#That ruins the entire experience for me. It COMPLETELY defeats the entire purpose of engaging with fiction at all

[stellaluna33]

I know that actors do sometimes have real-life feelings or relationships with their co-stars, but some YouTube comments I've seen make it seem like some people don't even believe in the CONCEPT of acting, haha. "You can't fake that!" I mean, maybe YOU can't, but I assure you, people can and do fake that. Successfully. Some people are even so good at faking it that we PAY them to do it.

[scoutception]

Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand review

The SNES was a console with many great RPGs. From popular classics like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Earthbound, to hidden gems like Live A Live, Terranigma, Secret of Evermore, and Shadowrun, it’s a library with a lot of enjoyment to offer. Of course, not every RPG on the system fared so well, with quite a few mediocre and forgettable games scattered about, and unfortunately, Ys V, Falcom’s second attempt at revamping their classic series, after Ys IV backtracked to using the original bump combat system, is among these. Even today, about the only notable thing about Ys V to a modern fan is the current lack of any remake, unlike IV, or the similarly flawed Ys III, which was enough to rouse my curiosity and drive me to give it a fair playthrough. While I did have some fun with it, there’s certainly a reason there were no new Ys games for nearly a decade afterwards, and the specifics on why that is is what we’ll be looking at today. Note that while Ys V was never released outside of Japan, it does have an English translation patch, courtesy of Aeon Genesis, in what was apparently one of their most difficult hacking jobs ever.

Story: About 4 years after the events of Ys I & II, Adol Christin, or, as he’s come to be known, Adol the Red, arrives at the port town of Xandria on the continent of Afroca (yes, literally just fantasy Alexandria and Africa), rather suspiciously without his constant companion Dogi, and on an intact ship, at that. The normally aimless Adol has been lured to Xandria by rumors of a mysterious Phantom City, said to contain amazing riches. After being contacted by a wealthy merchant named Dorman, however, Adol is given the truth: the so called Phantom City is actually the lost city of Kefin, a prosperous nation that wielded tremendous power five hundred years ago through the power of alchemy. Recently, the Kefin desert has been expanding, consuming many towns within the area, and monsters have become numerous and aggressive, leaving Xandria at threat of becoming a barren waste. Wishing to gain access to the secrets of Kefin’s alchemy in order to halt this desertification, Dorman hires Adol to find six elemental crystals that are said to have the power to unlock the way to Kefin. Unfortunately for Adol, he really has his work cut out for him this time; many of Afroca’s citizens are fearful of him, due to ancient legends telling of a red haired man that will bring great havoc upon his arrival, and he’s harassed by a band of thieves called the Ibur Gang, who are out to take all the crystals for themselves. Though Adol makes several allies as well, such as Niena, the adopted daughter of the great adventurer Stein, who disappeared three years ago looking for the crystals himself, Massea, a woman who possesses knowledge of alchemy matched by few others, and Stoker, the spirit of a man who lived five hundred years ago, he also comes to find that several other forces are conspiring to use Kefin’s alchemy for their own destructive purposes, and that his client may be less trustworthy than he initially seems.

While most of the classic Ys games had quite cliche stories, if understandably considering their age, Ys V is actually a fair bit more original, with some pretty decent moments toward the end of the game. Unfortunately, before that point, most of the story just consists of just wandering around finding all the crystals, with the random interferences Adol encounters being the only things spicing it up, such as being forced to undergo a series of trials, or being blown off a raft by a sandstorm and washing up in a different town, keeping the tradition of boating accidents in Ys alive and well. Despite the amount of important supporting characters around, most of them barely even show up for most of the story, which makes for a pretty underdeveloped and forgettable cast, with only Terra of the Ibur Gang sticking out thanks to reappearing in Ys VI. It also just feels very disconnected from the rest of the series, with Dogi completely missing, and a lot of plot elements that feel out of place for Ys. According to the book Ys Complete Works, a lot of plot elements had to be left out of V, which certainly explains why it feels so underbaked, and leaves a lot of potential for improvement if a remake ever materializes, but until then, while a neat step forward for the writing of the series, Ys V’s story ultimately just doesn’t fare very well overall.

Gameplay: Here’s where things really start falling apart. The bump combat system is gone once and for all now, with Ys V using a dedicated attack button like Ys III, a system that remains in place even today. Unlike Ys III, however, the general gameplay is still much more similar to the other titles, overhead perspective and all, with the change in combat instead feeling a lot more like the 2D Zelda titles. Along with swing his sword, Adol can also now use his shield to actively block attacks. There’s also a jump button, though there’s not much platforming to be done. In theory, this isn’t a bad change at all, but in practice, combat is extremely stiff and awkward feeling. Unlike in Zelda, where Link always swings with a nice, wide arc, Adol is stuck jabbing things for most of the game instead. Each sword has a different range, with exactly one that actually has a proper swing, and the ones you’ll use the most, the second and last swords, only being capable of stabs. Annoying as this is, it wouldn’t quite be a deal breaker, if it wasn’t for how frustratingly precise you need to be when attacking. If you’re even slightly off center, you’ll just whiff. Meanwhile, attacks from enemies are given far more leniency, and even using the shield, you need that same level of precision in order to block anything. Needless to say, this gets very frustrating.

Aside from just attacking physically, magic, or to be more accurate, alchemy, is also available, with spells being made by collecting elemental stones and having an alchemist combine three at a time, with six different elements and eighteen possible spells, which can then be attached to Adol’s weapon and slowly charged up until the magic meter reaches 100, at which point attacking will cast the spell and drain MP and spell charge. While a neat idea in concept, in practice, almost everything you can make is downright awful. Not only are many spells nearly identical to each other, but most of them are just really, really bad, with absurdly long casting animations, during which enemies are free to continue moving around and out of the spell’s range, wasting both your time and MP. About the only useful spells are the ones that hit everything on screen, which take an absurd amount of MP, and the basic fireball, which has no casting animation, and is mandatory to get anyway. Several enemies will also just absorb magic entirely and gain HP, so using it can often be an outright detriment. Even worse, the game basically forces you to use magic by separating EXP into two different types: physical EXP, obtained from defeating enemies with the sword, or from bosses, which boosts physical power and defense and magic EXP, which is gained from killing enemies with magic, and boosts magic power and defense, meaning if you ignore magic, any enemy using magic attacks will quickly wreck you. The stones needed to make the spells, along with a few other items like coins to be sold, are also mostly hidden across the different areas, and can only be found by rubbing up against every wall and object in sight, which is really annoying, and you really can’t afford to miss any of them if you want to make most of the available spells.

Bosses are pretty dumb too, with a lot of them just coming down to standing in one places and stabbing until they die, chugging heal potions until they die, and considering the most basic healing item heals 60% of Adol’s HP, it’s not hard to do, either. In general, the game is overly forgiving. While still pretty annoying, the level system means it is pretty easy to end up overleveled with physical and magic levels combined, and rather than just dropping a set amount of gold, enemies instead drop gems, which can be sold to merchants for varying amounts. While this wouldn’t make much of a difference on paper, the gems are worth so much, and certain merchants have high enough exchange rates, that you can make a lot of money pretty easily, and considering the third and second best weapons in the game are sold in the first two towns, it’s even easier to break the game wide open. Most areas are also really short, with several dungeons literally just consisting of three or four small rooms, so you’re rarely ever in serious danger traversing them, with most of their length just coming from forced backtracking. While an improvement from how grind heavy most of the early Ys games were, the easiness just makes the experience even less engaging, to the point Falcom had to make a second version of the game, titled Ys V Expert, due to complaints.

Graphics: The visuals of Ys V, to put it bluntly, barely even resemble the rest of the series, to the point it’s basically indistinguishable from any other SNES RPG. It doesn’t look outright bad, but whereas Ys usually uses a super deformed style with lots of colors, Ys V uses a more realistically proportioned style with really dark, dull colors, to the point that Adol’s usual distinctive bright red hair looks more brown than anything. Most areas are pretty forgettable, with pretty generic caves and ruins, but there are a few neat areas, like the rainy marshlands, which actually carry a pretty strong atmosphere, and the bosses look kinda cool, if a bit samey. You also get to customize Adol a bit, being able to change the color of his clothes and armor in the menu, along with his hair color, if you find a hidden NPC fairly late in the game, with the default option actually giving him his usual hair color. Overall, though, the visuals are still pretty unspectacular.

Music: In yet another change from series tradition, Ys V forgoes the usual rock style of the soundtrack, and instead takes a much more orchestral approach, again making it stand out even less from its competition, only retaining a few traditions like the item collection music and the Theme of Adol. In this case, however, I can’t complain that much about the change, because the resulting soundtrack, in usual Falcom fashion, is still fantastic. From the peaceful Foresta Village, to the melancholy Misty Lake, to the mysterious Oasis, to the dark Sand Castle, to the adventurous Wilderness, there are a lot of great tracks to be found, and it’s absolutely worth looking up the soundtrack even if the rest of the game would drive you away.

Conclusion: Overall, Ys V is not recommended. It’s not an outright bad game, and can still be decently fun. It’s short enough that it’s not much of an investment to play through, and it was still an important step that allowed Ys VI to fully modernize the gameplay of the series. As a whole though, it’s still a pretty underwhelming and clunky experience that’s almost completely divorced from the rest of the series. You’re not missing much by leaving it alone, and perhaps with the release of Ys IX, a remake of V could be next on the schedule. Either way, that’s about all I can even say about this game. Till next time. -Scout

[irandrura]

More detailed, spoiler-full thoughts on Xenoblade Chronicles 2:

One of the things that always fascinates me, when I compare JRPGs and WRPGs, is the sorts of conflicts they’re interested in, or the sorts of questions they ask. XC2 is yet another example of a JRPG that asks a question that simply never seems to arise in Western games. That question is: is there an ethical basis for the world’s existence? Is there a justification for the world continuing to be? Is existence, being, even a good thing at all?

XC2 is fascinated by this question, and even by the more narrow questions of “is it a good thing for humans to exist?” or “is it a good thing for people in general to exist?” It takes these questions very seriously, to the extent that characters who firmly conclude “no” are treated as sympathetic antagonists, rather than madmen.

Western games only rarely raise similar questions. Every now and then you get a madman in Fallout who thinks humanity is a scourge and should be replaced by some other race, or the likes of Archaon in Warhammer, who seeks to destroy the world because the gods demand it – but these characters are generally not treated sympathetically, and very little time is spent refuting them. Of course you stop the guy who wants to destroy the human race. What, you need a reason? Here’s one: you’re human, so are people you care about, end of story. There’s not much to engage with there. In the likes of Skyrim, when Arngeir suggests that maybe the right thing to do is to allow the world to be destroyed, the player’s response is incredibly perfunctory. “I like the world. All my stuff is here.” What more could you possibly need?

But justifying existence seems like a more central question to JRPGs. Not only XC2, but if I think back to, say, Final Fantasy X, or Final Fantasy VII, or Final Fantasy VI, or, well, half the games in that entire series, a frankly bizarre amount of time is spent arguing with nihilists who believe that the world and/or the human race should be destroyed, because... um, suffering exists, or the world is meaningless, or people are awful, take your pick.

My usual approach is to just attribute these differences to religion. The West is deeply influenced by the Abrahamic tradition, in which God creates the world and pronounces it good. There can be no real question of whether existence is good or not. To even ask the question is blasphemy. This instinct now seems so deeply-rooted that even atheists, who outwardly reject all religion, just take it as read that existence is a good thing. By contrast, Japan still has a historical Buddhist influence, and Buddhism is much more skeptical of the value of being. If you could destroy samsara... would you? Is the goal of the spiritual life to escape, to obtain release from the shackles of the world? The Buddhist tradition contains significantly greater ambivalence towards the world.

In XC2’s case, I think it’s a little more complicated, because XC2, like XC1, is heavily influenced by Gnosticism. I am far from the first person to suggest a similarity between Christian Gnosticism and Buddhism, of course, but here I think the Christian imagery comes to the fore. Klaus is a demiourgos, the Architect of this world, standing in the place of God despite not being truly divine himself. This flawed creator goes on to let loose his own trinity – Ontos, Logos, and Pneuma; Being, Word, and Spirit – but nonetheless is full of regret, unsure as to the value of the world he has tried to build. God himself is not visible; only this broken man trying to fill in for God. Even he is not convinced of the world’s goodness!

(And while we’re on the topic of Christian imagery, yes, I know, Pyra and Mythra’s core crystal is cross-shaped, and Pyra is symbolically crucified like four times in the plot, it’s not subtle.)

But to step away from religion for a moment and look back at specific characters...

  What drives most of the central characters of XC2 is, initially at least, the desire to cease. Amalthus believes that the world is nothing but a vale of tears, and regards the world with little but hate and disgust. Malos is corrupted by Amalthus’ hate and believes that justice requires the world be destroyed. Jin is driven mad by the cruelty of the world, comes to hate the Architect and seek to destroy him. Even Pyra, our ostensible heroine, wants to reach Elysium in order to beg the Architect for permission to commit suicide and cease to be.

As such, the heart of the story of XC2 is responding to all this with, “No! Life is worth living!”

It seems like such a banal message. If anything, it’s doubly so because the game’s protagonist, Rex, is the most relentlessly optimistic and upbeat person in the world. Rex is the sort of person who’ll respond to all the above with an innocent, “Well, that’s how life is, you know? You’ve gotta take the good with the bad.” He has no darkness in him at all. Even Shulk, who was a total sweetie-pie, was willing to go on a quest to flat-out kill someone for revenge. Rex is truly a beautiful cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. Heck, one of his lines in battle is a completely unironic “We’ll beat them with the power of friendship!”

That’s one of the odd things, for me. Rex himself does not struggle with inner darkness, or with anything I’d recognise as suicidal tendencies or depression. He searches for an answer to justify the world to Malos, but ultimately doesn’t come up with anything more coherent than, “There are wonderful, valuable things in this world, and I believe people can change, and I know that you once believed that too!” This isn’t a story where Rex finds a substantive answer to the question, or one that would satisfy a philosopher. Rather, he ‘solves’ the puzzle through sheer force of will. He ends up convincing the Architect that the world has merit not through anything he says, but through what he does – through his selfless optimism and belief in other people.

Just as Amalthus and Jin concluded the world needs to die not because of philosophy, but because of traumatic personal experience, Rex concludes the world needs to live because of positive, uplifting personal experience. The answer to the dark impulse that would destroy the world is to point to positive relationships within it, even in the lives of the people trying to destroy it: Mikhail and Patroka, or even Jin and Malos, have genuine friendships. (The moment where Malos stops to hug Jin, even as he heads off to destroy the world, is surprisingly touching.)

On one level this really works. It fits surprisingly well with the overall Christian themes: the answer to “why should the world exist?” is “loving relationships”. Pyra’s answer, in fact, is “I love this world because you’re in it.”

On another level, it feels a touch disappointing, if only because it means the climax of the game is just a reiteration of what the player’s been hearing for the past fifty hours: yes, love and friendship and bonds are good things!

Where Xenoblade 2 works, I think for me, is where the specifics of the relationships feel powerful enough to make those clichés feel fresh. The game’s world sets up a number of reasons to despair (the world is slowly dying, the titans are dying, people are warring over the declining and limited resources, etc.) and then sets up a lot of obstacles to relationship (the Blades, immortal, but having their memories wiped every time their closest friends die, feel quite tragic), and then shows love and friendship perpetually overcoming them. The game’s strongest moments are those where, at a point of despair, somehow love saves the day again. Chapter seven stands out here: both the moment where Nia reveals her true identity, and where Rex practically raises Pyra from the dead by standing over her body and talking about how much he believes in her. Naturally, then, the game ends on the emotional high of the entire playable cast flying off into the sunset, looking fond of each other, Pyra and Mythra’s miraculous return, and the closing line: And thus, boy met girl. Like any good love story, it works only if you buy into the characters’ emotions.

 Xenoblade Chronicles 2, summarised: “Should you commit suicide? No, because love.”

Now that said, two other random observations:

In the first Xenoblade, I really disliked the Klaus twist at the end. It felt like it came out of nowhere, required a large exposition dump, and didn’t add much to the plot. For me, the first Xenoblade felt pretty much entirely downhill after the defeat of Metal Face. Xenoblade 2 still has more-or-less the same backstory with Klaus, but here I thought it was contextualised much better and was more effective. The revelation that the Architect is the torn remains of an ancient scientist, trying to rebuild the world from scraps but now half-given up on the whole project as a waste, feels like it fits much better with the world that we explored.

Xenoblade 2’s world always felt somewhat artificial, and from the very start of the game it was evident that there was a previous world before this one. There’s something beneath the Cloud Sea, and whatever it might be, it was evidently once technologically advanced. Making Rex a salvager was a good move to emphasise that, and the way that so much of the world’s economy depends on salvaging the ruins beneath the sea reinforces the sense of the world as being in decay. The Architect is mentioned at the start of the game, so you know that the world was made or at least modified by someone for an unclear purpose, and the World Tree is mysterious enough. So when later in the game you do go below the Cloud Sea and discover the remains of ancient cities, and then find that within the World Tree is an advanced scientific installation, it doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere. Indeed, the final revelation – that ages ago a scientist accidentally destroyed the world in an experiment, and this is his imperfect attempt to fix it – feels both like a genuine discovery, but also something that, well, makes sense. Of course it was that. Of course! That explains so much about why Alrest is the way it is.

  The second observation is... okay, so, XC1 and XC2 are in continuity, that’s all good. How does XCX fit in, if it does at all? I was a bit disappointed when Klaus’ flashback mentioned ‘Saviorites’ attacking the experimental station. Who are they? I wanted to assume that Klaus’ experiment was some sort of cutting-edge secret research immediately before the Ganglion attacked at the start of XCX. That way the aliens attack and start to destroy the Earth, in a panic Klaus tries to accelerate his experiment, hoping he can use the power of the Conduit to save the world, he screws up and ends up splitting the Earth off into two parallel dimensions, creating the worlds of XC1 and XC2, and meanwhile the survivors of Earth in the home dimension escape on their Ark Ships and go and do XCX. That would fit all three games together pretty elegantly, and Conduit-related weirdness might also help explain what the heck is up with Mira in XCX.

But there doesn’t seem to have been any room left for that, so I guess XCX is a completely different continuity? That just... also contains Nopon, who for some reason have heard of Shulk and the Monado? Who knows?

[gascon-en-exil]

A Not Actually Definitive Ranking of Fire Emblem Games

So after a lot of deliberation I’ve decided not to revisit last year’s Zelda ranking project on a full scale for FE, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something I really wanted to do. 2018 is the year we’re going to get alternatively hyped for and disappointed by FE16, after all. With that in mind have an abbreviated list that will end up being one very long post. I’ve got games to gush over and an anon or two (and very likely actual followers…eep) to piss off, so here we go.

The “personal favorites of the series, love revisiting them” Tier - FE10, FE2/15, FE4

I’m never going to argue that Radiant Dawn is a perfect game or even just a perfect FE game, but damned if it doesn’t manage to do so much right all at once. An extremely ambitious story that builds off its mostly conventional predecessor in a variety of interesting ways, deconstructing a bunch of series narrative standards (life in a defeated country kind of sucks and there are people that don’t warm that quickly to young and inexperienced rulers, go figure) and taking an eleventh hour hard right at Nietzchean atheism as read by a Pride parade. Kind of falls on its ass by the end, but every experimental FE story does the same thing so I can’t fault this one. I love the army switching as motivation to try different units almost as much as I love the oh-so-exploitable growth and BEXP mechanics. Its Easy mode also hits a sweet spot for me of being challenging enough to not be a complete snore while also allowing the freedom for all manner of weird self-imposed challenges that don’t even require grinding. By all accounts Hard mode is one lazy design choice after another, but I don’t play at that level so no complaints here.

Never played Gaiden, but to its credit around half of the unique gameplay mechanics I like in Shadows of Valentia were also in the original: the modest army size, the novel approaches to inventory management and magic, the pretty basic class system with just a hint of nuance. The remake threw in some hit-or-miss questing, dungeon exploration, and achievements, but all the rest was either a solid addition or a continuation of NES-era annoyances that I could live with. And the story…SoV makes me dislike the DS games even more just because this game does so much with so little. Even leaving aside the mostly great voice acting there’s a bunch of new content that characterizes almost everybody and makes half of them (the men, anyway, because this is a remake of a Kaga-era game and therefore misogynistic as can be) gay because why the hell not, and then some development that constitutes the only solid attempt at worldbuilding Archanea-Valentia-Ylisse has ever really gotten and also retcons some stuff from Awakening into making sense. It’s even got some solid DLC with lots of character stuff for the Deliverance, the least sucky grinding of the 3DS games, and probably the only context in which I’ll ever be able to comment on anything from Cipher.

No remake needed for Genealogy of the Holy War to make it competitive with the rest of the top tier - just an excellent translation patch and the standard features of an emulator. I’ve never watched Game of Thrones and probably don’t plan on it, but I gather that this game provides the same essential experience with less blood and female nudity and marginally more egalitarianism for all. I can forgive it for being the original Het Baby Fest since you’d be hard-pressed to find a single entirely healthy and well-adjusted individual anywhere on Jugdral and I relate to that just as much. Screwed up family dynamics for everyone! It’s also arguably got a more fun breeding meta than either of the 3DS games, lacking Awakening’s optimization around a single postgame map with very specific parameters or Fates’s high level of balance that ironically stymies analysis. This is another game for interesting inventory management and unit leveling that isn’t too obnoxious, which mostly makes up for the maps taking an eon to play through even with an emulator speeding through those enemy phases. This would be a strange game to remake, but if it got a localized one of the same caliber as SoV I fully acknowledge that this could climb to the #2 spot. SoV would probably have the queer edge though unless they do some strange things to the plot or just make Gen 2 really gay…but then again Gen 2 is the part that’s more in need of fleshing out as it is. (Also, this game has So. Much. Incest. That’s not even really a kink of mine especially as it’s all straight incest, but I just find that hilarious in light of how Tumblr’s purity culture speaks of such things.)

The “good games, but don’t come back to them as much” Tier - FE7, FE9, FE8

Blazing Sword is not here for nostalgia purposes, especially since when I first played the game at 14 years old most of what I like about it didn’t really register. It was just that game with RPG elements that I liked and permadeath that I didn’t, and it took a few games after that for me to become an established fan of the franchise. Massive props for putting such an unconventional spin on a prequel to a textbook FE; this is a game in a series about war in which no war is fought, how crazy is that? We actually get to see the backstory of FE6′s tragic antagonist, even as it’s completely tangential to the plot of this game and so just feels like random Jugdral-esque family drama without context, and on top of that we get the first hints of interdimensional travel and kinky human/shapeshifter sex several years before either of those became controversial talking points about how they were ruining the series. I am so there. Lyn doesn’t matter to the saga, but her character arc is distinct and self-contained and also she picked up a disproportionately large fanbase while being bisexual and biracial so go her. Eliwood is sympathetic and homosocially-inclined even if his growths frequently make me want to cry (at least he gets a horse unlike his similarly-challenged son), and I can live with Hector even if I could have done without his lordly legacy. Throw in some average-for-the-time gameplay with just enough variety across the two routes and even more good character work *waves at Sonia and Renault and Priscilla -> Raven/Lucius and Serra and…* and it’s all in all a solid experience. The ranking system can go die in a fire though, which funnily enough it did after this game. Yay!

Like most early 3D games - except on Gamecube so it’s even more embarrassing - Path of Radiance has aged terribly by every aesthetic measure aside from the soundtrack. It’s also painfully slow, and my computer can’t run Dolphin apparently so an emulator’s not going to fix that for me. Those obvious flaws aside, it’s still an entertaining game, and more importantly it’s the prologue that had the crucial task of setting up all the pins RD knocked over in stellar fashion, whether we’re talking about the basic storyline that actually isn’t or the many het relationship fake-outs (more so in localization…I guess we’ll never know if NoA was actively planning that when they pushed Ike/Elincia like they did). PoR is also a love letter to Jugdral in both gameplay and themes, albeit an occasionally critical one. The jury’s still out on whether Jugdral or Tellius succeeds the most (fails the least?) of the FE settings at developing a complete world with a nuanced and resonant saga narrative, but that Tellius manages to be competitive while being kind of clumsy overall with racism and shifting the series’s overarching motif of dragon-blooded superhumans to one of kinky interracial sex is pretty impressive. The less I say about Ike the better since it’s only his endings in RD that save him for me; suffice it to point out that his worldview and general personality were clearly designed to appeal to a demographic that does not include me.

And finally comes The Sacred Stones, truly my average benchmark FE as I like it but struggle to have any particularly strong feelings on it one way or the other. The story is standard but has a few intriguing quirks, like the light vs. dark magic meta, surprise necrophilia, and how the main antagonist’s sexuality sort of depends on which route you take (except he’s still never getting laid so does it really matter?). It also seems to have been the first game to have made a legitimate effort toward the kind of replayability that’s normal for RPGs, what with the branched promotions, the route split, and the actual postgame. That’s all much more engaging than just filling up a support log. The gameplay is also more polished and (I think?) more balanced than the other GBA games, if one is willing to overlook the minor issue of Seth. Let’s see…something something twincest that’s now an IS running gag, something something guys talking intimately about their lances, something something SoV did the whole dungeon crawling with monsters bit better but I can forgive SS for not taking it that far. Moving on….

The “they have Problems” Tier - FE14, FE13

Probably qualifies as a fandom heresy, but yes I’m putting Fates first of these two. Fates is in every conceivable way for me the “You Tried” game, because I had such high hopes for it from the moment we got the earliest promotional content. I was expecting a World of Warcraft-style conflict between two morally grey factions with myriad convoluted grievances against each other messily resolving themselves one way or the other according to player choice (though note that this is already somewhat damning with faint praise as no one’s going to call WoW a storytelling masterpiece), with Conquest in particular a true villain campaign that I imagined might play out as European Imperialism: The Game. What we actually got was…not that, not at all, but amid all the complaints about plot holes and idiot balls and moral myopia most fans seem to have forgotten just how much there is to this game. It’s three full stories that together average out to be just about passable, with possibly the biggest gameplay variety in the series that fixed most of Awakening’s more broken elements (pair-up, children being unquestionably superior to the first generation) while also adding in new features that undoubtedly appealed to someone or other like Phoenix mode and the castle-building aspect. I can even mostly forgive the obvious growing pains Fates exhibits in terms of queer content, as they were pretty much inevitable once the developers realized that (almost) everyone was picking up on the subtext and that that approach just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Again, they tried, and if the results included face-touching fanservice and plot contrivances left and right and two-way cultural posturing that inevitably crosses over into real world racism at some point I can still step back for a moment and acknowledge that Fates began as a distinctive, high-concept setting on par with Tellius and Jugdral that was willing to do something different with the narrative norm (for two of its routes at least, and even so I’m not begrudging Birthright its conventionality because that grounding is important overall). And who knows? Maybe a later game will come along and retroactively make this setting coherent.

Fates might have more sexual fanservice, but if there’s any FE that I feel ends up a slave to fanservice in a broader sense it would be Awakening. Yeah, I get that when it was in development everyone thought this would be the final game, so it makes sense that the finished product turned out to be a nostalgia-laden greatest hits piece. It’s still hard to forgive Awakening for feeling so insubstantial, doubly so since it ended up revitalizing the franchise and now it and Fates are everywhere. It’s got a plot that only makes some sense in light of SoV and possibly on a meta level (following my theory that the plot structure is meant to mirror FE1-3 in sequence), the first iteration of an Avatar dating game heavily coloring the characterization and support system, and a queasily feel-good atmosphere that allows almost no character to actually remain dead and centers everything around the self-insert and the power of friendship. So much for the series’s traditionally dim view of human nature and recurring theme of the inevitability of conflict. What’s more, in spite of its theoretically broad scope (including a criminally under-explored time travel plot with a bad future) and numerous call-backs to older games Awakening does surprisingly little for developing the series’s most frequently-visited setting. I think it was in large part how generic this game has always felt to me even before release that I never got very hyped for it and as a consequence was never very disappointed by it. It’s just….there, with its nostalgia and its chronic “no homo” and its host of hilariously broken mechanics. I wonder if we’d have ended up viewing Awakening more favorably if it really had been the last game? Eh, probably not.

The “needs a remake or needs a better remake” Tier - FE5, FE6, FE3/12, FE1/11

I don’t have a specific order for these, except that FE1/11 is almost certainly the bottom since 5 and 6 have remake potential and, lack of localization aside, New Mystery was a better remake than Shadow Dragon.

I still haven’t fully played Thracia 776, but I’ve watched and read through Let’s Plays and have read more than enough analysis and meta on the game to where I can definitively say that I wouldn’t enjoy playing it too much and don’t feel all that emotionally connected to the story except insofar as it relates to the overall Jugdral saga. The concept of a standard FE plot that ends with the playable cast losing is an intriguing one, though they really could have done better than the weird non-ending that is this game’s final boss. I’m also not as invested in Leif the fallen aristocrat as I usually am those types of characters, possibly because it’s a foregone conclusion that he eventually gets his kingship anyway. I would like a remake, hopefully one that smooths over some of the original’s mechanical roughness and also makes a bunch of characters gay because the material’s certainly there in places, but I also admit that I’d rather have a remake of Genealogy first. Or, for that matter….

Binding Blade doesn’t have the potential for an amazing story-driven remake that Thracia does; after all, it’s basically a soft reboot of FE1 with an equally bland lord saved by his Super Smash Bros. fanbase and possibly his weirdly large harem. That said, there’s a fair amount of character potential and worldbuilding opportunities what with the series’s first true support system and the content of its unorthodox prequel. Even by itself I feel like BB does more to sell Elibe as its own distinctive world than any of Marth’s games ever did for Archanea, and that’s even with the reality that like the Archanea games this playable cast is inflated with some really forgettable characters (that seem to have followed a semi-rigid numerical quota by class in this instance. It’s weird.). This game never really stuck in my mind as a good playable experience either, not helped by the fact that it feels simple and antiquated compared not only to the GBA games that followed it but to the Jugdral games that preceded it. Good on them for throwing out some of Thracia’s more unwieldy mechanics, but did they have to throw out skills, hybrid classes, and varied chapter objectives too? The space limitations of the GBA couldn’t have been that severe.

While I’ve been spending much of this post ragging on Archanea, I will say that (New) Mystery of the Emblem has some interesting character beats, like the resolution of the Camus/Nyna/Hardin tragedy, Rickard and the situationally bisexual(?) Julian, and some of the antics of Marth’s retainers. I did like bits of the remake’s new assassin plot even if most of it is cribbed from the Black Fang; Eremiya’s no Sonia, but Clarisse and Katarina have their moments. Also, Kris isn’t that offensive to me since I was never all that engaged in Marth’s inconsistent personality and from what I’ve seen his/her supports don’t all devolve into a dating sim. New Mystery has a broader array of characters than either the original or the previous remake, without requiring the player to kill off characters just to get some of the new ones. That said, the reclassing in the DS games is still broken and allows the player to strip even more character out of their personality-deprived units. I’m getting to the point where I’m having trouble separating the two actually, so I’ll just go ahead and remark that I think everyone can agree that Shadow Dragon is the worst of the three remakes so far, with no supports, the aforementioned killing of units, a prologue that adds to the story but only exists on Normal mode and also requires you to kill someone off (seriously, what is it with this game? Is it commentary on the necessary sacrifices of war that they tried forcing on the player for one game until they realized it was a terrible idea?), the needless removal of features from earlier games like rescuing even as others like weapon ranks and forging were left in, that first clumsy iteration of reclassing, and little to nothing that I can see as elevating the story above the standard fantasy adventure fare of Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light that might have been good in 1990 but didn’t look so hot in 2008. Archanea just feels so lifeless overall compared to every other setting in the franchise, to the point where I don’t even feel that guilty about putting the first game in the series way down at the bottom when over in the Zelda ranking I raised the NES games above ones I found more fun to play solely because of their historical significance. Isn’t FE1 arguably the first tactical RPG? I feel like I should appreciate it more, but I just can’t. *shrugs*

[shardclan]

Sunbeam Citizen Special Report

Welcome to a very special edition of the news -- the Sunbeam Sentinel and the Aphaster Citizen have been reigned in under one label. Omen's label, in fact. After her amazing show of power against the outsider, she has plagued graced the Sunbeam Sentinel with her experience as both reporter and editor.

Without further ado or any additional snide edits at penalty of a sound slapping around the ears, we are proud bring you the latest news from the Sunbeam Ruins:

Much to the rejoicing of the guest merchants who found themselves on the mainland side, the reconstruction of Hewn Bridge has been completed. Traffic into the Hewn City has been constant, but relatively smooth thanks to Margravine Maka's firm direction. The most kindly merchants have promised to return in the spring, but even among cordial merchants there was significant frustration. Making the journey to the Southern Snowfields via Trader's Walk is a time-consuming effort, and many of the smaller merchants will have missed the chance to secure their wares for the Crystalline Gala.

Local Merchant Guilds have had mixed feelings about the subject of the Morning Queen's actions now that it's become so clear she was acting appropriate to the threat. Apologies were, at least in part, issued almost immediately after the southwestern skies were returned to normal. However it was the punishment served that truly restored Aphaster's standing among them.

In spite of being born during the eclipse for the sole purpose of executing a deific grudge against Clan Aphaster, the Lady Judge deemed Ilkilidies' collusion with the Outsider too extreme to be excused. He was banished from all of the Aphaster territories, making him the first exile under the Morning Queen’s reign. Dozen of questions and scores of demands for information have poured in from local clan heads but the Morning Queen remains mum on the subject. What could Aphaster have done to offend the Shadowbinder?

The Outsider in question, known as Hitth, had its wings completely removed. The facets that were the source of its powers were seemingly stored there, and thus, to ensure that it remains unable to regain it by any other means, an even more gruesome punishment followed.

Though the Morning Queen refuses to reveal why or how this will prevent the creature regaining power, she commanded that the skull of the water seer be fused to Hitth. Fletch, the Priestess of Blackened Bones, did the deed. By coating the edges of the wildclaw skull in molten metal, and applying it to the screaming creature's face.

Since then, Katiyana has taken charge of the creature and the Icewarden's chosen has departed the Sunbeam Ruins. Though there was scarcely any need to check given his very vocal preference, sources say he has returned to the Southern Snowfield.

The Summerlands have been quiet since, though curiously the Morning Queen has been quiet. Pleased, but quiet. This has led to some speculation that perhaps going in and fighting the creature herself may have had some manner of side effect.  

Local happenings after the defeat of the creature are as follows:

Purpose left the clan as cryptically as she once came, claiming that word of white celestine was something she should take to her homeland.

Augustine, having witnessed such vast and alarming evil, went into the Lightweaver's service. His final words were to his sister, Fletch, and she has requested they remain private.

Camellia's second oldest daughter, Phasmatis, departed gratefully from Promenade medical. Having lived through both the moving of the Seat, and the threat of an Outsider, Phasmatis now seeks a less exciting clan in which to hone her mastery of bone manipulation. It is her hope to turn the power into something she can use to defend rather than for medical purposes.

Qaseem's nerves couldn't withstand the strain of the ordeal. Plague dragon or no, he claimed, all he ever wanted to do was quietly deal in logistics for a well-run clan. Though it was a relatively benign event, being subjected to Hewn City magics by Eos disturbed him--the two never really made up. To have another menace from somewhere even more cryptic that Hewn City was too much for him to bear and he went quietly into exaltation.

Cassis has decided to venture off for similar reasons, though his are a bit more personal. "It's dark enough we've had this happen," he claimed. "But you know it's the knowing that Brightrose would be here singing everyone better that's really taking it's toll. I keep not hearing his voice where I know it would be, and there ain't enough cheer in me to bear that with a positive outlook."

Tungsten finally emerged from her vision hysteria. She is in no condition to actually return to work, but it is the first positive sign for her health in nearly two eons. Because of the coming rising of the Ice element, her mental clarity is expected to make a rapid return. Physical rehabilitation time may vary, but she is expected to be near or finished her recovery by spring.

Techne and the Xanna Guard have recently pulled back from Aphaster--the reason seems to have something to do with Zo (and almost certainly his engagement to Junior--which is so well known it scarcely counts as news). When asked, Zo has insisted it's Xannite business that is very particular to him.

The rift in front of House Betelgeuse has been settled in--by Faded. The infamous and questionably existent denizen of the coven has made the threshold into their personal domain. This has seen the disbanding of the Rift Watch--with Faded so openly protective of the new spirit, they will be all the guarding the rift needs.

In a final bit of news, children have been spotted in the company of the Lady Judge. While it is not uncommon for her to raise orphans, it quickly drew attention--why would there be children in the clan so soon after such a huge disaster? But finding out the truth, no one has been keen to ask too many questions.

They were hatched on the final night of the Time of Silent Moons--which in itself is not unusual. However, the male of the two hatchlings, was born from the Arcane egg discovered during the Exodus. Though no one knows if the female hatchling, Rebis, came from an egg with similarly sentimental background, the effect has extended to her. The questions begged to be asked: Why would such an important egg have been hatched without any fanfare? Why right after such a traumatic event?

The questions remain unasked, and there is a sense of tension about the subject in the clan--particularly with the skull of the water seer having come back into social consciousness. The clan seems to be taking it as portentous--but the children have not proved unusual in any way and the Lady Judge has been open in admitting they will be trained to replace some of the more important openings that have appeared in the clan as a result of Hitth's attack.

Stellaria boldly volunteered to take Qaseem's responsibilities, but her role as Distributions Manager cannot go unfilled and the load of both occupations would be decidedly unfair give the size that Aphaster has grown to. Saber, being already extremely experienced at inventory and vault management duties, is filling the role instead. Apokathisto will be apprenticing under him and if the child proves good at it, he will take the role. The child has shown some interest in the clan’s history, so the Lady Judge has also volunteered that Apokathisto may take lessons from both Dalma and herself and become a barrister. 

With the departure of Augustine, House Perihelion lacks a formal Requester. The role might be thought of as easy to dismiss or otherwise unimportant, but the procurement related to Diver's March and the Leyline Gardens and Solar Farms was also handled through Augustine. It's not out of turn to say that Aphaster's western sectors rely on the requester to stay fully operational. Rebis’ personal talents take a shine toward the magical and the Lady Judge again revealed the child would perhaps take on an apprenticeship in magical theory--but not with Ashes. 

When asked if this had anything to do with the Tribune of Magic’s recent house arrest, she said “No, but it would be very nice to have an accomplished mage and magical theorist in this clan who isn’t an Arcanite. Politicians get very jumpy and difficult when they believe the combination of their neighbors Archmage and Tribune of Magic are capable of razing the entire territory with minimal effort.”

[mysticfyres]

2019 Fyre Awards: Game of the Year Awards

Winner: Mobile Game of the Year - Florence

While I admit I am somewhat late to the party on this one, Florence truly is a clever and refreshing twist on mobile games which I much appreciated this year. Florence is a relatively short game which tells the story of a young woman’s search for love, eventual heartbreak, and journey of recovery and self-discovery. Though perhaps this sounds somewhat simple on paper, the game represents these concepts through beautiful visuals and clean/simple comic-style artwork so beautiful I was practically screenshotting every panel. However, though comic-esque in its style, this game uniquely manages to tell this heartfelt story with almost no dialogue (spoken or written) whatsoever, instead leaning heavily on its visuals, use of colors, and fantastically inter-woven gameplay to tell its story. Though nothing in its story itself was inherently unique, its gameplay elements, such as putting together pieces of a blank dialogue box to demonstrate how it feels to work your way through a conversation with someone new, were. In fact, elements such as these make me both hopeful and curious as to what digital comic designers in the future may be able to do with their work, to allow reader interactivity beyond simply glancing over their page. Innovations aside, however, Florence as it is is a sweet, reflective, and quiet experience I much appreciated amid the noise and chaos of many other entires on this year’s game list. As such, Florence is my clear winner of the 2019 Mobile Game of the Year Award.

Winner: Xbox Game of the Year - Dishonored 2

While I previously sung its praises for its level design, I can’t neglect mentioning that Dishonored 2 was the best single-player experience I’ve had all year. From a visual perspective, this game is stunning, with beautiful steampunk coastal exteriors and interiors brimming with art, coins, and trinkets. Its level design is likewise phenomenal, with diverse options for clearing each and every section of each and every level, whether you are bloodthirsty or aim to disappear into the shadows completely. Its enemy and weapon designs are likewise fun, with iconic adversaries like the clockwork soldiers, and abilities which let you do things like turn into a shadow monster. With so many ways to play and so many cool things to see on your way, the game gives you strong inherent incentive to explore, and spend hours and hours in its world. Although that world is considerably smaller than that of some other games, every second among Karnaca’s alleys felt like a treat. Its overall excellence and creativity in design make Dishonored 2 an easy winner of the 2019 Xbox Game of the Year Award.

Winner: PlayStation Game of the Year - Shadow of the Colossus

Speaking of games I definitely missed out on at the height of their popularity, my first experience with Shadow of the Colossus this year was one I will never forget. Shadow of the Colossus, for those living under a rock, follows a boy named Wander’s quest to climb and destroy 16 colossi roaming across forbidden lands, in order to resurrect a girl named Mono. Although I had a good time with it, there was a lot which I think was left to be desired with Shadow of the Colossus, as even the game’s remaster felt empty, colorless, and glitchy. However, one significant point of note about Shadow of the Colossus is that it permanently changed how I felt about boss fights. After finding these 16 colossi, quaking at their magnitude and destructive power, and attempting to scale and wound them only to be time and time again thrown off, beaten around, or killed, I found myself a changed person. After completing these bosses and this game, no boss battle has ever felt quite as intimidating. Although I’m sure there are yet games out there which will provide even greater challenges than that I faced with these colossi, after scaling and defeating these creatures I don’t think later boss fights will ever feel as impossible to me. That’s the beauty of building a game around crazy-intimidating boss fights, through this, the game trains you to approach even the most insurmountable-feeling task with a level of determination and trust in your own abilities which I feel so many other games don’t care if you do or don’t have. Again, while the game at large didn’t feel that fun or strike any specific chords with me, I think this is definitely something everyone should experience at least once. Thus, Shadow of the Colossus wins the 2019 Playstation Game of the Year Award.

Winner: Nintendo Game of the Year - Untitled Goose Game

As far as games go that let you unleash your inner b*stard, nothing can beat Untitled Goose Game. Untitled Goose Game is a stealth/simulator type game where you play as a goose whose sole purpose is to steal bells and simultaneously ruin the lives of everyone around you. As someone who always picks the nice option in video games, and who knows all too well about the studies which prove the nonexistence of things like catharsis, I didn’t really see myself being able to get into the mindset of a goose who really just wants to bring chaos and ruin. But I gave it a try, and soon found myself giving in to my inner a**hole. Part of the ease of doing this, I think, is great game design. In a world where you can pick up and move everything your goose mouth can hold, why wouldn’t you? In a world where people will be mean to you and stare at you for simply minding your own business, or god forbid- trying to have a picnic, why wouldn’t you, say, steal their radio, lock them in a garage, or break their stuff? Although the game tells you all the best ways to ruin their lives, it doesn’t have to incentivize you to do them: when you’re that small and filled with that much rage, it comes naturally. Although the controls to pull off some of those things are a bit slippery at times, if anything it only serves to fuel your terrible rampage, and continue your pleasure-seeking riot through the village. Again, while not ever things I would see myself doing, a goose does as a goose does. For this unfiltered look at my own psychoticism, Untitled Goose Game wins the 2019 Nintendo Game of the Year Award.

Winner: PC Game of the Year - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

While there were many games I really enjoyed this year, there is no game I had more inherent interest in or continued desire to play than the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. PW:AAT is the port of three classic games which I’ve wanted to play basically my entire life: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations. All three games follow lawyer Phoenix Wright in his quest to defend the innocent in various trials. As a combo of all three games, PW:AAT features hours and hours of content, which together make for an enjoyable, though somewhat mixed, bag of ideas. Characters in the three games are wacky caricatures which somehow loop back around into being unique, yet somehow entirely believable. The writing, meanwhile, careens back and forth between being dead serious and comedic. The story behind each case and the logic it takes to solve it is sometimes clear as day, otherwise seemingly non-existent. However, while PW:AAT is occasionally frustrating, it also keeps things fresh and leads to some genuine surprises. Each trial is a roller coaster ride from start to finish, and while far from a perfect game series, it is nonetheless wildly entertaining. For countless surprises and top-notch entertainment value, I have to give PW:AAT the 2019 PC Game of the Year Award.

Winner: Ultimate Game of the Year - Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

And finally, the winner of my Ultimate Game of the Year Award for 2019 is Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. Like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is actually multiple games in one, and includes both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands the Pre-Sequel plus all DLCs of both games. The collection is named after the famous villain Handsome Jack, who appears prominently as both a protagonist and antagonist in both games. Besides being a genuinely great experience, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection was the series that defined my entire summer, and which I played start to finish with my best friend Ak. Story-wise, the games’ writing is phenomenal, with one of the best co-op campaigns I have ever played, and an engaging yet upbeat story as well. As mentioned before, both games likewise host an iconic cast of characters of diverse ethnicities, sexualities, and body types. The world design is likewise simultaneously bleak and colorful, leaving both Pandora and Elpis feeling both masterfully whimsical yet also like the wastelands they are often likened to. As far as gameplay, the game’s FPS and loot system mechanics are some of the most enjoyable I’ve experienced, and come to fruition in some insanely fun boss battles with great loot drops. Though other games both on this list and in the world at large have tried to mirror these elements, no game quite nails it like this one. The Handsome Collection is likewise easy to sink hours into without even trying, and before I knew it I had over 250 hours logged easily. Though I put off exploring the Borderlands series for many years, I am so incredibly glad I finally gave it a chance, as it’s now one of my favorite series of all times. As the game collection which allowed me to fall in love with this all new set of characters and universe, the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is my indisputable 2019 Ultimate Game of the Year.

[jesatria]

The Other Princeps, Chap 39

Title: The Other Princeps Fandom: Codex Alera Characters: Aquitainus Attis, Amara, Antillus Raucus, Ensemble Pairings: past!Attis/Invidia, slight past!Attis/Septimus, Attis/OCs Word Count: 3,273 Rating: R Summary: In which Attis’s confrontation with Invidia during the Battle of Riva goes better for him. AU. WIP. Warnings: Massive spoilers for First Lord’s Fury. Disclaimer: I do not own the Codex Alera. This is only for fun & no profit is being made from it. Previous Chapters

Chapter 39: The New Alera

         Time passed.

         The Realm healed.

         My children grew.

         When spring came again, and with it the one year anniversary of the end of the war, it caught me by surprise. Much had happened since then, to say the least. Octavian decided to declare the anniversary of the Vord’s defeat a day of remembrance for all those who perished in the war. This brought with it a host of ceremonies, and thus I found myself in Riva for the duration. I made good on my promise to see that the Legions who fought on the first wall were commended. It was also the first meeting of the Dianic League of the new year, and Camilla had received an invitation to join.

         “The Dianic League. I’ve never even given it much thought. Courtesans do not get invited to join organizations of female Citizens,” Camilla remarked to me after the invitation arrived.

         “No, you are certainly not their typical member. But you are High Lady Aquitaine now, and you can’t be ignored or excluded,” I replied. “Invidia was very active in the Dianic League, so it’s possible they expect you to follow in her shoes.”

         “It sounds like those are some rather large shoes to fill,” Camilla observed.

         “She took it upon herself to win me the support of the League. It wasn’t terribly difficult—half the League wanted to mother me and the other half wanted to fuck me,” I remarked, grinning.

         “Did you actually sleep with any of them?” she inquired.

         “A few. The women of the Citizenry have found me… interesting ever since I was a youth not yet come to manhood.”

         “Can’t say I blame them. I suspect there was some overlap between those two groups—plenty of women like mothering men and plenty of men like being mothered by their lovers,” said Camilla, her eyes shining with mirth.

         “Invidia used to mother me sometimes because she knew it annoyed me.”

         Camilla shook her head. “Truly incredible you remained married to her as long as you did. You should get some kind of medal for that.”

         “It certainly wasn’t easy. However, she did do her job well with regards to the Dianic League,” I replied. “All joking aside, I do think being physically attractive helped me get their support. That and publicly opposing slavery.” I’d learned shortly after realizing I was attractive that it was another weapon I could add to my arsenal.

         “Did you actually go before the League yourself?” asked Camilla.

         “Several times. I thought it best to remind them from time to time who it was they were supporting. I probably should’ve done it more in retrospect. Invidia was the public face of my cause on too many occasions.”

         Camilla made a face. “You couldn’t be more different! I hate to think that people saw you that way.” She and Invidia had only met a handful of times, but Camilla had heard plenty about her from me.

         “That makes two of us. I’ll not make that mistake again, though I no longer need to gather support to make a bid for the throne.”

         It soon became obvious after we arrived in Riva that the Dianic League, like everything else, had changed. A number of its members had died in the war, which was unsurprising considering many of them were powerful Citizens. As such, Aria and Isana had taken the reigns of leadership. Exactly what the role of the Dianic League would be in the new Alera had not yet been determined, though the presence of Kitai as a new member certainly set the tone.

         Aria and Isana gave Camilla a warm welcome. It didn’t surprise me, but I was glad to see it nonetheless. “We are pleased to welcome you to the Dianic League, Lady Aquitaine,” said Aria. That took me aback for a moment—I hadn’t yet gotten used to Camilla being addressed as Lady Aquitaine. “And I offer both of you my congratulations on your marriage.”

         “Thank you, Aria,” I replied. We’d invited the Placidas to the wedding, but they’d been too busy with the process of liberation to attend.

         “I’m very pleased you chose to accept the invitation,” Isana told Camilla. “This is likely all a bit intimidating for you. It was the same for me when I entered public life.”

         “You would be correct,” Camilla replied. “Courtesans are not generally trained to address bodies such as the Dianic League.”

         “Neither are steadholders. It took me some time to grow accustomed to doing these things,” said Isana. The more time I spent around her, the more I came to understand how she had captured Septimus’s heart. Speaking at these kinds of events had never come easy to him, though he’d done well enough in Rhetoric class. Isana was completely outside that political world and had only been forced to join it out of necessity. That was probably a not insignificant part of what drew Septimus to her. She was in no way a political creature.

         “I’m sure the same will happen to me in time. Fortunately, I do have plenty of experience in a variety of social settings,” said Camilla with a small grin. “I doubt many of the League’s members will have a high opinion of me, however. I immediately became the most hated person among the women of the Aquitainian Citizenry the moment Attis and I announced our engagement.”

         “At least some of them have resigned themselves to the reality of you as their new High Lady by now,” I pointed out. “I doubt any of them will openly insult or slight you, but I want to know if any of them do. That cannot be tolerated.”

         “Of course, dear. Though I suppose you being there for my presentation might be enough to dissuade them,” she said, grinning.

         “And you have the full support of Isana and myself,” Aria assured Camilla. “That should send a message.”

         “Thank you, your highness, your grace. Your support is greatly appreciated,” Camilla replied.

         When the time came for Camilla’s official presentation, I waited with Isana and Aria in my box. Camilla had spent some time carefully reviewing and memorizing the remarks she was to deliver. I gave her a few speaking tips and used my earthcrafting to calm her nerves before she was called to the podium.

         “And now the Dianic League is pleased to welcome our newest member, Aquitainus Camilla, the new High Lady of Aquitaine!” The audience broke into polite applause as Camilla approached the podium. She wore a new gown in our colors, as it was typical to wear your city’s colors on an occasion such as this.

         “Greetings, fellow Citizens,” she began, “I am pleased to accept the League’s invitation.” As she spoke, I relaxed my shields enough to sense the feelings of the crowd. There was some excitement, but I could also sense disgust and disdain. There was no doubt that they knew she was a former courtesan, even though they might never mention it aloud. That the new High Lady Aquitaine had sold her favors in exactly the same way as a common whore was not a topic for discussion in polite society. “The relationship between the Dianic League and the House of Aquitainus has been a long and productive one. My husband,” some of the crowd turned to look at me, “and I mean to continue this relationship. I fully intend to participate as an active member of the League and do what I can to improve the status of women in the Realm. Both myself and First Lady Gaius Isana represent women who have come from different backgrounds to join the ranks of the Citizenry. It is my hope that more women will have that opportunity in the new Alera. I look forward to working with all of you in the future.”

         Loud applause followed Camilla as she walked back to the box. At least half of it was genuine, I was sure. Pride swelled within me—my wife, a former courtesan, had just spoken before the Dianic League as a full member. As soon as she set foot inside my box, I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a soft kiss. “I’m so proud of you, Camilla.”

 **

         The memorial events had concluded and we were preparing to return home when Octavian approached me. “I would like you to take a short trip with me, Lord Aquitaine.”

         Of all the things I’d expected him to ask me, that wasn’t it. I did not think it was anything sinister, not after his previous decision to spare my life. “What sort of trip, sire?”

         “To Appia.”

         I raised my eyebrows. “Appia? For what purpose? Has it even been cleared of Vord?”

         “It has, and I have some important matters to discuss with you.”

         “Very well. I will go with you to Appia,” I replied, inclining my head in agreement. A short while later, we boarded his windcoach. It was surprising he was willing to be in the coach alone with me, though I was sure each of the squad of Knights Aeris accompanying us were all completely loyal to him. We made small talk on the way there, discussing our infant sons and the areas still in need of liberation. The trip passed quickly and before long we were arriving at the ruins of Appia.

         It looked much the same as it had the last time I’d been there, during my time at the Academy. Few seldom ventured there, expect for scholarly purposes. The Vord had left the place largely untouched, though I had seen some patches of croach from the windows of the windcoach on the way there. “May I ask why you brought me here, sire?”

         “Because I’d like your opinion, Lord Aquitaine. I’ve been thinking about what to do for a new capital. Riva has sufficed for an interim capital, but it can’t be a permanent one. I’ll be accused of favoring Riva over the other high cities. No, there will have to be an entirely new capital. Why not Appia?” he proposed.

         “An interesting choice, to be sure. Most of the Realm expects you to rebuild Alera Imperia,” I said. It wasn’t surprising that he did not favor that course of action. Octavian never took the expected option.

         He shook his head. “I thought about it, but I think what Alera needs is a new beginning. A new capital would be the perfect symbol of that. And it doesn’t feel right to build a new capital on the bodies of the dead,” Octavian explained.

         “And Appia was the old Romanic capital, built without furycrafting,” I added, following his reasoning. “By making Appia your new capital, you send a message regarding your intentions to build a new Alera where furycrafting is no longer the only measure of a man’s worth.”

         “Exactly. Do you think it has merit?”

         “I do. It sends the right message for your objectives and Appia is as good a location as any. Not as centrally-located as Alera Imperia, but close.”

         Octavian nodded. “It will naturally be some time yet before construction can begin, but I mean to start as soon as possible.”

         “I would be happy to suggest some of the best architects in Aquitaine for the project.” We began to walk among the ruins, with the Knights Aeris staying close enough to alert us of any danger. Our walk took us through the ruins of a large colonnaded building. Much of the roof had collapsed in places, but numerous statues could still be seen here and there. I stopped by a particular favorite I’d seen during my previous visit. It was of a beautiful young man reclining on his side, a crown of spikes upon his head. A name could be read at the base of the statue: Attis.

         Octavian noticed it too. “Your namesake?”

         “Apparently so. Your father and I spotted this statue years ago when we visited Appia as part of Magnus’s class,” I explained.

         “You were in Magnus’s classes?”

         “Of course. I’ve always been interested in the Romans. Raucus was in the class too, but he was never all that interested in history.”

         “My interest in the Romans was more about their lack of furycrafting than the history aspect,” Octavian confessed. “It made me feel like less of a freak.”

         I nodded, seeing how it would’ve appealed to him. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did it take so long for you to come into your furies? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Your father…”

         “Started furycrafting when he was five, yes, I know,” Octavian cut in. He sat down on a broken pillar. “It was my mother. She didn’t want anyone to guess my real identity, so she used her water fury to stunt my growth. It ended up working a bit too well.”

         I seated myself on a broken pillar across from him. “No one could accuse your mother of not being cautious.”

         We remained where we were for a few minutes, looking out over the ruins of Appia. “I won’t have all of these ruins made into new buildings,” said Octavian, thinking out loud. For a moment I wondered if he’d forgotten I was there. “Scholars would be furious with me if I did. This structure, for one. No one knows exactly what its purpose was.”

         “The scholars will certainly appreciate that. I daresay my daughter will come up with a list of things she’d like to research after she visits Appia for the first time.” I could’ve sworn Thyra’d spent more time in our library over the winter than anywhere else.

         “She seems like a very intelligent and capable person. I’m glad you chose to acknowledge her and welcome her into your family,” said Octavian. “Bastards have been treated terribly for far too long.”

         “I’m glad too. I only wish I’d been able to find and acknowledge them sooner.” The corners of my mouth twitched up into a smile. “Your father and I talked about this a few times. We knew about your friend Maximus—Raucus told us right after he was born. We didn’t care in the least that he was illegitimate. Septimus told me he wanted to do what he could to remove some of the stigma around it once he was First Lord. He never liked seeing people being treated badly for something they had no control over.”

         There was a hungry expression on Octavian’s face, something I’d noticed when we’d discussed Septimus previously. It was natural for someone who’d never known his father, I suppose. I took it as my cue to continue speaking about Septimus. “He liked to disguise himself and go incognito among the common people. He thought it was good for a Princeps to spend time among his people and see what their lives are really like.” Octavian stared at me with rapt attention. “But I think he also liked to escape from being the Princeps for a while. Sometimes all of that, being given special treatment because of his station, got to be a bit much for him. He told me once that one of the things he appreciated most about our friendship was that I always treated him like Septimus instead of the Princeps.”

         “I’ve heard he used to do that,” Octavian remarked. “It’s how he met my mother, in fact.”

         I hadn’t heard how Septimus and Isana met before, but I wasn’t surprised. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.” Octavian’s eyes were so fixated on me now that I doubt he’d have noticed if a pack of Vord attacked us. “We used to disguise ourselves and sneak out of the Academy at night. Much of the time we went carousing, but we also took the time to observe and interact with the people we encountered.” I smiled as the memories came to me. “One time, we got into a brawl after Septimus confronted a slave trader who was beating his slaves. We always tried to hide the true extent of our powers on these outings so no one would guess our identities, but we ended up giving up the charade once he called in a bunch of his thugs. The looks on their faces when we revealed who we really were…” I grinned, remembering. “Gaius was furious with Sep for ‘causing such a scene,’ as he put it. But we kept doing it.”

         “It sounds like you had quite an enjoyable time at the Academy,” Octavian commented.

         “Yes, your father and I certainly did, and Raucus too. He and Septimus didn’t get along at first, but eventually we befriended him. The three of us became inseparable after that.” I had to pause for a moment as so many memories came rushing back to me. “Septimus and I would talk about what we were going to do once he was First Lord and I High Lord of Aquitaine. He truly understood that it is the duty of the First Lord to protect all of his people, Citizen or commoner, slave or freeborn. When he came out publicly against slavery, he took quite a bit of criticism for it. He was interested in doing what was right, regardless of whether or not it was popular.”

         “I can tell how much he meant to you every time you speak about him,” Octavian said, voice soft. “It’s obvious, even through my shields.”

         Camilla had said something very similar to me once, when I told her about what Septimus meant to me. “I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to. He was the greatest friend I ever had and I’m certain he’d have been an excellent First Lord. He was the best of us.”

         “I wish I could’ve known him.”

         “I wish that as well. He’d be very proud of you if he could see you today.” I paused a moment and looked out at the ruins. “He should be here right now. Everything would’ve been different. I might’ve been an unofficial uncle to you instead of a one-time political rival.”

         “Well, we are technically adopted brothers,” Octavian reminded me, a note of amusement in his voice.

         I inclined my head to him and grinned. “That is true. In all seriousness though, as much as I wish Septimus were here with us today, I can see now that part of him is here. I can see him in you.”

         A wave of strong emotion hit me from him. It was nearly overwhelming with my shields as relaxed as they were. His feelings regarding me were still complicated, though I could sense they were changing. There was still wariness and some degree of suspicion, but the roots of trust were beginning to grow. That was something I could work with, a beginning.

         “Thank you, Lord Aquitaine.”

         We sat in silence for several minutes, the weight of understanding settling comfortably between us. I could not say what went through Octavian’s mind in that comfortable silence. Perhaps he was thinking of his plans for Appia. For my part, I felt another burden lifted from me. Septimus’s son and I were not friends, but perhaps someday we would be.

         “You know, I think Septimus would be very amused that his son grew up as a shepherd boy with no idea he was the Princeps,” I observed, breaking the silence.

         Octavian smiled and rose from his seat. I followed suit and together we left the unknown structure behind us. As we walked back to the windcoach, I felt excitement begin to grow within me. I couldn’t say where the future was headed, but I was fairly certain it wouldn’t be boring.  

 Notes

The statue described in this chapter is based off of real life statues of the god Attis. Since the gods aren’t a Thing in Alera, Attis would have no idea that he is in fact named after a fertility god.

One more chapter left, folks!