#Goltanna

[daily-rayless]

Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite contender for the throne of Ivalice, Druks -- actually, come to think of it, he's probably no one's favorite, Larg probably has more fans. Well. Anyway. Happy Birthday to Druksmald Goltana from Final Fantasy Tactics.

[corpsebrigadier]

I like how Larg and Goltanna teach opposite lessons about the wisdom of trusting in your best friend of several decades vs. the wisdom of trusting in literally absolutely anybody else.

[snippity]

The Dukes Larg and Goltanna, your brothers, and all the rest…They are all of them swept up in a mighty current—a current they cannot see or feel. I simply swim against it. Nothing more.

[autopotion]

Um so I was rereading bits and pieces of the two FFT scripts (mostly Folmarv bits) and I said some stuff to Zoe while I was reading and she said I should post my thoughts so I am. Doing that

Preface: Folmarv is one of the most evil dudes in the game and a shitty old bitch, whereas I find Delita to be mostly sympathetic and therefore a tragic figure, but they have some intriguing parallels beyond "they are the two guys in the narrative most obviously manipulating every party behind the scenes"

So they both have this Important Girl they want to rise to power, and they're orchestrating all this bloodshed so that she can come out on top (Ovelia for Delita, Ultima [and by extension Alma] for Folmarv). Delita piggybacks off of Folmarv already doing this and takes advantage of the war to get what he wants, but that just makes the parallel clearer IMO.

The physical actions they take on screen parallel this directly, actually. When we're first introduced to Delita, he's in the middle of kidnapping Ovelia; after a short struggle, he punches her in the stomach and slings her over his shoulder to take her away. When Folmarv and Alma are finally in the same scene together, what does Folmarv do? He finds out she's compatible with Virgo, and therefore Ultima, which is exactly what he needs, so he punches her in the stomach and slings her over his shoulder to take her away. You could chalk this up to FFT's typical relationship with its slew of distressed damsels and the guys who violently grab 'em, but not all the kidnapping scenes have the same body language from its principal characters. I think it's striking that these two scenes do.

So yeah, even that aside. Delita wants to put Ovelia on the throne of Ivalice, Folmarv wants to resurrect Ultima through Alma. As much as Delita hates Folmarv, he's put himself into a remarkably similar situation without knowing it. They even say similar things about their chosen candidates. Delita says to Ramza, "to save her life, I would gladly give my own," and Hashmal says a fucked up iambic pentameter version of that same sentiment: "that you should rise, my life I gladly give."

But while Folmarv/Hashmal is true to his word, we know that's not what happens to Delita. Delita can't give his life for Ovelia because he, whether consciously or not, refuses to ever put himself into a subservient position ever again. Sometimes he acts subservient (to Goltanna, for instance), but it's with the intention to manipulate. Over and over, he reiterates that he won't be used, he'll be the one who's using. The game draws that to its ultimate conclusion: Ovelia stabs him, he stabs her back. She dies, he lives, and as king, he is subservient to no one.

So what happens with Folmarv? Not that! So that his lady(/lord) might rise, without even being asked, he turns his claws right around and takes his own life. His sacrifice is the very last one needed to complete Ultima's ascension, and as soon as he commits to the idea, he follows through without a second thought.

Let's back up a little. We're introduced to Folmarv very slowly over the course of the narrative, but by the end of Chapter 3, there's no doubt: he's the one behind everything. He's the guy really responsible for the actions of the Church, for the seeding of the Zodiac Stones, for the war's very existence. He's behind ALL of it. If we're looking for the "manipulator" in "the manipulative and the subservient," we've found him. He's the one.

And yet his very last, character-defining action of the game is to declare his total subservience to someone else.

[endeavorsreward]

Excerpt (Bk. I, Ch. 3)

1996 OV / 1233 ZA

Month of Scorpio

The Grand Hall of Lesalia Castle was filled with but a tenth of the court—at absolute best—but in Louveria’s eyes it was far too crowded.

Behind the head seats was a frieze depicting the Hero-King Mesa leading his people from the sky to Lesalia; it was designed in the age of Devanne I so that parts could be seen-through into the hall unnoticed. She stood there now, watching the men converse each with an eye towards the door from which she’d enter.

Zalbaag Beoulve was offering a bow to Duke Druksmald Goltanna, though he looked peevish. “I admit to surprise,” he was saying, “As I thought Baron Grimms would be in attendance. I’d thought to discuss the connections between these bandit groups, else I’d be still with my own men in pursuit.”

“The commander of the Blackram Knights pursues an urgent lead in Zeltennia, I’m told.” Goltanna scratched at his belly, which strained against his doublet. Goltanna was still solidly built even at fifty-six years of age, but he was keg-shaped beneath the layers of finery, and his mustache, which dropped below his chin, was always uncomfortably damp. His were the only eyes in the room that kept glancing towards the frieze, unapologetically. The Black Lion was a man of secrets—if the Northern Sky had its numbers, the Southern surely had its subtler arts—and he wanted her to know that he was full aware of her intent. “I shall have one of my attendants convey any message you’d like. Communication and cooperation are surely key in unearthing these rats before they nibble anything more of value.”

Her eyes slid to one side, where Confessor Rousseau was meeting with one of Goltanna’s sizable entourage, whose absurd hat of station marked him easily for Bishop Haimirich Canne-Beurich, who was the highest church representative in Zeltennia and also fully in Goltanna’s pocket. He was older even than the Duke, and clutched at his crook like it held him up as he nodded at some report that Rousseau gave. She scowled.

And further back were two of that wretched Council of Nobles themselves, talking to Goltanna’s Galgastani pet. The one pointedly not looking at the dark-skinned Baron of Bolmina was the Earl Carston Sovlique, who was of little consequence—he was there only to give the benefit of numbers to Baron Etgar Minadette, who was laughing at some jest, standing with the posture of a man for whom all the world turned.

Her fists crushed into her gown. She stood up straight, checked herself and her crown and marched towards the door that would admit her. She heard Ser Garland’s spear tamp the floor twice. “Her royal majesty, Queen Louveria Atkascha.” And she entered with all the imperiousness at her disposal, looking at none of them, sweeping in like a thundercloud. She commanded all of their attention, which was as it should be, as the sun would wilting flowers.

Or perhaps, she thought darkly, as meat would hungry sharks.

She gave them a moment’s pause to judge the degrees to which they bowed. Rousseau offered a perfunctory bowed head, but Canne-Beurich did not even bother with that. The rest, however, showed the proper deference. “You may rise, gentlemen. We would see as always good works performed here in the name of all our lands, Ivalice.” She’d rather hold meetings such as these in the throne room. In that space, the differences in their stations would stand in relief. But this was how things were done, and to suggest the move would raise ire, would suggest she... well, that she was making a statement of power, which is exactly what she wanted to do. But she was only acting as proxy for the ailing king, and to push too hard would not secure her position, but rather the opposite. Some of these men were hungry. But she did not sit, so that they could not sit either. “We thank especially our cousin for making the long journey from Zeltennia.” She afforded Goltanna a nod. “We hear that the roads are less safe these days, explaining his decision as always to come bearing larger entourage.”

Goltanna’s look was dry, save for that wet-wick mustache of his. “Your majesty’s compassion is endless, and so I speak with pride in informing you that the roads grow safer daily—indeed, both Skies fall upon the bandits who have been ungrateful in the face of your largess.”

“Oh? We are gratified to hear that these traitors to the crown are put to rout, as we’d heard quite the opposite.” She looked to the Knight Devout. “Is your success greater than my hearing?”

Honest, honest Zalbaag Beoulve shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking uncomfortable. “It would ne’er be my place to correct Your Majesty in any matter.” Goltanna glared at him.

“As always, Ser Zalbaag, you do your family’s honor proud in the realm of loyalty, though perhaps less so of late in that of results.” She waved her hand, casting the matter aside. “Surely, Lord Goltanna wishes only to reassure us of your mutual further endeavors. But we would remind you both that it is the leaders of such rebellions who most concern us, for examples must be made. My husband our king has saintly patience for much, even in his illness, but little for the act of treason. Folles and his ilk must be made corpses for true for the safety of our citizenry. We’ve a mind to let them swing from ropes at Golgollada itself for high- and low-born alike to witness.”

“As in the tale of Balias and the demon Leviathan,” offered Rousseau with a grin, “to fell a serpent, the head must be removed.”

Her nostrils flared. Zalbaag coughed. Goltanna’s eyebrow raised. Canne-Beurich looked like he was asleep.

“Mayhap the Confessor has dealt for too long with heretics and not with people of Quality,” offered Etgar. “Else he’d consider that speaking in those terms to a ‘head’ of state might be considered... inappropriate.”

Chastened—or faux-chastened—Rousseau looked down. “I assure you, ‘twas only mine intent to affirm Her Majesty’s edict. Indeed, the site of Ajora’s own death by hanging might be too good for bandits of their sort.”

“We shall take your... advisement into consideration, Confessor Rousseau.” Louveria’s lips thinned. “To return to matters of import, we understand that the Marquis de Limberry meets with our brother to the west.” She did not know why, but she did not say such. To admit that she and Larg were not communicating would be a sign of weakness.

“He did separate from our caravan at Dorter and continued on west,” Goltanna admitted. “He bid me pay Your Majesty all respects, but hoped that you’d find it no insult, as he was not himself the party summoned to this chamber.”

“The Marquis is a never-ending font of humility,” Louveria said. “One suspects it comes from being ground under Ordallian boot-heel.” Goltanna took the comment in stride, but behind him, the Baron of Bolmina tensed. She couldn’t remember his name, and didn’t care to re-learn it. At the Baron’s side, a dark-skinned scribe with his hair pulled back scribbled notes on the meeting without ever looking up. Likely the man’s spawn.

“I’m likely to blame for the Marquis, Your Majesty.” Etgar Minadette bowed. He was frustratingly handsome, young features under a mop of brown hair and possessing a rogue’s eyes. He held a majority stake in Zeltennian trade and he had the charisma to leverage that coin into a significant seat on the Council. He had a reputation for being noble in more than title, but that reputation didn’t stop him from raising his star higher by the day. “Duke Larg did offer me of late some measure of support in matters commercial, and the Marquis hopes to finalize some agreements of trade, that he might increase the coffers for rebuilding Limberry.”

She raised her chin. “It is often that “matters commercial’ are beneath the crown, when they do not pertain to taxies levied.” She tried to look thoughtful and curious, despite knowing the answer to her inquiries before she asked them. “But we hear the whisper of rumors in the halls of Lesalia, that it is your hope to open a corridor of trade to the east where there yet is none.”

Etgar’s face fell.

“We hold the Council’s enterprising nature in esteem,” she continued, “For it keeps our kingdom not only solvent, but thriving, a hub of commerce and culture that does past generations and present proud. But though Ivalice has ceased hostilities with Ordallia, we shall not open trade at this time. For with the king’s ill health, we cannot allow the possibility of open borders, that spies might enter in the guise of merchants in a time of weakness. And indeed, these uprisings trouble us, that they divert our knights away from the borders, where they might serve as a source of security and properly investigate traders of that sort. As ever, the safety of Ivalice must be our prime concern.”

Etgar’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed a “Yes, of course, Your Majesty.”

She faked a yawn. “Mayhap mon cousin could lower the tax by... hm, no, one percent is enough. You shall recoup some cost, and the people will see that Lesalia does not forget them.”

“As Your Majesty wishes,” grumbled Goltanna, “Though I’d point out that this will slow the rebuilding effort. Sal Ghidos is in much the same state it was the day the war ceased, and Limberry...”

“Bishop Canne-Beurich.” She rolled her eyes as Rousseau prodded the old man. “Could not the Church of Glabados send some aid to those poor souls of Sal Ghidos? The good Duke has left them to poverty and ruin.”

“Hm? Oh, well...” He dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. “Your majesty, Mullonde is leery of sending its agents to close to the border when matters are so fraught...”

“Come now, Bishop.” She clucked her tongue. “We speak not of Templars and Confessors, but rather some charitable abunas with a mind to feed and clothe the less fortunate, as blessed Ajora himself would have done. Unless you suggest that the Duke has let the town fall to inquity?”

Goltanna was turning purple.

“I commend Your Majesty in turning to the church.” Zalbaag said without irony. “Those only recently liberated from the Ordallian heathens could use the return of the light of Ajora.” It was refreshing to have Ser Zalbaag there, a man with virtually no guile. She should make greater effort to point his sword-tip in directions to her benefit.

The Baron of Bolmina leaned forward, whispered in Goltanna’s ear. Louveria’s eyes fell again upon the little scribe, no more than sixteen, who continued to scribble at a pace possessed... even when none were speaking that he could hear. Curious. Goltanna, for his part, seemed to find himself and cleared his throat.

“Since Your Majesty is “shining the light” of your own compassion at present, I wonder if we yet might appeal to your more beneficent instincts in another, not wholly unrelated matter.” He rubbed his belly through the straining clothes. “A matter of housing.”

“Do you not let the Baron sleep indoors, then?” She jested, but other than a wan smile from Zalbaag and a muffled chuckle from Sovlique, nobody seemed much amused. “Very well. We shall hear your proposal.”

“Mm.” Goltanna puffed up a bit. “Your Majesty is well-familiar with the stated grievances of the banditry, regarding owed funds. And all assembled here agree with the crown’s assertion that such grievances are falsehoods, truly.” She glanced at Zalbaag, but he was merely listening intently. It had been the Council’s assertion, in fact, but when she had agreed, it had become royal decree. “We do allow, however, that some of our loyal soldiery did suffer hardship upon war’s end, returning home to lands that had suffered Ordallian looting and destruction.”

“Our heart bleeds as ever for the loyal knights of Ivalice,” she offered, “though to suffer loss in war is inevitable, tragic though we may find it. How are you proposing to redress this ill, that does not draw from coffers we know to be less than full?” For in truth, there was next to nothing left. Reducing the tax a single percent was a symbolic gesture she made in compromise, but the war had left the kingdom with nothing but the unburnt fields west of the Algost and the private stores that men like Minadette and Sovlique were sitting upon. And she could not afford to take a loan and fall into the Council’s debt.

“I have met with the Council upon this matter. The Marquis, as well, was most insistent that we provide for the welfare of his land’s liberators.” He gave a nod to the Knight Devout. “Begging pardon, those liberators of our own territories.”

“They fought no less bravely,” said Ser Zalbaag, and bowed.

“Just so! And so we think to offer them not coin, but opportunity.” Goltanna’s mustache twitched. The Camp Groffovia established just east of Bervenia, in order to protect that holy land, now lies all but empty with the border secure. But it need not lie in waste, as ‘tis all but settled land. We think to offer the land as the site of a new village, under my provenance and responsibility, for the families of knights who seek a fresh start at war’s close.”

“We have never halted the movement of our citizenry,” she said dourly, already suspecting where this was going.

“The land will need new leadership. We, the Council and I both, think to ennoble—or further ennoble, that the land can be governed justly.”

“Mullonde views this proposition favorably,” said Canne-Beurich unnecessarily. “For those who defended the place of Ajora’s birth to find new, honest lives at its borders is a path that walks in line with the faith.”

So: enrich the Council of Nobles with further numbers, and allow Goltanna to amass knights at Lesalia’s border. Else, denounce a plan whose details would and will filter out to the commoners, and raise further rebellion, embolden the Order of the Ebon Eye and the Grounded Doves—and make a further enemy of the Church of Glabados, to say nothing of the Marquis, who was a loyalist at his core. It was no decision at all.

She gazed over to the Council members in attendance, and saw Etgar whispering fiercely in Carston’s direction. Which meant that Etgar had no idea, that he’d only been brought before the court as a patsy, a voice she could shout down so that Goltanna’s actual plan would be a compromise.

...Which meant Rousseau had known all along. She did not look in his direction.

The people of Lesalia already spoke of her in hushed tones as a tyrant. They already spoke of hoping the illness of the king would spread to his son.

She closed her eyes. Goltanna had the grace not to smile. When she opened them, she looked at last upon the Baron of Bolmina’s stoic expression.

“Baron, forgive us, as our memory is oft-distracted by worry for our husband of late, that we forget your name.”

He bowed low. “Ulric Navarre of Bolmina, Your Majesty.”

“You are modest indeed, to only whisper your idea to your lord the Duke.” She nodded to him. “Your proposal is accepted. We shall receive a list of names to consider the addition of further peerage to the realm.”

Sovlique gasped. Goltanna flinched.

Whether it was his idea or not, let all of Ivalice know it was the Baron’s idea. Some would not care for matters of race, but some would. And Goltanna would not be the hero of the people for his maneuver. It was no victory, but it was the only play she had remaining.

She favored the Earl with a look. “Lord Sovlique.” A rat-faced man with a thin mustache, his earldom included the aforementioned Sal Ghidos, and yet he’d not seen fit to speak up regarding its fate. “In the matter of our Southern Sky and its valiant knights, we rely often upon the wisdom of Count Orlandeau, yet he could not appear before us this day.”

“Er...” He looked to Goltanna for aid.

“With Baron Grimms on the hunt for banditry, the Count stands watch over Besselat, as ever in service to the crown,” the Duke mumbled.

“We suspected as much.” Did he even know of this plan? Or had he approved it? “We task you, Lord Sovlique, with relaying to the Count what has occurred here.”

Puzzled: “I serve your will, Your Majesty.”

“Indeed.” Her hand found the arm of the chair by her side. Let them puzzle over that decision. “We grow weary, and must relay this news to the king, that he may affirm that we speak his intentions.” She stood, and everyone bowed. “Ser Zalbaag, you’ve no doubt matters martial to consider, but at your earliest opportunity, we bid you relay the decision to your brother and mine, that the Northern Sky knows the movements of the Southern.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Let Larg and Dycedarg decide how best to deal with Goltanna’s brazenness. No doubt their wheels already turned. She nodded to her oh-so-loyal subjects and left, Ser Garland at her side.

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (September 16th, pt. 1)

Druksmald Goltanna (Final Fantasy Tactics) 

Ed (Animal Crossing)

Yuli (Pop’n Music)

Whitley (Pokemon Special)

Thomas (Nanatsu no Taizai)

Solana (Pokémon Ranger)

Ume Kurumizawa (Kimi ni Todoke)

[tabletoprpgjournal]

War for the Region (D&D 5e)

We begin with our heroes in the Stonewell tavern looking through various jobs to take on. Snek’k the Dark Purple Dragonborn Barbarian wants a job that requires fighting. Thia the Jaded High Elf Ranger seeks work that doesn’t cooperate with humans or goblins and also seeks knowledge to her tribe’s downfall. Thaimor the Novice High Elf Ranger wants to adventure and become more experienced. Amon the Tiefling Cleric wants to go where the others go, as long as there’s alcohol involved.

There are three jobs on the bulletin board: one requires entertainment for a child’s birthday party, another is embroidered with rich stationary with an ominous request rewarding in riches. They find a job requiring deer pelts for a human, Jonathan, to start a leather worker’s shop. Jonathan is an older man who’s no longer able to do manual labor to his liking and wishes to retire from farming and go into business. He’s willing to pay the party 5 copper pieces per pelt and even agrees to craft a harness for Snek’k if they can turn in 22 pelts in total. Jonathan is in no hurry for the pelts and has no expectations in terms of when to get these pelts.

The adventurers attempt to search in the forest for deer but come up empty handed after several hours go by with no success. They eventually return to the tavern to seek an additional job.

There are 2 more posts on the bulletin board:

One asks for a fighting scenario in a basement floor with something called “knivesies” and the other requires help clearing a cave after the failure of the previous attempt.

The group decides to accept the latter of the two quests which leads them to the Duke’s manor in Stonewell: Duke Goltanna.

The Duke proclaims this cave must be scoured to retrieve a valuable item at the bottom and returned to him at once. These orders came from the capital of the Faylor Region. He offers the party 40 gold pieces and the option to keep whatever else they find aside from the item. He reports the young man who had previously attempted this quest was badly injured by “goblins and creatures he could not identify”. The party accepts and are offered to stay the night within the residence. Thia refuses and sleeps near a tree between Jonathan’s farm and the tavern. The other three accept. Snek’k and Amon stay in the same room where Snek’k and Thamior overhear rude whispering from the Duke’s servants. Thamior and Snek’k both let the servants know they heard everything.

The following morning, the party awakens and informs the Duke of the prejudice sayings that they had heard. As compensation, the Duke offers the party a free trip to and from the destination, but only half of the distance. The party accepts and set off to the cave.

In the middle of the travel, Snek’k confides in her party she is a Dragonborn and wishes to remain unidentifiable to the people around her. The party agrees.

As they travel the group picks up on the presence of a potential ambush. They alert the guard and the carriage comes to a halt. Thia leaps onto the roof to prepare for battle and Snek’k roars semi-intimidatingly as four goblins and a goblin boss emerge from the sides of the carriage to destroy the wheels and take any valuables.

The party leaves the carriage and prepares to fight as the goblins, with a one track mind, attack only the wheels as the boss attacks the horses leading the carriage. Snek’k puts deep wounds and eventually amputates the goblin boss’ arm, leaving him incapacitated. The small group of goblins flee where only 3 of the 4 successfully escape where the last one is caught and gutted by the party.

They continue onward to what they believe is the halfway point and set up camp. No problems throughout the entire rest.

The following day they make it to the cave. The cave, itself, is surrounded by mild forestry and seems to be fairly untouched. The adventurers journey deep into the cave and eventually come across a dim lit chamber being patrolled by two Magmins. The magmins are handily defeated and the party continue further before finding a second and much larger chamber being guarded by two fire snakes. The party struggles considerably more but still dispatches the fiery foes.

[arazlam]

I kinda feel that Zalbag actually wants to trust Ramza, since they're brother duh but then I realized. They're brothers from different mother, perhaps it feels different?

That line, "Don't you believe your own flesh?"

and, "Dycedarg planned to kidnap the princess?"

Immediately gives me feeling that Zalbag started to feel, "Shit, we're thinking the same but he's my dear brother and I don't know how to counter your argument, my dear brother. Also sometimes I doubted about you because we share different mother and father treats you kinda different. I'm sorry dear brother!" vibes

Also.... is it safe to assume that Dycedarg been "forcing" Zalbag to believe and be loyal to him? Remember when he told Zalbag to shut himself up when he's surprised because Dycedarg killed Goltanna?

But well, Zalbag realized all of this wrong things too late. He needs to go to Barbaneth's grave even needs to be a zombie to fully realized that his brother is wrong and he should trust Ramza instead...

But killing Tietra/Teta? Well... when he said "Fire!" he doesn't specifically told the troops to kill her, right? I feel like it's just Agrath who wants to take opportunity from this situation (He fought with Delita and Delita starting to doubt the nobles) And yeah, now Agrath is free from blame and people/Delita can blame Zalbag instead.

Maybe why Zalbag doesn't feel "Shit, why did you shoot her you dumbass?" vibes is because.... it's not the main goal to save Tietra/Teta but instead, to defeat the Brigadier. Also he's a big noble and has gone to many war, losing one lives perhaps is just "ok" to him (maybe)

But at the and of the day, screw war, screw auracite, peace please?

[eurekaminus-blog]

Locals Report 5/7/18

I decided to play hikonyan’s crazy Earth/Lightning deck last minute after he posted the list on Twitter. The deck full of tech and has some crazy combos, but overall is a lot more consistent than I had given it credit for. It’s also cool as fuck.

Round 1 vs Earth/Wind He went first and started a single Archer, and I opened with a Chaos and Miner, flashing Shantotto. I consider this a pretty favorable matchup so I thought going even on Backups would favor me over time. We both spent a couple of turns setting up Backups but he took more cards setting up Maria and a Cactuar while I set up a Sibyl and Gramis->Al-Cid to go to 4, and the game was basically over before either of us played a Forward. I started cycling Sibyl and threatening Al-Cid for a single Forward or Zodiark for multiple. I got ahead on board when made another Econ push and (Kam/Eald’narche) and was able to maintain a handsize with an Odin when he tried to stabilize with Y’shtola/Dadaluma. Game ended 7 damage to 1, me taking the 1 from Zodiark and ending with 6 in hand.

Round 2 vs Earth/Water Warrior of Light He kept a 1 Backup hand without knowing what I was playing and opened with a Guy->pass, skipping the Backup. I played a Mog and Dadaluma, and just held off the Guy with Dadaluma while going for mad econ over the next few turns, mostly thanks to Duke Goltanna -> Pellinore progression and a Miner. We eventually traded off Dada for Guy and I was just super ahead on econ while only being down 2 cards in hand. He managed a Warrior of Light / Refia field to push and I held it off with Eald’narche backed by threatened Zodiark (didn’t actually have it). He couldn’t push for a while. I killed off the Refia and when he extended a Wol and Ingus to try and keep expanding board outside of a 2-turn lethal off Paradise I played Ramza with Wol up to kill of an Ingus, and Hec’d the Warrior of Light. The game was over next turn. 

Round 3 vs Mono Ice We both opened a clunky backup curve, but he went first. He started Edward, and then topped Harley + Jihl (o2) the next turn. I opened Zodiark and Eald’narche post-mulligan and struggled by with a t1 Miner and Magus into no t2 Backups, playing a Dadaluma instead. I knew I had lost at this point, having 2 Dark cards in hand and no way to equalize Backup progression adequately. He topped a Gest Emp Cid and on t4 set up a Celes/Locke discard. I used turn 3 to develop another 2 Backups and Eald’narche-> Zodiark on the t4 response play hoping to stabilize. At this point, I had an Eald’narche and 4 Backups to his 4 Backups and 5 in hand; there was just no way for me to come back unless he flooded Backups. I set up Kam and Emperor at various points, but The Emperor got Terra R + Cid Raines combo (both 1 ofs) and the board was just getting too hard to keep back, let alone set up a push. The game ended when he topped a 1-of Vayne for my Ice Kam’lanaut. I never drew Gramis, Al-Cid, or Gabranth. I was really salty after this one, but I honestly shouldn’t have gotten as far as I did in the first place. 

Round 4 vs Mono Ice He went first and opened Thaumaturge and Arcanist. I discarded the Zodiark (again, post-mulligan) and opened with Miner and Red Mage. He Thaumaturge’d again and next turn I used an Al-Cid combo to kill 1 and keep the board under control. He set up another Arcanist and Serah’d me, leaving me at 1 in hand. I drew a Mog and just tried to focus on Econ. He Genesis’d down 1 Al-Cid, traded the Serah off with my Onion Knight and swung Thaumaturge into an EX Cecil. I basically won the game here. I played Delita next turn and killed the Genesis off with a Hecatoncheir, at which point I had a few cards in hand and he was down to just 4 with 2 Backups. The game went a while longer, and I ended up just keeping him down on resources and eventually lethaled him with Paradise. 

Conclusions End result 3-1. Interestingly, despite this being a 10-man local there were no 4-0s, because in every round (after the first) the pair down lost. I ended at 2nd place, with the Earth/Water Warrior of Light I beat in Round 2 taking 1st. 

All-in-all, I think that the deck is quite strong, but suffers from unwinnable games based on your first 15 cards much in the way that Leyak Mill does. That being said, Al-Cid and Co. win a lot of games straight out and the Dark engine + assorted Earth Forwards give the deck a lot of longevity that you won’t find with other Lightning variants. The Backup lineup is really what makes the deck stand out though. Miner and Mog breaking at instant speed give you access to Paradise and Sheol at instant speed. I cannot even begin to express how broken this feels if you reach the mid-lategame. Just keeping Miner or Mog up can force your opponent to inhibit their own play, having to overcommit to the board to avoid Paradise lethals, preventing Dull/Freeze from topping lethals with Sheol. There are a lot of other neat tricks like snuck in here that just make the deck a total nightmare to try to contain and play against. 

The deck mostly going to be weak to straightforward, aggressive strategies and strong against the opposite. I would say that Mono Lightning, Mono Ice, Tricolor Monsters, and Chocobos are unfavorable matchups. Leyak Mill and Wind/Lightning are relatively even. Mono Earth, Earth/Wind, Wind/Water, Ice/Earth, Mono Water, Ice/Earth are probably slightly favorable matchups. For all of these matchups a lot of it is going to come down to your Backup progression and whether you have Al-Cid, Shantotto, and Zodiark at the key timings. 

[yehosera]

Brotherhood Open 2017

This article will look at the deck I played for The Brotherhood Open 2017 and give a rundown of what happened during the day.

Brotherhood Open 2

The Brotherhood Open was a fantastic event with £650 of store credit on the line, along with exclusive 2 player playmats for the top 4. 29 people took part, which normally would make the format 5 rounds of swiss with a top 4 cut, however, due to prize support reaching down to 8th place the format was 6 rounds of swiss with a top 8 cut. Swiss was best of 1 and top 8 was best of 3.

Ice/Lightning Cid Raines & co.

http://ffdecks.com/deck/6291571595018240

--Generated By FF Decks (www.ffdecks.com)--

Deck Name: 1st Place Brotherhood Open (Cid Raines & co)

Created by: yehosera

Forwards (26):

1 Zidane (3-154)

2 Rygdea (1-211)

3 Onion Knight (1-125)

1 Ramza (3-119)

3 Al-Cid (2-097)

2 Amon (2-098)

3 Edea (2-099)

1 Cid Raines (1-192)

3 Kuja (3-030)

2 Rinoa (2-047)

3 Genesis (3-033)

2 Vayne (2-026)

Summons (8):

2 Cyclops (2-107)

3 Zalera, the Death Seraph (3-037)

3 Odin (1-123)

Backups (16):

1 Black Mage (1-130)

1 Black Mage (3-107)

3 Red Mage (1-121)

1 Duke Goltanna (1-134)

2 Gramis (2-106)

1 Seymour (1-137)

2 Jihl Nabaat (1-193)

2 Mog (XIII-2) (1-196)

3 Devout (1-048)

Swiss

Round 1 - Ice/Lightning. The player was fairly new, made a few lack of game knowledge mistakes (party attacking with forwards of different elements).

Round 2 - Mono water. My opening hand was very weird, but I talked myself into keeping the hand. The hand consisted of 3 lightning backups, an Edea and some other purple card. This gave the hand a very distinct gameplan, draw a Devout/Mog (XIII-2), hit 4 backups, play Edea. Edea lined up onto a Garnet/Ashe and I did manage to draw a Devout. However, every time a Devout was played, it was used on the following turn starving me of Ice CP throughout the course of the game. In addition, 2 Leviathans landing into my opponent’s damage zone left me REALLY stuck for Ice CP (as Vayne was returned once). This game ended up being the closest of the tournament for me, with Amon saving the day, as per usual.

Round 3 - Fire/Water. Another close game. Both players opened terribly, however, being the more proactive deck I was favoured in a low backup situation. Eventually, my opponent discarded his whole hand to cast Bahamut. Off the backend he top decked a Xande, however, due to Vayne being in my hand, the game was pretty simple from then on out.

Round 4 - Wind/Water. The opponent opened terribly, playing a Fusoya 2-146 turn 1. In a situation whereby one player plays a Fusoya and the other has a Red Mage, the Fusoya player is perpetually on the blackfoot due to how important a resource damage is for that card. This made the matchup simple, haste everything and force them to spend their turns clearing forwards until they have reached 6 damage.

Round 5 - Earth/Lightning. The player was very scared of Al-Cid the whole game and didn’t play forwards until they had to. This gave me ample time to setup and manage the board from then on out.

Round 6 - Ice/Wind. The deck was very aggressive, and my greed ended up leading to my defeat. There was a turn whereby 2 forwards were dull that could have died to a Zalera, the Dark Seraph. Instead, I held onto the cards telling myself, if I finish this turn with 3 in hand I can cast the card during their turn if lethal is found. Sadly, their turn started with an Argath reducing my hand size to 2 making the card uncastable. I died with a Zalera in hand AND 2 Devouts on the field. This is a rookie mistake vs aggressive decks, dying with board control tools available.

Top 8

Round 1 - Wind/Water. Both games were fast, play an Al-Cid, kill them games. Al-Cid with Genesis/Amon follow-up makes dealing 7 damage to a deck that lacks removal a pretty easy feat.

Round 2 - Mono Water. Game 1 I don’t remember much about, but it went pretty smoothly. I believe an Edea lined up onto a Garnet the moment she was played and the tempo loss guided me to victory. Game 2, I opened pretty poorly. Played 2 lightning backups, then played a Genesis. However, without a copy of Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud in hand, the Genesis was able to extract massive amount of value over the course of the game. It was a simple, clear the path for Genesis game. This was the one time Black Mage 3-107 was used the entire tournament.

Round 3 - Lightning/Earth. Game 1 a Fusoya damage checking a Raubahn killing off my Vayne let his Delita roam free. Quickly putting me to 7 points of damage. Game 2/3 went a lot smoother, with Vayne and Al-Cid making short work of his forwards.

The Deck

Forwards

The Lightning forwards exist to gain tempo, while the Ice forwards snowball that advantage. A Genesis off the backend of an Al-Cid combo deals 2 damage and leaves 3 forwards up for the following turn. This kind of pressure is what makes the deck strong.

The Goon Squad.

Al-Cid, Onion Knight, Rygdea, and Cid Raines. These are all cheap forwards that develop multiple forwards while killing the opposing forwards. Onion Knight synergises with all of his fellow goons, while Al-Cid and Rygdea don’t synergise with Cid Raines without assistance from Amon/Genesis/Kuja. The simple thing to do is to play Al-Cid followed up by Rygdea/Onion Knight, so why include Cid Raines as part of The Goons? He exists as a mediator between the forwards that dull enemy forwards and The Goons. The strength of the Squad is being able to develop multiple forwards in a turn, Cid Raines allowing for the development of a Gensis/Amon in addition to the other forwards provides an even bigger swing on board.

Kuja. This card goes first onto the board prompting a response. Due to the reactivate nature of the Lightning forwards, a cheap huge threat that demands a response is a great addition. If the response to a Kuja being played is simply more forwards and not the removal of the Kuja, suddenly an Al-Cid applies insurmountable pressure, killing one of the forwards and dull freezing the other. A board state like that is a nightmare to deal with and if left unchecked will deal 7 damage with ease.

Rinoa. Sets up Zalera, goes up to 8,000 power while Edea is on the board and sets up lethals with Odin. This card is meant to be played during the mid-game, however, don’t be afraid to play the card during the early phases. Much like Kuja in the early phases, Rinoa tends to prompt a response, once again setting up The Goons or Genesis to gain value. This card has immense synergy with Cid Raines and Jihl Nabaat. Forwards that on entry kill Rinoa are now susceptible to the wrath of Cid Raines (most notably Vivi 3-017) and almost any forward that blocks her attacks are equally as likely to face Cid’s wrath.

Genesis. Snowballs any board state that has multiple cheap forwards or a Kuja on. With Red Mage, this card is straight up unfair. At any point in the game Genesis is drawn, Red Mage converts the card into a dull frozen card, a point of damage and a card lost to the discard. Amon and him are best friends with Genesis going out first to clear the way for The Squad, then Amon covering the rear clearing the way for Gensis and The Squad to connect again.

Vayne stops the opponent playing 5 cost or higher forwards. Also it is searchable in this deck with Gramis.

Zidane goes really well with Kuja, costing only 2 while a fellow category IX forward is on the field. Zidane exists to attack and die to set up Goon Squad board swings while drawing a card.

Ramza is a new addition to the deck. Giving the player the edge vs other Al-Cid decks and other decks that have 6,000 power forwards. Most of the time Al-Cid is used on a forward of 6,000 power of less, the secondary effect to summon another forward is wasted. Ramza gives a way of getting the maximum out of Al-Cid on weaker forwards. In addition, any time Rygdea is summoned via Al-Cid the card is not being used to it’s maximum. Costing only 2 CP, it is easy to weave Rygdea into a turn whereby Al-Cid summons Ramza saving the player 1CP in the long run.

Amon. Is it the hat? Is the mask? Is it the simple to read lines of text? Who knows. This card is truly unfair with Red Mage, the Technologist (even his job is cool) provides the means for lethal damage in situations the player has no business winning. If left unchecked the hat provides a constant visual threat to the opponent, coupled with how unsettling the mask is, any player who leaves such a lord of class unchecked will lose the game.

Edea. Another new addition to the deck, due to how prevalent 3 drop forwards are, the card finds a place in this deck due to how lightning heavy the backup line-up is. Any game 4 lightning backups are reached, the player gains the power of a mono-lightning deck while still playing Ice cards.

Summons

Cyclops lets the small forwards in the deck trade up into bigger forwards. In addition, the power reduction sometimes allows for Goons to kill forwards without assistance from the rest of the Squad.

Odin. Kills forwards. I dislike it when forwards stop Genesis from connecting. I also dislike Warrior of Light 2-145. Odin solves all of these problems.

Zalera, the Dark Seraph. Despite having a decent water matchup, the card is still reasonable here. Proving a way of sweeping boards, but also making multiple attacks a turn a bad idea for the opponent. This is important as any extra turns gained, gives the player 2 more chances to draw the Hat Man (or any other card that swings the board back in their favour).

Backups

Normally I stick to 17, however, only when writing the decklist did I notice that only 16 were present. However, as it had been doing fine with 16 I’ve opted not to squeeze in a 17th backup.

Black Mage 3-107. Play this card on turn 1, let it rot until a 3 drop you have no means of bypassing turns up (Cagnazzo/Ashe) and kill the roadblock. In addition this card can kill the player’s Rinoa to set up lethal.

Black Mage 1-130. Similar to the other Black Mage, just play the card early and wait until it is good. This card excels with Rygdea, who is able to kill a forward and dull another using his effect in tandem with this Black Mage. Cid Raines is also a prime user of this Black Mage due to how strong his effect is.

Red Mage. This card is the main draw towards playing the Lightning element. Giving haste to any forward instantly puts the other player on the backfoot. Being on the backfoot means that more forwards will be unable to attack, meaning they’re active. Active forwards let Al-Cid and Genesis get huge value. In addition, the synergy the card has with Genesis and Amon, turning those cards from very good cards, to completely game changing cards. No amount of writing can do this card justice.

Duke Goltana. Adds Razma. Is Lightning for Edea. Sometimes Ramza is drawn before the Duke, those are sad times.

Gramis, adds Vayne and Al-Cid, overall solid.

Seymour. Snowballs a lead and stops early pressure. Any time this card is lining up onto Kuja, Ashe, Garnet, any 3 drop forward that does not have an on entry effect, it is a strong card.

Jihl Nabaat, freezes 2 forwards. Is really good at prolonging a game. Also, there just aren’t other Ice 2 drop backups of a similar power level.

Mog (XIII-2) gets Cid Raines and Rygdea. Gives you access to both elements early on, similar to Gramis the card is just good.

Devout. This card is exceptionally strong in this deck. The 4 drop cast is insane, allowing an Amon in the breakzone to act as a huge deterrent for attacks. In conjunction with Red Mage or a Ramza being in the breakzone, a lot of damage can be done from nowhere.

Final Thoughts

The event was a fantastic 2 day event, I would encourage anyone to attend. The deck surprised me with how quickly it was able to snowball any leeway I was given. Minwu I thought would be a big problem for the deck, however it proved to be just kind of annoying. Ramza and Edea both proved themselves as exceptional new additions to the deck.

Potential additions

Black Mage 2-108 has potential to take the 17th backup slot, as the card would help vs Minwu.

Lightning 1-141 was almost included. The main boon this card has is that it allows for Mog (XIII-2) to search for a proactive play instead of just reactive cards.

Zalbaag would help a lot vs Lenna decks and give Duke Goltana an additional target, making the card not be useless 50% of the time.

Zargabaath is a potential Gramis target that helps snowball a board.

Shiva 3-032 due to the aggressive nature of the deck, might help with closing out games. The card would also help bridge from Al-Cid - Cid Raines.

Angeal Penance has good synergies with Cid Raines and has Haste.

TL;DR Fear the Hat Man.

[autopotion]

I rolled my eyes at Zoe when she said this but I agree with this now. Goltanna is the Harrowmont of FFT. Popular with the entrenched, old money nobles, much more tenuous claim for the throne than his opponent ("yeah it's cool I'll just be this adult woman's regent forever, that's basically like being king" / "no guys King Endrin TOTALLY told me to be king instead of his fratricidal son, yeah it was on his deathbed so you didn't hear, source: dude trust me"), about as charismatic and engaging as wet paper

[autopotion]

Lmao I wonder if Folmarv himself had a hand in creating the Order of the Ebon Eye... he does love recruiting/tempting jaded revolutionaries (Wiegraf, Barich, arguably Delita was on that path). Could have easily been part of his plan to plant his spy into Goltanna's ranks. All of the rumors about this series of events are just so extremely suspicious

[autopotion]

FFT for the fandom meme.

ahhhh. yesssss.

the character i least understand: after dissecting this game from childhood, i think i have a very clear picture of the motivations, goals, and emotional profiles of most of the entire cast. there are some characters where their motivations are inherently funny to me, but there are none i feel like i don't understand. the closest might be loffrey, because he's not even a lucavi but he seeks to ascend among them anyway, but i think his fascination with it, while alien to me, is a very interesting character trait, and he sticks out to me for that

interactions i enjoyed the most: delita/ovelia is a gimme. hmmmm. i'll reference a tiny interaction i adore: the conversation rapha and ramza have in that dirty, secluded alleyway, where she finds him incredibly brave and heroic and he deflects. "you mistake me for a better man"

the character who scares me the most: folmarv has retroactively become quite frightening to me. when i first played through the game myself, i was much like zoe, where the sudden shift from political drama to hidden monster cult was stark and terrifying, and would've cited cuchulainn as the guy who changed the game. folmarv was kind of a weird non-entity to me. but after thinking about it, reviewing his enormous web of deceit and manipulation, and thinking about his attitude of humans--even, or especially, his children--as ants, i find him chilling. it's the war of the lions, but the lion we need concern ourselves with isn't larg or goltanna. it's folmarv.

the character who is mostly like me: ovelia.

i have never in my life felt so powerfully about a video game character as i do ovelia. i have found very few fan interpretations of ovelia that match what i think are her core concepts, and those concepts are namely:

that she is not revenge-focused, that she is, in her heart of hearts, a pacifist who chafes against the station forced upon her;

that when she stabs delita, it is not out of spite or vengeance, it is out of fear, and fear can be just as dangerous as fury;

that she is ruled principally by such powerful anxiety and misery that she is driven to labor in inaction;

that her principal sin is sloth, that she does not act until it is too late;

that she is not wholly a victim at delita's hands, that, despite the complications of being set upon the board as a pawn for other men to play, she actually has more structural power than delita does until he has risen to knight commander, and even, arguably, until he has risen, through her, to king;

that she knows this, and so does he, and they both pretend they do not.

i relate so much to ovelia's anxieties and fears, and also find deep meaning in how those anxieties and fears are not just points of sympathy, but also what finally make her dangerous--to delita ultimately, and to herself; i do not believe for a second she expected to survive her attempt on his life. she is a sheltered girl whose family, essentially, does not love her, and that's horrible, and it's terrible she's been used the way she has, AND ALSO she represents the contradictions of monarchy like no other character does, that the aristocracy will cannibalize itself to keep itself in power, that she is not just a waifish victim standing by as the system kills people in her name, but an inextricable part of it. and because ovelia cares about people, because she is conscientious and kind, she will never, ever, ever reconcile herself with this. she could never. it's why she's blatantly suicidal over the course of the game.

she is one of the few characters in media i have ever seen dissect the very concept of "princess," that "princess" doesn't just mean "any girl," but a particular and highly unethical social role.

anyway. my life is nowhere near as "important" as ovelia's, but her emotional profile, the doubts and fears she struggles with, are very, very poignant and relatable to me.

(in the meantime, i'm listening to baby birch by joanna newsom, and thinking about ovelia thinking about the real baby ovelia who might've lived and died a long time ago. this is the song for baby birch / though i will never know you / and at the back of what we've done / there is the knowledge of you)

hottest looks character: i'm a lesbian but i'm not going to say agrias actually. meliadoul. i lovvvve meliadoul

one thing i dislike about my fave character: ovelia stewing in doubts and worries is deeply relatable, but it can also be my biggest point of frustration with her. it's why she's a good character imo

one thing i like about my hated character: i think at this point i hate zalbaag GHSDNFHSG. he doesn't step far enough out of the "cool liberal brother" role for me, i wish we actually fought him legitimately like we do dycedarg, not just zomibified. anyway. i like the scene he has with the chemist boy at his father's grave a lot.

a quote or scene that haunts me: the whole game??? ah man how am i supposed to choose. i'll just use this as another excuse to bring up psx's ovelia little "ha, ha... amusing, isn't it?" i wish they'd kept her rueful laugh in for the wotl translation. also delita's line "you and i are the same, miserable people forced to live false lives" is a classic. and of course one of my favorite lines of the game: "tough. don't blame us. blame yourself, or god"

a death that left me indifferent: i honestly care a lot about most of the deaths in this game, even the characters that i'm usually kind of indifferent about (isilud comes to mind). even funebris's death is kind of sad, the knights templar just stab him and leave him there. like the fact that he's still alive when ramza enters the room and ramza doesn't immediately notice because he's weak from bleeding out gets to me, even though i don't give two shits about the actual guy. i realize i sort of answered the opposite of this question ghsdfnsg. how about confessor zalmour? least interesting character, like that delita is just instantly like "okay you saw me i'm gonna kill you," but the death itself doesn't matter to me

a character i wish died but didn't: lou mentioned this too but matsuno said in an interview that ovelia didn't die in that scene, but died later of unrelated complications?? way to undercut your own ending dude. i don't usually advocate for female characters dying, but this one was like... what the entire B plot of the game was building towards. it encompasses the themes of the game so completely. and it's like. a tragedy. it's not supposed to feel like a win, it's supposed to feel like a miserable, horrible loss.

zoe and i often say that we don't blame delita for stabbing ovelia there--she did stab him, he reacted in self-defense, we don't agree with people who think this was in any way premeditated, he loved her and wanted to live happily ever after with her, which was impossible given everything he'd done--but we do blame him for killing her, 'cause of everything he did (while profoundly sympathetic) to lead to this conclusion. (that being said, there's every chance ovelia would have died much earlier in the game had delita not involved himself... but anyway.)

my ship that never sailed: delita and ovelia don't get to live happily ever after, and were never going to, and they were doomed from the start, but i still fucking love those little guys and believe they were truly, deeply in love, and that's partially why things went as bad as they did--delita couldn't admit he was using her, ovelia couldn't admit she didn't trust him. in my heart i always privately hope the epilogue scene never plays; it's one of the few scenes from a video game that is 100% guaranteed to drive me to tears, and there's still a part of me that wishes they could run off and be happy somewhere.

[endeavorsreward]

From Twitter, tonight

I think a lot about the ways that FFT takes its story that is about a world of injustice and a meat grinder for human bodies and about 1/3rd of the way through introduces a grand conspiracy behind everything that swallows all of that earlier stuff into a more simplistic thing. pic.twitter.com/gw9KaJUiZg

— Rick Vance (@RvanceTal) June 27, 2018

Feel like I need to write an entire essay to outline the whole of it, but: Ramza journeys into the abstract, but the real battle goes on without him. Which can be read in two ways, both flattering to the text - that Ramza's battle ascends to a higher plane, or that he fails.

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

Ramza's battling literalizations of the seven deadly sins because on some level he's filling the Christ role which was incorrectly served by Ajora. He even "dies" and appears again, in the ending.

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

AT THE SAME TIME, Ramza's moral stance was that there would never be another Tietra, but there is: Ovelia, who dies on her own birthday and "ensures Ivalice's golden age"

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

He fulfills all of the charges that his father left at his feet, but the only one he determined for himself is the one he fails without knowing it.

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

I don't find this dichotomy to do anything but enrich the text, the same way that Delita is a manipulative, abusive, self-satisfied monster, AND they really loved each other and it was tragic because he was broken by Ziekden.

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

(I think people forget how often Ramza fails, honestly - his climactic moment is when he opens the sluice and stops the war - but people still die from the poison and Larg and Goltanna still get murdered, which he was trying to prevent.)

— Michael Peterson (@patchworkearth) June 28, 2018

[endeavorsreward]

Hmm.

Gerun: The Humes ever skew hist'ry's weave. With haste they move through too-short lives. Driven to err by base desires, t'ward waste and wasting on they run.

Delita: The Dukes Larg and Goltanna, your brothers, and all the rest... They are all of them swept up in a mighty current - a current they cannot see or feel. I simply swim against it. Nothing more.

[endeavorsreward]

Excerpts (Bk.II, Chapter Indeterminate)

The Zeirchele River was known for its raw power; fed by the snow and rain from the Algost mountains, the tallest and most weather-beaten peaks in Ivalice, the river was too wild for water transport. Almost its entire length was riddled with rapids, creating a near impossible border to cross; there were only a handful of passable fords.

The river was one of two that served as natural defenses for Fort Besselat. From Mount Germinas to the east came the Dorvauldar—though a calmer river, it made up its difference in size, a wide, deep river that had once fed Lake Poescas, but now traveled uninterrupted across Zeltennia and Limberry, dividing them in twain, before reaching the sluices at Besselat and draining into the Dorvauldar Marsh. To reach the isolated Besselat, you must cross the well-guarded dam to the east, or cross the Zeirchele to the west.

While most came to Besselat via the Bethla Causeway, which crossed the river directly at the fortress, the group had agreed that Delita could not dare show himself there with the princess. The causeway, a broad stone bridge that passed the fortress on its southern side, was a taxed crossing. While King Denamda IV had instituted the tax under the pretenses of keeping Besselat's upkeep, it was largely a defensive measure – inspections were commonplace. Even with the fortress likely being Delita's goal, Duke Goltanna could not accept the princess into Besselat publicly without announcing himself as party to the plot. More likely instead that he would travel north to the falls and Germonique's Crossing.

The Algost Mountains formed a shelf where the highlands ended. During the dry season, at the river's calmest, there was a fordable pass which some enterprising merchant or cutthroat had found in a century past and linked with a simple bridge of rope and wood. Lesalian nobility had men come and fix it annually and kept it tax free, not out of largesse but to provide a route for their own to ferry contraband. It was patrolled, but only lightly. At some point, its nature as a way around the official crossing had left it named for history's most reviled traitor, but its location was something of an open secret. He'd have to bring the princess there, but once across, he might well be into the arms of the Black Lion and lost to them.

Technically the foot of the mountain range, travel was slowed for the group as they trudged through wood and glen and riverbed north to the falls. Boco time and again would snort with impatience, led along by Alicia to stay with the group. Chichiri, for her part, was more content to follow Lavian, ferrying their packs and gear. Agrias was more in the male chocobo's camp, honestly. Every muscle in her arms tightened, and her hand kept finding the pommel of her sword and then releasing it. Days of travel, and now they were sprinters approaching the ribbon-line, and they may yet have lost the race.

The mercenaries, though, seem unconcerned. Since leaving Araguay Wood, Ladd's usefulness as a guide had begun to fall away, and he now hung back, walking in a loping, casual gait that suggested either surrender to the delays that had kept them from reaching the falls sooner, or perhaps merely apathy in the day's outcome. And Gaffgarion walked alongside her without giving her a moment's notice, eyes slightly narrowed, clearly thinking about something. She didn't like his expression.

And then there was the boy.

Ramza Lugria wore a pained expression every time she glanced over to where he walked alongside Alicia. He stumbled at least twice, even, because he often marched with his eyes pinched closed. Whoever this Delita truly was, clearly the boy dreaded the confrontation. It was a far cry from the young man who had demanded he be taken along on this quest against his master's objections. At one point during a minutes-long break to rest and recollect breath, he had pulled a blade of grass from the ground and had merely stared at it before flicking it into the river, where it had spun in circles before being swallowed.

The rise grew steeper; the falls were ahead. She let her hand stay this time at her sword's hilt and increased the pace of her march. Boco ruffled his feathers. Lavian spit out the jerky that she had been chewing.

A hawk somewhere in the sky cried out, and Ramza's eyes opened and he began to jog.

The sudden movement caused Agrias to turn and find that at some point Gaffgarion had gotten ahead of her—ahead of all of them—and was taking point, vanishing into the trees. She nodded Alicia ahead to follow him, and she handed her reins to Lavian before sprinting to catch up with the older man. Boco was loosed, and he flapped twice and then started following as well. Wild chocobo or not, his previous master had trained him well.

The woods enveloped them into the dark, and then broke away of a sudden, and they were at the falls. The roar of the falling water seemed to erupt from nowhere. She couldn't see anything around the bend of the path and the cliffside. But she heard shouting. Ramza rushed ahead of her. She drew her sword.

***

Ramza vaulted over a boulder and turned to scale the last of the climb. Something had plagued his thoughts the last half-day that he could not name—in addition to all that he could—and when Gaffgarion had decided to lead of his own accord, he had understood at least as far as something was terribly, terribly wrong with this situation. When he reached Germonique's Crossing at last, he yet still was unprepared for what he saw.

The crossing amounted to two cliffs at about the height of a village church bell above the water, with a single-file rope bridge spanning the width of the falling water. The water fell unevenly—there were many crags and jutting rocks splitting the stream that dry seasons had saved from being worn away. On their side of the crossing, Gaffgarion and Alicia were two-thirds of the way up the hill to the crossing, their swords drawn. On the other...

“Princess!” Agrias was at his side, Lavian and Ladd both catching up from where they'd tied Chichiri to a tree at the bottom of the cliff. And there Ovelia indeed was, on the rope bridge, with Delita.

His old friend was dressed in a red tunic and golden armor, and the sun glared off his shoulders so brightly that Ramza could not see his face. He had his sword drawn as well, but not at the princess or even Gaffgarion, but instead at the five knights who faced against him on the crossing's opposite side, bearing weapons of their own. They stood astride corpses of their own, and Delita's sword was already red. They were hungry-looking knights who, despite standing on the Limberry side of the crossing, wore the standard of the Order of the Northern Sky.

“Stand aside, ser!” The knight's leader pointed at Delita with his blade. “You are defeated! Surrender the princess, and no more blood must needs be spilt!”

Ramza's friend, his brother, the man he'd betrayed, began to laugh. It was an ugly laugh, high and mad, that reminded him of Ziekden. “Do you so enjoy the taste of lies? Your orders are to see the princess dead! And once I've watched you feed the falls her blood, I'm to believe you'd let me live, a witness to your crime?”

“What foolishness is this? We came to save the princess, not to kill her! What could we possibly gain by Lady Ovelia's death? We wish only to see her freed from the Black Lion's claws!” Contrary to his words, he took a step forward, towards the bridge. Delita's sword lanced forward, and something exploded beside the knight, sending him falling back to his own troops. The bridge rocked back and forth dangerously, and Ovelia clung to Delita to halt herself from falling into the rapids.

“Your highness!” Agrias roared, and this time she was heard. Ovelia did not release Delita as she turned, and her eyes widened to see her knight had arrived.

“Agrias!” She reached out with one arm, as though she could pull the Lionsguard up with the strength of her heart. The leader of the knights, however, saw their arrival and spit.

“Hmm. It seems we are no longer alone. Gaffgarion! Kill them all!”

Ramza's eyes widened, and he turned, but it was too late, as he watched Gaffgarion kick Alicia in the small of her back, sending her tumbling off the cliff into the water below.

***

Agrias moved to scale the cliff, but Gaffgarion's sword began to glow with the powers of his sword arts. Despite everything, they were at temporary stalemate. She raised her sword. “You would now betray us!?” Less from surprise than a hope to buy time. Lavian was somewhere behind her, but Gaffgarion's man was at her side, and they were outnumbered three, maybe four to one.

Despite accusing the older man, her eyes were on Ramza.

“Betray you? You have a viper's tongue, milady.” He was laughing, that disgustingly damp moustache of his trembling as his helmet shaded his eyes from view. “I betray no one. I am in the Order's employ, and they are of it. My task was to see the princess safely abducted. And theirs, to see the one responsible silenced.”

She took a step forward slowly, her blade off to one side, praying he saw it as emotion rather than tactics. “You mean to say the kidnapping was a ruse?” One of her eyes kept flitting to the cliffside, in hopes of spying Alicia. The fall might not have been fatal.

“The princess is an obstacle to the throne. So long as she lives, the threat remains that someone could assert her claim above Prince Orinus's. Two heirs are one too many!” There was a whimpering sound from the bridge. It was then that Agrias resolved: there would be no justice here—she would murder him.

The man in gold, the kidnapper, called back to them from the bridge without even turning. “If her death is certain, then let it least not be in vain. Kill her if you must, but let it be held she was taken by  Goltanna's men. Do that, and the stroke that fells a problem princess at once brings down a rival Lion. That was no doubt Larg's plan all along... Or was it his? Such a plot has more the feel of Dycedarg's thinking. Would you not agree, Ramza?”

Ramza stood halfway up the rise, between Agrias and Gaffgarion. She could not see his face.

“That one has the right of it, Ramza. Come, let us earn our pay!”