The Chosen One

I really like Riza more than the other two.

The trip to Danslief is where Sion met Riza. It goes exactly as it did a week ago. Before going to Cryunne Castle, we stick around to watch the finals of the Valiant Tournament. We leave before the winner, so some townsfolk think we're the winners with their parade. The celebrations are cut short because the eclipse happens. We don't see it here, but Pupin calls it the "Eater of Day." We saw the shadow of something fly over, making me (the player) wonder if that was a moon or something else.

We follow the King to the castle to ask if he knows our mom. We have to speak to Doug to get an audience, and it goes well. It's odd to see a benevolent king in JRPGs. But I forgot to thank Doug again... Don't forget to visit the interrogation room for some armor that doubles your defense. The King does know our mom. He met her and the Dr. on a trip to the north nearly twenty years ago. Sadly, that's all the information he gives us, but we do get permission to visit the shrine in the middle of the continent. The caretaker, Zora, lives at Mantra Peak and might know something more. Take the King's offer and spend the night in the castle. Riza will have another dream about her mom. She found a statue that looks like the thing that watched our birth. From here, we learn Sion made 100 gold a month.

Before going to the Spirit Temple, visit the church for a scene. I did this before going to the castle, but the priest tells us the statue is a replica of one found on the north continent. It's probably tied to what we just learned.

Something seems bugged here because we have to tell the guard "no" when he wonders if the King sent us. But we get in, and the door is locked behind us. A voice asked us something about earth or water, and I chose water. I figured this would change the enemies, and water has an elemental weakness, so it made sense to me. This decision also changes the rewards. The only mobs we find are guards who use water attacks, so I think I was on to something. They hit hard but lack HP and die in a few turns. Find your way through the labyrinth until you reach Soma. Soma is a terrible student of Zora and tells us we must find Aqua to see Zora. Aqua lives in the Sacred Forest to the south, so find the way out.

The Sacred Forest is nice and small. Aqua is in the southwest, and she's quite rude. Not only does she never turn to meet us, but we don't get permission to see Zora. Riza also gets strange vibes that she's met her before. She does look like our mom from those dreams... Dejectedly, we plan to return to the temple. As we do, though, evil floating mobs attack us. We made quick work of one because I finally learned the base light mantra from a book in the temple library. We worry about Aqua and rush to see her turned to stone. Either that, or she's possessed.

Evil Ghost has 2000 HP and isn't very hard. I started using light mantras but realized physical attacks are better. I think I got bored and started using Powerup and Soft even though no one taught us that. We couldn't save Aqua, so we returned to the temple. Still in the basement is Soma, accompanied by five guards. He says that the only way to Sora is through them, and we get a chance to rest up. Take it.

It's a four fight gauntlet against guards. The first two are three-on-one, but battle three is even. Lastly is Soma himself. Bring wind defense here because Soma can hit hard. He kept one shotting Pipin with his wind move AND physical team attack. If I were at level twenty, I think he could have survived. Physical attacks are the way to go, so use the above strategy. Riza should heal every turn, though, or else Soma can wipe a tram. He's faster than you, so consider using Fat to slow him. With his defeat, we can go to Zora.

In our way is Tule's arc. Inside isn't Surt, though, but Dune and Cid. They're strangely nice to us and recognize Riza's Jade. We tell them we're going to purify the world, and they give us the Holy Grail and Holy Robe. We can even get a tour of the planet. When we ask them to move, they happily oblige. What happened to the treasure hunters Surlent had issues with?

Mantra Peak is another quick dungeon, which is always a welcome occurrence, even if they're common in ToR. We'll meet Zora and learn some confusing things. We're supposed to purify the world, but there's a catch or something. She yells at us for wanting something futile, but then she tells us to do it anyway. Whatever... Behind the waterfall are maidens who teach us new mantras. Return to Zora for our next goal. We have to go to hell. She ushers us into a room and warns us not to use the mantra she used to bring us there. Hmm... But I'll test that out...

... tomorrow.

Or, probably a few days. It's back to Sion tomorrow. Surlent is far ahead, so I'll skip his second part.