Part 85: DS The Feymarch part 2

DS Update 28: The Feymarch part 2

Hello and welcome back! Let's keep trucking along, shall we?




When last we left off, we'd just reached the legendary Feymarch, home of the Summoned creatures we've been using to wreck everything up to now.


Even the optional Summons make their home here.


Well, time to get exploring!


They have an inn? Do Eidolons even need to sleep?




This is absolutely true, as we just discovered in the last two dungeons.




They have rather a lot of beds. I guess the Eidolons do sleep here!


*sputter* 1200? 1200?! You, sir, are insane! No way am I paying that! I'll sleep outside if I have to.


Not bloody likely, ya crook!




The Item Shop is run by a Chocobo. That is just too cute.

He has some pretty good stuff for sale, too!


And... and what's this I spy? Ethers? Buyable Ethers?! Pinch me!


I buy a few of them. They're really pricey. 10,000 gil a pop?! Yikes!


And also a couple Silver Hourglasses because... I forget why.


Moving on to the next building!


Really? Your little useless gimmick buddy lives here? Facinating.




I loot the place for good measure, naturally.


Let's see what they have to say.


When you talk to What.'s dad, he makes this adorable little noise. Click the image if you'd like to hear it.

I'll interpret.


We are known as Whytkin- the buds from which all Eidolons bloom. As Whytkin grow, they metamorphosize into other types of Eidolons according to their own attributes.


Whytkin may be weak, but our potential is limitless.

Interesting, isn't it?

Yeah. It's also not even remotely worth it. Stick to Summoning Dragons like your mum, kid.


But that's not all!




Again, What. responds with a cute little squeak. Click the image to listen.


Lastly, we can examine his ma.




Same deal. Click for cute noises.

Here goes...


We don't know the reason why, but we're sure she'll wake up someday.


Don't worry, What.. I'm sure she'll get better.

Yeah, uh... you might want to get that looked at, just in case.


And there's this glowy spot in the floor at the back of the house. Is this what I think it is?


Yep. It sure is! It's a save point. That means there is absolutely no reason to stay at that horribly overpriced Inn. They charge almost triple the price of a Cottage! Pass.


Moving on... Hey, is that who I think it is?


Well, how about that? It's our buddy -ingway, again!

A lot has happened since then, but I finally broke off my relationship with that unfaithful pudding-lover.


And having tasted true love, I can remain Mopingway no longer!


Oh, well that's nice. Good for you, little buddy!


Eh?


No vote on this. There can be only one answer to this question.


Well, you'll have to excuse me. I was just on my way to ask my girlfriend out on a date. Until we meet again!

See ya, little rabbit buddy! Good luck.


A library, eh? We'll be heading there in just a bit.

Let's chat up a few more locals first.




Good to know! Guess we're in for some fisticuffs.


All right. Next building!


Ah hah. Looks promising!


Is saving the world a good enough reason?


And you can go right back to doing that once we've kicked Leviathan's teeth in. Er... it had teeth, right?


The Weapon Shop is run by a Bomb. This place is awesome.


They have some pretty good stuff here, as well!


I'll be wanting both these things so, er... hang on. I'm broke! How embarrassing.


Well, I have a lot of shit sitting around in my inventory that I'm never going to use, so let's unload it!


I had... rather a lot of useless shit lying around, I guess! Jesus, look at all that gil!




Yeah, I can afford my equipment now, no problem!


First, the Luminous Robe goes to Rosa. It's her first armor upgrade since... uh... forever, actually! It doesn't raise her Spirit at all, but it gives her a significant defensive boost.


Cecil gets the Aegis Shield. (Kain can't equip them, sadly). It affords him a much-needed boost to his magical defenses. This is going to come in very handy, very soon!


Uh, are you sure you're thinking of the right game? I know Eidolons were used to wreck all sorts of shit in Final Fantasy IX, but the only one wrecking shit with Eidolons in this game is us!


Sorry, man. We'll be back for a visit again. I promise!


Now, the only other building we haven't been to is the library, so by process of elimination, this must be...


Thought so!


You know, the dwarves said something similar. They were full of shit. I'm betting you're full of shit too!


It is cute how everyone's so happy to see Rydia.


This counter is manned by a generic Eidolon.


The Weapon Shop has some pretty nice stuff as well, but we already have most of it. Of particular note is the Blitz Whip here. If you're using Rydia to attack stuff, like I'm not doing, you shold definitely pick this up. It's a significant offensive upgrade.


Myself, I just top off my Shuriken supply. You can never have too many of these things!


Now to see what all the fuss is about with this library.


What a surprise. It contains books.


Oh yeah? What'cha reading?


Sorry! I just really like books.


There's a bed over here. I guess this is where the librarian lives?

Well, might as well browse the shelves while we're here!


"To reach the other side is a test in and of itself, requiring exceeding will and strength of arm alike."

Yeah, I guess that cave is pretty dangerous. I can see why few people come, or leave, here.




"The mages known as summoners call forth Eidolons with their spells. But there are few today who remember this ancient art."

And Cecil killed a bunch more of them.


"His anger calls forth thunderclouds as dark as winter night, whose deadly bolts dispense justice with the greatest of efficacy."


"Fleet of foot, at least when fleeing, he is of undeniably charming character."


"His mighty arms rend earth and stone, feeding his foes to Gaia's gaping maw."


"Spouting flames hot and hungry enough to consume all they touch, he shows his foes no mercy."


Mysterious!

And down the stairs...


A chiliad is a thousand years.


Yes, indeed we have! We humans just love to write things down.

There are more books here too!


"Lady Wife of the Eidolon King, and gatekeeper to all who would address him. Only those posessed of wit enough to turn her strength against her, and so overcome her challenge, may address the king himself."

This, this right here is a good hint. Remember this!


"In times of old, it is said that but one of the two hung in the velvet of the night sky."

Really? Then where'd the other one come from, I wonder?


"Born of the Northern Sea itself, he is the Lord of All Waters, unchallenged champion of the Eidolons."

I wonder why people don't just come out and say that Leviathan is the King of the Eidolons? It says so right here!


"Only once has he known defeat, and that only when lightning struck his fearsome blade."

Hmm...


Give not your powers lightly, lest it be used for ill. Of righteousness is true strength born, and so must it be tested."

I guess this means you can't summon an Eidolon until you beat it up first? Wait... does that mean that Rydia beat Ifrit and all her other Eidolons into submission? I guess that explains why she could only summon Chocobo and What. in the beginning. Those were probably the only Eidolons a 5-year-old could beat!


"Only when they work as one, flitting about on their gossamer wings, is the true wonder of their delicate strength revealed."

Huh. Those Sylphs are Eidolons too? Well, damn it, why didn't they join us? Rydia's going to have to give them a talking to!


"The First Sire, Hallowed Father to all Eidolons, watches over his children from on high. So indomitable is His strength that He has never known defeat."


Something tells me this isn't talking about Leviathan. Leviathan lives here, underground. Who's this other guy? Sounds powerful!




"No sooner was it swallowed by the Dragon, in whose jaws it does slumber even yet."


I'm sure that doesn't hint at anything important in the slightest. Moving on!






All right! It's fisticuffs time.


Oh right. The Queen first. I'll be back for you, you boat-destroying jerk!



Rydia... it is good to see you again, and well.

Please, Your Majesty... We have need of your strength!

(We also have a score to settle with her husband, but she doesn't need to know that.)


But you know I must first test you. It is the Code, and the Code must be observed.

We read what this Code business means in that book. Otherwise, we might be a little lost.


At this point you can back out and go heal up/save/whatever. I highly recommend doing so. You have to fight a couple of very tough optional battles here, and if you lose either, it's Game Over!


We're good for it, though. Bring it on, Queenie!


And here she is: Asura, the Queen of the Eidolons.


The lovely lady has 21,005 HP to burn. She resists Earth, and absorbs all other elements except holy.


She is extremely fast, and right away she shows off her gimmick.


Every turn (and she gets a lot of turns- the lady is fast), Asura will use a random White Magic spell on herself.


Your first objective is to stop her from doing that. However, she's immune to Silence, do don't even try it.


She's a bit unusual, but our base strategy is unchanged. Kain begs and pleads for her help to lower her defenses.


Cecil sets us up with Protect. Asura's only attack is a physical one (and it hurts, but more on that later). Protect will help mitigate the damage a bit.


Asura spams another White Magic spell while Edge gets ready to huck some Shurikens at her.


Naturally, it does nothing.


Rydia Bluffs herself. She'll be flinging Dragon with reckless abandon. Remember, the only element she doesn't resist or absorb is holy. Dragon is your best friend this fight!




Edge starts us off with a massive hit. Yowch, buddy! That is some impressive damage!

Asura is a mage-type enemy in other versions and I'm pretty sure the same is true here. What I don't know is if you can still do effective weapon damage while tossing Shurikens. Regardless, that is some damn fine damage and I think we can officially welcome Edge to Team Asskicker!


This is Asura's only attack, at least as far as I saw. She will do it in response to just about any physical attack. However,


Thanks to Draw Attacks, Cecil takes the blow. Now, just look at that damage. Take a good look at it. That is on Cecil, our resident tank, built to take abuse. Asura took off about half his health in a single shot. Anybody else (except maybe Kain), would be straight up dead. This lady does not fuck around!


Of course, neither do I! Cecil's job here is to Defend and eat Asura's counter attacks. Meanwhile,


Rosa, thanks to the magic of Dualcast, sets my plan in motion. First, she Dispels Asura's buffs.


And then hits her with Reflect. Now any White Magic Spells Asura casts on herself will get Reflected back to us instead. Handy!

By the way, I would have casted Slow on her as well, but Dispel removes slow too, annoyingly. And there's no way to get Slow on her once you have Reflect up. Not even with a Spider Silk. I tried. In the interest of not letting her buff herself anymore, I went with the Dualcast option.



His Crying done, Kain gets started doing what he does best. We shouldn't have to worry about him this battle.


When her next turn come up, Rosa gets started patching Cecil up.


She heals him, and casts Blink on him. That will nullify a few of Asura's counterattacks, at least. I'll have to renew it pretty often, though.


And Rydia's Dragon summon rains down death from above. Yeeowch, girl! That took off a massive chunk of this lady's health!


As usual, Asura Counters.


Blink. Sometimes it's your best friend!


Edge throws more Shurikens in her face. The damage is still impressive. It's nowhere near what Rydia's putting out, but I don't compare Edge to Rydia. That would be beyond unfair.


More Countering, and more missing.




And more Edge being Edge.


With that last hit, Cecil's Blink is used up.


However, it seems luck is on my side.


Asura doesn't stop casting spells on herself, even with a Reflect up.


Nice of her to heal Cecil for me, isn't it?


Kain thanks her, the only way he knows how.


And knocks it out of the park!


The party is victorious! We get our EXP and money,


and a level up for Rosa! Even though she didn't do any damage, Rosa is MVP of this battle. This party would fall apart quickly without her, mark my words.


Allow me, too, to lend my strength to your cause. Summon me whenever you have need.




Let's see what the crew has to say about this:




Kain, we already know the answer to this. The game has all but spelled it out for us. Haven't you been paying attention?


Yep, she's a classy lady, all right.


Never change, Edge.


You did good, kid, real good.

But of course, we're not done here, are we?


I head back to What.'s house to heal up and save, and we're ready for the main event!


Here's Rydia's list of Summons. Asura is there, right enough. Unfortunately, Asura kind of... sucks. When you Summon her, she casts random buffs on you. We already have one resident buffmeister, and one backup buffmeister. Neither of them is Rydia. Rydia's job is to blow things up.


Perhaps the King will prove more useful!


But strength of arm alone will aid you little in the face of true evil. Without the strength of will to keep it aligned on the proper course, all the power in the world amounts to nothing.




Yes, I think we will. It's payback time, Moby!


And here he is, in all his glory. Leviathan: Lord of all Waters and King of the Eidolons.

And we are going to kick his ass!


It won't be all that easy, though. This monster has a whopping 30,000 HP and a load of nasty attacks. He either resists or absorbs every element save one: lightning, which he's weak to. Oh, Ramuh!


As soon as the battle begins, and before you can move a muscle, he breaks out his signature move.


He does a little backflip,


and hits the party with a well... a deluge.


And it hurts, oh Jesus does it ever hurt!

Our first order of business will be to repair the damage, and we'd better do it quickly!


Kain starts out with his usual. We want to do as much damage to this bastard as possible!


Unlike Asura, all Leviathan's attacks are magic-based. Make sure to set up a Shell!


Not bothering with Bluff this time, Rydia begins the pain train by Summoning Ramuh. That is a lot of damage, wowzer!


Leviathan attacks again, but not with Deluge, mercifully. In fact, he has a pattern. He'll start with Deluge, and then follow it up with Blizzara, Blizzara again, Blizzaga, and then back to Deluge. This means, if you let this fight drag on long enough, you'll get Deluge'd twice.


Oh, did I mention the Blizzara is a full-party affair?


Actually, that works out well for us. If he'd done that on one of my weaker characters, I'd have two deaths on my hands instead of just one! All the same, things aren't looking so good...


Kain gets the hell out of Dodge. Time for him to answer his calling.


Before I can bite my nails to the quick, Rosa is able to get her spells off!


She revives Edge and drops a Curaja on the whole party. Leviathan isn't messing around, and neither am I!


And I breathe a huge sigh of relief. We're out of the danger zone now.


Cecil renews Edge's Shell. What a guy!


Another heavy hit from Ramuh! (That's 6,888 damage. The last 8 is a bit obscured there.)


Leviathan fires off his second Blizzara.


This time, he opts to concentrate on Cecil. Respectable damage, but I'm not worried.


Now Edge can finally join the battle!


Nice! His damage output has improved considerably.


He's outdamaging Cecil, even!


More Dualcast shenanigans. I really don't want Leviathan to get another Deluge off, so Rosa Slows him.


And then heals us up. You go, Rosa!


Kain chooses that moment to nearly outdamage Rydia. Damn, buddy!


And Edge,


surpasses his own personal best!


And that's all she wrote, folks!


We are victorious!


Edge reaches level 50 in a timely fashion. Looks like our newest party member has caught up nicely.


Ooh, and what's this? A new Ninjitsu spell? We'll take a look at that later.


Very well. Go with the power of the Eidolon King at your command!


Oh hell yes!








Hasn't anyone been paying attention?! Sheesh...


Oh, yes. Thank you very much. Heh heh.

You see, unlike his wife, Leviathan is an asskicker. Remember Dragon? How it has more base power than Rydia's other Summons? Well, Levithan blows him out the water (quite literally, I guess). I'm going to have some serious fun with this!


Here's Edge's newest Ninjitsu. It's a standard wind-flavored attack.


And with that, we are done for today! Next time, we'll see about this Plot business. I hope to see you then!