Part 39: Episode XXXVI: A Daydream
Episode XXXVI: A DaydreamMusic: His Dream
Welp, that is a wrap folks. The Deathdream of the Forest of Myth has been fully defeated and the townspeople are saved. Time to go get our reward for being Big Damn Heroes!
"Here, I have something for you."
The Mayor of the forest hooks up Nier with the penultimate weapon we'll be obtaining in the first half of the game: Faith. And like most of the first half's weapons, it too is a Drakengard transplant.
In Drakengard Faith went by the name of Nobuyoshi. It was obtained by a dying soldier after the Union got taken out by Fantasy Nukes following the final battle between its forces and the Empire. It was also apparently a sword belonging to Caim's father prior to his end by being eaten by a dragon. I do have an updated story for this one. Gather 'round kids...
Grimoire Nier posted:
FAITH
There was a famous singer living in a city in the far east. However, he was no longer able to sing in his later years. A monk appeared by his side out of nowhere and whisper to the singer: "you should pick up this sword."
"If you kill a single person you'll be able to sing one song. I you kill two people you will sing two songs. Go ahead and sing unlimited songs!" The singer picked up the sword from the monk, hid in the night, and slashed at two bystanders. The next day, the singer could produce beautiful songs and regained fame and fortune.
Afterward the singer sang a song for each person he killed, and sang two for every two he killed. He continually attained more fame and fortune. However, his desires could no longer be suppressed. If he killed the most important people in his life, what kind of marvelous song would be produced?
And so the singer killed his wife and sang a song. He killed several of his children and sang multiple songs. He killed everyone in his family and he sang and sang and sang. He killed so many people on the streets that he could not even sing fast enough. He killed and killed and killed and killed. In the end he didn't sing anything as he killed himself. All that is left is a blood stained sword.
An edifying tale. Moving on...
"Of course! It's apparently a weapon of some renown, but we have little use for it."
"Well, we appreciate it." "Thank you again! For everything!"
Now, it is quite easy to miss but all three jerks in the Forest of Myth do have a closing talk for Nier and Weiss before they depart. Oh well, we've spent this much time here already. A couple more minutes to hear a bit of gratitude isn't going to hurt anyone...
Right...?
"Ah! Hello again! You know, I've been trying to figure out a way to thank you for saving me, and I think I've got it. We're going to put up a statue of you! It will be ten feet high and made of pure gold. Oh, and I know you don't own a horse, but I think we'll put you on one anyway. Horses just make people look more heroic, you know?"
"How's that? You don't want a statue? Oh. I thought you'd really enjoy it."
"Regardless, thanks to your tireless efforts, our village is at peace once more. And at peas. Ah hah hah! That's a little agricultural joke right there."
"Anyway, I've been thinking about other things besides bad jokes and statues. I've also decided that we need to start holding the village festival again. We used to have it every year, but the last mayor thought it was old-fashioned or something and he killed it. But since I'm the mayor, I can start it up again! That's not abusing my power or anything, is it?"
"What's that? You want to hear about the festival? Well, the official name is The Feast of the Three Days. We call it that because everyone sits around a huge table and eats for three days straight. No sleeping allowed! Oh, and we hold it on the foggiest days of the year, so it's hard to tell what you're eating. Some of the dishes are delicious, but some are really rare and...well, there's some weird stuff in them. Let's leave it at that. Anyway, you'd be pretty surprised what you can eat when you haven't slept for a couple of days."
"I'll make sure that a room is prepared for you so you can be the guest of hon- What? You can't come? You have to wash your hair? Oh. All right. Well, I guess that's understandable. What with the adventuring and all."
"Truthfully, I think this town needs more group bonding activities like that. It'll help us get to know each other, and also promote unity in times of crisis and so forth."
Weiss coughed loudly.
"How much longer must we hear the insufferable flapping of this fool's gums?" he whispered to Nier.
"Ah, let him talk. He just woke up; guy probably has a lot on his mind."
Weiss sighed.
"This must be what Popola meant by bright and talkative..."
This was a mistake...
"Oh! It's you! Can I talk to you for a minute? Here, over here."
"These are my neighbors. I was just telling them about the dream I had. You know? The one you rescued me from?"
"...They don't believe me. They say I'm making the whole thing up. Who could invent something like that? I remember the darkness. I remember the screams. Listen, you have to back me up here. They think I'm crazy. They need to understand."
"Tell them how you pulled me out of that cell and there was water everywhere, and how it was rising so quickly. Part of me was convinced you had rescued me only to let me drown, you know? I don't want to drown. People talk about how it's peaceful, but I think they're lying."
"And tell them about the bodies. The bodies... Oh, gods, there were so many of them..."
"There was the room with the bed and the corpses. Like pieces of charcoal... I keep thinking about the fire and how hot it must have been, but then I don't want to remember it anymore, so I think about the wine. Only it wasn't wine; it was blood, and it was still warm. Sometimes I can still smell it. I'll be eating a piece of pie or something, and all I can smell is that warm blood mixing with the rising water. It's hard to eat now. When I see a table, I think about that feast, and the guests, and how the carpet squished beneath my feet when I walked. I don't know. It's weird. The pictures are maybe the worst. I keep wondering if they knew they were going to die, and how they could sit still knowing that each stroke of the brush is a step closer to death. I think about stuff like that a lot now. Actually, I have a hard time thinking about anything else. I don't sleep much. Sleep is hard. I see such terrible things when I close my eyes. Anyway, I was hoping you could tell my neighbors so they'd... Hmm? Where did they go?"
"They left a while ago," said Nier quietly.
"Doubtlessly they find your dream a bit...disturbing," said Weiss. "Perhaps you could find something else to talk about with them, mmm? Such as the weather. Or kittens."
The villager smiled softly at Nier, but the smile soon faded from her face. As the two of them slowly backed way, they could see tears beginning to fall from the corners of her eyes.
I miss the NPCs that had maybe three lines of dialogue...
"Oh, hey! It's you! The guy who saved me from that crazy city! It's great to talk to you again. You're my hero, you know that? Oh, come on, don't be shy. It's all right. The mayor even said we're going to build you a statue and everything!"
"I hear you've been traveling the world. Good for you! Travel is the key to happiness, you know? Getting out in the world, meeting you fellow humans face-to-face... It really changes the way you see things. I think change like that will be vital in the new world that's coming. How's that? Me? No, I've never traveled. Never left this village, to tell you the truth. Still, I'd like to get out someday."
"I think our world is dying. Seriously! Think about it! You've got the Black Scrawl, the Shades, the mysterious illnesses like the Deathdream... It's like something is trying to give us a warning."
"In fact, I'm sure this is a warning. We need to change our ways before it's too late!"
"I'd like to help change the world, but I'm just a simple villager. Not like you guys! You're on the front lines of everything, rushing in with swords and magic spells and stuff like that. Hey, I know! Maybe we can join forces and change the world together! I mean, with your experience and talent and my...uh...well, whatever I have. Anyway, I think we could really make a difference."
"This world needs a leader; someone who can unite the people in common purpose. He'd probably have to be kind of tough, too. I mean, this isn't a world that appreciates calm discussions, you know? He'd also need to be smart, and have the ability to look down the road and think about what's best for the future. I bet you'd be perfect! Whaddya say!?"
"...Huh? You think I should do it? Oh, no! No, that's not... I mean, thanks and everything, but no thanks. I'm not a public limelight kind of guy. I'd rather hang around the background and help from there. You know! Like an advisor or a puppetmaster or whatever they're called. Actually, I think I'd be pretty good at that."
Nier and Weiss left before the villager could hand them a copy of his pamphlet, "Ten Simple Ways to Save the World." As they walked, Weiss pondered openly about the man.
"I suppose he is what they call an armchair general."
Alright... That's it! No more main quest for a while! Some nice relaxing side quests sound great right about now... Let's just...get the hell out of here before one of them gets into a political debate or starts talking about their favorite band or something...
Brother Nier Concept Art