Melodies of Life Moderators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
melodiesmods) wrote2014-05-27 08:50 pm
melodiesmods) wrote2014-05-27 08:50 pm
Legend of the Crystals
An Illustrated, In-Character report of events so far can be found here, thanks to the efforts of Jade and Rukia. All of the information within the report has been shared with the Heroes of Light, though not with the native population at large.
The Heroes of Light
Heroes of Light first began appearing in August, in front of the Crystal of Fire in Aqures Ixen. Each month, more arrived, until something seemed to go wrong with the arrivals in January. After that, the next batch of Heroes arrived nearly a month late, and in the Heran Empire near the Crystal of Earth. From then on, Heroes arrived every two months instead of every month, and the next group appeared by the Crystal of Wind in Trano Golsaucia and the following at the Crystal of Water in Flence.
The Heroes’ purpose, to defeat the Calamity of the Skies, was vague at first. In recent days, they have learned more about the Calamity and are working to stop the crystallization of the planet, which began when the Heroes infiltrated the Empire to rescue the Heroes of Light taken prisoner by Kalki. After being sent twenty-eight years in the past to witness the destruction of Aqures Tosf, they learned that the Tarutaru Jessie, who served as one of the three NPCs that guided the Heroes in present time, was actually Professor Palitutu, the head researcher at the Temple of Fire when the Crystal of Fire destroyed the city. Jessie/Palitutu took the Ultima Weapon with her when she fled, but when she came back to attack the Heroes using the Weapon, they defeated her. The Heroes are searching for a way to defeat the Calamity without perpetuating the cycle once more.
The Calamity from the Skies
Shrouded in mystery for thousands of years, the Calamity is not fully understood. The Avatars of the Calamity have revealed that the Calamity is formed from the fragments of the worlds the Ancients sacrificed to recharge Crystallis’ power. The Calamity, often called Narayana, now appears in a cycle occurring every 2000 years. The Heroes of Light all have fragments of the Calamity inside of them, forming a ‘shadow self’, according to the Sage. The Calamity threatens all worlds, not only Crystallis, and the crystallization spreading through the world is a sign that the danger is growing. According to Kalki, the Calamity was created accidentally by the Ancients, and it seeks to make itself whole. The Calamity has 10 avatars that allow it to monitor the Heroes of Light. So far, the Heroes have encountered 9 of them.
The Heran Empire
Formerly the Kingdom of Hera, the Empire was formed twenty-five years ago, and is ruled over by Emperor Garland. The Empire invaded Aqures Ixen, led by Kalki and Matsya. After Kalki sent the Heroes of Light into the past and disappeared, Matsya ordered the Imperial troops to retreat. When the Calamity spread to the Empire’s borders in January, the Imperial City was transformed into Pandaemonium. The only known survivors of the Heran Empire are those who evacuated to the Village of Santa Claus. They are currently led by Prajapati.
Still a mysterious figure, Garland was recently discovered to have been a Knight of Aqures Tosf before his memories of previous Calamity cycles was awakened. He was previously revealed to be the Guardian who prevented the Calamity from spreading to other worlds by continuing the cycle of the Heroes of Light. Although he knew that the Calamity would envelope the Empire, he refused to evacuate, as he did not believe there was anywhere safe for them to go. He is considered such a formidable foe that Palitutu forced the Heroes to fight the Ultima Weapon as a test to see if they even stand a chance of defeating Garland in battle.
Kalki, a doppleganger of a previous Hero of Light and a member of the Emperor’s triumvirate, studied both the Heroes of Light and the Calamity of the Skies. She orchestrated several events. First off, she sent her three spies, Gibbs, Deweg, and Jenni, to steal the Black Crystals from Aqures Ixen’s Magitek Facility. Secondly, she sent the Black Hat Moogle to perform a ritual that nearly caused the Fire Crystal to explode and destroy Aqures Ixen. She launched an attack on Esdham and captured a few Heroes. Then she tampered with the Elemental Crystals to divert the Heroes of Light to the Earth Crystal, giving her more test subjects for her experiments. She sent the Heroes of Light the shared doppleganger dream, revealing some of the events 2000 years prior and alerting the Heroes to the presence and identity of the dopplegangers in Crystallis. Finally, she sent the Heroes of Light 28 years into the past during an Imperial invasion to show them, and allow them to be part of, the destruction of Aqures Tosf. In the past, she was a student at the Temple of Fire, and tried to prevent Professor Palitutu from detonating the Crystal of Fire. She fell into a chasm created by the unstable Crystal of Fire, and is now widely believed to be dead. She was the first Avatar the Heroes met. Her doppleganger, a child psychiatrist in WWII era England, was encountered during the Revelations event, but she knew nothing about the Heroes of Light or Crystallis.
Kurma, Garland’s son, revealed himself as an ally to the Heroes of Light during the Empire’s anniversary parade. He sent information about the captive Heroes whereabouts through a dream, helped the Heroes escape the capital city, and later appeared with information about how to turn Matsya against Kalki during the Empire’s invasion of Aqures Ixen. 28 years in the past, he was an emissary to the moogles, attempting to negotiate an end to the Mognet strikes. He is another known Avatar.
The Heroes have yet to personally encounter Matsya, the third member of the Triumvirate. She is known to be a powerful foe, though she uses only the Freelancer job, and Kurma revealed that she was the daughter of the previous King and Queen of the Old Hera. The general consensus is that she is loyal to Garland, hates Kalki, and does what she can to protect her people. Before the Heran Capital was claimed by the Calamity, she did her best to evacuate as many citizens as she was able.
The Ancients
The lost civilization of the Ancients, also called the Hera, still appear in fragments of their technology and language. Ancient computers have been used to study crystals, and some advanced scholars have learned to translate their language. In the previous cycle, the Ancients worked together with the Heroes of Light the try to defeat the Calamity. They build the Ultima Weapon, but did not use it. The weapon lay dormant until it was awakened in March during the Heroes’ prison escape. Jessie gathered up the Heroes with computer skills and used their talents to hack the weapon during the invasion. She seized control of it when she fled the city, using its power to destroy District 6 (the Magitek Research Facility) and to attempt to destroy District 7 (where her lab is located). The Ultima Weapon was destroyed by the Heroes when Jessie/Palitutu returned to confront them during the Festival of Light, and its remains rest in the 12th District's Airship docks. A second weapon, known as the Diamond Weapon, is hidden somewhere in on the Lost Continent.
According to Kalki, the Ancients originated from another planet, which they had destroyed. She claimed they were responsible for creating the Calamity as they tried to create an ‘eternal civilization’, and the Calamity, in turn, destroyed them. They used the life force of other planets to recharge the life crystal of Crystallis, prolonging the planet’s survival at great cost. The remnants of these planets is what came together to form Narayana, the Calamity.
The Story So Far
The Heroes encountered Imperial Spies stealing Black Crystals from the Magitek Research Facility. The Heroes were unable to stop the spies from escaping with most of the Black Crystals, although they protected at least one. Some Heroes were brainwashed by Mograma, the Black Mage Moogle, who was trying to Revive King Moggle Mog XIV. The ritual threatened to detonate the Crystal of Fire, and greatly weakened the Heroes of Light. Those well enough to still fight ended up battling their brainwashed allies, but were victorious. The ritual was stopped and the Crystal stabilized, though Mograma escaped.
The Heroes then journeyed all over Crystallis in a The Cat and Mouse search for Mograma. After gathering clues, they were able to track him down and capture him on Cactuar Island. Along with the batch of Heroes who arrived in January, Crystal Statues also appeared and disappeared within the span of two hours. Although it was not known at the time where they went, they were spotted later in the Heran Research Facility.
Imperial Forces invaded the neighboring Republic of Esdham and attempted to assassinate the president. The Heroes arrived to protect the president and push back the Imperial soldiers. During the attack, 4 Heroes of Light were taken captive.
On the night when the next group of Heroes should have arrived, the Heroes of Light had a Shared Dream alerting them to Kalki’s experiments on the Heroes of Light she held imprisoned. They learned when the facility would be less heavily guarded, and planned their rescue attempts accordingly. Some Heroes entered the Imperial City during the The Parade celebrating the Empire’s 25th anniversary. They attempted to negotiate to free the Heroes. They met with Kurma, later discovered to be the Emperor’s son, who admitted to sending them the shared dream and who helped them evade capture. Kurma’s intentions were not entirely known, but he seemed to oppose Kalki and the Emperor’s plans for Nova Crystallis.
Meanwhile, the other Heroes launched their Rescue Efforts on the Heran Research Facility. The imprisoned Heroes of Light fought their way out and their rescuers fought their way in. While in the facility, the Heroes encountered Kalki and a Crystal formed from fragments of the previous Calamity of the Skies, awoke the Ultima Weapon, and stole an airship. The Heroes, Cid, and a group of moogles were all rescued, but the Calamity Crystal began to crystallize the facility, and has since spread to the other continents.
Another shared dream, through the eyes of Dopplegangers, revealed some interesting facts about the Heroes of Light 2000 years prior. The Calamity had been happening in cycles, every 2000 years. Garland was present, and seemed to be allied with the Calamity. Kalki was a Hero of Light, and urged the Heroes to attempt to contain the Calamity, as it could progressed too far to be stopped in that cycle. Some Heroes tried to protect their worlds by harnessing the power of the Calamity, only to become monsters, or by severing the connection. All of their efforts were in vain, and the calamity cycle continued.
Later, Heroes disappeared completely for a couple of days to relieve Their Worst Memory within an Interdimensional Rift. They faced their darkest moments, although their memories did not always match what had originally occurred. Other Heroes witnessed the memories, and in some cases were able to aid their friends. In between memories, Heroes also encountered a little girl, who cryptically answered their questions. They learned that Garland was the Guardian who ensured the Cycle of Heroes of Light in order to prevent the Calamity from escaping to other worlds. The girl was ‘The Answer’ created by previous Heroes of Light, and had three avatars the Heroes had already met (Kalki, Kurma, and Mograma). She brought the Heroes into the rift to teach and observe. She told them they have the option to end the cycle, but did not have an opinion about whether they should or not.
After the Imperial Invasion sacrificed enough lives to charge up the Crystal of Fire, Kalki sent the Heroes of Light twenty-eight years into the past to witness their Genesis. After meeting various Crystallians in their past forms, the Heroes witnessed the destruction of Aqures Tosf. Jessie, revealed to be Professor Palitutu, the lead researcher at the old Temple of Fire, started a chain reaction with the Crystal of Fire that would destroy the city and awaken both the Guardian Garland and the Hero of Light cycle. A young Kalki tried to prevent this, but the Heroes of Light were not able to help her, and indeed scared her into falling into a chasm created by the unstable crystal. The Heroes fell into stasis as the Crystal exploded, and upon waking in present time, they discovered that both Kalki and ‘Jessie’ had fled.
Trying to discover the secrets Palitutu left behind in her lab, the Heroes of Light began studying her notes and trying to unlock the programs in her computer. This resulted in them being temporarily trapped in a Time Loop. After fixing the corrupted program, the Heroes were able to start slowly deciphering some of Palitutu’s research, unlocking new jobs and learning more about Crystallis.
In October, 11 of the 13 Moogles from last year were back to cause more trouble. They summoned up ghosts and kidnapped and brainwashed Cloud Strife. Their incomplete ritual to revive the evil King Moggle Mog XIV summoned a towering marshmallow version of the feared monarch, which was defeated by Ghostbuster Heroes crossing their streams.
After the final repairs were completed on the airship Enterprise, the Heroes were finally able to explore the Continent of Ruin. They traveled to Mysidia and met with another Avatar of the Calamity, the Sage. He gave them a little information about the Calamity, but told them they would have to come back after the Calamity began again in January before he would tell them more.
Around the same time, a group of Hero-Assassin’s tracked down .Artemicion. Though he escaped with Palitutu’s help, the Heroes were able to learn about the existence of a new Weapon, the Diamond Weapon, hidden somewhere on the Lost Continent.
In December, a small group of Heroes attempted to enter the Heran Empire in hopes of A Christmas Miracle. Although they were not able to convince Garland to evacuate the city so it would not be crystalized when the Calamity reawakened, they did receive a yet-unviewed tape from Kalki’s office and later a promised meeting with a mysterious person named Prajapati for their efforts.
After meeting with the Sage again, the Heroes time traveled one more, this time into the future. A possible future revealed Heroes divided into factions. Some were willing to sacrifice one fourth of the Heroes of Light to perpetuate the Crystal Cycle and save the rest, while other Heroes were morally opposed to doing this and continued to look for alternatives. Because they could not defeat The Enemies Within, the Future Heroes were unable to achieve victory. The Sage used this to justify not telling the Heroes of Light all he knew about the Calamity.
A month later, a previously hidden group of Heroes emerged. They had seen Another Side, Another Story after being awakened by Kalki in July of 2015. They met the current Heroes of Light after traveling through the crystal caves and emerging in Mysidia. A short time later, some of these Heroes crystallized and others died permanently. The rest joined the rank of Heroes of Light, and are working to help defeat the Calamity. Around this time, the Heroes explored the Mysidian Tower and discovered an Ancient piece of machinery that could be used to divert the Calamity's path from certain areas. This has been used to protect multiple important locations.
In April, the Heroes lost consciousness and were transported to Imperial Territories in small groups. It was later discovered that this was caused by Narasihma, an Avatar who a group of Heroes rescued from the Empire's underwater prison. Narasihma showed them illusions tailored to make the Heroes suffer. A few months later, Narasihma again used his powers against the Heroes, this time to brainwash them into committing murders. This culminated in a brainwashed Hero, Rialynn, murdering Zelda permanently.
Answering Palitutu's summons to meet her on the Calm Plain, the Heroes tried to negotiate an alliance. Unable to fully convince Palitutu to join with them to defeat the Calamity once and for all, they were forced to battle the Ultima Weapon. Upon defeating her, Palitutu banished the Heroes to the Interdimensional Rift, where they were forced to travel through various home worlds in order to find their way back to Crystallis. After that battle, the efficiency of healing spells decreased and Heroes faced the threat of death, not crystallization, if they fell in battle.
Upon their return to Crystallis, the Sage agreed to meet with the Heroes once more at the end of September. He revealed that the Heroes could only defeat the Calamity if they first defeated the Calamity fragments within themselves. He promised to give them the means to oppose their 'shadow selves' in November, as the month of October is historically a dangerous time for Heroes.
True to tradition, Heroes who bought Moogle armor the previous months found themselves possessed by the spirits of the vengeful Thirteen Moogles. Zombies were summoned, killing more Heroes and reviving them on their side for the ultimate goal of truly reviving King Moggle Mog. Ultimately, they sought Mograma's help to stop them once and for all. In the meantime, Jade Curtiss lead an expedition to the Crystal Caves. In the center of the world, they found the S.O.U.L. D.I.V.I.D.E.R, which protected Crystallis from the spreading Calamity by covering it with the visible crystallization. The Heroes swiftly defeated it, ending future cycle rebirths and revealing the wasteland and powerful monsters hiding beneath. Around the same time, Ales Mansay lead a group to Downopolis to take down the Cult of Narayana. They found the city nearly entirely abandoned, and the catacombs where the cult resided was barely staffed. They found that the cult leader had found happiness (in the words of his right-hand bard, Drona) and they team fought and defeated her. They found residents of the city trapped within the walls of the crystal caverns, not dead yet not alive.
In November 2016, characters began facing their shadow selves, some with the help of friends and some alone, but eventually having others join in to assist. With at least 4 maxed Onion Knights, the Heroes of Light opened the Forgotten Temple. They chose twelve of the strongest to fight against the specters of the first cycle's Heroes, and after a long fight, gained the Knights of the Round summon. They were told that their unique power will be of great use when fighting Garland. Around the same time Twilight Sparkles lead an expedition to the Lunar Base. They found a prototype for the Eidolon Bahamut and a giant weapon pointed at Crystallis with the capability to destroy the planet, which they pointed away.
The Heroes spent December celebrating, and received another set of gifts from Queen Sarah. That January, the Heroes met up with the NPCs to discuss their findings and future strategy in regards to Garland and the cycle. The Heroes would attack the former city of Hera and fight Garland, ending the cycle. Scientists would work on implementing Jade's design to fix the First Crystal. Hopefully, all would go well.
Before the actual attack, however, Valentoine's day arrived. Moogles set up various Heroes together and sent them (or shoved them) into fancy carriages for dates. Needless to say, not many were happy with this.
The Detailed Summary, Kupo!
August 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April 2016
May 2016
June 2016
August 2016
September 2016
October 2016
November 2016
- August 2014
The First Heroes Arrive
On August 3rd, the final day of the Festival of Light, the first Heroes appeared before the Crystal of Fire. They learned about the legend of the Heroes of Light, who defeated the Calamity from the Skies. Though the legend has taken on many embellishments over the past millennium, a widely agreed-upon fact is that one of the Heroes sacrificed his life to save the Princess of Crystallis. The Ancients, a wise and powerful people now believed to be extinct, the Eidolons, and the Heroes combined their powers to save Crystallis from destruction. Should the threat ever arise again, the last of the Ancients prophesied that the Heroes of Light would once again return to Crystallis.
Crystallis de Chocobo
Following Bigg’s directions to acquire chocobo mounts, the Heroes journeyed to the Chocobo Farm on August 16th and met with the Old Man who runs the farm. The farm was lacking in birds because of the increased monster activity in Crystallis had either seen them devoured or in hiding. A Chocobo Eater, a fearsome beast, appeared while the Heroes were out trying to catch wild chocobos, and attacked. The Heroes used their newfound job powers to defeat the monster, and received a new job class (Chocobo Knight), a new Eidolon (Choco-Mog), and a regain from their home world as a reward for their efforts.
With the threat neutralized, the Heroes (and those who came after) were able to capture wild chocobos and keep them safely penned at the Old Man’s Chocobo Farm.
The First Heroes Arrive
On August 3rd, the final day of the Festival of Light, the first Heroes appeared before the Crystal of Fire. They learned about the legend of the Heroes of Light, who defeated the Calamity from the Skies. Though the legend has taken on many embellishments over the past millennium, a widely agreed-upon fact is that one of the Heroes sacrificed his life to save the Princess of Crystallis. The Ancients, a wise and powerful people now believed to be extinct, the Eidolons, and the Heroes combined their powers to save Crystallis from destruction. Should the threat ever arise again, the last of the Ancients prophesied that the Heroes of Light would once again return to Crystallis.
Crystallis de Chocobo
Following Bigg’s directions to acquire chocobo mounts, the Heroes journeyed to the Chocobo Farm on August 16th and met with the Old Man who runs the farm. The farm was lacking in birds because of the increased monster activity in Crystallis had either seen them devoured or in hiding. A Chocobo Eater, a fearsome beast, appeared while the Heroes were out trying to catch wild chocobos, and attacked. The Heroes used their newfound job powers to defeat the monster, and received a new job class (Chocobo Knight), a new Eidolon (Choco-Mog), and a regain from their home world as a reward for their efforts.
With the threat neutralized, the Heroes (and those who came after) were able to capture wild chocobos and keep them safely penned at the Old Man’s Chocobo Farm.
- September 2014
It’s Happening Again
On the morning of September 5th, a second batch of Heroes arrived near the Crystal of Fire. They were greeted not only by their moogle companions, but also the Heroes who had previously appeared the month before. Their purpose in Crystallis was still shrouded in mystery, but they did their best to adapt to their new circumstances.
The Shopkeeper’s Daughter Part 1
On September 10th, Ashelia called a meeting of Heroes to address a problem that had arisen in the 8th District of Aqures Ixen. One of her contacts, a shopkeeper, had been using a seed from the Baltero’s Bloom flower to stave away his daughter’s illness. The seeds, previously plentiful within the city, had fallen into short supply in the previous months, and a caravan carrying the seeds to the city had been robbed on route.
The Heroes split into two teams, one to gather information and question a witness to the robbery, and the other to seek out the seeds out on the Plateau where they were known to grow.
The Shopkeeper’s Daughter Part 2
The quest for Baltero’s Seeds began on September 12th. The Heroes who went to visit the witness to the caravan’s theft, a mercenary named Gerad, found him unwilling to talk about the attack. He refused to help, claiming that those who had attacked the caravan would kill Gerad and anyone he told. Gerad planned to leave town as soon as he was released from the hospital, and the Heroes were unable to sway him.
The second band of Heroes rode their new chocobos to the plains, but found only bare earth on the plateau where the flowers usually grew. As they dug to search for traces of the flower and its seeds, the Heroes discovered that the Blooms had been removed and replaced with bulbs that grew into poison flowers. After unleashing a blinding spray of pollen, the flowers formed into a Dragon Pod monster, which the Heroes battled. They defeated their foe, but were unable to locate any more of Baltero’s Seeds.
Without the seeds to create medicine, the Shopkeeper’s daughter soon succumbed to her fatal illness.
Magitek Research Facility
On the 22nd of September, the Heroes received a mognet letter from Artemicion the Moogle, summoning them to respond to an invasion at the Magitek Research Facility. Upon entering the facility, the Heroes split up into smaller groups to search for Jessie, who had been trapped inside when the unknown assailants broke in. The doors locked behind them, trapping the Heroes within, and the mechanical guards in charge of the building’s security pursuing them.
• Team A (Gaara, Genesis [AU], Luke, Ales, Saori)
As they searched in the Artifact Room, part of Team A found a machine activated by inserting a Hero’s Crystal. Gaara placed his inside, and the screens showed information about him, his home world, and text written in the yet-unreadable Ancient language. Further investigation revealed that the machine contained information on current Heroes, those in Crystal Stasis, and many inaccessible pages. As the machine deactivated, it locked Gaara out of both job classes and his companions out of one each.
The other half of Team A battled Mech Guards that were, in reality, an illusion. After defeating the real Mech Guard in the group, the other false ones disappeared and the team was able to progress. They interrupted a woman attempting to take a Black Crystal out of one of the machines in the room. Since the spell allowing the woman to safely seize the Crystal was disrupted, the woman was forced to leave it behind. However, she attacked and killed Genesis with a single blow and reactivated the illusions. Before leaving, she mentioned the name, ‘Lady Kalki’…
The remaining members of Group A were then forced to fight against the X-ATM102 War Machine.
• Team B (Allenby, Angeal, Rose, Yuna, Sho)
Group B made their way to Cid’s office, which contained many airship models and letters from ‘Garland’, repeatedly asking Cid to work for him. While they searched the office, Wedge entered the scene. He advised Group B to split up and find Jessie in the Control Room, and have her shut down the building’s security system to deactivate the Mech Guards and make movement easier. He also warned that three spies had entered the facility. As they made their way, the encountered another Wedge fighting the mech guards. When they turned around to question the other ‘Wedge’, he had vanished without a trace.
• Team C (Kobato, Sephiroth, Hilda, Zelda)
Team C entered a laboratory containing broken crystals and sealed steel pods. They opened one of the pods, which reacted to Zelda’s crystal when she touched it. Inside, the Heroes found a Crystalized figure, which fell to the ground and shattered. The other pods began to unlock, and Crystal people emerged. They were human in form, but seemingly made of crystal and covered in crystal shards. The crystalloids moved toward the Heroes as if to attack, summoning up a purple energy that drained life from the Heroes. Meanwhile, some of the facility’s mech guards burst in to attack Team C.
Team C were unable to defeat the crystalloids, so they fought their way out of the containment laboratory and proceeded to the control room, where they encountered Jessie and two Imperial Spies. The spies questioned Jessie about the location of more of the Black Crystals. Jessie used the distraction made by Team C’s entry to teleport Gibbs out of the room, but Jenni dodged the attack. The Heroes engaged Jenni, a skilled Illusionist, in battle. The Heroes defeated Jenni, who evaded capture and escaped from the facility.
• Team D (Ashelia, Cloud, Henry, Sparks, Yuffie)
As they searched the facility, Team D came across a box containing wax sculptures of the team members’ heads (mostly faithful representations, but with red eyes instead of their normal colors). A note within the box identified them as a gift “From Kalki". The Heroes took the sculptures and pressed on ahead.
In the next room, Sparks entered first and found six wax statues. Five were replicas of people from Mars (his adopted world, although the Marshall himself is, of course, from Earth), and the sixth was Sparks himself, sans head. A note with the same handwriting as that in the head-box asked, “Did you ever wonder what a Hero of Light is?"
Making no headway in the statue-room, the Heroes eventually place the wax head into the Sparks-statue, which activated a mechanism. Blades appeared and decapitated the five other statues, and the door leading onward unlocked.
Team D, still stunned by what they had seen, proceeded to the Offices. There, they found Jessie, who was attempting to shut down the facility’s security system to keep the Heroes from being hurt by the Mech Guards. As the Heroes pressed her about what they had seen, Jessie mentioned ‘Lady Kalki’. Realizing she knew more than they had previously thought about the situation, the Heroes continued their questioning. ‘Jessie’ revealed herself to be the Imperial Illusionist, Jenni. The other two spies, Gibbs and Deweg, also appeared. Gibbs and Jenni left to continue their search for the Black Crystals while Deweg engaged Team D in battle.
In the head to head fight against Colonel Deweg the Magitek Knight, the Heroes fought hard. They managed to defeat him (and steal his opera tickets), but not without casualties.
• Team E (Baralai, [OU] Genesis, Ib, Link, Snow)
Team E headed into the Containment Labs (marked ‘Do Not Enter’ and ‘Access Restricted’). Within, they found a broken machine with a Black Crystal hovering above. Their own crystals reacted to its presence. Baralai reached out to touch it, but heard the same voice all the Heroes heard upon waking up by the Crystal of Fire, commanding him, “Don’t take it!"
Baralai sent the others ahead and prepared to take the Black Crystal anyways, but Snow convinced him to continue searching for Jessie with the rest of the Team. They moved on to the next room, which was filled with more broken machines.
The door to the room with the Black Crystal suddenly swung shut and locked. Team E could hear a spell being cast within the room. They rammed the door open and found Gibbs, the third Imperial Spy, who had taken the Black Crystal using a magic spell. Gibbs told them where to find Jessie, and since he seemed to have the Crystal safely contained, the Heroes prioritized confirming Jessie’s safety over confronting him.
• Results
After the Research Facility was reclaimed, the Heroes met with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Closed-mouthed as usual, the trio did not reveal much about what had been going on in the facility or why it was targeted. The Heroes did learn from them that Kalki was part of the Triumvirat, the Emperor’s three closest advisors. Kalki sent her three spies to retrieve the four Black Crystals.
After the event, the Heroes unlocked three new job classes: Illusionist, Ninja, and Magitek Knight.
- October 2014
The Night of the Thirteen Moogles
On October 5th, the third batch of Heroes appeared in front of the Crystal of Fire. The city’s moogles were preparing for the celebration of The Night of the Thirteen Moogles, a holiday commemorating the defeat of the evil moogle King, Moggle Mog. Unlike the previous Heroes, the new arrivals did not have crystals when they were brought to Crystallis. Their moogle companions were unable to give any explanation for this.
The Revival of King Moggle Mog XIV
Beginning on October 15th, the Heroes of Light began to fall ill. Some lost their job powers and regained their powers from their home worlds, but all of them began to feel a drain on their life force. As the month passed, their symptoms became even worse, with some Heroes even dying from it.
The day after the mysterious sickness began, attacks began on the city’s moogles as they went about their daily deliveries. Despite their efforts, the Heroes were not able to prevent the attacks or even see who was responsible. By the 24th of October, the attacks had escalated so much that Artemicion shut down Mognet.
Since bad news often comes in threes, as all this was happening, some Heroes also had their crystals stolen by an unknown assailant.
The morning of October 31st, the Crystal of Fire began to react, causing panic in the city. Twenty-seven years prior, the Fire Crystal had had a similar reaction, which resulted in an explosion that destroyed the city of Aqures Tosf. Jessie diagnosed that the crystal would again explode and destroy Aqures Ixen and the surrounding regions if the Heroes could not find the source of the disruption and prevent it. Wedge gave the Heroes a mega-elixir to stave away the effects of the illness so the Heroes could act.
The desperate Heroes received a letter from one of the dead Heroes, Satoru Asahina, claiming that he and the other dead had found a miraculous cure for the mystery illness as well as a solution to the crystal problem. He urged the Heroes to follow the two he sent to guide them, Yeul and Saori. They led the Heroes into the forest, where Kobato met them and delivered the Heroes to the rest of the resurrected dead.
In the middle of the forest, Sparks Nevada and Genesis [OU] were working together with twelve moogles to enact a ritual, involving an eerie purple light and the missing Baltero’s Seeds. Sparks claimed the ritual would ‘fix things’, but would not elaborate why or how. The Red Plains Rider smacked him when he refused to stop or explain himself, and he seemed to snap out of the haze he had been in. Septhiroth, Snow, Shun, and Tifa each stood as guardians over the ritual. In order for the Heroes to stop the ritual (which they were decently sure was what caused the Crystal of Fire to overload), they engaged these four in a boss battle, after numerous attempts to talk failed.
Zelda, Ib, Luffy, and the Red Plains Raider engaged Sephiroth. Zelda was stabbed and killed, Aerith-style. Luffy unleashed the powers of his Gomu-gomu fruit to defeat Sephiroth’s first form. The other Heroes battled their way through his Bizzaro form and Safer form and proved victorious, though Luffy sustained many wounds for his efforts. Sephiroth and Zelda both fell into Crystal Stasis until November 4th.
Lightning, Yuna [OU], Ashelia, Ramza, and Ales battled Snow. Unleashing their fighting abilities from their home worlds, they defeated Snow in his normal and L’Cie form, though it cost Lightning her life. She and Snow both went into Crystal Stasis, but did not wake up when the other Heroes did. Shun stood as the next guardian, joined by Satoru and Yeul as support. Sparks, now back to his senses, stood against them. Gaara also joined in. They defeated Satoru, and Gaara struck the final blow against Shun after the other bosses were defeated. Yeul did not oppose the Heroes after the other two were defeated.
Cloud, Kaji, Angeal, Yuffie, and MarKus opposed the final boss, Tifa. She summoned the corrupted Eidolon Shiva to her aid. Once they were defeated, Shiva became an ally to the Hero of Lights. Unwilling to kill his childhood friend, Cloud instead ended the battle by knocking Tifa unconscious.
Once the bosses were defeated, the Heroes were able to disrupt the ritual and prevent the Crystal of Fire from exploding. The thirteenth moogle, who wore a Black Mage Hat and led the ritual, fled before he could be questioned.
After the event, a new job (Vampire) was unlocked and a new Eidolon (Shiva) became available to summoners. The October new arrivals received Crystals, and the Heroes whose crystals had been stolen recovered them.
- November 2014
Third Time’s the Charm
On November 5th, a new batch of Heroes appeared. This time, there were seemingly no problems with their arrivals. They met the other Heroes and enjoyed a festival (compensating for the cancelled Night of the Thirteen Moogles celebration) as they settled in.
Jessie’s Letter
On November 9th, Jessie sent all the Heroes of Light a mognet letter. She explained that the Black Hat Moogle had used the powers of the Black Crystals stolen from Magitek Research Facility to brainwash the dead Heroes. The Crystal of Fire had been restored when the ritual was disrupted. The Moogles were no longer experiencing attacks. She addressed the phenomenon of Crystal Stasis, but admitted that it was not fully understood why some Heroes experienced and how the Black Crystal had been able to control those who had died. She also gave the Heroes a new job (Blue Mage), which she had developed after studying the job absorbing abilities the Hero’s crystals had experienced in the Magitek facility.
A Search for Answers
On November 13th, Ashelia gathered together a small team to examine the old Fire Temple in the abandoned city of Aqures Tosf. As they searched the Temple, they discovered that the temple had hosted a team of researchers studying the Crystal. Kalki was listed as an assistant, and when Ashelia, Ramza, and Yuna [AU] searched her quarters, they discovered Kalki’s Diary. Monsters prevented them from investigating the temple further.
The Cat and Mouse Event
From November 15th through November 27th, on Wedge’s advice, the Heroes of Light set out to travel around and search for clues about the Black Hat Moogle and the Magitek Research Facility break-in.
Clues gathered:
- In Esdham, Yeul talked to a woman and learned the Black Mage Moogle had stolen her suntan lotion.
- In Aerilon, Ales went to O’aka’s Shop and paid the shopkeeper for information on the moogle. He learned the moogle had asked to be smuggled back into Imperial territory, but when O’aka refused, he headed in the direction of the continent of Balance.
- In Trano Golsaucia, Zelda talked to a doppleganger shop keeper, and found out that the Black Hat Moogle did not like the cold and planned to go somewhere warmer.
- A hypello innkeeper in Aerilon told Cloud that the Black Hat Moogle had checked out early, and gave Cloud the possessions he’d left behind- a black hat, and a book on fending off monsters found in the desert.
- Yuna met a doppleganger guardian of the crystal in the Water Temple in the County of Flence. She had heard of the Black Mage Moogle during his magical studies at the University in Flence. He was quite a troublemaker in his youth, and supposedly had a hide-out on the Continent of Flence or one of the islands near the coast.
- In Trano Golsaucia, Sparks and Red ran into the three Imperial Spies, who were on vacation. Since neither party wanted to start a fight in the middle of a crowded city, they traded insults instead. Jenni implied that Genesis and Clouds’ deaths at the Magitek facility would have greater repercussions that the Heroes remembered, and taunted that the Emperor and Kalki could destroy Aqures Ixen any time they wanted to, but preferred the Heroes alive for some reason.
- Yuna [AU] met a disgruntled tarutaru outside of O’aka’s shop in Aerilon, who gave Yuna information on the moogle to spite O’aka for selling her a job she could not use. She told Yuna that the moogle had stolen from the library a book about interacting safely with Eidolons.
- Allenby met an old man at the Esdham coliseum. He turned out to be the owner of the Monster Arena, and asked the Heroes to capture him monsters so he could reopen after his creatures escaped. However, the equipment that would allow the Heroes to imprison a creature in crystal for transportation had been stolen…by a Moogle in a Black Hat.
- Luffy talked with a hypello in Balacia and found out that the Black Hat Moogle had rented a boat and left the city.
- In Trano Golsaucia, Tifa met a young doppleganger who told her the Black Mage Moogle had stolen her tonberry and cactuar dolls.
- Fishing in Flence, Link met with a moogle fishing champ. The moogle told Link the Black Mage Moogle had stolen a rare fish that had medicinal properties to counteract stinging plants.
20 Heads are Better than 1
After gathering clues, the Heroes met on Nov 27th to pool their knowledge. After a discussion, they decided to search for the Black Mage Moogle on Cactuar Island.
Cat and Mouse
After determining his location, a team of Heroes set out by boat on the 28th. Allenby, Cloud, [AU] Yuna, Sephiroth, and Ales found his tent in the desert on Cactuar Island and surrounded it. They captured the Black Hat Moogle and brought him back to Aqures Ixen, where he was imprisoned.
The Heroes were then able to visit the Moogle in his cell and question him.
The Heroes learned:
-The Black Mage Moogle had been responsible for the Heroes regaining their powers in Oct. He did so following Kalki’s instructions, and did not know how or why.
-Kalki had ordered the resurrection of Moggle Mog to test a theory about the Black Crystals.
- December 2014
The Starlight Arrivals
New Heroes arrived on the 5th of December, with no mishap. They found the people of Aqures Ixen preparing for the Starlight Ceremony, also known as Christmas, on the 25th. All month, Heroes participated in holiday celebrations and festivals and gave out gifts to local children.
Examination Results
On December 12th, Sephiroth asked Jessie to examine their crystals more closely. He, Angeal, Zelda, Ashelia, and Sparks allowed Jessie to run experiments on them. Her research gave her the answer to why Heroes could change jobs, while native Crystallians could not-the Heroes’ crystals served as an intermediary between the job and the Hero, while the natives’ jobs were linked to their person. Jessie was able to increase the crystals’ capability to hold jobs with what she learned. She determined that it could be possible for Crystallians to change jobs with further study, which was confirmed by O’aka XXIV, who had come into possession of a machine called a ‘Job Switcher’
Jessie theorized that the Heroes’ crystals were manifestations of the planet’s life energy. She thought the crystals might have stored knowledge from the Ancient, although she had no way to test her hypothesis. Her study also revealed that the Heroes had an anomaly in their molecular structure. The anomaly manifested most strongly in Sephiroth and Angeal, less with Zelda and Ashelia, and very weakly with Sparks. She did not know what these results indicated.
- January 2015
The End of an Era
On January 5th, more Heroes arrived, but in a decidedly different fashion. Instead of appearing before the Crystal of Fire, they materialized ABOVE it, were flung forcibly into the buildings nearby, and slid to the ground in a painful heap. No one knew why these Heroes had such a violent awakening.
Those Cursed by the Planet
As the Heroes went out to greet the new arrivals, many were distracted by the sight of familiar faces on Crystalline statues that had suddenly appeared around the Crystal of Fire. The statues of loved ones, friends, and even a few enemies appeared and disappeared within an hour or two, to the Heroes’ great dismay.
Monster Arena
On January 11th, the old man from the Coliseum opened his monster arena back up and invited the Heroes of Light to recapture the creatures of Crystallis for him in exchange for prizes. He gave the Heroes a new job (Beast Master) in thanks for the Heroes recovering his monster-catching device.
Esdham Under Fire
On the evening of Jan 15th, Imperial troops invaded Esdham, unprovoked. Black mages burned the Military Headquarters and Barracks. Heroes in the military were able to respond right away, and many other Heroes boarded air ships and joined the rescue effort when they heard about the attack.
The Coliseum, Mognet Office, Airport, and Presidential Palace were all besieged, with soldiers and monsters also attacking citizens who ventured out. A stream of soldiers were being sent in as reinforcements from the airship the Bevelle. The citizens were rescued, and the Coliseum and Mognet were protected. The airport burned, and transportation was delayed until repairs were finished mid-March.
In the Presidential Palace, an X-ATM15 war machine (codename ‘Black Widow’) broke in and targeted the Esdham President. Sephiroth, Ib, Yuna [AU], MarKus, Rikku, and Yuna [OU] fought the Black Widow and saved the President from assassination. In the aftermath of the battle, Luffy, Rikku, and Yuna [OU] were captured by enemy soldiers. Sparks, Red, Ales, Ramza, Yuffie, and Tifa headed to the Bevelle to stop the army’s line of reinforcements. They were able to fight their way through and Ales managed to disable the ship’s transporters. However, Yuffie was captured during the battle.
On January 25th, Ashelia and Zelda convinced Wedge, after much lobbying, to give them a Heroes’ Headquarters. They were given control over the old broken observatory in District 4. Though seemingly more technologically advanced than the other observatory, the Heroes’ base usually does not function.
On the 31st of January, the night of Crystallis’ annual Dual Full Moon, the Heroes’ Observatory did temporarily work. It did not show the celestial bodies above Aqures Ixen, however, but the home worlds of the Heroes who examined it.
- February 2015
Someday the Dream Will End
Breaking the cycle established in the previous month, new Heroes of Light did not appear before the Crystal of Fire on February 5th. The night they should have arrived, the Heroes of Light had a shared dream. Looking through the eyes of someone in the Heran Research Center, the Heroes learned from valuable information about the crystal statues that had appeared with the last arrivals and the Heroes captured in Esdham. They saw some of the experiments being done on the Heroes’ crystals (which led to them eventually turning black), and found out when the facility would be vulnerable to a rescue attempt.
Imprisonment
Meanwhile, the four captive Heroes (Luffy, Yuffie, Yuna, and Rikku) were experimented on and tortured by Kalki to test their abilities. She seemed to favor turning the Heroes upon one another, and forced them into crystal stasis multiple times. Since she did not destroy their crystals, the captives kept coming back to life, physically healed, after each session with Kalki.
The Heroes of Darkness
On February 25th, the Heroes that had failed to appear earlier in the month finally arrived…at the Heran Research Facility, as prisoners of Kalki. Between experiments, these new Heroes were able to learn a little about their new home from a computer in a nearby office and from the captive Heroes from Aqures Ixen. As they learned more about their prison and about each other, they began to formulate escape plans.
The Imperial Parade
The celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the formation of the Heran Empire provided the Heroes an opportunity to enter the Imperial City. Some chose to go in an attempt to gather information about the Imperials and to sue for peace.
Jack Harkness and Ramza Beoulve went as official diplomatic representatives of the Heroes of Light to try to negotiate the release of the captive Heroes. They ended up meeting with Kurma, one of the members of the Triumvirate. They found out that Kurma was the one who sent them the dream in an attempt to help them and thwart Kalki. Kurma told them that negotiations with the Emperor or Kalki were doomed to fail, and that they were working toward an end goal of Nova Crystallis. After their meeting, Kurma helped Jack, Ramza, and the other Heroes within the Imperial City escape while making it look like they were captured and then broke out to mask his intervention.
Meanwhile, Kaji, Tifa, and Terra, Henry, and Hibiki all ran into Deweg, Gibbs, and Jenni during the celebration. Most of them ended up being brought to Kurma, who helped them escape, although Hibiki’s pet hamster was able to sufficiently intimidate the spies into leaving her alone. Ales, MarKus, Nanami, and Chiaki went on a tour of the Empire’s Research Facility, where they learned more about Crystals as an energy source. Chiaki received a book explaining that crystals are formed from the planet’s life energy, which is completely renewable.
Johnny ran into a mysterious woman who, while watching a gladiatorial battle, told Johnny she intended to change the life-and-death stakes of their world. Before she disappeared, she revealed that she knew Johnny’s name and at least a little about his background, despite Johnny’s never having met her before.
- March 2015
A New Hope
On March 2nd, after getting word that negotiations in the Imperial City had not succeeded, a team of Heroes launched an attack on the Heran Research Facility to rescue the captive Heroes. While the Heroes were fighting their way in, the lights inside the prison went out and the captive Heroes launched their plan to break out.
During their escape, the Heroes met up and explored some of the other levels of the Research Facility.
On Sub-Level 14, James Kidd and Ib found a box containing a crystal cube that reacted with their crystals. They took it with them as they fled from the guards on that level.
On Sub-Level 19, Daisy and Tazendra found a computer that played videos of Kalki’s experiments on the Heroes. She turned them into crystal monsters and used black crystals in the course of her experiments.
On Sub-Level 21, Yuffie, Lydia, and Kenshin found a storage room with hundreds of crystalized Heroes, including the ones who had appeared in Aqures Ixen in January. They were unable to move them.
On Sub-Level 22, the Heroes were able to find the weaponry and equipment that had been taken from them upon arrival.
On Sub-Level 25, the Heroes encountered the Ultima Weapon in a hanger. This construct was believed to be built by the Ancients to fight the Calamity, but was never activated. The Weapon awoke as the Heroes later escaped on the airship.
On Sub-Level 26, a large group of Heroes found The Enterprise, a partially-completed airship. On the ship, they found Dr. Cid, a scientist that had been captured by the Empire. With the help of Cid and the moogles on board, the Heroes were able to use the ship’s weaponry to defeat the Magitek Armored guards on the level and liberate the ship. They later used the ship to escape, but were attacked by the newly awakened Ultima Weapon. The ship made it out of Imperial territory, but was damaged and rendered unusable until repairs could be made.
On Sub-Level 27, at the request of the Professor moogle, a group of Heroes descended to Kalki’s private floor. They found a laboratory with humans in test tubes and white crystals nearby. A blue Crystal, broken up and connected to the test tubes via cables, had crystalized the immediate vicinity. As the Heroes examined the Crystal, their crystals drained of color and turned white. Kalki appeared as the Heroes messed with the equipment, telling them that the blue Crystal was the combined fragments of the Calamity from the Skies. According to Kalki, ‘the Heroes and Calamity are one’. The Ultima Weapon awoke and the crystallization around the Calamity Crystal began to spread further. The Heroes made their escape before the lab could crystallize completely.
The Ancient Caves
On March 2nd, Ashelia, Zelda, Genesis, and Bloom explored the Ancient Caves in search of clues about the missing Queen’s whereabouts. During their search, they found one fourth of a key that supposedly will open the door to a location in the skies.
- April 2015
The Easter Eggs
On April 5th and 6th, searching Heroes found Easter Eggs containing elemental crystals and other prizes. After finding all 15, they unlocked a new job (Gambler)
Dopplegangers
On the night of April 16th, some Heroes had another strange dream. This time, they were able to witness events from 2000 years ago, through the eyes of a former Hero of Light. These previous Heroes were someone from that Hero’s world, or in some cases, another version of themselves. They, like the current Heroes, were working to halt the crystallization of the world and defeat the Calamity.
• Group A (Johnny D'Amico/Esteban, Kenshin/Kenshin, Mary Read/Haytham Kenway, Owain/Edward, Saori Nakagawa/Kenichi Inari, Sora/Roxas, Zell Dincht/Squall Leonhart)
A bridge in a floating facility collapsed while a group of Heroes were fleeing across it to evade pursuit by crystal enemies (some taking familiar forms). Roughly half their party was killed in the fall, with each Hero losing someone from their world. Haytham Kenway had secretly arranged the accident to eliminate Mary Read/James Kidd. Kenshin suspected his involvement, and confronted him in front of the remaining party. The others were unsure what to believe, but decided that escaping their pursuers and getting out safely were their top priorities. They chose not to turn on Haytham at that moment, and Haytham quietly began plotting another accident to remove the rest of them.
• Group B (Bloom/Daphne, Chiaki Nanami/Chihiro Fujisaki, Lydia Deetz/Jacques LaLean, Manami Sangaku/Fukutomi Juichi, Nanami Kiryuu/Nanami Kiryuu, Ryoji Kaji/Asuka Langley Sohryu, Valvalis/Sandy Magus)
In the same floating facility that Group A fled, Group B was besieged by crystal versions of people from their homeworlds. Chihiro and Jacques focused on hacking into and translating an Ancient computer while the others fought off their crystal attackers. Before they were overwhelmed by the enemy, they found out from the files that the Calamity had happened before, 2000 years ago, and 2000 years before that, and so on through Crystallis’ history.
• Group C (Cloud [young]/Cloud [old], Red Plains Rider/Croach the Tracker, Selen/Ishtar, Sephiroth [good]/Sephiroth [evil], Tazendra/Vlad Taltos, Terra/Terra [esper], Tifa [old], Tifa [young])
In a cave made of crystal, Group C defeated a Calamity Spawn and found a chamber filled with Heroes of Light in crystal stasis. The Heroes entered the caves in hope of weakening the Calamity, but as they entered, Sephiroth turned on his allies. Using his Crystal, now black, he began to assimilate with the Calamity. As the others began to fight Sephiroth, Terra stayed away from the battle, only joining in when Sephiroth used the Calamity’s power to compel her to attack her former allies.
• Group D (Ales Mansay/Rayman, Doki Makoto/Bayushi Kwanchai, Doug/Ventuswill, Gaara/Gaara, Logen/Bayaz, Meredy/Shizel, Ramza Beoulve/Dycedarg Beoulve, Yugi Mutou/Dark Yugi)
In a cave made of crystal, once again filled with crystalized Heroes of Light, Group D ventured in to retrieve a Black Crystal. When it was within his grasps, Dycedarg seized the crystal to harness the dark power for his personal gain. Although Shizel had plotted with him to use the Black Crystal to destroy the world, Dycedarg betrayed their partnership and attacked the group indiscriminately. As he used the power of the crystal, he began to transform into a Calamity Spawn. He was defeated, though it cost the lives of Shizel and Ventuswill to overpower him.
• Group E (Anise/Fon Master Ion, Ashelia [post ending]/Ashelia [pre choice], Elizabeth/Igor, Ib/Ib [bad ending], Jade Curtiss/Gelda Nebilim, Luke fon Fabre/ Luke fon Fabre, Olivier Armstrong/Buccaneer)
Group E entered the Temple of Fire, which housed the gray and fading Crystal of Fire. They debated whether the best course of action would be to continue to oppose the Calamity and defeat Garland, or try to contain it. Crystallis was not the only world threatened; the Heroes’ worlds were also in jeopardy. Kalki was with the group, although the Heroes in that timeline viewed her as an ally. Kalki advised them to help contain the Calamity, to let future generations oppose it when the odds of victory were increased. The Heroes were unable to reach a unanimous agreement on what to do.
• Group F (Ameena Leffeld/Sophia Esteed, Daisy/Librarian, Fayt Leingod/Faize, Hilda/Ganondorf, Nel Zelpher/Blair, SS Link/First Link, Zelda/Hylia)
In the Research Facility’s command center, Group F could see crystallization envelop half of the planet. Ganondorf, Blair, and the Librarian were working together to protect their home worlds. They hoped to end the Calamity cycle by destroying both the Calamity and the system bringing the Heroes of Light to Crystallis. The other Heroes opposed their plan because of the danger it presented to the world and its inhabitants. A fight broke out as the Librarian cast a magic spell to distract the Heroes while Blair finished writing the program to enact their plan. Faize stabbed Blair to stop her, but in her last moments, she enacted her own plan, to initiate a shutdown of the system, which she felt was the best option to protect everyone.
• Group G (Asbel Lhant/Prince Richard, Bartz/Onion Knight, Jack Harkness/Gwen Cooper, K'pandolu Tohka/Thancred, Markus Haley/Chelsea Haley, Rikku [FFX]/Rikku [FFX-2], Yuna/Yunalesca)
Group G stood in a void, lit by a few distant stars, littered with bodies of Heroes felled by a man in black armor. Yunalesca stood between the surviving Heroes and the armored man, Garland, as he retreated. Unable to convince her to stand aside, the Heroes fought Yunalesca to get to Garland. Onion Knight dodged past Yunalesca to use his final Limit Break, Melodies of Life, on Garland; since he did not have the remaining Heroes supporting him when he used it, the attack did not kill Garland, but did wound him.
When the Heroes awoke from their dreams, they received a letter from Kalki. “The Heroes of Light never left this world. They lost their worlds, their friends, their identity. /With no home left, their spirits became a part of Crystallis./ And now we call them "Doppelgangers."— Kalki"
If the Heroes went to the return address on their letters, they could find the doppleganger they had seen in the dream, living as a native Crystallian with no memories of their previous life.
- May 2015
The City that Never Sleeps
On May 5th, Heroes appeared before the Crystal of Wind, in the temple near Trano Golsaucia. The airlines sent airships to carry Heroes back and forth from Trano Golsaucia to Aqures Ixen, although the Heroes were able to explore the attractions in the city before they departed.
Many Meetings
On May 15th, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and Cid agreed to meet with the Heroes of Light and answer their questions as best they could. They started out the meeting out with notice of their impending doom due to the spreading crystallization spreading from the Heran Research Facility.
The Heroes learned the following information:
-Kurma is Garland’s son
-Kalki used the Earth Crystal to destroy Roalie before taking it back to the Empire
-Matsya does not like Kalki
-The black crystals were found in the ruins after the Crystal of Fire exploded
-Stiltzkin’s Castle, on Old Hera’s Island, is of Ancient design, and inverts powers. The Heroes made plans to explore it before the crystallization spreads over it and makes it inaccessible.
-According to Cid, Kalki is obsessed with the Heroes of Light, and often lamented not being able to speak to them. While she is now, he says, ‘crazy’, she was sane and very different from her current self when he met her briefly before the explosion of the Fire Crystal.
-Imperial technology uses power taken directly from the planet. Cid’s tech uses energy drawn from Crystals, and he considers the Empire’s system ‘barbaric’ and dangerous for the planet.
-Bigg’s intel says the Empire is preparing a massive fleet, purpose currently unknown.
-Cid was the Regent in Aqures Ixen when the Queen was still a child.
-Crystals are formed from the planet’s life energy, which has been expelled. The Crystals are reverse engineered for energy, which creates a highly toxic blue liquid that converts into mist after being used. The mist is very similar to the mist that surrounds dead monsters, and the use of Crystal energy does not seem to harm the planet.
-Crystals are mined from the Earth, but supply is limited.
-Jessie does not know why the new Heroes and those who went to Sub-Level 27 have white crystals. Theories include that the color drained, that the color mixed, or that it is light. The only thing that seems certain is that the change was caused by interaction with the Calamity. (On June 24th, Kalki sent a letter to Zelda, stating that a white crystal indicates that a Hero is connected to the Calamity.)
-The Heroes of Light supposedly carry fragments of the Calamity with them.
-Cid is reopening the Research Facility in Aqures Ixen.
In Your Worst Memory
On May 27th, some of the Heroes of Light were transported to an interdimensional rift and were forced to witness one of their worst memories. Some saw the events as they transpired, but many of the dreams had a twist that had not actually occurred in real life. Other Heroes were able to witness and in some cases interact with the memories. Heroes traveled between memories, and in between, were transported to a garden.
Within the garden, Nebilim, Ib, Igor, and Kalki (the previous Heroes of Light who had argued for Calamity containment during the dreams in April) were trapped, unresponsive to any Heroes who approached them. A little girl stood by a large, white crystal in the middle of the garden, and she answered questions as the Heroes approached her.
Information gathered from Shakyamuni (the little girl) aka ‘The Answer’ aka 0301120113092025:
-Kurma, Mograma, and Kalki are 3 of 10 avatars of Shakyamuni/’The Answer’ on Crystallis. Interaction with the avatars will determine the Calamity’s future. Not all of the avatars are aware of their significance.
-Garland is The Guardian, neither good nor evil, who oversees the cycle to prevent the Calamity from devouring everything
-The previous Heroes of Light created Shakyamuni
-The Calamity from the Skies is named Narayana
-The First Crystal, Crystallis’ life source, is dying. If it dies, the Calamity will be free to move on to other worlds
-The Heroes are summoned, sacrificed, and summoned again ‘to protect life and Crystallis’
-Rikku and Cloud had encountered the little girl before
-Garland executes the will of the Ancients. Kalki tries to execute the will of the Heroes of Light.
-The dark crystals belonged to 4 previous Heroes of Light. They used their crystals to communicate with ‘an entity that cannot be spoken with,’ which drove them mad. The avatars have taken their current forms to communicate with the Heroes without causing madness.
-When pressed about her identity, Shakyamuni showed Ashelia (and maybe Sephiroth?) a vision of a creature with a collective conscious destroying Crystallis, leading some to believe she is an avatar of the Calamity itself.
-Cloud was the final Hero to encounter the little girl. She asked him to find her again before disappearing. Garland then appeared, using an attack to throw Cloud and the other Heroes back into Crystallis.
- June 2015
I Believe I Can Fly
On June 11th, Heroes met with Cid to help repair the Enterprise, the airship that they had used to flee from the Imperial Prison. After much hard work and much exasperation from Cid, the Enterprise was put back in working order.
Stiltzkin’s Castle Exploration
Before the Crystallization spread to the far side of Old Hera Island, several teams of Heroes ventured there to explore Stiltzkin’s Castle, the home of a legendary moogles explorer of the same name. Inside the castle, the Heroes found their levels inverted, with new or ‘weak’ Heroes stronger than the veteran warriors. At the end of their exploration, each group encountered a different elemental dragon. After the battle, they may have picked up a mysterious key fragment there.
Blitzball World Cup
From June 16th-29th, fans of Blizball were treated to the biennial World Cup tournament. Heroes were able to cheer on teams, bet on the outcomes of matches, and even play for the local team. In the end, the Aqures Ixen Chocobos took the cup.
- July 2015
The Calm Before the Storm
On July 5th, the latest batch of Heroes appeared before the Water Crystal in Flence. Airships arrived to bring them to Aqures Ixen to meet the other Heroes and join in the effort to stop the Calamity.
Meetings and Strategy
On July 10th, the Heroes were notified about a meeting to discuss the impending Imperial Invasion. Several plans were formulated. The civilians were evacuated from the city, defense plans were made by both military and law enforcement. The Heroes who had met Kurma previously were contacted and advised how to turn Kalki and Matsya’s forces against one another. Jessie gathered up Heroes to hack into and pilot the Ultima Weapon to use against the Imperial forces.
The Empire Strikes Back
From July 27th through August 2nd, the Heroes responded to Imperial Troops marching on Aqures Ixen. On the first day of the attack, a bomb appeared at the Magitek Research Facility, but was diffused by Vincent, MarKus, and Yuffie before it could detonate. Imperial Troops arrived by airship and streamed into the 12th and 13th Districts, where many Heroes waited to combat them. The 13th District was protected the first day, but was overwhelmed by Imperial forces later in the invasion.
Other relevant occurrences included:
-Ales sacrificed himself and his aircraft to prevent an enemy airship from crashing into the castle.
-Fires broke out in the residential districts. Several houses burned down, although some of the fire spreading around was fake, spread by an illusionist. When they tracked down the Illusionist (Jenni), she summoned the Dark Eidolon Odin. A group fought her to put an end to the false fires, though she evaded capture after the battle.
-A Red Scorpion weapon launched an attack on the hospital. Its tail-beam had been equipped with a laser that could permanently kill a Hero of Light. It was defeated after fighting through several waves of Heroes and prevented from harming any of the crystalized Heroes.
-Moogles and Heroes once again banded together to defend the Mognet Office, and the office came through more or less intact.
-Law Enforcement was terrorized by a ninja that was using invisibility to cut throats and spread fear. The culprit was revealed to be Gibbs. The Heroes fought him, but he escaped when it seemed he would be defeated.
-A team infiltrated an enemy airship and captured it. As per Kurma’s intel, they used the ship to fire on Admiral Matsya’s vessel during the second wave of the attack, leading her to believe Kalki had turned against her. This sparked in-fighting among the Imperial troops.
-On the night of August 1st, the Ultima Weapon appeared. A group of Heroes fought the Weapon to keep it from reigning destruction on Aqures Ixen while the Hacking team worked with Jessie to break into its system. The Hacking Team was able to succeed, and Jessie gained control over the Ultima Weapon.
[For further information on the results of the Imperial Invasion, check out the Mod’s Event Results post for July/August.]
- August 2015
Melodies of Death
On August 3rd, Kalki appeared before the Crystal of Fire, as she had promised in her letter. She spoke to some of the Heroes one-on-one, before activating the Crystal of Fire to send them 28 years into the past. Some of the things the Heroes learned from Kalki before they were sent back in time:
-Kalki believes the calamity will become god and recreate the world if it devours it.
-The Ancients came from another planet (which they had destroyed), and brought destruction to Crystallis in trying to create an eternal civilization.
-Other Heroes could become the next ‘Kalki’ in a future cycle.
-The Calamity was created by the Ancient’s mistake and destroyed the Ancients (which Kalki cites as justice).
-The Calamity’s only ‘purpose’ is to become whole again.
-Garland was created by the Ancients, and is an eternal existence (through reincarnation).
-The Heroes should be worried about the Wind and Water crystals.
-One of the Heroes will have to make a choice to bring an end to the story [of the calamity].
Genesis
Upon arriving in Aqures Tosf days before its destruction, the Heroes of Light found a young girl under attack from monsters. They rescued her, and she in turn brought them food and supplies in their new base in an abandoned church. The girl is discovered to be Princess Sarah. While in Aqures Tosf, the Heroes also met younger versions of many of the Crystallians they knew in the future. Some notable encounters included:
-The Dimensional-Crossing Swordsman, Gilgamesh and his loyal dog companion. Gilgamesh was seeking out the sword Excalibur, which was revealed to be a fake. He stole several Heroes’ weapons instead.
-Garland, whose memories as the Guardian had not yet awoken. He was a Knight of Aqures Ixen, guarding the palace under the advice of Professor Palitutu.
-A young Wedge, who had just failed to cast an Ultima Spell to prove his Black Mage mastery. He mentioned a young girl who had been cheering him on, and he was disheartened to have failed her.
-A young
-Kalki, a student at the Temple of Fire. She encountered Heroes whose crystals had been pick-pocketed. Since she did nothing to provoke such a response, she was confused as to why the newcomers all seemed to hate her.
-A mysterious girl outside of the palace. She knew the city was in turmoil, though she did not identify herself or explain how she knew. She said her father was a researcher at the Temple of Fire.
-A teenaged Kurma, who was acting as a representative for the moogles striking at Mognet.
-Jessie, the tarutaru. She accepted what the Heroes told her about her research and about the future of Aqures Tosf without giving away her thoughts.
-Jessie, a human woman. She was being thrown out of the Temple of Fire, and seemed very distraught. She was trying to warn those inside about the dangers of Professor Palitutu’s experiments on the Crystal of Fire, though they did not heed her warnings. She mentioned a contact within the Temple (Kalki) who had alerted her to the danger.
Conclusion
On the night of August 3rd, with the day of the Fire Crystal explosion drawing closer, the Heroes found strange monsters descending upon Aqures Tosf. Attempts to evacuate civilians largely failed, as most of the boats that would allow them to flee had been destroyed. Princess Sarah was safely escorted to one of the few remaining boats and thus escaped death.
Realizing evacuation was futile, many Heroes rushed to the Temple of Fire to confront Palitutu, whom they knew from Kalki’s Diary and from various reports would be responsible for the detonation of the Crystal. They witnessed Garland enter the Temple.
Those who went to Palitutu’s office found Col. Deweg, who told them Palitutu had warned him they would be coming. He attacked them. Sometime during the fight, Cloud injured Deweg and put out his eye, before the ruckus at the Crystal of Fire interrupted the fight.
The Heroes that rushed to the Crystal of Fire found the Crystal in an unstable state, surrounded by pyreflies and floating over a great hole. Kalki was attempting to stop the chain reaction that Palitutu had begun, but was failing. She realized that the presence of the Heroes of Light meant that she had already failed, as Palitutu’s experiments were meant to awaken Garland as the Guardian and begin the Hero Cycle once again. Through the sacrifice of the thousands of lives in Aqures Tosf, Palitutu would recharge the depleted Crystal of Fire and allow the Heroes to be summoned in their future.
The situation quickly fell into chaos, with Heroes giving inspirational speeches, stabbing one another, and generally convincing Kalki that they were completely insane. She fell into the hole beneath the Crystal as she backed away from them, and though the Heroes tried to pull her up, ‘Jessie’ intervened with a spell and caused her to plummet into the void.
Jessie, along with Artemicion, appeared, revealing herself to be Professor Palitutu. She had gathered up doppelgangers and manufactured events to ensure the destruction of the city. As these events were already confirmed in the future, the Heroes were unable to change them or stop ‘Jessie’. She and Artemicion escaped and the Crystal exploded. The Heroes of Light entered Crystal Stasis sealed inside of the old Temple of Fire until they once again reached present times.
Upon returning to the present, they discovered that ‘Jessie’ and Artemicion had stolen the Ultima Weapon, attacked Biggs and Wedge, destroyed the remains of the Magitek Research Facility and the Esdham Army, and fled.
- September 2015
The Return of the Heroes: September 5th
More Heroes of Light arrived in front of the Crystal of Fire. Some of the newcomers witnessed an unidentified flying object abducting cows from the outskirts of town. The reason behind this is still a mystery.
Jessie’s Laboratory: September 15th
Cid sent a letter to the Heroes, asking those skilled with research, programming, etc to help decipher the research that Jessie/Palitutu left behind in her lab when she fled. He also informed them that she had detailed files on each Hero, with information about their past and future. This information was available for anyone to see before the Heroes who were inclined locked down their files.
Window of Opportunity: September 25th (191 times)
An accident in Palitutu’s lab (
- October 2015
In October, various types of ghosts began appearing. Their numbers steadily grew throughout the month, though Heroes equipped with the new ‘Ghostbuster’ job labored to keep them under control. Two Legendary Ghosts appeared during this period: The Ghost Ship roaming the oceans sinking ships, and The Reaper in the Northern Continent of Balance killing indiscriminately.
Don’t Fear The Reaper: October 19th
Rukia, Yuna, Selen, Raven, Sparks, Yugi, Jade, D, Robin, Ventus, Cloud, and Deadpool fought against the clock as the Reaper cast Death Sentence upon them at the start of the battle. After an arduous battle of instant deaths, crossed streams, and bad status effects, the party defeated the Reaper. His spirit appeared, thanked them for breaking Narayana’s Curse, and offered his aid. This allowed Beastmasters to use the Reaper and Summoners to call upon the Eidolon Hades.
A Haunted Ship: October 22nd
Luffy, Ramza, Yuffie, Yuri, Kidd, Saori, Rikku, Jack, and Johnny sailed out in the Chasing Joy to confront the Ghost Ship. The ship fired its canons and sank the Chasing Joy as they neared to board, but the Heroes found the haunted ship seemingly abandoned. ????
The Night of the 13 Moogles: October 31st
As the ghost problem escalated and a dark cloud appeared over the sky, the Heroes hurried to the Old Observatory tower. Ten moogles, each representing a classic job class (with the Black Mage missing), stood beside a hooded human figure carrying a moogles plush in scholar garb. They claimed to be servants of Narayana, and admitted to having summoned the dead in an attempt to bring Crystallis salvation through destruction. The cloaked figure was revealed to be Cloud, obviously brainwashed and wearing a dress made of crystal.
Using the power of one of the Black Crystals and the knowledge Kalki and Mograma had given them the previous October, the Moogles animated the Heroes in Crystal Stasis, and disappeared in a flash of light and formed into a 100 foot version of the evil King Moggle Mog XIV.
Many Heroes banded together to fight Moggle Mog XIV as he closed in on the Crystal of Fire. Without the full number of moogles for the ritual or Kalki’s guidance, the spell the moogles cast summoned a body of marshmallow for the king. After much struggle both on the ground and sky, the Heroes were able to defeat the marshmallow fiend by crossing their proton gun streams. The giant moogles exploded, coating the city in burnt marshmallow, but saving the Crystal, and thus Aqures Ixen, from destruction.
The eleven moogles and Cloud fell from the sky where the giant had been. Cloud was shaken, but unharmed and freed from the compulsion of the Black Crystal. The moogles involved in the ritual all perished, and the reanimated Crystal Heroes stopped their rampage.
Many other Heroes responded to the reanimation of the Cursed Heroes as they rose from stasis to attack the hospital. There were many casualties within the hospital, but thanks to the Heroes’ intervention, many civilian lives were saved outside of the hospital walls. The ‘cursed’ heroes returned to their stasis once the Moggle Mog marshmallow was defeated.
- November 2015
Exactly as Planned
On November 5th, more Heroes arrived by the Crystal of Fire. They were baffled by the city’s marshmallow coating, but otherwise adjusted well. A few of the Heroes in crystal stasis awoke, sending the guards now permanently patrolling in the hospital into a temporary panic.
A Moogle Hunt: November 6th-9th
Led by James Kidd, a band of Heroes investigated rumors of Artemicion sightings in Trano Golsaucia. They cornered Artemicion, but Palitutu appeared and threatened to use the Ultima Weapon to destroy the city if they did not release him. The Heroes were forced to allow them to walk free, though they did walk away with a letter intercepted from the moogle. They learned that Palitutu and Artemicion were seeking the Diamond Weapon, which is hidden somewhere on the Lost Continent.
Terra Incognita: November 18th
Cid finished the repairs on the Enterprise, allowing the Heroes to finally explore the mysterious Continent of Ruin. There, the Heroes encountered several new races, and met with The Sage, their wise leader. They were brought to the Pyramid of Prayers, which was filled with stained glass images of the villains of the previous cycle that the Heroes had witnessed in April 2015.
Things learned during this visit:
-The Continent of Ruin had been cut off from the rest of the world since the great battle between Narayana [the Calamity] and Kali Shashidhwaja thousands of years ago.
-The Sage was able to predict the Heroes’ arrival and the reawakening of the Calamity in January 2016.
-The Cult of Narayana, which worships the Calamity, had become more active of late.
-The Sage is able to see what others who are connected to Narayana see. Because of this, he had been monitoring the Heroes since they first arrived on Crystallis.
-The Sage is the 6th of 10 Avatars of the Calamity. The other five encountered so far are Shakyamuni, Kurma, Mograma, Varaha, and Kalki.
-The Avatars embody different aspects of the Calamity, and also allow the Calamity to observe the Heroes of Light. They exist because the Heroes of Light changed the previous cycle and piqued Narayana’s curiosity.
-The memories of the dopplegangers enter into the world’s collective unconscious before they are reborn, and thus these memories are not completely lost to time.
-If a Hero of Light truly dies, their world also dies.
-The Sage would not say what happens when a Hero’s crystal turns blue (but it does not seem good). He refused to tell the Heroes everything he knew, claiming they were yet too weak to change fate, but their journey for truth could help them gain strength.
The Sage warned the Heroes that Garland, Palitutu, and Kalki (if she lived) would be able to kill them (and by extension, their world), but that the threat was not immediate. He also told them that if they wanted more answers, they could return in two months (January 2016), after the Calamity had begun again. Then, if the conditions were right, he would reveal everything he knew.
- December 2015
The Christmas Village
As Crystallis prepared to celebrate another Starlight Festival, the Moogles of Aqures Ixen and Mysidia began reconstruction on the famed Village of Santa Claus on the Lost Continent. They called on the Heroes of Light for help. For the month of December, the Heroes donated money, dressed in holiday costumes, ran attractions, and helped boost tourism to get the village running.
Here’s Hoping for a Christmas Miracle: December 24th
Hearing that the Calamity would begin again in the new year, a group of Heroes traveled to the Heran Empire, to warn them that their city would soon be turned to Crystal. Hoping they would be allowed in as a peaceful envoy, they came with gifts instead of weapons. The Heroes were allowed entry, and they met again with Kurma. Although exasperated by the Heroes’ antics, Kurma allowed a smaller group to meet with Emperor Garland in hopes that they would convince the Emperor to evacuate the city.
Garland met with Ramza, Ashelia, Chrom, and Yuna. Though they tried their hardest to convince him to evacuate the city and trust in the Heroes to stop the Calamity, he refused. Garland claimed there was no way the Heroes could win, and it would be cruel to give the people false hope and disrupt their final days.
Meanwhile, the Heroes Kurma did not allow to meet with the Emperor (Jack Harkness, MarKus, Sparks, Kidd, and Rikku) were asked by Gibbs to check in on Jenni. Since Kalki’s death, she had been depressed. They went to Kalki’s gravesite, where a drunken Jenni tried to attack them. Failing due to her inebriation, Jenni eventually gave the Heroes a VHS tape from Kalki’s lab. It was labeled ‘Hidden Truths’. Since the Empire did not possess VHS players, she did not know what was on it. The Heroes have yet to find a player that will allow them to view it.
To All Heroes of Light: December 24th-25th
During the Starlight Festival, each Hero of Light received a letter and personalized present from the missing Queen Sarah. She thanked the Heroes she had met in the past, apologized for not being able to be with them, and promised to protect the Heroes of Light. She said that she would come back when it was time, and mentioned that she was closer than the Heroes think.
- January 2016
The Underwater Prison
As the New Year dawned, a group of Heroes led by Ellie freed the prisoners from the Empire’s Underwater Prison before they were taken over by Crystallization. One of these prisoners was later discovered to be Narasimha, a chaotic Avatar of the Calamity.
The Enemy Within
On the 15th of the month, the Sage granted the Heroes a vision of a potential future, two years from now. The world was a majority crystallized, with only a few cities preserved. The Heroes had split into three factions: the Protagonists, who were still trying to save Crystallis and defeat the Calamity; the Antagonists, who had heard the Sage's knowledge and turned from their goal; the Others, who had rejected both sides and were neutral parties.
Each grouping of Heroes had a different plan to defeat the Calamity or join forces with it. When they returned to the present, the Sage revealed that Palitutu had uncovered the knowledge the Sage had given to the Antagonists, and that it had been instantly revealed to Garland and Kalki as well. He used the disastrous future as proof that he should keep such knowledge hidden away from the Heroes, in spite of their insistence that they be kept informed about the truth of the Calamity.
We Are Off to See the Crystal Tree
After learning about the Enemy Within, a group of Heroes explored the Crystal Forest, the home of the Crystal Tree.
- February 2016
The Mysidian Tower
In the middle of February, a team of Heroes led by Jade explored the Mysidian tower. When they finally reached the top of the tower, they discovered a piece of Ancient Machinery that allowed them to divert or accelerate the path of the Calamity, through the use of special gemstones. This unlocked the ability to protect a location from crystallization.
The World of Tomorrow
On February 13th, the Heroes who had gone on the Christmas mission to the Imperial City, and those who were of a similar peaceful mindset, met with a new NPC on the outskirts of the chocobo farms. Prajapati revealed that 60% of the population of the Imperial City had been saved, including Kurma, and that they now lived aboard their airships. Garland had not evacuated, but she doubted he was dead. Arrangements were made to move the Imperial refugees to the Village of Santa Claus. Prajapati also confirmed that the Heroes of Light carried pieces of the Calamity within themselves.
Another Side, Another Story
On February 22nd, a new group of Heroes of Light surfaced in the City of Mysidia. They had been awakened by Kalki months earlier, and had undergone a parallel journey to the original Heroes. They were forced to travel through the Crystal Cave network beneath the earth before finally reaching the city. Some of these Heroes ended up joining the ranks of the Heroes of Light, while others crystallized after a few days and others died permanently. No one knows why some lived and others did not.
- March 2016
Hidden Truths
On the 15th of March, the Heroes of Light were finally able to put together a VCR to view the tape Jenni had given them from Kalki's lab. Though badly damaged, the tape revealed a secret message Kalki had recorded for the Heroes of Light. The Heroes learned the following:
-The Avatars of the Calamity were made as a result of the previous cycle's Kalki and three other Heroes attempting to communicate directly with the Calamity. Through them, the Heroes can influence the Calamity.
-The Avatars reflect different aspects of the complex whole of the Calamity. They are not usually aware of which aspect they represent.
-The Calamity's body resides in the Interdimensional Rift. Severing the connection to Crystallis would simply sever its anchor, potentially allowing it to move on to devour other worlds. It cannot be convinced to stop devouring, which Kalki equates to its breathing.
-By becoming the Will of the Calamity, a Hero could become ‘God’. Kalki has been trying to shape the Heroes into beings who could become gods.
-The Heroes contain a ‘Shadow’ or Calamity self within them, that feeds upon what their selves reject. The Heroes will not be able to become ‘gods’ until they first conquer their Shadows.
-Palitutu’s ability to disable jobs can be stopped by a skill of a Crystal Knight.
-Garland, the Guardian, has never been defeated. He fears the powers of Eidolons. He has not been able to enter the Temple of the Heroes of Light.
-The Bard job can harness the powers of ‘Melodies of Death’, which has the power to kill Garland, with the drawback of also killing all the Heroes of Light along with him. It cannot kill the Calamity, however.
- April 2016
The Answer
From April 20th-30th, Heroes lost consciousness and awoke in Imperial Territory. They were forced to navigate through various trials that seemed tailor-made to leave some of their team members in despair. They eventually discovered that this was caused by Narasimha.
- May 2016
Journey into Mystery
At the beginning of May, a team of Heroes explored the Lunar Gate. They used technology from the Heroes' worlds to try to reactivate the computer systems that had lain dormant for thousands of years.
Sewer Quest Part II
Due to Barkeep’s obsession with the sewer system, the Heroes explored the tunnels beneath the city a second time. This time, they found a hidden passageway that led to Palitutu’s laboratory, revealing how she had been able to escape from the city unhindered.
- June 2016
Reunion
On June 10th, members of the Military and Police forces were invited to meet with the President of Esdham. The president was revealed to the missing Queen Sarah. Her identity is secret to the public, but the Heroes that the Military/Police trust will know. She advised them to seek a way to end the Calamity’s suffering, citing that the Avatars were the key to communicating with the Calamity itself.
Cluedo
Starting on the 15th of June, a string of murders occurred in Aqures Ixen. The Heroes donned their detective hats and set out to solve these crimes…only to discover that the culprits were brainwashed Heroes who could not recall having committed these atrocities. Most of the murdered Heroes awoke after a week, though the natives who had been killed did not. However, one Hero, Zelda, was killed permanently by a magical blast by a brainwashed Rialynn. This was discovered to be more of Narasimha’s handiwork.
- August 2016
Melodies of Life
On August 3rd, the long-awaited confrontation with Palitutu and the Ultima Weapon began. Palitutu was not convinced to join forces with the Heroes, and upon hearing their ideas for an alternate solution to the Calamity problem, she resolved to ‘test their strength’ by attacking them. The Heroes defeated the Weapon. Palitutu banished the Heroes and herself to the Interdimensional Rift, where a voice warned the Heroes that everything must return to the Void. Their immortality via the Crystal’s power was revoked, and from that point on, healing items and spells were lessened and death became permanent. The Heroes wandered between worlds, and were warned to never return to the Rift.
Revelations
Directly after the battle, the Heroes were transported to Order’s Sanctuary, a dying world. From there, they found gateways to their various home worlds. In each world, Palitutu had sabotaged events to create problems for the Heroes of Light. The Heroes had to right the wrongs and find their way back to the gate. They also found a few worlds that no current Heroes hailed from, including the version of London where Kalki’s original identity lived.
Upon reaching the final gate, the Heroes were forced to face Palitutu in battle. She claimed that the answer to stopping the Calamity could not be found in Crystallis, thus her reasoning for sending the Heroes to other worlds. The Heroes defeated her in battle, and she fell into a coma. The Heroes chose not to kill Palitutu, and she can now be found at the hospital in Aqures Ixen. She has yet to recover from her injuries.
- September 2016
The Beginning of the End
At the end of September, the Sage met with the Heroes again, and gave them information about how to confront and defeat their Calamity selves using one of the black crystals. This would allow the Heroes to cross crystallized areas without succumbing to crystallization themselves, and also bring them one step closer to completing Kalki’s plan to become a god. He equipped them to begin the process in November, wanting to avoid October because of the dangers associated with the Night of the Thirteen Moogles.
- October 2016
Downopolis
At the beginning of October, a group of Heroes traveled to the city of Downopolis to confront the Calamity Cult. The city itself was strangely deserted. The Heroes infiltrated the Cult of Narayana’s base and discovered that the Cult Leader/Avatar was dead, but that a bard named Drona had taken his place. They fought Drona and defeated her. They discovered that the people of Downopolis had been mutated and absorbed into the walls of the Crystal Caves beneath the cult’s temple.
The Crystal Caves
A team of Heroes explored the Crystal Caves beneath the Crystal Life Tree and investigated the Soul Divider there. The Soul Divider was an Ancient device used to recycle the energy of assimilated planets into Crystallis’ First Crystal. The Heroes discovered the Soul Divider’s guardian, called Soul Cage, which claimed to be a mixture of the Soul Divider, Garland’s Modifications, and Crystallis’ will to survive. The Heroes chose to defeat the Soul Cage, which caused the planet’s crystallization to recede by November. However, the creatures that had previously populated the crystallized areas had become much stronger versions of themselves, so these regained locations are still very dangerous to explore.
The Night of the Thirteen Moogles
As in previous years, the Moogle’s Night of the Thirteen Moogles celebration heralded disaster for the Heroes of Light. This time, four Heroes were possessed by moogles puppets and magitek armor units sold by O’aka, which were secretly being controlled by the ghosts of the 13 moogles from previous years. They tried to revive the spirit of King Moggle Mog, but were stopped by the Heroes. Mograma, the Black Hat Moogle/Avatar, offered up a theory on how to dispel the King Moogle’s soul so that he could never again be summoned and cause problems in Crystallis. The key, he had learned from Kalki, lay in controlling the melodies…
- November 2016
Many Heroes used this month to confront their Calamity selves.
Legends of the Hidden Temple, Part One and Two
Four Onion Knights (Chiaki, Jack, Tsubomi, and Cloud) were finally able to break the seal at the Temple of the Heroes of Light. There, they met a knight, who told them to return with their thirteen strongest warriors. Upon their return, they entered into a battle with the ghosts of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round, to prove their worth. ONGOING
No Bananas on the Moon
The Heroes also explored the Lunar Gate once more, this time reaching the actual moon base. They found the artifacts of the Heroes of the previous cycle there, as well as a superweapon facing Crystallis. After deactivating the weapon, they proceeded to research rooms, where they found a partially completed Proto-Eidolon. ONGOING
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