Ivalice: The Search for an Heir

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Ivalice: The Search for an Heir

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Post by Tony »

This information is considered "public knowledge" for the Dimensional Warriors.

After pushing Global Defense Initiative forces from Ivalice, three nations' leaders and a religious figure have asked the Dimensional Warriors to assist in finding and selecting an heir for the defunct kingdom of Nabradia.

The party traveled to Holy Mount Bur-Omisace in southeastern Ivalice to see the Gran Kiltias Epolosis, a Dreamsage, who gave the party a list of his visions for potential heirs to the throne.

  • "I dream... and I see a wise, cunning shark. It preys on the weak... and equally provides bounty to its school. It hunts in packs... and while it is feared by some... it is yet hunted. Seek ye the shark... and reveal its heart that it may live beyond its predatory instincts... to rule with goodwill."
    • Maja and Last have discerned this is referring to a traditional sea pirate. There are three options available:
      • "Lady Venture," a tenacious woman with a small fleet at her command. She is a shrewd, driven woman who guides her crew by its needs and wants, seeming to take the most joy out of the adventure to achieve those goals. She is currently docked at the Phon Coast.
      • "Doctor Pegs," or Doctor Pegasus, is an ardent man with a small fleet at his disposal. He is a predator by nature, following his instincts and personal ambition to lead his crews to wealth. He is currently laying siege to "Isla Aurorum" in the Naldoan Sea.
      • "Madame Calypso," whom the party has not located yet. She is rumored to be on the northeastern end of the southern continent, northeast of Mount Bur-Omisace.
  • "I dream... and I see a strong, ferocious wyrm. Its fury engulfs any that cross it... and yet while its reach is small and bound to the earth... it yearns to be released... and will stop at nothing to free itself from its shackles. Seek ye the wyrm... and soothe its rage that it may accept its place in this earth... yet rule with focused determination."
  • "I dream... and I see a cerulean dove, graceful and aloof. It soars above all else... watching... wishing it could land and safely live amongst the flora and fauna, both hesitant to fold its wings and fatigued of its flight. Seek ye the dove... that you may assuage its fears and allow it to rule as a creature of the earth... and not separate itself from it."
    • Party conjecture suggests this will be a noble of some stature, and the metaphors inside the riddle could indicate someone from the sky continent of Bhujerba.
  • "I dream... and I see a gallant steed, its speed and cunning allowing it liberty... self-determination... and independence... but its ignorance leads it into danger its hooves can not beat away from. Seek ye the steed... that you may show it the truth of this world... and it would rule with intellect... rather than bravado."
    • Maja and Last have determined this to be a nomadic hunter from the Plains south of Rabanastre. "Ivanius" is called a wandering soul, always searching for the next challenge to pit himself against, and is known as a "heartbreaker" amongst the nomadic tribes. He is currently pursuing a quarry in the vast Zertinan Caverns southeast of Rabanastre.
  • "I dream... and I see a great serpent, wise and sly. It eludes that which seeks to devour it... striking with merit against its predators... entrapping prey and winding itself around its home. It encircles the land it claims... judging not with its instincts... but with its all-seeing gaze. Seek ye the serpent... that it may harness its reality of this world.. and use it to guide its people to prosperity... and lash decisively at all that seek to consume it."
    • Alex Sterling surmises this will be a headhunter of some kind, a paid predator that uses cunning and intrigue to both defend itself and strike at its targets. Alex suggests it's likely this heir is in some sort of mortal danger.
Background
This knowledge is accessible via talking to party members, reading Strato Faravis's works, and referring to the Sage Knowledge openly available throughout Ivalice.

Countless years ago, the land of Ivalice was hewn from desert by the Occuria, a group of nomadic Zealians who discovered a Great Crystal on the planet of Sectarius IV. The Occuria used their powerful magic to harness the spiritual energy inside the Great Crystal, foregoing their physical bodies and instead turning into undying spirits to oversee their new world. From the Great Crystal, the Occuria created the dynamic, strange world, shrouding it in spiritually-conductive Mist and terraforming it to their liking. They created the heavenly city Giruvegan, a fortress high and out of reach in the atmosphere like their former home, from which to observe and guide the world and its people.

A couple thousand years ago, after the world grew and civilization took hold, the Occuria chose Raithwall, a great warrior from the northern steppes, to guide civilization as the Occuria saw fit. The Occuria sheared a part of the Great Crystal and set it high on a lighthouse at the eastern "edge of the world," calling it the Sun-Cryst. The Occuria bade Raithwall journey to the Ridorana Cataract and the great Pharos of Ridorana at its edge to reach the Sun-Cryst and shear chunks of its power for himself.

With those portions of the Sun-Cryst, called deifacted nethicite, Raithwall raised an army and conquered the continent he could reach, calling it "Galtea." Four great cities arose: Archades to the north; Nabudis in the center; Rabanastre in the south, and Bhujerba on a flying continent suspended by strange magic stones.

During Raithwall's lifetime, he spread the word of the gods -- the Occuria -- furthering the independent establishment of the religious sect of the Kiltias, a non-state at the peak of Holy Mount Bur-Omisace far to the southeast of Raithwall's kingdom. The Gran Kiltias, the leader of the organized religion, participated at the top of the world stage as an adviser to the King and his heirs in guiding their people.

At the end of Raithwall's life, he divided his portions of deifacted nethicite amongst his heirs who oversaw these cities. The Dawn Shard went to Rabanastre, the Midlight Shard to Nabudis, and the Dusk Shard to Archades. These heirlooms declared whoever possessed them and received the blessing of the Gran Kiltias would be the king of that region. Raithwall died and was entombed in a mausoleum bearing his name far to the west of Rabanastre.

The four great cities grew into nations; Rabanastre spawned the country of Dalmasca, Nabudis grew into the power Nabradia, Archades's lands grew to encompass the entirety of the north and dubbed itself Archadia, and Bhujerba holds claim to its entire island.

In the last hundred years, Archadian technology has exploded, taking its focus away from traditional views of the world and instead focusing on scientific research. Its nation prospered under the rule of House Solidor, That came to a head less than a generation ago, when Archadia reformed into the Archadian Empire, with Emperor Gramis Solidor at its head. His son, Vayne Solidor, joined with the nation's lead scientist, Doctor Cid, to "take the reins of history back into the hands of man," and the two declared a war on the Occuria.

The Archadian Empire overtook Nabradia by force, and it was then discovered the deifacted nethicite had the capacity to act as a weapon of mass destruction, its detonation solely responsible for obliterating the nation of Nabradia, the city of Nabudis, and much of the countryside, filling it with dense Mist and spawning nightmarish creatures in its wake. Archadia forced Dalmasca to surrender less than a week later, and its king died at the hands of an assassin, leaving Dalmasca entirely under Imperial control.

Four years ago, a small party led by Dynast-King heiress Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, worked to overthrow the Empire. Princess Ashe led her party in the ancient footsteps of King Raithwall, visiting his tomb, the Holy Mountain, and the ends of the earth to find relics separated by countless years. In her journey, she discovered the machinations of the Occuria intending to guide history as they see fit, and how wroth they were over Vayne Solidor and Doctor Cid for trying to thwart their plans. The Occuria bade Princess Ashe to end Cid and Vayne, a task she was happy to perform in vengeance for her country.

Ashelia and her team reached the Pharos at Ridorana, intending to use Raithwall's sword to once more cut new chunks of deifacted nethicite from the Sun-Cryst. An allied sky pirate, Reddas, destroyed the Sun-Cryst, collapsing a large portion of the Pharos at Ridorana and ridding the world of the source of deifacted nethicite, considered a dangerous superweapon that no man needed to possess.

Finally seeing its opportunity, a rebellion led by Marquis Halim Ondore of Bhujerba and Dalmascan partisans, launched its attack on the Archadian Sky Fortress Bahamut, a ruinously massive air vessal with the capacity to subjugate entire regions and bring down the Occurian city of Giruvevgan. Princess Ashe and her team infiltrated the Sky Fortress, defeated Vayne, and destroyed the mobile subjugation platform.

Vayne's younger brother, Larsa Solidor, ascended to the throne and immediately ended all hostilities between the Empire and the rest of the continent, setting out to repair the trust and goodwill of his people and the other nations. Ashelia ascended to the throne of Dalmasca, now Queen, and guides her people with benevolence and ferocity.

Two years ago, the Dimensional Warriors reached Ivalice and explored the new world. It was during their visit a new threat arose: a second appointed Dynast-King, armed with a lost fourth chunk of deifacted nethicites, the Midnight Shard left to the nomadic peoples of the steppes in secret. Song-Zu Midas, a shaman, possessed the power of nethicite, spiritualism, and a connection to the Occuria's primal forces, the Scions of Light. He started a campaign against the established countries, tasked with bringing the Occuria's wrath to their people to subjugate them under the Occuria's wishes once again as Ashelia failed to do.

The Dimensional Warriors embarked on a quest to stop him, traeling the world and gaining access to the long-locked away Scions of Darkness, or Espers, to stand up to the new Dynast-King. They scoured the deepest dungeons to the holy city of Giruvegan, where the party made a Treaty with the Occuria: Song-Zu Midas, the Occuria's champion, versus the DW's champion, Roxanne Aislinn, a Zealian descendent herself. If Song-Zu Midas won, the Occuria would take over the reins of history; if Roxanne won, the Occuria would exile themselves and grant the DW wishes in which to set the world's course themselves.

The lost Pharos at Ridorana to gain the strength and resources to fight Song-Zu Midas. At the climactic Battle of Archades, the Dimensional Warriors led an army of Dalmascan, Archadian, and Bhujerban forces in retaking the city from the Dynast-King with Captain Rori Meridian of Dalmasca. The party defeated Song-Zu Midas and the Occuria tasked with ensuring he finished his mission. Song-Zu Midas was arrested and imprisoned for life, and the DW used their wishes to reverse some of the damage the Occuria had inflicted on the world and alter other portions to better suit the people of the world.

Deserts became grasslands, trees with barren branches grew fruit, and the mimic germinite that plagued the wildlands and prevented technology from progressing outside city limits were removed. The nations of Ivalice prosper under their own guidance, and the taint of the Occuria has been removed from the face of the world.
Tony
Aide-de-Camp
Posts: 831
Joined: October 10th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Location: Lubbock, Texas

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