Birds > dragons

Let's explore the world!

I have a ship now, so let's see what this world has in store for us. I started counterclockwise from the top left in the town of Istory. It's famous for its waterfalls, but a recent earthquake has blocked that off from us. We can buy accessories that absorb a certain elemental type, but they're 50000 gil each. The citizens warn us that there's a violent old man in the forests. Crossing the bridge gets us into a boss fight against Ramuh.

Ramuh isn't too hard, but the fight will take a long time. He has a lot of HP and high defense. Ramuh can blind your party, so bring eye drops. He mostly uses lightning magic and can drain your MP if he runs out. If I wasn't trying to learn Control, this might have been easier. I gotta remember to use Doom Claw more often. Once we win, Ramuh will talk to his friend, Ifrit, and make himself an item for a summoner to use.

Far to the south of the Ancient Library is the town of Jachol. It has new armor, but we're more interested in the cave. The only mobs inside are squirrels, but one is terrifying. It has high defense and evasion, but it's weak to control. It gives five ABP, so ability grinding in here is wonderful! Having a backup plan is also advised in case Galuf dies. Anyone in your party will be one shot now. I panicked and ran away from my first fight tonight. There's also treasure in here, but nothing spectacular.

But I did learn Control, so I went blue mage hunting. I know everything except MagicHammer and Self Destruct, neither of which I'm very plused about. Flamethrower, Aqua Rake; still need Off Guard, though.

Across the ocean from Jachol is Crescent. It's named such because the island it's on is moon shaped. It's also tectonically active. As we enter the village, an earthquake rumbles the area, pushing our ship into the ocean and sinking it. We're stuck here, and the wizard laughs at us. The town doesn't help us, but there's a forest nearby. Inside is a black chocobo! Reina always thought they were extinct, but here one is. Bartz catches it and tries to fly away with it. It quickly crashes! The black chocobo coughs up two crystal shards, hunter and dancer. Apparently, those shards weighed it down. So four people and their twenty crystal shards climb up, and we take off to the north. North of the Wind Shrine is the isolated village of Lix, Bartz' hometown.

Everyone knows him, and we can spend the night at the inn for free. A bard has moved into his old home. During the night, Bartz visits the grave of his parents and remembers how they died. Faris is worried and checks on him. Faris thinks fathers are overrated, so there's not much to discuss. In the morning, we can find an old friend of Bartz. They recall why he's afraid of heights, a plot point I skipped over. Bartz climbed on top of a house and got stuck. He eventually fell off... Inside Bartz' old home is a music box that makes him recall the night his mom died. It was late, and he was in bed. Stella and Dorgann were discussing Dorgann staying home for a while. Stella has to finish an errand before bed and walks off screen. Dorgann goes to look at his son, who's awake, so he tells him to watch over Stella as Papa Bartz needs to leave now. As he goes to sneak out, we see Stella on the floor... We'll tell Cid we lost his ship...

... tomorrow.