Part 10: The Day of Black Sun
Chapter 9 – The Day of Black SunWhere last we left off, we recovered the Aqualith and defeated yet another evil beast of Kabel.
We are now free to return to Nohl, with no loose ends left whatsoever.
Everybody in town is talking about how we “got rid of” the Bishop. If you recall, Doplin just kind of walked out, following Avalon into his wacky portal. Of course these guys don’t know that.
You’d think the sudden disappearance of Darakin’s central figure would result in some kind of social upheaval, but no, Darakin’s gonna be just fine as it is.
The game expects us to go straight back to Nohl, but there’s more content if we leave and go back into Darakin.
Maya is standing in the streets, looking for Nils. We decide to play along.
“Sounds good! I’ll help you look.”
“Okay! I’m going to look over there.”Maya heads off in an indistinct direction. Where she actually went is near the city’s well.
We don’t find Nils here, that’s for sure. He’s actually hiding between the city exit and a shop.
Nils gives us a “Dream Shake”. It’s a restorative item that gives you MP. We won’t be able to get these regularly until we hit a certain new location.
Ah yes, The Simpsons.
Now that we’ve found Nils, we can rat him out. Unfortunately for Nils, I’m not sure anything in the game changes if we build relation points with him, so…
“I saw Nils around the entrance to town.” “Thanks.”
Nils ask if we ratted him out. Funnily enough, it’s not a binding choice, and you can talk again to give a different answer. Nothing comes of it either way.
Hathaway: “What!? I told you, this sword is new! It’s worth 15000, easy!”
“15000 for a piece of junk? Your customers aren’t that stupid! 5000! Final offer.”Hathaway: “You’re outta line, sir! That’s less than half price!”
“There isn’t a man alive who’d pay 15000 for this! 5000! That’s it!”Hathaway: “Sir…This is really….Okay, how about 10000?”
“Nope. 5000! There’s no way I’m paying more.”Hathaway: “Fine! 8000! That’s lower than a liquidation sale!”
“5000!”Hathaway: “Grrr…7000! I’m sorry, sir, but that’s the best I can do!”
“You just don’t get it. I told you, I’m not paying more than 5000.”Hathaway: “You’re an unbelievably stubborn customer! Fine! 5000 it is!”
We actually acquire a “Venom Blade” weapon out of this. Kazan also gets the “Haggler” nickname.
As my general policy as Cocky Lang is to be nice to allies, we praise Kazan.
Legaia 2 Localiser: Kids love it when words are misspelled in a cool way, right?
“Ha, ha, ha! You’re still young, Lang. You need time to get this good.”
Hathaway will keep doing a crying animation until we leave. And leave we shall, as there’s no more content to be had in Darakin.
There are, however, new camp conversations.
Maya’s Voice
“But then I finally realized that if this power is mine….then I had to accept it as a part of me…” “So, I decided not to run anymore. I’m sorry I made you worry! I’m…I’m all right now!” “Maya…we’re sorry. We’re sorry we had to drag you into all this.” “Are you really all right now, Maya?” “Yes! I’m completely fine now! Besides, no matter what kind of monsters we run into now, I can just blast them with my magic!” “Um, is that a little too overconfident?” “Nah. Good for you, Maya!” ”Well actually-” ”Oh give it a rest, Master.”Origins United
I presume this conversation came from me using all of them in the Zoan Stoara fight.
“I guess the Origins couldn’t meet before, either…”
“Yes. We don’t usually show ourselves in public.”
“We work behind-the-scenes. Nothing to do with the common world.”
“What a loner! I like being outside!” “We are of a different nature than the common world. Know that their worldly passions bring nothing but trouble.” “Fine. Stay in the background, then! And rot there!” “Please, stop it. Giving sermons isn’t like you, Deva…” “This is a rare occasion, isn’t it? I suspect that’s his way of being happy.” “…Nonsense!” “Don’t get the wrong idea that we’re friends. I’m going to do as I please!” “H-Hey!” “What a hot-headed Origin you possess, Lang. Does he take after you? Or is this your true spirit? Heh heh…” “What a lively journey this has become! I look forward to where it will go!”And now we finally head back to Nohl.
Go figure Lang being happy to save his village from death, Kazan.
Marcus: “What’s the matter? You seem different somehow…”
“Marcus…I got it. I finally brought the Aqualith back!!”Marcus: “R-Really!?....You!? You really, really have it!!?”
“…..Yes! I brought it back!!”Marcus: “W-Wait here! I’ll go get everyone right away!!”
“But all of this was not your doing alone…Only with the help of Maya and I, were you able to succeed!” “Hmm? …Do you hear me, Lang?” ”Yeah, I can hear you pissing on my parade. Look, I get you guys helped, and I’m grateful, but why the fuck would you pick this moment in particular to demand I express my eternal gratitude? This is supposed to be about returning the Aqualith to my dying village, not who contributed what!” ”…when you put it that way, maybe this was a bad time…”The scene fades to black here, picking up here…
Hawke: “But…You have…You have saved us!”
Hawke: “On behalf of everyone in this town, let me express our gratitude! Thank you!”
Hawke: “Now….The hand that returned the Aqualith must restore it to its rightful place!!”
Now Playing – Going to My Hometown
Dein does a “Tsk!” before walking away. Little bitch can’t even be happy when his village is saved from dying.
“Lang!!”Hawke: “…..Ahh….Tonight we must celebrate your success!”
I just want to take a moment to share with you the goofiness of Galvan’s running animation.
“Hey, wait!!”Nancy gives chase, but stops to turn back to Lang.
We’re now free to explore Nohl and interact with the grateful villagers.
Except for Dein, who’s still being an asshole.
”You mean not even imminent death by dehydration was enough to motivate that moron? Colour me surprised.”
“I’m cooking up something extra special for tonight! But the ingredients are top secret!!” “Kazan and Maya, they’re eating too, right?”
“Thank you so much…I hope it won’t be an inconvenience.” “Oh, no no no! It’s nothing special, but please stay and make yourselves at home!” “Yeah, trust me. It’s really nothing special.” “What did you say!?”
”You’re right, that was incredibly stupid of me to say. Out of character, even…” “Well, I guess I have to let you off easy today. After all, you’re the hero that brought back the Aqualith!” “But it’s not like you got it back all by yourself, right? Just you, Lang? That would be impossible!” ”I mean I took down the Gather Crab, a sexually suggestive gorilla, and the MIGHTIEST knight in Darakin all alone. And let me tell you, the gorilla hit like a truck…”
“Qu-quick!!! Nancy!! Something’s burning!!”
“*sigh*….A waste of a perfectly good meal…” “Ho-ho! You leave us for a day or two, and what do you know! You come back looking more like a man!...Right, Lang?” ”I’m pretty sure I was gone for much longer than a day or two…” “Kazan…You’ve certainly worked wonders on this boy!” “I suppose it’s up to me to thank you, seeing that I’m the closest thing to a father he’s got.” “How about joining me in my room for a drink? You look like you can knock’em back…”
“Please!...I’m used to doing this sort of thing…” “…W-well, okay…If you insist. Thanks. Well…gotta start cooking all over again!”We are then free to walk about Galvan’s house.
“*hiccup*…*belch*…Holy macaroni! Dish guy’s really shomethin’…He’s a bottomlesh pit!”Kazan gets the “Bottomless” nickname.
“A very impressive selection! Let’s try this one…*gulp, gulp, gulp*…” “Goes down easy, and has a refreshing aftertaste!...That’s what I needed!” “Hmm, we still have plenty left…*glug, glug, glug*…” “Ahhhhh!! How ‘bout it, Lang?! …Nah, you probably wouldn’t like it.” ”It’s also very illegal anywhere in Darakin territory.”The only thing left to do once you’ve finished talking to people is to use Lang’s bed and sleep.
Now Playing – Wasteland of Far Away Places
“Hyahh!! Hyaaaah!!” “Guide your weight through your fist!” “Hraaah!” “Combine your moves, both large and small! Focus and finish off your opponent!”
You can see Nancy on the balcony in this scene.
“Ho, Lang!! You’re finally awake.” “Since you said that he was your master, I thought I’d test him a little…but look! He’s teaching ME now!” “His style may be unrefined, but he has a lot of potential.” “R-really? You think so? Gwa ha ha ha ha!”
“Ho! Let’s be off then!”
“And I’ll be going along to make sure that they don’t get attacked by monsters.”
Galvan and Boerto leave.
No matter what we pick, we’re going to Hunter’s Wood after Galvan. But we choose to ask for a lesson.
“Master! Please! Give me a lesson too!” “Ahh…That’s what I like to hear. But here…?” “We need some more speace. And I don’t want you busting up somebody’s house. Let’s find a forest or a mountain…”
“N-no, I was simply…” “Okay! Let’s go to Hunter’s Wood!”And so we go once more to Hunter’s Wood.
We don’t get far before we run into our first enemy, a pallet swap of our dear old friend the Bloody Wolf.
This is a scripted encounter for our lesson.
“I will teach you the Sky Fang Art known as ‘Divine Bolt’!!”He proceeds to explain the attacks involved, and we pull off the Art.
Click here to see the Divine Bolt in action.
“Ho! Nice job, kid! Now don’t forget it!”Now that we’ve finally got Maya’s ability to attack (and taken the Barricade Ring off her), let’s go over how she works:
Maya’s Arts are focused on using elemental damage. Every Art she has does a different type of elemental damage. Her basic attacks are all based on the fundamental elements, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, but the Arts can also be Shadow and Light, for instance.
Maya is unique in that she cannot chain Arts. Each Art is a set attack that cannot be linked to another. It sounds less useful, but she’s not completely worthless in a fight, and she can K.O. enemies just fine.
Maya says what I assume is magical sounding gibberish when using normal attacks. If they’re not gibberish, I wouldn’t have a clue what they’re supposed to be.
Click here to see Maya’s Art Exhibition.
Hunter’s Wood has a camp site like every other dungeon now, with a few new chats.
Nancy
Our policy is nicety unless we can be cocky, so…
“Yep, Nancy sure is full of energy. Too much so for me to keep up with, sometimes!” “I envy you… I wish I had a sister like her.” “Whoa! Nancy and I aren’t related. She’s Galvan’s daughter.” “Really? That means…I’m sorry. I didn’t know…” ”Why would you apologise for that?” (I guess we DO look like brother and sister to outsiders, though.)Lang’s Parents
“…I…I don’t know, really…” “Sorry! I’m sorry. I asked something I shouldn’t have.” ”What’s with all the apologising? I’m not that sensitive, guys.” “Don’t worry. I don’t care about my real parents, anyway.” “I’m fine with Galvan as my dad. Even if he is a little uncool.” ”And even if he slapped me upside the head for every little thing I did wrong since he adopted me. And even if he keeps making sexist comments about Nancy.” “If he heard what you just said, he’d be touched and cry.” “No way! I bet he’d say ‘I’m UNCOOL?!’ and hit me!” “Hmm…Guess you’re right. Ha ha ha!”With those out of the way, we continue on our search for Galvan and Boerto.
Every encounter here is the same: either 3 Saberwulfs, or 2 Saberwulfs and a Mad Hound.
Yeah, that’s right, there’s two pallet swaps of the same enemy in this dungeon. Mad Hounds don’t even have any attacks Saberwulfs don’t, just more HP.
We find Galvan and Boerto at the Gather Crab/Avalon boss fight area. Because everything has to be regularly recycled in this game.
“Ho ho…That certainly is quite the catch.”
“Aw, that was nothing! I am the Captain of the Vigilance Corps, after all!” ”Yeah, just like how you beat the Gather Crab, eh?” ”Yeah, just li-wait a minute…”Suddenly, there’s a flurry of noise.
“Huh?” “The sky…What’s happening to it?”
“It got so cloudy all of a sudden.” “Storm maybe? But something’s not right…”Now Playing – Black Sun
“This is creepy. The sun’s BLACK!”
Boerto: “M-Monsters!!”
“Argh! What are these things…?!” “You two! Go back to town!” “Wait! What are you going to do?” “Don’t worry about us! Just let us take care of this!”
Cocky Lang is so badass he doesn’t care that supernatural events are happening, he’s going to boast anyway.
“Well…all right! But I want you to be careful!”Galvan books it out of there, presumably with Boerto.
Welcome to the third pallet swap of this dungeon. No, they don’t have new attacks, they’re just slightly stronger than Mad Hounds. We’re still in no real danger, and our Origins can obliterate them.
“I wonder. There was a flash of…’black’!?...then those things were suddenly alive again.”
“Oh, yeah. The one that was hanging in St. Joprian’s Church.” ”One, just said that, two, it wasn’t hanging, it was a huge stone slab!” ”Semantics, boy…” “…Soon the Eclipse will completely cover the earth, and a new world will be born…” “So is this the eclipse Avalon was talking about?” “If what Avalon said was true, it’s got to be more than just this.” “I mean, if we believe he’s trying to destroy this world and create a new one…then this is only the beginning, an omen. If something terrible is going to happen, it’ll come later…That’s what I think.”
”Speaking of everyone, maybe it was a bad idea to have Galvan and Boerto run off into a forest likely full of resurrected hell beasts?” ”Oh crap, maybe…”We now have to walk out of Hunter’s Wood, fighting all the new encounters along the way.
But first, let’s sit down and have a campside chat while a supernatural event takes place!
“Yeah. The bright sun has changed to a creepy black color. I hope nothing else bad happens!” “I wonder if other places are all right? In any case, we’d better get back to Nohl.”
Oh look, pallet swaps of all the other enemies from our first time here! At least this is the first time we’ve seen a Klaw Ant pallet swap.
Now Playing – Beast of Darkness
Exiting onto the world map, we see the world now basks in a healthy purple glow. Beast of Darkness has now permanently replaced Advancing to Far Away Places as the map theme. We first heard this track back at Kazan’s shack, looking at Avalon’s evil mist.
”Aston, look at the sky!”Aston: ”Oh. Yeah, I guess that explains the panic.”
”Also all the monsters resurrected themselves.”Aston: ”…information I would have liked to have known as the gate guard…”
Boerto made it out okay, despite having nobody but Galvan to rely on.
”You mean Galvan didn’t explain anything?” ”No! He just blitzed past me and ran into his room! I think I heard whimpering…”
“Don’t worry about me! I’ve never seen anything like that before, but it was no match for me!” *grumble grumble* Overconfidence… *grumble grumble*” “Is the town all right?” ”Didn’t you just come through town?” ”Uh, yeah, I just figured I’d…make sure…nothing was wrong?” “Yeah…I don’t think ANYONE’s seen that before; especially not in Hunter’s Wood.” “But you never know when we’ll run into something like that again. Better be careful…”Hawke: “Monsters now mutating into ever greater monstrosities?...”
“You think that black sun had something to do with it?”Hawke: “I do not know…But it is ominous…That black sun…”
Hawke: “Galvan. I advise you to stay far from Hunter’s Wood for a while…”
Hawke: “Fair guests, my apologies for the disturbance. Lang, it is time for you to rest.”
We are once again free to move around.
Dein is determined to be a little bitch.
Despite Hawke urging us to rest, sleeping is not the way to move on. We gotta go outside.
“Are we…Are we going to become like those monsters in Hunter’s Wood? I don’t…I don’t want that…” “…We just brought back the Aqualith…” “Are we going to sit here and watch the world crumble right before our eyes!?” “There must be something…There must be something that I…No!!! That WE can do!!”
“Lang…You have spoken well!...” “I feel very much the same. But…that black sun…There are too many things not known to us…”
“Reym…?” “He is a spirit…A spirit that has lived as one with the earth from days of old.” “It’s possible…If anyone can tell us about the black sun or the ‘rot’, it would be Reym.” “So…this Reym, Where is he?” “In my home town…Past The Forest Maze in a town called Yuno.” “All right! Let’s get going to Yuno!” “Lang, Yuno is quite far. I am certain there are many who will be sad to see you go so soon after you’ve returned.” “Prepare well for your journey. We will be waiting at the entrance of the town. Come when you feel that you are ready to depart.”We are left alone to say our goodbyes. However, despite what Kazan said, only two people meaningfully react to our intent to depart.
Dein, of all people.
And Nancy.
“What’s going to happen? I don’t know what’s going on anymore, Lang….!!”We get a dialogue choice. Either dither or be confident. The answer is a given here.
“Leave it to me!! I got the Aqualith back, didn’t I? This?...This is nothing!” “…You’ve grown up, Lang...I can hardly believe it’s you…”
“Huh? Uhhh, well…” ”...our immediate plan is to go talk to an ancient spirit?” “…It’s all right. Don’t worry. I know you’re trying to make me feel better. I appreciate it though.” ”But we’re really going to-“
“Yeah…I hear it’s gonna be far this time…”
“And I’m going to try my best to do my part, just like you, Lang!” “You make sure you come back! I’ll be waiting for you with a big feast all cooked up!”
Now we leave.
“Yes!” “Which way is Yuno?” “It’s west of Darakin. But along the way, we’ll have to pass through The Forest Maze…” “What’s wrong with the forest?” “There is a strange mist in the forest…It confuses the senses and makes one lose one’s way.” “Then what should we do?”
Hmm, didn’t Mizel Red Sand come up once before?
“It’s out of the way, but we should go back to Mt. Gabel to get it.”So it’s in Kazan’s shack? Hmm. Hmmmmmmmm.
”Just saying one more goodbye…”And that is where we will leave things for now.
Join me next time, where we realise that Kazan’s getting dementia. Also we probably reach Yuno.