Part 80: Episode LXXVII: Fei and the Gang Shuffle Around Shevat

Episode LXXVII: Fei and the Gang Shuffle Around Shevat

Music: The Wind Calls to Shevat in the Blue Sky (Shevat Orchestral Theme)


Alrighty, then. After Maria's angst session, we could just go straight back to Zephyr now and agree to chip in fighting against Solaris. Since we were kind of already doing that already. Or at the very least they keep trying to kill us periodically and are consistently getting their shit wrecked by the party. Same difference. Anyhow, before we do that we ought to explore the palace a bit. I hope you all like history fluff. Cuz we’re getting a metric ton of that here. We’ll just work our way clockwise around the area and see if anyone has anything of note to say.

The party enters a palace bedroom...


“She still can’t forget about the tragedy in Nisan during the great war, 500 years ago. Even though it’s not her fault... I assume she can’t forgive herself for betraying and abandoning her fellow members though she had no knowledge of what was going on... Oh, I may have said too much. I’m not supposed to know anything. Anyhow, keep up the good work in overthrowing Solaris, young man!”
”Great. So the queen is known for abandoning and betraying people.”
“But unknowingly...”
“So she’s incompetent too.”
“What else is new?”

The next apartment over is full of folks gabbing about religion lore...


“However, one day, humans entered god’s forbidden garden and ate a fruit which bestowed upon them tremendous intelligence and power.”
*several hundred miles away* “YES!”
“God found out about the incident and the humans were banished from paradise. The prosperous times were over, an era of sorrow and hatred began...That was the first part of the legend of genesis that was passed on from long ago. They say a legend such as this contains some truth to it...”


“In order to resist the power of god, they created twelve Anima Relics, and called themselves gods... For 10 days, 10 nights, the world shed its blood, Mahanon was enveloped in flames. But human strength was no match for god and the arrogant humans were destroyed by god’s anger. Only a few righteous men were left on the land. However, god was also tired and wounded. He decided to rest in the deepest depths of the earth. God’s rest was long. But eternity is only a moment to god. Since then, the righteous men who didn’t revolt against god had to live in the harsh nature by themselves, being in constant fear of death... The legend also says the following: When the righteous men’s children are born again, god will awaken from his long rest and give a helping hand to them. If the legend is true, what will the awakening of god bring to the people? What kind of existence is god.”
”Usually an end-boss.”
“Mmm-hmm.”


“However, the ‘Anima Relics’ made through god’s wisdom do exist. Solaris’ Gazel Ministry is desperate to find the ‘Animal Relic’ and Mahanon, a place known to be god’s resting place. If Solaris attains that power, no one will be able to stop them. What will happen to the world then...?”
”Boss rush.”
“That happens even without Solaris poking god while it’s trying to take a nap.”
“Unwinnable boss battle.”
“That is a bit more plausible.”


Interesting stuff. The next room over is the Palace mess hall. Let’s see if we can get something to eat.

The party wanders into the kitchen and finds...Citan’s wife and daughter.... Wait, what?!


"Oh, welcome. You look good, Fei. The meal will be ready soon. Please join us and eat to your heart's content."
”Within reason. There are somewhat limited supplies up in the sky.”
“W... why, are you here...!?"
"Oh? Didn't I tell you before? I was born here.”
”Pretty sure I would have remembered if you said you were born in Cloud City.”
“After you left the village, I decided to return to Shevat along with the survivors of the village. Because the soldiers from Aveh and Kislev were showing up around there..."
"I see... I'm sorry for putting so much trouble on you."
"What are you saying? It's not your fault. There's nothing to worry about. The people from the village understood after they came here and heard the story. They couldn't blame only you for that incident because Solaris was behind it."
"Yes... but..."
“...”
<Awkward...>


"Oh, you've never met her before. This is doc's wife, Yui."
"The wife of Citan!?"
"Aha, I take it... you are Bart, the Orca of the Desert, right? I've heard a lot about you. You've been quite busy. It's nice to meet you."
*shakes head* "Y... yes! H... how do you do!"
”Wait....just a moment here... You’ve been up in Shevat since...unfortunate things...happened to Lahan? How’d you...err...how did you make it up here?”
“I used an old communicator in my husband’s shed and had them send down a transport to pick up all the survivors the next time Shevat’s path neared Ignas.”
“Oh...right...I guess that’s why I saw it in the desert...”
“So Citan had a way to get into contact with Shevat? Did you all have to take it with you or...?”
“No. I am pretty sure it is still back in his shed. Though I’m sure the one he had on him would be easier to access.”
“The...the one he...had on him...?”
“Well, how else would he have told me about you, silly?”
“...”
<My foot is going SO FUCKING FAR up that guy’s boney ass the next time I see him!>
"Anyway, have you met the Queen? If you haven't, go say hello to her as soon as possible."
"Okay! Then I'll see you later."


Citan’s daughter is also wandering around the kitchen along with a Chu-chu. That is a bad influence right there if there ever was one.


“Midori really talks a lot! It’s amazing how much stuff you have chu talk about. We can have a conversation without talking. Have you forgotten already?”

So Citan had a way to phone up Shevat the entire time, but instead opted to let everyone climb a three mile tall tower instead. Also Citan’s daughter, Midori, is apparently a telepath... Sure...sure, why not?


Or next stop is Shevat’s food storage containers. Nothing really going on here. It seems rations are getting cut back due to lack of supplies. I’m not feeling too bad for them. Apparently Chu-chu is delicious and their multiplying like bunnies around here.




The next area is Shevat’s dungeon. It hasn’t been used for 500 years. But I guess they keep it fully maintained and untouched so they NEVER FORGET too. Oh yeah, a quirk about Shevat’s prisoner policy of five centuries ago. Normal prisoners just got stuck in those dangling medieval style cages. Particularly heinous criminals?


Frozen in Carbonite. Really. They’ve got a Carbonite freezing chamber in the back of their prison. Not even making shit up here. It’s literally called a Carbonite Cage. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence...

Next stop is the science lab...


“So they decided to do some work on the Lambs. They inserted various Limiters so that they would never be able to revolt. For the past 500 years, Solaris controlled Lambs’ consciousness, behavior and all. Naturally, Lambs don’t know anything about it. that makes it even more unforgivable!! Although it’s highly efficient...”
”MJ12 would be totally jealous.”


“They want to collect data for the newly created organisms and general combat data. Lambs are merely livestock to be raised for Solaris’ purposes. The ‘Ethos’ was established mainly to control the Lambs.”
“What!? Collecting combat data!? Then, this war that’s lasted for hundreds of years on the Ignas continent... It was just a farce plotted by Solaris.”
“...”
“Bart, are you serious right now? Solaris runs Aveh. And the Ethos. I’m not sure about Kislev.”
“I think they just wear masks when running Kislev.”
“The point is: how the heck have you not figured this out yet?”
“Barely paying attention to anything beyond fighting stuff?”
*sigh* “I’m not providing any more sandwiches during long cutscenes.”
“What?! No!”
“It’s not a farce. To them, it’s an important simulation under strict restrictions. Creating appropriate organisms that can align themselves with the ‘Anima Relics’ is one of their important objectives. In any case, the Lambs will continue to be Solaris’ guinea pigs unless someone stops them.”


”Buying the DLC to up the level cap?”
“Taura Melchior, he used to be one of the three sages of Shevat. He must know a way to remove the Limiter.”
”Where is he?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea.”
“Of course.”


”Balthasar lives in a cave east of Bledavik.”
“Didn’t that Maria girl say her grandfather, Balthasar, dropped her off here a few years ago?”
“Okay. OTHER than Balthasar...”
“There’s a rumor that they lost faith in humans because of the tragedy in Nisan. Solaris’ activities have increased once again... I wonder where they are and what they’re up to.”
”Skull collecting and denouncing evolution.”


“He was originally a Lamb. He learned molecular engineering from the sage, Melchior, personally. But he misused it for such a terrible act! An unbelievable monster!”

Yeah, universal consensus is Krelian is kind of a dick. And if anyone ever says “That man...” and trails off while we’re in Shevat, then they’re talking about Krelian. Anyway, moving on to the tactics room...


Nothing much going on here, other than people rambling about how the Anima Relics are super important and how they can be merged with Gears to create Omnigears. Which sounds pretty swanky. Not a Xenogears, though. We’re at like 45 hours and I still don’t know what the hell a Xenogears is...


Our final stop is the grand Shevat library. We cannot actually read any books here. What we can do, however, is get quite a history lesson on the events of Xenogears World War I and its aftermath. Fluffy. The history lessons go in chronological order. Just...not by any sort of positioning of NPCs around the room. But, here are all the conversations the way they’re meant to be read:


“...dominated the world with more military might than they have presently. The people on the land were treated like slaves... If any of them resisted, they were quickly and mercilessly dealt with. They treated the people as if they weren't living beings. Eventually, people on the surface began to rebel from all parts and ultimately...led to the Solaris-Shevat war of 500 years ago.”


“It was a heroic battle, with the freedom and independence of the land dwellers at stake... The rebel army, which centered around Shevat was successful at attacking the inner citadel of Solaris, but only with tremendous sacrifices... However, before we almost made it, the unthinkable happened... A new enemy appeared that even Solaris had not anticipated. That was when the nightmare began. The nightmare never seen before. A nightmare that we pray we would never have to see again...”


“The sudden appearance of the mysterious army put a full stop to the battle between the humans, 500 years ago. Those angels of death, utterly unrivaled, with no fear or mercy... Their only intention was to eradicate all life on this planet. Even Solaris' proudest Gear battalions were mere flies to them. Nothing stopped them as they indiscriminately slaughtered and trampled upon countless lives. At that time, people were certain that the end of the world was approaching... Dominated by feelings of constant fear and hopelessness, it was a dreadful life...”


“...was because of the power of these giants created through god's wisdom. Roni Fatima and the other young fighters piloted these giants and destroyed the heart of Diabolos. Seeing an opportunity to counterattack, mankind desperately stood up against Diabolos...and successfully annihilated them. Roni Fatima, Queen Zephyr and the rest of the young ones put their lives on the line and won back...the future for this world.”
"Roni Fatima? Isn't that my ancestor? So you're saying my ancestor, Roni, fought alongside Queen Zephyr against Solaris...? Hmm..."
”Bart, the queen said she knew your great, great...however many greats grandfather. That was only an hour ago. And you were arguing with her at the time.”
“Must have zoned out.”


“They are the legendary 'Omnigears'. One of them is the treasure of the Aveh royal family...which is currently resting somewhere within the continent of Ignas. But, I can't guarantee that.”
”Know anything about that?”
“Nope.”*
“Alright.”
“After the war and the collapse of Diabolos, similarly to the land dwellers...the heavily beaten Solaris forces began to pull back and return to their home country taking along with them vast numbers of land dwellers as slaves. We couldn't stop them. The only way for the war-torned land dwellers to survive was to depend on Solaris... After the brief moment of hope, Solaris once again began to reign over our lives... A cold and harsh era had begun. 500 years have passed and their reign still continues... No one knows how long this is going to last...”
”End of the second disc, tops.”

_{* Bart will suddenly know all about this later in the game.}


“...we and the rest of our comrades secluded ourselves on Shevat. At the time, Shevat was being constructed at the tip of Babel Tower but we were able to escape to the sky before Solaris once again ascended to power over the land. Since then, we've been wandering the skies, while overlooking the activities of the land below. You're probably already aware of this but Shevat is protected by a special gate made possible by an ancient technology. Even Solaris cannot break this barrier. Because of that, we were able to avoid being invaded to this day. But even with that, we don't have the power to attack Solaris either... It's a stalemate. Basically, we've just been glaring at each other.”


“And then, they erased all memory of their existence from the surface dwellers. Due to this, the surface dwellers are still not aware that they've been secretly dominated by Solaris all along. To be born into a false reality, to grow up in it, and to die in it...without ever approaching the truth. ...That is the life of a surface dweller.”
”Cool story, bro.”


After we’ve absorbed enough fluff, taken a nap, and finished dicking around town we can return to Zephyr to agree to helping out Shevat because...well, we just cannot progress until we agree to help out Shevat...


"Huh...!? What was that shaking all about...!?"
”Earthquake?!”
“We’re in the sky, Fei.”
“...Cloud shake?”
"Your Majesty...! Was that the enemy...!?"
“Your Majesty, something dreadful has...!!”

Maria and the Shevat lackey we saved from the Ethos HQ run into the chamber...

Music: Knight of Fire


“Yes! That is... We have an intruder in the dock area! The Gate generator has been destroyed...!”
"What!?"
”They’d better have climbed up a goddamn tower to make it here or I swear...”
"What's the damage report?"
“Y, yes! Sub-systems are destroyed... Gate generation has dropped 70% from normal! We're devoting everything to fire fighting and repairs... It will still take some time!
"What of the intruder?"


”Ugh. These jerks are worse than roaches. Err...no offense, Elly.”
“I am pretty used to it by now...”
“It seems the individual has escaped to the number 17 hangar!”
*starts running toward the door* "Number 17 hangar bay!? Seibzehn...!!"
"Maria, wait!"


"But... We can't just let the spy be...!"
“Your Majesty, we have our hands full just trying to fight the fire on the shield generator. If someone doesn't do something, it's possible we'll have more losses...!”
"I'll be fine. I can go it alone...!!"
"Maria, what can you do now when you don't even have Seibzehn?"
"...! But..."
*sigh* “Should we just cut to the chase here?”
“Sounds good.”
“Can’t stop the inevitable, I suppose.”

Fei steps forward...


“It's the Gebler, right? I'm still ticked off at them. I'll take 'em on."
*nods* "...Is it fine with you, Fei? Please take care of Maria. And be careful out there."


”You uhh....you can fight, right? Like you use a dagger or shuriken or guns or something when you’re not in a Gear, right?”
“Uhhh...not really...”
“Terrific...”
"Then, let's all go together."
”Yeah, okay. You can be a useless guest party member. Like Bart’s cousin.”
“Hey!”
*steps forward* “Umm, this may be asking for too much, but would it be possible to have one of you stay behind with the Queen?”
“What? Why?!”
“We do not have the combat experience and... if something ever happened to the Queen...”
“You are in a cold war with the Illuminati Sky Nazis and you do not have an Imperial Guard...? Ugh...lousy Sky Hippies...”
"Alright, I got it. Then one of us should stay behind."


So at this point, we need to ditch Bart or Elly to stay behind and do fuck all because nothing happens to the Queen at all while we’re gone and defend the Queen. At this point, my Bart and Elly’s on-foot stats are fairly equal. Actually, Elly is ahead of everyone but Citan right now, physical damage wise. And she can do magic too. And there are no bosses that need a Wild Smile where we’re going. So, the choice is clear.


So we swap out our whip wielding hot-blooded pirate for a lanky, unarmed 13-year old girl. I really hope we don’t run into any dungeons on the way to the dock...

 We do. And it is awful. 









Music: The Wind Calls to Shevat in the Blue Sky (Shevat Orchestral Theme)




Maria Concept Art - That girl must have the biggest hair curlers on the planet.