Part 58: Abandonment Issues (Part 2)

CUTSCENE: Will The Real General Dragias Please Stand Up?
CUTSCENE MUSIC: “Tense Battle” (Disc 1, Track 30)


Cyrus rushes at Dragias once again.




However, it seems he’s somewhat outclasses by the general’s swordsmanship skills, who swats away every slash and swing effortlessly.








It just goes to show you how good a swordsman whoever’s under that helmet is if he’s working over Cyrus of all people, the best swordfighter in the game.














But then Dragias decides enough is enough and decides to just start cheating.


One face full of hot death coming up.






Luckily, Cyrus dodges the blast and rolls out of the way before he gets Sandor Clegane’d.








It’s gonna take more than a little fire to kill this badass.








Suddenly, Dragias’s head snaps around in one of the best “oh shit!” miming acting I’ve seen in video game motion capture.


He ducks out of the way…


As a goddamn fireball flies of his head. Not so fun when it’s coming at YOU now, is it, metal face?








Oh yeah, we’ve got Kara back on our team now, so poor Dragias is pretty much outnumbered in terms of competent opponents. Because now that Leonard’s out of the party, the -10 competence score he brings to the table is wiped away too so we’re still in positive territory even without Yulie and Caesar here.


Kara: Stop in the name of FIRE!


I should also point out that you can technically bind a couple of versions of Scardgine’s armour now. There’s a single-item version of it that acts as an accessory. When you equip that on a character their entire appearance is overridden by Scardgine’s character model. There’s also the individual Azulhawk armour pieces that Kara is wearing. Kara’s merely missing the set’s helmet piece right now. The earmuffs are actually a part of the chest armour, interestingly enough and are meant to mimic Farian ears so as to lend to the illusion that Scardigne really as a Farian.


I’d say Dragias was super pissed to see Kara there, but you really can’t tell what he’s feeling behind that helmet.










Jesus, didn’t we do this already?


























However, it turns out that Cyrus was merely distracting Dragias to give Kara the chance to charge up another fireball. Because Cyrus knows that magic takes for fucking ever to cast in this game.












Dragias, however, has Mana Barrier on him and his armour has a +5 Fire Resistance, so he blocks the shot effortlessly.








Okay, now where’s she gone?






Oh, she’s merely floating 20 feet up in the air. Okay then.


















…Yeah. Okay. That did shit all.


H/T: PoptartsNinja




And here comes Cyrus again. Third time’s the charm?










Well, since fire isn’t working, let’s try ice then.


Kamehameha?










Aaaaaand we’re back to ripping off Xenosaga again. Although, I would actually give the game props is they busted out this track over this fight, because it sure as shit didn’t get used in the game it was actually composed for.




With Kara and Dragias equally matched in terms of magical prowess, Cyrus steps in to resolve the stalemate.






He cramps Dragias’s mojo or whatever with his sword, allowing Kara’s magic to overpower him.








I am so happy we’ve got Badass Cyrus back. I really am.


Dragias slides back across the carpet.


And collapses to one knee. I smell a dramatic reveal coming up.


The helmet drops to the ground, sheered cleanly in half by Kara and Cyrus’s double tech.


After all this, I would legitimately love it if it turned out it really was Kara in the armour the whole time.


CUTSCENE MUSIC: “Scar” (Disc 2, Track 13)


Cyrus: Gha!


Old man Sarvain?!

…Whut?


Cyrus: Sarvain?!


Well… That’s certainly… a thing. Well, at least this explains why Sarvain was curiously absent for the duration of the attack on the castle, and why the Dragias that killed King Valtos appeared to come from within the castle. Sarvain ran to his quarters, whipped on the armour, killed the king, ditched the armour and then rejoined everyone in the bailey to watch Belcitane and Kara’s Dragias abscond with Cisna so he gets away clean with regicide.

The crafty motherfucker.

I said back in Chapter III of game 1 that Belcitane won that night. I’d like to amend that to say Sarvain/Ledom was the real winner there.

Also, you can now go back and re-read that chapter with this knowledge in mind and see if you can catch the reference to Dragias’s true identity I hid in there.


Sarvain: Heh heh. Resist all you want, you fools.


Sarvain: But…




Sarvain: You’re too late!


Sarvain: Nyahahahahahahaha!








Kara: Ledom.




CUTSCENE: The Truth About The White Knight
CUTSCENE MUSIC: “Reflecting” (Disc 1, Track 18)

Cisna: Father! It’s going to be alright!


Valtos: Ah, Cisna… You look majestic.




Cyrus: Your Grace!


Valtos: My boy Cyrus, is that you?


Cyrus: Yes, Your Grace.


Valtos: Aaaah!

Cyrus lifts the king up so he can speak easier. Because he knows there’s some exposition that needs to be explained before he croaks… again.


Valtos: I’m a fool for not seeing Sarvain for the traitor he was… All this time… he must have been after the Knight.


Cisna: Father. We need you to tell us what you know about it.
Cisna: You know, so I can kill Sarvain with it.


Valtos: The Knight? It is a terrible weapon… as you very well know.
Cisna: Yes.
Cisna: It’s shown off how “terrible” it is alright.


Valtos: Seventeen years ago, Sarvain and I—argh—set ourselves to the task of researching the White Knight that was excavated from the Dogma Rift.


Valtos: At first, we were convinced it was just a relic, something that belonged in a museum.


Valtos: But then, as we investigated further, we learned the awful truth. Augh.


Valtos: There was an infant found alongside the Knight, and the boy’s soul had been bound to the Kngiht through some sort of pact.
Valtos: It was obvious just by looking at him what a great danger he would be to the world. I didn’t think an infant could be stupid… Augh… But he found a way…
Everyone: You have NO idea.


Valtos: I decided then and there to place him and the other infants in the care of a man named Medius, and locked the White Knight away deep beneath the castle.

Okay, so let’s spot all the contradictions with what the game has already established as its backstory here. This guy’s taking credit for all the work Medius did. Medius found the ruins because Sinca was right on the doorstep of the Rift. Medius found the kids and had the villagers raise them as their own children, and then Medius was responsible for seeding them around the continent to ensure that they would hopefully never come into contact with one another.

But what then do you really expect here? Winners writer history after all, and Medius ain’t alive to argue the point, and interestingly enough, this seems in keeping with my characterization of the Balandor Royal Family. The man who raised LP Cisna would be the kind of person to casually paste his self-aggrandizing own version of events over actual history.

Or Akihiro Hino is a terrible, inconsistent writer. Take your pick.


Valtos: Sarvain, however… oh, he was firmly against it. He insisted we use the Knight for the sake of Balandor.

Hence why Sarvain said that the Kingdom’s scholars spent years researching it. He was indeed trying to get it up and running to use it against Faria, Greede, and Albana, and to end-run around having to use Leonard and Cisna to activate it.

Also, I’m sure he was feeding whatever knowledge he’d gleaned off the royal scholars’ research to the Magi, which helped them brute force the seal off the Black Knight sooner than they probably would have been able to otherwise.

Because Sarvain/Ledom is the smartest person in this game. Period.


Valtos: But… I knew I could not allow that to happen. Inside the White Knight, I could sense an evil presence still lived on.


Cisna: A presence?

Are we finally getting a callback to the Phantom some 40 hours after everyone has forgotten about it?


Eldore: Mmmm…

Oh hey Eldore Emotive Grunts. Where have you been this whole game? Also, I think Eldore just fell asleep in the midst of Valtos’ exposition fest and that’s actually just him snoring now.


Valtos: That was when… I asked Medius to find good homes for the children we found in the Rift. They needed parents who would care for them, see that they lived in peace. Anything to prevent the Knights’ power from being put to ill purpose.

Again, which version is the right one? Did Medius learn the truth himself and take action independently, or did Valtos tell him to? The game just doesn’t give a shit any more.

Also, I still question Medius’s choice to leave Leonard (and Yulie) in the care of Rapacci, given what we’ve seen of him. However, I think the case can be made that Rapacci was actually a kind of loving father to the boy initially (as seen in the fountain flashback in Chapter III of game 1), and slowly hardened into the abusive jackhole we meet him as at the start of game 1 over years of Leonard being a spectacularly stupid fuck up.

Because that shit would test anyone’s love of another person.




Cisna: So that’s how it happened.

Let’s just say “sure,” and move on.




Oh hey, Cry-rus is back too.


Cyrus: Forgive me, Your Grace.


Cyrus: I failed to protect you.
Cisna: Twice now.
Eldore: Not helping…


Valtos: You have… nothing to be sorry for.


Valtos: You cannot shield me from fate.


Cyrus’s expression softens, and just like that the massive weight that has been dogging Cyrus for two whole games now is lifted from his shoulders.


Cyrus: Father!


Valtos: Cyrus, my dear son…


Valtos: This belongs with you.












Cyrus: What is it?


Valtos: The Philosopher’s Insignia. It has been passed down through my family for generations.


Valtos: Be strong. You and Cisna both. Balandor is in your hands.


Cyrus: I will. Rest assured.


Valtos smiles one last time, happy to have a bittersweet end this time around as opposed to a complete blowout fuck-up end like last time.


And then he died.


Cisna: I’m still Queen though. GET IT!
Cyrus:




And then their Retrospecticon session times out on them.








Orren: So, wait… Did we technically win? I wasn’t paying attention.


Eldore: Stuff it, Niles, nobody cares.




Okay, we’ve got our three Special Things. Now we can open the Door of Time and unlock the Master Sword.

…I wish I was kidding about that too.


We come out of the whiteout back to High Priest Ledom in the present, whose Plot Bullshit sense is tingling, granting him knowledge of things that went on technically beyond his knowing. Because let’s all remember, what we just saw in the Retrospecticon did not happen in the actual timeline. Ledom has no memory of getting the shit kicked out of him by Cyrus and Kara.

He’s just there, chilling out in a black void for no reason.


Ledom: The three insignia have been united. Now the Athwani Queen Mureas can truly awaken.


Ledom: Ha ha ha ha hah.


Ledom: A worthy opponent.


Ledom: Emperor Madoras… The stage is set. It shan’t be long.


LEDOM IS LOVING THIS SHIT.

Also… Oh fuck, are we still doing THAT shit? Goddammit.




Now, here’s something I want you to ponder before we move on… Did Kara really come back from the dead? Or am I just trying to punch up an already flagging narrative?

I’ll let you decide.

One more thing while I’m at it… Did Marcell even ever exist? Or did I just make him up too?

Framing device, bitch!

• 11.1 – Gods Save The King
  
• 11.2 – One Last Jaunt
  
• 11.3 – Defending Balandor Castle
  
• 11.i - Past Balandor Boss Rush
  
• 11.4 – The Long Way Around
  
• 11.5 – The Return
  
• 11.ii – Past General Dragias (and Assassins) Boss Battle
  
• 11.6 – Will The Real General Dragias Please Stand Up?
  
• 11.7 – The Truth About The White Knight

BALANDOR CASTLE