Part 49: Update 47 – Who the hell do you think you are!?

Last time on Skies of Arcadia we had an utterly gigantic plot dump, so this time I promised you an update of kicking back and relaxing around the world. Let's get to it, then!



BRABHAAAAAAAM!

Okay, fine then. That's that idea well and truly scuppered. I guess we're off to the Great Silver Shrine after all, and next update will be cruising the world in search of adventure.



Turns out I was wrong about having to wait until the island was repaired until we could see Ryu-kan's expanded stock. The team is now outfitted with the best weapons and armour money can buy. More importantly, though...

Vyse, have you ever heard of “Velorium”? It's rumoured to be lighter than a feather, and harder than a diamond. Velorium, even in the hands of a mediocre swordsmith, would produce superior weapons. If you are able to acquire some Velorium and bring it to me, I will be able to craft weapons of legendary quality.

You have Velorium! You are worthy of my finest blade! I shall begin forging your blade at once! This will be my greatest creation! May it serve you well.

And now you know why we picked up some random chunks of metal from the bottom of the world. We'll have to wait until we get back from the Shrine to find out what kind of legendary weapon awaits, so all the more reason to get going!


Click for video!

Fina's ship is is parked at the top of the island, just like Vyse's little sailing boat was way back on Pirate Isle. We're lucky it didn't get destroyed and/or stolen during the Armada raid.

All right...time to head to the Great Silver Shrine!





Okay, Fina...go as fast as you want! We'll be okay!

Alright, hang on.

Wow! This is great!

Look! Crescent Isle looks so small from up here.



I'll bet it does. The ship is now in the upper cloud layer, right on the edge of the planet's atmosphere.



And beyond.





Vyse, look! Over by the Silver Moon! There's something there!







Thankfully, Fina has the docking computer and so the crew and their precious cargo of furs don't end up scattered all over space. Which means it's now time finally meet with the Silvites.



...Uh.

Okay, I hope you'll forgive me getting slightly lost in this section, because jesus christ everything is upside down. Where we want to go is the beam of light in the very centre of the area, but I'm going to have a poke around down here first.



This is a Silvite bedroom. There are, I believe, six of them that we can go into – one for each section of the hexagonal shrine – but only two hold anything interesting.



Jackpot. There's absolutely no reason to come here, but it does provide a little insight into what happened to make Fina and Ramirez the way they are.



Remember how Fina looked so happy when she first saw Pirate Isle, with all the grass and children playing?



But, I...I still felt more comfortable sleeping in...normal beds. The kind that you all sleep in. Each bed felt so warm...so comforting...almost as if they had been bathed in warm sunlight for hours and hours. I...I don't know why...

Probably because they had been. There's nothing but artificial light and heat in the Shrine.



But, after Ramirez left...there was nobody for me to speak with, except for the Elders...you see...Ramirez, the Elders, and I are the only Silvites left. The Elders said that there is no point in having more people here than is necessary...but, for some reason, I always felt so lonely here...



I spent most of my childhood days in this room playing with this doll and with Cupil.

Fina and Ramirez aren't the only ones we can get some valuable insight into, either. The more we find out about the Silvites, the more I'm filled with a sort of trickling unease.





When I was little, he used to make necklaces and bracelets for me all the time...



Ramirez made it while he was still living here. He used to tell me that all he wanted to do was just “sail through the vast skies of the world.”



Ramirez used to spend all of his time reading this book. He was so intrigued with the little intricacies of the world...

Disillusionment is a powerful thing.



Ramirez used to love looking at maps...he said that it made the world look so small...I never quite understood what he meant by that...

And that's just plain ominous.



Anyway, here's our destination, granting us entry to the Shrine proper. All I can say here is to watch the video, because there is absolutely no way pictures can do it justice, so I'm not even going to try. If you don't want to watch the full video, I made a shorter one of just the Path of Emptiness.




Click for video!

Vyse...do you see that building over there? That is the “Room of the Elders”. It is the heart of this shrine. To get there we must travel though the “Path of Emptiness”. But be careful...or else you might lose all sense of direction in there.

Great...this sounds like it's going to be loads of fun. Well, I guess all we have to do is just not get lost, right? C'mon, Vyse!



...and here we are at the end. Again, watch the video if you want to see it, either the full one or just the Path of Emptiness.



We are in the Chamber of Elders.







Elder Prime: I trust you have completed your mission.

I'm sorry...I collected the Crystals, but they were stolen by Ramirez.

Elder Prime: ...What?!

Fina? Who...what is that?

Elder Prime: I see you've brought some of the island-dwellers back with you, how amusing.



Six of them, to be precise. Naturally, the Great Silver Shrine is all about sixes. Take a good look at Elder Prime - even his halos are hexagonal.

Elder Halos: I see...so Ramirez has turned, after all.

Elder Cross: When he stopped contacting us, we feared the worst...

Elder Stout: When he was here in the Shrine, he was so loyal...I can't imagine what made him change.

Really? I can.

Elder Halos: If he gave the Crystals to island dwellers, this is very grave news indeed...

Elder Orbis: If he has turned, and he has all six Crystals, he may release the seal on Zelos. That would be...tragic.

Zelos? What's grave news? What are you talking about?

Elder Prime, please, I want to know the truth. Ramirez said that he was gathering the Moon Crystals to raise the Lost Continent, to unleash the Rains of Destruction...he told me that the Silvites called down the Rains of Destruction on the Old World. Is that true? Is that what the Crystals are used for?

Elder Prime: So...young Fina, you have discovered the truth about the Crystals...I suppose the time has come to tell you everything. I shall take you to the Hall of Knowledge, where you will find the truth.



Goddamn, what is it about living in space that makes doors no longer good enough?







Yeah, I think so...how about you?

I'm not sure yet...I feel...strange...

Hey, Fina...where'd the crazy old man go?

I don't know...I'm not sure what's going on. I've never been here before.



Fun fact: I believe this is the only place in the game where the planet is actually named, and then only in the English version. The planet in the Japanese version is left unnamed.

Elder Prime: It is here where you may observe the events that shaped the world as you know it. Look not with your eyes, but with your hearts. You will see the power of the Moon Crystals and witness the Rains of Destruction.





It also looks worryingly familiar.

Elder Prime: This is Soltis. Long ago, this continent flourished under the light of the Silver Moon. It was our home.

So, there was one continent for each moon, right?

Elder Prime: You are correct. The world was at peace, and its population was thirsting for knowledge.













Elder Prime: They all sought the power of the Moon Crystals. These six little gems twisted the hearts and souls of men. The world became a nightmare. One-thousand atrocities resulted in countless deaths. Even after most of the world was destroyed, the survivors sought to kill rather than heal.



Elder Prime: Everything came from nothing, so to complete the cycle, we decided to destroy everything, so the world would once again, be nothing. We believed that a new, peaceful world would rise from the ashes of the old.



Elder Prime: It was a Gigas born from nothing, but it encompassed everything. It was truly almighty. We commanded Zelos to focus its energy on the Moons.





Elder Prime: Moon Stones battered the lands...the world was cleansed of evil. Zelos was the cause of the Rains of Destruction.



Elder Prime: It was a magical seal so great, that only the power of the six Moon Crystals together could break it. Afterwards, we sent Soltis, along with Zelos, into Deep Sky, where we hoped it would remain lost forever. Zelos was too powerful...never should a living soul animate him. We separated this shrine from the rest of Soltis and fled to the skies. Since the days of the Old World, we have been watching the world rise from its ashes.

So, this Great Silver Shrine carried the Silvites to safety after they destroyed the world. How convenient.

You caused the Rains of Destruction!

And there you have it. The Silvite Elders aren't the descendants of the Silver civilisation, they are literally the same individuals who destroyed the world and then tried to justify it to themselves through a thousand years of distilled nihilism. The reason Fina and Ramirez ended up like they did is because they were raised with virtually no normal human contact and in unquestioning obedience, but Fina had the good fortune to end up with us after coming down to the surface. Ramirez wasn't so fortunate, and of course Galcian is a masterful manipulator in his own right. The Gigas go down to the Delphinus so easily precisely because the world was starting to develop technology as powerful as the Gigas, which is why the Elders sent Fina and Ramirez to fetch the Crystals in the first place. I would not be surprised, in fact, if Ramirez and Fina only existed in the first place because the Elders needed someone to do their dirty work for them. I certainly can't think of any other reason for them.





Elder Prime: Fina...when we sent you on your mission, it was not to stop Valua from using the Gigas...it was to once again call down the Rains of Destruction.

You used her...that's horrible...

Elder Prime: Fina, you saw with your own eyes. The anger...the hate...the suffering...the death...their quest for power would only consume them...we must cleanse the world. Vyse...we see in your heart that you have helped Fina on her quest. I will allow you to stay here in the Great Silver Shrine and live in the new world we are about to create. Will you aid us?



Ehehehe. What do you think?











Fuck. Yes.

Elder Prime: Fina...you are one of us...you understand...



…..









Vyse and the others have taught me something...I learned that no matter what happens, you have to be strong. Even if you home is burned to the ground. Even if you're facing impossible odds...and even when you don't know who to trust...you have to be strong and fight for a better future! I...I believe in what I have learned. As long as the people of the world have that strength in their hearts...they will be able to overcome anything. There has to be a way to return peace to the world without having to call down the Rains of Destruction!

Elder Prime: Fina...







And then everything went horribly wrong. Again.

Galcian!

How did he get here?!

Heh heh...did you forget, little girl, that Ramirez is also a Silvite? He, too, has a ship capable of reaching this place. I have come to claim the Silver Crystal.

What?!

Look out!











But...you will not be the ones with the power to make that decision.

Ramirez is much too valuable to me. I could not take the Crystal from his body. I thought of taking the Crystal from you, Fina, but...I realised that there was a much easier way of getting one!! Haha ha ha ha!! Now, the six Crystals are in my possession. Watch as the world bows before me.

And so they leave, without laying so much as a finger on the party . I'm not even going to try to justify that one in terms of character motivation.

Damn...Galcian!





Elder Prime...

Elder Stout: Do not cry, Fina...Elder Prime is now free...he has returned to a state of nothingness.

Elder Halos: But, Ramirez has acquired all six of the Crystals...

Elder Orbis: The world will crumble before them...all is lost...

...No! I refuse to give up! I can't sit back and watch the people of the world be slaughtered!!! We will stop them! We can't let them unleash the Rains of Destruction.

Elder Helos: Fina...it is hopeless...

Vyse, we've got to go back to Deep Sky to find Soltis! Galcian and Ramirez must be stopped.

Alright, everyone, you heard Fina, we've got to stop them.

And stop them we will. But before that, we have to find a way back down to Arcadia.



Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but aren't you supposed to be dead?



Galcian and Ramirez also left the ship untouched rather than stranding us here forever.

They will probably be trying to raise Soltis from beneath the clouds soon. I...I don't know what will happen if they do...nevertheless, we should hurry back! We can't waste another moment here...

Waste indeed. I think Fina may be a little bitter about her life aboard the Shrine right now, and who can blame her? All the more reason to spend the next update touring the world looking for trouble, I feel. See you then!

Video List
Great Silver Shrine
Path of Emptiness