... I mean, you can, but while the fine details as to What The Fuck happened in the other stories generally are glossed over, the games were released in in-universe chronological order, so you might get plot points spoiled by proxy. The endgame of a Trails story tends to have massive geopolitical implications that inform everything that happens afterwards. (Cold Steel could be argued to be two separate stories each divided into two games, with a shared core cast, so CS 1-2 are Part One, and CS 3-4 are Part Two)
So Sky 1-2-3/Zero/Azure/Cold Steel 1-2-3-4/Reverie/Daybreak 1-2/Kai/Apparently the Plot is anywhere from 80-90% done from here, so maybe one or two more games after Kai?
And there's a sort of understanding that they don't need to go into huge detail about concepts introduced earlier in the series. You Can technically skip Sky 3, but it gives you a lot of background lore and understanding as to the Players of the game that's going on underlying every story in the setting.
That being said, Sky is fine to start with? It's certainly not as jank as Wild Arms was, and you got through that okay.
Yeah, release order makes sense, though I was told that the first two cold steel games are more or less on their own, and it's not until 3 and onwards that the rest of the series gets brought in to make the sky/zero/azure games more plot-relevant... I guess that's what you're referring to with part 1 & part 2. I suppose the idea is to have a taste of the modern games, then go back to the relatively more primitive games to fill in the blanks?
The benefit of starting with the Sky Duology plus 3 is that Sky 1 & Sky 2 are pretty much a complete story in themselves: Sky 1 introduces the setting, Sky 2 plays with it, and if you want to fill in the gaps then the Third has you covered.
I feel like the Sky games are very different beasts then the franchise they spawned. Yes the focus on global politics is there, but the first games are more self contained then anything post 3.
Massive geopolitical ramifications, global politics - I guess it makes sense it'd be on that sort of scale if the story can persist through a dozen games! I just read a vague premise of a couple of the games, and apparently one is about traditional adventurers, and one's about the police? That's about the extent of the specifics I know for some of them, beyond the recommended play order.
Yeah, Sky kind of takes place in the Switzerland equiviliant of being a small power sandwiched in by juggernauts that's nonetheless too tough a nut to crack casually by either of the superpowers, so the global politics are kind of in the backseat and the plot's about a Rookie Adventurer going on a road trip and how that escalates into become a globally recognized heroine over time. Zero/Azure is the story about a special investigation unit in a contested city-state and the shitshow that unfolds there due to the intersection of political bullshit. Cold Steel is the story about a class dedicated to Special Operations in a military academy and how they end up having significant influence over the course of history as their careers unfold, and Daybreak is the story of a private investigator/operator and the Weird Eldritch Nonsense that he gets stuck in around. I think? Daybreak's not been translated yet, though part one is out in a few months I think. The only thing I know is that the protag is basically a Kamen Rider.
Kai is apparently the start of the Endgame that the entire Zemuria storyline's been building up to, and gets released I think in a month or two in JP. Same protagonist as Kai, but presumably stepping to the Grand Stage.
Swapping back to Live-A-Live, it's benefit as a Let's Play is that it's pretty much just a series of short vignettes each following a different group of characters that are suitable for 1-3 posts. As I said, it's very much Chrono Trigger's spiritual predecessor, although instead of using literal time travel to connect the groups it's more acting as an anthology of ideas linked by a shared set of mechanics and era appropriate running gags. It reminds me a lot of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix in that way.
Trails in the Sky (Part 1) - Introduction (Prologue: Start)New
Well, I just got back from having a nice Easter meal with the family, so what better way to spend me evening than... <checks notes> watch bad movies and post about playing videogames? Checks out.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a 2004 RPG developed by Nihon Falcom, also responsible for the Ys series, another venerable and long-running RPG series I'd like to tackle at some point (though I've actually played some recent entries.) To start with, I should clarify that this is the sixth game in the Legend of Heroes series, so it's got some pedigree to it. Why did I choose this particular game, and not start with the very first? Well, I'd intended to try something from the Legend of Heroes series at some point, so I asked for some feedback regarding a good place to start… and this behemoth is more complicated than it sounds. I'll summarize the general outline of this series first, so you know approximately where we stand, here...
The genesis of Legend of Heroes lies way back in the late eighties and early nineties with a couple of Dragon Slayer games on the NEC PC-8801, later ported to the Sega Mega Drive and Super Famicom. The only English language release of the first game was for the TurboGrafx-CD, while the sequel never made it out of Japan at all. These two games stand on their own, and have no real connection to anything else… Between the difficulty of actually getting your hand on this one and the language barrier involved, I'll skip these.
Next came the Gagharv trilogy, three games released in the mid-nineties. They didn't make it out of Japan either at that time, but they were eventually localized and released, out of order, as the PSP games Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, Legend of Heroes (known as A Tear of Vermillion originally) and Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean. These games collectively form their own sub-series with a continuity separate from the rest. I'm told their translation is lackluster, but a new version might be on its way, so I'll leave this series alone until that materializes.
This finally gets us to the main attraction. The Trails sub-series is by far the most enduring and most popular of the Legend of Heroes continuities, and this one spans - to date - across twelve main game titles, as well as several spinoffs like as a fighting game crossover with Ys. While the grander narrative of the Trails series spans across all of these games, there are multi-game arcs which are separated by both distance and time, each telling their own internal stories while allowing cameos and cross-arc references or consequences. It's sort of an MCU approach, I guess? I'm sure it won't come up much for the moment, given that I'm starting with the one that was released first, but it's neat.
The Trails in the Sky trilogy was released in Japan between 2004 and 2007, before being localized about half a decade later for the PC. The first two games of this trilogy concern Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua as they journey through the nation of Liberl to become bracers, non-governmental peacekeepers - that's the high-level back-of-the-box summary. The third game features different protagonists and a new setting, too - it is supposed to foreshadow various events from later arcs, but I don't know how exactly that manifests. This isn't really a trilogy, so much as a duology and a bonus tacked on.
Following those three games, the Crossbell duology came next, consisting of the games Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure. These follow Lloyd Bannings and other members of the Special Support Section, a newly formed department of the Crossbell city-state's police. This city-state is situated uneasily between two great powers, the Erebonian Empire and the Republic of Calvard, who both claim sovereignty over it, so political tensions are rife. These two games were left untranslated for the longest time, but both have finally seen English PC releases in the recent past, mostly because some dedicated fan-translators did much of the heavy lifting. I think they also updated the graphics at some point? I'm not sure. I understand they're fan-favorites.
The Cold Steel series followed from there, and these games were released between 2013 and 2020. It's the longest arc yet, and mostly takes place within the relatively huge Erebonian Empire. This series consists of Trails of Cold Steel 1 through 4, as well as the 'finale' Trails into Reverie, which forms some sort of conclusion to both the Cold Steel arc and the Crossbell arc, featuring both of the protagonists of those arcs (as well as a mysterious masked third one.) I'm told even the Trails in the Sky trilogy is relevant there. There's trains involved in the Cold Steel games, and a military school for special anime kids of destiny, I'm sure.
After Trails into Reverie a further two games (and counting) have been released - they form part of a new sequel arc, Trails Through Daybreak, and the first of these is due to be released in the West this summer. These games take place in the Republic of Calvard, another major power in the setting bordering both Erebonia and Crossbell. Yet another game known as 'Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria-' for the moment is coming down the pipeline in Japan, though no details are really known yet beyond that it concerns the same continent as the rest of these games.
While there are probably several possible starting points in this humongous mammoth of a series, because these games all sort of happen around the same rough time period, they may occasionally spoil each other a little depending on where you start. Release order is probably the safest order to play, but I've been told that Trails in the Sky is the slowest game in the series, and that it takes a long time to really kick the plot into gear. We'll see, I guess? There's supposed to be an enormous amount of lore and background material, and a lot of worldbuilding that sets up a solid dozen games and counting, and that sounds rather fantastic. I did enjoy that magical library of loredumps in Wild Arms, after all…
As an alternative to going in release order, people also commonly suggest playing the first two Cold Steel games before tackling the Sky and Crossbell Arc - there's supposed to be relatively few spoilers that way, and it starts you with a more modern game with some quality of life improvements. There's some kind of time-skip between the first two Cold Steel games and the rest, apparently, and after that there's apparently more emphasis on crossovers with the other arcs, so it makes sense to play the previous arcs around that point for the relevant context.
You know, I'm kind of getting scared of this juggernaut now? This feels like it'd take a decade! Should've played them at release, I guess, instead of coming into this like twenty years late! For now, I'm just going for the first game only…
Prologue - Bright House
We open our game with a young girl, Estelle, sitting at the dinner table looking rather worried. She says Daddy is really late - even though she got a message from the guild saying that he'd be home today! I'm guessing this is going to be our main character, given the fact that she's on the cover.
She walks over to a window and stares outside, musing that Schera's gone traveling around the kingdom on some kind of training too… She's so bored! Maybe she'll just practice with her staff a bit before dinner… Before she can do so, though, she's interrupted by a man's voice yelling 'I'm home!' It's Daddy!
Estelle's father, Cassius, is a dapper-looking brown-haired man with a thin mustache who quickly apologizes for keeping Estelle waiting. He asks if she took good care of the house while he was away? Estelle giggles and promises that of course she did! She asks if her dad ran into any trouble? He didn't get hurt fighting the bad monsters, did he? Cassius promises her that he's fit as a fiddle - but that reminds him, he's brought along a present! Estelle questions what kind of present that might be - a new fishing pole? Sneakers? Something for her training?! Cassius just stares at her blankly, then sighs, wondering if maybe he raised her wrong… Aren't girls supposed to like clothes and jewelry? Estelle offhandedly says jewelry breaks when you go play outside with it on. (Okay, so she's a tomboy, gotcha.)
Estelle is really curious about that thing her daddy's carrying - some big blanket? Is that her present? Cassius says she's a sharp one, and asks her to take a look... He then pushes the cloth back to reveal… a boy. A black-haired kid with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek and a bandage around his forehead. Estelle is dumbstruck at the sight, and Cassius smiles - there she goes! Quite a handsome boy, right? Estelle stutters, then demands to know why her present is a BOY?!
Cassius cautions Estelle to quiet down or she might wake him up. She is surprised he's even still alive - he looks kind of dead if you ask her! Cassius states he's fine, since he already treated the kid's wounds. He should be in a stable condition. In the meantime, he should rest. He'll put the boy to bed, so if Estelle wouldn't mind heating a kettle of water on the stove, he'd appreciate it…
We skip forward in time, and the boy has already been tucked into bed. Estelle thinks he sure sleeps soundly! He also looks almost the same age as her... It's the first time she's ever seen black hair like that, too… Cassius agrees that he has a nice head of dark hair, and a pair of amber eyes to go with it! Estelle thinks that's nice and all… but how about he comes clean already and fess up!? Who is this kid, anyway? Why is he hurt? Why did he bring him here to their house? Is he an illi-jit-mate child or something? Did her dad betray Mommy? Cassius sighs and wonders where she's been picking up these kinds of words? No doubt from Scherazard! (No relation to the Pokémon, I'm sure.) Estelle cheerfully agrees, and Cassius mutters the girl is going to get him into trouble one of these days with all her nonsense…
Cassius explains to Estelle that he met the boy while he was out on business, and he doesn't even know his name. Estelle asks if he means bracer business, and her dad confirms it was something like that. Oh, look, he's waking up!
As the kid blinks awake, Estelle is amazed that his eyes really are the color of amber… The boy wonders where he is, and Cassius quickly welcomes him to his humble home - he'll be safe here, so he should just rest. The boy stares at him, and asks what Cassius is trying to pull? He must be out of his mind! Why didn't he just leave him there to die? Cassius responds that that's a question he doesn't know how to answer. Does 'things just worked out that way,' work for him? The boy yells that Cassius Bright shouldn't toy with him - does he have any idea what he's getting himself involved in…?
Estelle pipes up at this point and yells that the boy is sure shouting a lot for someone who's supposed to be hurt! Running his mouth like that is just gonna make it take longer for his body to heal! The kid wonders who she's supposed to be, and she introduces herself as Estelle Bright! Cassius reminds him that he did mention having a daughter his age… The boy admits he does remember, then gets upset at him for trying to change the subject. Estelle immediately body-slams the bed, much to the boy's consternation, and she tells him to quit yelling already! The boy quickly agrees, but mutters that jumping on him like that isn't going to make him heal any faster, either. Estelle points out she's not hearing him yelling anymore, now is she? When the boy tries to point out that jumping only makes things worse, she yells: 'Do I hear Y-E-L-L-I-N-G?' The boy just gives up at that point - never mind, just forget it…
Cassius gives a word of advice: it would be wise not to argue with Estelle while he's in this house. Even he wouldn't stand a chance if he made her mad enough! When the boy voices his wary agreement, Estelle asks if he's maybe not forgetting something? His name, silly! You know, the thing people call him? She told him her own already, so doesn't he think it would be unfair and impolite not to tell her his? The boy hesitates, but Cassius agrees that it seems like the logical thing to do. Trying to hide it now would only serve to his detriment. The boy sighs, and agrees. His name is…
Before we hear his answer we fade… into the intro, and the title drop!
The Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky
After a rousing introduction full of cool music and a whole bunch of people and places I don't know, interspersed with images of clockwork gizmos and giant airships, we finally return to a dirt path leading up to an out of the way house of brick and wood, decorated with a variety of glasswork, pots, and flowers. We move inside, and it's confirmed to be the same house from the intro. Cassius is cooking an egg on the stove, but the camera shifts away from him towards Estelle sleeping in her room. She wakes up and complains about how bright it is, before stretching and yawning - she slept like a rock! That must mean it's Dad's turn to cook this morning! She wonders if that means Joshua is still in bed? As the sound of someone playing the harmonica begins, Estelle concludes that's a no, then. She guesses she'd better get herself ready, then.
The camera makes a full 360 degree turn around the house, revealing the very much still 2D sprite of Joshua with his harmonica, playing a rather cheerful ditty on a second floor balcony. Joshua Bright is indeed the boy from the introduction, and it seems we've skipped several years into the future. Estelle exits the house from the nearby door and claps as her brother's performance draws to a close, complimenting his playing. Bravo! Joshua wishes her good morning and says he hopes he didn't wake her up, but Estelle assures she was already awake when he started. She can't believe how awake he is, though! Even the roosters still have bags under their eyes! Not that she minds, what with that siren song of his gently lulling this beautiful woman from her slumber! Joshua wonders what she means by 'woman?' They're the same age, and he's hardly a man!
Estelle primly tells him he's very wrong - they may be the same age, but she is clearly the woman of the house! That makes him something like her loyal follower, wouldn't he agree? Joshua sarcastically remarks that this is very fortunate for her, and she irritably replies that he could at least try to sound a tiny bit sincere. The tune he played was nice, though - cheerful, yet somehow wistful. She likes his other songs too, of course, but this one's her favorite. What's it called again? Joshua says it's named 'The Whereabouts of Light.' Estelle admits she wishes she could play the harmonica like him, but it's a lot harder than it looks. Joshua remarks that compared to what it takes to use a staff, he thinks the harmonica is much easier. It's really just a matter of concentration.
Estelle admits he's probably right, and guesses her problem is just that if she doesn't do something that uses her whole body, she starts to feel drowsy. Playing the harmonica is fine and all, but how about getting some exercise too? All of Joshua's hobbies are sitting-around kind of stuff like reading and music! No girl is gonna be impressed with just that! Joshua just says to excuse him for being so unpopular with the ladies. Although he feels he should be the one lecturing her about her hobbies... What kind of boy wants a girl who loves fishing, collecting bugs, and has a fetish for sports shoes? Estelle doesn't quite know what to say to that, and quickly says that's enough talk about hobbies for now. Also, for his information, she graduated from bug collecting a long time ago! Joshua says he'll believe that when he stops finding beetles in the hallway…
Cassius yells up from the ground floor and tells the two that breakfast is ready - why don't we hurry on down before it gets cold? Soon enough the family is gathered around the dinner table, just finished with their meal, and Estelle thanks Dad for the grub. She's stuffed! Joshua wonders if she was eating or inhaling? Estelle replies that it's like people say: 'Kids who eat and sleep a lot, grow a lot.' Cassius says that she should make sure she gets enough to eat, but she shouldn't forget to pour that energy into her work, too. Which reminds him… the two of us are finishing up our training at the guild today, aren't we?
Joshua confirms that we are - it'll be a review of everything we've learned up to this point. Estelle adds that once we're finished, we'll be bracers just like Dad! That means she's not going to let him treat her like a kid anymore, either! Cassius warns that she still lacks understanding. She can only become a junior bracer in the beginning - or in other words, a trainee. If she wants to be treated like an adult, then she should work extra hard in her training to become a full-fledged bracer. Estelle is not afraid of a little hard work. He should just watch and see what she's capable of! She'll be so successful that it won't be long before she passes him, too! Cassius smiles and says that's the spirit! Let's see what she's made of then, shall we?
Joshua hopes this won't start some kind of rivalry, and tells Estelle to keep her focus on the task at hand. There's a test later today, remember? Estelle pauses with her mouth open, then wonders what test? Joshua begs her to tell him she didn't forget about the test. You know, the one that checks whether or not we've mastered the skills we've been learning in training? Doesn't she remember Schera saying that if we failed, we'd be stuck with a ton of extra homework? Estelle curses - crap, she totally forgot! Now that he mentions it, she guesses she kind of remembered her saying something like that. She then smiles and says not to sweat it - she's sure we'll manage somehow or other! Joshua honestly doesn't know how she's survived this long… her brain is like a sieve!
Cassius says he's sad - how could any child of his end up with such a careless, overoptimistic personality? Estelle reminds him he's the one that raised her, so she definitely got it from him! Joshua muses that the two of them act so much alike… but whatever. We should probably head over to the guild soon, since Schera's going to be waiting there for us! Estelle agrees that sounds like a plan. You know how crazy scary she gets when someone keeps her waiting! As Estelle heads for the door, she pauses and mentions that it's her turn to cook dinner tonight. Is there anything in particular Dad would like to eat? Any requests?
Cassius thinks about it for a moment, then asks for Ruan-style scalloped fish in a balsamic vinegar sauce, the sort of thing you'd get at a fancy restaurant. Estelle has no idea what that even is, and an amused Joshua comments that he thinks that's a little more than her cooking skills can handle… or our stomachs. Cassius laughs and says he's right - he just wanted to see what kind of reaction he could get. He'll just have the usual fried fish and omelet. No need for anything fancy - but she should try to make something edible, at least. Estelle mutters that he's being rude - but she can't actually say he's wrong. Cassius does have one favor to ask before we head out: he'd like us to pick up a copy of the Liberl News from the general goods store. We get 500 mira - the local currency - and are told that if there's any money left over it should be treated as an allowance. However, that means no wasteful spending!
As Estelle and Joshua say goodbye to their dad, actual control is finally handed over to us as players. Checking our main menu, we can see that Estelle Bright is a staff-wielding tomboy, who apparently knows how to up morale and pummel people, while her brother Joshua fights with twin daggers (which are rather massive) and specializes in dual strikes and severing things. Ouch. We also get some pretty spiffy artwork for them:
Beyond seeing our status and equipment there's also tabs in our menu for 'orbment', items, tactics (which involves positioning, suggesting a more tactics-style combat system), options, and files. That last one is where you save and load, obviously. Under another button is the world map… or at least a regional map. All the Trails games seem to share a world, but they don't necessarily share the same part of that world…
The regional map reveals that we're located near the city of Rolent, which seems to be in a region named after that city - there's also Bose, Ruan, Zeiss, and Grancel which all share the same pattern. The nation we're in isn't named here, but it's not hard to guess that it's Liberl. We can see that it borders the Erebonian Empire to the north, the Republic of Calvard to the east, and the sea to the south and west. There's also the central Valleria Lake, and there's several notable internal borders visible - the Grancel legion seems entirely surrounded by a blocky border of some sort, and there's another structure between Ruan and Zeiss as well. I'm told these games get into politics, so I imagine the map is actually pretty important here…
Now that we have some degree of freedom to do as we want - we immediately speak to Dad again. Estelle wonders if it's going to be alright if he stays at home like this instead of going to the guild today? He hasn't been there for a couple of days now. Cassius admits he's unfortunately got a lot of paperwork to sort out, but we shouldn't worry - he's carrying a big enough workload that the guild's not like to fire him any time soon! Estelle muses that's not exactly the most convincing thing she's heard come out of his mouth… Cassius turns that question around - how about us? Shouldn't we be getting over to the guild? Scherazard is waiting, right?
After playing Wild Arms and another older RPG recently, you almost get used to the terse, to-the-point dialogue, where getting actual information out of people is a bit of a chore. So running into a game which just goes on and on and stuffs every spare moment with characterization and personality is pretty refreshing! The volume of dialogue is noticeable from the start - we haven't even left our house yet, and I have already formed a pretty decent picture of our main characters: exercise nut space-cadet Estelle, a tomboy who's forgetful and kind of careless, and well as her brother Joshua, an attentive but long-suffering introvert loner with a dark past who prefers to read and play music. Even Cassius gets more characterization in this scene alone than half the NPCs in some other games. Granted, this entire sequence is a very low-key and homely introduction to the game, but it's cosy and charming - and given the circumstances of Joshua's arrival, we'll probably get some dramatic revelations down the line...
The actual plot, at least for now, is for us to become bracers - and while the game hasn't explicitly mentioned this yet, from what I've read in passing it seems to be a sort of in-universe term for JRPG adventurers - you know, the people you send out to kill monsters for you, or do fetch quests, or protect NPCs, take down the Dark Lord... that sort of thing. It seems the profession is formalized here, like in many anime settings (especially the Isekai genre) and we'll have to finish a test to actually join up. I'm going to take a wild guess that this test... will be our tutorial. Another wild guess: it'll involve us killing goblins, possibly in a mine, or killing rats in the basement. You know, just gonna see how many early RPG clichés this will check off, heh...
Well, it's time to head out! Before we leave we can find Estelle's training logs for staff practice behind the house - looking closer, the third one has a little something written on it: 'Stupid Joshua!' Heh. Leaving southwards leads us to Elize Highway, the name of which helpfully pops up before you move to the new area, so you know where you're going. It's also displayed on the local map. A little southwards we come across a junction, and there's a few signs which indicate that Rolent is north, 49 selge away, while Gurune Gate lies southwards, 259 selge away. 'Selge' is a fantasy unit equivalent to a hundred meters, so it's maybe five miles to town. Not that bad… Trying to head south just has Joshua question if Estelle is sleepwalking again, but she angrily tells him to be quiet and keep his comments to himself! It's time to go north, to Rolent, and get this journey started!
Next time: Let's tackle the Bracer Exam and explore the city of Rolent for the first - but by no means the last - time.
I absolutely adore the coziness of Trails in the Sky. The harmonica tune tells you this is going to be a slow, nostalgic childhood's end tale, and I really think something was lost as the series moved from 2D sprites to 3D
I absolutely adore the coziness of Trails in the Sky. The harmonica tune tells you this is going to be a slow, nostalgic childhood's end tale, and I really think something was lost as the series moved from 2D sprites to 3D
I'm a few hours in at this point and going back to clean up and edit stuff to post, and it's definitely been a sedate journey so far - and I'm still deciding how to handle all the ambient dialogue and worldbuilding. It'd get a bit tiresome if I actually went over all the random stuff people talk about, but I feel that skipping all that and just hitting the main story beats misses some of the point. Maybe I'll just put it in a spoiler box so it's optional if you care for that sort of thing? 🤔
I can't comment on how cozy (or not) the sequels are for pretty obvious reasons!
I'm a few hours in at this point and going back to clean up and edit stuff to post, and it's definitely been a sedate journey so far - and I'm still deciding how to handle all the ambient dialogue and worldbuilding. It'd get a bit tiresome if I actually went over all the random stuff people talk about, but I feel that skipping all that and just hitting the main story beats misses some of the point. Maybe I'll just put it in a spoiler box so it's optional if you care for that sort of thing? 🤔
I can't comment on how cozy (or not) the sequels are for pretty obvious reasons!
Heading north, we skip the trek over and get a sweeping overview of the city of Rolent - it's got plenty of green, but there's many grey-on-grey buildings too, with a pretty obvious guild building visible alongside other shops and children playing in the streets.
The camera zooms back in on our two heroes, and Joshua comments that we made good time. Not too early or too late! Estelle sighs and muses that we just barely graduated from Sunday School - she never dreamed we'd have to study so hard to become bracers! Joshua says she's in luck - today is our last day of training. Truth be told, though, Estelle was the one who signed up to be a bracer in the first place, so he doesn't know why she'd expected to get away with any less effort… Estelle guesses she did do that, and decides we should just get to it and make it through this last hazing from Schera!
Because I got a (spoiler-free) checklist from a friend to make sure I don't completely bypass a bunch of content (which I was warned is a possibility) I know that this game has... a lot of stuff which magically goes away if you breathe at a main quest funny. I also know that aimlessly wandering around town and seeing what everyone is up to can be entertaining to do, but might be... tedious... to read. As such, I'm going to drop my initial exploration of town, and future forays into wandering around scrouging for lore, into these handy spoiler tabs. If you're into the environmental storytelling and foreshadowing like me, there you go - but if you're not, you can just skip these boxes and all the relevant stuff will come up in the actual plot, I'm sure.
Let's get this show on the road. Rolent is relatively compact, but it does have a bunch of locations to explore. The map is pretty useful for this:
Directly eastwards from where we walk in, from Elize Highway, is Elger Arms & Guards, an equipment shop. Elger himself merrily greets us, and says we're up rather early, aren't we? We should correct him if he's wrong, but today is our last day of training, right? He seems to remember us saying something about that the last time he had us run the store. Joshua confirms that, and Elger says he's sure he'll do fine. Now Estelle on the other hand… he's got good reason to worry! She's always been a bit scatterbrained ever since she was a child. Probably all the knocks she took to the head playing with the boys! Joshua observes that the scatterbrained trait isn't something new, huh? Estelle angrily snarls that she'll give him a head injury if he doesn't shut up! And he shouldn't call her scatterbrained! The store owner tells both of us not to fight now - shouldn't we be getting to the guild, anyway? He nostalgically reflects that it seems like just yesterday that Estelle was clinging all over Cassius, and now she's a bracer. It looks like he's getting old!
Upstairs we can meet Stella, who asks if we're heading for bracer training? Estelle declares that she should just watch and see - she's going to pass this exam and be as good a bracer as Schera, too! Stella says she's damn right, and she has faith in her! Also, by the way… Estelle nervously asks why Stella's looking at her like that? Stella wonders if she washed her face? Her teeth? Did she brush them, too? Joshua's so fastidious, but she always forgets to take care of herself… Estelle protests that it was a long time ago, and she doesn't do that anymore - right, Joshua?
Joshua drily points out she did take off from home the other day with her hair all in a mess, right? Estelle blushes and mutters that, ugh, that was only because it was an emergency. Mr. Rinon got the newest Strega-brand sneakers in on that day! 'ESTELLE!' Stella yells, declaring that she should listen carefully! For a girl her age, she needs to take care of these things! If her appearance is messy, she won't look like someone that people can trust, even if she is a bracer. Your appearance is a reflection of what is on the inside. Estelle promises to be more careful from now on. Stella nods and says that's that, then - we should get over towards the guild now, shouldn't we? Estelle muses you just can't argue with that woman…
Across the street is the general goods store, where Mr. Rinon works. Estelle greets him, and he's surprised we're here so early today - did we come to buy a new pair of shoes? Estelle muses that now that he mentions it, does he have any new ones in stock? You know, like the newest Stregas?! Joshua stares at her and says this is unbelievable. She's actually already forgotten why we came in here to begin with! He explains we're not here to shop, but to buy a copy of the Liberl News for Dad. Estelle acknowledges that, and Rinon laughs and observes she's always been a big collector of those shoes, hasn't she? He's afraid the new Stregas aren't out yet, and if we're after the latest issue of the Liberl News, he should have them in around noon. Estelle muses that's right in the middle of our training, so we'll stop by again after that's over.
Rinon says he'll be waiting, and then recalls the two of us are going to be bracers, aren't we? He's jealous, since he wanted to be a bracer when he was a kid, too. Joshua says you could probably say that every boy in Liberl wants to be a bracer at least once in their lives. Except this one is a girl! Estelle asks why he has to make such a big deal out of things? There are other female bracers like Schera, too! Joshua argues he didn't mean it in a bad way… Rinon just tells us to hang in there and study hard. When he gets his copies of the Liberl News in, he'll set one aside for us. We can also find Rinon's mother Bloom upstairs, enjoying the crisp and fresh morning air - it's about time for her to water her lovely flowers!
In the street we meet Ellie, who comments that the weather is so wonderful and revitalizing today - she's got the strange feeling something good is going to happen. Up on a nearby bridge a boy named Armand is watching her, and comments that she's so cute! He's got to be courageous and try to talk to her! Ah, young love…
In a free-standing house in the southwest we meet a guy named Fate, who asks after our father, Cassius. Is he doing well? Estelle says he's doing so well it might even surprise him - she doesn't think there's anyone else his age who's in such good shape! Fate chuckles at that, and says that his daughter really wanted to see Cassius, but that he hasn't shown his face around here in a while. Could we give him a message? We should tell him that Fate would like to talk to him about the old days sometimes. We promise we'll convey the message. Estelle quietly asks how Mr. Fate knows Dad so well, anyway? She knows they're friends and all, but… Joshua thinks they were battle buddies during their days in the Royal Army…
In another residential building we can meet old man Radford, who mentions that farming, mining and timber are the three major industries here in Rolent. It's no exaggeration to say that these are what support Rolent economically. The timber industry, which grows forests and in turn uses trees as a resource, began at Queen Alicia's behest. No matter how abundant the woods and forests are here in Rolent, they're not limitless. Her Majesty the Queen has a good head on her shoulders and a real knack for business! Euridice, Freemont's wife, says it looks like her husband's gone to work, so she'd better do the housework quickly and head out to take care of the shopping!
In the apartment upstairs I speak to Anya, who mentions that her daddy's job is digging holes and finding lots of pretty rocks inside! They're called sep-ti-um. Frissa, her mother, explains that her husband works in the Malga Mine to the north of here. He left at the crack of dawn, and sometimes he doesn't even come home for days on end. She hopes he doesn't get burned out from working so much… She's always worrying about that.
In the 'orbment' shop, Freddy greets us as we enter, and asks how those freshly tuned orbments of ours are working out for us? Joshua mutters that in Estelle's case it's not whether the orbment is good or bad, the problem lies in the way she uses it… She's always jumping into things without a second thought, so she ends up being slow to learn. If she would just start thinking before she starts swinging, she'd learn twice as much! Estelle just asks him to excuse her for sucking. Freddy says there's no need to get upset, since everyone has these problems when they first start out. If we can get the hang of things, we'll gradually be able to handle our orbments better. Estelle swears she's going to master using this as quickly as she can, and surpass even Joshua! 'Yeah, whatever…' he responds.
Freddy then comments that when he first entered the Zeiss Central Factory he pretty much couldn't use one of these things either… Estelle is surprised by that, but Freddy notes he can still become an engineer, even if he can't use an orbment at all. Since we're aiming to become a bracer, however, we'll have to learn how! Estelle sighs in despair. His colleague, Melders, is still setting up shop. Joshua tells him we appreciate him fixing that orbment light the other day, and Estelle says that speaking of those, isn't the one outside our house burned out? We should get that replaced ASAP! Orbments sure are a daily necessity, aren't they?
Melders muses that when he was a lad, there weren't any of these orbment thingies! Now we can get fire and light with the mere flip of a switch and even ships fly in the skies! He doesn't like it. Don't us kids think things are way too convenient these days? Estelle whispers in despair that she's gotten him into one of his rants about the old days again, and Joshua agrees that she should just learn to shut her big trap… Melders just keeps going, declaring that when he was young he made things a reality through hard work and sweat. Sweat, he tells us! It would be nice if the young kids these days knew the meaning of the phrase 'hard work!' Estelle awkwardly laughs and says he may be right before quickly leaving… You know, without any real awareness of what an orbment is actually supposed to be, this reads like a lot of technobabble... I guess it's magitech combustion engines?
Inside the fairly expansive Rolent chapel we greet a lady at the altar, Mylene, the mayor's wife. She wonders where we're off to this morning? It must be tough, waking up this early! The priest, the rather aptly named Father Divine, observes that it's been a while since he saw the two of us. He's impressed to see us visiting the chapel so early in the morning! He recalls that Estelle was habitually late and played hooky more than a few times during her Sunday School days, so has she changed her attitude on life since she graduated? Estelle has an actual anime sweatdrop moment, then stammers a laugh and tries unconvincingly to argue that she did change, a bit… Father Divine says there's still a little time before morning mass, so how about he gives us both a special sermon…? Estelle quickly backs off from that, while Joshua questions why he's getting thrown in the mix here…? In a sideroom, Sister May is getting ready for mass, too. Mylene is already here, so she'd better hurry!
Out in the streets behind the church we can meet a little girl named Yuni. Estelle asks her if Luke and Pat aren't with her today? Yuni explains that they were there just a minute ago, but the two of them suddenly took off and went somewhere else! She questions where they went… We can find the two kids in question running around town a little north of her position, chasing each other. Pat is yelling at Luke to take him along to some location - he's the one who told Luke about that place to begin with! Luke yells back that Pat will have to catch him first - he's the one who discovered it! Wonder what that's all about?
At the local hotel, creatively named Hotel Rolent, there's a man named Verne behind the counter, who asks if we're there to spend the night. Estelle is weirded out by this, and tells Verne that it's us - doesn't he remember? Verne chuckles and admits he was just joking around - he was practicing his greeting just now! Estelle quietly asks Joshua if he ever noticed that Verne teases people with a straight face while being courteous at the same time? Joshua muses it's probably because he can. Verne mentions that if she graduates, Estelle will be the second female bracer here in Rolent after Scherazard… Oh, and he wishes Joshua good luck too!
On one side of town is a passage to a rather large house - this is the mayor's mansion. Lita, a maid who works there, exclaims that she's so busy, busy, busy! This mansion is quite big, and she's got the serving, cleaning, and washing to do. Mornings are so busy for a maid! Today's objective is to finish the cleaning before the missus returns from the chapel! We can find the man himself upstairs, in a room with a massive safe. Mayor Klaus wishes us good morning, and says he's been hearing great things about the both of us. We're undergoing bracer training, aren't we? Having such youngsters sign up all by themselves to become bracers and protect everyone is inspiring! He expects great things from us. Estelle promises we'll do our best.
There's a cafe in town, the Abend Bar, where we can speak to a former classmate of ours, Elissa. She asks if there's something going on today? Maybe we're on a date together? Estelle slaps that idea down immediately. Yeah, right! We're actually on our way to bracer training. Elissa asks if that's all? Everyone from Sunday School seems to have decided on a career or goal and is working hard to achieve it. As expected, we're a bit different than everyone else, though… Estelle asks if there's something wrong with that? Elissa says there isn't - she just thought it was very like Stelle to pick the unusual route, that's all. She also suddenly recalls that another classmate of theirs, Tio, decided that she was going to help out at her parents' farm. She even said for us all to go up and visit her sometime!
Sitting at a nearby table is Mirano, who is telling his assistant Simon to listen well. Right now is the time for them to purchase lumber and septium. Ignoring the potential risks, she's going to buy as much as she can with the budget. Her aim is to capitalize on the Queen's birthday celebration. She believes the prices of these goods will rise before and after the festival. It would be best to stock up on these commodities while they're cheap and then put them onto the market later. We can also speak to the cook, Densel, in the kitchens - he mentions that in response to requests of customers, he started offering breakfast. Today's special is Wholesome Pasta! We can actually buy this meal, but I'm not sure there's a point…
Miner Trent is loudly eating at a table in the bar, crunching and smacking and slurping away, before loudly chewing and burping. He says he gets so terribly hungry working in the mines! Faulkner stands behind the bar serving drinks, and says he started working there because the owner said he'd let him manage the bar. After they started offering the morning and lunch service, though, he's been more of a waiter than anything else… Elissa's mother, Tabitha, is upstairs calculating yesterday's sales… Hmm, it seems the breakfast service has really been going well. Sometimes her husband Densel comes up with some good ideas!
In the center of town I meet Claire, a rather precocious girl who inquires if we've really become bracers? You see, she wants to know because working in the media is her future goal. She's going to join the Liberl News Service and work hard as a reporter. We shouldn't take her information lightly! Estelle nervously tells her that it's a sure thing. Claire's gut feeling says that the two of us are going to be in the tabloids. Estelle laughs at the compliment, and Claire elaborates: isn't it romantic that us two lovers are bracers who stand for justice? She's got a feeling that a juicy drama is about to unfold!
Estelle awkwardly questions that reference to 'lovers'? She clarifies that we're not lovers, we're family! Claire says she doesn't understand anything, does she? Joshua's adopted, so things could go either way in the future, right? Leaving it at that would surely please the readers. Anyway, she's looking forward to the both of us in more ways than one! The two valiant bracers who had each others' backs and attempted to escape from the crisis… Ahh, love could definitely grow between them from that point. This is so riveting! (Oh dear. This is going to go in either one of two ways: the entire game will keep making jokes where people mistake the two sibling heroes for lovers... or Japan does a Japan and they actually become lovers. I'm not sure which would be more galling.)
Towards a north end of town is a large clocktower which looms over the city - a plaque notes that it was erected in the year 1075 in partnership with the Liberl Royal Family, Septian Church, and Rolent City, then destroyed in 1192 during the Hundred Days War when Rolent was bombarded by the Erebonian Imperial Army. In 1197 it was rebuilt with the cooperation of the citizens of Rolent. We can enter through the back and speak with Mr. Paddington inside, who recognizes us as Cassius' naughty daughter and clever son. Just when he thought we hadn't been around in a while, we show up all grown up! Joshua asks if he's here every day, and Paddington confirms this place has become somewhat of a new home for him. He intends to spend the remainder of his days guarding this clock!
There's a ladder to go up to the top of the tower - interacting with it causes Estelle to pause, however, with a rather sad expression on her face. Joshua asks what's wrong - is there something on her mind? Estelle just waves it off, pretending it's nothing, really! How about we climb up to the observation deck? Joshua reluctantly agrees, and we can have a gander from the top of the tower, though there's nothing to do up there, really. (Okay, wild guess from this little moment: between the fact that there was an attack here ten years ago, Estelle seems personally affected by the idea of climbing the tower, and she lived alone with her father at the start of the game... this is probably the place where her mother died, right...? My tragic backstory senses are tingling.)
We can find Serra coughing in the hallway outside her apartment in the far northwestern corner of town. She declares that it's unbelievable! Her husband knocked over his bookshelves again, and the room is now so dusty she can't go inside! We go in anyway, and find Rhett sorting out books - 'Glory of the Kingdom', 'Compendium of Orbment Technology', 'Guide to the Rolent Region', 'The Septian Church and the Bracer Guild'... He wonders where that book he just bought the other day went? It looks like he's going to have to put these books in order - and what do we have here? 'The Joy of Cooking Monster'? Did he really buy this? Next door, Maggy is not where her son Luke could have gone, since he took off without a bit of breakfast…
There's another offshoot map here which leads to the local airship landing port. There we can speak to the ticket clerk Alan, who says a lot of people will come to Rolent today, and a lot of people will leave… which means a lot of chicks will pass through here! Score! Staring at these girls is one of his simple pleasures. Joshua knows what he means, right? We both sweatdrop, and Estelle tells Alan he never changes a bit, does he? All this nonsense is the reason he can't get a girlfriend! Alan says she wounds him, but it's because of this enjoyment that he feels it's worth doing this job. It's a paradise! Estelle thinks this guy's a serious nutjob…
Skip is the mechanic responsible for overseeing the airship landing port, and he mentions the scheduled flight from Grancel is about to arrive. He'd better start making landing guide preparations! The next flight will be arriving from Bose this afternoon. Fabree is another mechanic who is panicking a bit since today of all days was when he slept in… He must have had one too many cold ones last night. Okay, he's better hurry up with his pre-work inspections! It's time to get pumped! If we inspect the doors here, Joshua identifies the entrance to the traffic control tower, where they control lighting devices and the boarding bridge. It looks like only employees are allowed in, which Estelle says just makes her want to go in even more!
Finally, Freemont stands just outside the Bracer's Guild, and says he's just on his way over to the forest of Mistvald to the south of here for work. There was a merchant from Bose who came here to buy lumber, so he needs to get enough ready for the order he received. I'm guessing that's got to mean Mirano, right? Small world…
Okay, it's time to turn our attention to the quest objective - the Bracer Guild! Entering the building, we immediately come face to face with a classic adventure anime trope - the big boards full of advertising posters and requests for budding adventures. We're greeted by a woman named Aina, who wishes us a good morning. Estelle asks if Schera's already here, and Aina confirms she's waiting for us upstairs. Once we finish today's training we'll finally be recognized as members of the Bracer Guild, so good luck to both of us!
Shifting our view upstairs, we see Scherazard, a lady with lilac hair bound together with a red shawl, and she also has a bunch of jewelry, including several necklaces, big golden hoop earrings, and a gemstone on the middle of her forehead. She is in the middle of reading Tarot cards when we first see her - the Star and the Hanged Man, the Hermit and the Magician, and last of all, inversion through the Wheel of Fortune… It's a difficult combination, so how should she interpret this? The character of Scherazard seems to be drawing from the traditional Roma archetype, between her visual design and the card reading, but her name is clearly a reference to Scheherazade, the storyteller from One Thousand and One Nights...
Just as she's reading her cards, Estelle and Joshua barge in. Schera is pleased that this is one of those rare occasions where we both show up early! Estelle jokes that since this is the last day of training, she figured 'why not?' She's ready to get this show on the road and become a bracer! Schera gives her points for enthusiasm, but she's going to work us hard today in every way she can think of to make sure that high-spirited attitude holds up! Estelle huffs that she can feel that enthusiasm dropping already! Schera just tells her to be quiet - every time she teaches her something she somehow manages to forget it… This training is her way of trying to keep some of that information in her head instead of letting it dribble out of her ears like it usually does. Schera just whines at her brother that Schera is picking on her!
Joshua tells Schera she shouldn't worry - while Estelle may hate studying and rarely does her homework, acts rashly, is overly naive, and has a tendency to stick her nose into everything, her instincts are sharp, so he's sure she'll pick up on how to use an orbment with some practice. Eventually. Probably. Scherazard sighs and guesses there's not much she can do now except hope for the best… Estelle, annoyed, tells Joshua to hold on a sec. Somehow she gets the feeling that he wasn't really standing up for her there. Joshua smiles and says that's odd - because he's positive he described all her best traits accurately! Estelle just sighs and turns back to Schera, asking about her Tarot predictions. Her face was really intent!
Scherazard explains that she was just trying to get a vague reading about what might happen in the near future. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have been in the right mindset to interpret the cards correctly. Estelle and Joshua are surprised by this, but Schera tells them that actually, the more profound the meaning of the cards, the more difficult they become to interpret. That's not important right now, though, since it's about time we start our training! She'll give us a brief rundown of all the information we've covered in our previous training, the minimal level of knowledge that braces should have in order to function effectively. She warns Estelle to make sure to pay especially close attention to what she's going to say…
Time for lore! We get to pick which subject we want to learn more about - orbments, bracers, or the Liberl Kingdom.
[About Orbments]
As the background changes to a clockwork mechanism, Scherazard explains that orbments are mechanical devices which operate using what is known as 'orbal energy.' A variety of effects can be produced depending on their structure and the type of quartz, or processed septium, installed. Although it's only been about 50 years since their invention, these devices play an integral role in all facets of life from lights, heaters, and other everyday products to weapons, magic, and even airships. In connection, this technological reform is commonly known as the 'Orbal Revolution.'
[About Bracers]
As the background changes to a shot of several people doing things like carrying books, protecting people from monsters, guarding cargo transports or making notes, overlaid with a symbol of a clenched mail fist in front of a winged shield, Scherazard explains that bracers are investigative and combat specialists who work to protect civilians and maintain the stability of their respective regions. They aid the community in various ways such as exterminating monsters, preventing crime, finding lost items, and escorting people and goods. The Bracer Guild, which has established branches across the continent, manages the affairs of the bracers in every region.
[About Liberl Kingdom]
As the background changes to the regional map, overlaid with a bag of crystals, a tall castle, and the heraldic symbol of a bird in flight, Scherazard explains that the kingdom of Liberl in which we live sits on the western half of the Zemurian continent, and abounds with nature and deep-rooted traditions. Liberl is proud to be one of the leading producers of septium on the continent and is known for its high level of technology used to develop orbments. Orbment technology has also been a key pillar of support for Liberl in protecting its independence as it has contended with neighboring nations. Ten years ago, when Liberl was invaded by the Erebonian Empire, it was the use of orbal-powered airships that saved the kingdom from defeat. Consequently, even now, our relationship with the Empire is somewhat sensitive. But, thanks to the Queen's political finesse, Liberl enjoys peace.
Finally, here's some context! I wasn't far off with my guesses about the nature of orbments - they're basically this universe's core technology, like mass effect tech is in... well, Mass Effect. Where in our world we had the development of electrical devices and an industrial revolution, the Orbal Revolution took their place in this setting, quickly transforming the world from a relatively medieval place to one where airships, guns, and magic became common. Liberl seems to be on the forefront of this revolution too, since it successfully built an airforce through their technological superiority, beating down an invasion attempt from a much larger nation... The information about bracers was a bit less interesting since it didn't really say anything new...
As we finish up the assigned reading, Scherazard says we still have a mountain of things to do today, so she'll let us off the hook this time with a condensed review. She's going to speed things up now and move on to the practical portion of our training. Estelle asks how today's training is any different from the training we've done before? Scherazard says that since it's practical, that means we'll be experiencing things firsthand. Therefore she's going to have the both of us run through everything as if this were a real bracer job.
Estelle just hears that there won't be any studying at a desk involved? Schera confirms that she'll have to go out and make a physical effort to accomplish this task, and she'll make sure we work up a sweat. Estelle thinks this is just what the doctor ordered, as she didn't know what she was going to do if she had to sit another day with her tush parked at a desk! She guesses she got worried for nothing… Joshua is amused that his sister is suddenly all bright and cheerful, but Schera hopes that smile on her face lasts until the end of today's training. Let's get cracking on the first objective then, shall we?
We head downstairs, and Scherazard explains that our first objective will be to confirm the details of the job we'll be performing. Before that, though, there's something she needs to give to both of us. She turns to Aina and asks if they're ready, and she confirms that she's got the items in question - they're very important, so we should make sure not to lose them. We receive a Bracer Notebook, which serves as the official way to record the status of our current job. Also, anything we may hear or anything that we may find and where - these kinds of trivial things can often become clues. No matter how insignificant something may seem, always write it down!
Joshua says he understands, while Estelle muses to herself that this sounds like it's going to be a pain… Schera wonders if her ears were playing tricks on her, because she could swear she only got one response… Estelle tries to bullshit her way out, but Schera reminds her keeping an accurate account of events is an important duty for all bracers. So she should get with the program and stop trying to make this out to be more than it really is. Estelle says he got it already… Satisfied, Schera tells us to look by the door - we can see there's a bulletin board standing there. She wants us to go and check the job description posted there:
A tutorial message explains that all details of accepted jobs and other important events are automatically recorded in our Bracer Notebook, which is accessible in the 'Books' tab of the items menu, and can also be accessed by configuring a shortcut button. With the quest in our book we head back to Scherazard, who is pleased we were able to see what was posted without any trouble. Checking the bulletin board is one of the most basic functions a bracer performs on their job. Checking regularly to see whether or not there are any urgent tasks which need immediate attention is also an important duty for bracers. Estelle says all this talk about duty is starting to cramp her style…
Joshua says there might be a lot of rules to follow, but there's an equal level of responsibility in the jobs themselves. He thinks being a bracer calls for more than just someone with a half-hearted attitude. Estelle figures she's right, and she'll just have to stay more motivated… Schera asks if she had a change of heart, then? Well, before all that motivation sneaks off somewhere, we should get to work on our next task. We'll be heading across the street to Mr. Melders' orbal factory and learning about how to use their services. He has graciously taken time out of his work schedule to explain things, so we should make sure to be on our best behavior.
Inside the shop, Scherazard explains that at an orbal factory you can modify your orbments and synthesize support quartz in order to use orbal arts. Arts have a wide range of effects and if mastered, can be extremely helpful. The bracer business is a pretty risky occupation, so the guild has a long-standing relationship with these orbal factories.
She'll leave the technical details to the expert, so she asks Mr. Melders to take over from here. Melders says she should leave everything to him! Just like before, we get our pick from more lore.
[Orbments]
Orbments are mechanical devices which exhibit an array of effects through the installation of various quartz. By definition, that means that lights, airship engines and so on, are also types of orbments. However, the ones we'll be discussing today are battle orbments, which enhance the user's physical abilities and make it possible to use magic. Since each orbment is adjusted to match the owner's personal aptitude, the structures for these devices also differ for each owner. Simply put, the shape of the fixed elemental slots and lines which connect them vary. At any rate, that's the layman's explanation. In order to install quartz, you must first have an open slot. By default the central slot is open, but the other slots must be opened at an orbal factory like this. It'll take a fair amount of sepith too. EP, which is needed for magic, will also see a max increase according to the number of open slots. I recommend opening them all as soon as possible.
[Orbal Arts]
Simply put, orbal arts are magic which can be discharged exclusively through the use of battle orbments. In other words, a number of peculiar effects can be produced by using the orbal energy stored within these mechanical devices. Since 'orbal arts' can be a mouthful, they are almost universally referred to as 'arts.' Probably ought to have been called that from the get-go… There are several types of arts, but in order to be able to use them, their corresponding quartz must first be synthesized at an orbal factory. Orbments are also set up so that once a particular quartz is installed into a slot, the owner will be able to use those arts. The type of arts one can use also changes depending on the elemental value and the combination of installed quartz. Basically, if you want to use water arts, all you have to do is install quartz with a water elemental value. In reality, orbments are much more complex than what I have described, but I think this information should suffice for now.
[Quartz]
Quartz are circuits made from sepith. Quartz have a vast number of effects and raise the owner's abilities while simultaneously making it possible for them to use arts. However, you will not be able to harness any of these effects until quartz has been installed into a slot. However, there are also fixed slots in which only a certain type of elemental quartz can be installed. This being the case, when you synthesize a new quarts, be sure to check your orbment and decide where you will be installing it ahead of time.
[Sepith]
Sepith are fragments of septium which are dropped by monsters. They are divided into 7 types: Earth (brown), Water (blue), Fire (red), Wind (green), Time (black), Space (gold), and Mirage (silver). Sepith can be exchanged for mira almost anywhere, but at the orbal factory it can be used to synthesize quartz and to open orbment slots in which to install the synthesized quartz.
It's slightly odd that we get two explanations of orbments back-to-back which are pretty similar... though I guess this one is more technically involved, which makes sense for who's telling us this. It's cute how there's an in-setting explanation for why different people are allowed to equip different types of magic. Also, this entire system sounds a lot like materia again - I guess slotting little crystal spheres into your equipment to make it go vroom is just a thing now. Also, the explanation of Sepith leaves me with some questions - why do monsters carry around fragments of weird magic gemstones? Is that why they're monsters in the first place, maybe? I guess now I'm equating sepith with mako, gah...
Anyway, Scherazard concludes Mr. Melders has answered all our questions. If there's nothing else, then let's have us both try and use the services here! For that, we're going to need some sepith. She gives us a small amount of each elemental type, and says that with that amount we should be able to synthesize a few quartz. Now, she wants us to begin by first making elemental quartz that will work with each of our particular orbments. In Estelle's case any elemental quartz is okay, but for Joshua it has to be specifically a time elemental quartz. Normally you'd be able to exchange sepith for mira, but for this training we won't be able to use this service.
Speaking to Freddy, we can buy several types of quartz from him - Defense 1, Attack 1, Evade 1, HP 1, and Action 1. Scherazard suggests picking up quartz that grant both attack and recovery arts, so I end up buying Joshua a time-elemental Action 1 quartz, which gives access to the speed-enhancing Clock Up buff as well as the offensive art Soul Blur. Estelle gets an HP 1 quartz which gives her access to the healing Tear ability and the offensive Aqua Bleed. Schera says that if we'd like to use more powerful arts, we should check the charts in our Bracer Notebook and find something that works for us. The book includes information about which quartz allows us to use which arts, after all. Okay, we're almost done here - last of all, she's going to have one of us open a new slot in our orbments. She gives us a few more sepith and sends us off…
Despite mentioning that we should open slots on both characters, there's actually only enough sepith for one - I decide to go with Estelle, since her orbment seems capable of equipping most kinds of quartz, whereas Joshua is more specialized - and giving a higher EP limit to the character with the healing spell just seems smart. Now, it's time to move on to what we've been waiting for: the qualification test! Estelle is caught off guard at the mention of a test, and Joshua despairingly exclaims that she can't possibly claim she forgot about the test again, can she? He reminded her this morning! Estelle says that now that he mentions it, she does vaguely remember some sort of talk along those lines at the breakfast table… Schera admits she sometimes fears for the future of the Bracer Guild… and humanity… Ah, no sense worrying about that now. Let's head to the testing area!
Estelle warily states she's not sure she's ready for this test, only for Scherazade to grab her and physically drag her out of the shop. How about a little less yapping a little more walking? As she's dragged off, she cries out for Joshua to help her! Instead, he politely thanks Mr. Melders and Freddy for all their help, and the two wish him good luck on the test. They'll be rooting for both of us! From afar Estelle yells that she's going to remember that he left her high and dry like this…!
We soon gather next to an open manhole in the street, and Scherazade says all our training has finally come down to this. The qualification test begins here, and she expects to see us both use what we've learned up to this point. Estelle seems worried, and when Joshua asks what's wrong, she asks if there's not going to be a paper test or something? Schera wonders if Cassius dropped her on her head as a child or something? She just read what it said on the bulletin board not that long ago, right? She even made her jot it down in her Bracer Notebook… unless she forgot that too? She's pretty sure the job listing mentioned searching for and retrieving an item from the sewers… Ringing any bells yet?
Estelle, realizing that there won't be any paper tests, promptly bursts into prayer, thanking 'Divine Aidios' for their infinite grace in bestowing upon us such wonderful gifts as sewers! Joshua concludes that she really thought this was a paper test, then? No wonder she was acting all crazy back at the orbal factory… Estelle is still stuck in her own head, declaring she can already feel the nostalgia! All those horrible days stuck in a classroom are starting to feel like grand memories indeed… Joshua is really starting to wonder if we'll even be able to graduate at all… Estelle asks what's wrong with him? Why does he have to go and say something like that when she's trying to reminisce about positive things?
Schera just says that's enough jabbering - this is supposed to be a test, so how about we try to at least look a little anxious? Just so we know, though, if we do happen to flunk this test, we don't want to even imagine the kind of homework she has in store for the both of us! Estelle declares we'll be fine, and to just tell us what she wants us to do and let us loose! Schera notes that if she's feeling so confident, how about she proves that she's not just blowing hot air with the result of this test? Anyway, as we saw on the bulletin board, the test will be a search of the Rolent sewers. The objective is to retrieve the contents of a chest which has been placed somewhere in the area. The sewer layout is very simple, so we don't need to worry about getting lost, but there are real, living monsters down there, so if we get careless and let down our guard, we will be sorry!
Before she forgets, she hands over three Tear Balms - healing items - and a Monster Guide. Estelle questions what the book is for, and Schera explains that it's used to record information about monsters and other opponents we meet. Whenever we figure out an enemy's attributes we should make an immediate note of it in there. Joshua understands that - quoting that 'he who controls the flow of information, controls the tide of battle.' Schera agrees that's exactly what she's saying - he's really got a good head on his shoulders! Estelle declares it's time to get pumped and knock out this test, though Joshua notes that this is an exam, so we should treat it as one! Let's go!
Next: Oh, hey, there's combat in this game! We actually head into a (tutorial) dungeon! (And... apparently we check up on everyone again for more lore? This is gonna be a thing, isn't it?)
Trails can be extremely wholesome, and yeah, the characterization and worldbuilding is consistently out of the park. I love it, it's such a great palette cleanser after some of the edgier stories out there.
Really glad to see you playing this. I just tried out Trails in the Sky and loved all three games. They're just so pleasant and sweet. And with lots of text. Every beat in the main quest has a refresh for every single accessible NPC in the entire map. And some great characters, including [You Haven't Met Him] and [She's Yet To Be Introduced]
As an alternative to going in release order, people also commonly suggest playing the first two Cold Steel games before tackling the Sky and Crossbell Arc
Or just not play Cold Steel. I slogged through the first two games and never felt any interest in finishing things up. The gameplay is fine, better than Sky but the story... ugh. Even if you're not as sick of Anime Battle High School as I am, there's still problems.
Next: Oh, hey, there's combat in this game! We actually head into a (tutorial) dungeon! (And... apparently we check up on everyone again for more lore? This is gonna be a thing, isn't it?)
Calling it 'lore' is probably a strong word a lot of the time. This isn't a criticism! A tremendous amount of dialogue in this game is dedicated not just to what we think of as 'lore' where the world gets explained and all that, but for all of these NPCs just, having lives, going about their own bullshit. It lends an absolutely incredible sense of place and atmosphere. That does mean the script for these games is absolutely enormous. For the second Sky game:
Article:
The script was edited by Xseed's Jessica Chavez. She noted that the English script came up to 716,401 words, which is roughly the size of 10 novels, longer than the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy (455,125 words) and War and Peace (587,287 words).
Calling it 'lore' is probably a strong word a lot of the time. This isn't a criticism! A tremendous amount of dialogue in this game is dedicated not just to what we think of as 'lore' where the world gets explained and all that, but for all of these NPCs just, having lives, going about their own bullshit. It lends an absolutely incredible sense of place and atmosphere. That does mean the script for these games is absolutely enormous. For the second Sky game:
Article:
The script was edited by Xseed's Jessica Chavez. She noted that the English script came up to 716,401 words, which is roughly the size of 10 novels, longer than the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy (455,125 words) and War and Peace (587,287 words).
Yeah, that makes sense... people are just very verbose, too - stuff that could be handled in like a line or two are instead covered in entire conversations complete with antics and whatnot. Great for immersion, sure, but it's also gonna make things take forever...
Can you believe we still haven't had a single fight? The sewers are enormous, with a walking area the size of a street and huge, very wide channels for water (and less savory things) to flow by. You can't actually turn the camera in here, so at least it's hard to get turned around… Just a little ways in there's the first intersection, and Joshua points out there appears to be a recovery point at the end of the side passage, which we should use if our HP or EP become low. A tutorial message helpfully explains that Orbment Charging Stations are recovery points set up in dangerous areas, so probably most dungeons will have one to permit us to grind local enemies. For now I'm fully healed, so no reason to go there.
A little further in is our first enemy, and it's a strange creature - it's like a weird furry ram-horned thing with chicken legs and a bug-like carapace. A tutorial explains that monsters cannot be seen from far away, but only become visible on the map when we approach them. The conditions at the start of battle change depending on how the monster is engaged. Engaging an enemy from behind is advantageous, while an enemy attacking us from behind is disadvantageous. As we get into a straight battle with this weird critter, we also get an explanation of the battle order bar to the left side of the screen, which indicates who's next to act. At the moment the only thing we can really do is attack, and it turns out the combat system has a movement element to it, sort of like a strategy RPG, where you need to move close enough to creatures to hurt them, and presumably you can get blindsided for bonus damage.
The first battle seems to be against braindead 'dirty rats' which don't actually act on their own, but just allow us to kill them. Gotta say, those are the weirdest looking alleged rats I've ever seen! Hitting the attack command a few times causes the characters to auto-run towards their target if they can't actually hit it yet, and with a pair of attacks against both rats we get a victory screen - we earn some experience points, a handful of sepith in several colors, and a 'juicy bone.' Judging by the description, I think there's a cooking minigame?
The next group of enemies is only a stone's throw further down the path, and it's… butterflies? Joshua warns that depending on the enemy, some physical attacks may be ineffective, so we should use arts here, not physical blows. Arts, it seems, are effective against enemies which are good at avoiding physical attack, and they also serve as our long range attack option, at the cost of requiring some lag time to cast. They also cost EP which doesn't regenerate on its own, but can be recovered through resting at charge stations or hotels, or by consuming items. Each art has an element too, so exploiting weaknesses is just a good idea. In this case both Soul Blur and Aqua Bleed take out the 'Moth Cluster' enemies pretty easily.
Another short trek later we face another group of dirty rats, and Joshua suggests using crafts this time around, since they have other effects besides just dealing out damage. They're worth a shot! Crafts are character-specific and limited in range, but they can be used instantly unlike arts, and the CP used for them also regenerates by dealing or receiving damage during battle. In this fight I use Estelle's Morale skill to buff up the strength of both our characters, then go to town with Dual Strike to absolutely eviscerate the rats - it's not even a contest. Afterwards, in a side passage, I pick up a Reviving Balm for the unlikely possibility I get shanked in the tutorial by enemies that barely fight back.
Here, I first encounter an amusing quirk I was told about before: after looting a chest in this game, speaking to it again reveals a sarcastic little message - and apparently this is true for every single of the hundreds of treasure chests in the game. This particular one says: 'This chest is empty… because of you. Nice work, hero.' I'll try to remember to check them all, and report back the actually amusing ones…
Heading south-west, we come to a bridge across the sewage, and a dirty rat is waiting for us there. Estelle is not surprised that we'd find another creepy thing. Wish there was an easier way to take care of them! Joshua says one blow using an S-Craft or S-Break should do the trick for just about any enemy. The catch is that our CP has to be at least 100 to pull off one of those moves. The distinction is that S-Breaks are actions which allow an S-Craft to be immediately unleashed while ignoring the battle order. Which S-Craft to use as an S-Break can be changed in the tactics menu. In practice, this means they're basically Limit Break type moves. Pummel and Sever both absolutely annihilate our foes in this fight - we get a free 98 CP to start with, so it only takes one attack to make them available.
With that, we come to a large red-and-gold treasure chest, guarded by yet another dirty rat. Estelle concludes that this must be the chest we're after - if we made it this far, though, the rest is gonna be a piece of cake! Joshua agrees that it seems like we've got a little breathing room at least. Let's pay close attention to our battle order, this time - there should be a number of ways to get more mileage out of our actions! A tutorial message explains that during battle there are several bonuses which can be allotted to turns. They have the same effect for an ally or a foe, so using S-Breaks to ignore the battle order makes it easy to jump in and strip an enemy of their bonus.
The fight here is against a total of five enemies, three dirty rats and two moth clusters, though for unknown reasons one of the dirty rats in the back is like the ones in the start, it will never do anything. The others attack, though. Using arts to take out the moth clusters allows us to simultaneously build up a bit of CP to craft the dirty rats into the ground. The various turn bonuses are relatively minor - there's one where you gain extra sepith if you kill something on that turn, and there's also some minor 10 HP heals, which are small enough not to be too problematic if an enemy gets one.
After finishing off the rat in the back, Estelle quickly goes to loot the chest - and finds a pair of boxes inside. That's weird… The fact that there's not just one, but two, that's kind of interesting, too . Wonder what's inside? Joshua reminds Estelle that our mission is to search and retrieve only, so he's pretty sure looking inside those boxes doesn't fall under the objective. Estelle complains that her brother is no fun. This has nothing to do with our mission, it's just what she likes to call good, honest curiosity. We're the only ones down here, so we can get away with a teensy-weensy peek, right? Joshua just stares at her and figures if she feels like flunking today's test, then by all means!
Estelle is aghast - did he just say the 'f' word - flunking?! Joshua confirms that opening one of those boxes could result in an automatic fail for the both of us. If this were a real job, the contents of those boxes would belong to the client, and as long as they were nothing illegal, we would have no right to open them. Estelle admits he's right, but she just can't help herself… Joshua suggests that if she absolutely has to know what's inside, why not ask Miss Schera when we get back? For now, we should get out of here…. By the way, if you check the chest again, the message reads: 'By looking inside this chest again, you flunk! …Just kidding.' Heh.
We climb back onto the street and meet Scherazard again, who commends us on our good work. As a rule of training, she's now going to confirm the items in our possession. We hand over the two boxes, and she confirms they're the real deal alright, and she doesn't see any evidence of tampering, either. Estelle thinks to herself that was a close one, while Joshua figures she would try and set us up like that… Schera congratulates both of us for successfully passing our qualification test. Estelle boasts that she didn't really think something that simple would be a problem for us, did she? She then asks what exactly was in those boxes we got for her? Schera says that's for her to know, and for us to find out - after our training is finished.
Now, let's get back to work, since we still have some things left to do! Estelle points out that she just said we'd passed the test, but Schera explains that we still have to learn how to report the results of our work. She's aware that we're both tired, but this is no time to shirk our duties. Let's return to the guild! Estelle wonders when this day is going to be over? Oh well, no sense giving up when the finish line is in sight. Joshua agrees that we're within reaching distance of our goal, now…
Back in the Bracer Guild building, Scherazard says the final thing we need to do is report in. Whenever we finish a job, it's our duty to report the results of our work to the guild. Explaining how we resolved the situation and the steps we took to get there are all part of our job as a bracer. We can report our results at the front desk in each guild branch, and as we already know by now, Aina is in charge of the Rolent branch. In addition, this is also where we'll be paid for our work. Aina says that she looks forward to seeing great things from both of us. We report in, and get 500 mira for our trouble, and 1 BP. Our current rank is [Junior Bracer - 9th Class].
Aina says we did a good job - it seems like we were able to complete our objective without running into any major problems. Another thing to note is that depending on how we handle a job, we may see an increase or decrease in the amount of pay we receive. When we report the results of our work to the guild, pay in the form of mira is not the only thing we'll receive - we'll also accumulate points known as BP, Bracer Points, an indication of our achievements as a bracer. When these points exceed a certain value we'll advance in rank as a bracer and be awarded with a piece of special equipment by the guild. The ranks of a junior bracer start at 9 and go all the way up to 1. We should set our sights on making first-rank and work hard! The amount of mira and BP we receive will also be recorded in our Bracer Notebook, so we should look at that later.
Scherazard says all that remains now is to finalize our training, so let's go upstairs, shall we? She tells AIna they'll talk later, and she apologizes for putting more work on her plate today than usual. Aina says she shouldn't worry about it - training new bracers is important for the future of the guild! She fully intends to work us to the bone in any case! Estelle is kind of scared by Aina now, and Joshua nervously says that knowing Schere, it'll involve the whip… Upstairs, Schera congratulates us again for officially completing the entire training course. From now on, we'll be learning from real world experience. She then holds out two small boxes, the ones we retrieved from the sewer, and are given permission to open them. Inside are two Junior Bracer Emblems, depicting the clenched mail fist over winged shield design that we saw previously.
Scherazard announces officially that Estelle Bright and Joshua Bright, beginning this day at 1500 hours, are both hereby appointed as junior bracers with the Bracer Guild. From here on we will work as members of the Bracer Guild to support the livelihood of those around us, defend the peace, and uphold justice. Welcome into the fold! Estelle celebrates becoming a bracer, while Joshua calmly admits that the realization is only now just beginning to sink in. Estelle suggests he should be jumping for joy or running around and screaming at the top of his lungs like: 'LOOK AT US NOW, WORLD! WE DID IT!' Joshua mutters that he was happy until she made his eardrums bleed…
Scherazard would hate to interrupt the celebrations, but she needs to take off now - she has some backed up work that needs her immediate attention. Estelle understands - she's been spending a lot of extra hours working with us during this busy time for the guild. Before she heads out, though, Estelle offers her thanks. Joshua likewise appreciates all the trouble she's gone through for us. Schera says not to mention it, as training recruits is one of a bracer's many duties. Believe it or not, but she was once in our shoes too, a long time ago, when our father Cassius trained her. Estelle figures that's why she has so much respect for our dad. Schera says there's actually much more to it than that, but she'll save that conversation for another day.
As for us - we should work hard to become full-fledged bracers early on so we can help guide those new recruits who come after us. In time, she hopes to see us both become respectable bracers like our father. That's when she takes her leave. Afterwards, Estelle tells Joshua that she doesn't get it. This is Scherazard, aka 'the Silver Streak', one of the most skilled young bracers we're talking about… so why is it that she holds Dad in such high esteem? He just seems like nothing more than a no-good middle-aged man who is always doing who knows what instead of being a father. 'A no-good middle-aged man, huh?' Joshua wonders. From her viewpoint, it doesn't come as a surprise that she would see him in that fashion. …Never mind, let's just go home. We should let Dad know that we qualified as junior bracers! We then return downstairs, where Aina also congratulates us, and Estelle boasts some more.
Since there are no current job listings, it's time to head outside... As we do so, we see a scene of a child, Luke, telling his friend Pat to hurry up! They almost run into us, and Luke goes 'Oh, great, it's Estelle…' She wonders what's up with that remark, little twerp? And what's the big hurry, anyway? Where are they headed? They're not thinking of wandering out of town alone, right? The roads are full of monsters, after all. Luke just says she's such a pain. Doesn't she know there's no room for girls to be sticking their big fat noses in boys' business? She should quit acting like a bracer, wannabe! Estelle just smiles and tells him how wrong he is. How incredibly wrong! He's more wrong than a fool who thinks there's better tasting milk in Liberl than what comes from the Perzel Farm! As of just a few minutes ago, we qualified to become real bracers! Are they hearing what she's saying? REAL BRACERS!
Joshua mentions that it's more like bracers-in-training, really. He thinks Estelle shouldn't be getting on her high horse just yet. Now a high pony, on the other hand… Estelle tells him to stop being such a killjoy. Pat is really impressed and says we're great - he's so happy for us! Estelle smiles and says he's such a good little boy… unlike that smart-aleck cynical brat he calls a friend! Luke stutters that it's unfair - he was supposed to become a bracer first… He can accept that Joshua became a bracer before him, but getting passed by the likes of Estelle…
Furious, Estelle wonders what that was supposed to mean?! Just so he knows, you can't even be a bracer until you're 16 years old! Get it - only MATURE people allowed! That means no little kids who are still going to Sunday School! Joshua muses that he doesn't know how he should put this, but… Sunday School is dying to have her back…
Luke declares that we had better watch out, because he's going to go train at his secret base and before we know it, he's gonna be a bracer too! Come on Pat, let's go! As the two leave, Estelle concludes that Luk is always trying to pick a fight with her. She wonders if he just plain hates her or something… Joshua thinks it's rather the exact opposite. Estelle doesn't get it, but Joshua just says she shouldn't worry about it - it's a boy thing. At any rate, what does she think Luke meant when he said 'secret base'? He's not sure why, but somehow it makes him a bit curious… Estelle agrees that a secret base sounds really intriguing. The pure heart of a young child can be so inspiring at times! Joshua says that's not really what he meant by curious…
Before we head out, there's something to take note of - and that's how often this game refreshes its dialogue. Despite the fact that you could have just walked straight into the Bracer Guild like the game told you to, right when you first arrived in Rolent, all the exploration dialogue I mentioned last time only exists when you first enter town. Finishing the sewer tutorials means you've moved the clock forward, and everyone's got a bunch of new stuff to say! Isn't that crazy? Anyway, as before there's mostly just local flavor here, little small town problems and the occasional bit of characterization for our heroes, so if you're not into that sort of thing you can just skip it. There's a fair amount of foreshadowing of plot points that will be relevant soon, though...
Inside the Bracer Guild, a bracer named Ridge says he's humbled to know that we two are the youngest ever to pass the bracer exam. He looks forward to working with us in the same capacity!
If we visit Mr. Fate, he mentions Yuni should be back any time now, but… it's odd of her not to be home by now. If we happen to see her, could we tell her to come home? She's never broken curfew before, but he's just worried because she's still just a little girl. Which reminds him - it seems like she's always hanging out with Pat and Luke, but she really doesn't have to play around with those boys all the time… He quickly apologizes for thinking out loud there.
Near Mr. Fate's home we can meet Armand again, who has actually approached his dream girl now. He explains that he's confessed to her several times since this morning, but he can't get her to accept his love! It doesn't seem like she hates him or anything, so what is he doing wrong? Ellie says she's distressed - Armand is her type, sure, and he's passionately confessed his love several times, but the situation isn't right. She'd like to accept his proposal, but this place is not her ideal situation! Estelle wonders if the location where he asks her out is really that important, but Ellie declares it is, as this could become the memory of a lifetime! This may be the place that comes to mind when she's an old grandma and lying on her deathbed, so she just can't accept an alleyway like this being that place! Joshua muses that this type of thing can only be understood by those who are involved…
Inside the orbment shop, Melders mentions that today's orbments are built using the structure of a clock, so old technicians like himself can tinker with some of their parts, but when it comes to these quartz circuits he's a bit out of his league. He's not sure who invented these things, but they're extremely complicated little machines! Freddy recognizes the emblems on our chest and congratulates us on finally becoming bracers! Estelle cheerfully thanks him, while Joshua warns her she's way too proud of herself. Estelle wonders why he always has to ruin the moment? She should be this happy because she earned it! He should at least let her bask in the glory for a minute… Joshua just sighs tiredly. Freddy warns Estelle that now that she's become a bracer, she's going to have to get over her little… problem with orbal arts! Estelle pouts at getting ganged up on - him too? Why does he have to go and spoil her day by saying things like that? Freddy also has a bunch of new quartz available now, but I'll look into that later.
Upstairs in one of the houses, Serra says that her son Pat has been gone since this morning, and she hopes he's not getting into any trouble with Luke! Also, what is her husband doing up in his room without giving any attention to his own son…? Oh, Aidios - their family is in danger of falling apart! In a room close to her we can meet Maggy, who mentions that just when she thought Luke had come home, he took off out of the door again. She told the boy that dinner was almost ready, too… That boy is always running around like his pants are on fire! He just can't sit still for two minutes…
Next door, in a book-strewn room we can find Serra's husband, Rhett, who says that thanks to the airliners in recent days, even Rolent has been able to get a good selection of books. Thanks to that, he finds himself compelled to buy a new one each time he heads to the store… but then he gets yelled at by his wife for getting so many… Maybe he should cut back a bit? He's only got the first chapter of this one novel, so if we want, he'll give it to us. We receive 'Carnelia - Chapter 1' while Rhett goes back to looking for a missing book…
This book is the first part of an in-game novel, Carnelia:
Article:
I stood there, upright in front of the revolving door, scuffing the heels of my boots against the ground. Pulling slightly on the collar of my trench coat, I dropped my chin and gazed at my partial reflection in the curved glass. Aside from my short-cropped hair, I wore a modest-looking, double-breasted leather raincoat and a pair of special order, steel-reinforced boots, both of which at first glance appear to be the most common of common apparel. Yet, they were in fact, much more than the naked eye could detect.
My ordinary, average appearance--It was of just as much importance today as it had been on any other day in times past.
Not far off, the sound of footfalls echoed rhythmically like the steady beat of a pendulum swinging back and forth, as the throngs of those coming and going moved quickly along the cobblestone avenue, enveloped and tinged silver by the morning mist. At times, the calling voice of a street peddler disrupted the steady flow, but as soon as the hawking cry faded away, it would resume its course.
Each morning that I found myself setting foot in the Imperial city, I also found my surroundings to be unchanged and stained by the same somber tone of gray. Snatching up a magazine from the underarm of a street vendor, I tossed a few mira into the left hand poised expectantly behind his back.
The Imperial Chronicle; the magazine I read so often that even the ink bleeds were familiar. Roughly flipping open its cover, I scanned the headlines along the top of its monochrome pages. Then suddenly, my breath caught in my throat.
At the very bottom of the local news page, I found those letters, that sequence of characters which I had not heard nor seen since the time of that life-changing incident. My eyes instantly gravitated to the spot, and for a time, remained fixated.
'Ein Selnate.' The very meaning of those letters became lost to my senses as I stood motionless, my gaze fixed on the same line of text, until it all seemed to coalesce into a single blotch of ink. After a few seconds of blank comprehension, my vision settled and I wrenched my eyes to the beginning of the article. As I began to read, my memories verged on a single point in my past, and then slowly started to run in reverse, heading for that fateful event three years prior when this name was first introduced to me.
It was on an afternoon all those years ago, on a day not unlike this one, where the capital was overshadowed by its typical gloomy aura. I was a little younger than now, a twenty-two year old boy who stood silently in front of the boutique door as usual, double checking his appearance before lightly treading over to Micht's Imperial Factory.
It was on this day that it had been arranged for me to receive a new job from Micht, the shop owner, himself. Although he was a drab middle-aged man, I, being the orbment enthusiast I was, had found myself as one of his few regular customers.
I headed down a dank alleyway and after passing through a partially rotted wooden-gate, I could see the soft glow of the flickering orbal light just outside the entrance of the factory whose structure was halfway below street level.
I first began receiving jobs from Micht about the time when dissension began to occur in society over the Hundred Days War. It was during this period that relations between the Liberl Kingdom and the Empire were at their worst and the importation of orbments had become almost non-existent. Conspiring with underground elements and planning a smuggling operation, Micht made me out to be his accomplice in crime. For the job which I received by his hand, was none other than that of the courier.
Being nothing more than a commoner in my teens at the time I met him and a juvie devoid of any connections in life besides, I naturally jumped at the opportunity without a moment's hesitation. Yet, even after relations with Liberl had returned to some degree of normalcy, I realized I was in no mood to give up my specialty which focused mainly on the delivery of stolen goods. The reason being: there was no job out there which could bring in the kind of mira this one did.
With an unrefined and inconspicuous appearance, I had countless times before, hidden items of various sorts in my hat and trousers and made my way hither and thither between the borders of these neighboring nations. And though to my delight, my wallet had become increasingly laden with a bounty of monetary rewards, I had routinely changed my alias as a precautionary measure. So much in fact, that these false names had built up into quite a list over the last few years. I had been known as Phil, the frivolous, Rooney, the trickster, and even Kris, the coward. However, Micht had always called me by one name: Toby. This was the identity I had used for my initial job, and the one I liked above all the others.
Wonder if we'll run into Toby, if he's a real person and not just a character? Given that this is just Chapter 1, I'll have to keep an eye out for any other chapters along the way. I think they're actually on my checklist... Guess they're the collectibles of this game?
We can speak to Claire the would-be reporter on a street near the Abend Bar, and she already knows we've become bracers. Estelle muses that she's always the first to know anything, isn't she? Claire says it's just as she expected, she saw the potential in us both way back! We're going to out there and earn a lot of success, right? She likes Scherazard's adult charm, but she's partial to the two of us, too! We nervously decide to take that as a compliment… Claire just chuckles and says that the drama's finally going to begin. She's so excited!
Inside the Abend Bar we overhear Simon nervously telling his boss that he's made contact with some people at the Malga Mine, and they're working out a few business details at the moment. She should please just wait a little longer. Mirano is pleased that it seems he'll be able to get the lumber she wanted… She then yells at Simon that the septium purchases are going to go through fine, right? Since she spared no effort in coming all the way to Rolent, failure is not an option! Miner Trent is stuffing his face, and admits he'd better get back to the mine before the boss figures out he's ditched work...
We can actually run into Freemont outside working on that lumber order that was just mentioned - he must work hard to get his father-in-law Radford to acknowledge him, he argues… for his wife's sake! In the outside seating area of the bar we can find Ida chilling in the sun, commenting on what a warm day it is today. It looks like she'll be able to take a nice afternoon nap! Her cat, Aryll, nyayayaa~'s in response.
Speaking to Elissa in the bar, she congratulates Estelle on her success in becoming a bracer - she's always wanted to be one ever since she was a kid, hasn't she? But don't bracers have a lot of dangerous jobs…? Estelle agrees there's some of that, yes. Ellisa then warns us not to overdo it - and to watch out for each other. Estelle has this tendency to get in over her head. Joshua says that's a very good observation, but unfortunately Estelle doesn't realize that herself. Estelle impatiently says she's standing right there. Elissa promises it's just that the both of them care about her, that's all. We shouldn't get too full of ourselves and end up getting hurt, okay? Estelle relents. Upstairs, Tabitha says it's been a while since she's seen Estelle, after she graduated from Sunday School. Did we say 'hi' to Elissa? She started helping around here not too long ago, and she's wanted to see us…
A somewhat sauced Radford is having a drink at the bar, and mentions that his son-in-law Freemont is still half a man when it comes to this business - this isn't an easy job, and it takes a good two to three years to become a real woodsman. Behind the bar, Faulkner mentions that the female merchant over there, Mirano, came from Bose - not only does she seem smart, but she's extremely attractive as well! Then again, she'd probably never give him the time of day. Her accent's a little different, though… In the kitchen, Densel the cook mentions that in his opinion there are two kinds of enjoyment that come from food - eating and cooking. He thinks his passion for cooking outweighs the other, but he enjoys eating delicious food as well.
If we revisit the clocktower, Paddington is enjoying the sound of the bells - she enjoys the toll of the bell because it's more than a way to tell time, it's also marking Rolent's history. At the hotel, Verne mentions that there's an unusual guest staying there at the moment - she appears to be a student from the Jenis Royal Academy! He heard she came here to study about Rolent. We can actually find this girl in uniform upstairs, talking to herself as she looks out a window. She's glad she's finally arrived in Rolent, and thinks the first thing she's going to do is have a look around… I'm going to guess that she's a future party member or otherwise important NPC of some description, or why make her so mysterious?
In the chapel, Father Divine says Estelle seems rather cheerful today - did something wonderful happen in her life? Estelle cheerfully says yes, and Joshua sighs and guesses you could say that. The priest declares that joyous occasions are indeed a wonderful thing, but it is at times when things go well that we should gird up our loins for the trials that lie ahead. Oh Goddess Aidios of the firmament, please guide these unseasoned youths!
Sister May mentions that she's a newly assigned sister to this chapel, recently transferred from the Royal City. This place is surrounded by greenery, and everyone in town is so kind - she thinks she's going to enjoy it here! Father Divine is a bit strict, granted, but he's also someone she can respect a lot.
At the mayor's mansion, Lita mentions that the missus sometimes helps her with her jobs around the house. On top of that, she treats her like she's part of the family. She even took her out to eat the other day! She couldn't be happier! Mylene is in the kitchen, and muses that Lita takes care of all the housework, but she feels a little awkward about it and often ends up doing some of it herself… She's sure it's because she used to do it all herself before coming to live at this house. It appears like she's taking Lita's job away, so she wonders if she's causing her any trouble? Mayor Klaus mentions that compared to other cities, Rolent is certainly rural with no distinct features. Still, he loves this city - there's just something warm and inviting about it. He wants to build a city that gives importance to that atmosphere.
At the landing port we can speak to Alan again, who is obsessing over luscious chocolate skin and captivating ruby eyes - Scherazard's quite the exotic beauty, isn't she? She's got that fascinating charm that people in Liberl don't have. Estelle muses Alan is clearly off in his little world again… Alan mentions he's actually gone drinking with Scherazard before, but the strange thing is that he has absolutely no memory of that time. Hah, maybe he should try and ask her out again? Anyway, there were no cute girls on the flight this morning, so he guesses all he can do is look forward to this afternoon. Fabree says he's proud of the work he does here, because he's always wanted to work on orbal engines ever since he can remember! Right now he works in maintenance, sure, but in the future his dream is to be involved in airship design!
Skip explains that there are two airlines which travel to the five major cities of Liberl: an eastward circling one and a westward circling one. The westward airliner travels from Grancel to Rolent, Bose, Ruan, and Zeist in that order. The eastward airliner travels in the opposite direction from Grancel to Zeiss, Ruan, Bose, and Rolent in that order. Just to let us know, though, there are no routes connecting regions which are not next to one another. Any aircraft deviating from these set routes either belongs to the Royal Army, the Royal Family, or is flying in Liberl airspace illegally!
Revisiting Elger, he recognizes the emblems on our chest - we graduated! He shouldn't have expected anything less from Cassius' kids… Joshua notes that we're still only bracers-in-training, for now. Elger acknowledges that, but admits his mind was on something else. He knew that Joshua was going to have to give up his part-time job here sooner or later - and that time is now. He knew it'd happen eventually when he hired him on, so we shouldn't sweat it. It's a shame, though. There's hardly anyone out there with as good an eye for weapons as Joshua! Still, that's the path he's chosen, so he should get out there and show them what we're made of! He's sad to see Joshua go, though…
We can also go upstairs to let Stella know of her victory, and she warns Estelle not to be too proud of being a bracer - it's just the starting point. We'll experience a lot of new things from now on, and she hopes she can be proud of the fact that this is the path we've chosen in the coming years. Good luck!
In the southwestern apartments, Euridice says it's almost time for her husband to come home from work, so she'd better get to work on preparing dinner! In the apartment above her's, Anya says she loves her daddy so much! He's so strong, and he's always nice to her. Her mother, Frissa, has already started making dinner for the night, and says she's making plenty, so hopefully her husband will be coming home today. Staying overnight in the mine and working through the night is pretty common for him, unfortunately…
Upstairs at the general goods store, Bloom mentions that she's so very glad that Rinon's store has finally gotten on track. It seems as though it has become much easier to get products since he started having them brought in by airliner. Ever since the first orbments were invented, this world has become a much easier place to live in!
Next time: We read ourselves the news and try to head home, only to be shanghaied into an impromptu bracer mission. Also, more exploration because this game is relentless.
Mechanically and story wise, Orbments feel like a refinement on FF7's materia, being a gemstone which grant magic and skills. By making it so each character has a different track, it sidesteps FF7's issue of making each character mechanically interchangeable. Naturally, Estelle has a balanced, generalist track, while Joshua is slightly more balanced to the time manipulation abilities.
To be fair, the start of most RPGs tends to be exposition and narrative-heavy. Now, it's only some of them which keep that going for long - and I'm thinking this might be one of those. Oh dear. Well, at least it's got chapters, so I could potentially slip in a Live a Live thing or something in between those
As we head south towards home, Joshua reminds Estelle that Dad asked them to pick up a copy of the Liberl News for him at the general goods store. Right! We return to his shop, and he's eager to know if we managed to become bracers? Estelle announces that we certainly did - maybe she should have him start calling her 'Hyper-Bracer Estelle' from now on!
Joshua ignores that and just asks for the magazine. Rinon similarly ignores her and says it came in around noon. Estelle, annoyed at being brushed off, figures she might as well go with it then - one Liberl News to go. It costs 100 mira, which means we got a 400 mira allowance - not bad! Cassius always buys a copy of this magazine, Estelle muses, but does it really sell that well?
Rinon confirms that it certainly does - the Liberl News has an excellent reporter and camerawoman who have done a great job reporting the latest and most reliable news! They're even supposed to have a running story related to Queen Alicia's birthday celebration! Rinon has one more gift before we go, his way of congratulating us. It's a free sample item he received with his shipment of goods - but we shouldn't hold the 'free' part against him. We receive the 'Recipe Book', and Estelle is confused why he's giving us a book with a ton of blank pages?
The shop owner explains that when you get hurt fighting, just limiting yourself to healing balms all the time is going to cut pretty deep into your wallets. That's where a Recipe Book comes into play - if you eat food to recover your strength instead, it's basically free! Assuming you have the ingredients, anyway. Rinon explains that whenever we eat something new, we should write down what's in it and we'll have lots of recipes in no time!
To show off how this works he provides Estelle with a Maple Cookie, and she's got a personal rule never to turn down sweets! Eating the cookie also teaches its recipe, and Rinon explains that basically all we need to do is eat food to learn the recipe, it's as simple as that. As we're traveling we should eat whatever food we come across that we haven't had an opportunity to try before. Joshua thinks that sounds convenient, while Estelle says it's not like she doesn't like cooking and all, it's just that she never seems to get any better at it… She would love to be able to increase her repertoire and really shock dad's taste buds for once in his life! Rinon, ever the savvy businessman, says he'd be delighted to service our cooking needs with the ingredients he has on sale…
A tutorial message elaborates that eating the 'Recommended Dish' at restaurants or using 'To-Go Meals' adds recipes to the Recipe Book. As long as the necessary ingredients are available, the food can be made. There are two types of food: 'Sit-Down' meals which must be eaten on the spot, and 'To-Go' meals which can be carried as items. Ingredients for cooking can be bought at stores like this one, or acquired directly from monsters. Before we leave, we ask Rinon how exactly he even knew today's our last day of training, earlier? He explains that in a certain sense the two of us are like celebrities here in Rolent. He tends to hear a lot from customers coming through here! Estelle mutters that she shouldn't have expected anything less from Rolent… The grapevine around here is seriously something to be reckoned with! Joshua agrees that the women here especially love to gossip…
Let's also read dad's magazine before we hand it off - it's the first issue of the Liberl News:
Article:
[Featured Story] The Queen's 60th Is Nigh - A Milestone Anniversary
The half-year countdown to Her Majesty Queen Alicia's 60th birthday celebration has begun! This has been a banner year for Her Royal Highness, sparking more anticipation than this event has ever seen before. But we must not forget, too, that this year is the 10th since the Hundred Days War, a period of intense turmoil for all of Liberl. As we celebrate, let us also reflect on the tragedies of the past, so that we may refrain from ever reliving them in the future. We have been afforded this luxury of hindsight, and we must use it to its fullest.
Preparations Underway in the Royal City
Main street is filled with the bustle of men and women furiously preparing decor and merchandise for the upcoming festivities, and developing new products specifically for sale during the celebration. The competition is truly cutthroat! 'I yearn for my customers' taste buds to sing with delight!' says Ms. Sorbet, local ice-cream purveyor who deals her wares in the city's east block. Sadly, her new menu will remain a mystery to us until the day of the festival. 'As the population grows, more and more business will pop up all around me. But all that means is more customers, especially at festival time, so I'm certainly not complaining!' she exclaims with a smile. Ms. Sorbet seems to have a few tricks up her sleeve, so to all her competitors, we say: watch out!
Who Shall Stand, and Who Shall Fall?
Prior to the festival, Her Majesty will be hosting our annual Martial Arts Competition in the royal arena. This fiercely competitive tournament is always a big hit, with some avid spectators even regarding it as the day's main event. Which team will come out on top?
[Society] Burglaries Across the Bose Region
According to our sources, the Bose Region has seen a string of burglaries over the last several days, and the people have had enough! The Royal Army Border Patrol stationed at the Haken Gate has been stepping up efforts to apprehend the group of criminals responsible for these acts, and anyone with information on their identities is urged to contact the Border Patrol immediately.
[Travel] Finding the Perfect Getaway
The Kingfisher Inn, along the beautiful Valleria Lakeshore, is more popular than ever following a visit from the women of the Royal City. Won't you come and fish with us, too?
On our second attempt to head home, Aina bursts out of the Bracer Guild and chases us down, declaring that she's glad she found the two of us! Joshua wonders if something's wrong? She seems in quite a hurry… Aina admits we've got a bit of a problem, and wonders if our father is home today? Estelle confirms that he is, he said something about having to sort out a bunch of documents. Why? What's going on? Aina notes we know Luke and Pat, right? Estelle mentions we saw them not that long ago, actually. Joshua wonders if they're in some sort of trouble? Aina says she's not sure how to say this, but… she just heard from Yuni that they ran off to the tower that lies on the northern outskirts of Rolent!
Estelle wonders if she means the Tower Esmelas?! But isn't that place supposed to be a breeding ground for monsters?! Aina agrees that's what they say. Unfortunately Scherazard is out on other bracer business at the moment, so she wants to ask our father to bring the boys home safely. Estelle wonders what she's talking about? There's no time for that! She announces that she and Joshua will go after them and bring them back! Aina's not sure that's such a good idea, since we only just qualified to be junior bracers today. Joshua says that with all due respect, he believes Estelle's judgment is correct in this situation. If we hurry, we might even be able to catch up with the boys before they reach the tower. Aina relents, and says she'll take full responsibility if anything happens. As an emergency request from the Bracer Guild, then, she asks us to lose no time in bringing about the safe return of these children.
Aina explains that the Esmelas Tower can be reached by taking the western path at the junction along the Malga Trail, which lies through Rolent's northwestern gate. She'll be on standby at the guild, so if we run in any trouble we'll know where to find her. Estelle thinks to herself that this is our first real job, then yells at Joshua to come on already - we don't have any time to lose! We can talk to young Yuni, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the boys, and is now sniffling at the Bracer Guild. She begs us to return them safely! Aina has taken her position behind the desk once again, and says she's counting on us to bring those boys back safely…
Before we actually go, we can actually return to the Rolent Sewers at this point, which have been repopulated since we went down there during the tutorial. The monsters are pretty weak there, so it's a pretty easy way to level up and get a bunch of sepith to boot. I kill enough moths and ram-rats to hit level 4. Afterwards, it's time to head onto the Malga Trail and beat up some oversized jackrabbits and waddling foliage as we go…
The Malga Trail is several maps in succession, but it's pretty linear so there's not really a lot of choice on where to go - there's plant enemies which don't move, and flying cats which do attempt to intercept you and start a battle. I think since you start a battle no matter which party members get touched by an enemy, this might actually be more difficult to dodge with a bigger party, but for the moment getting into fights is entirely optional. Halfway through the second map of the trail we reach a set of signs - a large one noting that we need to head east to get to the Malga Mine, which readers of the exploration sequences have already heard about, while the left, smaller path leads so Esmelas Tower, and tells us to beware of monsters! We can go east here, and get into fights with relatively tough red bugs (especially if they're in groups) but beyond some minor loot, there's nothing there for us yet, since we're not allowed to enter the mines without permission.
We soon reach the foot of the rather enormous Esmelas Tower, and Estelle comments that we haven't seen any sign of the kids we're looking for on our way here… Did they really wander inside? Joshua thinks it's likely, and we should head in after them - we'll need to hurry! As we enter the interior, we almost immediately hear the voice of Pat whimpering that he's scared, while Luke tells him to quit being a baby! They're only on the first floor of this place. Estelle wonders if Joshua heard that too? They really did come in here!
She takes a deep breath, to the point that Joshua gets concerned, and then bellows Luke and Pat's names at the top of her lungs, demanding they answer her! When no answer comes, Estelle gets peeved, wondering if the little brats are really pretending like they couldn't hear her?! Joshua figures they might have climbed up to the next floor, we should go after them…
We simply run forward, through the center of the tower and towards the staircase at the far side. The moment we exit onto the second floor, Luke's voice cries out again, asking what they're going to do?! Pat cries out for help, and we get a choice for Estelle: either she runs full speed in the direction of the voice, or she rushes in simultaneously with Joshua, keeping pace with him. I figure if this is going to be a boss battle I'd prefer both my fighters, so I pick the second option. We switch over to Luke and Pat to see that they've gotten cornered on one side of this floor's central room by five flying cats. Luke and Pat try to shoo them away, but it's not working…
At which point Estelle jumps in, yelling: 'Chew on this!' She whacks one of the cats out of existence with her pole, then Joshua flings into view and takes out a second with his daggers, before both would-be bracers land in between the mobs and the two children.
They're astounded to see us, of course, but Estelle warns them to get back since these monsters aren't playing around. Joshua promises we'll take care of them… We then get into combat with the remaining three flying felines… but the kids are still there. We get a tutorial on what's expected of us - we are to protect the NPCs, since the game is over if any of them die! Thankfully they're pretty far back, so it's not too hard to draw aggro and keep the children safe, and they're just the same basic mob that's all over the roads leading here…
When we finish off the last cat, Estelle takes a moment to luxuriate in the victory - that's that! Joshua is pleased everyone is safe, and compliments Estelle's timing when she blitzed those monsters, and she seems touched he'd say that. Pat is glad the danger is over, but Luke just thinks that was awesome! He rushes over to Estelle and says she really showed them! Not bad for a girl. Estelle calls him a little twerp and body-slams him, and Luke complains that it hurts. What is she trying to do to him?! Estelle just asks what's wrong with him? He even dragged poor Pat all the way out here against his will. She grabs Luke and tells him he should think about what he did today! Luke just calls her a violent she-devil who won't stop hurting him!
Estelle muses that this is the thanks she gets for saving his neck, huh? Looks like it's time to give him some of her special discipline! Luke just quickly tries to fess up to avoid whatever that is. It's all his fault! Pat hesitantly asks if she shouldn't, you know, forgive him? Like they teach at school? Estelle says the brat doesn't need forgiveness, but a little discipline should do the trick! As she says this, a shark-monster creeps up from behind her, and Joshua quickly warns her of the danger. Estelle decided it must be something with teeth, right? She turns to face the monster, putting herself between Luke and the creature, while Joshua thinks that he's not going to make it there in time… The monster lunges...
Only for another staff-wielding figure jumps into the fray. With an almighty pummel of his own, Cassius Bright arrives - it's Dad!
After slaying the monster with ease, Cassius chides his daughter for lacking skill and understanding. She must always prepare for unseen danger by sharpening her senses. That's part of what it means to be a bracer! Estelle just asks what the hell he's doing here? Cassius answers that he just happened to be in town, and heard the whole story from Aina. He'll give us points for our quick thinking and taking action to come after the children, but we failed to follow through completely. Estelle admits she really messed up there, huh? Joshua comments that it's a good thing he showed up when he did, and apologizes for not watching Estelle's back well enough. Cassius figures that just means he has room for improvement. Constantly working to overcome your weak spots is the key. (Cassius is the coolest, heh.)
Now, how about we head home…? Cassius asks whether the boys can walk, and Pat hesitantly agrees that he can. Luke, of course, has moved on from complimenting Estelle and is not declaring that what Mr. Bright did was simply incredible! He was like a gazillion times more awesome than Estelle! Cassius chuckles and says that of course he was - he's her father! All right, enough of that - let's get out of here. As the two kids follow Cassius, Estelle wonders who the glory dog is now…? She guesses she should be thankful that Dad saved her behind, but why does he have to go and take all the credit like that? It really chaps her hide! Joshua says that's just the way he is - after all, he is Cassius Bright!
We reappear at the Bracer Guild without walking back ourselves, and it's now evening. Aina says we've had quite a day! Estelle comments that Dad is unbelievable - the second we got back to Rolent he said 'I'll leave the reporting to you,' and took off for home! The sheer nerve! Joshua thinks there's no need to make a mountain out of a mole over it. At least those boys came back safe and sound. Anyway, he's just finished his report… We get our payment for the Child Rescue mission: 1000 mira and a total of 4 Bracer Points. We're currently still 9th Rank bracers. Aina says we did well, and is sure we'll do even better on our second job. She'll make sure to tell us if anything else comes up!
Joshua suggests heading home, and Estelle agrees that we'd better do so, since she still has dinner to prepare! Aina asks us to hold on a second, though - a letter arrived for our father just a little while ago, but since Cassius went straight home, she never got the chance to hand it over to him. Could we deliver it in her stead?
We agree, and Estelle questions if that letter is more work-related stuff? Aina thinks so, since the letter appears to be from one of the guild's foreign branches. As she's sure we know, Liberl isn't the only country where the Bracer Guild exists, and on top of that our father is widely known across the Zemurian Continent, so you can expect these kinds of letters from time to time! We can actually leave town to head home now - the third time's the charm, I guess - though since it's now evening and we finished a main quest, there is some new optional conversations around town...
At Elger's place, we catch Elger himself checking the time - he put in a good day's work today, so it's about time to close up the shop. He tells us he's looking forward to hearing about other great things from us! Stella thinks she'd better get dinner ready, and wonders if we want to eat along? She'll whip up something delicious! Estelle admits today's not a good day, which Stella takes to mean that her cooking isn't good anymore - is that what she's saying? But Estelle used to tell her how delicious her cooking was when she was a little girl. But now… She then sniffles.
Estelle quickly tries to clarify it's not like that at all! Joshua cuts in and says that he's really sorry if we've upset her in any way, but our dad's waiting for us at home. Stella reluctantly acknowledges that she's sure our father would want us home for dinner - he'd be all alone in that house by himself. …If we'd like, we can eat here any time. We need energy to function, so we'll need to get nutrition from somewhere… Also, Schera is welcome too!
Just outside the general goods store stands Radmira, who comments that for a backwoods town, these stores do carry a pretty nice selection of goods. The Liberl Kingdom definitely has a different feel with all these orbments everywhere. She'd better get in the mood to do business starting tomorrow, or she's going to face some serious financial repercussions! Rinon himself says he's looking forward to our success as the city's two newest bracers. He's about to close up shop, though, so if we have any purchases to make, we'd better be quick about that. His mother Bloom is staring out the window still, and notices the sun is already setting… It's about time she got dinner ready. She sure wishes a woman who could cook would appear in her son's life…
In the orbment shop, Freddy says that if we're aiming to become a first-class bracer, mastering orbal arts will probably be essential. A number of braces stop by this shop, and they always modify their orbments after checking them first. Melders notices the time, and guesses it's time to close up shop. Us kids should quit loitering around here and get ourselves home already!
At his house, Fate mentions that of all things, he heard that Pat and Luke took off to the tower north of here. He also heard that we rescued them while they were being attacked by monsters. We did well - that's just what he expects from Cassius' kids! Estelle hems and haws in response, and Joshua explains that, honestly, Dad was the one who saved us all in the end. Fate laughs it off - us kids are still young, we'll continue to grow and mature. Yuni came back home too, so all he can say is that he's just glad everyone is safe. Yuni enthusiastically thanks us for saving Luke and Pat. Midd HOlden was talking lots about us and saying that we did a great job!
In the southwest apartments, Euridice laments that here we go again… her father is overly strict with her husband, but he works so hard… She wishes her father would give him some time to adjust to the work without complaining! Freemont says he's beat - he just managed to get enough wood out for the order he received, but his father-in-law won't even acknowledge his efforts… Guess he's just going to have to work harder. Radford huffs and declares that his son-in-law shouldn't be getting all cocky just because he's gotten a little better at the work! He's still not fit to be his successor, or his daughter's husband. He needs to be able to bear the weight of Rolent's timber industry on his shoulders. Upstairs, Frissa mentions that she just received word from her husband that they discovered a new lode in the mine. Unfortunately it'll only be her and her daughter at home for dinner this evening… Anya is sad her daddy can't come home today, and sniffles…
On the street near the Abend Bar, Claire says he heard we've had some major success recently! She knew she had the right idea to keep an eye on us. Keep up the good work! Inside, Mirano laughs and tells her assistant Mirano that it was certainly worth coming here to do business this time. It seems as though she'll be able to stock up on septium as planned. It might even be worth staying in Rolent a little longer. Simon says that reminds him - a new lode was discovered in the Malga Mine, so that might be something to look forward to…
Ellisa welcomes us to the bar, and tells us to stop by and have a bit to eat every once in a while, okay? If she asks her mom and dad, she can probably get us a free meal. We can bring our whole family if we like! Fellow bracer Ridge is at the bar, and he says it looks like we've had a pretty rough first day. Was everything alright without Cassius being around? Miner Trent sits nearby, stuffing his face again, and he says he'll get back to work after this next drink, or maybe the drink after that?
Faulkner, the barman, says the chef here makes good use of his ingredients to really bring out that hometown flavor. Rolent has a lot of farms, right? So personally he recommends the vegetarian menu… (I eat the Wholesome Pasta while I'm here, and get the recipe. Eating before dinner, huh?) Densel the cook says it's busy right now - this is the time it gets most crowded - and after he finishes all these orders, he'll have to get ready for tomorrow! Upstairs, Tabitha is finishing up the day's accounting, and gets ready to close up shop. Ida and her cat Aryll can be found napping in the outside seating area.
We can find a pair of people on the clocktower - it's Ellie and Armand! Ellie says it was when the stars had just emerged from the veil of night that Armand asked her to come up here. Sweetly, he whispered in her ear: 'I want you to be mine…' As hearts appear above her head, Ellie declares it's just the situation she's always wanted to be in! She's on cloud nine! Estelle guesses it's not a bad place and all, but… The two of them came up here just for that? Joshua again thinks that these things can only be understood by those involved. Armand, meanwhile, is thrilled - Yessss! He asks us to listen to him - he totally got her to go out with him! Oh, Aidios, it was all worth the single day of trouble he went through today! Estelle seems a bit disturbed by that 'single day' comment. Uh…? Joshua figures that could be called a victory of perseverance…
At the hotel, Verne has heard the news that Estelle finally became a bracer - he's praying for her success! Upstairs we can check in on the girl in uniform, and hear her muttering about the mayor's residence being east of town, and the Bracer Guild being south of the clock tower. She thinks hsés got the basic layout of this town now. Speaking of the mayor, we can head over there to speak to Lita, who isn't sure what she should do about the menu this evening. Maybe she should discuss it with the missus? Mylene, meanwhile, thinks she should start making preparations for dinner with Lita - today she's thinking about making her husband's favorite corn cream stew, but… maybe she should check with Lita first. Mayor Klaus is reflecting on the days after the Hundred Days War ended - there's something amazing about the reconstruction of the Liberl Kingdom. Normalization of diplomatic ties with the Empire, development of orbal technology, fostering trade… Queen Alicia's political finesse is really something else.
At the church, Father Divine thinks Estelle appears to be troubled by something. He says we as humans grow through these afflictions, as these are a trial given to us by the Goddess. Aidios, who art on high, please guide this beleaguered youth! No matter which path we decide to travel, we should never forget that each day is a blessing from the Goddess… Paddington is also here, and says that another day has passed, and there is nothing better than peace… War should never happen again. Just thinking about what happened 10 years ago makes his old bones tremble. Sister May is praying, giving thanks for the peace and tranquility She has bestowed upon us this day. Behind the church we can find another kid, Charles, who comments that there sure is a lot of junk around here… He wonders if there's anything interesting?
In the northwestern apartments I speak to Serra in the hallway, who proclaims that of all the things Pat could have done, he ran off outside of town! Even after she told him so many times how dangerous it is because of roaming monsters! She's going to have her husband give him a talking to later… Maybe this family really needs to sit down and talk things out. Inside his home, Luke huffs but reluctantly thanks us for saving him. He hates to admit it, but Estelle was pretty cool - not as cool as her dad, though! Also, he's made up his mind - he's going to be a bracer when he grows up! His mother, Maggy, says Luke is naught as all get out these days… Just when she thought he was late getting home, it turns out he ran off to the Esmelas Tower! It's a good thing those bracers went after him like they did, or who knows what might have happened? She wonders if this is her punishment for spoiling the boy? After we leave, she'd best sit down and have a good, long talk with Luke…
In the next room over, Pat thanks us for saving him today, questioning what would have happened to them if we hadn't come… Luke might grumble and say some mean things, but he's sure he's really grateful too! We shouldn't get too angry with him. His father, Rhett, finally found the book he was looking for. Why was it shelved with Pat's books? He asks us if we know about the four massive towers that exist in the Liberl Kingdom? They're really old and it was written in a book that they might be somehow related to an ancient civilization. Things from ancient civilizations sure do grab the imagination, don't they…? (Ancient towers from a lost civilization, huh? This is probably not gonna play into the plot at all, I'm sure.)
At the landing port, Alan is utterly disappointed - there wasn't a single chick who was his type! There was a chick on the flight from Bose yesterday, though. She had a strange accent, but she was quite the looker! Wonder if she's still in Rolent? Fabree says all flights for today have finished, but he still needs to run a safety inspection for tomorrow. 'Be Prepared' is one of their mottos!
Skip mentions that each of the five major cities in Liberl is characteristically different from the rest. For starters, this is the scenic regional city of Rolent. To the west lies Bose, the city of commerce, which does a lot of brisk business with the Empire. Farther west lies the seaport city of Ruan, Liberl's doorway to the great waters beyond. To the south lies the industrial city of Zeiss, famous for orbment research. Finally, resting on the east shore of Valleria Lake is the beautiful royal city of Grancel. Since each city is pretty distinct, it might be interesting for us to visit them all using an airline sometime!
You know, this is objectively the most information we've had about the country, and it's hidden away in an optional dialogue on a map directly the opposite way of where you're supposed to go. This game is slightly nuts. I guess we'll get it spelled out for use at some point, but I really like how many hints about where things are going are spread around here...
Next: We go home, and back again! Let's do some sidequests before our next main mission, and see what people are up to in the morning...
We finally walk down Elize Highway, heading towards home after several false starts. Before long, however, Estelle speaks up and hesitantly asks Joshua if he thinks she's really cut out to be a bracer? Joshua points out that she seems to have inherited her father's skill with a staff, and her nosy personality doesn't let her ignore someone in distress... Why is she asking this, though? Is she still thinking about what happened back at the Tower? Estelle argues that because of her carelessness Luke almost got caught in the middle of a dangerous situation. If Dad hadn't shown up when he did, he could have been seriously injured! She's just worried about whether or not she'll be able to stay on top of things in the future…
Joshua observes that this kind of talk doesn't sound like the Estelle he knows… If we fail today, he argues, then all that's left to do is take back our losses tomorrow, right? Overthinking and worrying about things that haven't happened yet is definitely not like her. Isn't being a bracer what she's always dreamed of? How can she expect to succeed if she lets something like what happened today discourage her? Estelle takes a moment to gather herself after that, and admits… he's right! This isn't like her at all! Joshua figures a serious expression doesn't really suit her face, either. Laughing like a big ditz is far more natural for her!
After a moment of taking that in, Estelle wonders what that's supposed to mean?! He's gonna see her 'angry expression' if he keeps that up! Joshua admits he may have been pushing it a bit with that last comment… Estelle decides to overlook it this time, and thanks Joshua for cheering her up. Now let's get home and eat - her stomach is growling like a bear! Joshua muses to himself that glutton might be a more accurate description than ditz…
All other directions are closed off now, so our only choice is to head back home and check up on our father in his office. Estelle announces our arrival, and says we've finished reporting to the guild like he told us to. Cassius is pleased by that, and explains that the details of our reports will be reviewed at each branch, and will affect our pay and rank advancement in the future. We should make sure to always report in! Estelle remembers that we got that copy of the Liberl News that he wanted and hands it over, along with the letter from the guild. Anyway, she's going to get cleaned up and start dinner!
As she walks away, she briefly pauses and thanks her dad for coming when he did, today - he really helped her out back there. Cassius notices she's being rather gracious today - Papa is happy! How delightful that his daughter has finally understood what a great man her father truly is! There is no need to hold back, he declares, she should come and jump into her father's loving arms! Estelle just snaps 'In your dreams!' She swears that the men in this house have one thing in common: they never know when to shut up!
After she leaves the room, Cassius decides that she's not as depressed as he thought she'd be, and asks if he should be thanking Joshua for that? He says he didn't do much, just gave her a push in the right direction - she's resilient to begin with. Cassius admits that's true, but that she still has a long way to go. She'll run into more than just a few stumbling blocks in this line of work… Overcoming those obstacles is what will teach her to stand on her own two feet. Joshua smiles and notes that Cassius' soft side is talking again…
An off-screen noise interrupts the proceedings, and Estelle yells that - oh nooo! - the eggs exploded! Are they supposed to do that? Guess she shouldn't have gone in expecting to make a perfect meal in a single try… No, wait, cooking is supposed to be about passion! Exploding eggs are passionate, right? Now, once more…! Cassius admits that this daughter of his can sometimes be a little too passionate! Joshua thinks he should probably go help with dinner, since they don't want the curtains to catch fire again. At this rate, there's no telling when we can expect to have a bit of food ready on the dinner table…
Cassius smiles as his adopted son leaves the room, and decides to open up the letter from the Bracer Guild to see what it's all about. He cuts the seal, and recognizes that it's a message from the Erebonian Empire. His expression darkens as he reads, then yells out: 'WHAT?!'
Later, he joins his children at dinner, and he is surprised to find that Estelle has created a new dish - she calls it 'Estelle's Egg-Splosion Over Rice'! We should savor every morsel! Joshua says he will, since her cooking this evening is excellent! Compliments to the chef. Estelle proclaims that this is raw talent at its best… Today's certainly been a busy day, but a great one nonetheless. We qualified as junior bracers and had our first real assignment, and she didn't even lose her eyebrows making dinner this time! Cassius confirms that the food is delicious - for a first attempt, this dish is actually quite edible. At first he thought he might have to pitch it out the window when she wasn't looking, but it seems that technique won't be necessary tonight! Estelle mutters that sometimes Dad's just despicably rude - doesn't he know how to be humble and just say something tastes nice?!
Cassius tries again - how about this then? Boy, he never thought he'd be able to eat something wonderful like this before he had to leave on business! She made a splendid meal! Estelle thanks him, then pauses... Wait, what was that about business? Joshua wonders if he's really leaving again already, and Cassius confirms that something unexpected came up, so this time he's going to be away for a while. Estelle tells him to hold on a minute - when exactly is he leaving?
The next morning, it turns out. Estelle immediately declares that she doesn't care what kind of job he's doing, that's too soon! Joshua guesses this relates to that letter we brought him. Was there some sort of incident? Cassius plays it off, saying it's just a simple investigation. He'll have to visit a number of places, so it'll take him about a solid month before he's through… That being the case, he asks us to take good care of the house while he's away.
Estelle sighs, and says he always uses some vague excuse like that and takes off for who knows how long… Joshua mutters that we'll have to accept it, because a bracer's job is to help those who come to them for help. She insists that she knows that… but what is Dad going to do about all his jobs here at the Rolent branch? He's already accepted a few of them, right? Cassius says he only accepted 5 or 6… He was thinking that perhaps the both of us could handle them instead? Estelle wonders if he's really asking us to do the work Dad's supposed to be doing, but Cassius assures her he'll only have us do the tasks he thinks we can accomplish, while Scherazard handles the difficult ones.
Estelle decides that we might as well go for it, and Joshua agrees that this seems like a good way to get some experience as a bracer. Cassius assures us he'll stop by the guild and tell Aina about the change of plans before he leaves. Estelle exclaims that she's starting to feel more determined than ever! We'll have to bust our tails with these jobs so we don't tarnish Dad's name while he's gone! In response, Cassius tells his beloved daughter that Pape is so proud…! He then wonders if his dear Lena, who art in heaven, can see her daughter now? Their little Estelle has grown up to be such a lovely young woman!
Estelle tells her Dad should just face it - he's getting old. If people lose their trust in him at his age, he might as well just throw in the towel forever… She's only helping him out because she's his daughter, and she had a duty to pay him back for the last 16 years. Cassius stutters that he's only 45 years old! And what's more, he's very likely the most active member in the entire guild! Joshua just sighs, and says the two of them are not bad… for a pair of comedians.
Joshua asks which flight Cassius will be taking tomorrow? The one headed for Grancel, or the one headed for Bose? Dad clarifies he's heading for Grancel, and he'll depart at 10 o'clock in the morning. Estelle decided that means she'll have to get up a little earlier tomorrow, so she'd better set her alarm clock just in case! She then heads to bed to get some sleep…
Our view shifts to outside the house, where Cassius is having a late night drink. Joshua steps out of the front door, to Cassius' surprise, and tells him he'd better hold off on the liquor or Estelle will get mad again. Cassius argues it's just a way of lifting his spirits before he travels. How about Joshua, though, would he like to join him for a drink? Joshua passes - actually, what he should be saying is that he shouldn't offer alcohol to minors! He's not Schera, who would jump at any chance to enjoy a drink or ten… Cassius says that's because she holds her liquor much better than he does!
The two share a contemplative moment of silence. Joshua morosely observes that there's something really serious happening, isn't there? Cassius responds that there's no conclusive evidence, but there appears to be some sort of movement within the Erebonian Empire… Joshua thinks that sounds suspicious, and Cassius adds that this movement doesn't appear to be overt, but that's what has him worried. He intends to do a little probing at the Erebonian embassy to see what turns up…
Joshua understands, and promises he'll look after Estelle while he's gone. His father warns him not to spoil her - now that she's become a bracer she needs to learn to look after herself. Joshua figures she's got good instincts, and despite being a bit rough around the edges, she has talent with the staff as well. There's no doubt in his mind she'll be a first-class bracer someday. Cassius agrees, but at present she's like a babe in arms who knows nothing about the realities of the world around her. At some point in time she'll have to choose which path to follow in life. And the same thing could be said about Joshua, too…
Cassius muses that It's already been five years since Joshua became part of this family - how time flies! Also, about what he said back then… Is he sure he won't reconsider taking those words back? Joshua pauses, then proclaims that for him, keeping his word is what defines who he is. If he can't do something as simple as that, he doesn't know how he could live with himself.
He knows this may sound stubborn, but he can't take back what he said. Sorry… Cassius says there's no reason to apologize, but that he should remember that no matter what path he chooses in life, he can't erase these past five years. He and Estelle will always be Joshua's family, no matter what may befall him. 'Thanks… Dad.'
I am kind of fascinated by the relationship between Cassius and Joshua - the two clearly met under rather traumatic circumstances, and there's much that's left unrevealed on purpose, I think. I'm not sure if the words he said back then are referring to his statement that Cassius should have left him to die, or something from before that - I'm guessing the latter, and I'm sure we'll get a dramatic flashback about it at some point. I expect Joshua is, like, the sole survivor of his village burning down or something, since everyone in this RPG is entirely too wholesome for the genre. Not only do these protagonists have a parent, but they have a good relationship with him! How rare!
Of course, with the dramatic departure and whatnot, I'm sensing some death flags for ol' Cassius, and that would fix the 'not orphans' situation real quick, wouldn't it? Hope the game doesn't go there, though, Cassius is kind of cool and I demand more ridiculous campy moments between him and Estelle! The amount of dialogue and the expressiveness of the characters does make them stand out rather more than a lot of characters in other RPGs. I swear that Cassius has gotten a more defined personality than Jack did for a solid half of Wild Arms…
Anway, the day finally ends, and for reasons that rather mystify me, we only now get a placard announcing that this is 'Prologue - A Father's Love, A New Beginning'. So what was all that stuff before this? A prelude to a prologue? This is going to be a mammoth of a game, isn't it? And as the first game in a series, all the others are probably longer… Dear God Aidios…
Our scene shifts to the airship landing port, where an absolutely enormous vessel - seriously, it's basically a building with a couple of tiny wings and huge engines - is docked and accepting passengers. Cassius is getting ready to leave, and Estelle and Joshua are there to wave him off, and Scherazard has come along as well. Cassius says it looks like it's time for him to board his flight, and he tells Estelle not to do anything he wouldn't himself, and to try not to be a handful to Joshua. Estelle mutters that for the umpteenth time, she's heard him already… How about he try not to go overboard himself with his own work? He's not getting any younger, you know? Cassius responds that she can say what she will, but he's not about to be overtaken by any youngsters!
He next turns to Schera and tells her he's really sorry about placing all this work on her shoulders at the last minute. Schera says he shouldn't worry about it, though she's slightly concerned about whether or not she can do a decent job in his place… Cassius tells 'Silver Streak' not to be so humble. He doesn't mean to make her life any more difficult, but he does ask her to please keep an eye on the two of us as well. Schera declares that he should leave that to her - tightening up the reins and not spoiling these two is fine with him, right? Cassius smiles, and declares she definitely understands the way he thinks! Joshua is amused, and mentions this looks to him like a mutual understanding between master and pupil…
A woman's voice suddenly announces through the intercom that the Grancel-bound airliner Linde will be departing shortly, so Cassius says he'd better take his seat! He quickly hustles over the gangplank and onto the deck. Joshua tells him to have a great trip - we'll take care of everything while he's gone! We get two options, then - to tell him to hurry back, or to bring back a souvenir! Naturally I request the latter, and Estelle asks for something fancy from wherever he's going. Cassius sighs and says this trip is for business, not pleasure… Still, if he has any money left over, he'll certainly think about it. He tells the two of us to be good while he's gone, just as the gangplank retracts and the airship slowly begins to float away, more like an enormous zeppelin than a plane, but without the balloons…
In the wake of the airship, Joshua morosely states that he's gone… again, and Estelle shares his dour mood. Schera tells us to come on - there's no need to look so down. Our father will be back in no time! (Oh god, no, stop dropping death flags right now.) She's not sure what kind of investigation he's been asked to do this time, but when it comes to our father, he'll have it done before we know it! Estelle insists that she's not sad that he's gone, since he's always been away more than he's been at home! Schera clearly doesn't believe her, but goes along with it.
Anyway, she's going to get to work on those jobs our father left for her, but if we run into any trouble we should give her a holler. Estelle promises we will, but she'd first like to try and finish a few jobs with Joshua, to see what we're capable of as junior bracers. Scherazard is fine with that, and imagines with Joshua tagging along, there's probably not much to be worried about. With that, we get a light suggestion to check in with Aina at the Bracer Guild, and maybe grab a few jobs there while we're at it - and are given free rein again. We'll be doing a few sidequests next and doing some ancillary exploration, but for the moment we find ourselves in Rolent… and it's the next day.
You know by now what that means in this game, right? Time to snoop on everyone again and see what they're up to…
It's a new day! Since we start at the landing port, I speak to Skip and he's glad that his job here is done. The wind sure is calm today - a perfect day for air travel, if you ask him. Fabree says that our father was on that airliner that just left, right? Is he off on business again? That guy is seriously one busy man… Alan chuckles, and says he's making a good start today. For now, he'd probably rate that girl an 83! Estelle just seems confused by his rating system…
In town, we can see Luke chasing Pat around the clock tower, yelling at the latter to turn and fight, cowardly monster! Pat asks Luke to let up a little - feels like all he can do is run away! Yuni stands nearby and mentions that Luke has been like this since morning - boys are so simple-minded! Inside the tower, Paddington plans to start working on inspections and maintenance. This tower is the symbol of Rolent, its history, and it is his pride and joy! At the nearby hotel, Verne says things have just settled down here at the front desk, since they get a lot of guests coming in and out of her when the airlines are landing and departing. Upstairs, the girl in uniform muses that first she'll need to make an appointment with the mayor…
Over at the mayor's house, Mylene mentions that her son is working as a teacher at the Jenis Royal Academy. The house has felt quite spacious since he left, but it's at times like these when she feels a little lonely… Mayor Klaus says that he heard a new lode was discovered at the Malga Mine to the north of here. It seems that it's a pretty promising deposit as well, so this is definitely good news for the mine!
At the church, Father Divine has heard we both joined the guild, and he's sure that aside from our aspirations and expectations there is some tension and anxiety… though he senses Estelle has a different kind of anxiety. The absence of a parent would cause anyone to feel uncertain… Estelle looks rather sad at that. Divine states that we as humans have the strength to overcome such adversity, so we should think of these trials as a gift from the Goddess and work hard to overcome them. Estelle promises she'll try.
Sister May nervously says she heard many things about Estelle from Father Divine… Estelle wonders what sort of things? May says it's just stories about when she was in Sunday School and such. Joshua summarizes that she was an expert at sleeping class, being late, skipping school, and generally causing trouble. May states that despite these things, Divine was quite fond of her as a student. Estelle asks if she really thinks so…?
The church has a few attendees - Seagaro says he and his wife are on a pilgrimage to see chapels from each region of this beautiful kingdom. The airliner just arrived in Rolent - thanks to them, traveling has never been so easy! He's just glad he's been able to get away from work for a while… Edel is very enthusiastic about being here, but says she came along with her husband fully intending to shop till she drops! The air in Rolent is so fresh, and the city itself is peaceful and calming!
At his house in the southwest, Fate asks if we ever heard anything from our father about when he was in the military? Estelle says we didn't, since he almost never talks about anything before he became a bracer. Although he's often told her about her mom! How about Joshua - has he heard anything from Dad? Joshua denies it as well - even if he asks, he always finds some way to evade the subject. Fate figures that at any rate, Liberl is at peace, and there's nothing he wants more than to have Yuni live in a time of peace…
At her apartment, Euridice mentions that she was just thinking about this as she was out shopping, but it seems like there are a lot less quality vegetables now than there used to be. Is it just her imagination? Radford says that if his lower back hadn't given him all this trouble, he'd still be working in the forest. It's too bad that his body aches as badly as it does at this age, since he still wants to go out there and work! He's feeling a bit insecure about his daughter's husband working out there alone… Upstairs, Anya says she'll start going to Sunday School soon, and wonders if it's fun? Frissa mentions that her husband manages the mine, and he works so hard! Therefore she needs to work hard too. When she thinks about things that way, strangely she doesn't feel lonely while they're apart. Guess it's just another way of showing each other love…
At the northwestern apartments, Serra says she managed to hold a conversation yesterday with her husband and Pat, and her husband gave her son a good scolding as well. Pat's always been a reasonable child, so he saw the error of his ways. She wonders if this was a great opportunity for all of them? Their family has finally taken a step forward! Maggy claims Luke took off today in a big rush, and wonders if he really learned his lesson from last time… In the next room, Rhett says he was shocked when he heard the news that Pat had gone to Esmelas Tower. He's an obedient kid, but like any child it seems he has a strong sense of curiosity. It's not a bad thing, but he sure scolded him something fierce over it this time…
Claire is patrolling the streets, and wonders where Cassius took off to? Estelle explains he's away on business and won't be back for a while. Claire sighs, and says he was the one she was most focused on - that's too bad. She thinks that even if Cassius dressed in normal attire, he'd still shine as an adult male! By changing his style he'd express himself as a characteristic beau aside from the typical joe. There's no doubt he'd be popular on a whole new level, too! Estelle nervously asks how old she is again? Joshua agrees that she seems quite the precocious one…
Ida apparently slept through the night outside the Abend bar, though her cat is absent. We can also find Radmira there, who says it's unbelievable - she came all the way here just to find that she wasted all this time for nothing! She can't find any buyers and the shops are bigger cheapskates than she thought they'd be. She guesses it's safe to say that backwater places will always be backwater places... Estelle scowls angrily at this disparagement of her home, while Radmira wonders who she's supposed to be? Then again, she really doesn't care. She'll give us a deal, so how about we buy something? Will one of these woodcarvings work for us? We won't find such fine workmanship outside the Calvard Republic!
Estelle thinks that name sounds familiar - is it some kind of famous store or something? Joshua impatiently reminds her that, actually, the Calvard Republic is the country to the east of the Liberl Kingdom. Estelle pretends like she knew that… (Dear Aidios, what is with your memory, girl?)
Joshua just turns to Radmira and confirms that Calvard-made folk craft items is what she's selling, then? He's sure she'd find a lot more people willing to take them off her hands if she went to the Royal City. Radmire lets out a sigh and admits she really thought some place in the boonies like this one would be a taker on these, but maybe she was wrong? Estelle just gets even more furious at her insulting Rolent - anger meter rising… Radmira figures she'll try heading to Grancel sooner rather than later, then. Though, what is her son Charles up to? Just when she thought she could get some help out of him, he wanders off…
Inside the bar, Mirano declares that they were certainly lucky this time - who'd have thought they'd discover a new lode while they were here discussing business? Coming here was much better than listening to the worthless talk of merchants from the Empire. Right, Simon? Most people think Rolent is nothing more than country, but it's truly a treasure of resources. Simon says that though Mirano is just being facetious, she's still completely right about Rolent's 'resources.' She has a very good eye for all kinds of commodities!
Ellisa notes that we made our first steps as bracers, and our names are already being mentioned among the customers. Rolent may be in the country, but they've got some famous people here like Cassius and Schera, so she wonders how we're going to break into the big leagues… Estelle just asks Ellisa not to put so much pressure on her! Faulkner behind the bar mentions that the chef suddenly said something about changing his supplier… He wonders what's going on? Densel the chef states that the vegetables from the Perzel Farm haven't come in as scheduled… Tabitha, upstairs, says they received a message from the Perzel Farm saying they wouldn't be able to ship vegetables for a while. She wonders what happened at that farm? She guesses she'll have to make immediate arrangements with another supplier…
At the orbment shop, Freddy says it looks like the airline bound for the Royal City from Bose arrived. Since they've got nothing coming in, though, they'll be able to focus on work here in the shop. If we talk to Melders, he says we shouldn't bother him while he's working. He guesses we're old enough that he doesn't have to tell us that, right? And we're bracers, too? Now, that's something else… He's changed his mind about us kids! Behind the shop we run into Charles, who is cursing about losing something - he wonders where the darn thing went? He checked every place he could think of…
At the general good store, Orvid wonders what's up with everything being in short supply around here? Damn it! Somehow he's going to have to dig up a Grade-A product before he heads to his next business deal… Rinon remarks that the Linde just arrived at the landing port, so he's sure the products he ordered from Bose have come, and he'll have to go pick them up. Bloom says Rinon's a hard worker and a good son… but as a parent, she'd like him to take a wife and set her mind at ease.
At the equipment shop, Elger wonders how the first-year bracers are doing? Cassius is going to be out for a while, huh? Joshua confirms that we just saw him off at the landing port - but Elger managed to hear about that rather quickly, though! The salesman explains that back in the day Cassius used to leave Estelle with his family while he was away, but after Joshua came here, he started having him keep an eye on things instead. Joshua wasn't aware of that, and Elger tells him Estelle gets surprisingly lonely when no one is around… Whenever they had her over, she was as quiet as a cat among strangers! Estelle whines that he shouldn't say stuff like that! She's not! Elger just continues, stating that after about two or three days here, she'd eat, sleep, and play like it was her own house… Joshua says he can imagine that, to Estelle's displeasure. Elger figures if we're feeling lonely, we can always come here to spend the night - Stella would love to see us. Upstairs, Stella mentions Cassius being away for a while, and tells us that if we need anything, we should know we're welcome to ask for help. We're not strangers or acquaintances, you know? We shouldn't hesitate, or she'll be really angry!
At the Bracer Guild, Ridge says it seems as though our father is going to be gone for a while… Estelle angrily says that the second you think he's been home for a bit, he suddenly strolls right back out the door! She wonders if he's really working, sometimes… Ridge points out Cassius is in every way the veteran member of the Rolent branch, and it seems like until recently he was handling all the important requests single-handedly. It seems like he only just started leaving some of these jobs up to Schera, and it looks like he gets a lot of direct requests from other branches as well. That's why he's gone so often. Estelle admits she had no idea… Joshua points out he's the type of person that never talks about work at home, and Estelle agrees that he just seems like a no-good middle-aged man at home. Ridge says there's a lot of bracers who really respect Cassius, and he's one of them too…
Next: We actually get to those sidequests - cutscenes are long, sometimes! Also we explore a few corners of the map that only now become freely accessible.
Brief entry today, but I want to have this all settled in one go. We check in with Aina, who wishes us a good morning and asks whether our father already left. Estelle explains that's exactly why we came here - to find out about the jobs he left for us! Aina says she's got a total of three jobs lined up for us. For the first, she'd like us to head out to the farm west of here. Estelle recognizes it as the one where her old classmate from Sunday School lives - Tio Perzel, the owner's daughter! Aina is surprised we know her, since it was indeed the Perzel Farm that put in a request to have someone exterminate some monsters.
Estelle wonders if they're really having problems like that? Aina says that fortunately nobody's gotten hurt, but the owner and his family are upset over their fields being destroyed by the creatures, hence the extermination request. Estelle says she never would have expected something like that to happen…
In any case, let's go! Estelle decides we should head out right away, and Aina offers us something to take along. We receive a Guild Referral from her, a document which certifies that we were dispatched by the guild. We should give it to the owner of the farm to prove we're there legitimately. Estelle says we already know Tio's father pretty well, so she doesn't think that's actually necessary, but we'll take it just in case. Aina then explains that the farm can be reached by heading south at the break along the Milch Main Road to the west of town, though I guess we already know that...
Before we do that, though, we can pick up a few jobs at the Bracer Guild boards:
If you don't want to read tiny text:
Find the Shiny Rock Client: Charles Term: Long Pay: 30 Mira Difficulty: Easy
"I'd like someone to find my shiny rock. Please speak to me directly for details. I think I might have dropped it behind the Melders Orbal Factory."
Milch Main Road Monster Client: Bracer Guild Term: Long Pay: 600 Mira Difficulty: Low
"A ferocious monster known as a Pine Plant has been spotted roving the Milch Main Road. Bracers from this branch are requested to deal with this threat immediately."
These are optional side-quests, and I think I'll keep these in their own little updates away from the main plot, as such. Some of them are just fetch quests or an assignment to kill a single powerful monsters, while others have a bit of a plot of their own... I don't want to skip them entirely though because these are good EXP, money, and provide some loot... as well as BP, which gets you more guild rewards quicker too. The 'term' is how long the quest will still be available - a short term means that it'll be gone after the next main quest step, while medium or long term means they'll be around for at least one or two more quest updates afterwards. The description updates automatically in our notebook, so it's easy to see when quests are about to expire.
Unless they're particularly difficult, though, I imagine I'll want to knock them out as soon as feasible. Unlike talking to everyone, ignoring these will actually make you mechanically worse off in the long run. In fact, let's get started on these ones right now (even though they'll be around for a while, since they're both long term.)
Side Job: Find the Shiny Rock
We can find Charles behind the orbal factory, looking for his lost shiny rock. Before he realizes we're here, he mutters that it's really weird - where could it have gone? He turns to us and asks us whether we saw a shiny rock around here? One that sparkles? Estelle doesn't recall seeing anything like that. Did he lose something? Where does he think he dropped it? Charles explains that his mom was calling for him, so he ran over to the general goods store where she was. He knows he had the rock in his hand at the time, but when he came back here it was gone!
Estelle wonders if he looked in front of Mr. Rinon's store, and he confirms that's obviously the first place he looked. We shouldn't treat him like a kid, you know! Estelle sarcastically comments he sure is a charmer… Charles says he already asked the Bracer Guild to help find it, so he's sure it'll show up sooner or later… If we happen to find it, we should give him a holler and he'll probably be around in this area.
Naturally we head over to the general good store, and notice a distinct sparkle in a sewer grate. It looks like something must have fallen through! Estelle questions Joshua mentioning the sewers, and he hopes she's not trying to tell him she's forgotten about the sewers already? You know, that smelly monster-infested place where we were yesterday? Practical training? Is this ringing any bells? It's behind the chapel. If we're interested in what's down there, we should check it out a little later…
Naturally we need to head back down into the sewers. Thankfully, due to the lack of annoying tutorials we can dodge past most everything here, and we only really need to beat a group of moths which have gathered near the end of the sewers, next to a rusted grate. It seems a shiny object has fallen down there, a quartz fragment. Now we know why it was shining so much! Estelle says it sparkles beautifully, and figures it's made from septium, right? Joshua says that loosely speaking it is, but let's talk about that later - this isn't really a place for a leisure chat. Estelle figures he's right, since no normal person would want to stay in the sewers any longer than they had to…
Returning to Charles, he recognizes the shiny rock we discovered immediately - but why is it all dirty like this? Estelle impatiently asks him if he doesn't have something else to say to us before he starts complaining? Charles says we're bracers, right? He's already paid our money at the guild, therefore he thinks he has the right to complain! Estelle angrily says that's not the problem, he's -- Joshua cuts in and tells her to calm down. He's just a little kid. Estelle keeps fuming, but Joshua offers the quartz back. Charles wonders if it's the same kind of quartz that's in an orbment? Joshua confirms it's made of sepith, but it's chipped so it won't function anymore.
Charles stares at the rock for a moment and muses that he sees now - this belonged in an orbment… Estelle wonders what's wrong, since he seems a bit out of it, but Charles just quickly thanks us for our help and goes to leave. He pauses, though, and says he almost forgot - take these! He then hands over five 'Drill Meatballs' - his mom gives these to him and tells him they're good for his health, but they're kind of bitter so he can't stand them. Anyway, he appreciates what we did! After he runs off, Estelle thinks that's a seriously cheeky little kid… Joshua is sure this must be a difficult age for him, but… why was he searching for that quartz? Estelle agrees it seems a little strange, but everyone has something they think is important. Joshua agrees that maybe the kid has an interest in orbments?
Estelle says she, for one, doesn't know what's so interesting about those overly complex gadgets - her brain goes numb just thinking about them! Joshua just tells her she'll have to get used to them sooner or later, and Estelle relents. She'll try and learn… Incidentally, Estelle also immediately stuffs one of those meatballs in her mouth, because I want that recipe! After that, I head westwards out of town to tackle the other side-quest.
Side Job: Milch Main Road Monster
Honestly, there's not a lot of work to be done for this one, nor any talking - we just head down the Milch Main Road, then keep going when you reach the path that leads towards the farm, heading further west towards the Verte Checkpoint instead. There's a large stationary plant enemy just sitting there next to the road, and walking close to it pops up a dialogue box mentioning that a large monster is prowling around. We can either leave it alone, or go full Dalek: Ex-ter-min-ate!
[Boss: Pine Plant]
Since this thing is a plant, it's extremely vulnerable to fire damage, so Fire Bolt is the way to go here - you only need around three hits to take it out. The enemy mostly uses water-based attacks, and consequently that damage type is pretty useless against it, so I put Estelle on support duty. Honestly, though, it's preferable to have this thing spam water attacks than have it close in for a physical attack, since it's got a nasty surprise up its sleeve: when it's defeated it violently explodes and does a potentially lethal amount of damage to anything nearby. Ranged combat is very much a must here!
There! After killing the plant monster I head back to town to turn in both side-quests, and get 30 mira and 2 BP for the whole shiny rock situation, and a nice 600 mira and 3 BP for the monster. Our rank also goes up at this point, so we're now Junior Bracers - 8th Class! As a reward for ranking up we get an Information quartz, which allows you to scan enemies by fighting them as long as it's equipped on someone. This is actually great - while basic monster information is available anyway, this quartz lets you know more esoteric stuff like if an enemy is weak to some status effect, explodes after death, that sort of thing. Definitely things you'd want to know!
We can now access a bit more of the map than just that western path, since everything in the Rolent region is pretty much open to us. Heading north to Malga Mine doesn't really give us anything new, but we can head southwards towards our home, and then keep heading further south following the Elize Highway as far as it goes - previously, Joshua would have told us to turn back. On the third map of this long, linear path there's a split in the road, where the eastern path leads to the fairly dangerous Mistwald forest and the western path continues on towards the Gurune Gate, a fortified location we haven't been to yet. This place is entirely optional right now, but if you check the regional map you can see that it's on the border that connects the Rolent and Grancel regions, so I'm sure it'll be relevant at some point.
Just outside the doors of the giant wall in our way we can see a couple of armed guards. Private Logan mentions that this massive structure we're standing next to is called the Ahnenburg Wall. It was built so that it surrounds the entire neighboring Grancel region. It seems that this wall existed even before the Liberl Kingdom was founded, and he's not sure who built it and for what purpose…
Private Ethan says the Grancel region lies just beyond - do we have any business in the Royal City? Inside, Private Anden wonders the same, but when we deny having business beyond the gate, Anden says he figured as much. Recently pretty much everybody who wants to go to Grancel from Rolent just takes the airship. People passing through on foot like in the old days have become almost nonexistent…
CWO Robin recognizes us as bracers, and thanks us for all our hard work. Let's make sure to work together if any incidents happen! In one of the siderooms we can find Warrant Officer Graves, who greets us and asks if we've come to take a tour? Anyone can use these facilities, so we should make ourselves at home.
Down south we can find the Mess Hall, where Emily offers several types of food (and we get a couple new recipes.) Sam next door offers some beds for us to use to rest up. We can also head into the structure itself by heading up a staircase, and wander around a rather huge and very empty wall. Private Thomas is on the roof of the central structure, and is surprised we made it up there. Didn't we get lost inside? It's more complex than it looks!
Also, at the very end of the longest stretch of the Anhenburg Wall we can speak to Private Selbourne, who wonders if we've come to sightsee or investigate the ruins? This wall surrounds the Grancel region, and in ancient verse the Royal City is referred to as a pearl and the Anhenburg Wall is the oyster shell which surrounds it. He's heard that the wall is so old that nobody really knows why it was built. The prevailing theory seems to be that it was built to prevent enemy invasions…
After returning to Rolent, we can head along the Milch Main Road westwards out of town, then keep going even past where we fought the monster on the road. We eventually end up at the Verte Bridge Checkpoint, which is very similar to Gurune Gate in some respects, since it marks the border between Rolent's sphere of influence and Bose's. It's much more low-key and less defended, with only a few people populating this fairly quiet place…
Inside a small office building we can speak to CWO Ashton, who actually recognizes us - it's been a while since we last met! It turns out he's actually the father of young Luke, and he heard his boy caused us a lot of trouble! He's absolutely ashamed as a father! Estelle is sure it's perfectly normal for a boy his age to be naughty like that - even she ran around outside of town when she was young! Joshua mutters that's true - and she's supposed to be a girl…! Ashton remarks that Estelle is certainly full of energy as usual, and admits he should get back to Rolent more often. It hasn't been long since he took this post, and for the moment there's a lot to do. In the war that happened ten years ago these checkpoints played an important role in dividing the Imperial Army. Although few travelers come through nowadays, they can't neglect the defenses. Unfortunately the attitude of his new recruits is less than desirable… Since he's taken this post, though, he'll need to whip them into shape at least once!
Patrolling around the place is Private Harold, who says he was stationed here just recently. He'd been working on a farm, but decided to enlist in the Royal Army instead. Private Scott stands close to the central gate, and mentions that ever since airliner flights began, there haven't been many travelers on the road. That's why guarding the checkpoint is so boring.
The only one excited about the job is the chief!
Next: We head for the farm to investigate matters there, then return back to town and see what everyone's been up to in our absence...
