate is already at work...Regardless of what we may try, or believe...


Corellia...you aren't even a part of this cutscene. Please get out and take your angsty indecisiveness with you.







The gate to Che has been opened. You worthless mortals...No matter what you may do...No matter what you may try...there is no avoiding that which must come to pass. The world is in my hands...I am the blade of divine revenge!


...Guys, seriously...we need to stop unsealing these things.







Look! It's pointing towards Mira!

Wait! Here comes another one!





The tree starts shaking like crazy, presumably as a harbinger for some energy monkeys or something to start flooding out...

Savyna, drop it!




...and then stops. Huh. I guess letting go of the Magnus worked.


Phew...Chalk one up for the good guys!




Finally. And no Empire in sight. How refreshing.

If we show this to Queen Corellia, it would convince her of the truth. I'm sure she'll agree to help us thwart Geldoblame's ambitions.

But why didn't the Empire show up this time?


Yeah...you'd think that Folon guy would be on our tail. The Empire won't give up that easily. You can count on it.











Music: Bottom Out


I suppose Savyna being an Imperial soldier makes sense, given we know exactly nothing about her backstory...but...


No way!

I'm sure of it. The style of her tactics convinced me. She's a soldier in the Imperial army. A member of the elite special forces, I believe. Am I right, Savyna?





You! You betrayed us!

She did? When was this, exactly? I mean, she hasn't actually done anything yet. She's not even doing anything now.

You only asked for my name. Not who I was.

Wha...I...you...

Wanna take me on right here and now?

Mmm...What should we do?


Okay, I'm done being the voice of reason here...





KILL HER!




Music: Metallic Stroke


I suppose I should mention that I have heard this boss fight is skippable if you tell Kalas not to fight her. I have tried this before, and it didn't work; he just bitched at me and attacked anyway. I suppose it's possible that he would bypass the fight if he trusts us enough, but I think it's just a rumor.




Savyna's greatest weakness when under our control is also her greatest strength in this battle; she attacks very quickly, making it difficult to select defense magnus in time. I wasted a good dark attack and Sforzondo before finally getting the clock shield.






Otherwise...Savyna's very easy. I suppose it's only fair that the first back-to-back bosses would both be jokes. Savyna doesn't hit very hard, and her attacks tend to be a lot of weak hits, meaning you get a lot of chances to play defense magnus if you don't 'tard out like I did. And even if you don't block any of her attacks and she busts out Burning Arrow, it still doesn't hurt all that much.

Burning Arrow can inflict Flames, but it didn't any of the three times she used in in this fight. It seems like it really shouldn't be able to, though, since we're currently standing in a pool of water. I guess they don't teach stop, drop, & roll in Baten Kaitos.







You don't get to pick who replaces Savyna if she was one of your battle members before the fight. In this case, Gibari replaced her, and did a lot better for himself than I expected him to.







The only thing Savyna has going for her is her HP (3300) and the ability to heal herself once for 330. The fight can take a while, but it's still laughably easy.




Gibari jumps her...





Lyude gets a pic...





...And Kalas finally wins the battle by crushing her under a mattress.







What? Then why did you fight us?

You jumped to a conclusion and attacked me. I merely returned the favor.

Erm...Well, you do have a point there...But...

Come on let's get out of here. I'm eager to know what the Queen thinks of this Magnus.


...um...okay then. She was awfully quick to get over her allies trying to kill her. Oh well, maybe this experience will take Kalas down a peg or two.

Incidentally, I'm not sure what happens if you lose this fight. That would be hard to do without trying or being massively underleveled, but still...it would be kinda strange if you actually got a game over for losing to an ally.





Also, I am kind of amused at how Mayfee does absolutely nothing to try and stop this group of people from beating up her idol. Ah, well, she's shy. I guess it's understandable.





I've mentioned that you can take pictures of party members. Most playable characters have two potential pictures; a normal one, and a rare one which sells for a lot. If you can get Savyna's picture during this battle, it's guaranteed (or at least much, much more likely) to be a rare shot.





Hey, I think we oughta trust her. She has an attitude, but she doesn't strike me as a liar.

Yeah, I think we can trust her, too. Wouldn't you say so, Lyude?

Hmm...If you all say so, then it's all right with me...





I hope he isn't waiting for us back at the palace, armed to the teeth and ready to pounce. That freak is the last person I want pouncing on me.


...Thank you for that mental image, Kalas.


I wouldn't worry about it. They won't try anything drastic in front of the Queen.

I agree. The Empire wouldn't want its relations with Anuenue to sour. At least not yet.

Enough chitchat. Let's go.





-


Video: A Vision of Fire

And so we go back to Komo Mai and Corellia's palace. It's an uneventful journey. The guards try to stop us at the throne room, but Corellia tells them to stand aside. I guess she's finally ready to make a decision!





...Oh my!!












...And she passes out. That's not really how I was expecting this to go.





Who knows? But if the End Magnus did that to her...it can't be pretty.


Who says she “saw” anything? For all you guys know it just imploded her brain.


I agree...do you think she'll be all right?

Though she's graceful, Queen Corellia has a strong mind-the willpower of several men. Or so I hear. Whatever the End Magnus has shown her, I doubt it could damage her seriously.

Yeah. She'll be fine...right?


I'm kind of amused by the idea of Corellia having a stat sheet with 400 willpower and 2 or 3 of everything else. Actually, she'd probably have slightly above average constitution on account of whatever's going on with her neck.





Music: Glittering Violet Moon


Hm?

What made you come here to Anuenue? I'm all ears, if you feel like talking. ...Hey, don't worry. I'm not suspicious of you. Just curious. If you don't wanna talk, that's fine with me.


I drifted around from place to place...Usually as a mercenary, protecting towns and caravans. That was more or less the life I was living for years. Then one day I came across a strange old woman.





Oh god, it's another one of those ear-breaking old hags.

Before long, you will play your part in a great struggle over this power. The struggle alone will fill a great emptiness within you, and ease your pain...Anuenue awaits you. You must go...go and face your destiny...If you want to return to the life you once lived, as your own person...



So I thought I might as well go see this tree she spoke of. I was headed nowhere...A soldier-for-hire living an empty life one day after the next. It was easy to make such decisions at that time. I hardly had a care in this world.

So...this old lady told you we'd be coming?

A dreadful power lies sealed away, within the Celestial Tree...A young girl and her companions, shouldering a great burden, will arrive to claim it. That's how she put it.

A young girl and her companions...shouldering a great burden...


You forgot “will arrive to claim it.” Way to screw up repeating her, dumbass.


Quite a story. You're a little strange yourself. Following a strange old lady's fortune and coming down here to live alone...


...Nothing really mattered to me...Nothing at all...I was just waiting, waiting for so long...For fate to open its doors and show me something worth fighting for.





Whelp, that was an interesting insight into Savyna's character. We won't be seeing those very often, so enjoy this one while you can.

Corellia is in her bedroom, so let's head over there and have a chat with her.


Music: Lull in the Wind





I am all right. My apologies for worrying you. It seems what you told me about the legends in Diadem were indeed true. I'm sorry I doubted you.

Don't worry about it, Your Highness. No one would have believed such a wild story out of the blue like that.

But...is Emperor Geldoblame really trying to release that...being?

It's very likely. Two of the End Magnus have already been released, and they're in his hands as we speak.

...The Magnus you brought here...it's very dangerous. If the Emperor should claim all five of them, and release their power...Malpercio, cursed god of old, might be resurrected.

Malpercio...resurrected...


That's two parrot lines in two minutes. This game was so good about not doing that...


Should Malpercio return, our world would be in great peril...I will send a messenger to King Ladekahn right away, to discuss what action should be taken. The combined might of Anuenue and Diadem should be enough to keep the Empire at bay...

That would help greatly. We must do our utmost to stop Geldoblame, while there's still time.

Three of the five End Magnus have been awakened. Ar, Le, and Che...

The one we have is called “Che”. Two more to go...

I say we go get the fourth one. We can't change what's happened...All we can do is find the other two and grab them before the Empire does.


Not true. We could also just chill out here, or in Sadal Suud, or...anywhere, really, and NOT do the Empire's work for them by unsealing the Magnus they need in the hopes that we'll somehow be able to keep them...oh, forget it, he's not going to listen anyway.




Which of the two should we head for first?

I say Mira. Infiltrating the Empire would be too risky at this point. We lack the resources and logistics for such an operation. I'll be coming with you, of course. Soldiers can't leave the frontlines in the middle of an operation. Besides, this fight is personal.

Thanks, you'll be a great help, Savyna!

Yet another joins the motley crew. Though I have to admit she does pack a punch...

Stop whining, kid. Just welcome Savyna to the crew.


But that was welcoming...well...by Kalas standards.


Of course, we don't even know what your plans are!


Okay, okay. Guess I'll come too. If only Giacomo would do me a favor and pop up again. It'd save me the trouble of tacking him down.





Oh, Lyude...you have nooooooo idea.


Mira is the City of Illusion...A very mysterious land. It's location shifts from time to time, going back and forth between our world and another dimension. You'll need to take the Trail of Souls there, a border between dimensions. But you should all get some rest before departure.

What you have accomplished was no easy feat. The road ahead may be even more perilous, but you're our only hope.





(forgot about this)

I think it's time to wrap up the plot portion of this update. Let's make one last stop at the church.











-

Hey, you guys know what we haven't seen in a while?




BRACELETS!


What? You know what it is? Falcon's Theorem by Magic Integration? That does sound familiar...Hmm. Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for a book with that title.


Uhh...that isn't a book I imagine you'd be interested in reading. Anyway, she refused to sign the Family Tree because she's too busy looking for this book, but she did mention that she has a brother who's at the Library. So, off we go!





Well that's okay. Since I found the book I was looking for, I can analyze it later...





My sister Tulun is looking for a book at the School of Magic called “Falcon's Theorem By Magic Integration”. But according to the Head Librarian's diary, she actually needs “Falcon's Theorem by Magic *Analysis*”. Well, it's this one! So can you tell her that there's no need to look any further?





What do you mean he already found it? Quzman? He's my grandfather. He's dying? That's urgent! Why didn't you tell me before?!







Se we have another family completed. Hey...Sabin...




...Dude...you're cheating on your wife – who is related to you – with a maid who is ALSO RELATED TO YOU. Sweet lord, this family gets more fucked up by the entry. No wonder waterfall guy wants to stay away.



-

Decision Time!



The Trail of Souls makes me feel weird.



>I feel fine.

> I'm feeling kind of sick.



I still don't really trust Lyude.



>I trust Lyude.

>I don't trust Lyude.