Hall of the Light

Acolyte (nu mou to the left): His Grace Anastasis awaits ahead.

Acolyte (nu mou on the right): His Grace the Gran Kiltias is a dreamsage. He has known of your coming for some time.

[The party approaches the Gran Kiltias, who stands silent with eyes closed. Everyone waits patiently, except for Vaan.]

Vaan: Is he sleeping?

[Ashe quickly shushes him, but then another voice speaks. It is the Gran Kiltias, though he does not open his eyes or move his lips.]

Anastasis: No, my child. I do not sleep. I dream. For reality and illusion are a duality, two parts of a whole. Only the mirror of dreams reflects what is true.

Ashe: Anastasis, Your Grace, I am Ashelia -

Anastasis: Lay down your words. Ashelia, daughter of Raminas, I have dreamt your dream. Who better to carry on the Dalmascan line than she who bears the Dawn Shard? Your dream of a kingdom restored is known to me.

Larsa: Gran Kiltias, then give us your blessing. Grant the Lady Ashe her accession -

???: I do not suppose this is something you might... reconsider?

[A dashing, dark-skinned young man in sunglasses walks in with an attendant beside him; the party makes way for them as he approaches Larsa and Ashe.]

???: My little emperor-in-waiting. You called and I have come.

[Larsa reaches out to shake his hand, but the much taller man instead opts to ruffle his hair. Slightly annoyed, he turns to Ashe and gestures.]

Larsa: This is the man I wanted you to meet. Believe it or not, he is a member of the noble House Margrace, rulers of the Rozarrian Empire.

???: I am but one of very, very many. Try as I might, I could not stop this war alone… thus I came seeking Larsa’s assistance.

[He takes off his sunglasses and hands them to the attendant, while he lays his head back and groans as though exhausted, then looks to Ashe again.]

Al-Cid: Al-Cid Margrace, at your service. To think I stand before the Lady Ashe. It is truly an honor.

[He kneels and takes her hand, kissing it. Penelo is covering her mouth in shock in the background.]

Al-Cid: I see it is true after all. Ah, stunning is Dalmasca’s desert bloom.

[Larsa sighs with exasperation.]

Anastasis: In Archadia, Larsa. In Rozarria, Al-Cid. They dream not of war. Should empire join with empire, the way will open for a new Ivalice in our time.

Al-Cid: Hah, Gran Kiltias! You speak much of dreams. But in the real world, war is upon us.

Ashe: Gran Kiltias, I was told my coming here would prevent this war. I was to assume my father’s throne and announce the restoration of Dalmasca… treat with the Empire for peace, and persuade the Resistance to stay their hand. I have not come all this way to be asked to reconsider!

Al-Cid: A word from you and the Resistance would stop cold… and Rozarria’s pretext for joining the war… scattered, off to the four winds. This was what we had hoped. Alas, circumstances change. A full two years have passed since your reported death. Were it to become known you were still alive… I fear it could only worsen our current situation.

Ashe: Because I am powerless to help.

Al-Cid: [shaking his head] Nay, in fact it has little to do with you.

Larsa: Then what? If Lady Ashe were to extend her hand in friendship… perhaps I could then persuade the Emperor. His Excellency will solve things peacefully -

Al-Cid: The Emperor Gramis is no more. His life was taken.

Larsa: [sighing] Father.

[Scene change; Judge Gabranth marches down a corridor filled with soldiers.]

Senator 1: What possible cause could we have to lay hand on the Emperor?

Senator 2: A deception and an outrage! The Senate will not stand for this!

[Judge Gabranth enters the Emperor’s audience room, where Drace, Vayne, Bergan, and Zargabaath all stand over a body, collapsed on the floor.]

Drace: A viper amongst our Senators!?

Vayne: With Chairman Gregoroth as its head. He confessed and passed his own sentence.

Bergan: A viper with many tails. Much of the Senate is culpable.

Vayne: We had to strip the Senate of authority and assign powers of Autocracy to myself -

Drace: Spare me your lies! I see the serpent coiled here before me!

Zargabaath: Drace, you speak too freely!

Drace: Zargabaath! Do not tell me you join in this mummer’s farce!

Zargabaath: With Rozarria poised to invade at any moment, our leader must have a free hand.

Vayne: The once-great House Solidor is now reduced to myself and my dear brother Larsa.

Drace: Surely you would not go so far!

[Drace draws her sword and points it at Vayne’s neck.]

Drace: Vayne Solidor! As Judge Magister and upholder of the law, I hereby place you under arrest!

[Drace gasps; Bergan has drawn his sword and now holds it to her neck in turn.]

Bergan: Vayne did not make himself autocrat. It was the very Ministry of Law which you serve. Do you see it now, Drace? When you bared your sword at His Excellency, you bared your sword at the law.

Drace: You wear the mummer’s motley well, Bergan.

[Slowly, she drops her sword… then turns and slashes at Bergan, who quickly blocks. He reaches around and grabs her around her face, lifting her off the ground, and then throws her across the room. Her sword goes flying.]

Drace: Such strength - inhuman!

Vayne: Zargabaath, take the Alexander. Accompany Bergan and bring Larsa back to me.

[Zargabaath nods and turns to leave. Gabranth steps up.]

Gabranth: Your Excellency, Lord Larsa was placed under my charge.

Vayne: Oh? Perhaps you mistook your orders then. I see no other explanation for why you were reporting on my doings to my late father.

Gabranth: Your Excellency -

Vayne: A hound, begging for scraps at the Emperor’s table. Would you serve another master, hound? You may fulfill your duty as Judge Magister before us all.

[Gabranth looks to Drace, laying on the floor.]

Vayne: She has been tried and found guilty.

Zargabaath: Your Excellency, I beg you reconsider!

[Gabranth slowly kneels to set down his helm and pick up the sword that was thrown from Drace’s hand. He then moves to Drace, kneeling, with sword poised to pierce her armor. He pauses.]

Drace: Do it. I care not.

[Gabranth looks at Drace.]

Drace: Live, Gabranth. Protect the young lord. Protect Larsa…

Gabranth: Forgive me.

Drace: Pray be quick.

[Another long pause; then, he thrusts the sword. Drace stifles a cry, then quickly goes limp. Vayne takes Gramis’s hand and places it on his lap, as if to make him look more dignified.]

Vayne: And so House Solidor lives on.

[Scene changes back to the group in the Hall of the Light.]

Al-Cid: Let us suppose you approach the Empire with a peaceful resolution. The Late Emperor Gramis would have lent you his ear, that much is certain. But we are dealing with Vayne Solidor. Should the Princess return, he would claim her an imposter. All to tempt the Resistance into battle. Vayne wants this war, that much is certain. As our ill luck would have it, the man is a military genius.

Anastasis: The dreams have told me thus. To reveal yourself would imperil us all. I see war, and Vayne’s name writ bold on history’s page.

Al-Cid: Archadia’s banners fly high. They are making ready for the coming war. According to our latest reports…

[He reaches to his left; his attendant has papers in hand already for him; he takes them and reads them aloud.]

Al-Cid: The Western Armada prepares for war, under Vayne’s command no less. The newly formed 12th Fleet has already been deployed. The Imperial 1st Fleet stands ready. They’ll be under way as soon as the Odin’s refit is complete. And there is more: the 2nd Kerwon Expeditionary Force is being called in… to replace the missing 8th, so there will be no gaps. [folding the papers] The largest force ever seen!

Ashe: And then… the nethicite is the coup de grace. [turning to Anastasis] Gran Kiltias, Your Grace. I spoke to you of my succession. Let us put that aside. Should I become Queen of Dalmasca now, powerless as I am, I can protect nothing. With a greater power at my disposal, perhaps then.

Anastasis: It is the nethicite of which you dream?

Ashe: I require something far greater.

[Anastasis now opens his eyes and speaks in his live voice.]

Anastasis: To wield power against power. Truly the words of a hume-child.

Ashe: I am descended from the Dynast-King himself.

Anastasis: Indeed. Then you have but one choice. Seek you the other power Raithwall left.

Ashe: Does such a thing exist?

Anastasis: Journey across the Paramina Rift to the Stilshrine of Miriam. There rests the gift he entrusted to the Gran Kiltias of his time. Seek it out. The Sword of Kings… can cut through nethicite.

[Ashe nods and turns to leave, but Anastasis is apparently not finished.]

Anastasis: Why he would entrust the power to destroy nethicite, the instrument of his greatness… to another and not to his own progeny, I cannot say. Awaken Ashelia B’Nargin and take up your sword, or your dream will remain but a dream.

[Ashe turns and starts to walk. She stops when she sees Larsa, still frozen in shock; she gives him a regretful look, then continues on. The others follow her.]

Anastasis: [falling back into his mediation] My dream too, fades into day.

[Larsa leaves the party.]

Paramina Rift

Fading Vale

Kiltias (on left): Beyond this rift you’ll find the holy mountain. Take each step one at a time, and you shall reach your destination.

Kiltias (on right): Mt. Bur-Omisace is to the northeast. Should you go south you’ll enter the rift… take care. Gods guide your path. Faram.

Refugee (talking with seeq): The Kiltias of Mt. Bur-Omisace took us in and treated us warmly. Thanks to their aid I’m well enough to return home now.

Refugee (blue seeq): When newcomers what can’t walk on their own arrive, I carry them up the mountain. I’m glad to help the Kiltias, any way I can.

Freezing Gorge

(As the party climbs the mountain, they see the refugees also make their way to Mt. Bur-Omisace.)

Balthier: Empires parade down city streets, while refugees walk barefoot through the snow.

Larsa: And so I sue for peace to stop short war and ease their suffering. My father will choose peace.

Balthier: Will he now? You sound sure of yourself. You can never know another, even your father.

[Balthier and others walk away; Vaan is left with Larsa.]

Vaan: Don’t take it the wrong way, okay?

[Larsa doesn’t respond.]

[Scene changes to Emperor’s audience room in Archadia.]

Vayne: This crisis would not end were I gone. The Senate hates the very fact that House Solidor exists. By necessity, we must find reason to silence them.

Gramis: Necessity? Ah yes, necessity. Does that word free you, I wonder? You show no hesitation to solve matters with blood.

Vayne: The sword of House Solidor cannot be left to rust in doubt. It was you, Excellency, who tempered that sword.

Gramis: Is this your idea of vengeance?

Vayne: It is my idea of necessity.

[Gramis grumbles frustratedly.]

Vayne: If we do not act now, it is not only our future you imperil.

Gramis: So you would dirty your hands, to keep his clean?

Vayne: My hands are stained with blood. I see little reason to stay them now.

Gramis: So they are. And so House Solidor lives on.

[Back to the party at Paramina Rift.]

The Henne Mines

North Entrance

Gate Switchboard: This switchboard operates the mine gates.

>Press the switch.

>Do nothing.

Ore Separation: It’s locked from the other side.

Advisory, Gate Operation: “For immediate distribution and posting: The colour of the switchboard phosphor corresponds with gates currently closed. Accordingly, use of the switchboard opens gates of the colour presently illuminated. Note your desired route and open such gates as it requires. It follows that one cannot open red and blue gates simultaneously. As gates throughout the mine are linked, do verify your route in advance. Workers’ Weekly Wisdom: NO accidents. NO injuries. NO worries. -Imperial Army, Officiary of Resources”

Pithead Junction A

Wounded Imperial: I managed to escape… I don’t know how, but I did. You must be careful. The mines… they’re not safe. How could we have known…

Wounded Imperial (x2): (He’s unconscious.)

Advisory, the 1st: “Noxious fumes and vapors are an ever-present threat within the mine. Should you feel you’ve been affected, report at once to the infirmary. Workers’ Weekly Wisdom: Our workers are our greatest resource. -Imperial Army, Officiary of Resources”

Staging Shaft

Larsa: Look at the magicite. These mines much resemble the ones at Lhusu. Of course. Draklor must be searching for new sources of ore. Should the Resistance move, the magicite in Bhujerba will be forever beyond their grasp.

[The party notices another collapsed soldier some distance away. They run toward him. Fran gasps.]

Fran: Is it her? What is this Mist? [looking up] Mjrn!

[Vaan and Larsa look wonderingly at Fran, then turn in the direction she is looking. A viera comes stumbling around the corner.]

Mjrn: The stench of humes. The stench of power.

Ashe: What’s wrong with her?

[Mjrn hears her and turns, pointing a finger at her, and when she next speaks, it’s with an unearthly voice.]

Mjrn: Stay away! Power-needy hume!

[Mjrn goes frantically running back the way she came, still stumbling.]

Ore Separation

[They catch a glimpse of Mjrn before she disappears again, behind the hulking form of a great wyrm.]

[After defeating Tiamat…]

[Mjrn comes stumbling out of the shadows. Fran starts running toward her. We see Mjrn is holding a piece of manufacted nethicite in her hand; she drops it, and once it comes to rest on the ground, it shatters. A fearful, shadowy visage appears around Mjrn; frightened, Fran stops, but it disappears almost as quickly. Mjrn finally passes out and falls to the ground.]

Vaan: That thing inside her. What was it?

[No one answers. Fran cradles Mjrn in her arms, and Mjrn, though still drowsy, stirs.]

Mjrn: Is it you?

[Fran nods. Mjrn smiles, and with a sigh, falls back into unconsciousness.]

[In the next scene, we soon see Mjrn explaining to the others in a small room in the mine what happened.]

Mjrn: When the hume soldiers came to the Wood, the village took small heed of them. So long as the Wood Herself is safe, the viera give little care to goings on beyond. But in me an uneasiness stirred. I had to discover why they had come.

Balthier: So you came here hoping to find something out, and got yourself caught. You’re as foolhardy as your sister.

Mjrn: They took me then, and set close beside me a stone. They said its Mist would be drawn into me, that the viera well suited this end. I saw the light coming from the stone, and then -

Fran: We have seen this. On Leviathan, the Mist from the Dawn Shard drove me, too, into such a rage. She was taken not by the Dawn Shard.

Larsa: Manufacted nethicite.

[Fran nods.]

Larsa: Then that means - Penelo, the stone I gave you, do you still carry it with you?

Penelo: Sure, it’s right here.

[As she brings it out, Larsa snatches it from her hands.]

Larsa: This is more dangerous than I had imagined. I should never have given it to you. Forgive me. I did not know.

Penelo: I’d always thought of it as a sort of good luck charm. And even if it is dangerous, on Leviathan it kept us safe.

Ashe: There is a place for all things, even danger such as this.

Vaan: I hope you’re right about that.

Ozmone Plain - Sunlit Path & The Shred

Sunlit Path

[If you do not have a Potion in your inventory…]

Imperial: Oh, cruel Fates! I have to help my friend… If I only had a potion!

[If you do have a Potion in your inventory…]

Imperial: T-Traveler… have you a potion on you? My friend is badly wounded… I fear that, untreated… he’ll die. Please, just one potion…

>Give him a potion.

Thank you, thank you! I’m in your debt…

[You hand a potion to the Imperial.]

Thanks to you, my friend’s life is saved. We are in your debt, sir. We fled here from the Henne Mines. We were attacked, you see… It was all we could do to make it this far. We’ll rest here until my friend’s wounds have had a chance to heal. If you like, we could lend you the use of a chocobo until then. There’s a lot of terrain around here which can’t be accessed without a chocobo. You let me know when you need one.

>Leave.

Imperial (laying on ground): I’ve you to thank for my life, it seems. I… only hope my mates in the mine are all right.

Imperial (standing beside his friend): Need a chocobo?

>Borrow one.

Right. On your way, then. Oh, and you do know that some paths are only accessible by chocobo, right? A sure sign that such a path is nearby is the presence of chocobo footprints. Keep that in mind, and you won’t go wrong. The chocobo paths on the plains take you close to the entrance to the Henne Mines… which I’d stay away from, were I you.

>Do nothing.

[end conversation]

The Shred

[Researchers and soldiers lay on the ground outside the entrance to the Henne Mines.]

Larsa: Researchers from the Draklor Laboratory. What were they doing here?

Balthier: Research.

Eruyt Village After Jote

Fane of the Path

Wood-dweller (viera with pixie cut hair standing in front of elder’s den): To be viera is to abide by the Green Word. It is only natural that Jote’s will and the will of the village be as one. If the Green Word forbids contact with the world outside, then so it must be.

Salve-maker/Hala: We have heard the whisper of the Wood. It tells us to deny passage to the humes. So have we summoned the barriers in Golmore. Those to whom Jote gives her leave, who bear Lente’s Tear, may pass - no other.

Wood-dweller (long haired viera walking up and down path): Even should you find Mjrn, to us she is forever lost. Once a viera has forsaken the Wood, return is forbidden. Besides, I would not think a hume’s dull senses able to find her. You will be lucky if your flesh does not soon feed the feybeasts.

Wood-dweller (viera with pixie cut walking behind salve-makers’ den): Are you lost? Or do you trespass here willingly? Either way, the presence of humes disrupts the harmony of our village… you must realize this.

Wood-dweller (sitting and talking to another viera): The salve-makers of our village gather at this house. A salve-maker must have knowledge not only of herbs, but of the Wood as a whole. With our knowledge of medicine and our healing hymns do we support and sustain the village as our elder, Jote, bids us.

Alja: Golmore Jungle has blessed us with a new herb, and we must decide how best it might be used to enrich our medicines. It is a matter beyond your understanding. I would thank you to interrupt us no further.

The Spiritwood

Wood-dweller (viera with long hair walking up and down path near exit to Fane of the Path): You flaunt our laws, abandon our village… does returning here not shame you? Did you think a mere fifty years would find you forgiven?

Rena: I would join my fellow warriors, but apprentices are not permitted outside the village. It is a hardship for me. What has become of Mjrn…?

Kjrs: You come with traitors who abandon the Wood… The blades of the wood-warders are sharp. Stay, if you would learn this for yourself.

Rael: You have spoken with Jote. The wood-warders brook no trespass within the village. Leave now, and do not look back.

Nera: To show interest in the world outside is forbidden by our laws, but a mind once open to the unknown will not be denied. Is this not what has brought you to us?

Wood-dweller (viera staring down at flowers): The flower that blooms upon the water may take root upon the land, but is it then the same flower?

Wood-dweller (long-haired viera staring up at sky): Did our laws not exist, I would still not consort with a hume.

Wood-dweller (viera sitting in center area): Mjrn, you seek? You seek in vain.

Road of Verdant Praise

Balthier: Not bad, Vaan. Didn’t think we’d get any information out of that one. So then, what was she saying about men in a warren?

Larsa: The Henne Magicite Mines - maybe that’s what she meant. They lie in Bancour, south of the Ozmone Plain. The entire region is a colony of the Archadian Empire. There would be soldiers.

Balthier: Is that a problem? Let’s move.

[Balthier and Fran turn to leave, when Vaan stops them.]

Vaan: Fran!

Fran: Yes?

Vaan: I was wondering - what Jote said, you know? About how you said the same thing 50 years ago?

Fran: Your point?

[Vaan makes an exaggeratedly thoughtful face and taps his finger on his chin.]

Vaan: How old were you again?

[A deathly silence as Fran stares him down, then turns and walks sharply away. Balthier turns his hands up resignedly.]

Balthier: Nice, Vaan.

[Ashe sighs pointedly and the rest of the party makes remarks to Vaan as they pass him by.]

Larsa: Surprisingly rude.

Penelo: Try to grow up, please.

Fran: I would avoid unnecessary… confrontation. Do what you must, and let us be off. When you are ready, we should return to Ozmone Plain in the west. The Henne Mines are then only a short distance south.