Oh, shut up and help me remodel the Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles script page!
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles script comprises the full verbal and text transcript of The Ivalice Chronicles release of Final Fantasy Tactics.
- Notes
- § Story dialogue encompasses all dialogue given in the main story of the game. It is based on the Events list.
- All other dialogue, including notifications, sidequests, and NPC dialogue, is listed under the § Optional dialogue section.
- Dialogue is ordered by the earliest possible place it can be triggered, but events are listed by the order of the chronicle.
- Dialogue will be listed by the speaker's name if present, even if the speaker is named differently later (for example, "Man's Voice" will be used if matching the game script, even if the speaker is later named). If not present, it will denote by the job of the speaker.
Story dialogue[]
Intro[]
(Before loading the game.)
On-screen:
Sword in hand, a warrior clutches stone to breast.
In sword etched he his fading memories
In stone, his tempered skill
By sword attested, by stone revealed
Their tale can now be told
SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS
The "Zodiac Brave Story"
(While waiting on the start menu screen.)
Arazlam: Ivalice—a kingdom blessed by the light of the gods and ruled by the Two-headed Lion. A year after her defeat in the Fifty Years' War...the king succumbed to malady, leaving a mere boy of two to ascend the throne. Whoever became the child's guardian would rule in truth. Duke Larg, brother to Her Majesty the Queen, was widely expected to assume the rule. But the Council, fearing the queen would wield excessive influence...moved instead in support of the late king's cousin, Duke Goltanna.
Arazlam: The dukes Goltanna and Larg. Both were decorated generals who had proven themselves in many a battle during the Fifty Years' War. While most of the powerful houses rallied beneath the banner of the Black Lion, Goltanna...those nobles and knights who were left to languish in the wake of the war flocked to the banner of the White Lion, Larg.
Arazlam: Goltanna, the Black, and Larg, the White. The conflict between these men would come to be known as the War of the Lions.
Prologue: In Pursuit of the Truth[]
(Upon starting a new game, after entering birthday.)
Arazlam:
I am Arazlam J.D.
For the greater part of my life, I have been a student of Ivalice's Middle Age.
You are familiar with the War of the Lions, no? It was a bitter war of succession that rent the land of Ivalice in two.
Here we first find mention of Delita Heiral, the hero who would draw the curtain of this dark act of our history. His is a tale of great renown, familiar to all who dwell within our land.
But as we well know...what the eye sees is oftentimes a mere fragment of the truth.
There was another young man.
Ramza Beoulve.
The youngest of House Beoulve, famed for producing leaders of men.
There is no official record of the role he played on history's stage.
However, according to the Durai Papers, which had long lain concealed in Church archives, this forgotten young man was in fact the true hero.
The Church maintains he was a heretic of the highest order, an inciter of unrest who blasphemed the gods and profaned the godly.
Which of these two accounts is to be believed?
Join me now in my search to uncover the answer. The truth.
On-screen:
The Zodiac Brave Story
Ovelia's Prayer[]
Girl (Ovelia):
O Father, abandon not Your wayward children of Ivalice, but deliver us from our sins, that we might know salvation.
Knight (Agrias): Lady Ovelia, it is time.
Ovelia: I'll not be much longer, Agrias.
Agrias: Your escort has already arrived.
Priest: Please, heed the good lady's words, Highness. You must hurry.
Swordsman (Gaffgarion): Still in here, are you? It's been the better part of an hour!
Agrias: Gaffgarion, you forget yourself, ser! You are in the presence of the princess!
Gaffgarion: (sighs) Mayhap bowed heads would less offend. But you would do well to waste less time on idle pleasantries.
Agrias: I see even the noble Order of the Northern Sky cannot rid itself of vulgar knaves.
Gaffgarion: A guard captain in these rain-sodden hinterlands ought not expect chivalry. We are in employ of the Order, not of it. Our pay does not cover trite courtesies to the likes of you.
Agrias: Govern your tongue!
Ovelia: Enough. Let us be on our way.
Priest: The Father watch over you, child.
Ovelia: And you, Elder.
Knight: Milady! The enemy is upon us!
Priest: Duke Goltanna's men?
Gaffgarion: We are paid for this. Time to earn our keep. What is it, Ramza? You above getting paid to do a job?
Ramza: I'm a knight no longer. Just another sellsword.
Gaffgarion: Right then. To battle!
Ovelia: Deliver us, O Lord...
Looming Unrest[]
Agrias: They bear the crest of the Black Lion... Duke Goltanna must be mad!
Knight: You there, wench! It is useless to resist! You will surrender the princess! If not... Well, I would hate to see anything happen to that pretty face of yours.
Gaffgarion: A head-on assault. These swords of Goltanna...lackwits one and all.
Agrias: In that case, we should be able to handle this without you, Gaffgarion.
Gaffgarion: Mayhap you could, but there's no money to be made in that! Ladd! Ramza! With me!
(When the battle begins.)
Gaffgarion: Kill them all! Leave no man standing!
Agrias: You would have us slaughter them? Are you mad? Kill them here and you'll have played into Duke Goltanna's hands! We need only put them to rout!
Gaffgarion: I find dead men rout more easily.
Ovelia's Abduction[]
(After all enemies are defeated, and when selecting "View Scene" in Events menu.)
Ovelia: (screams) Unhand me!
Agrias: No! Lady Ovelia!
Delita: This way... Hurry up! And try making a little less noise.
Ovelia: I'll not take orders from you!
Delita: You've quite a mouth on you, Princess.
Agrias: Hold there!
Delita: I think not. If you feel wronged, blame yourself or the Father.
Agrias: This cannot be...
Ramza: Delita... He lives? But why does he serve under the banner of Duke Goltanna? I do not understand...
(When selecting "View Movie" in Events menu.)
Ovelia: Let go! Unhand me!
Agrias: No! Lady Ovelia!
Delita: This way. Be quick! And try making less noise.
Ovelia: I'll not take orders from you!
Delita: You've quite a mouth on you, Princess.
Delita: Forgive me. 'Tis your birth and faith that wrong you, not I.
Agrias: Lady Ovelia! Hold there!
Ramza: Do my eyes deceive me!
Ramza: Is it truly him?
Agrias: Lady Ovelia...
Ramza: Delita... He lives? But why does he serve under the banner of Duke Goltanna? I do not understand...
Chapter 1: The Meager[]
The Knights Apprentice[]
Narration:
Records of the hero Delita Heiral first appear one year before the outbreak of the War of the Lions. The loss of the Fifty Years' War saw Ivalice paying enormous reparations and ceding vast swathes of land to Ordallia, the victors. Knights and sellswords returned from the front to find their homes razed and loved ones slain. Compounding their woes, they were denied pay for their services and stripped of their livelihoods. This ill treatment led many to abandoned their fealty to the Crown and the nobility. Once-loyal soldiers became rogues and traitors, donning the thief's cloak and plotting treason. It was a time of great unrest for Ivalice—murder and theft were commonplace. Many were the young adventurer and mage who stepped forward to counter this threat. Of these, the city of Gariland, too, saw its share. It was there that our tale began, a year earlier...
On-screen: CHAPTER 1 THE MEAGER
On-screen: The Royal Military Akademy at Gariland
Apprentice (1): Did you hear? Another wain was struck last night on its way to Eagrose.
Apprentice (2): The Corpse Brigade again?
Ramza: 'Tis long past the hour for drills. What is happening, I wonder... Delita, what do you suppose this is about?
Delita: I could hazard a guess...
Ramza: Oh? Do tell.
Delita: I think Duke Larg is coming to Gariland.
Ramza: Duke Larg? Why?
Delita: Not just the duke. The marquis Elmdore de Limberry, too.
Ramza: That's the first I've heard of it. This has not the sound of a state visit.
Delita: All of Ivalice is in turmoil. The Order's supposed to be keeping things under control, but the fact is, they number too few.
Ramza: And they mean to bolster their numbers with us?
Northern Sky Captain: All right, everybody, fall in!
Northern Sky Captain: The Order of the Northern Sky has an assignment for its knights apprentice. As I'm sure you're already aware, the number of brigands roaming Gallionne is on the rise. Among them, the Corpse Brigade...a seditious lot with a grudge against the very Crown they had served. Rogues such as they must be dealt with. The Order has been commanded to undertake an operation to eliminate the Brigade—an operation of a grand scale. We will not be acting alone. The Order will be joined by, among others, His Excellency Duke Larg's royal guard. This will leave Eagrose Castle undermanned. Your task will be to proceed there, and support us from the rear by bolstering its defenses. Remember, you represent the Akademy itself. Noble or otherwise, your actions reflect upon us all. Fight with honor, and trust in your steel.
Northern Sky Captain: 'Twould seem the time to take up arms is already upon you, young apprentices! I've just received word that a band of thieves routed by our knights flees here to Gariland, where the bustling streets will only aid their escape. We will move to stop them and finish the task of our brothers. You, young apprentices, will accompany us. This is but a squall before the storm of battle. Prepare yourselves at once! Dismissed!
To Battle[]
On-screen: Gariland
(After battle begins.)
On-screen: Gariland
Rogue: What have we here... Little moppets, is it? Our luck's went and turned for the better! Aw'right, lads! Cut through these ones and we're as good as fled! Make quick work of them, and don't be leaving no squealers behind!
(During battle.)
Delita: Careful, Ramza! Remember: the well-aimed thrust pierces the mail.
Ramza: Don't patronize me, Delita! We Beoulves know our way around a battlefield.
Rogue: Beoulve, was it? Heir to the noble House Beoulve, I'd wager. Looks like we have ourselves some apprentices from the Akademy! Well, highborn moppets are still moppets!
Ramza: Lay down your arms or die clutching them! None will mourn your passing.
Rogue: Is that right? You're in far over your little heads!
(After battle ends.)
Ramza: Why persist in such folly? Honest work would see them die old in bed, yet they choose instead this early grave.
Father's Passing[]
Narration:
On-screen:
In the waning days of the Fifty Years' War...
Barbaneth: What news of the war?
Zalbaag: The Order has struck a great blow. Limberry is ours once more. 'Tis but a matter of time ere the Ordallians withdraw from Zeltennia. All goes as planned, Lord Father. Be not troubled.
Dycedarg: The envoy dispatched to treat with Advocate Lenarrio returned this night past. He has agreed to your proposal, Lord Father.
Barbaneth: Good. Very good. Then the war will die with me.
Alma: Father...
Barbaneth: There now, Alma. Do you want my last memory to be of your tears?
Zalbaag: Where is that Ramza? He should be here at your side!
Barbaneth: Dycedarg. Zalbaag. You are dear to me. But Ramza is no less so. Though he be not the issue of the womb that bore you, my sons, still my blood courses through his veins. Watch after him.
Ramza: Lord Father!
Dycedarg: You forget yourself, Ramza.
Barbaneth: You have come. Good. Let me look once more on your face once more.
Ramza: Lord Father...
Barbaneth: How long has it been? You've grown into a fine young man. I would hear of your studies. You've been at the Akademy since...since spring, is it?
Ramza: ...
Barbaneth: Hear me, Ramza. For generations, we Beoulves have stood foremost of those who serve the Crown. Ours is the soul of the knight. Become a knight worthy of your name. Tolerate no injustice. Stray not from the true path. You will know the path you must walk. A Beoulve can walk no other...
Ramza: I will not fail you, Father.
Barbaneth: Your friend, Delita. He is a good boy. He is lowborn, but he can serve you well. I have made arrangements for him to enter the Akademy. Haha... You should have seen the look on the headmaster's face. (sighs) In the years ahead you will need someone whom you can trust. You could do far worse than Delita.
Ramza: As...as you say, Father.
Barbaneth: Take care of your sister. And show these brothers of yours what it is...what it is to be a knight...
Argath's Rescue[]
(Upon entering Mandalia Plain.)
On-screen: Mangalia Plains
Highwayman (1): Looks like this one's still alive. What do we do with him?
Highwayman (2): What do you think we do with him?
Highwayman (1): Right, then. Your luck's run out, knave, if ever you had any.
Highwayman (2): Blast! One of the Order's patrols.
Delita: The Corpse Brigade...And they've a hostage in their midst.
- (Upon selecting "1. Our first duty is to defeat the Brigade.")
- (Upon selecting "2. We must rescue their captive!")
Ramza: We must rescue their captive! To do less would be unbecoming of men of the Order.
(When battle begins.)
Argath: Reinforcements...and none too soon.
(When all enemies are defeated.)
- (If Argath survived.)
Ramza: Are you all right?
Argath: I'll be fine. It is for the marquis's safety I fear.
Ramza: The marquis? The marquis Elmdore de Limberry was here?
Argath: The very same. And to whom do I owe my gratitude?
Ramza: We are knights apprentice from the Akademy at Gariland. We may be able to help you. But first I would hear more.
(After the battle ends.)
Argath: My name is Argath, a knight in His Excellency the marquis Elmdore de Limberry's household.
Delita: A knight, you say?
Argath: Well, truth be told, I am a knight apprentice like you.
Ramza: A fellow knight-in-training, then. I am Ramza Beoulve, and this is Delita Heiral, my trusted friend.
Argath: Beoulve? You're not of the Beoulves of the Order of the Northern Sky, are you? What fantastic luck! A blessing in the midst of disaster!
Ramza: What?
Argath: The Order can help me rescue the marquis! It must!
Delita: The marquis is held captive?
Argath: They took him hostage, yes, but he still lives! We must act quickly. Should he be killed, I will lose everything...
Argath: You simply must help me! Please! I beg you!
Delita: Calm yourself. Who's to say your marquis is to be killed, anyway? The Corpse Brigade would not take a man alive save there were value in keeping him so. Of that you can be sure.
Ramza: There's little we alone can do against their main host, in any case. If the marquis has been taken hostage, Eagrose will be in an uproar. You can be sure of that, too.
Delita: Then before all else we will report in to Eagrose. Are we agreed?
Argath: Agreed. We'll start there.
Reunion with Dycedarg[]
(Upon reaching Eagrose Castle.)
Dycedarg: I hear you were decorated for your first victory, Ramza. They sing your praise from on high. You do honor to our name, my brother—and to me.
Ramza: I am glad.
Dycedarg: Oh? You would not seem it.
Ramza: I am—forgive me. Your words do me far more honor than I have done you. No doubt word has already reached you, but the marquis de Limberry's carriage was waylaid, and the marquis taken. What have you a mind to do?
Dycedarg: I have already asked Zalbaag to dispatch a squad in pursuit. These brigands must eventually come forth to demand ransom—that is, assuming the marquis yet lives.
Argath: I beg of you, Count Beoulve! Lend me a hundred men that I might hunt the whoresons down!
Dycedarg: Hmm?
Argath: Please, my lord—grant me means to avenge my fallen friends!
Dycedarg: Mayhap your ears fail you. I said that a squad is to be dispatched. You are not a man of Gallionne. Leave her affairs to those of us who are.
Argath: But...my lord!
Dycedarg: Do not assume to beg favors of me. Let me remind you, Argath, lest you forget your place. You are but another sword, not yet even knighted.
Argath: ...
Dycedarg: The two of you will remain here at Eagrose, and serve among the castle guard. You needn't worry. Danger is not like to visit these walls.
At Eagrose Castle[]
Argath: My own house was once respected as highly as House Beoulve, you know. At least, until my grandfather was captured during the war, after his fortress was overrun. In hopes of saving his own hide, he divulged intelligence about our forces. Positions, numbers, supply routes—whatever it took, he rendered up to the enemy. He turned traitor, thinking to buy his freedom with the lives of his friends. But his freedom scarce outlived his honor. He was not a dozen paces out their gate when the dagger found his back. Killed by some common squire, no more a knight than I. One of his supposed comrades spread word of his misdeeds. My lord father would have none of it, of course. But he was the only one. Our bannermen deserted us, our reputation ruined.
Argath: I suppose I had best remember my place. Your lord brother has no reason to lend ear to pleas from the likes of me.
Tietra Heiral: Delita! Delita!
Delita: Tietra!
Ramza: Alma! Zalbaag!
Alma: Ramza, you've come home!
Ramza: (chuckles) It's been some time, hasn't it, Zalbaag?
Zalbaag: I heard about Gariland. They say you made short work of those brigands. Now you've truly the right to call yourself a Beoulve. Father would be proud.
Ramza: Thank you, Lord Brother.
Zalbaag: Ha! You certainly haven't changed. Gods forbid you show a bit of cheer on being praised! And you, Delita! Do not think word of your deeds escapes our ears. Your sister's been so full of pride I quite feared she might burst!
Tietra: Worry not, my seams have held. I'm glad to see you looking so well, Delita.
Delita: And I you. Have you settled in at school?
Tietra: Yes, the others have all been quite kind to me.
Zalbaag: Would that we could speak at greater leisure, but there are duties that require my attendance. Rogues do not catch themselves.
Ramza: I understand. Good luck.
Zalbaag: Oh. We received a note of ransom from the Corpse Brigade.
Argath: What!?
Zalbaag: Something about it sits unwell with me. They are anarchists, to be sure, bent on bringing down the aristocracy. But they fancy themselves righteous, and prey only on the nobility and those in our employ. Indeed, when they took hostages in the past, they demanded only an exchange for their captured brethren. Would such as they truly kidnap the marquis for want of coin?
Argath: Why wouldn't they? They're naught but common footpads! What would they know of honor?
Zalbaag: One of the men I dispatched to watch them has not returned. I suspect he learned something of import, and was caught for it. However, there are those who do not think some mere spy worth a search party's efforts.
Ramza: Where was he last known to be?
Zalbaag: In Dorter, the merchant city east of Gallionne. Guarding a castle grows dreadfully dull... Wouldn't you agree?
Delita: Forgive us, Tietra. It seems we must be leaving sooner than we had planned.
Tietra: Don't worry about me—just take care of yourself.
Delita: I will. Mind your studies! I'll be back before you've even noticed I'm gone.
Delita: Let's be on our way.
Alma: Tietra puts on a brave face, but the truth is not as honeyed as her words.
Ramza: What do you mean?
Alma: She has a hard time of it at school. The others tease her for being lowborn.
Ramza: Oh...
Alma: Forgive me, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sure you have worries enough of your own. Tietra will be all right. I'm here to look after her.
Ramza: Then there is naught to worry about. But mind your own limits. You can't be responsible for everything.
Alma: Says the brother who never fails to do any and all that is expected of him. And lest you forget, I'm no less a Beoulve than you. It'll take more than a few mean-spirited school peers to get the better of me. But please, don't lose sight of yourself, Ramza. You needn't let your life be ruled by the fact you were born a Beoulve.
Ramza: Now you're starting to sound like Mother. Ha!
Alma: (sighs) Ramza...
Monsters in Their Midst[]
(Upon entering The Siege Weald.)
On-screen: The Siedge Weald
Argath: Our luck is ill, that we should chance upon fiends such as these in the wood.
Delita: Some of us prefer fiends in a wood to a dull watch in castle garrets, Argath.
Argath: And some of us are not so quick to jape in danger's face.
Ramza: Enough talk. They come!
(After the battle ends.)
Ramza: Once we are clear of the weald, we should soon reach Dorter.
In Pursuit of Gustav[]
(Upon arriving at Merchant City of Dorter.)
On-screen: Dorter Slums
Swordsman (1): I said I know naught of it!
Swordsman (2): Do not speak false to me! I know what you've done! Where is Gustav? I will have it from you, one way or another!
Swordsman (1): I-I don't know.
Swordsman (2): What of the marquis? Where have you hidden him? Tell me!
Swordsman (2): I will not ask again. Where are they?
Swordsman (1): The desert! They're in the desert!
Swordsman (2): Hmph... The Sand Rat's Sietch.
Ramza: Hold!
Swordsman (2): The Order's swords. My luck turns foul with the weather.
Argath: It seems we did well to come here.
Delita: Have I not seen that man before?
Ramza: You know him, Delita?
Delita: I have seen his face, I'm sure of it. It was at Eagrose, just after the war's end...
Ramza: You'll pardon me my misgivings, but this has not the look of any joyous reunion. To arms!
(Upon Delita's first action in battle.)
Delita: I've just remembered! That man—his name is Wiegraf! He commanded the Dead Men during the war—a company of volunteers assembled from the peasantry.
Argath: What? But that would make him—
Delita: Aye. The commander of the Corpse Brigade.
(After the battle.)
Argath: We know you're of the Brigade. There's no use hiding it. Out with it! What have you done with the marquis? Where are you holding him?
Argath: You were with your commander, Wiegraf, when we came upon you. 'Twould seem he cast you off as a lizard would its tail. Where has he gone? Where is your den?
Argath: Mayhap a beating would loosen your tongue!
Ramza: Enough, Argath!
Argath: Hmph.
Argath: Listen well. A great host, with the Order at its van, prepares a sweeping campaign that will bring to book your turncloak Brigade. You will die. You will be hunted down to the last and slaughtered like the swine you are, for such is brigandry's reward. But you, pig, are a lucky one. Tell us what we wish to know, and you may yet keep your bacon. So, where is Wiegraf?
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: How the bloody hell should I know?
Argath: I'll not bear your ribald tongue, rogue! Learn to guard it, if you'd not have it cut from your throat!
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: I...I am no rogue.
Argath: Tell that to the men you've robbed!
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: You nobles are...are all the same. You think every man...born outside a castle's walls...less than human. We fought for this kingdom at peril of our very lives. Yet...yet the moment the war was ended...you turned us out into the streets. What do you think makes you so special? Birth? Blood? What difference does it make?
Argath: You kidnap men for ransom, then dare ask the difference between us!?
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: No! No, the marquis's kidnapping was...no plan of Wiegraf's.
Argath: What?
Swordsman: He would never...hold a man for ransom. Such a lowly act...it goes against all we believe in!
Ramza: Then who? Someone kidnapped the marquis Elmdore de Limberry.
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: Ugh...
Argath: Speak! If not you, then on whom would you pin the deed?
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: ...It was Gustav.
Argath: Who is Gustav?
Delita: Gustav Margriff—lieutenant commander of the Dead Men.
Argath: So the Corpse Brigade was behind the kidnapping!
Corpse Brigade Swordsman: No! We're not like Gustav! We fight to end the aristocracy, not to become it! To be treated as equals—as the men of honor we are!
Argath: What do maggots know of honor?
Ramza: That's enough, Argath!
Argath: So where is this "Gustav"?
Swordsman: Ungh...In the Sand Rat's Sietch.
Argath: Sand rat?
Delita: You are not of Gallionne—small wonder you've not heard of them. Sand rats are unique to the Zeklaus Desert, north of Dorter.
Argath: Your point being?
Ramza: Do any villages lie between here and the desert?
Delita: Villages? No. At least, not anymore. But the desertmen once had a settlement by an oasis, and its ruins remain.
Ramza: Then that's where we'll find Gustav and the marquis.
Delita: Aye, like as not.
Argath: How can you be so certain?
Ramza: A "sietch" is a sand rat's burrow—his home.
Argath: Hmm?
Marquis Elmdore's Rescue[]
(Upon reaching the Zeklaus Desert.)
On-screen: The Sand Rat's Sietch
Corpse Brigade Knight: Then you've heard? About the Order? They mean to finish us this time.
Corpse Brigade Archer: Aye, I've heard. So, what's to become of us?
Corpse Brigade Knight: I say we forget this business and run. There's naught for it.
Corpse Brigade Monk: Agreed. If we follow Wiegraf, he'll lead us only to our graves.
Corpse Brigade Knight: Aye, that much is plain. Gods willing, Gustav's ransom of the marquis will fatten our purses enough that we can quit this life for good and all.
Corpse Brigade Watchman: The Order...they're here!
Ramza: We must silence this watch before they can raise the alarm!
(When all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: These sand rats are long in the slaying. It is well no others have found us while we tarried here.
(After the battle ends.)
Wiegraf: You've taken leave of your senses, Gustav.
Gustav: Have I? What hope does your fool revoultion hold? Dreams do not fill a man's stomach or make soft the packed earth on which he beds!
Wiegraf: You see naught beyond the end of your own nose. The Crown strays, Gustav. It must be led back onto the path.
Gustav: And you think yourself the man to do this? More the fool you, Wiegraf.
Wiegraf: You have spoken your fill? Then we are done.
Gustav: Auh...ghh...
Ramza: Wiegraf!
Argath: The marquis!
Wiegraf: No further!
Argath: You vermin!
Delita: Stay yourself, Argath.
Wiegraf: The marquis is unharmed. You are free to return him to Eagrose.
Ramza: Why release him?
Wiegraf: The marquis's abduction was ill done. Such craven methods serve not our ends. Let me walk free, and I will release the marquis to your care. A fair bargain.
Argath: You mock us! You are in no position to bargain!
Delita: Enough, Argath! He speaks the truth.
Wiegraf: Put your backs to that wall. Give me no cause to doubt your sincerity.
Elmdore: Ahh...Unh...
Delita: Let him go, Argath!
Argath: Why do you stay me?
Delita: The Corpse Brigade is finished in any case. There is naught to be gained by a quarrel here.
Argath: ...
Ramza: The marquis is well. He is weak, but he would seem unharmed.
Delita: We must see him back to Eagrose.
Liege Lord of Gallionne[]
(Upon returning to Eagrose Castle.)
Lord Dycedarg Beoulve: What madness possessed you that you would abandon your posts to traipse about the desert?
Ramza: ...
Dycedarg: Silence is not the answer I seek. Speak, and be quick about it.
Delita: 'Twas I forced Ramza to go.
Dycedarg: Was that the way of it, Ramza? Delita led your better judgment astray?
Ramza: No...I went of my own choosing. The fault lies not with him.
Delita: 'Tis Ramza's noble disposition that guides his tongue, my lord. It is not as he—
Ramza: You needn't be false on my behalf, Delita. It was I who chose to disregard orders.
Dycedarg: Might I pose a question, Ramza? What purpose do laws serve when even those who would enforce them choose not to pay them heed? Adherence to the rule of law is a knight's solemn duty. It falls upon us, as Beoulves, to bear the burden of example. Is it your intent to live up to your name—or to drag it with you through the mire?
Ramza: Forgive me, Lord Brother.
Duke Larg: I belive the point is made, is it not, Dycedarg?
Duke Larg: You must not allow the how of it steal your eyes away from the what. Their rescue of the marquis was no small feat. It is the way of young men to be impetuous in their haste to do great things. Were we not like them once?
Dycedarg: To coddle them is to do them disservice, Your Grace. They need to learn integrity.
Duke Larg: So, you are Count Dycedarg's younger brother. Rise, son of Gallionne. Indeed, you are the very image of Barbaneth. His fire burns in your eyes, I can see it. Such strength and vitality would be wasted atop castle walls.
Dycedarg: Our campaign against the Corpse Brigade draws near its end. I will permit you to join in the final stage. Coordinated strikes are to be made on a number of their dens ere long. You will lead one of those assaults.
Ramza: Very well, Lord Brother.
Dycedarg: My apologies, Your Grace.
Duke Larg: It was not of your doing, Dycedarg. In truth, it serves only to show the caliber of man we were dealing with in Gustav. A change in plans was inevitable, once the fool went and staged the kidnapping within our very borders. And let us not forget—they did save the marquis's life. He will now be honor bound to acquiesce. In the end, your half brother's deeds have placed us in quite the favorable position.
Dycedarg: The king's life hangs by a thread. We must move quickly now.
Duke Larg: Indeed, my dear friend. I trust you will not fail me.
Milleuda of the Corpse Brigade[]
(Upon reaching Brigands' Den.)
On-screen: Brigands' Den
Milleuda: We have lost contact with the others. I fear this may be the end for us.
Corpse Brigade White Mage (1): Do not say that! The battle is not yet over!
Corpse Brigade White Mage (2): We mustn't give in to despair! The nobles must answer for all they've wrought!
Milleuda: It ought not have been like this. My brother was too soft. Too indecisive.
Corpse Brigade Lookout: The enemy!
Argath: I owe you a debt of gratitude for rescuing the marquis. I pray I am able to repay it—even a little—by aiding you in this!
(During battle.)
Milleuda: How can you nobles live as you do and yet hold your heads so high? We are not chattel! We are humans, no less than you! What flaw do you hold there to be in us? That we were born between a different set of walls? Do you know what it means to hunger? To sup for months on naught but broth of bean? While you wage your wars that you might grow fat, we are made to starve! You call us thieves, but it is you who steal from us the right to live!
Argath: You, no less human than we? Haha! Now there's a beastly thought. You've been less than we from the moment your baseborn father fell upon your mother in whatever gutter saw you sired! You've been chattel since you came into the world drenched in common blood!
Milleuda: By whose decree!? Who decides such foul and absurd things?
Argath: 'Tis heaven's will!
Milleuda: Heaven's will? You would pin your bigotry on the gods? No god would fain forgive such sin, much less embrace it! All men are equal in the eyes of the gods!
Argath: Men, yes. But the gods have no eyes for chattel.
Milleuda: Ungh...
Delita: Ramza, is this woman truly our enemy?
(Upon defeating Milleuda.)
Ramza: Lay down your sword. Resist us not, and your life will yet be spared.
(After battle ends.)
Milleuda: (scowls) I'm no more than chattel to you, am I? So have my head and be done with it!
Ramza: Do you truly hold us to be so foul?
Argath: Do it, Ramza! She fights as a Corpse. Let her become one in truth! She's a foe and a traitor—an enemy of House Beoulve! The world has no place for such wretches. Her claim to life is forfeit! Spare her now, and you place your seal on the warrants for our own deaths! It's her or us, Ramza! Strike her down!
Delita: Try as I might, Ramza, I cannot think this woman our enemy.
Argath: Have you lost your wits?
Delita: She is no more chattel than you or I.
Argath: You would turn against our cause, Delita? I should've expected as much!
Milleuda: You deny me even the mercy of an honorable death. A pox on you and your pity! So long as you bear the name Beoulve, you will ever remain an enemy to me. You'd do well to remember that.
Ramza: Delita... What have we done?
Argath: (scowls) A pox on your pity indeed.
Corpse Brigade Assault[]
On-screen: Eagrose—The Beoulve Manse
Tietra: No, I won't go! Release me!
Gragoroth: Be quick about it!
Alma: Let go of me! Help! Zalbaag!
Gragoroth: Hmph. Time to cut losses.
Zalbaag: Alma, are you unhurt?
Alma: Yes, but—But Tietra—!
Zalbaag: Yes, I know.
Zalbaag: Lord Brother!
Dycedarg: (gasps) W-worry not, I am fine. Alma, are...are you all right?
Alma: They did not harm me. But you—you're bleeding badly!
Dycedarg: In no fevered dream would I have thought the Brigade so bold to strike us here...They must have come for me.
Zalbaag: Five among our guard are slain, and Tietra taken...like as not to ease their escape.
Dycedarg: Find them...Search every den and dovecote if you must.
Alma: Please, Brother, you mustn't speak!
Dycedarg: Accursed...rebels...
Alma: Dycedarg!
Zalbaag: Someone! Anyone!
Delita's Fury[]
(Upon entering Eagrose Castle.)
Dycedarg: I'm told you handled your duties most efficiently. Leave the aftermath in our brother's capable hands, and take a much-deserved rest. You've done well. Fear not for me...My wounds are not as grave as they might seem.
Ramza: Lord Brother, what of Tietra?
Dycedarg: Zalbaag will lead a full-scale assault on the Brigade as soon as their garrison is found.
Ramza: But—!
Dycedarg: The enemy is routed. Even counting those fled, less than a hundred of their number remain. Their leader yet eludes us, but time grows short for Wiegraf Folles.
Ramza: And for Tietra as well. You would leave her to her fate?
Dycedarg: I have taken measures to ensure Tietra's well-being. The attack waits upon her safe return—however long that may take. Tietra is as a sister to me. I would never turn my back on her.
(Outside the castle.)
Ramza: Think matters through, Delita. Where would you even go? You must calm yourself!
Delita: Calm myself? My only sister is taken by cutthroats, and you would have me calm?
Ramza: I would have you obey reason! We know not where to begin. To search now would be fruitless.
Delita: Fruitless!? You speak of my sister's life!
Ramza: You heard...my lord brother. He said he would not...abandon her. But there's little...we can do—Delita, I...cannot...breathe.
Delita: Forgive me, Ramza. Are you all right?
Ramza: I...I'll be fine...*cough*
Argath: I'd not believe a word of that fairy tale if I were you.
Ramza: You call my brother a liar?
Argath: I do. I would not go out of my way to rescue some common maid.
Delita: What did you say?
Argath: I said he would be a fool to hold back an army for fear of spilling a few drops of your common blood!
Delita: Why you—!
Ramza: Stop this, Delita!
Delita: Release me! Damn you, Ramza, release me!
Argath: Hmph. It's as I've always said: common blood, common man. You'll never be more than you were born, Delita! You don't belong in our world. You ought be licking our boots with the rest of your ilk, churl!
Delita: That does it—!
Ramza: Enough, Delita! And you as well, Argath!
Argath: Open your eyes, Ramza! Delita is not one of us! It isn't proper that you should mix with such as he. Surely you see that?
Ramza: Delita is my friend, and a dear one. We've been as brothers all our lives!
Argath: And that blinds you from the truth! You're a man grown, Ramza. It's time you left the playthings of your boyhood behind. You are a son of House Beoulve, a birth high even among the highborn. Such company ill suits you. Your brothers see this, I am sure. Even if you choose not to.
Delita: Not everyone of high birth is as ill-bred as you. I'll trust to Ramza's judgment.
Ramza: Begone from my sight! And do not think to return!
Argath: Your words cut deep, Ramza. Are we not friends?
Ramza: Remove yourself! I'll not ask again!
Argath: The Brigade makes its base at Ziekden. Your lord brother told me himself. You've no hope of breaching the fortress from the fore. Their defenses are too strong. A rear assault is your only chance. Best of luck, my softhearted friend. You'll need it.
Ramza: Begone!
Blades of Grass[]
(Upon entering Mandalia Plains or using "View Scene" in the Events menu.)
Delita: Beautiful, isn't it... Do you think Tietra might be watching this same sunset?
Ramza: Don't worry, Delita. I am sure she is well.
Delita: Something's been bothering me. For some time now.
Ramza: Argath's words trouble you, do they not?
Delita: There are things beyond the power of our changing, try though we might.
Ramza: Do not say that. If a thing can be endeavored, it can be done.
Delita: Will endeavor grant me an army, Ramza? I would save Tietra with these hands, if such were in my power. But I cannot. 'Tis my meager lot in this life...
Ramza: ...
Delita: Ramza, do you remember? When your father showed us how to make a whistle of a blade of grass?
Delita: (whistles)
Ramza: (whistles)
(Upon using "View Movie" in the Events scene.)
Delita: Beautiful, isn't it... Do you think Tietra might be watching this same sunset?
Ramza: Don't worry, Delita. I am sure she is well.
Delita: Something's been bothering me. For some time now.
Ramza: Argath's words trouble you, do they not?
Delita: There are things beyond the power of our changing, Ramza, try though we might.
Ramza: Do not say that. If a thing can be endeavored, it—
Delita: Will endeavor grant me an army, Ramza? I would save Tietra with these hands, if such were in my power. But I cannot. 'Tis my meager lot in this life...
Ramza: ...
Delita: Ramza. Do you remember? When your father showed us how to make a whistle of a blade of grass?
Delita: (whistles)
Ramza: (whistles)
Milleuda's End[]
(Upon entering Lenalian Plateau.)
On-screen: Lenalian Plateau
Milleuda: They guard this way as well. No route is left to us out of these highlands.
Corpse Brigade Knight: Then let us lower our weapons and raise the white banner.
Milleuda: If I'm to die, I'd sooner do so swinging a sword than swinging from the gallows! I'll not be led away in chains!
(Upon Delita's first turn in battle.)
Delita: Where is Wiegraf? What have you done with Tietra!?
Milleuda: Tietra? That Beoulve girl Gragoroth took hostage?
Delita: Tietra is my sister, no more a Beoulve than you! Please, she's no value as a hostage! Return her, I beg you!
Milleuda: Return your sister? As you nobles return what you take from us? Our lives, our dignity, and all else that you have claimed as your own? We ask nothing more than that you return to us what is ours by right. But you deny us even that! You take and take, until there is naught left. And you wonder why we take up arms against you? Why we struggle though it cost us our lives? Save your highborn breath. Your words are wind, and no amount of howling will see your sister free!
Delita: But I...I'm not your enemy!
(During battle, upon one of Millueda's turns.)
Milleuda: I mustn't fall! Our struggle is not yet won!
(Upon Ramza's following turn.)
Ramza: Why this struggle? Does your cause truly demand such bloodshed? Have we wronged you? Have we wronged you? If we are the reason for your suffering, what would you have us do? I wish to understand it—what fuels your hatred.
Milleuda: Vilest are they who knowingly grease the wheel of our oppression. Still, it is enough that you can stand before me in ignorance. You may not see the world beyond your high walls, but that does not mean they mark its boundaries. It may well be you've done no wrong. But it is your place in the world that drives my hatred on. You bear the name Beoulve, and that name is my enemy.
(When Milleuda is defeated.)
Milleuda: I am a soldier of the Corpse Brigade! I will not turn and run!
Ramza: Lay down your weapon, Milleuda! The battle is lost! Sheathe your blade, and let us talk! Surely we can find some common ground! I will speak to my brother—even Duke Larg himself! You must trust me!
Milleuda: Were you to lend an ear, what then? Highborn or no, a lone cub cannot set the world aright by his mewling. You have been blind to our woes since the day you were born. What hopes have you of easing them? If you wish to ease aught, it is your own conscience—your shame for having your naivety laid bare! And so you offer us pity, for all the good it will do our cause! Nay, I will not be taken by your honeyed words. I've heard my share of noble lies. I'll hear no more!
Ramza: My words are not false! I wish to help, I truly do! Mayhap I am powerless as you say. But ere you continue on this bloody path, will you not consider another? Work together with me. Or even use me, if you'd rather. I ask only that you try for peace!
Milleuda: "Work together," you say? Ha... Do not make me laugh... To utter those words and be deaf to the arrogance in them... You truly are a highborn cub... You will never change... For that, I pity...and despise you...
Milleuda: F-forgive me...Brother...
Ramza: Why? Why must it end like this?
Delita: What am I doing? What have I become?
Grief and Hatred[]
Wiegraf: But why kidnap the girl? And a Beoulve, at that!
Gragoroth: We had to take a hostage—there was no other way to escape.
Wiegraf: Then why not release her once you were clear of your pursuers? By bringing her here, you've done naught by ensure that House Beoulve and the Northern Sky come hunting us in force. Do not tell me this madness has taken even you!
Gragoroth: Liken me not to Gustav! I've more sense than that faithless cur. Think, Wiegraf. We've lost the greater part of our number, and the Order closes upo draws upon us from all sides. She is of Beoulve blood. A hundred swords—a thousand!—could not buy our freedom with such ease!
Wiegraf: So we fly—what then? Know you some happy haven in which we may alight? If we flee, they win once more. As they have always won. We must make for our children a fairer future than the past you and I have known. They must not suffer as we do! The stones we cast might raise only the smallest of waves, but see how they crash upon the shore! Waves rich with our blood, 'tis true...
Gragoroth: Then, for the sake of the cause, you order us to our deaths!?
Wiegraf: If by our deaths a single drop of noble blood should water the earth, they shall not be in vain.
Gragoroth: Foolishness! The only blood the earth will drink will be our own.
Wiegraf: The remainder of our forces should yet be safe in our fastness at Ziekden. We must rejoin them—together we have the strength to strike!
Gragoroth: And if they are already dead?
Wiegraf: Milleuda? Slain? Impossible... My dear sister... Not you, too.
Corpse Brigade Monk: The company which slew her must approach even now. Your orders, Commander?
Wiegraf: (sighs) We quit this place at once! We shall make for our fastness at Ziekden. The girl will be left here, Gragoroth.
Corpse Brigade Lookout: The Northern Sky is upon us! They attack!
Wiegraf: They waste little time. I shall hold them off here! Gragoroth, you will take the others and make for Ziekden!
Gragoroth: I will run, yes. But I do not mean to die!
The Mill[]
On-screen: Windflat Mill
Wiegraf: Your faces are known to me. But I did not know that you would one day kill my sister. Milleuda deserved a better death—they did not even send proper knights to kill her!
Ramza: She was your sister... I am sorry.
Wiegraf: I will not flee before her murderers. I'll venge Milleuda's death or die trying!
(Upon Delita's first turn.)
Delita: My sister, Tietra—you will set her free!
Wiegraf: Your sister? Then you are a Beoulve, yes?
Ramza: He is not. If it is a Beoulve you seek, address yourself to me! The girl you abducted is his sister, and neither are connected to me by blood!
Wiegraf: So, Gragoroth has erred. But surely the girl must hold some connection with House Beoulve?
Ramza: So you draw no distinction between our house and those who deal with us?
Wiegraf: Should I? Well, it matters not. There was no question as to her release. We make no habit of holding hostages. But first we've a score to settle. You will see her free—if you live to see aught at all!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Lay down your arms, Wiegraf! What end will more deaths serve?
Wiegraf: What end did my sister's death serve?
Ramza: We did not set out to kill her! This quarrel need not be settled by the sword. Let us treat, and persist not in this bloodshed!
Wiegraf: You see it not—the reason we hold fast to our steel! What advantage might I hope to enjoy at the treaty table? And who would set a seat for me there? You? Even were it in your power, your brothers would never heed any agreement we might reach!
Ramza: My brothers do not want this fight! Set down your sword, Wiegraf, and my brothers will treat with you!
Wiegraf: Ha! No spoony bard could spin a sweeter tale! You say your brothers do not want this fight? Tears, then, for the world you see is one beyond my weary sight.
(Upon Ramza's following turn.)
Ramza: You would have me believe my brothers want this war?
Wiegraf: Callow child. The hands that guide history's reins are ever black with blood. Think you Dycedarg's hand more just? A new justice is born and dies on the lips of each man who would pronounce it.
Ramza: Do not mock my brothers!
(When Wiegraf is at critical health.)
Wiegraf: Ungh... You fight well, boy. Forgive me, Milleuda! But there is too much left undone for me to lay down my life now.
Ramza: Wiegraf, wait!
Wiegraf: Gustav kidnapped Marquis Elmdore for ransom, it is true. But 'twas another pulled the strings. One who furnished the knowledge of when and where the marquis would lodge along his journey from Limberry. Haha... Shall I tell you the identity of this puppetmaster? It was none other than your lord brother, Dycedarg. And he acted ith Lord Zalbaag's approval, to be sure.
Ramza: Absurd! Why would Dycedarg do such a thing?
Wiegraf: In the void left by the king's death, the Lions will vie for power. Larg, the White, and Goltanna, the Black. Each hopes to learn who may be counted as friend, and who as foe. But such things are not so easily read. Far easier to rid yourself of those whose loyalty is uncertain, and install others to rule in their stead. I fear Gustav, fool that he was, tired of our rebellion, and was taken in by the silver tongue of your dear brother, Dycedarg.
Ramza: Lies! No Beoulve would do a thing so craven as this!
Wiegraf: Do not take my word for it. Judge their actions for yourself. Farewell, young Beoulve.
Ramza: Wiegraf! Coward! You insult my name, and flee in the same breath!
(After battle ends.)
Delita: Tietra? Tietra! Tietra, where are you!?
Delita: She's not here. Where have they taken her!?
Ramza: Wiegraf has lied to us! Come, Delita! We must hurry to Ziekden. Tietra is there, I'm certain of it.
Delita: Why? Why is this happening? Why, Ramza? Why Tietra?
Ramza: I'm sorry, Delita...
Partings[]
(Upon entering Ziekden Fortress.)
On-screen: Zeikden Fortress
Gragoroth: Back whence you came! Quick as shadows, or this one's blood makes crimson snow! Do not think to try my patience! This keep packs such a store of powder as you could scarce imagine! More than enough to deliver the lot of you to the Father's keeping, should your feet lack proper haste!
Zalbaag: The Order of the Northern Sky yields not before the braying of rogues!
Ramza: Lord Brother! Argath!
Delita: Tietra!
Tietra: Delita—!
Gragoroth: I'll not warn you again! Withdraw at once, or the girl dies!
Zalbaag: This changes nothing. Argath, loose your attack!
Argath: Yes, my lord!
Gragoroth: Gods have mercy...
Tietra: Delita...I'm sorry...
Delita: Tietra!
Northern Sky Knight: Lord Commander! More enemies scale the pass. Two score, mayhap three. A man of Wiegraf's look moves among them!
Zalbaag: Very well. We go to greet them at once. I leave the rest to you, Argath.
Gragoroth: Curse the lot of you...
Delita: Tietra!
Argath: And where do you presume to go, Delita?
Delita: You whoreson dog!
Argath: It is to be a fight, then? I'm only too happy to oblige! The gods know I've waited for this!
Ramza: Zalbaag...Dycedarg...How could you?
Argath: Come! I will show you that common blood makes naught but a common man!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Why did you do it, Argath? What moved your hand?
Argath: Your lord brother's orders, Ramza. What else? Would you have had us kneel before them, and offer up the Order's honor in exchange for the life of some common wench?
Ramza: She was Delita's sister!
Argath: Is it not time you awoke to the fact that we are different from them? They are of lesser birth, and so meant to play lesser roles in life! Such is the nature of fate, Ramza! That commoner and his sister ought never have been here at all! Had they been with their own kind supping on broth of bean, she would yet live!
(Upon Argath's following turn.)
Argath: What of you, Ramza? Why do you now raise arms against us? 'Tis naught short of treason! You would turn your cloak and name yourself a traitor to the Order of the Northern Sky?
Ramza: But—the Order would never forgive what you've done!
Argath: Does your naivety know no end? How ironic is fate, that one such as you would be born a Beoulve! Despite the privileges the name has afforded you, you would forsake duty and tarnish the honor of your house! Mayhap it is because you are youngest, and bastard born besides. You think yourself spared the burdens of your lord borthers, and look only to satisfy your own whims! It brings bile to my throat! 'Tis a mockery that you are a Beoulve!
(Upon Delita's first turn.)
Delita: Make your peace with the gods, Argath! You die by my hand!
(Upon Ramza's turn after Argath's speech.)
Ramza: My birth was not of my choosing, nor the burdens that come with it! Of such, you ought know!
Argath: Spare me the bleating, you are no sheep! You are a Beoulve, self-chosen or not! Yours is a line of champions, of lords among men! To do great deeds is your destiny, and your duty as well. Much is there that cannot be done, save by your hand. It falls to you to see it so—to act where we cannot. Yet by the same token, you have choices. Ones that are denied your lessers. For your name brings great wealth and influence both. If you only embraced them, nary a thing would be beyond your reach. Yet what should you do instead but squander your gifts, while I must grasp at scraps that come tumbling! Speak not to me of burdens!
Ramza: Mayhap you speak true...but I will not be made a puppet!
Argath: You? A puppet? Don't be absurd! The puppets stand before you, Ramza! Long have we danced for House Beoulve, that it might reign on history's stage. A dance that serves our ends, to be sure. Indeed, the Beoulve name is our shield, behind whose aegis we've long thrived. It is the way of things! People are used, and use others in turn. How do you think you came to be where you are? You are loath to be used, yet you fain use others. Even your so-called friend Delita!
Ramza: What do you mean?
(Upon Argath's next turn, if the player chose "Our first duty is to defeat the Brigade" in "Argath's Rescue".)
Argath: You play the white knight, but I'd have fed panthers on the plain had you not seen some use in me!
Ramza: Don't be absurd! I would never turn my back on one beset!
Argath: Then you'd best learn to start! Many a trap-sprung lion would sooner have his savior for a meal than for a friend.
(On Argath's next turn.)
Argath: Does it grieve you, Delita, to see the depths of your own weakness laid bare? No mere commoner can leave their mark on history! You've not the power! Be glad you know enough to lament it. 'Tis all you can do, and more than you deserve!
Delita: Has your forked tongue ceased flitting? What I'd hear from your lips are not words!
Argath: Laughter, then? Be not so hasty, Delita! You'll hear that soon enough, when you are on your way to your dear sister's side!
Delita: I'll not be told what I will do, nor will I be used! Not by any man, not anymore! From this day forth, Tietra, we will walk our own path and be beholden to none. But you, Argath, you will not live to see the morrow. Ere the day is through, your bones will crack beneath my boots! Thus will I mark my first step towards a new beginning—by trampling your mangled corpse!
(On Delita's next turn.)
Ramza: Delita!
Delita: Speak not to me! When I said I'll not be used again, I meant by you as well! I was a fool to think we were friends. In the end, you can be no different from the likes of Argath or Dycedarg. And when Argath falls, my vengeance turns on you, Ramza! I'll tear it all down... First House Beoulve, then the entire kingdom!
Ramza: Delita... Let us talk! Please!
(Upon defeating Argath.)
Argath: N-no... Not at the hands of milksop churls... I am...better than this... Better than you all...
(After battle ends, or when using "View Scene" in the Events menu.)
Ramza: I'm sorry, Delita.
Ramza: What was that? The powder!
Ramza: Delita! We must away!
Ramza: Delita!
Ramza: I had lived my life the only way that I had known. But when the pillars of that life came crashing down, I did not stand and watch them fall. I turned, and walked away.
(When using "View Movie" in the Events menu.)
Ramza: Tietra...
Ramza: What was that?
Ramza: Delita! We must away!
Ramza: Delita...
Ramza: Delita!
Ramza: I had lived my life the only way that I had known. But when the pillars of that life came crashing down...I did not stand and watch them fall.
Chapter 2: The Manipulative & the Subservient[]
In Pursuit of the Princess[]
Gaffgarion: What is it, Ramza? Do you know him?
Ramza: ...
Agrias: He carries the princess with him. They'll not be able to travel far.
Gaffgarion: You mean to give chase?
Agrias: What else? I will not return to the Crown in shame!
Gaffgarion: Well, you'll have no help from us. Our agreement said naught of this.
Agrias: I would not accept your help if you offered it. A true knight is all too eager to set right what he has let go amiss. The Lionsguard will serve the king's justice. Lavian, Alicia. We leave at once!
Agrias: Elder Simon! Are you hurt?
Elder Simon: The princess...! What of the princess?
Agrias: She is taken. I am sorry. But you may put your fears to rest. We go to rescue her!
Simon: No. No, milady, you mustn't! You would only throw your own life away.
Agrias: Your worry will find no purchase with me. A knight is oathbound to render aid.
Ramza: I want to go with you. I'll be no trouble to you, I swear it.
Gaffgarion: Don't be an idiot, Ramza. This is no concern of ours.
Ramza: I must go! I must know if it's truly him!
Gaffgarion: The boy, eh?
Gaffgarion: Well, there it is. Gods know where this path leads us.
On-screen: CHAPTER 2 THE MANIPULATIVE & THE SUBSERVIENT
Ambush in Dorter[]
(Upon entering The Merchant City of Dorter.)
On-screen: Dorter
Knight: A purse of five thousand gil per head.
Sellsword: 'Tis coin I lack, not wits. Twenty thousand, or you can stick them yourself.
Knight: Mayhap you forget the ease with which men are branded heretics.
Sellsword: Threats, is it? Ten thousand, then.
Knight: Seven thousand. I will offer no more.
Sellsword: Hmph. Fine. Let it never be said that I was aught but a pious man.
Knight: I pray your newfound piety lends not itself to mercy. They will be here soon, and I shudder to think of your fate should any of them survive.
Knight: Hmph. No sooner speak the devil's name, than he doth appear. You've work to do. Best be about it.
Sellsword: Gods be good, that's Ser Gaffgarion! Seven thousand a head for this!?
Gaffgarion: An ambush! This day grows lovelier by the hour.
Agrias: If you'd not fight, the road home lies behind you.
Gaffgarion: Oh, while I make no habit of charity, I could not well abandon so goodly a wench to rogues.
Agrias: Do not patronize me, ser!
(After defeating all enemies.)
Agrias: We cannot linger. We must find Lady Ovelia!
Gaffgarion: And how shall we do that? Call out her name and hope she comes running?
Agrias: Her captors have but one place to go: the impenetrable walls of Fort Besselat.
Ramza: Then we must lose no time.
Chocobo Rescue[]
(Upon entering Araguay Woods.)
On-screen: Araguay Woods
Black Goblin: Hob... Gob!
Chocobo: Kw-kweh!
Goblin: Gob!?
Agrias: I've seldom seen a chocobo so deep in the woods.
Gaffgarion: An addle-pated bird, to wander in this goblin-ridden place.
- (Upon selecting "1. We should be on our way through the wood...")
- (Upon selecting "2. Perhaps we could use him?")
Ramza: Delita once mentioned that wild chocobos were hardier than domesticated breeds. Perhaps we could use it.
Gaffgarion: You intend to save the creature? I had rather line my purse with gil than feathers.
Agrias: Still, it may help us save the princess.
(After defeating all enemies.)
Ramza: It seems well enough.
Gaffgarion: A lucky one, this. Let's hope it's got a sense of gratitude, eh?
Reunion with Delita[]
(Upon reaching Zeirchele Falls.)
On-screen: Zeirchele Falls
Northern Sky Knight: Stand aside, ser! You are defeated! Surrender the princess, and no more blood must needs be spilt!
Delita: Do you so enjoy the taste of lies? Your orders are to see the princess dead. And once I've watched you feed the falls her blood, I'm to believe you'd let me live, a witness to your crime?
Northern Sky Knight: What could we possibly gain by Lady Ovelia's death! We only wish to see her freed from the Black Lion's claws!
Agrias: Your Highness!
Ovelia: Agrias? Agrias!
Northern Sky Knight: Hmph, Agrias Oaks of the Lionsguard, is it? An untimely interruption. Gaffgarion, you know what to do. Kill them all!
Gaffgarion: A change of plans...but a contract is a contract, after all.
Agrias: You would now betray us!?
Gaffgarion: Betray you? You have a viper's tongue, milady. I betray no one. I am in the Order's employ, and they are of it. My task was to see the princess safely abducted. And theirs, to see the one responsible silenced.
Agrias: What is the meaning of this!? You would betray us?
Gaffgarion: Betray you? You have a viper's tongue, milady. I betray no one. I am in the Order's employ, and they are of it. My task was to see the princess safely abducted. And theirs, to see those responsible silenced.
Agrias: You mean to say the kidnapping was a ruse?
Gaffgarion: The princess is an obstacle to the throne. So long as she lives, the threat remains that someone could assert her claim above Prince Orinus's. Two heirs is one too many.
Delita: And once she is slain, the blame will be placed at Goltanna's feet. The stroke that fells a problem princess at once brings down a rival Lion. That was no doubt Larg's plan all along. ...Or was it his? Such a plot has more the feel of Dycedarg's thinking. Would you not agree, Ramza?
Gaffgarion: That one has the right of it, Ramza. Come, let us earn our pay!
Ramza: Yet again he would see sacrifices made of the weak and innocent? No. I will not allow her to be another Tietra. This vile charade has gone on long enough. It ends now!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Delita! You live!
Delita: So I do. And you, ever your lord brothers' faithful hound?
Ramza: Are you mad? I knew naught of any of this! What of you, Delita? You now play party to their plot?
Delita: You think I would cast my lot with them? Surely you know me better than that! Listen well, Ramza. My objective is to rescue the princess. I would free her from the clutches of they why would use her, and see that she is granted the station she deserves!
Gaffgarion: Tch! Such grand words might well rouse, had they not come from one with nary a hair above his lip. If you would lie, boy, at least lie well! You are just another mercenary. You were paid to take the princess. Now, be honest with yourself—and with me. Name the man who bought your sword!
Delita: I sell my sword to no one! Do not count me among your lot!
Gaffgarion: Spare me the lecture, I ask for a name! You'd have me believe some bright-eyed pup caught wind of this plan and rescued the princess in the name of justice!? Who gives you your orders? Who told you of this plot!?
Delita: I would sooner cross swords than words!
(Upon Ovelia's first turn.)
Ovelia: Tell me, ser—are you friend or foe?
Delita: I am a human being, no different from you.
(Upon Agrias's first turn.)
Agrias: Hold on, Your Highness! I am coming to help!
Gaffgarion: Do not be so sure of that!
Agrias: Have you any idea what you do? The path you tread leads only to perdition! She is a princess true, the sister of the late king ere she was made his daughter! To lay a finger on her is treason!
Gaffgarion: Of that, I am well aware. But your daughter of a king stands in the way of a king-to-be! Princess or no, her worth is spent. And those born of kings do not outlive their worth.
Agrias: Do you mean to mock her and the Crown both!?
Gaffgarion: No more than we are mocked. Have you once seen a man of royal blood stay his hand when a commoner blocked his way? The only difference is that those of royal blood are protected by lackwits like you, who swear fealty without even a thought! Even should the princess live, it would only be as a pawn in another's game. To kill her now is a mercy!
Agrias: Then it is a mercy I will not see her done! This world has no need for your contorted brand of justice!
(Upon Ramza's second turn.)
Ramza: You knew of this from the start! How could you dirty your hands with such tainted coin?
Gaffgarion: Dirty, you say? This work is far from clean, that I'll not deny. But tell me what work is, that can be had by a sellsword—nay, by any lowborn. I've been dealt a hand. I simply play it. It may be lost upon a lordling, but such is the way of things! I am a sellsword. I do what I am paid to do, and question not the details!
Ramza: You would make an excuse of your birth? We all of us have a choice! It matters not who we are! But enough of this. Why did you not tell me? Why!?
Gaffgarion: What would you have done if I had? Stopped me? The job would have been done, by our hands or no! It makes no difference in the end! Lives end every day with you none the wiser. You cannot save them all! Or are you so foolish as to believe you can?
Ramza: But...but this isn't right!
Gaffgarion: What of it? You are still a child—a child who will not see the world for what it is. A man does not turn his eyes from truth. A man accepts it, and walks the path he must. Do not chide me, when you cannot even choose a path for yourself!
(After Gaffgarion is KO'd.)
Gaffgarion: Damn it... Best cut my losses.
(After the battle ends, or when using "View Scene" in the Events menu.)
Delita: Let the princess with me. She will be safer in my care.
Ramza: Delita... What is this game you play with us?
Delita: Game? I do no more than speak the truth. You've made an enemy of the Order of the Northern Sky. So tell me... Where would you now take her? The Order will send its most capable to capture you. Do you truly believe you can elude them with the princess slowing your escape?
Ramza: Well, I...
Delita: Think, Ramza. This was Duke Larg's plan. And he would not act without counsel of the queen. As such, you cannot trust the Crown. Would you turn to Goltanna, then? No, that would be folly. He would only offer up your heads in hopes of keeping his own.
Agrias: And what, ser, would you propose?
Delita: I would do only that which you, my lady, cannot.
Ramza: And what exactly is that?
Delita: Hmm...
Delita: Very well. I shall leave her with you for yet a while longer.
Ramza: Delita...I did not think we'd meet again, but...I'm glad we have.
Delita: It was Tietra.
Ramza: Hmm?
Delita: She watched over me then—as she does now.
Ovelia: Know that you go with my thanks, Ser Delita.
Delita: I hope this meeting is not our last, Ramza.
Agrias: I owe you my thanks as well. But in aiding us, you've made yourself an enemy of the Northern Sky...
Ramza: This is the path I've chosen. I have no regrets. Let us consider our options, few though they are. We've no allies to whom we can turn.
Agrias: We could make for Lionel and entreat the aid of its lord, Cardinal Delacroix. The Church of Glabados rules there. Even Duke Larg would think twice ere making an attempt upon the princess.
Ramza: Cardinal Delacroix... A servant of the Father and formidable warrior both. He won many a victory in the Fifty Years' War. Yes. I dare to hope a man such as he would not turn a blind eye to Lady Ovelia's plight. Very well. We make for Lionel.
(When using "View Movie" in the Events menu.)
Delita: Let the princess with me. She will be safer in my care.
Ramza: Delita... What is this game you play with us?
Delita: Game? I do no more than speak the truth. You've made an enemy of the Order of the Northern Sky. So tell me... Where would you now take her?
Ramza: Well, I...
Delita: Think, Ramza. This was Duke Larg's plan—and he would not act without counsel of the queen. As such, you cannot trust the Crown. Would you turn to Goltanna, then? No, that would be folly. He would only offer up your heads in hopes of keeping his own.
Agrias: And what, ser, would you propose?
Delita: I would do only that which you, my lady, cannot.
Ramza: You speak in nothings.
Delita: So I do. But pay it no mind. I shall leave Princess Ovelia with you for yet a while longer.
Ramza: Delita... I did not think we'd meet again, but...I'm glad we have.
Delita: Tietra. It was Tietra. Yes... I am certain that she was watching over me.
Ovelia: You go with my thanks, Ser Delita.
Delita: I hope this meeting is not our last, Ramza.
Agrias: I owe you my thanks as well. But he's right. The Northern Sky will not be long in falling on us now.
Ramza: This is the path I've chosen.
The Machinist[]
(Upon entering The Castled City of Zaland.)
On-screen: Zaland
Swordsman: You've nowhere left to run! All we want is the stone—we needn't take your life.
Young Man: What stone? I have no stone!
Swordsman: Do not play the fool with me, Mustadio! Do you forget that we hold your father? It's simple. Give us the auracite, and your father lives. Have it your way , then. Seize him!
Mustadio: I have a message for your keeper, Ludovich! Tell him that if he lays so much as a finger on my father, he'll never see the auracite again!
Agrias: What trouble is this? I think that man is being chased.
- (Upon selecting "1. I'd sooner avoid trouble, but we've no choice.")
- (Upon selecting "2. We cannot stand by and watch!")
Ramza: There is no telling what they will do to him. We cannot stand by and watch! We must help him!
(After all enemies are defeated and Mustadio is not KO'd.)
Ramza: Are you all right?
Mustadio: I should be, yes. Thank you. You saved my life.
(After the battle ends.)
Mustadio: They're street dogs running for the Baert Trading Company.
Agrias: That is the company led by the viscount of the same name, Ludovich Baert, yes?
Mustadio: Ah, then you've heard of them. But they're no ordinary traders. That business is only a front for more...lucrative pursuits. Opium smuggling, slave trading—all manner of vile things, on a grand scale.
Ramza: What did you do to draw the attention of such as they?
Mustadio: I'm a machinist. Do you know the history of my trade?
Agrias: Machinists claim the ruins of a lost civilization lie buried beneath the streets of the Clockwork City of Goug. Relics from the age of Saint Ajora, when airships numerous beyond counting filled the skies, and men of iron walked city streets. But the art of crafting such things was lost—if it ever truly existed.
Mustadio: But it did exist. Fantastical though it may seem, it was all very real. The ground beneath Goug holds the hulks of airships, and a thousand fragments of machines the gods alone know the workings of. A machinist toils to restore this lost legacy—to see these marvels of old brought to life again.
Ramza: The device you used during the battle—is that one of those machines unearthed in Goug?
Mustadio: What, this? This is a weapon called a "pistol." It uses an explosive powder to propel a metal projectile toward its target. This one is of simple make. There were once pistols said to fire projectiles infused with magicks.
Ramza: Hmm. Curious, indeed...
Agrias: So why do these hounds of the Baert Trading Company chase after you?
Mustadio: Just now, you said you were going to see Cardinal Delacroix, yes? The cardinal is a hero who fought in the Fifty Years' War. To this day the people of Lionel honor him as such. They believe he is the only man who can keep the realm from descending into chaos. The cardinal will receive you, hear your plea. And the princess will be safe.
Agrias: And what is it you want?
Mustadio: To go with you. I have my own reason for wanting to speak with the cardinal.
Agrias: That being?
Mustadio: To save my father. He is held prisoner. The cardinal is my only hope to free him! Alone, I am just another machinist—the cardinal would never see me. That's why I would join you.
Agrias: You still haven't answered my question. Why is the Baert Trading Company so interested in you?
Mustadio: I...I cannot tell you. Not now.
Agrias: Then you remain here.
Mustadio: No! I must see the cardinal! You must trust me, please!
Ovelia: Very well, then. You will come with us.
Mustadio: You mean it? Thank you, my lady. Thank you!
Agrias: You stand before the princess!
Ovelia: There is no need. You may rise.
Agrias: Then it's settled. Consider yourself fortunate Her Highness spoke for you.
Ovelia's Misgivings[]
Agrias: Lionel Castle, Highness. Do you see it? Just beyond those mountains.
Ovelia: We still have a long journey ahead. Do you think Cardinal Delacroix will aid us?
Agrias: The cardinal is said to be a man with utmost devotion to the Crown. Even amid this turmoil he has held the middle ground, siding with neither Duke Larg, nor Duke Goltanna. I do not think him a man to sully his honor by handing you over to either side.
Ovelia: I pray you are right.
Agrias: He also has the ear of High Confessor Marcel. A word from the cardinal, and the Church itself will take you under its protection.
Ovelia: Would that I were born no princess.
Agrias: My lady...
Ovelia: My entire life has been spent behind sacred walls. The only sky I've known, hemmed in by slate and stone. Did you know, before I was sent to Orbonne, I was in another monastery? When I heard I was to be the adopted daughter of my late brother, and after—ever in a monastery. It's not been such a bad life, I suppose. Only... Only, knowing that good people die, for no more reason than that I am the princess—it's almost more than I can bear.
Agrias: Highness, you must not blame yourself. The fault lies with those who would use you for their own ends.
Ovelia: There was another girl at Orbonne. She told me she, too, had lived her entire life within monastery halls. We laughed that we two should share so strange a fate. A funny thing to laugh at, don't you think? She was my only true friend. Alas, I have not seen her since she departed the monastery shortly before I did. I pray she is well...
Agrias: You speak of Lady Alma, of House Beoulve.
Ovelia: So you know of her. But tell me, Agrias—what if Cardinal Delacroix makes to use me, like all the rest?
Agrias: I do not believe he will, my lady.
Mustadio: Ramza! Where have you been? It's almost time to leave!
Mustadio: I didn't think to find you here. What are you doing?
Agrias: What news have you?
Mustadio: All is quiet. It would seem the Northern Order hasn't reached Zaland, for the time.
Ovelia: A friend once showed me how to do this. But I'm afraid I've never quite mastered it. (whistles)
Ramza: (whistles) Just like that—it's simple, you see?
Ovelia: Like this? (whistles) It's really not so hard, is it? (whistles)
Ramza: (whistles)
Mustadio's Pursuers[]
(Upon entering Balias Tor.)
On-screen: Balias Tor
Ludovich's Henchman: You there! We've no quarrel with you—leastwise not yet! Our quarrel lies with the machinist. Hand him over, and be on your way!
Agrias: Our way is his! If you wish no quarrel, I advise you withdraw! Your blood need not be spilled this day. And when you next see Ludovich, remind him that those who live by deceit are first to die by it.
Ludovich's Henchman: Pity. I thought our offer more than generous. You leave us no choice, then!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Why does Ludovich pursue you and hold your father captive? Will you not tell us even now?
Mustadio: Pray understand—I cannot tell you. Not yet.
Dycedarg's Scheming[]
On-screen: Eagrose Castle Solar
Dycedarg: Our little mockingbird is taken wing, Gaffgarion, and it leaves me wroth. She must be returned to her cage. But of Lady Agrias and the others, we have no need. Silence them where they are found.
Gaffgarion: And Ramza?
Dycedarg: The fool. He soils our name, dogs my every move. I thought this a chance to let him learn the harsh truths of the world. But the boy is too stubborn.
Gaffgarion: Too much of his father's penchant for justice, that one.
Dycedarg: Father coddled the boy too much. If he stands aside, more the better. Should he interfere, there's naught can be done.
Gaffgarion: And you his brother. The blood curdles. If the cardinal moves to defend the mockingbird, what then? Duke Larg himself could not reach them in umbrage of the Church's wing.
Dycedarg: Worry not. That potentiality has been addressed.
Gaffgarion: Ever three steps ahead. You are a frightening man, Dycedarg Beoulve.
Dycedarg: Truly? Would it not be prudent, then, to better guard your tongue? There are so many frightening ways to silence a bothersome one.
Gaffgarion: Come now, my lord, I am your ever-faithful man! And not near so stubborn as a particular Knight Devout—if I might be so bold.
Dycedarg: Be bold. But let there be no more missteps.
Gaffgarion: On the matter of missteps, what buffoon did you charge with the princess's kidnapping? We were beset in Dorter as we gave chase. Not quite how we'd discussed, I'm sure you'd agree. At first I thought them mayhap the Black Lion's paws, but it would seem not. I would guess your kidnappers were wooed away by better coin, but whose hand it came from I couldn't say.
Dycedarg: The men I sent were found dead in the woods near the monastery. Someone has caught wind of our plan, and seems intent on disrupting it. No matter. As long as Ovelia remains with Lady Agrias, we will have chance enough to steal back our prize.
Gaffgarion: I pray you're right, for both our sakes.
The Cardinal and the Stone[]
(Upon entering Lionel Castle.)
Lionel Guardsman: Who are you and what errand brings you to Lionel?
Agrias: I am Agrias Oaks of the Lionsguard. My companions and I have journeyed from Orbonne Monastery seeking sanctuary. By the grace of Saint Ajora, I bid you open your gate!
Lionel Guardsman: The graces of Saint Ajora are in the keeping of His Eminence here. All who seek those graces are given like treatment—the gates of Lionel stand open to them. Raise the gate!
Cardinal Delacroix: I see, Lady Agrias. In such circumstance as this, I am fain to lend you whatever help I can. I shall dispatch a courier to Mullonde at once. High Confessor Marcel will have this news from my own hand. We will expose Duke Larg's misdeeds, and ensure that no harm befall you, Highness.
Agrias: Your Eminence, think you the high confessor will hear our plea?
Cardinal Delacroix: Fear not, dear lady. The matter is in my care now. Princess Ovelia can scarce feel at ease while those tasked with her safety are vexed with such worriment. You may enjoy the comforts of the castle—wanting though they are—while we await a reply from Mullonde.
Ovelia: You are most gracious, Eminence. Thank you.
Cardinal Delacroix: So long as Saint Ajora is our guide, we have naught to fear, child. As for you, my young machinist, I have given consideration to your troubles as well. Yours is not the first account to reach my ear concerning the true nature of the Baert Trading Company. In the Father's name, I shall dispatch a company of my finest to Goug, and have Ludovich answer for his many sins.
Mustadio: Thank you, Your Eminence.
Cardinal Delacroix: Conditioned upon this: I would hear the reason they choose to pursue you and your father.
Mustadio: That is—I mean to say it's not—
Cardinal Delacroix: Come, come. Mayhap this will give voice to your words.
Agrias: A crystal?
Delacroix: You are familiar with the legend of the Zodiac Braves?
Agrias: Indeed, in my youth, I often heard a fanciful tale of that name at mass.
Cardinal Delacroix: Ho ho ho... Lady Agrias, surely you do not aver that the Church would mislead its flock?
Agrias: No—no, of course not, Your Eminence.
Ovelia: Long ago, before the mountains had ceased their wandering and struck their roots into the earth, the demonic Lucavi held dominion over the world. Seeking to end the chaos they wrought, the God of Light bestowed a refulgent blessing upon valiant and worthy souls. Twelve were these Warriors of Light, who emerged to challenge the Lucavi. In a long and bitter struggle, they succeeded in driving their malevolent foes to the spirit world, and Ivalice again knew peace. The Twelve each bore an auracite crystal emblazoned with a house of the night sky. And so in time, the Warriors of Light became known as the Zodiac Braves. Thereafter, whenever the Lucavi have again threatened the world of men, they have ever returned to save us.
Cardinal Delacroix: You have clearly been a most apt pupil, my child.
Ovelia: Elder Simon personally taught me this at Orbonne, Eminence. He also said that Saint Ajora, Son of the God of Light, was himself one of the Twelve. Together they saved the people of Ivalice from the tyranny of the Holy Ydoran Empire, which had strayed down the path of darkness.
Cardinal Delacroix: We call the crystals of the Twelve the "Zodiac Stones." That which you see before you now is a Stone from that very legend.
Ovelia: Auracite—it exists? I did not think it possible.
Cardinal Delacroix: Or that it held the power to keep the forces of Darkness at bay? The power of the God of Light... Ho ho ho... I confess, I feel some power deep within, but my eyes see only a common crystal.
Ramza: Mustadio, are you well? The color has left your face.
Cardinal Delacroix: You have seen a stone like this one beneath Goug, have you not?
Mustadio: Machines whose fires have long since guttered out lie strewn in the tunnels beneath the city. But pass such a Stone near them, and you can hear them stir.
Cardinal Delacroix: Then that is what Ludovich Baert seeks—your auracite.
Mustadio: I do not know what power these Zodiac Stones hold. I know only that Ludovich hopes to find some way to harness this power, and make a fearsome weapon. My father would not give them the Stone, so they took him instead.
Cardinal Delacroix: Yours is a pure and righteous heart, my young machinist. Proud am I to count you among my subjects. Be at ease now, Mustadio Bunansa. The Church will take responsibility for this matter. Our forces will strike at the villains, during which time I bid you retrieve the Stone and deliver it into our safekeeping.
Mustadio: Of...of course, Your Eminence.
Ramza: I will go with you to Goug.
Mustadio: Thank you, Ramza.
Agrias: I too am grateful. We would never have succeeded in reaching His Eminence the Cardinal without you. You have done us a great service, Ramza.
Ovelia: I can only wish you well—small aid, I know.
Ramza: Your words are all the aid I could ever ask, Your Highness. I swear to return ere long.
Seekers of the Stone[]
Besrudio: Take this. Take it and run!
Mustadio: Run? Run where?
Ludovich's Henchman: No use hiding, we know you're in there!
Mustadio: I won't leave you. Come on!
Besrudio: I can't run, not with this leg. Heed me, and go!
Mustadio: Do you really think I could leave you here?
Besrudio: That Stone has the power to destroy entire kingdoms—no, to distort creation itself! We can't let a man like Ludovich have it! You must take it somewhere safe! Go to Cardinal Delacroix. He'll help you, I'm sure of it!
Ludovich: No one answered, so we let ourselves in. Now, if you'll kindly hand me the auracite...
Besrudio: Go, Mustadio!
Besrudio: Go! Now!
Ludovich: Don't just stand there! After him!
When It Rains, It Pours[]
(Upon entering Tchigolith Fenlands.)
On-screen: Tchigolith Fenlands
Ramza: Just when I thought this fen could grow no fouler...
Mustadio: Solid footing scarce enough, and rain to rob us of that. Be careful!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Mustadio! Are you hurt?
Mustadio: No worse for the wear. The channel shore lies just beyond the fen. Goug is not far now.
Disconcerting Quiet[]
(Upon entering the Clockwerk City of Goug.)
Mustadio: Baert's curs are nowhere to be seen. Yet there's no sign of a battle with Lionel's Gryphons. Something's amiss.
Mustadio: I'm going to see what I can find out. We'll meet afterward.
Ramza: Where will I find you?
Mustadio: The Goug lowtown is just down this road. We're not like to draw much attention there.
Ramza: All right. Be careful.
Mustadio: Don't worry. I can take care of myself.
Besrudio's Rescue[]
(Upon moving while in Clockwork City of Goug.)
On-screen: Goug Lowtown
Ramza: Where are you, Mustadio? He should've been here by now.
Ramza: Could he have been captured?
Ludovich: A friend of Mustadio's eh?
Ramza: Who's there?
Ludovich: Bring him out!
Mustadio: I-I'm sorry, Ramza.
Ramza: Have they hurt you?
Ludovich: Not a step further. I'd prefer to keep a little distance, if you don't mind.
Ramza: You must be Ludovich. Let Mustadio go. Now!
Ludovich: Hmph, you're either brazen or foolish if you think you can make demands here. Come now, Mustadio. Hand over the stone, and we can avoid a lot of needless unpleasantries. So, where have you hidden it? Tell me!
Mustadio: ...
Ludovich: Is that how you want to play it? Maybe this will hasten your speech. You there! Out with the other one!
Mustadio: Father! What have they done to you?
Besrudio: I'm...I'm fine, Son. Don't tell them where it is.
Ludovich: Show him inside.
Ludovich: You know full well who you're dealing with. And if you know what's good for you, you will give me what I want.
Mustadio: The chimney behind Ramza... You'll find it there.
Ludovich: (sighs) Bring it to us, would you? Small enough work to spare your friend's life.
Ramza: This must be it.
Ramza: Let them go!
Ludovich: Give me the Stone!
Ramza: Release them first!
Ludovich: It seems you do not grasp how this works. Let me make it nice and simple for you. Throw me the Stone—then they go free!
Ludovich: A true Zodiac Stone...(sighs) And what a pretty bauble it is! This should bring a smile to the cardinal's face.
Ludovich: You've been most helpful, must helpful! But given what you know, I fear I cannot let you live. Take care of them. And see you do a proper job.
Ramza: The cardinal... He was with them from the start!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Mustadio: My father...I hope we're in time.
(After the battle ends.)
Mustadio: Are you all right?
Besrudio: My wounds will heal. But the auracite... Ludovich will use it to wake the machines—the weapons beneath the city. In time, he may even learn to harness the sacred power of the Stone itself. *sigh* I never thought the man we'd turn to for help would turn on us. We've played right into the cardinal's hands.
Mustadio: Ha. Are you sure?
Besrudio: What do you mean?
Mustadio: I thought something of the sort might happen, so I took the precaution of readying a false stone.
Ramza: And that's the one I gave Ludovich!
Mustadio: The same. By now they've probably realized. Ah, to see the looks on their faces. That'll teach them for underestimating machinists. We can knock out simple replicas like that with our eyes closed.
Ramza: Wait... 'Tis well and good that we have the true Stone, but Princess Ovelia and Lady Agrias are still in danger!
Mustadio: Danger?
Ramza: The cardinal was working with Ludovich to get the Stone. With his scheme laid bare, he will scruple not at the means to obtain his prize. In all likelihood, he will now try to ransom the princess and Lady Agrias for it.
Mustadio: That's ridiculous! He would only make an enemy of the Crown!
Ramza: Why do you think he wants the auracite in the first place? The people tire of war. They tire of these endless struggles for power. They are afraid, and they seek salvation. I suspect the cardinal means to use the legend of the Zodiac Braves to bring it to them. To create new "heroes" who would enthrall the masses and be his to command... For that, he would need the Stones. The commonfolk look upon the cardinal as a guiding hand. But it seems looks upon them as naught but fodder for his ambitions!
Besrudio: It's as Ramza says. We cannot give the Stone to the cardinal.
Ramza: Then we must rescue the princess and Lady Agrias!
Mustadio: And we will. But the roads leading to Lionel Castle will surely be blockaded. We'll never be able to approach from the fore. Let us go by ship, to take them unawares. We set sail for Warjilis!
Delita's Warning[]
(Upon entering the Port City of Warjilis.)
Ramza: If the rumors are true, this city should be free of Lionel's Gryphons.
Ramza: Delita!? What are you doing here?
Delita: We have ears in many places. Few things escape our hearing.
Ramza: "Our"?
Delita: I say this for your sake, Ramza. Return to Eagrose. Delve no deeper into matters of royal maidens...or those of sacred stones.
Ramza: What have these ears of yours been telling you?
Delita: You think to save a princess from a burning tower. In truth, you would but set her on a higher floor. There is only one person who can truly save her. And that is what I will do.
Ramza: What do you mean, Delita?
Delita: It's simple, really. Noble endeavors do not always reach the end that we desire. You cannot save the princess. However hard you might try. You'd do well to remember that.
Ramza: Wait, Delita. What is your end in all of this, Delita? I fear I do not know.
Delita: The Dukes Larg and Goltanna, your brothers, and all the rest... They are all of them swept up in a mighty current—a current they cannot see or feel. I simply swim against it. Nothing more.
Delita: We'll meet again—I should hope.
Ramza: Delita! Wait...
The Cardinal's Wrath[]
Gaffgarion: You would use the princess as bait to regain the Stone? I would not expect such cunning of a man of the cloth.
Ludovich: You've some gall to speak, sellsword! It was you who let them escape!
Gaffgarion: That I don't deny, but it was not my task to stop them.
Cardinal Delacroix: Still your tongue, Ludovich. We will hand Princess Ovelia over to Count Dycedarg as promised. That much serves us both. But it is no concern of mine if those who know the truth of her kidnapping live. I had no hand in it. Be that as it may, the Beoulve boy, Ramza, has chosen to aid the gem thieves. If we use the princess to lure them out, we get two birds—and one Stone.
Gaffgarion: I won't deny the truth of it. But such a plan has risks.
Cardinal Delacroix: Hardly words I would expect from Goffard Gaffgarion, the Black Bull. Your reputation would not cast you so craven. Ho ho ho...
Gaffgarion: I am cautious, Your Holiness. A soldier does not live to become old and gray charging onto the field of battle unawares.
Cardinal Delacroix: Very well. I will see that every possible precaution is taken. And let us sprinkle a trail of crumbs to ensure they find our snare.
Gaffgarion: I'll assume responsibility for the rest. You'd do well not to rely on that bungler anymore.
Ludovich: How dare you!
Cardinal Delacroix: I shall leave the matter to you, Gaffgarion.
Ludovich: Your Eminence, you jape, surely!
Cardinal Delacroix: Go in the light of the gods.
Gaffgarion: Hmph. I fear their light is lost on this old sinner.
Ludovich: Your Eminence, you cannot mean to trust this to a man like that!
Cardinal Delacroix: I trust things to those who can be trusted. Men who fail me time and again are rewarded in another way.
Ludovich: Y-Your Eminence? (screams)
Reunion with Agrias[]
(Upon entering Balias Swale.)
On-screen: Balias Swale
Gryphon Knight of Lionel: Where've you got off to, gosling? Won't do to hide!—
Gryphon Knight of Lionel: There you are!
Gryphon Knight of Knight: Come along quietly now, what do you say?
Gryphon Knight of Knight: Hrm?
Agrias: Ramza!
Ramza: Lady Agrias is beset! To arms!
(Upon Agrias's first turn.)
Agrias: Ramza!? What are you doing here?
Ramza: We've come to rescue you. We thought to breach the castle from its postern. But why are you here?
Agrias: The cardinal betrayed us—was betraying us all along! He plots with Duke Larg! We escaped the castle, but the princess was retaken. I was returning to save her—and here you find me. That we should thus reunite could only be divine providence. We must hurry, Ramza! They mean to execute Her Highness!
Ramza: First these. Then the princess.
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Lady Agrias, are you all right?
Agrias: I'm fine, but we cannot afford to tarry! They're taking the princess to the Golgollada gallows. It's not far, but we've little time!
Ramza: Of course. With all haste!
Gaffgarion's Trap[]
(Upon entering Golgollada Gallows.)
On-screen: Golgollada Gallows
Gaffgarion: Got any words to leave behind, puppet?
Gaffgarion: None, then? Very well.
Gryphon Knight of Lionel: Is that—? The enemy!
Ramza: We are come for the princess! Stand down, or taker her place on the gallows!
Gaffgarion: Ha ha ha! And the trap is sprung!
Ramza: Trap?
Gaffgarion: Ramza, ever the gallant fool!
Ramza: What have you done with Lady Ovelia!?
Gaffgarion: I've done naught with her, she's at Lionel. What of the gem?
Ramza: Gem?
Gaffgarion: Might we spare ourselves these tiresome feints? I speak of the cardinal's gemstone. The one who stole it travels with you, does he not? I would have it surrendered.
Ramza: If you want it, come and get it.
Gaffgarion: So the boy now thinks himself a man! Very well. Let us finish this like men.
(Upon Agrias' first turn.)
Agrias: What do you mean to do with Lady Ovelia!?
Gaffgarion: I will return her to Gallionne, as per my contract. What Duke Larg does with her after that is not my concern.
Agrias: Dukes Larg and Goltanna are cut from the same cloth. Both sides would use her as a pawn! Just as Dycedarg and Larg now use you! Are you not ashamed to be no more than a piece in their game? Have you no pride—no honor?
Gaffgarion: Pride? Honor? Such flights of fancy are long since flown from me, my lady.
(Upon Gaffgarion's first turn.)
Gaffgarion: It is not too late to change your mind, Ramza! Return with me to Eagrose! Your brother Dycedarg would fain forgive what's done. He said as much himself! What is it that stops you? Chivalry? A tired relic. Neither justice nor loyalty ever filled a man's belly. However you may pretend, you are a noble—it's in your very veins. And a noble rules over and uses the smallfolk as he sees fit. Lesser men can only dream of having your lot in life. So forget this foolishness, and be who you were born to be!
Ramza: No! I will not! The foolishness is believing that our blood dictates our destiny! I refuse to exploit others simply because I was born a Beoulve! Even should it mean defying my brother, I will be true to myself! I will play no part in his foul plots!
Gaffgarion: Foul!? You would paint your brother's deeds as foul? For generations, House Veoulve has possessed great military might and the influence that comes with it! As its lord, your brother simply upholds the duties of his station! You of all people should know that! What you call foul, I call necessary. Deny it all you want, this is the way of the world!
Ramza: My lord brother and Duke Larg seek to ignite war to further his their own ends! Yet who is it that would be made to suffer? It is the soldiers, who fight and die with their names unknown to their lords! It is the veterans, who are cast aside when their swords are no longer needed! It is the commonfolk, who are bled dry by taxes and levies! After fifty long years of conflict, the kingdom was finally beginning to know peace again... But now a privileged few would shatter that peace for peersonal gain! If such a thing is not foul, ser, then pray tell what is!
Gaffgarion: A man does not eat an omelette without breaking eggs! It matters not whether he is born into abundance or no! Progress exacts a price, and that price is paid in blood! Such is the ink in which history's pages are writ! Look around you, boy! Ivalice rots from within! Your brother would carve out the root of its decay, even if it means his hands must needs be soiled!
(Upon Agrias' next turn.)
Agrias: Ramza, you are a Beoulve?
Gaffgarion: You didn't know? Aye, this little whelp is a son of the great House Beoulve.
Ramza: 'Tis true. I am sorry I kept it from you. Yet though I am my father's son, that does not make me the same as my brothers! I knew naught of the plot to kidnap the princess! For the honor of my house, I will bring an end to these machinations! I will put everything to rights, this I swear!
Agrias: Do you truly think I would doubt you now? You have more than proven yourself!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: For the sake of progress, you would see Lady Ovelia sacrificed!? I will not abide it! I will not stand and watch her made another Tietra!
Gaffgarion: Forget Ziekden! That was not within your control. But many things are to an heir of House Beoulve, and you have a duty as such! It is your fate to see that duty fulfilled!
Ramza: As it was my fate to let Tietra die? No, fate had no hand in that. Tietra died because...I did not raise a hand to save her. I've lied to myself all this time. It was my own inaction that killed her! I will not forget it! Not for as long as I live!
(Upon Gaffgarion's next turn.)
Gaffgarion: You lackwit! You refuse to see reality for what it is! Listen to me, Ramza! Every day, someone somewhere dies without your knowledge! What is the life of one girl, when weighed against the greater good?
Ramza: I see no good in using people! Only deception, and death! I will not stand by any longer as innocents fall prey to your "good"! I will not let you harm the princess!
Gaffgarion: Then you seal your fate, you stubborn fool!
(When Gaffgarion is critical.)
Gaffgarion: Curse me for a fool, I'd not thought you'd grown so strong! As much as it chafes, I'd best retreat for now.
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: The castle—we must make haste!
The Manipulative and the Subservient[]
Delita: You've not touched your supper. A princess cannot live on pride alone.
Ovelia: ...
Delita: Do you think to starve yourself? None would weep, you know. There are many who would be gladdened by your passing. Now stop being stubborn and eat.
Ovelia: You were in league with the cardinal all along, weren't you? What do you mean to do with me? If you'd not give me over to Larg, then what is your intent?
Delita: To put you where you truly ought to be.
Ovelia: So, you would manipulate me as well. I'll not do it, you know. I'll not bend to your whims.
Delita: You will. If you wish to survive, you have no other choice.
Ovelia: What do you mean?
Delita: I mean—
Folmarv: So, this is Lady Ovelia...
Cardinal Delacroix: Do we find you in good spirits, Your Highness? If you would be but a trifle more tame, there would be no reason to keep you in so cheerless a place as this.
Folmarv: These seem lavish enough quarters for a false princess.
Cardinal Delacroix: Ho ho ho... The girl does not yet know, Lord Folmarv.
Folmarv: Truly? How pitiable.
Ovelia: (gasps) Tell me of what it is you speak!
Folmarv: Very well. You are not Ovelia Atkascha.
Ovelia: What?
Folmarv: The true princess died years ago. You are her double.
Ovelia: That's absurd!
Folmarv: It is neither absurd nor untrue. You are not Ovelia. You are a straw doll placed in an empty crib by the Council, which bears no love for Queen Louveria. It was the old men's intent that you would someday succeed the throne. They saw the queen as an obtsacle. She and her brother Duke Larg both. Their method was exacting, its execution meticulous. They placed you in the royal family after assassinating the queen's two eldest sons, attributing their deaths to malady. The deception was complete, and your ascent all but sealed. King Ondoria was sickly, and seemed unlike to father another son. But against all odds, another prince was born. Whether he is in truth of Ondoria's seed is highly suspect, of course. Like as not, Duke Larg found some other sire to ensure his sister's place as mother to the king. Regardless, all of the Council's work was made for naught the moment Prince Orinus drew his first breath.
Ovelia: You speak false! I'll not believe you!
Folmarv: Believe what you like, child. It is of little enough consequence. You may be born a butcher's daughter for all it concerns us. We hold a trump card in our hands. The stock from which it was cut matters not.
Ovelia: What is it you wish of me, then? What would you have me do?
Folmarv: Naught at all, sweet child. We only wish that you be our princess, as you always have.
Ovelia: I am a daughter of House Atkascha! I'll take no orders from you!
Folmarv: Indeed. You are Her Royal Highness Princess Ovelia Atkascha. From whose seed and womb you sprung matters not. 'Tis more than our birth that determines our roles. And yours, child, is to be princess. You have always been princess. She who should rightly rule this chaos-racked kingdom. We only wish to help you claim the throne. Nothing more.
Ovelia: Who are you?
Folmarv: We are no friends of Duke Larg, nor do we sit in Goltanna's camp. Think of us simply as allies.
Cardinal Delacroix: Lord Folmarv, let us leave our princess to collect her thoughts. When she comes to see the reality of her situation, she will doubtless wish to be our ally.
Folmarv: Indeed, let us give her time to stew.
Folmarv: Come, Delita!
Gaffgarion's Last Stand[]
(Upon entering Castle Gate.)
On-screen: Lionel Castle Castle Gate
Ramza: Wait there. I'll open the gate.
Gaffgarion: I'd rather it remain shut!
Gaffgarion: You made your way into the castle well enough, but you overlooked the ambush. You still have much to learn, lad. (whistles)
Ramza: We're surrounded!
Gaffgarion: Don't take it too hard, eh? Experience always tells. You may have the noble blood, but I've been making wives into widows since long before you were born. In battle, I am your better. Come, Ramza, it's you and me now. For what it's worth, I'm sorry it's come to this. It's you and I now, Ramza! Shall we be about it, then?
(Upon one of Ramza's turns.)
Ramza: Is there no other way, Gaffgarion? Must I fight the man who took me under his wing?
Gaffgarion: You'd wax sentimental even now? You'll not survive long that way, lad.
Ramza: Mayhap not... But even now, I've no wish to take your life!
Gaffgarion: Sentimental and pompous, there's a funny thing. Reckon you can take me, do you? I'll tell you again: in battle, I am your better. Your birth will not avail you against my experience!
Ramza: After I shed the Beoulve name, I set out to make my way as but another soldier. You were the one who guided me when I found myself adrift, Gaffgarion. Were it not for you, I would not be here now.
Gaffgarion: And you wish to thank me for rearing you into a fine young man, is that it? Give over, boy! I'll not hear this maudlin blather! Such is for your family! We both took up the sword and found purpose in battle, aye, but we're otherwise naught to one another!
Ramza: This, I understand full well. None the less, I am grateful to you. Through you, I have had experiences no amount of privilege could have afforded me. I have grown. So for what it is worth...I bear you no ill will.
Gaffgarion: Hmph, you waste your final words on tripe! A highborn brat to the marrow, you are!
(Upon one of Agrias's turns, if she is present.)
Agrias: Gaffgarion, I would ask why you involve yourself in this, but such questions are moot now.
Gaffgarion: Ah, Agrias, ever the white knight... You'd do well to give up on the princess! Oh, and while you're at it, give up your sword and armor too. You'd be happier settling down, as a woman should.
Agrias: And you, ser, are ever the knave. To this day you treat me with contempt. You seem to hold that one's sex limits where one finds fulfillment. You find yours in selling your sword for coin, yes?
Gaffgarion: I do. Good to see that even one as straitlaced as you can appreciate that.
Agrias: If that brings you happiness, I'll not dismiss it. But is it not also the happiness of the countless women who have chosen the sellsword's life? These women share your values, find fulfillment in what they do. And it is not for any man to say otherwise.
(Upon Gaffgarion's next turn if Agrias is present.)
Gaffgarion: I know about you, Agrias. More than you'd care to assume. Your brother, the heir to the house, had died. And so your father raised you as a man, that you might lead instead. That is why you are become what you are. A girl who knows naught save being the princess's keeper. Do you truly find fulfillment in that? In living as a man? If so, I pity you.
Agrias: Do not feign concern for me. I see your words for what they are. Fear. The fear of a woman who defies your expectations, or indeed anyone who fits not your view of the world. To protect your fragile self-worth, you scorn those who share not your values—those such as myself and Ramza. But I will not judge you for your narrow-mindedness, nor will I mock or despise you. Our worlds are simply different. Ever will there be things we struggle to comprehend about each other.
Gaffgarion: Why use so many words when you could just call me an old relic?
Agrias: As I said, I've no intention of mocking you. Cling to your values, if that is your wont. I will do the same, as will Ramza. Even if understanding eludes us, I accept that you are the product of your experiences.
Gaffgarion: Hah, you do mock me. But I'll have you know I've heard worse!
(After Gaffgarion is KO'd.)
Gaffgarion: That I should fall to a mere boy... Ha ha ha... Well fought, Ramza, well fought... A fool though you are, I could never bring myself to dislike you...
Ramza: Good-bye, Gaffgarion.
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: We must reach the princess before reinforcements arrive!
Cúchulainn, the Impure[]
(Upon entering Castle Keep.)
On-screen: Lionel Castle Castle Keep
Cardinal Delacroix: I see Gaffgarion's sword was no match for his words. Then again, perhaps the fault lies with his adversary. Beoulve blood is not given to spill easily. Even when thinned with that of a courtesan, it would seem.
Cardinal Delacroix: But enough is enough. Your overstay your welcome. As I am loath to waste time and effort, I shall make you an offer. Leave the auracite, and then leave Lionel. Refuse, and you will find my hospitality wanting.
Ramza: Where is Lady Ovelia?
Cardinal Delacroix: You mean to free her? What then? House Beoulve would see her dead. That is why you defied your kin, thereby marking yourself an outcast, and came to me seeking the Church's aid. By taking the princess into my care, I merely granted you your wish. What would you have of me now?
Ramza: Anser me! Where is Lady Ovelia?
Cardinal Delacroix: Bound for Zeltennia. Her Highness has chosen to accept our hand in aid over yours.
Ramza: You lie! I'll not be deceived!
Cardinal Delacroix: Her Highness undertakes to claim the throne of her own volition. She spreads her wings. Even so, she will need a steady hand to guide her, and yours falters. Who better, then, than us to stand at her side? She saw this—why not you? There's no reason you should not join us as well. The thought of besting your brothers holds no allure? We care no less for this world's fate than you. Together we can change Ivalice for the better.
Ramza: I have no wish to change the world. But nor can I stand by while our people suffer and die on the whim of some select few. Do you truly believe you can change it? Not even I am so naive as that.
Delacroix: Ha ha! Nescient humility from one possessed of such an artefact. That Stone you hold can twist the very weave of nature, to say nothing of the world. Yet I fear my efforts are wasted on you. Though artful are the words of man, conviction they do lack. You place your faith in the unseen, upholding such as sacred truth. Ignorance besets ignorance as the blind lead the blind, and I despair to see it. I despair of mankind. Very well, I will demonstrate the Stone's power—the power of gods true!
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Ho ho ho... You take no pains to hide your wonderment. How I shall delight to watch you die. Each excruciation ecstasy!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: This is auracite's sacred power? How can power so vile banish villainy? Surely this is naught but evil itself!
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Of good and evil still you would fain speak? Beneath concern such empty notions fall. Although, no more ought I expect of you. Afore the ocean of Lucavi pow'r, the minds of men are naught but trick'ling streams.
Ramza: The power of the Lucavi? What are you? What have you done with the cardinal?
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Ho ho ho! What nonsense this? I am the man himself! Or rather, he who once was Delacroix! The auracite, the Stone, such powers grant, to rise above the feebleness of Man. Creation's laws restrain and rule me not. Astride your moral order do I stand. I am a god become.
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: Lucavi... If memory serves, the word is ancient Ivalician for "Transcendent One." But can it be possible? Can he truly have transcended mortality?
Cúchulainn, the Impure: A god I am, no simpler terms there are.
Razma: No divinity would assume a form so foul! You are no being of immaculate Light!
Cúchulainn, the Impure: The heavn'ly Father, maker of our world? I am not He, in that you are correct. Have you belief in beings so divine? Possessed of boundless pow'r and knowledge both? I fear to say that such do not exist. Though utter this, a cardinal ought not... Ho ho ho!
Ramza: Then you have deceived the people, and admit as much!
Cúchulainn, the Impure: I freely do, without reserve or shame, though for the Church I cannot claim to speak. The truth, to me, this pow'r revealed: mere fantasy, the Father. Words in ink and air.
Ramza: You call yourself a god, but I see only an abomination! Your power is that of demons!
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Divine, this pow'r, the legends would attest. Yet such distinctions matter not to me, for I no longer walk the mortal plane!
Ramza: That a hero of the Fifty Years' War should abandon his faith and become a monster... Feel you no shame?
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Nay. For faith in fiction is as faith in naught. The joyous day the pow'r roused within, to me was shown divinity's true form. My fervent-most desire was then fulfilled, by the one god to whom I bend the knee! This selfsame god Ajora surely sought. Yet with their selfish ends to satisfy, the truth did his disciples warp and twist. A cruel and ugly truth that I embraced.
Ramza: Are there more of you? Other Lucavi?
Cúchulainn, the Impure: Ho ho ho... What need have you to know, who here will die, a maggot crushed and broken underfoot?
(Upon Agrias' next turn, if she is present.)
Agrias: What is this I behold? Against what do I fight?
Cúchulainn, the Impure: The Lionsguard sends its best in Agrias Oaks—protector of the princess, duly sworn. Your skill with blade unrivalled, so I hear. Your loyalty to Her Highness wav'ring not. As now we speak, your mistress for Zeltennia makes, her rightful crown and throne to claim. If fast remains your oath, then serve you may. My ally you need but be.
Agrias: Your ally? Wherefore would I choose to join hands with a grotesque abomination such as you?
(After Cúchulainn, the Impure is defeated.)
Cúchulainn, the Impure: How strange that I, the Undying, here should die. A death come ere High Seraph could descend... Would that these eyes could witness bear.
The War of the Lions[]
On-screen: Zeltennia Castle Keep
Duke Goltanna: My advisors tell me you are the one who rescued Princess Ovelia. I would have you tell me more.
Delita: I am Delita Heiral, a Blackram lieutenant in the service of His Excellency the Baron Grimms. His Excellency dispatched me to rescue the princess. And so I did, disguised as one of your own—a sheep in Lion's clothing. Now I have returned.
Chancellor Glevanne: Heiral, you say? That is a name I've not heard before.
Duke Goltanna: I thought Baron Grimms and his Blackrams felled in battle against the Eye a fortnight past.
Delita: Indeed. That dark news spurred me to return with all the greater haste. 'Tis only by virtue of my mission that I was spared the fate of my comrades. May the Father grant them rest...
Duke Goltanna: How fares the princess?
Bishop Canne-Beurich: She is weary yet from her long journey. She sleeps as if among the dead.
Orlandeau: I can well imagine. Now, is it true you brought a prisoner?
Delita: It is. The man is privy to the conspiracy, and I would have him lay it bare to Your Grace. Bring the prisoner forth!
Delita: Let us hear the reason for your attempt on the princess.
Prisoner: 'Twas to stain Duke Goltanna's name, by making it appear the work of his men. That way he'd be kept from Lesalia and claiming the regent's seat.
Delita: Who gave you the order? Duke Larg?
Prisoner: No...a close adviser of Duke Goltanna's seeking to curry Duke Larg's favor. Heh...
Chancellor Glevanne: Madness! None among us would fain betray our duke! This is clearly an attempt to undermine us by sowing mistrust! Silence this man before he can spout more absurdness!
Duke Goltanna: I would hear it none the less.
Delita: Who was it?
Prisoner: W-well...
Delita: Name the one who gave the order!
Prisoner: I'd have your protection?
Delita: On my honor as a knight. Speak!
Prisoner: 'Twas the man who stands before me. Chancellor Glevanne.
Chancellor Glevanne: What!? How dare you! I do not even know you, knave!
Delita: Who put you to it? The queen?
Chancellor Glevanne: Stop this mummer's farce, I've naught to do with this!
Delita: To betray your liege lord is an unpardonable crime, Chancellor.
Chancellor Glevanne: It was not I! I know naught of it! (screams)
Delita: Forgive me if I presume overmuch, Your Grace, but now is not the time for bandied words. The Order of the Southern Sky must march on Lesalia at once, and you with it! Give your enemies but a moment to collect themselves, and they will pin the chancellor's sedition on his lord. Your Grace must strike before they are given the chance! Deny the prince's claim, and set the princess on the throne!
Narration:
Following his sack of the royal capital of Lesalia, Duke Goltanna, the Black Lion, banished Queen Louveria to Besselat for her hand in the conspiracy, and crowned Princess Ovelia queen.
But Duke Larg, the White Lion, insisting that Prince Orinus was the true and rightful heir, at once crowned the child-prince and declared himself regent.
Moving then to free Louveria, Duke Larg dispatched the Order of the Northern Sky to Besselat in the name of the new-crowned king. Duke Goltanna in turn set the Southern Sky to march in Ovelia's name.
The curtain had risen on what history would one day record as the War of the Lions.
Chapter 3: The Valiant[]
The Thunder God[]
On-screen: Fort Besselat
The Baron of Bolmina: This past evenfall, the count stood at two hundred thousand—four hundred, if both sides be counted.
Elmdore: The number of casualties is not our sole concern. That was to be expected, and so too the depletion of our stores. No, it is this drought that threatens us. The markets are bare and tax collections fall short. With prices as they are, we can lay in supplies for another half year, at best.
Viscount Blanche: Duke Larg must surely face like difficulties. It rained unceasingly in Gallionne this season. The grain rotted in the fields before it could be harvested.
Orlandeau: The real trouble lies in war's wake. There is no work. Whole villages have been displaced. My son Orran tells me over one hundred thousand have already fled to Lesalia, and more pour in by the day.
Viscount Blanche: Ha! I see no trouble in this! Let Larg struggle to feed the mewling maids and his soldiers both!
Orlandeau: It is no laughing matter! Should the conflict spread, we may find ourselves no better off. Think you Zeltennia proof against such fate? I assure you, we are not! Has not the time come to chart a course to peace?
Duke Goltanna: Your fears are well founded. But we cannot yet end this war. Though it pains me to do so, we shall increase the rate of tax by a third. Naturally, a close watch must be kept on those who hope to profiteer in these trying times. As for those seeking refuge outside the castle walls, we shall tighten our patrols at the Limberry border to see they are turned back.
Orlandeau: My lord, I must ask that you reconsider. Duke Larg suffers, as do we. What better time to treat for peace?
Duke Goltanna: You talk in circles, Orlandeau. There can be no peaceful end to this.
Orlandeau: The kingdom cannot exist without her people, Your Gace. No more than can we. In the Fifty Years' War, who bore a greater burden than they, the commonfolk? Would you thank them now with higher taxes? Their confidence in us is sorely tested as it is. And it is not only the people. Our soldiers are made to fight on rations that would scarce feed a child at his mother's skirts. We cannot long sustain this war. Resolve is no substitute for resources.
Duke Goltanna: Resolve? Have you any? These are the words of a coward.
Orlandeau: The Fifty Years' War was fought to drive back an invasion of our sovereign soil. We were honor bound to fight!
Duke Goltanna: And in this war there is no honor to bind you? Is that what you wish to say? The Fifty Years' War was an abject failure of a corrupt Crown, and the source of its corruption is Duke Larg. The man claims to act in the realm's interest, but in truth he aspires only to power. I seek to rid us of his blighting influence. Yet you would suggest there is no honor in this? That we fight for naught? You mock the Black Lion to his face!
Viscount Blanche: His Grace speaks true. Besides, why lay down the sword with victory so near? They call you the "Thunder God," Count Orlandeau, but your gentle words would sooner stir a breeze.
Orlandeau: Is victory so near? My ears are deaf to its approach. I am, however, keenly aware of the quagmire pulling at our feet. This war has been fought to a standstill. Your words are the epitome of hubris. This council can ill afford to heed such unfounded prating.
Viscount Blanche: I will not sit here and tolerate such insults!
Duke Goltanna: Enough of this! You disappoint me, Orlandeau. Pray you do not disappoint me further.
Orlandeau: ...
Duke Goltanna: I will say this but once. Any man who cares not for the course I've chosen had best remove himself now. I will brook no further doubt, Orlandeau.
On-screen: CHAPTER 3 THE VALIANT
Ramza:
Delita once told me he was swimming against some unseen current.
If this current rushed towards war, and the world with it, what hope did I have to fight it?
I made for Lesalia to tell Zalbaag that someone dictated this war from the shadows—and to test my legs against the current.
Orran[]
(Upon entering The Mining Town of Gollund.)
On-screen: Gollund
Angry Voice: Where is he? Where'd the shuffler steal off to?
Second Angry Voice: Hear that? He's on the roof!
Orran: 'Twould appear I'm trapped...
Rogue: It don't do to have strangers sticking their noses in our little hideaway.
Orran: Then mayhap you might hang a signboard above the door, so we would know this place for a den of thieves!
Rogue: Ha! The cull's got brass. Too bad it's steel he's wanting.
Ramza: Hmm... Something is amiss here.
Rogue: A lot of visitors today. Small matter. Stick 'em all and be done with it!
(After the battle ends.)
Ramza: Are you hurt?
Orran: I am fine, thank you. My name is Orran Durai. And yours?
Ramza: I am Ramza. Ramza Beoulve.
Orran: Beoulve!?
Ramza: What of it?
Orran: 'Tis naught. Forgive me. Might I inquire as to the direction of your travels?
Ramza: We make for the royal capital. And you? You are welcome to accompany us if our paths are the same.
Orran: A gracious offer, but I fear my road leads away from Lesalia.
Ramza: I see. Fortune be with you, then.
Orran: And with you as well.
Orran: Gods willing, we may meet again. Try to keep yourself alive in the meantime.
Ramza: I-I will do the best I can.
Reunion with Zalbaag[]
(Upon entering the Royal City of Lesalia.)
Zalbaag: Sit, won't you?
Zalbaag: You surprise me, Ramza. I did not think to see you in Lesalia. Alma has been worried sick. She'd be delighted to see you.
Ramza: Zalbaag...I—
Zalbaag: What is it? You've a grim look about you.
Ramza: Can you not end this fighting?
Zalbaag: Hmph. You came all this way to say that?
Ramza: What purpose can it serve? We Beoulves have ever fought to defend the people—not simply the Crown. And now we fight for no more than our own glory.
Zalbaag: As ever, you see only what lies on the surface. Do not speak of that which you do not understand.
Ramza: It is you who do not understand, Brother! This war has been plotted to some unseen purpose! Dukes Larg and Goltanna only puppets in some shadow play!
Zalbaag: A shadow play? Pray tell how it ends.
Ramza: I...I do not know. But consider the abduction of Ppincess Ovelia from Orbonne Monastery. It was staged—a ruse to prevent Duke Goltanna from becoming regent.
Zalbaag: Staged?
Ramza: I was there, Zalbaag, and I know all that followed. Princess Ovelia was ultimately to be slain, but someone intervened. She lives, and is now in Goltanna's care. Had the assassination succeeded, the Crown would surely have named Duke Goltanna a traitor and rallied its banners against him.
Zalbaag: And who would go to such lengths?
Ramza: (sighs) The one responsible is... Our lord brother, Dycedarg.
Zalbaag: Do you stand here accusing our brother of having some hand in this business with the princess?
Ramza: So you knew naught of this? Even so, you must know what Dycedarg is capable of!
Zalbaag: Enough! Who have you become, that you do not trust your own brother? Your own flesh and blood!?
Ramza: Zalbaag! You speak of trust, yet am I not your brother too? Why will you not trust me?
Zalbaag: What have you ever done to inspire my trust? The mistake was my own. Until today I had looked on you as a true brother. But your mother's common blood forever stains you common. You are not fit to bear the Beoulve name! Begone from my sight!
Ramza: You cannot mean that.
Northern Sky Knight: Forive me, Lord Commander, but I have urgent news. The Thunder God has broken through our lines at Dugeura Pass.
Zalbaag: To strike so swiftly from Besselat... His title is well earned indeed. Summon the War Council—all of them!
Northern Sky Knight: Milord!
The Heretic's Brand[]
(Upon entering Lesalia Castle Postern.)
On-screen: Lesalia Castle Postern
Alma: Ramza, wait!
Ramza: I'm sorry, Alma.
Alma: Did you think to leave without so much as a word?
Ramza: I...I've never been good at good-byes.
Alma: You won't be coming back, will you.
Ramza: Delita lives, Alma.
Alma: What? But how?
Ramza: I expect you have heard of Princess Ovelia's abduction from Orbonne. In truth, it was no kidnapping, but a rescue. One which Delita carried out for the faction with which he has aligned himself.
Alma: What? I'm not sure I understand... The princess was taken to Duke Goltanna. Does this mean Delita works for him?
Ramza: At first I thought as much—that Delita had sided with the Black Lion to spite us. But I was wrong. I fear he may have fallen in with people far more dangerous still. 'Twas they thwarted the plot to assassinate Princess Ovelia, this allowing Duke Goltanna to keep his honor intact.
Alma: And as a result, war has broken out between him and Duke Larg... Is it true, Ramza? Was it Dycedarg who plotted Princess Ovelia's abduction?
Ramza: So you've heard... It is true, I fear. I am sure he had his reasons, but I cannot see them for the bloodshed.
Alma: *sigh* Ramza... If Delita lives, then might Tietra...
Ramza: She did not share her brother's luck.
Ramza: Listen to me, Alma. I know not who guides Delita's actions, only that they are to be feared. And I know not what evil lies at the end of this plot.
Alma: Evil... And Delita serves these people?
Ramza: Perhaps "serve" is not the right word. Though he aligns himself with them, he appears to have his own reasons for doing so.
Alma: You mean to fight them, don't you.
Ramza: ...
Alma: I want to fight too. I'm coming with you.
Ramza: Are you mad? That's out of the question!
Alma: I want to help you prove the truth of your words!
Ramza: No. Not like this.
Alma: Please, Ramza. I don't want anyone else to meet the same fate as Tietra.
Ramza: Alma, please...
Zalmour: Ramza Beoulve, if I am not mistaken.
Zalmour: Ah, but I have you at a disadvantage. I am Confessor Zalmour Lucianada of the Holy Office of Inquisition. I come to bring you before the Office on charges of the murder of Cardinal Delacroix and suspicion of heresy. Should you wish to preserve your house's good name, you will come with us. But should you resist, you admit your guilt, and will be executed as a heretic.
Ramza: A confessor, here!?
Alma: You must run, Ramza! Quickly!
Zalmour: Then your choice is made! In the name of the Father, put this heretic to the sword!
(Upon Zalmour's third turn.)
Zalmour: Know you not what you do, Ramza Beoulve? Your violence against us is as violence against the gods! But it is not too late! Repent of your sins! Repent, and be spared!
Ramza: You accuse me of heresy, but why? What have I done?
Zalmour: You slew Cardinal Delacroix to gain the auracite he held and offer it to whatever hellspawn you profane to call a god! If that is not heresy, then pray tell what is!
Ramza: You could not be more wrong! The legends of your holy auracite are lies! The Stones contain the power of evil. Cardinal Delacroix knew this. Knew about the power within the Stone he held. And he unleashed it, and was transformed into one of the Lucavi!
Zalmour: Is it not enough that you murdered Cardinal Delacroix? Must you now slander his name as well? More's the pity. You will only see the name Beoulve washed away in tears.
(Upon Agrias' next turn, if she is present.)
Agrias: Confessor Zalmour! 'Tis I, Agrias Oaks of the Lionsguard! Do you remember me?
Zalmour: That I do, my lady! Yet why does the scion of House Oaks fight beside a wanted heretic?
Agrias: It makes for a long tale, but know that I have just reasons for joining with him. Such matters aside, Ramza Beoulve is no heretic. That which he speaks is the truth!
Zalmour: The truth? You, too, would claim that the cardinal became a Lucavi? Obscene! Even should such demons exist, they could never tempt a pious man such as His Eminence! The heretic deceives Lady Agrias—that is the only explanation. He is a cunning one indeed...
(When Zalmour is HP critical.)
Zalmour: Heretics who profane the gods must still face their justice! You will yet meet yours!
(After the battle ends.)
Alma: It seems we're all right. Both of us.
Ramza: Thankfully. But please, no more needless risks.
Ramza: *sigh* None of this makes sense. How could the Office of Inquisition have learned of the auracite? Could the Church of Glabados be the ones supporting Delita? What do they hope to gain?
Alma: Ramza? You mentioned auracite. Have you truly seen the Stones from the fables? If auracite is real, then—I think I may have seen it once, too.
Ramza: What? Where!?
Alma: First you have to promise that you'll take me with you!
Ramza: You persist in this? Do you think I would risk putting you in such peril again? I will not take you with me!
Alma: (sighs) Then I have nothing more to say.
Ramza: Do not act the child! Your very life is in danger!
Alma: I should think it is. I've acted against the Office of Inquisition. Surely I too am a heretic in their eyes. They will come for me as they do you. And when they do, do you think Dycedarg will protect me? He would never do anything that might endanger House Beoulve.
Ramza: No, I'm sure our dear brother would not. But you cannot come with me. The danger is too great! You must explain everything to Zalbaag and bid him beg the forgiveness of the Church. For you, at least, it is not too late.
Alma: *sigh* The one I saw—it was in Orbonne. A crystal, engraved with the mark of the virgin maid.
Ramza: Virgo...I must reach it before they do. Thank you, Alma. Now go to Zalbaag, and do as I have said.
Alma: And just how do you think to enter the monastery? You're a heretic, remember?
Ramza: True... I would not be welcome in the Church's halls.
Alma: So, you need me after all.
Ramza: Fine, but only until we reach Orbonne. When it is done, you will return to Zalbaag.
Alma: I promise.
Ramza: I will hold you to it.
Elder's Revelation[]
(Upon reaching Orbonne Monastery.)
Alma: Elder Simon!
Alma: Be strong, Elder! Speak to me!
Simon: Uhhn...Lady Alma...? What...what are you doing here?
Alma: Gods be good... Who did this to you?
Simon: You...you must leave this place at once, child. It is not safe. Men have come...come seeking the Stone.
Ramza: A Zodiac Stone. Then it is as Alma said!
Simon: The Virgo Stone is...is one of the crown jewels of Ivalice. It was given into our keeping when Lady Ovelia was brought here for her fosterage...as proof of her royalty.
Ramza: And the ones come to take it—who are they?
Simon: You are...Alma's elder brother? Ramza Beoulve? I beg you, my son—leave them be. Block their way, and they will only cut you down.
Man's Voice: Where's the bloody Stone!?
Second Man's Voice: Have patience. It's here somewhere. We need only look harder!
Third Man's Voice: Come, this leads to the lower vaults!
Ramza: Elder, the Church hunts me for the death of Cardinal Delacroix. They have branded me a heretic. Am I to assume the Stones I now possess are the reason? Are the men who seek them behind all this? Who are they? Please, I must know!
Simon: Very well. You are caught in a web, Ramza. And the spider who spins it is the Church's highest authority, High Confessor Marcel himself. He and his followers seek to restore the Church to prominence. They have set dukes Larg and Goltanna against one another in the war's wake, that the people might grow wearier still of conflict.
Ramza: I see... The longer the fighting lasts, the weaker the dukes become—and the more the people lose their faith in the Crown. This would allow the high confessor to further his influence.
Simon: Gathering the Stones is part of that endeavor. He seeks to form the Zodiac Braves anew.
Ramza: And in so doing, he would win the adoration of the masses. But, Elder, the cardinal used his Stone to infuse himself with the strength of the Lucavi. If that is the true power of the Zodiac Stones, then it is a terrifying thing indeed...
Simon: The high confessor also craves might. As terrifying as you say it is, that power, too, may be his object. The power to rival entire armies... Ramza, you are unlike your brothers. You remind me a great deal more of your late lord father. You—you may well have what is needed to put a stop to the high confessor's ambitions.
Ramza: Wait here. I am going after them.
Alma: And I with you!
Ramza: We cannot leave Elder Simon here alone. Find a safe place to hide. Wait there with him until I return!
Alma: Very well.
Ramza: I'll leave the Stones with you, lest the worst befall me.
Alma: Then I'll cast them into the Bugross Sea. I trust that will suffice. It pains me that I can do no more at times like this. How I wish I'd been born a man like you.
Ramza: (sighs) Come now, Alma. You have a strength all your own. I would be lost without you.
Alma: Ramza...
Ramza: Now, take Elder Simon to safety!
Servants of the High Confessor[]
(Upon entering Vaults - Second Level.)
On-screen: Orbonne Monastery Vaults - Second Level
Isilud: Hold this passage until our return!
Templarate Mage: Understood, ser!
Ramza: The crest of the Knights Templar... So they act for the high confessor. Formidable though they may be, we cannot back down. They are the ones behind this war. We put them to rout! No matter what, we must protect the Stone!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Isilud: So, this is Virgo! And what a beautiful maiden she is!
Ramza: To the lower vaults! Quickly!
(Upon entering Vaults - Third Level.)
On-screen: Orbonne Monastery Vaults - Third Level
Isilud: Ramza Beoulve... The mongrel follows our scent! Mayhap it is for the best. I, Isilud Tengille of the Knights Templar, draw my steel in the name of the Father, the Holy Apparitions, and Saint Ajora! You will return the Stones you carry, heretic!
Ramza: Return? You speak as though they are Church property, but the gods intended them for all men. Hear me, Isilud, and hear me well! The Stones belong to the people! The Church has no claim to them! All I will off you is mercy, and naught more. Lay down the Stone you've taken and you may flee with your lives.
Isilud: I've no more need for your mercy than for you. My blade will teach you a lesson in humility!
(Upon Isilud's first turn.)
Isilud: Why do you persist in this fool resistance, Ramza? Wait—I daresay I can explain it. Though you are a Beoulve, you refuse to follow the example of your lord brothers. The reason? You live only to defy those you should obey. Some would blame your illegitimacy, but I would venture it was your choice. For all you were blessed with, you allowed your bastard birth to embitter you. By expressing your anger through defiance, you came to define your very nature.
Ramza: Belittling others is clear in yours, but you could not be more wrong about mine. It is because I am a Beoulve I do not heed my brothers! The Beoulve name stands for truth and justice! It is not a tool to be used for selfish gain! My lord father devoted his life to the defense of our people in the Fifty Years' War. Countless soldiers took to battle beneath our banner and made the ultimate sacrifice for the kingdom. We fought for justice them. Righteousness was on our side. House Beoulve cannot now turn on its purpose and fight for the interests of a corrupt Crown and self-serving aristocracy!
Isilud: You would speak of justice? Hmph, full oft it is but greed dressed in noble finery. If you truly believe as you claim, then fight with us! Help us tear down the monarchy and nobility both! The Church of Glabados envisions a world devoid of class divides—a world where all men can live as equals! Saint Ajora spoke of such a utopia. It is the Promised Land He foretold! Fear and doubt worry the hearts of the people, leaving small room for fealty. You see this! Ivalice lists, Ramza, and threatens to founder! Should we fail to right her course, this storm will claim her!
Ramza: It is the Church that churns the waves! You orchestrate this entire conflict! You claim war to be the proper course for Ivalice!?
Isilud: Change does not come without cost! Revolution requires martyrs, and we require revolution! The Crown is rotten, the nobility corrupt. They must be made to pay! The people deserve their justice! Help us deliver it to them, Ramza! Join us, as your once friend Delita has!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: Were it justice you desired, I would gladly help you see it done. But what you truly want is power. Power beyond that of any army. You would free the people only to enslave them anew with the demonic power of the Stones!
Isilud: Demonic power? The Zodiac Stones are gifts from the gods! We would use their divine miracles to guide the people to greater glory! There is nothing demonic in that!
Ramza: Few would consider it divine miracle when a man is made a demon. When Cardinal Delacroix offered up his body and soul to the auracite, it transformed him into a Lucavi.
Isilud: What nonsense. The only demon I see stands before me! You who who murdered the cardinal for the Stone he possessed. Not that he would have lived long, gathering them behind our backs as he was!
(When Isilund is critical.)
Isilud: I will not be bested by this heretic! But nor can I fail to deliver the Stone. Though it shames me to withdraw, the mission must come before honor!
Ramza: Isilud, wait!
(Upon entering Vaults - First Level.)
On-screen: Orbonne Monastery Vaults - First Level
Alma: Let me go!
Wiegraf: Isilud, I will secure the monastery. Take the girl and go.
Isilud: Come! No need to struggle, now!
Alma: Ramza! Help me!
Wiegraf: There he is. Listen well! Our adversary may be young, but you underestimate him at your peril. As a scion of House Beoulve, he is passing dangerous. His were the hands that slew Cardinal Delacroix. Gird yourselves well for battle!
(Upon Wiegraf's first turn.)
Wiegraf: Milleuda, my dearest sister. You will soon be avenged.
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: Wiegraf, you live! But...why do you now wear the raiment of the templarate?
Wiegraf: It's been a while, Ramza. Much has happened since last we met.
Ramza: Then you were a warrior who fought to make your dream reality. Now you are only a thrall of the Church.
Wiegraf: What troubled sleep have you known, to speak of my dreams? What hardships did you endure as you supped from a silver spoon? No matter how sweet, a dream left unrealized must fade into day. How then can a dream become real? How can it be made manifest in waking reality? The answer is power! Only with great power can great ambitions be realized! And only by surpassing my betters can I attain such power! My defeat to you awakened me to the truth of this! You think me a thrall? So be it! Your envenomed words serve to succor me. For when at last you yield—as you must—their poison will consume you!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: I pity you, Wiegraf. I truly do. Even as a man of broken dreams, you might still have been remembered fondly. Your ideas lifted the people, showed them the cracks in the timeworn façade of the aristocracy. You acted on your convictions, and so ennobled those actions. That is why so many rallied to your cause. You strove to realize your dream by the sweat of your brow, and so made it sacred. But now you defile it in your pursuit of power. You cannot truly believe that the Church shares in your ideals. You are not so naive as that. No, deep down you know the truth. What would Milleuda and your fallen friends think of this barter you've struck?
Wiegraf: Silence! I will not suffer Milleuda's murderer to invoke her name? What would you know of striving by the sweat of your brow? You who yet cling to the Beoulve name. From birth you have wanted for nothing! You cannot know what it is to live the meager life we do. Reason may trick you to believe you do, but your heart can never know! Harsh is the world in which we live. Harsher still than you can imagine. You have neither right nor reason to pour scorn on me!
(Upon Mustadio's next turn, if he is present.)
Mustadio: So that is Wiegraf, former head of the Corpse Brigade. But now he bows at the feet of the Church...
Ramza: He is a pale shadow of the man he once was, his ideals supplanted by the desire to avenge his sister and his comrades.
Mustadio: It seems only yesterday he was a revolutionary who fought for the oppressed. How strange to see him now, submitting to the Church's authority...
Ramza: He deceives himself, I believe. Finds ways to justify that vengeance comes before principle. It saddens me to see it.
Mustadio: You feel for him, Ramza?
Ramza: I do. But still, I know that he and I are different. I have no choice but to fight him as a foe.
Mustadio: I see. To hear you say that, I'm more assured than ever that I stand with the right man.
(Upon Agrias' next turn, if she is present.)
Wiegraf: Well, well. The Crown's loyal hound yet keeps company with a heretic. Like Ramza, mayhap you have cast aside your nobility. More easily done for you, I daresay, given yours was but recently bought with coin.
Agrias: That is a slander on House Oaks, and I will not stand for it!
Wiegraf: Come now, all know the tale. As a means to replenish its coffers during the Fifty Years' War, the Crown established a new rank of aristocracy and sold the titles to any who would buy them. Overnight, merchants and others flush with coin were made nobles. In this manner did House Oaks come to be. However, such as you are nobles in name alone. Allowed no seat in parliament, you are seen as little more than pretenders by the old houses. Is this not so?
Agrias: My father distinguished himself in the war. He earned his knighthood.
Wiegraf: Oh, I do not doubt that he fought most valiantly. But so too did we volunteers. We, too, risked life and limb. We, too, distinguished ourselves! Yet upon returning from the front, were we likewise recognized by the Crown? Nay, we were shunned! And the difference between us and you? The coin in our pockets, naught more! Those who have it become lords, those who do not remain peasants. Such is the way of our world!
Agrias: In that, I concede you may be right. 'Tis the reason I fight now independent of house and name. Yet we are not the same. For in your thirst for vengeance, you have forsaken righteousness for the power offered by the Church!
(When Wiegraf is KO'd.)
Wiegraf: Defeated...again? No...I refuse to lose to you... I am a Zodiac Brave...the bearer of Aries...I will not...fall so...easily!
Ramza: You would flee, Wiegraf!? Where have you gone, damn you!?
Belias, the Gigas[]
Isilud: Wiegraf! You're wounded!
Wiegraf: Go! Do not...tarry here for me. Deliver...the Stone.
Ramza: Alma! Release her!
Wiegraf: Go... Now...
Isilud: Forgive me, Wiegraf.
Ramza: Wait!
Wiegraf: *cough*
Wiegraf: Is this...how it ends...? Unable even...to avenge Milleuda... I have...failed her. Failed them all. A bitter draught...So much left...undone...
Unearthly Voice: O God Stone bearer, with us now do join. Submit, and life undying know.
Ramza: The auracite...it speaks? Yet the voice seems to come from deep in the earth...
Unearthly Voice: You rancor and despair, regret and grief, in deepest Darkness they would steep.
Wiegraf: Life undying... Is this the Stones' great secret?
Unearthly Voice: Set free the God Stone's might. Let Darkness fill your heart, and with me one become.
Ramza: Wiegraf, no! It means to deceive you!
Wiegraf: Whoever you are...I submit...
Unearthly Voice: The Darkness answers now your heart's desire. The Darkness gorges now upon your soul.
Belias, the Gigas: Is this the wonder of the auracite? Nay, 'tis the pow'r of Darkness...
Ramza: Wiegraf!?
Belias, the Gigas: Ahahahahahahah! Magnificent, the pow'r of the gods! By Darkness all is sated, all fulfilled! With perfect wisdom I now clearly see. The truth, a black abyss beyond light's reach.
Belias, the Gigas: Hahahaha... You hurry towards your end, alas too soon.
Belias, the Gigas: Hahahaha! Such power...Such power!
Belias, the Gigas: Ahahahah...AHAHAHA!
Ramza: Elder! What are you—?
Simon: I...I had to bring you this.
Ramza: A book?
Simon: Written by one of Saint Ajora's disciples...Germonique, the Betrayer. Though its existence has been rumored, nary a soul could attest to having seen it. In truth, it has lain under lock and key in the monastery's vault, marked a forbidden tome. It chronicles the true tale of the Zodiac Braves and Saint Ajora himself—no detail is omitted. It exposes the deception of the Church—that its doctrine is founded upon lies. That is why we fear it so, and have kept it hidden since the beginning.
Ramza: Please, Elder, you'll tire yourself.
Simon: I have lived a life of sin. All these years I have turned a blind eye. I told myself it was to protect the faith. But in truth, it was to protect myself. I continued to teach what I knew to be lies. And in so doing, I begat this tragedy... Heed me well, Ramza. This book possesses power. How you use this power is your decision...and your burden. You may offer the book to the high confessor's men in exchange for Alma's freedom. Or you may reveal it to the world and undermine the Church, thereby thwarting their ambitions.
Ramza: Elder? Elder Simon!?
Simon: Ahh. It is done. My mind is now at ease. The rest, Ramza...depends on you. You...you truly are the very image of Barbaneth in his youth...you know...
Ramza: Elder Simon, no...
Alma's Whereabouts[]
(Upon entering the Merchant City of Dorter.)
Outland Mage: You are the heretic Ramza Beoulve, yes?
Ramza: Who are you? You do not appear to be of the templarate.
Outland Mage: You will come to Riovances Castle. Your sister will be returned in exchange for the Scriptures of Germonique.
Ramza: Riovanes? What does Grand Duke Barrington have to do with this? I had heard he keeps both dukes Larg and Goltanna at arm's length, and fields no troops in their conflict. Why would Alma be in his custody? What interest does he have in the book?
Outland Mage: Surely you have read the Scriptures?
- (Upon selecting "1. I've read them.")
- (Upon selecting "2. No, I haven't.")
Ramza: No, I haven't read them yet. But I understand they contain something of importance. Could it be the grand duke is in league with with Church?
Outland Mage: You are a blithe one. Blithe and clueless. There are many who would kill you for that book, a nd you do not even know what it is you carry. But no matter. My lord awaits.
Ovelia and Delita[]
(After the scene upon entering Dorter, or when playing "View Scene" in the Chronicles menu.)
Delita: So here you are. They've been searching high and low for you.
Delita: What is it? Are you unwell?
Delita: Ah, but I forget myself. I do hope this day finds Your Royal Majesty in better spirits than those past.
Ovelia: Do not mock me! Please, I...I could not bear it.
Delita: That was cruel of me. I am sorry.
Ovelia: So... What is it that you mean to do with me? I am not Ovelia. There can be no possible value in holding me. No value even in my living.
Delita: Possibly. You are not Ovelia. We do not even know your rightful name. Whether even you be highborn, or low. No such records remain.
Ovelia: My life until now... What was it all for? Raised to think myself Ovelia, I never once suspected that I was merely a replacement for the real princess. Of the royal family, I alone was confined to a remote monastery, far from the seat of our Crown. I alone was made to live in seclusion, and I had often wondered why. Even so this, this I thought a burden light enough, if it meant the kingdom would know peace. Yet still Ivalice runs red with blood. All this suffering and solitude. What purpose did it serve? *chuckle* How ironic it is. Now that I am free of the monastery, I find myself longing for it. Though I may have been a bird in a cage, at least the song I sang was my own.
Delita: It has been the same for me. I was given the wardrobe of a nobleman, and so I played the part. A puppet, ever dancing for the amusement of patrons unseen. Most men but play the part they're given. Most live and die not knowing they play a part at all. But I am past all that now. I am their puppet no more. I will exact from them the price of the merry dance they lead.
Ovelia: And just what is it you plan to do?
Delita: You must place your trust in me, Ovelia. I will burn down this kingdom, and build a new one. A kingdom worthy of you. I will show you a world where your light will outshine the sun! A world without darkness. A world where you will always be Ovelia. This is my heart's desire. For you are my purpose. My everything.
Delita: You will have no more need of tears.
Ovelia: Can I truly trust in you?
Delita: I will never betray you. Never. On Tietra's soul, I swear to it. So come now. Dry your tears.
(Upon playing "View Movie" in the Chronicles menu.)
Delita: So here you are. They've been searching high and low for you.
Delita: Ah. I hope this day finds Your Royal Majesty in better spirits than those past.
Ovelia: Do not mock me! Please, I...I could not bear it.
Delita: That was cruel of me. I'm sorry.
Ovelia: So... What is it that you mean to do with me? I am not Ovelia. There can be no possible value in holding me. No value...even in my living.
Delita: Possibly. You are not Ovelia. We do not even know your rightful name. Whether even you be highborn, or low.
Ovelia: Of the royal family...I alone was confined to a remote monastery, far from the seat of our Crown. I alone was made to live in seclusion. And I had often wondered why. Even so... If my forebearance meant that the kingdom would continue to know peace... I thought it a burden light enough. What was it all for? Still Ivalice runs red with blood. All this suffering and solitude. What purpose did any of it serve?
Delita: It has been the same for me. I was given the wardrobe of a nobleman, and so I played the part. A puppet, ever dancing for the patrons unseen. Endeavor is not rewarded. Not in this wretched world. It is the patron and his troupe who are the beneficiares—maggots grown fat on endeavor's corse. An ugly truth, but the truth nonetheless. Most men have no choice but to play the part they're given. And of those... Most live and die not knowing they play a part at all. But I am past all that now. I am their puppet no more. I will exact from them...the price of their gluttonous feast!
Ovelia: And just what is it you plan to do?
Delita: You must place your trust in me, Ovelia. I will burn down this kingdom, and build a new one. A kingdom worthy of you. I will show you a world where your light will outshine the sun! A world without darkness. And then...you will have no more need of tears.
Ovelia: Can I truly trust in you?
Delita: Know that I will never betray you. On Tietra's soul, I swear to it.
Delita: So come now. Dry your tears.
Deserters[]
(Upon entering Grogh Heights.)
On-screen: Grogh Heights
Southern Sky Deserter (1): How could they have found us, when we are fled so far? Have the gods no mercy?
Ramza: Is that a scouting party from the Order of the Southern Sky?
Southern Sky Deserter (1): We're done with fighting! We've had our fill of blood and death! It doesn't matter if we're paupered, our place is with our families. I'm going back to my wife and child. You will not force us to return!
Ramza: Deserters, it seems. Pray heed my words! We do not pursue you! It is not our wish to fight!
Southern Sky Deserter (1): (chuckles) Aye, that much I'll believe. Better to strike us down cleanly when our backs are turned! Do not think us so green as to fall for your tricks!
Southern Sky Deserter (2): That man...Does he not have the look of the one on the handbill?
Southern Sky Deserter (1): What? Are you sure?
Southern Sky Deserter (2): Aye, it's him alright—Ramza Beoulve, the heretic! What do you say we claim his head and take it back to camp?
Southern Sky Deserter (1): Are you serious? We're deserters. Our heads would be on spikes next to his!
Southern Sky Deserter (2): Consider it! As a son of House Beoulve, he's no mere bounty. His family commands the Northern Sky. We'd be fools to pass up this opportunity!
Southern Sky Deserter (1): The men who captured that general were dismissed honorably...
Southern Sky Deserter (2): Exactly. If we are to return to our homes, let us do so with our heads held high! Were we to return now, it would be to a life of skulking in the shadows. They still think we're out scouting, and it could stay that way.
Southern Sky Deserter (1): Very well, let us return with him. Or at least with his head. It's not long for those shoulders anyway. He is a heretic, after all! Come, let this be our final battle! With this godless man's blood, we buy our way home!
Ramza: *sigh* It seems there is no avoiding this fight...
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: I understand the need to hold one's own life dear. But to hold it so far above all others...
The Thunder God's Son[]
Ramza: Father...What would you have done? Did I have any other choice?
Ramza: Is that...?
Orran: We meet again.
Ramza: I see the Black Lion sits upon your breast. You are of the Order of the Southern Sky, then?
Orran: I am. And it would seem we have you to thank for dealing with our deserters. I must admit, I did not expect to see a son of House Beoulve lend his aid to our order.
Ramza: The fight was not of my choosing.
Orran: Forgive me. I know you do not wish to shed blood, but it cannot always be avoided. We're no different. Had we the choice, we would not be hunting these men.
Ramza: You knew who I was all along, didn't you?
Orran: I did. I'd seen your name and face upon a bill. While the bounty was certainly impressive, 'twas the charge of heresy that caught my eye. They claim you murdered Cardinal Delacroix, but I somehow find that hard to believe.
Ramza: Have you a mind to turn me in?
Orran: Why would I do that? Our orders are to capture deserters. They say nothing of heretics already hunted mercilessly by the Church. If I were one of those, I think I'd get moving before the lions at my heels thought to feast upon me as well.
Ramza: (sighs) Why do you still fight? I do not see why anyone should want to prolong this senseless war.
Orran: So long as your brothers point their swords at our throats, we must.
Ramza: If the White Lion lowered his claws, would the Black follow suit?
Orran: No, I do not think it like he would.
Ramza: ...
Ramza: Could you deliver a message to Count Orlandeau, if you should chance to meet him? There are men behind the curtain who goad the dukes for their own gain. We are all but puppets, dancing as they pull our strings. It is those men we ought be fighting.
Orran: I can deliver the message. But why to the count?
Ramza: My father once told me Count Orlandeau was the only man he could truly call friend.
Orran: Lord Barbaneth said that? Very well, I will tell him what you've told me.
Ramza: Then you believe me?
Orran: Prior to joining House Durai, I was the count's adopted son, and still regard him as my father. I know for a fact that he returns your father's fondness. In honor of their friendship, I will trust you, Ramza. Now, I do not know the reason these men seek the Zodiac Stones. If it is for the benefit of the people, I see no reason to raise protest. But if they seek to use the legend for their own gain, I can assure you my father will not sit idly by. It was not for quiet complacence he was given the name "Thunder God." To worthy causes he would ever lend his strength.
Ramza: You know of the high confessor's plot?
Orran: Of it, yes. But we have no hard evidence. Our spies are working tirelessly, but I suspect you know more than they. As the heretic who slew Cardinal Delacroix, I daresay you've learned a few things.
Ramza: If you did have evidence of the plot, would you then be willing to lay down your swords?
Orran: Does such evidence exist?
Ramza: ...
Orran: Well, whether or not it would mean the end of this conflict, I cannot say. For the gears have long been set in motion. But if evidence did exist that could expose the plot, my father, for one, would surely sheathe his blade.
Southern Sky Knight: Lord Orran! We must press onward!
Orran: Very well. Let us resume our march! Farewell, Ramza. See that you keep your head about your shoulders.
Orran: Never think yourself without allies! You do have friends—friends who would gladly lay down their lives fighting beside you! And I count myself among them! I may not be at your side, but we fight together to end this war. Remember that!
Ramza: Thank you, Orran.
Siblings Divided[]
(Upon entering The Walled City of Yardrow.)
On-screen: Yardrow
Marach: Are you blind to the treason of your words, Rapha!?
Rapha: He uses us, Marach! We are instruments of murder to him, naught more! To stay would be to live out our days as the grand duke's cat's-paws! Come, let us run away together while we yet can!
Marach: Have you forgotten who it was who saved us when we had lost our parents to the war? Grand Duke Barrington opened his heart and home to the both of us. You would repay that kindness now with treachery? We owe him a debt of allegiance. We'd have died a beggar's death were it not for him!
Rapha: Feed us he did, Marach, but we were supped on lies! I know the truth of it now. It was the grand duke himself who set fire to our village. He killed everyone we ever knew, his hand hidden by the smoke of war. And do you know why? It was for our gifts! You and I possess power, and power is all he craves. He burnt down our entire village that he might claim the sacred power of our mantras for his own! Opened his heart, you say? The man is not possessed of one! He murdered our parents! It is you who need open your -eyes-, Marach!
Marach: I'll not abide your ill-mannered tongue!
Rapha: You know, don't you? You know of the...the thing he did to me. You are my brother, you know of this, and even yet you...
Marach: Speak not another word! Any more from you, and so help me gods...
Riovanes Ninja: Marach. Our quarry draws nigh.
Marach: I am well aware, and long since made ready.
Rapha: Marach...
Riovanes Ninja: That's him!
Marach: Rapha!
Rapha: Pray lend me your aid!
(Upon Rapha's first turn.)
Rapha: So you are the heretic Ramza... Help me, I beg you!
Ramza: I'm not certain what this is about, but questions can wait! Stay close! I will see you safe!
Rapha: Thank you!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: You're the grand duke's man! Did you not say you'd await my coming at Riovanes!?
Marach: I did but deliver the grand duke's message as asked. I do not need the templarate's swords to slay some petty knight apprentice!
(On one of Ramza's turns during the battle.)
Ramza: Marach! What manner of brother are you, to seek to harm your own sister!?
Marach: This concerns you not!
Ramza: Whatever the nature of your feud, it is wrong to spill the blood of kin!
Marach: I said this concerns you not! If anything, you endanger Rapha by meddling in our affairs! I will not suffer her to consort with you! You will die here and now!
Ramza: Is it at the grand duke's behest that you threaten your sister? Or do you act of your own volition?
Marach: It makes no difference! His Grace's orders are absolute!
Ramza: Even though he would pit siblings against one another? Contrary to his reputation as an altruist, your master is a vile and depraved man.
Marach: You dare insult the grand duke!? You will pay for that, heretic!
(When Marach is KO'd.)
Marach: Damn it! Do the gods favor a heretic over me?
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Are you all right?
Rapha: Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. I, uh...
Ramza: We will not be safe here should more of them appear. Let us find a quiet place to hide!
Rapha[]
Rapha: Grand Duke Barrington has eyes for one thing: the throne of Ivalice. They call him King already—King of the Forge. He fashions ever more and stronger arms for his ever-growing army. Even as he fielded his forces during the Fifty Years' War, he quietly began making preparations to take the throne for himself.
Ramza: His actions are guided from the shadows, by men who would use ambition to their own ends. His blood tries to the Crown give him a strong claim, rendering him an ideal pawn. These schemers would incite the war between the dukes Larg and Goltanna, allowing the grand duke to swoop in and assume regency. With the groundwork thus laid, they would then eliminate the dukes' respective charges, King Orinus and Queen Ovelia... Leaving the new regent as the foremost candidate for the throne. This, I suspect, was the plan used to entice the grand duke.
Rapha: And you fight the Church, even though it means you must be labeled a heretic? Why would you do such a thing? That is a silly question. I know the answer. But surely you must realize your efforts will earn you no thanks.
Ramza: I do not fight for gratitude. I am a Beoulve. I fight for the honor of my name.
Rapha: Truly? You strike me not as the sort of man to fight for things so trite. No, you see evil and injustice before your eyes and cannot turn away. You do not even think to seek reward. Would that more were like you.
Ramza: Ha... You mistake me for a better man. But we have spoken enough of me. What will you do now? I must make for Riovanes. They still hold my sister. Now that you've escaped, I expect you wish to go somewhere far away.
Rapha: I cannot leave. Not without my brother.
Ramza: This quarrel between the two of you—will you not tell me about it?
Rapha: He refuses to accept the truth. We were orphaned in the war, you see. We lost our parents, our home—all but our lives. The memories haunt me even now. Climbing mounds of rubble in search of any scrap of food, the air ever thick with death's foul stench... That was the life from which the grand duke spared us. At the time, I thought it sure the gods had sent him.
Ramza: You were not alone. He has erected a great many orphanages. A noble gesture of less than noble intent. He wanted assassins. The orphanages gave him a pool of willing young minds, allowing him to select the very best to mold and train. He must have seen some promise in you and your brother.
Rapha: We Galthenas are the keepers of a sacred art, passed down through the generations. My brother and I are conduits, I of the heavens and he of the nether. We channel their power through mantras. The grand duke desired that power for his own. When our elder refused him, he put our entire village to the torch. All is grist that comes to that man's mill. If there is a thing he cannot have, he thinks it better that it not exist at all. To imagine the joy he must have felt when he discovered the two of us among the other orphans—it turns my stomach.
Ramza: So when you learned of all this, you tried to flee...
Rapha: My brother and I loved the man as though he were our father. But even that did not stop him from...from—!
Ramza: ...
Marach's Voice: I would have thought you fled farther.
Rapha: Marach!
Marach's Voice: Heed my words, heretic! Spare no haste on your way to Riovanes! Tarry here, and you next meet your sister in the afterlife!
Ramza: Harm a hair on her head, and I'll have you there for company!
Marach's Voice: Rapha! You will accompany Ramza. Run, and the death of his sister hangs on your shoulders.
Rapha: You play a craven game, Marach! This has naught to do with them!
Marach's Voice: I play no game! I trust you know what awaits should you try my patience any longer!
Rapha: Come, Ramza. Let us make for Riovanes.
Ramza: Forgive me. I did not mean to draw you into this.
Rapha: You didn't. This madness is none of your doing.
Forest of the Dead[]
(Upon entering the Yuguewood.)
On-screen: The Yuguewood
Rapha: Those who fell in the Fifty Years' War still linger in this wood. Let us lay these wandering souls to rest.
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Let us put some distance between us and this haunted wood.
The Grand Duke's Ambitions[]
(Upon entering Riovanes Castle.)
Grand Duke Barrington: Ah, a warmest welcome to you both. I do hope you've found my halls to your liking. They may lack the grandeur of Lesalia's, but I find they make up for it in other ways. Castles built as seats of governance are so dreadfully plain. Would you not agree? There is such greater beauty in a fortress built for war. Ivalice herself would seem to be in agreement. Ever has she been ruled by men with power. Some might see this latest upheaval as a sign that the Crown, in its austere seat, has lost the strength to rein her.
Folmarv: Your summons spoke of matters more pressing than the style of Lesalia's keep.
Grand Duke Barrington: Must everyone be in such haste?
Grand Duke Barrington: (sighs) Very well, I shall ask you outright. Will you not join your strength with mine?
Folmarv: Hmm...
Grand Duke Barrington: As I said a moment ago, it is power that rules Ivalice. Who do you think now holds power? Duke Larg, the White Lion? Or Duke Goltanna, the Black? No, I can assure you it is not they. The ones who hold true power are the ones who hold the Zodiac Stones—the Knights Templar.
Folmarv: Hmm?
Grand Duke Barrington: The Stones are said to possess phenomenal magick, far surpassing any arcane apparatus or enchanted relic one might care to mention. They are even held to be responsible for the cataclysm that laid waste to Mullonde in bygone days. While this is generally regarded as a fairy tale, I know for a fact that Saint Ajora himself once wielded the Stones. And using their power, he annihilated his foes! No mere fable invented to inspire the masses, this, but a true miracle of the gods! Now, at this very moment, you and yours seek the Stones. What do you wish to achieve with such fearsome might?
Folmarv: Ahahaha... Speak you in seriousness, Your Grace? Forgive me, but I would never have expected a man like yourself to believe in such utter fantasy.
Grand Duke Barrington: You mean to tell me that you do not? For Knights Templar, you exhibit a surprising lack of faith in the holy power of the Zodiac Stones. I find that rather curious. I had heard that the cardinal's death was somehow connected to the Stones.
Folmarv: Truly? As I had it, the cardinal had taken ill.
Grand Duke Barrington: Is that so? Might I ask, then, the reason you seek that young Beoulve? I can only imagine what he must have done to earn the label of heretic.
Folmarv: The inquisitors do not share with us the reasons for their decisions.
Grand Duke Barrington: So, even the Knights Templar know nothing at all. How terribly convenient! Still, I wonder if there could not be some detail you are simply forgetting. Marach!
Isilud: Father...F-forgive me.
Folmarv: Hmph. Your meaning becomes clearer.
Grand Duke Barrington: Your boy was carrying Scorpio and Taurus, which we've taken for safekeeping.
Folmarv: You worthless fool of a son!
Riovanesian Guard: Pardon my intrusion, Your Grace, but your long-awaited guests are at our gate.
Grand Duke Barrington: Marach, would you kindly see to them?
Folmarv: What is it you wish, Barrington?
Grand Duke Barrington: Cooperation. I said as much a few moments ago. It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement, I assure you.
Folmarv: And if we were to refuse?
Grand Duke Barrington: Then I suppose I'd be forced to unmask the Church's plot for what it is.
Folmarv: The Stones alone prove naught.
Grand Duke Barrington: In that you are correct, ser. But it would be hard to say the same of the Scriptures of Germonique. After all these years as naught but rumors, who could have guessed that the Church had them under lock and key in the vaults of Orbonne Monastery? Were their contents to be made public, I imagine the Church would suffer a dizzying fall from grace. Its faithful flock would scatter to the four winds. Of course, in order to save itself, the Church would most certainly deny the Scriptures as false. But that still leaves our friends in high places. Larg, Goltanna, even the Council—all would covet the Scriptures for the poewr they offer.
Folmarv: Where are the Scriptures?
Grand Duke Barrington: Oh, who could say? You of all people must know how easily such details can elude the mind's grasp.
Folmarv: (sighs) Wiegraf, see to the mage who left a moment ago. I shall attend to matters here.
Grand Duke Barrington: Do not think to threaten me! This is a battle you cannot hope to win.
Folmarv: No, it is one we cannot hope to lose. Who is there to oppose us, save you feeble-bodied humans?
Isilud: Father...?
Folmarv: You misjudge the strength of your enemy, Gerrith Barrington. There will be no sport in killing you.
Grand Duke Barrington: You would raise arms against your host under his own roof!?
Folmarv: The hospitality of your hall grows cold. I fear I shall have to take my leave...once I've shown you the power of the Stones!
Grand Duke Barrington: (screams)
Dark Portents[]
(Upon entering Riovanes Castle Castle Gate.)
On-screen: Riovanes Castle Castle Gate
Rapha: Please, Marach, heed my words! We can leave this place together!
Marach: Death is the price for disloyalty. You know this as well as I. The grand duke sees all debts paid in kind. Turncloaks are set upon by their once friends, and hunted relentlessly. To flee this day is to live those that remain in fear, ever wondering when the knife will find its mark. Such is not a life I choose to lead, and nor should you. If we but finish this one last task for him, the grand duke will release us both from his service. He swore as much to me! So stand aside, Rapha. Once I have slain the heretic, you and I are free!
Rapha: Barrington swore it on what? His honor? The man lies, and we both know it! Believe him now, and you will spend the rest of your days as his assassin. As his tool!
Marach: I believe the grand duke! I must! There is no other way! I will kill that man and take the Scriptures from his corpse, and then His Grace will cut our chains!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Marach, your sister has the right of it. We are not the ones you should be fighting!
Marach: Our problems are not your concern! You would do well to worry about your own sister! Hand over the Scriptures of Germonique, and the grand duke may yet let you both live.
Rapha: You mustn't heed him, Ramza! Even if my brother believes his own words, you'll get not a sliver or mercy from Barrington! Once the man has what he desires, he will dispose of you both! Surrender the Scriptures, and you forfeit your only leverage. So long as you hold that book, your sister's life is guaranteed!
Ramza: Marach. Deep down you see it too, do you not? The grand duke is not to be trusted.
Marach: Be silent! You know nothing of our plight! Nothing! We have not the privilege of choice... We cannot simply choose to be free! You cannot begin to comprehend our struggle. No matter our orders, we must surrender to our master's will!
Rapha: You're wrong, Marach! We are not bound as you believe! 'Tis fear that stays you—a fear that Barrington himself planted! Unless you find the courage to defy the man, forever will you cower in his shadow! Surely you do not wish this. And I, for one, refuse to suffer it any longer!
Marach: But I...I...
Rapha: Do not allow Barrington to deceive you! His words are honeyed poison, concocted to manipulate hearts and minds! You have the strength, Brother. Come with me, and let us be free at last!
(Upon Agrias's first turn, if present.)
Agrias: Ramza, what is your intent for Grand Duke Barrington?
Ramza: My intent for him? Why do you ask?
Agrias: The man appears to be ignorant of the auracite's secret, if his demand is only for the Scriptures of Germonique. With the book in hand, I posit that he merely seeks to gain political advantage over Church and Crown.
Ramza: Vile though he is, he is a man of station. Killing him would be ill-advised. Is that what you wish to say?
Agrias: Indeed. 'Tis an easy thing to strike at the foe before you, but lest we forget, he stands in the line of succession.
Ramza: Very well. If he has not been corrupted like the cardinal, then I shall overlook his ambitions. My foremost concern remains Alma. We will leave with her, and Rapha and Marach as well!
(Upon Mustadio's first turn, if present.)
Mustadio: Ramza, what do you make of these two? Marach, in particular...
Ramza: Worry not. He will come around. Of this I am certain.
Mustadio: If you say so, then very well. I'll do my best not to kill him.
Ramza: Of all the times to jape! You are a droll fellow, Mustadio.
(If Marach is critical.)
Marach: Twice fought and twice defeated. I am no match for this one.
Rapha: You cannot run from me, Marach!
(If Rapha is critical.)
Rapha: What you say is true, Marach. Were we to run, we would only be hunted down. We must settle this ourselves! (Teleports Away)
Marach: Rapha, wait! Do not be foolish! (Teleports Away)
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Riovanesian Guard: Claws...and fangs...Gods have mercy...
Ramza: Pray let them be safe. Alma...and Rapha too.
Alma's Escape[]
Alma: Ramza...
Riovanesian Guard: (screams)
Alma: What was that?
Alma: Your wounds! Who did this to you?
Riovanesian Guard: A beast... Oh gods, my limbs grow cold!
Alma: Be strong, ser!
Riovanesian Guard: Flee...my lady. Flee. There is...only death here...
A Demonic Encounter[]
(Upon entering Riovanes Castle Castle Keep.)
On-screen: Riovanes Castle Castle Keep
Ramza: By the gods...
Wiegraf: I've been waiting for you. Draw your sword, Ramza.
Wiegraf: Not in the mood? I hope you will not object to me drawing mine.
Ramza: I pity you, Wiegraf. More than you can know. What must Milleuda think, to see you now? You would sell your soul to the Lucavi to slake your thirst for revenge.
Wiegraf: Revenge? You think that is what drives me? I have no such petty concerns. All has been made clear to me. I now understand power's true purpose. It is simple, really. Power is meant for ruling over those who possess it not. I still burn for revolution, of course. As much as I ever did. 'Twas that fervant desire that the Stone heeded when it answered me in my darkest hour. And so, by its will, I shall bring change to this corrupt world. I shall see it reborn. Your time is at an end, Ramza. I shall savor hearing you scream!
(Upon Ramza's second turn.)
Ramza: Auracite is the work of demons, not gods—the Zodiac Braves, their unholy knights. They are heroes of a false legend!
Wiegraf: All such tales of gods and their miracles are false. Those who would lead prefer that history suit their needs, and rewrite it to see that it does. And why shouldn't they? The masses yearn for gods and miracles. It is their opiate, and they consume it greedily. They do not aspire to greatness, but rather mire themselves in their petty strifes—shackles on the feet of man. Their leaders give them no more than that for which they clamor. It is history's oldest and most oft-repeated tale. Do men exploit this weakness to dominate their fellows? Mayhap they do. But they succeed only because the people are eager to know such dominion. Gods are only illusions born of man's fear. It is they who see this charade for what it is and join in the pageantry none the less who are to blame.
Ramza: And you? You did not conquer your fear. You turned to the auracite to find your miracle.
Wiegraf: It is because I am weak, because I fear, that I turn to the gods. And in doing so, I learned that there are no gods! In their place, those you name demons heeded my call! Human and imperfect though I remain, I now possess might enough to reshape the world. What of you, Ramza? Can you claim to be free of weakness and fear?
Ramza: No, but I endeavor to be so!
Wiegraf: No amount of endeavoring will grant you true power. Or do you presume your Beoulve blood allows you to conquer your failings? No matter. We shall soon see who is the weak and who is the strong!
(When Wiegraf is critical.)
Wiegraf: You are...stronger than I had thought...
Ramza: You cannot run, Wiegraf!
Ramza: Show yourself!
Wiegraf: Why would I run? I command power absolute!
Belias, the Gigas: I am your doom.
Belias, the Gigas: You fight alone no more? Then nor shall I. In fellowship as well does power lie.
Belias, the Gigas: Whose might is greater, now we shall decide!
(On one of Ramza's turns during the battle.)
Ramza: Wiegraf! What revolution do you now seek with this dark power?
Belias, the Gigas: What revolution seek we now, you ask?
Ramza: Before, you fought alongside your sister and comrades to bring a new order to the kingdom. But just now, you declared your intent to see the world reborn... And you suggested that it was the will of the Stone! What exactly does it bid you do?
Belias, the Gigas: To shatter bonds and liberate, my aim. To those oppressed unjustly, freedom shall I grnat. This gift, their justice overdue!
(Upon Agrias' following turn, if she is present.)
Agrias: Wiegraf! How do you mean to achieve this—to grant freedom to the masses?
Belias, the Gigas: With pow'r, upon downtrodden souls conferred! For all in equal measure, pow'r bestowed!
Agrias: What? But how?
Belias, the Gigas: Whence comes my power, daughter of House Oaks? The Stone, of course! My fervent-most desire it answered, and thus granted might untold!
Ramza: You would hand out auracite to the destitute and downtrodden? That's absurd! The Zodiac Braves numbered twelve, and each possessed but a single stone! Even were you to obtain them all, it's impossible to do as you claim. Unless...
Belias, the Gigas: Now few, the auracite, this much is true. Yet what we lack, we need but form ourselves!
Ramza: So this is the revolution the Stone desires... But it will not come to pass! I will not allow it!
(After Belias is defeated.)
Belias, the Gigas: Is this what it amounts to? My most fervent desire... Where did I err? What should I have done? What could I have done? Milleuda... Forgive me... (screams)
Alma: (screams)
Ramza: Alma!
Tragedy's Mark[]
Isilud: Ungh...ahhh...
Alma: Hold on...
Isilud: My...my sword. Where is...my sword? I must stop him. Stop it... Won't you fetch...a taper, to kindle some light? It is so dark here...
Alma: It's all right. You needn't fight any longer. Rest.
Isilud: Alma, you are unharmed. I am glad... Your brother...tell him for me. The auracite...a foul work. Evil...My father—nay, that was no longer...my father. Transformed by the...auracite. One of the Lucavi... Ungh...
Alma: Please, you must save your strength.
Isilud: Ramza was right... It must be stopped. It could destroy...all of Ivalice. Such power... You must tell them. Tell them all. They must cease their fighting. Together they must face a...greater threat. Where is my sword? My arm does not heed me...
Alma: Be still now. I saw its body in the hall. My brother slew it. It is done.
Isilud: It is dead? Slain? Then I might rest... In my doublet. There is a Stone. You must give it to your...your brother for me.
Alma: I will.
Isilud: Thank you. My eyes are weary...heavy with sleep. Let me rest them for...for a little while...
Folmarv: Whose voice is that?
Folmarv: Ah, so here you are. I shall speed you to join the others.
Folmarv: You needn't fear. Your death shall be quick.
Folmarv: Can it be? Wiegraf is felled? Your brother is ill luck for us.
Folmarv: Now, hold still.
Alma: (screams)
Folmarv: What's this? Virgo stirs. You? Could it really be?
Folmarv: Ahahaha! Mayhap our luck turns! I should not have thought to find our quarry here! I had feared we might search another century or more and still not find you!
Alma: What are you talking about? Release me!
Folmarv: Do not worry, your life is safe. Now, come!
The Marquis Strikes[]
(Upon entering Riovanes Castle Roof.)
On-screen: Riovanes Castle Roof
Grand Duke Barrington: After all I've done for you, you now repay me with betrayal? You owe me your life, you ungrateful wretch! You would not stand here today were it not for me! Did you prefer digging through sordid heaps of rubble? Or have you already forgotten that?
Rapha: And of whose making was that rubble? That hellscape? It was you burnt our village! You, who murdered my mother and father and everybody else! It is not with betrayal I repay your deeds! It is with vengeance!
Grand Duke Barrington: Vengeance? You truly believe that you are capable of exacting vengeance on me? I am your father, Rapha—the man who raised you from a girl! You cannot kill your own father. Though you are welcome to try!
Grand Duke Barrington: Hahaha... You cannot do it. Do you know why? The flesh remembers, Rapha. It remembers fear, cold and trembling. Now cast away that sword and return to my side, where you belong.
Marach: It's true, isn't it?
Marach: You meant the words you spoke just now!
Grand Duke Barrington: Marach, my son... You, too, would turn on your father? You truly are an ungrateful lot.
Rapha: I'll kill him!
Marach: Rapha, no!
Rapha: Marach! Speak to me, Marach! Open your eyes!
Ramza: Rapha! Marach!?
Grand Duke Barrington: You must be Ramza. I thought you'd be dead by now. Move no further! As for you, Rapha, if you wish to help your brother, bring me the Stones he carries. They should be on his person. Check his robes.
Grand Duke Barrington: Very good. Bring them to me! Quickly now! I grow impatient!
Grand Duke Barrington: Urg! Who...who are you!? (screams)
Elmdore: I wonder if you would not relinquish the Stones to me instead.
Ramza: Marquis Elmdore? What are you doing here?
Elmdore: No, dear. This is not a game of hide-the-Stones. Bring them here.
Ramza: Guard yourself, Rapha! They are not human!
Elmdore: Ah, the Beoulve boy, Ramza. But no, I am not the marquis Messam Elmdore. Leastwise, I am not any longer. I suppose I owe you my thanks. Forgive me for not expressing my gratitude sooner. I would have you know that I am not a violent man like Folmarv. Will you not yield the Stones of your own accord? I do so hate to see blood spilt needlessly. Spare me the struggle, and I shall be glad to ask Folmarv to return your young sister.
Ramza: What have you done with her!?
Elmdore: Nothing just yet. But if you would have her back, then hand me the Stones.
Ramza: No, Rapha. They must not go to him.
Elmdore: An adoring brother you must be, to trade your sister for stones! You Beoulves are nothing if not dutiful. Now, there are times when one must be ruthless. But I fear you will regret this decision.
Ramza: ...
Elmdore: I daresay your victories over Cardinal Delacroix and Wiegraf have left you brimming with confidence. Why negotiate when you can simply strike us down. That is your thinking, is it not? Very well. Loath though I am to harm you needlessly, you leave me no choice. Celia, Lettie! A hand, if you'd be so kind.
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Marquis Elmdore. You were a hero of the Fifty Years' War, a man hailed by allies as the Silver Prince even as he was feared by foes as the Silver Demon. And after the conflict, not only did you devote yourself to rebuilding the kingdom, you advocated for our returning soldiers to receive due recompense. It saddens me to think that such an honorable soul has fallen for the lure of power, like Wiegraf and the cardinal before you.
Elmdore: I'll not deny it. Even should it earn me scorn. Such was my despair that, when the end came, I could not help but yearn for power.
Ramza: Despair? At what?
Elmdore: The injustice of war. I've been made to feel it keenly, through both the Fifty Years' War and that which the two lions now wage. In the name of the Crown, I have led soldiers into full many battles. Yet even when I seized victory, I knew naught but emptiness in my heart. As blood ran, rivers and fields lay strewn with corpses, ever did I wonder—could we not have set our blades aside?
(When one of Elmdore, Celia, or Lettie is KO'd.)
Elmdore: That's enough amusement for one night. Celia! Lettie! We take our leave. If you wish to claim the auracite I hold, you had best make your way to Limberry. I shall await your coming there with bated breath.
Rapha: Marach...
A Different Power[]
Rapha: Look, Marach! A new dawn is risen! Can...can you see it? So often we sat together talking, waiting for the coming of first light. We'd share fond memories of the past...and our dreams of the future. We decided that when the war ended, we would go back and visit our village. You remember, Marach, don't you? Tell me you do, please! Tell me you'll still go! Please, open your eyes! I beg you! I beg you...
Ramza: Wait for me, Alma.
Rapha: What's this?
Ramza: Scorpio... Does it resonate with her heart? Wiegraf's heart was full of despair and rage...and those feelings twisted him into a Lucavi! Could Rapha's grief for Marach also cause her to transform!?
Rapha: You grieve for him as well? Thank you.
Ramza: No, Rapha! The Stone is dangerous! You must cast it away!
Ramza: What!?
Marach: Uh...uhn...
Rapha: Marach!
Marach: Rapha...? Wh-what happened? Why...why am I here?
Rapha: (crying) Oh, Marach! Thank the gods, you're alive!
Marach: Ow! Do you mean to suffocate me? Ha ha ha...
A Pure Heart[]
Marach (narration):
Ramza: Another Zodiac Stone? But why would it be here?
Ramza (narration):
Marach (narration):
Ramza: I shall save you, Alma. Come what may.
On-screen:
Frustration with the stalemate growing, the Order of the Northern Sky recalled its full force from the war's now expansive front. They marched on Fort Besselat, with plans to turn the tide of the war. The final battle was close at hand.
Chapter 4: In the Name of Love[]
In the Shadows[]
Marach: I have never seen such slaughter. There are corpses at every turn. What in the world happened here?
Rapha: That your sister isn't here might be considered a blessing.
Ramza: Indeed. This is truly dreadful...
Marach: They had her in the castle, I'm sure of it. They must have taken her elsewhere during the fighting. Three men from the templarate arrived not long before you. Two of them are accounted for, correct?
Ramza: Yes. One was Wiegraf, whom the auracite had transformed into a Lucavi. I saw him die. Then there was the young knight, Isilud. He appears to have died fighting whatever wrought this carnage. Alma must've been taken by the third, whoever he is...
Marach: You said that these men act under direct order of High Confessor Marcel himself. If so, this abductor surely means to return with your sister to Mullonde, the seat of the Church's power.
Ramza: I wonder. I do not think their high confessor knows the true power of the Stones. Consider this: Wiegraf did not know their secret until he struck his bargain with the Lucavi at death's door. And by the look of things, Isilud died fighting the Lucavi.
Marach: What do you mean?
Ramza: By inciting this war, and utilizing the legend of the Zodiac Braves, the Church can sway the people and broaden its influence. This may well be the high confessor's grand design. But I sense the Knights Templar and Marquis Elmdore seek the Stones for their own ends.
Marach: So there are others who exploit the high confessor's ambition?
Rapha: Marquis Elmdore mentioned a man, Folmarv. Might he be the one who took your sister?
Marach: Folmarv? That is the name of the commander of the Knights Templar. He is the high confessor's right hand, and an ambitious man. Like we have, he sullies his own hands that his master's may remain clean.
Ramza: He is the key.
Marach: What will you do?
Ramza: Whatever their reasons for abducting Alma, she must be worth more to them alive than dead. I travel to Zeltennia. There, I will seek out Count Orlandeau, whom my lord father considered a friend. Once he has read the Scriptures of Germonique, I am hopeful that he will lend his aid in exposing the Church's plot. And...I will also seek out Delita. He may well know something.
Marach: You speak of Delita Heiral? He succeeded Baron Grimms in leading the Blackram Knights, did he not? Even allowing for the war, his rise through the ranks has been so expeditious as to invite suspicion.
Ramza: I suspect that the Church and the Knights Templar manipulate Delita from behind the scenes. If I were to guess, they use him as a figure to garner public favor, that they might expand their military influence. Yet how privy he is to their plot—whether he knows aught of Elmdore or Folmarv—I cannot say...
On-screen: CHAPTER 4 IN THE NAME OF LOVE
Keeper of the Stone[]
On-screen: Zeltennia Castle
Orran: Welcome home, my lord.
Orlandeau: Yes...home. You are well?
Orran: I am, thank you. What news of the war?
Orlandeau: None good, as you know well enough. The war with Ordallia has nigh bled us dry, and now we are poised to finish the job ourselves. Conviction founders. Supplies fail to arrive and desertion is rife. War is a dirty enough affair when you know who your enemies are, but this... (sighs) It's no way to fight. I fear I no longer inspire the solidarity I once did. Would that my good name were our only casualty.
Orran: I should think Duke Goltanna's name in greater peril. They say his other lords bannermen remain here only because you do.
Orlandeau: Leave such foolish talk to fools. When a member of House Orlandeau pledges his lord fealty, he honors that oath, though it cost him his life. While you have been adopted by House Durai, you are still my son. I expect you to uphold the values of our line.
Orran: I'm sorry. I spoke overmuch.
Orlandeau: Words are wind. Now, this errand I set you to. I would hear of it.
Orran: The reports are true, my lord. One crystal was discovered beneath Goug by the machinist and his son. Another was found by the late cardinal in the ruins at Zelmonia. Both are indeed auracite, by all accounts. They are presently in the care of our young noble friend, but not for long should the Knights Templar have their way.
Orlandeau: Barbaneth's son... Branded heretic to ease his capture, I do not doubt. Do our ears in Mullonde hear nothing?
Orran: They hear, perhaps, but have fallen silent. If only we had some evidence of the high confessor's plot, we might put an end to his machinations in this war.
Orlandeau: This shall not long remain hidden from their gaze. And then the storm will be upon us. For the Thunder God, it may be his last.
Disputed Territory[]
(Upon entering Dugeura Pass.)
On-screen: Dugeura Pass
Southern Sky Guardsman: What have we here? Northern Sky scouts? Your luck is ill. So long as the Southern Sky holds this pass, you will go no further.
Seeds of Doubt[]
(Upon entering The Free City of Bervenia.)
On-screen: Bervenia
Meliadoul: The heretic Ramza Beoulve! So yours was the band that came through Dugeura Pass! I am Meliadoul Tengille of the Knights Templar. I will have vengeance for my brother!
Ramza: Tengille? Then your brother...
Knight Templar: Isilud was heir to our house, and I loved him since first I beheld him in his crib! But you butchered him, like you did the others at Riovanes! To commit such savagery, you are more demon than man! By order of His Holiness, I will grant you a death befitting a heretic. For you, Ramza Beoulve, there is no forgiveness!
(Upon Ramza's second turn.)
Ramza: Wait, Meliadoul! I am not your brother's killer! Had you seen what happened at Riovanes, you would understand. No mortal hands could have carried out such slaughter. The one responsible was twisted by the power of the auracite into a Lucavi!
Meliadoul: A Lucavi? So demons of eld walk among us, killing for their own delight? A splendid tale! But a lie less fanciful might better persuade.
Ramza: It is no lie. They keep the truth from you as they did your brother. Even the high confessor is but a puppet, dancing on strings he cannot see. The Zodiac Stones are much more than holy crystals to be revered. They hold real power—the power to work wonders. That power manifests the heart's innermost desire, and in itself it is neither good nor evil. Yet there are those who seek to use the Stones to evil ends. These are the masters you unknowingly serve! Listen to me, Meliadoul! Your commander Folmarv has been deceiving you!
Meliadoul: Do you think to convince me with this prattle? You are a fool indeed! Lord Folmarv is my father! And I will believe his words over your slander, heretic!
Ramza: Y our father!?
(Upon Meliadoul's next turn.)
Meliadoul: My brother fought to save this blighted land. I share that dream. And extreme though our methods may seem, it is the only way to deliver salvation to the people of this realm! Even you must realize that revolution must happen now! With each wasted moment, the land sinks further into a mire of misery and death! Revolution exacts a price, but what price too high to see Ivalice born anew? Every birth must be baptized in blood. And to quail before that blood, leaving others to dirty their hands in one's stead, is weak and vile! For the sake of the realm, I would fain stain my hands crimson a thousand times over!
Ramza: Please believe me! I am not your enemy! There are others you ought to be fighting. The Zodiac Stones harbor a terrible power—power that allows the darkness in one's heart to spawn the Lucavi. The man who was your father is gone, replaced by a demon in body and mind! The Lucavi are as real as you or I! 'Tis they who are the true foe!
Meliadoul: Still you persist, heretic! Do you not tire of your own lies!? How pitiful that a son of the great House Beoulve should so seek to blame others for his sins! It is not enough that you failed to realize your own destiny—you would drag the name of your house through the mud as well! If you've any honor still, you will submit to your punishment and beg Lord Barbaneth's forgiveness in the hereafter!
Ramza: My lord father would find no fault with my deeds! I would hope that he watches me from above with pride! Rather than concern yourself with him, you would do well to look closer at your own sire, who succumbed to the auracite's allure!
(When Meliadoul is critical.)
Meliadoul: You fight well. Small wonder Wiegraf fell to you. Hear me, heretic. When next we meet, your blood will soak the earth!
A Natural Barrier[]
(Upon entering Finnath Creek.)
On-screen: Finnath Creek
Ramza: These waters look to be a formidable natural defense. Let us watch our footing.
Delita's Will[]
(Upon entering Zeltennia Castle.)
Delita: A heretic at prayer in a church. Passing bold, Ramza.
Ramza: Delita. I'm glad to see you well. As you say, I am a wanted man, so I shall ask it plain. Why has the high confessor planted you amongst Goltanna's men?
Delita: You took the risk to come to Zeltennia simply to ask me that?
Delita: Very well, I see no harm in telling you of my mission. The Black Lion, Duke Goltanna, and his foremost commander, Count Orlandeau—I am to assassinate them.
Ramza: What?
Delita: Keep your voice down. Now, listen well. Groups such as the Corpse Brigade, ill-contented with the Crown and the nobility, are in no short supply. The Church merely fans rebellion's flame. The people tire of war, and their disdain for the Crown waxes with each passing day. Of course, Goltanna and Larg want to put down the rebellions at home, only they lack the troops to do so. To break the impasse, they seek to bring an end to the conflict once and for all.
Ramza: Then the Church was behind these months of unrest. And even as we speak, the armies of both Lions amass at Besselat... All proceeds precisely as you and yours have planned.
Delita: Yes, and it will not end as either Lion hopes. Larg and Goltanna will meet their deaths once battle has begun. Yet cut off one head, and two more spring forth, so naturally their closest allies must die with them. Of the Southern Sky, Count Orlandeau... And of the Northern, Lord Zalbaag, and Larg's right hand, Count Dycedarg. Your brothers. With the leaders of each army gone, the fighting will cease, and those who remain will have no choice but to embrace the peace we offer.
Ramza: A peace? Or surrender on the Church's terms?
Delita: The people will proffer the the Church the role of mediator with hands upraised, as will all the battle-weary soldiers. Moreover, the Church will have the Zodiac Braves. Formed anew, they will serve as the high confessor's loyal swords, a legend reborn to captivate the masses.
Ramza: The Zodiac Braves reborn...
Delita: Of course, one thing yet stands between the Church and the auracite. The heretic. Ramza Beoulve.
Ramza: Is that it? You've come to fetch the Stones? How much do you know of their secret?
Delita: Hmph, I've no interest in dusty old relics. There are any number of ways to capture the hearts of the people. Besides, I am no hound heeling at the Church's skirts. I answer to no one but myself.
Ramza: Meaning what?
Delita: Meaning I would not think twice of killing you, Ramza, should the hour come.
Delita: But not this day. Though our methods be different, our goals are not. As long as they remain so, you are no enemy of mine.
Ramza: Delita. You could come with me.
Delita: I cannot join you. She needs me—far too much to leave her now.
Ramza: Ovelia?
Delita: One army has crowned a king, and the other a queen. But only one will rule—the one who outlives the other. The Church itself favors neither, for what it desires is a pliant puppet whose strings the high confessor will hold. And happily for them, both Orinus and Ovelia are well suited to the role. It matters not who prevails.
Ramza: And you? Do you not use Ovelia to fullfill your own ambitions?
Delita: User her? That I cannot say. But of one thing, I am certain.
Ramza: And that is?
Delita: To save her life, I would gladly give my own.
Ramza: Delita...
Delita: You must think this strange.
Ramza: No. I understand only too well.
Familiar Voice: I address the heretic, Ramza Beoulve! You are beseiged! You will surrender yourself up to us at once!
Ramza: I know that voice. Confessor Zalmour!
Death of a Confessor[]
On-screen: Outlying Church
Confessor Zalmour: You! You are Delita Heiral of the Blackram Knights! What are you doing in the presence of a known heretic!?
Delita: He has seen me. He must not live to tell of it. In this at least, Ramza, it seems we must fight side by side!
Ramza: Wait, Delita! They are no more than pawns in this game. They know nothing of the plot or the secret of the auracite. They simply carry out their orders. If we explain what has happened, they may well listen. We might avoid needless bloodshed.
Delita: Hear your words, Ramza! These men shut their eyes to the injustice in the world, and kill merely to preserve the Church's value. Reasoning with their ilk is futile, even you must see this. But very well. If you wish to throw yourself upon their mercy, I shall not stop you!
(Upon Zalmour's first turn.)
Confessor Zalmour: Commander Heiral! You realize what it is you do? This man is a notorious heretic, marked to be punished for his heinous deeds against the Church! That you should abet this evildoer is utterly indefensible! You will most assuredly share his fate!
Delita: My choice is made. If it means I must slay each and every one, so be it!
Confessor Zalmour: You should tremble with fear to mock the Heavens so! To slay a man of the cloth is to wound this fair land's peace and turn your back on the natural order the Father has bestowed on us!
Delita: Wound the peace? Surely you jest. You hide behind this peace only as it suits you! You invoke the name of the Father to subjugate the weak. This peace you hail is a vile farce! Men such as you profane the gods to speak their names!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: Hear me, Confessor! You are being kept in the dark! If you would but listen, I will lay bare to you the evil conspiracy that threatens us all!
Confessor Zalmour: Conspiracy, you say? I take this to mean you would contest your charges—for all the good it does you now. Our Holy Office offered you a forum in which to clear your name, to absolve yourself of the charges of murder and auracite theft. But you discarded this chance like so much night soil. You fled, and in so doing proved your guilt! You have been tried and found guilty! Your only absolution now is in death! The hour of your plea comes too late!
Ramza: Then you force my hand!
(Upon Agrias' next turn, if she is present.)
Agrias: Delita—why do you fight? Why walk this path of subterfuge and conflict?
Delita: Hmph, you speak as if your own hands were not stained with blood. Like me, you cut down those who bar your way. We are of a kind, you and I.
Agrias: There is point it goes beyond necessity.
Delita: Still you do not understand, Agrias. The few that hoard power use it to trample the masses. I seek only to break this wheel of oppression.
Agrias: If you fight for justice, then surely the how of it matters. Surely there is a better way.
Delita: Justice? Such is naught but a delusion. Reality is cruel, as your own struggles ought to have taught you. Ideals alone will not bring about change. If we desire revolution, we must seize power and not fear to wield it!
(Upon Delita's next turn, if Agrias is present.)
Delita: Come now, Agrias, you need not shy from the question you truly wish to ask me.
Agrias: Lady Ovelia... She is safe?
Delita: You long to see her. 'Tis plain you'd rather be at her side than Ramza's. Alas, you have been branded heretics, wanted for the murder of Cardinal Delacroix, amongst a host of other charges. Such as you have no place with the future ruler of the kingdom. And thus did you choose your course. If the Church pulls the strings of this war, by exposing its deception would you best serve your princess.
Agrias: Answer my question!
Delita: As I already told Ramza, you needn't worry about her. She is safe even without you. She is aware of her role as Duke Goltanna's rallying banner, and duteously fulfills it. This she does not only for the kingdom, but for herself. She has made her peace with her part. Besides...she has may. You may not trust me, but you can at least trust she who does.
Agrias: I struggle to imagine my lady would place her faith in your life. But if Ramza trusts you, then so shall I.
(Upon Mustadio's next turn, if he is present.)
Mustadio: So that man is your childhood friend Delita. But now he is party to the Church's plot...
Ramza: I do not blame you for harboring misgivngs. 'Tis true Delita acts under orders of the Church. Yet know that he has objectives all his own, to which end he exploits his masters. He is no danger to us, of this I am certain. Even now he sides with us in battle, does he not?
Mustadio: I fear I cannot trust him as you do. But if truth be told, any danger he poses is not my chief concern. Should it come to it, it's a simple matter of beating him black and blue.
Ramza: Then what is your concern?
Mustadio: Your feelings, Ramza. I worry that his betrayal would cut you to the quick. Now, I do not think you weak... But betrayal wounds deepest when it comes from those you trust most. And I've no wish to see you hurt.
Ramza: Thank you, Mustadio, but you needn't fear. He will not betray us.
Delita: What maudlin drivel is this? And to spout it in the midst of battle, no less! Still, your friend has the right of it, Ramza. You should expect betrayal from me. Should I deem you no longer useful, I will hand you over either to the Church or one of the Lions! So if you wish to stay alive, you will continue to be useful to me. Do I make myself clear?
(After Zalmour is KO'd.)
Confessor Zalmour: How...how can this be? Great Father, strike down these sinners, that they...may feel Your wrath...
Gears in Motion[]
Delita: Where will you go now, Ramza?
Ramza: Two errands brought me to Zeltennia. The first was to meet with you. The second is to speak with Count Orlandeau.
Delita: The Thunder God... For what purpose?
Ramza: I mean to enlist his aid in exposing the Church's intrigues.
Delita: How?
Ramza: I have powerful evidence of the Church's misdeeds—of the truth they have long kept secret.
Delita: Hmm. The Scriptures of Germonique.
Ramza: I spoke with the count's adopted son, Orran, not long past. He pledged their aid should I bring hard proof against the Church. Orran was certain that his father, at least, would withdraw his troops and play no further part in the conflict.
Delita: Is that so?
Delita: It's all right. She's with me. Mullonde has provided several others to help me carry out my task. She is but one.
Valmafra: Help you? I was sent to keep watch on you.
Delita: And a fine job you're doing of it. She knows everything. My plans, all of it. Like me, she works for the Church, but shares not the fanatical fervor of the Knights Templar. And like you, she longs to restore peace to Ivalice, even should your paths differ. Anything you can say to me, you can say to her.
Valmafra: You're the youngest son of House Beoulve, Ramza, am I right? Childhood friend to Delita and nefarious heretic. My name is Valmafra Lenande. A pleasure.
Delita: I take it you did not come for idle chat?
Valmafra: I've received word. The Northern Order moves.
Delita: They make for Besselat?
Valmafra: Count Orlandeau himself has departed for the same only just now. As anticipated, Duke Goltanna will also strike forther—and with your Blackram Knights, no less.
Delita: I'm afraid it's too late, Ramza. We cannot stop the two armies from joining battle now.
Ramza: No, I won't give up yet. I can still convince the count to avoid this needless bloodshed.
Delita: I might have known you'd say that. Then our paths part once again.
Ramza: Be safe, Delita.
Delita: And you, Ramza.
Valmafra: You mean to let him go?
Delita: He acts as I expected he would.
Valmafra: Even your friends are only pieces to be played.
Delita: Mind your words! You know not what you say.
Valmafra: Such outbursts ill become you.
Delita: Haven't you somewhere else to be?
Poison on Desert Winds[]
(Upon entering Beddha Sandwaste.)
On-screen: Beddha Sandwaste
Barich: That's the last of it. The winds bear it onward now. And fair winds they are. They should keep it airborne for a half-day if they hold—more than time enough.
Barich: Ah... Now there is a creature I had not thought to find in these wastes!
Ramza: One might say the same of a Knight Templar so far form the Church. What is it you scatter to the wind?
Barich: Oh, that? I suppose there's no harm in your knowing. There's naught you can do to stop it now.
Ramza: Stop what!?
Barich: This.
Ramza: (gasps)
Ramza: Poison!
Barich: Indeed. Though it is something of an acquired taste. We cast this fine powder upon the winds toward the Northern Sky. The toxin will not kill the men who breathe it—but it will strike them ill, rendering them unable to fight.
Ramza: But why? Surely the Church does not intend to hand victory to Goltanna!
Barich: Very clever. I'd expect no less of a Beoulve. The moment Goltanna hears of the Northern Order's plight, he will send his armies against them. With his own stronghold unguarded, Goltanna will be an easy target for assassination, and Count Orlandeau with him. But do not think Duke Larg will escape this scourge. He too will die. So you see, we really have thought of everything.
Ramza: Your methods are inhuman!
Barich: Oh, you should rejoice! This will mean an end to war and bloodshed. And with that end, a new beginning. The Church's hand shall rule. Such is the will of the people. They clamor for change—an end to groveling at highborn heels.
Ramza: The Church is a covetous, would-be usurper, nothing more! Rather than seek to elevate the people, you manipulate their hopes and fears in order to seize power! The war will end, but not like this. There is another way!
Barich: Mayhap, but you shall have to best me first. Let us see how your strength holds!
(Upon Barich's second turn.)
Barich: Once you've put a stop to this fighting, what then? How do you propose to purge Ivalice of her corruption? To answer the cries of her downtrodden populace? Her fever will not cease to rage till her festered limbs are cut and seared! Even you must see that!
Ramza: You would cut away the pure flesh with the foul. What good can come of such wanton butchery? No, this is sophistry sun by the very perpetrators of this war, and I will not be swayed by it! There are ways to heal a festered wound without the knife. The poison can be drawn!
Barich: Pray tell what poultice might draw the nobles from this land! So long as you blight it with your existence, we must bow to your whims. Such is the way of the world, the foundation upon which men build their kingdoms. Should even two men exist, they can never know equality. That one may rule, the other must obey. That one may profit, the other must toil. Ever will one seek to exploit the other, and I will not be exploited! I will claim your seat, and take what is my due.
Ramza: You think to cure the realm's corruption by becoming part of it? There is no difference between you and those you would depose. What when another comes to claim your seat? You care not for Ivalice's suffering—you care only for your own!
Barich: Such righteous words! A pity they only add to your hypocrisy!
(When Barich is KO'd.)
Barich: Not now... Not when we're so close...
Ramza: We must find Count Orlandeau!
Thunder God in Chains[]
Orlandeau: Me, plotting against the duke? Are you mad?
Southern Sky Knight: Please, my lord. Do not make this harder than it must be. We have our orders.
Orlandeau: Why in the name of all that's good would I wish to unseat my liege lord?
Duke Goltanna: You ask the very question that vexes me. I am gravely disappointed in you, Cid. I had thought you a friend.
Orlanedau: Surely you cannot mean that, Your Grace. The gods as my witness, I am no turncloak! I am your most loyal man!
Orlandeau: My conscience is clean. What lying blackguard would besmirch my name?
Duke Goltanna: (sighs) Even yet you deny it? Your betrayal is as cold steel through my heart. You have conspired with rogue elements within the Church to see me overthrown. My information comes from the high confessor himself. You can imagine his distress upon learning of the plot.
Orlandeau: Your Grace, the high confessor deceives you. It is he who schemes in the shadows.
Duke Goltanna: Now there is an august claim! Have you any evidence of this?
Orlandeau: My son Orran is close to obtaining proof, yet even without it, the plot is as clear as day! It is by the Church's design that you are at war with Duke Larg, that they may seize control of the kingdom in the aftermath!
Duke Goltanna: Hah, never have I heard such nonsense! Pray tell, when did you shed your pride and don the fool's motley in its stead?
Orlandeau: Twenty and more years of loyal service, and still I have not earned your trust? Words fail me, Your Grace.
Duke Goltanna: As you fail me. I cannot hope to fight a war without your Order's forces. Still, it seems I am left no choice but to deny you your freedom. A lamentable situation for us both. Take him from my sight!
Orlandeau: (sighs)
Delita: You summoned me, Your Grace?
Duke Goltanna: I want you to maintain your contact with Mullonde. A gaggle of cretinous sycophants they may be, but I cannot do without the cooperation of the upper clergy. Once the Confessional decree is in my hands, Larg is as good as defeated.
Delita: Fear not, Your Grace. The high confessor's mind is most firm on that account.
Duke Goltanna: Excellent. You have performed most admirably. There is another matter. I am placing the Order of the Southern Sky under your leadership. Henceforth, you are a Knight Devout. For now this is a provisional appointment, but it shall be made permanent pending the battle's outcome.
Delita: You grant me honor far beyond my due.
Duke Goltanna: I expect I shall not regret it. I place my full and utter confidence in you, Commander Heiral—you, and you alone.
Delita: Your Grace.
Rising Tensions[]
(Upon entering Fort Besselat.)
- (Upon entering through Fort Besselat - South Wall.)
On-screen: Fort Besselat South Wall
Southern Sky Knight: Who are you? How did you breach the fortress?
Ramza: We come under a white banner with a matter of the utmost urgency! We must meet with Count Orlandeau at once!
Southern Sky Knight: So, the count has visitors. I wager you're the rabble he found to assassinate the duke. Hahaha... You fools! We hold Orlandeau in a cell behind these very walls! Not to worry. There's room enough in the dungeons for you and the count both! - (Upon entering through Fort Besselat - North Wall.)
(After all enemies are defeated, regardless of which path was chosen.)
Ramza: Count Orlandeau, plot against his lord? No, the Church must be behind this... The situation grows more dire. We must act quickly if we are to stop this battle.
Duke Larg's Assassination[]
Zalbaag: What's happened here?
Zalbaag: You are unwell. What's wrong?
Northern Sky Knight: My chest...I cannot...breathe...
Zalbaag: Be strong! Gods preserve, what ill magick is this?
Dycedarg: They have befouled the air. A poison extracted from mossfungus spores.
Zalbaag: Lord Brother!
Dycedarg: I will be well. The antidote...wards off the worst. I worry only for the duke. Where is he?
Zalbaag: Would that I knew. My search has yielded naught.
Duke Larg: I...I am here...
Zalbaag: Your Grace, are you harmed?
Zalbaag: Someone! Summon an apothecary at once!
Dycedarg: How do you feel, Your Grace?
Duke Larg: Every breath...is like choking on water... And my head...it is as though it were split in twain. But the symptoms seem to subside. I just need...some time.
Dycedarg: I see. Unfortunately, time is one thing you do not have.
Duke Larg: What?
Duke Larg: Urgh...What are you..?
Zalbaag: Dycedarg!?
Dycedarg: Be silent, Brother!
Duke Larg: You've betrayed me? You killed your father to...to gain control of your house. And now you have killed me.
Zalbaag: Is this poison your work as well?
Dycedarg: No...No. It is a gift of those who would see House Beoulve take center stage.
Zalbaag: Why do this?
Dycedarg: Duke Larg was slain in battle. It is now left to House Beoulve to carry out his wishes.
Zalbaag: This—you go too far.
Dycedarg: This dagger. Place it among the corpses. They were assassins. Sent by Goltanna. You understand me...yes? The die is cast...
Zalbaag: Lord Brother!
Opening the Floodgates[]
(Upon entering Fort Besselat Sluice.)
On-screen: Fort Besselat Sluice
Ramza: Of course! The sluice! With the sluice open, the lake's waters will flood everything downstream. Battle will be impossible.
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: How are we to see the sluice opened? Ah, I see. We've only to pull the two levers located at either end of the gate. This will be no simple feat, though... Our foes will stop at nothing to protect the devices. We must act with the utmost caution.
(After the battle ends.)
Ramza: Right, all that remains is to open the sluice gates, and the battlefield will be flooded.
Freeing the Count[]
Orran: Father! We've come!
Orran: I trust you've been kept well.
Orlandeau: Well enough, as you can see. And this must be Barbaneth's son, Ramza. How you've grown, boy! Still, I recognized you at once.
Ramza: Have we met, my lord?
Orlandeau: Yes, though I can't say I'm surprised you've forgotten. You were only a child of some three or four years at the time. You gave us all quite a fright, trying to lift my sword. Your father gave you a scolding that left you in tears, but at least you weren't hurt. (chuckles) And now here you've come to rescue me. I thank you. There's no need to kneel.
Orran: The battle is ended, with only light casualties on either side. This, too, thanks to the help of Ramza. We've managed to hold the fires of war at bay, for a time.
Orlandeau: I see. You are a worthy son of Barbaneth, young Ramza. There are many who owe you their thanks, and I give it now in their stead. And mine with it, to be sure.
Ramza: I do only what must needs be done.
Orlandeau: I see your likeness to Barbaneth is more than skin deep. Your deeds honor him, boy.
Valmafra: Pray forgive the interruption, my lord. Duke Goltanna means to execute you on the morrow. We should flee promptly, while the confusion eases our way.
Orran: It is as she says, my lord. We should continue this elsewhere.
Orlandeau: Yes, yes. It won't do for me to remain here with Goltanna in this ill temper. Orran, I have decided to travel with Ramza. We must expose the Church's deception and put a stop to the high confessor's plot.
Orran: Then I will go with you, my lord!
Orlandeau: No. You will return to Zeltennia and see to the safety of Queen Ovelia. She is the kingdom's rightful ruler, and must be protected at all costs. That solemn duty falls to you.
Orran: I shall guard her with my life.
Orlandeau: Well, Ramza, I trust you've room in your retinue for one more, long in the tooth though I may be.
Ramza: My lord, you appear to me as a warrior in his prime. It would be my honor to fight at your side.
Orlandeau: Then let's away before we're found.
The Black Lion Slain[]
Duke Goltanna: For the sluice to be opened when victory was within my grasp...I suffer a plague of fools!
Delita: You called for me, Your Grace.
Duke Goltanna: Commander Heiral, you are to gather a company of soldiers and move against the Northern Sky at once. If allowed to regroup, they will force another impasse. That is unacceptable. The White Lion must be put down for once and all!
Delita: But, my lord, the water from the sluice severely hinders movement. Even should we assemble a company, we would be hard-pressed to contend with our foe.
Duke Goltanna: What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. This is an opportunity we cannot let pass! What better time to strike than now, when they will not be expecting an attack?
Delita: I'm afraid I must refuse.
Duke Goltanna: What did you say?
Duke Goltanna: Ungh... You...
Delita: No man would wish to see you king!
Delita: Come!
Delita: Know that your death is not in vain.
Glabados Devout: The vanity would be in living, when Saint Ajora calls me to His side.
Valmafra: The real Count Orlandeau has escaped with Ramza. This is as you desired, yes?
Delita: It is. We can but hope that Ramza does not fail us.
Narration:
High Confessor Marcel came forward with his offer to mediate a peace between the camps, but though their leaders had been lost, their capacity to make war had not. The high confessor's offer fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, seeking to end the Church's machinations and rescue his sister, Alma, Ramza and his comrades made for Marquis Elmdore's domain, Limberry...
Flower for a Gil[]
(Upon entering the Trade City of Sal Ghidos.)
Flower Peddler: A flower, ser? It's only a gil.
Ramza: A flower?
Flower Peddler: Yes, a flower—a blossomed bud. You've seen one, I'm sure.
Ramza: Of course I have!
Flower Peddler: Well, then, surely you could spare a gil for one of mine. They're quite pretty.
- (Upon selecting "1. I've no need of flowers.")
- (Upon selecting "2. Very well, I'll have a flower.")
Ramza: Very well, I'll have a flower.
Flower Peddler: Truly? Oh, thank you, kind ser!
Flower Peddler: Few are inclined to stop in this squalid rookery, and even fewer buy. (sighs) It is a harder life than you know. I always dream some charming knight will come galloping through and sweep me away from all this.
Flower Peddler: Beg pardons, ser. I know there's naught that you can do. I thank you again! May that flower bring you good fortune.
Ramza: These times are hard for all.
A Wanted Man[]
(Upon entering Mount Germinas.)
On-screen: Mount Germinas
Highwayman (1): Want to pass, pay the toll. Just tip us yer gil and be on yer way. And those swords won't be helpin' ye here. Unless ye wish to pay the toll in blood.
Highwayman (2): Do you flash that, Cap? This cull's the heretic they're all on about! A bounty on his head so high we're like to need a ladder to reach the top. Why stop with the gelt they have on 'em? Nim the head on his shoulders and we'll have drink and morts enough for months!
Highwayman (1): Hmm... His clock is the one from the bills, and no mistake. I'm not much for head huntin', but gil is gil. Mill 'em, lads!
Ghosts of the Lake[]
(Upon entering Lake Poescas.)
On-screen: Lake Poescas
Ghost of the Lake: What men of flesh and blood dare disturb the slumber of the dead? Men with...auracite!? Felicitous indeed that such a treasure should present itself unto us. We will have it from you! Then at last will our souls ascend to that lofty plane, as yours rot here in their stead!
Dycedarg's Ambition[]
Loffrey: So, you are unwilling to compromise on your position.
Dycedarg: Ivalice's reunification under its rightful king was Duke Larg's ardent wish. We've no intention of laying down arms until the Black Lion's men bend the knee to King Orinus. They will not steer the helm of Ivalice—and nor will the Church. Not so long as this house stands.
Loffrey: Do you not know who made your assassination of Duke Larg possible?
Dycedarg: I mislike the question. Larg was felled by one of Goltanna's assassins. Or do you mean to say that you were the ones who sent him?
Loffrey: That you would dare to make such jests... The Church has fallen far indeed. There is to be no convincing you, then?
Dycedarg: Were it our desire, we could crush the templarate like an overripe grape. Of that I am quite convinced.
Loffrey: Hmm... Tell me, this poison employed at Besselat—do you know what it was?
Dycedarg: I am told it was an extract of mossfungus spores.
Loffrey: An insidious thing, mossfungus. It takes a great quantity to kill a man, but the toxin never leaves the blood. The smallest, most undetectable of doses will prove lethal, if repeated oft enough.
Dycedarg: Hmm...
Loffrey: The person being poisoned is oft unaware, for the symptoms are easy to confuse with those of common afflication. Headaches, chills, joint pain, high fever—such things are observed before the lungs flood, and the stricken struggles for breath. The young and robust may pull through, but the odds favor not the elderly and infirm...
Dycedarg: Hmm...
Loffrey: Your late lord father was taken by malady, was he not?
Dycedarg: What is it that you wish to say?
Loffrey: I'm told you yourself have some knowledge in poisoncraft.
Dycedarg: What of it?
Loffrey: I recently learned an interesting fact. I had wondered if you might be aware of it. When one poisoned by mossfungus is buried, they say toadstools sprout above the grave—because spores remain in the body. For which reason, those killed by mossfungus at Besselat are being cremated as a precaution.
Dycedarg: ...
Loffrey: Heh. Forgive me, I digress. Ah, yes, there was another matter—a gift from High Confessor Marcel.
Dycedarg: A gemstone?
Loffrey: It is a Zodiac Stone—a blessed crystal from Mullonde. The high confessor wished for you to have it. Please accept it as a symbol of the Church's good faith.
The Castle Beckons[]
(Upon entering Limberry Castle Castle Gate.)
On-screen: Limberry Castle Castle Gate
Ramza: Not a soul to be found. Could the castle truly be abandoned?
Ramza: The door stands open...
Ramza: This sinister air...I have felt it before. Yes—the battle with the cardinal, with Wiegraf...
Celia: Welcome to Limberry Castle.
Celia: We'd begun to think you'd never arrive.
Lettie: What a waste that would have been. We've such a warm reception planned.
Lettie: A kiss, to see you to your grave.
Ramza: Do not think me easy prey. Your true nature, I will lay bare!
(When one of the assassins is critical.)
Celia: You are strong indeed... But will it be enough, I wonder. If you are determined to know our true nature, then join us inside. Assuming your courage holds, that is.
Lettie: I do find myself growing fond of you. Rather than foes, mayhap we might be friends? But come, let us continue this within. Do not keep me waiting, now.
Ramza: Do they think this some sort of game!? Damn them!
Earthly Vessels[]
Elmdore: Scarce had Delacroix and Wiegraf awakened than they were felled... 'Tis a passing shame.
Folmarv: Do not worry over it. So long as auracite exists and desire rules men's hearts, more shall awaken.
Elmdore: But not necessarily in the manner we require, as happened with Scorpio.
Folmarv: That may be so with the young heretic and his companions. Despite possessing auracite, they are resistant to the allure. Our Stones, however, shall serve as intended. Even as we speak, one now rests in the hands of its new host. Ere long, he will become one of us. His lust for power guarantees it.
Elmdore: Then all that remains is the revival of the Angel of Blood. Once the creator of the auracite has descended, our ranks will burgeon in this world awash with desire. Do we have a suitable host?
Folmarv: The girl is the chosen. Of this, I am certain. The Virgo Stone, once held by the Savior, made its intentions known to me. Now we need only find the way to the necrohol, where his soul rests, bound to the Angel.
Celia: He is here.
Lettie: We've drawn him into our web. What would you now have us do with him?
Elmdore: Ah, Ramza. How long you kept us waiting. We have a score to settle from Riovanes.
Folmarv: Have care, Elmdore. He is a worthy foe. Underestimate him, and you will fall like the others.
Elmdore: Fear not, this will be all business. I will strike him down and reclaim the Stones. You've matters of far greater import. You must find the gate to the necrohol.
Folmarv: Be at ease. I will not disappoint you.
Elmdore: Well, 'twould not do to keep our guest waiting. Let us be about it.
The Silver Demon[]
(Upon entering Limberry Castle Castle Keep.)
On-screen: Limberry Castle Castle Keep
Elmdore: How good of you to come here, Ramza. In recognition of your courage, I would make you a proposal. If you would but relinquish the auracite you carry, I shall allow you to walk away. There need not be further bloodshed. What say you?
Ramza: You think I would even entertain such a proposal? You mock me! Once I've dealt with you, I will see to Folmarv! Your wicked schemes are at an end!
Elmdore: (chuckles) My, such confidence! You have grown bold indeed. But have you the bite to match your bark? Come, then! Prove your words are not mere bravado. My Stone is yours, if you've the strength to claim it!
(Upon Cidolfus' first turn, if he is present.)
Orlandeau: A dead man stands before me. I'd thought you slain, Marquis.
Elmdore: As I did you, Count Orlandeau. You were supposedly executed soon after you murdered Duke Goltanna.
Orlandeau: 'Tis a tale of the high confessor's spinning...as my lord ought already to be aware.
Elmdore: I see Ramza has told you all. In that case, let us cast aside the pomp and pretense. I must say, Cid, I have longed to cross swords with you. Not in genteel contest, but in true and savage battle.
Orlandeau: A fitting diversion for we who have taken our final bow. I will show you the swordsmanship that has earned me my epithet.
(Upon Cidolfus' following turn, if he is present.)
Orlandeau: That a staunch comrade should turn foeman... Fate is cruel indeed.
Elmdore: Among those who served the Black Lion, none did so with more honor loyalty than you, Cid. You were wasted on our fool of a liege lord. You alone spared a thought for the people.
Orlandeau: The same might be said of you, Messam. I've known you for a good and compassionate man!
Elmdore: Alas, my conviction has changed, together with my mission, and both now conflict with yours. All that I was, I have forsaken.
(After Cidolfus' turn.)
Orlandeau: Is one's conviction so easily abandoned? One's mission so soon replaced? Well, regardless of what it is you now seek, it must not come at the cost of innocent lives!
Elmdore: One cannot change the world with idealisms! Only with power can we assert a new order!
Orlandeau: Order through force? Is that how you envisage peace? If such is your ambition, then mine is to stop you! I shall put an end to your march!
Elmdore: You may certainly try! Let us see if your ideals have any meaning here.
(When Elmdore is defeated.)
Elmdore: You are strong. More than I can overcome. As much as it galls me, there is no denying that...
Elmdore: I await you in the undercroft. There is no more fitting a place for us to settle this.
Ramza: I care not where! You'll not elude me again!
Zalera, the Death Seraph[]
(Upon entering Limberry Castle Undercroft.)
On-screen: Limberry Castle Undercroft
Ramza: Marquis Elmdore. I know not what has befallen you, but it matters no longer. For you are no longer a man. Using the power of the auracite, you are become a Lucavi! I need no other reason to strike you down. Whatever the cost, I will rid the world of your evil!
Elmdore: Hahaha... That too is a desire, no different from that of all men. When your life's flame gutters, do you think you can resist being consumed by it? Every deed left undone, every failure, every regret will give rise to desires that call the Darkness. And when it answers, what would your most fervent desire invoke, I wonder. Mayhap you will experience a miracle akin to that which saw your friend rise again. But in all likelihood, you will become one of us. For there is no man in whom Darkness does not reside. Do you see them? The souls of the tormented. In life, they too bore Darkness in their hearts—and now they serve it.
Elmdore: What say you, Ramza? Will you not join them?
Zalera, the Death Seraph: The Dark within, embrace it now, and thus, here dying, join my legion of undeath!
Meliadoul: The marquis is made a demon! What devilry is this?
(Upon Meliadoul's first turn.)
Meliadoul: The auracite transformed Marquis Elmdore into this abomination?
Ramza: It did. The Stones harbor great magicks, and they have the ability to manifest one's deepest desire. Well and good if a desire is noble, but those faced with death amidst battle are wont to wish for one thing above all else: power. So it was with Wiegraf. He was ignorant of the auracite's secret until it answered him at death's door. And its Darkness consumed him, turning him into a Lucavi. I can only assume the same fate befell Marquis Elmdore, and Cardinal Delacroix as well. Your brother Isilud learned of this foul truth, and died fighting it!
Meliadoul: That he should have stood against such evil... He was brave indeed... I see now that you speak the truth, Ramza. But there is one thing I would yet know, though I fear to ask. If Wiegraf only learned the truth of the Stones on the brink of death, what of my father? What knowledge has he of this?
Ramza: I...I tried to tell you earlier, but...
Zalera, the Death Seraph: Such irony, that ones born into pow'r should stridently disparage its pursuit! For seeking power, our kind you do condemn. Yet power is that which paves the path to peace. For want of it, our kingdom knew defeat. The vanquisher from vanquished it divides. And from it, order does in turn arise.
Meliadoul: You who wield demonic power would speak of order? Peace that is begotten by such is no peace at all! My brother believed in the cause and served faithfully, but you fiends slaughtered him as if he were less than livestock! The way his body was torn apart... Whatever monstrosity did they deed clearly reveled in the carnage it wrought! Ramza is right. In your pursuit of power, you have been consumed by Darkness and twisted into abominations!
Zalera, the Death Seraph: Ah, Meliadoul, the seed of Folmarv's loins. Alike with sire, passing glib you are. A secret unto you I shall reveal—from where this Stone did come into my hand. Upon me 'twas bestowed by your lord father! And now the name of he who slew your brother... Again, it was Lord Folmarv did the deed! Ahahaha!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Meliadoul: Ramza, forgive me for treating you as a heretic. From the first, you tried to tell me the truth, but I refused to listen. I'm truly sorry.
Ramza: Any would struggle to believe such a far-fetched tale. I might have done the same in your place. So let us leave it in the past, and fight as comrades now. Together, we will avenge Isilud!
(Upon Cidolfus' next turn, if he is present.)
Orlandeau: So this is a Lucavi of legend! I had not wanted to believe such dread creatures were real...
Ramza: Cardinal Delacroix and Wiegraf were among them, and 'twould seem Lord Folmarv as well!
Orlandeau: So this is what becomes of they who succumb to the Zodiac Stones' offer of power... A pitiable fate.
Ramza: Indeed. They are the true enemy, and we must stop them at all costs!
Orlandeau: I see now... It was in order to fight this evil that I survived to join Barbaneth's son!
(Upon Cidolfus' next turn.)
Orlandeau: To behold your grotesque form, none would believe you were ever hailed as the Silver Prince. Far has that hero fallen!
Zalera, the Death Seraph: No longer am I Elmdore, mortal man. As the Death Seraph, power great I wield. Beyond your comprehension lies this pow'r. Alas, for in you lies potential vast—the strength to transcend me and more besides.
Orlandeau: In so befouling your soul for power, what is it that you hope to achieve?
Zalera, the Death Seraph: To cleanse this world corrupt and all remake. The weak—those such as you—must needs be purged!
(After Cidolfus' turn is complete.)
Orlandeau: To thus force change upon the world is madness! The innocent will die, and you'll beget naught but destruction and chaos!
Zalera, the Death Seraph: Hmph. A pretext spun in fear of truth, no more. As feeble mortal, perish here you shall!
Orlandeau: I fight in the name of justice, for good of the people! I will neither yield nor fall to your vile kind!
Zalera, the Death Seraph: Then come, and bring your justice now to bear! Your futile cause, to be revealed as such!
(When Zalera is KO'd.)
Zalera, the Death Seraph: That I, who death had conquered, now should fall... Defeated by a stripling scarcely grown... Full many stricken souls for pow'r still yearn, their mournful cries for succor going unheard... Forgive me, Folmarv... Hope, with you, now rests...
The Enigmatic Lucavi[]
(After the battle ends.)
Meliadoul: My mind reels to think such terrible power lay concealed within this tiny crystal. I was led to believe that the Church sought the Stones solely to bring to life the legend of the Zodiac Braves. Yet the marquis and others used their power to become Lucavi, and they thought it justified... The mere notion fills me with dread. These are not the miracles of legend, but the gravest evil.
Ramza: The truth was kept well guarded, from you and Isilud alike. Even Wiegraf knew naught until he lay near death. Like as not, Lord Folmarv bestows the Stones without revealing their secret. 'Tis only when the bearer has struck a pact and risen as a Lucavi that he brings them into the fold. Which leads me to wonder, how many have thus joined him?
Meliadoul: What is it they seek? That my father seeks?
Ramza: I cannot see their ends. If we are to judge from the massacre at Riovanes, they possess power enough already to drive an army to its knees. Yet still they do not use it, or even flaunt it openly. There must be a reason, and that reason is our answer.
Meliadoul: Surely they stay their hands for something. The tales depict the Lucavi as irrepressibly savage beings, who cannot be felled by men.
Ramza: Indeed, they do not appear to be the undying demons of which the legends speak.
Meliadoul: Legends are but stories, I suppose, embellished with each new telling. After centuries, who is to know how much hsa been changed.
Ramza: Lord Folmarv refrains from using his power to wreak wanton destruction, instead preferring to operate in the shadows towards some unknown goal. And as he succumbed, Marquis Elmdore spoke of salvation for souls who yearn for power. But what salvation could the Lucavi possibly have to offer?
Meliadoul: The selfsame power bestowed by the auracite. To wield which is to become Lucavi. My father entrusted me with this, the Saggitarius Stone. It seems he saw me was a candidate for his demonic horde. To learn how wrong I've been about everything... I feel an utter fool. Ramza, I entrust the auracite to you. I no longer have need of it.
Meliadoul: But in return, I ask a favor. Take me with you. It is my duty to stop my father.
Ramza: Your aid would be most welcome, Meliadoul. Let us journey together.
Meliadoul: Wherever my father may be at present, he will eventually return to our headquarters in Mullonde. That is where we must go. But ere we sort forth, there is something important I must mention. At my father's orders, the Capricorn Stone has been delivered to someone who I can only assume is another candidate... Your brother, Count Dycedarg.
Ramza: What? My brother!?
Delita's Betrayal[]
First Voice: He disappeared!
Second Voice: Search the eastern hall!
Third Voice: He was injured when he sprung his cell! He couldn't have run far!
Ovelia: Orran! What's happened!? You're bleeding!
Orran: Your Majesty...There is something...I must tell you...
Ovelia: You mustn't speak!
Orran: I beg you...hear my words. 'Twas not Count Orlandeau...who murdered Duke Goltanna. The man found dead beside the duke...was an imposter, planted to frame my father. My father had been imprisoned here on charges of treason...but he fled with Ramza Beoulve ere the killing took place. He fights now to frustrate the high confessor's plot.
Ovelia: I did not think the count a man who would plot at rebellion.
First Voice: The door won't open!
Second Voice: Queen Ovelia! Are you safe?
First Voice: Please open the door, Your Majesty!
Ovelia: But if not your father, then who? Why go to such lengths to frame him?
Orran: It...it was...
Southern Sky Knight (1): Your Majesty! Has he harmed you!?
Southern Sky Knight (2): We found him! He's in here!
Delita: Leave us.
Southern Sky Knight (2): My lord?
Delita: Stand up, turn, and walk back through the door!
Southern Sky Knight (2): B-but, Lord Commander—!
Delita: It was not a request.
Southern Sky Knight (2): As you command, my lord.
Ovelia: I beg you, hurt him no further!
Delita: This is a foolish thing you've done, Orran.
Orran: Traitor... You have no right to speak to me.
Delita: You act as though you did not wish for what I did. Look around you. Do you see any earnest tears? You were not alone in praying for the demise of that blustering oaf. Far more rejoice than not, in fact. I even made your father out for dead. You should thank me. No one pursues a man known slain.
Orran: I am in no mood for japes!
Ovelia: Why would you do such a thing, Delita?
Delita: I told you, didn't I? I work to see you made a queen for true.
Ovelia: Naught you do is for true! You wish only to use me like the rest!
Delita: You do not trust me?
Ovelia: ...
Delita: You trust me or you don't, Ovelia. Which is it?
Ovelia: I...I want to trust you. I do. But...it is not such an easy thing.
Delita: Return to your chambers. I would have words with Orran.
Ovelia: Please, do not hurt him.
Delita: I won't. You have my word.
Orran: What I meant to do is done. I only sought to clear my father's name. Go on. Just make it quick.
Delita: Stop your whimpering. I do not mean to kill you. That would be a waste.
Orran: What use could you possibly see in me?
Delita: Your loyal service.
Orran: Ha! Again you jape! I would die before I bent my knee in your service!
Delita: No. No, you would not. As was the will of the Black Lion, I am going to bring down the Northern Sky. And when that Sky falls, the land of Ivalice will again be made level. Then I build a new kingdom for Ovelia. The high confessor will face judgment as well, of course. I am not the Church's hound.
Orran: Are you mad?
Delita: Far from it. You know what I do is right. It is undeniable. Undeniable! A commonborn squire takes the reins of a knightly order, and leads a wayward kingdom from the midst of chaos. The masses yearn for a hero. I give them what they wish.
Orran: Using aught and all to forge your legend? Even me?
Delita: Is that so wrong?
Delita: What? Do you mean to kill me? I know full well the high confessor sent you, Valmafra. Your orders are to kill me at the first sign of betrayal, no?
Delita: Do it, then! Stab me with that dagger! What's the matter? You need only plunge the blade into my heart. If you will not, then do not blame me for this!
Valmafra: (screams)
Mossfungus[]
Zalbaag: It's just over here.
Herbalist: Beg pardons, my lord! I cannot keep your pace!
Zalbaag: Lord Father...
Zalbaag: I need you to take a look at something over here.
Zalbaag: Catch.
Zalbaag: Can you tell me the name of that mushroom?
Herbalist: Of course. It's mossfungus, my lord. Poisonous stuff. Not the deadliest, but not something you'd want in your stew, either. It gets you in the end.
Zalbaag: So I hear.
Herbalist: I, uh...uh—do you not think we should be getting back now, milord?
Zalbaag: What has you so terrified?
Herbalist: Don't you know, my lord? Mossfungus grows only on corpses. And, well—they say it's a bad omen to find it growing on a family grave. The house falls as the cap rises...or so they say.
Zalbaag: On your way, then.
Herbalist: Heh, Kind thanks, my lord.
Zalbaag: Your fee is as promised. The rest should help you forget what you've seen.
Herbalist: Forget what?
Zalbaag: (sighs) Lord Brother...
Adrammelech, the Wroth[]
(Upon entering Eagrose Castle.)
Ramza: No guards.
Ramza: Zalbaag's chocobo.
Ramza: Passing strange...
On-screen: Eagrose Castle Keep
Dycedarg: Have you taken leave of your senses, Zalbaag? This is madness!
Zalbaag: After what you've done, you think yourself fit to lead our house?
Dycedarg: That business with the duke? Larg was long dead ere my dagger found its mark. Think, Brother. He was a weak man, who relied on others to fight where he could not. More fool he for starting a war he could not stomach. Do you not agree?
Zalbaag: Our liege lord's murder bothers me not half so much as our father's! Duke Larg's dying words. I could scarce believe my ears, but there was no mistaking what he said. Why, Dycedarg? Why!?
Dycedarg: What are you saying!? I know naught of this!
Zalbaag: Do not deny it! You poisoned him, like some craven! How could you kill your own father!?
Northern Sky Knight: Count Dycedarg! ...Lord Zalbaag!? What in the world are you doing!?
Dycedarg: Zalbaag is taken with some madness!
Dycedarg: Seize him! Seize him at once!
Zalbaag: Lord Brother!
Ramza: Zalbaag!
(Upon Zalbaag's first turn.)
Zalbaag: Ramza, forgive me! It is all as you've said! Dycedarg murdered our father and enkindled this war. Yet still not satisfied, he used the ensuing chaos to slay the duke as well. All to feed his own ambition. He has sullied our name, brought scorn upon our house—he must be made to pay!
Ramza: What? Dycedarg murdered Father!?
Dycedarg: You fools! Why will you not follow where I lead? Why do you turn against me? The powerful must rule the weak! It is our duty! The Crown once held such power, but no more! See how fate has brought it low? Full oft has history seen a great house rise to rule in place of an enfeebled crown. That is how the Atkascha Dynasty itself came to be. And what house is greater now than ours? It is only right that we should wield our power and seize the reins of Ivalice!
Zalbaag: You have forgotten the words of our lord father! Those possessed of power must be righteous of heart, elsewise they are unfit to wield the sword! Guided by that believe, House Beoulve has upheld the peace, protecting the lives and livelihoods of the commonfolk. Thus have we endured for generations. But you, Lord Brother—you strive only to sate your lust for power! You are no Beoulve!
Dycedarg: "Righteous of heart"? I'd die of shame to hear such words from my own lips. Such lofty ideals cannot rule a people. For you to lecture me thus, you have plainly forgotten your place. Who has earned you the right to wield your sword of justice? To be hailed as hero? Is it not I? I, who have dirtied my hands to keep yours clean? All that you are you owe to me. You ought be on your knees thanking me, yet here you stand in judgment.
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: Dycedarg! I struggle to believe this of you, Brother! Our father was good to us! Why did you kill him? Tell me!
Dycedarg: Ramza... You are a stubborn one to still be alive.
Ramza: Dose it gall you that I live and breathe? Do you despise me so?
Dycedarg: Despise? What pureile thinking is this? I base not my decisions on likes and dislikes. That is why you remain a child. A man judges with his head, not his heart. Whether something is useful or no is all that matters. And illegitimate as you are, I had no use for you from the first!
Ramza: What!? Is that the way of it with Father, then? You killed him because he had ceased to be useful!
Zalbaag: Save your words, Ramza. Our brother hears them not. He has made his excuses, but his are crimes beyond forgiveness. Only punishment remains, and it falls to us to deliver it!
Dycedarg: Excuses? I have no need for excuses! You speak of crimes, but I've done naught wrong! Done naught that is aberrant for men! What choices I made were so that we might survive in this savage world. If living were a sin, why did the gods create us? Man is a covetous creature, that murders his own kind for the mere pleasure of it. That is simply our nature! We are compelled to take from one another, and kill to that end. If such were a sin, 'tis the gods who are at fault!
Zalbaag: We are least know this man's true nature, Ramza. To justify his actions, he weaves sophistry and even deceives himself. 'Tis pathetic beyond words. To think I once held our brother in the highest esteem... But now I see he is lower than the lowest beast. He cannot be suffered to stain the Beoulve name any longer!
Ramza: He will not, Zalbaag! My own hands, I too shall sully!
(Upon Cidolfus' next turn, if he is present.)
Dycedarg: Do my eyes betray me? Can it truly be you, Count Orlandeau?
Orlandeau: It has been a while, Lord Dycedarg. Lest you worry, I am no ghost, as my beating heart will attest.
Dycedarg: But why have you come? Seek you vengeance for Duke Goltanna?
Orlandeau: I involve myself no more in this war. I simply lend my aid to Ramza now.
Dycedarg: You have cast your lot with him? That is tantamount to making an enemy of the entire kingdom! I know not wherefore a renowned hero would join my disappointment of a brother in opposing me, but 'tis the height of folly!
Orlandeau: Mock me if that is your wont, but the smile will soon fade from your lips. Long in the tooth though I may be, you'll not find me a feeble opponent.
(Upon Zalbaag's next turn, if Cidolfus is present.)
Zalbaag: Count Orlandeau, glad am I to see you hale and whole. The charge of Duke Goltanna's murder was indeed false, then?
Orlandeau: Lord Zalbaag, would that we could have met in happier circumstances. As for the charge, I am beyond worrying about it. The moment I failed to stop the war, I had sensed that such a turn was inevitable. Henceforth, my son shall protect the people in my stead, or give his life in the trying.
Zalbaag: For duty, you are prepared to cast aside life and reputation both... Nay, truer to say you have already done so. I, too, now stake my all to restore honor to House Beoulve. I pray you bear witness!
Orlandeau: You and Ramza are indeed Barbaneth's sons. I doubt not that he looks down with pride.
Zalbaag: Your words do me great honor, my lord! I beg you, take care of Ramza!
Adrammelech, the Wroth[]
(After Dycedarg is KO'd.)
Dycedarg: No... You've ruined...everything... My painstakingly wrought plan...all undone... All the sacrifice and sordidness...only to die here...
Dycedarg: What? Who calls to me? ...Power? Yes... Power to realize my desire...
Zalbaag: What...what is this abomination? It cannot be my brother... It cannot.
Adrammelech, the Wroth: So this is what it is to be a god.
Adrammelech, the Wroth: My foolish brothers, heed you well these words! By my hand, Barbaneth, our sire, was slain. Our house was long the kingdom's loyal sword. Until this war gave us the chance to rule. Alas, a sword he would have us remain. A tool to be discarded when it breaks. To suffer such a fate, I would refuse—my mind, a dagger keen, left out to rust. So Father, of his duty, I relieved. No sword yet wrought can parry poison's kiss. But you, Zalbaag, have earn'd no subtle death. The price for baring steel, you now shall pay!
Zalbaag: (screams)
Adrammelech, the Wroth: And on the baseborn whelp my gaze now falls. Your screams I shall delight in as you die!
(Upon Ramza's next turn.)
Ramza: So you too cried out for power...and in so doing played into their hands!
Adrammelech, the Wroth: Ha! When faced with like, you too would do the same. To "save" our house, you now would lay me low. But such a feat begs pow'r beyond your grasp. Without which, naught of worth can be achieved.
Ramza: Cardinal Delacroix and Marquis Elmdore uttered like words, and neither were long for this world! The Lucavi are far from invincible, this power you laud far from absolute. Yet in your lust you sought it...and now you have slain Zalbaag!
Adrammelech, the Wroth: 'Twas his and your betrayal forced my hand! Your hounding that which brought us to this pass! For pow'r I cried, Lucavi I became, because you wretches chose to interfere!
Ramza: That you would lay the blame at our feet is shameless. But it matters little now. You are become chaos made manifest. Left alive, you will visit only destruction upon the land!
Adrammelech, the Wroth: In words so bold this feeble child does speak, for strength to stop me wanting though he is.
Ramza: Do not underestimate me! For the honor of Knight Gallant Barbaneth Beoulve and Commander Devout Zalbaag Beoulve...In the name of Her Majesty Queen Ovelia and for the peace of the kingdom, I will lay you low!
Adrammelech, the Wroth: Rebellious baseborn filth! Consign your all I shall to nothingness! Your flesh, your soul, your name—naught shall remain!
(When Adrammelech, the Wroth is KO'd.)
Adrammelech, the Wroth: Such pow'r at my command...yet still surpassed by mortal man. A curse upon you, Ramza!
Ramza: Dycedarg...Zalbaag... In the end, our enemies got what they sought. House Beoulve has fallen, and with it the Northern Sky... But if I can expunge the heretic's brand and clear my name, then perhaps... No, 'twould not be right to lead our house now. I will but bear the name Beoulve, whatever may come. No more looking back. I have work to do. I must stop Folmarv! Alma... Please be safe. I will find you, this I swear.
The High Confessor's Demise[]
(Upon entering Mullonde.)
High Confessor Marcel: I did not...think you capable of such treachery.
Folmarv: Had you made your confession willingly your life might have been spared. I should have preferred to employ measures less...extreme, but there's no time for that now.
High Confessor Marcel: I don't...understand.
Folmarv: I had hoped to enlist your aid in gathering the auracite. But the boy holds most of the Stones now. Your aid is no longer required.
High Confessor Marcel: Help me...please...
Folmarv: Your wound is deep, but it is not mortal. Treated soon, you will live. But you must earn your life. Tell me: Where is the entrance to the necrohol?
High Confessor Marcel: Orbonne. The vaults beneath the monastery. In the lowest levels, there is a glyph bound by a magicked seal.
Folmarv: And how does one break this seal?
High Confessor Marcel: I know not. The Scriptures may hold some clue... I cannot say.
Folmarv: At every turn, the boy!
Folmarv: Good-bye, Funebris.
High Confessor Marcel: Do not...leave me like this. I beg you...
At the Gates of Mullonde[]
(Upon entering Mullonde.)
High Confessor Marcel: Do you know...what it is you do?
Folmarv: Had you spoken willingly, your lives might have been spared. I should have preferred to employ measures less...extreme, but there's no time for that now.
High Confessor Marcel: I don't...understand.
Folmarv: The boy heretic—he has frustrated our every move. And now that he holds most of the Stones, your aid is no longer required.
High Confessor Marcel: But...the Knights Templar answer to me...and me alone...
Folmarv: Truth be told, though your wound is deep, it is not mortal. Treated soon, you will live. But you must earn your life. Tell me: where is the entrance to the necrohol? You would know—would be the only one to know. Now, out with it!
High Confessor Marcel: ...
High Confessor Marcel: Orbonne. The vaults beneath the monastery. In the lowest levels, there is a glyph bound by magick.
Folmarv: Of all the places... And how does one break this seal?
High Confessor Marcel: I know not. I swear it... The Scriptures may hold some clue...I cannot say.
Folmarv: At every turn, the boy!
Folmarv: Blame us not. 'Tis your god who has failed you.
High Confessor Marcel: Do not...leave me like this. I beg you...
At the Gates of Mullonde[]
(Upon entering Mullonde Front Gaate.)
On-screen: Mullonde Front Gate
Templarate Mage: Halt! You stand before Mullonde Cathedral, great seat of the C urch of Glabados! None save members of the clergy are premitted within these walls! State your name and title, and let your purpose in coming here be known!
Ramza: I am Ramza Beoulve, youngest son of the house of the same name, though I come before you independent of it! My sister, Alma Beoulve, is held unlawfully by the lord commander of the Knights Templar, Folmarv Tengille! I demand her immediate release!
Templarate Mage: Ramza Beoulve!? You are the one who murdered Cardinal Delacroix! Raise the alarm! A notorious heretic lays siege to the cathedral! You are foolish to present yourself before us! In Saint Ajora's name, we will carry out your sentence where you stand!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Ramza: Nothing holds fear for me now! Prepare yourself, Folmarv!
The Scriptures Lost[]
(Upon entering Mullonde Nave.)
On-screen: Mullonde Nave
Folmarv: Ramza, at last we meet! Pray forgive me. I ought to have called upon you sooner, but I have been ever so busy of late. I fear I remain so even now, so let us make this brief. If you would see your sister returned, you will relinquish the Scriptures and all the auracite you possess. Refuse, and I will be unable to guarantee her safety. Are we of an understanding? My patience is grown thin.
Ramza: I surrender naught until Alma is brought before me hale and whole.
Folmarv: Did you not hear a word I said? I offered no negotiable terms. Forfeit the Scriptures and the Stones, or forfeit your sister's life.
Ramza: Here are the Scriptures. The Stones I hold until I see that she is safe.
Folmarv: Well?
Loffrey: I believe I've found it. All that remains is to test it at the correct location.
Folmarv: Then we have all we need. That said, I find myself loath to let the boy simply walk away. Propriety dictates that he make restitution for all the trouble he has caused us.
Ramza: I should have known... But I warn you, this will not go as you imagine!
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza': You care only for the Scriptures now? What of the Stones?
Folmarv: You demand your sister's return for them. But as things stand, she is of greater value to us.
Ramza: Greater value? What use could you have for her still? Why keep my sister alive, when you took no pause in disposing of your own son?
Folmarv: Our affairs are not for you to know. As long as we have your sister, you may keep your handful of Stones.
(Upon Meliadoul's first turn, if she is present.)
Meliadoul: Are you truly the father I've always known?
Folmarv: I ought to ask you the same question, my daughter. To side with a heretic and take up arms against your kin... No child of mine would commit such betrayal.
Meliadoul: On that much we can agree. I am not your daughter, for you are not my father.
Folmarv: What do you mean by that, pray?
Meliadoul: Spare me the mummery. I know that you have ceased to be the man you once were! The marquis Elmdore de Limberry was made a Lucavi when he used a Zodiac Stone. And at Riovanes—the monster who killed Isilud and all those others was you, wasn't it?
Folmarv: You think your father a monster? A Lucavi? Nay, child. What I am is power, pure and unadulterated! The magicks of men are mere parlor tricks beside the arcane force the auracite commands. I saw fit to entrust Saggitarius to you, yet you do not use it. Why? Did you not swear to find the Stones and wield their power for the salvation of Ivalice? Of the world entire? Mayhap you are craven like your brother. He was shown a glimpse of the auracite's might, but cowered before it and died a frail, pathetic mortal.
Meliadoul: So that is why you killed Isilud! To you, he was just another pawn who had outlived his purpose! My brother was no craven! He fought to vanquish his own sire, twisted as he had become! The great man I once knew, who cherished his family, is no more. Naught remains of him but a power-maddened fiend that wears his skin!
(After a Knight Templar is KO'd.)
Folmarv: Confound it... How can the boy be so strong? Whence springs his might? Could it be he is protected by the auracite, and blessed with the opposing force of Light? If so, he will not be easily overcome. We must serve our vengeance another time.
Ramza: Again they flee, the cowards!
The Commander Devout's Fate[]
(Upon entering Mullonde Sanctuary.)
On-screen: Mullonde Sanctuary
Folmarv: Would that I could bid you farewell here, but I suspect you'd not part ways so easily. I suppose you must be returned to the Father after all. My thralls will delight to guide you to His keeping.
Folmarv: I shall let this one be your foeman as well.
Ramza: Zalbaag!
Folmarv: Once he was your brother, but he is reborn unto us now. You're a heretic already. Why not a kinslayer? Hahaha!
Ramza: What have they done to you, Brother!?
Folmarv: Zalbaag! Deliver me the head of that young man before you! He must not leave this cathedral alive!
Zalbaag: (groans)
(Upon Ramza's first turn.)
Ramza: Lord Brother, it is I! Do you not know your own blood?
Zalbaag: Ramza? Is that you? What...what is this place? It's so dark, I...I cannot see. Am I—what am I doing? Do I stand? Sit?
Ramza: You are being controlled by Lord Folmarv—by a Lucavi!
Zalbaag: Am I...fighting you? Why...why would I do such a thing? I have...I have no sensation. It's as though I...have no limbs. Flee, Ramza. Flee. I have no wish to kill you...but I fear I might...
Ramza: Lord Brother!
(After Zalbaag is critical.)
Zalbaag: Ramza, can you hear me? I beg you—kill...kill me! The pain—it's...it's unbearable. I cannot feel my arms or...or my legs, and...and yet somehow they burn! And my meories—they...they fade into the darkness...I...I'm afraid, Ramza, as...as I have never been before.
Ramza: Do not give in! There must be a way for you to overcome this! We will find it! Please, do not abandon hope!
Zalbaag: Hope...abandons me. There is naught left...but agony... Whispers in my ear...from everywhere and nowhere... They bid me...join them... Dycedarg? Is that you? But...who are the others? Ahh! Oh, gods, end it...please! Grant...grant me swift mercy.
Ramza: I'm sorry, Brother! I'm sorry! Damn you, Folmarv!
(After Zalbaag is KO'd.)
Zalbaag: Forgive us, Ramza. We have...have caused you pain. You must keep Alma safe... The two of you must live on... Ahhh... Light... Where once all was darkness...light has returned... Farewell, my brother. And...thank you.
Ramza: Zalbaag...
Requiem[]
High Confessor Marcel: Someone... please...
Ramza: Gods have mercy!
High Confessor Marcel: Please... They must be stopped...
Ramza: Your Holiness! Hold on!
Marcel: The necrohol... To the necrohol...
Ramza: The necrohol? Is that where Folmarv is headed? But where is it?
Marcel: Beneath...Orbonne... (gasps) You must...(gasps) stop them...
Ramza: Your Holiness... To Orbonne Monastery, then.
Optional dialogue[]
Side Stories[]
The Metallic Sphere[]
Mustadio: So, this is the device you mentioned?
Besrudio: The same, unearthed just as digging began on Tunnel 57 a week past. I'd thought to disassemble it, but I haven't the slightest inkling of how to begin.
Mustadio: An iron sphere...curious.
Mustadio: What just happened?
Ramza: Was it reacting to the auracite?
Besrudio: This is a most peculiar symbol. (symbol)
On-screen: Side Story Commenced
Tales from the Mine[]
Tavernmaster: Good day to you. Might I interest you in a drink?
Ramza: Mayhap you might. Have you any milk?
Tavernmaster: Hahahaha! I like you already! I've not had a customer order milk before. Hmm... You've seen your share of battle, have you not? Got that look about you.
Tavern Patron (1): You mean to say the stories were true? There are monsters in Gollund?
Tavern Patron (2): Hordes of them, causing all sorts of trouble. They had to close the mines. Couldn't have come at a worse time, with the war and all.
Tavern Patron (1): Times as these, knights are too busy slaying each other to deal with beasts.
Tavern Patron (2): The town's raised a call for hunters.
Tavernmaster: You can swing a sword, aye? There's coin to be had in this.
Ramza: I care not for coin. I would go to aid the people in their plight.
Tavernmaster: A man of honor, are we? Few enough of those these days. If only Lord Barbaneth were still alive! He'd do something about it.
Tavern Patron (1): I was meaning to say, though, there's one among 'em no hunter can best.
Tavern Patron (2): A mean one, eh? What manner of beast?
Tavern Patron (1): A beast of legend—the Holy Dragon. They want it felled at any cost.
Tavernmaster: You mean to go?
Ramza: Yes—at least to learn more. If there is aught I might do to help, then help I will.
Tavernmaster: Heh, that's the spirit. Gods be with you, then.
Beowulf: If you leave for the mines of Gollund, would you not hire my sword to accompany you?
Ramza: I do not believe we've made acquaintance.
Swordsman: I am Beowulf—a hunter. I pursue the Holy Dragon of which they speak. It has been my purpose for many a year. It has been my purpose for many a year. My knowledge of it would surely be a boon. What say you?
- (Upon selecting "1. Sorry, I've no need of hired steel.")
- (Upon selecting "2. How much coin would buy your blade?")
Ramza: How much coin would buy your blade?
Beowulf: Such talk can be put aside for now. Let us make for Gollund.
The Holy Dragon[]
(Upon entering the Colliery Shaft in the Mining Town of Gollund.)
On-screen: Mining Town of Gollund Colliery Shaft
Syneugh: What good to you, this Stone? Surrender it—your life it may yet buy.
Beowulf: Reis! At last I've found you! As I live and breathe, I will let no harm befall you!
An Unbreakable Bond[]
Beowulf: My thanks, Ramza. I could not have saved Reis without you.
Ramza: Then we have found the dragon you sought.
Beowulf: A companion more dear to me than life itself. Mere words can be no fitting thanks.
Beowulf: You have sought this stone, yes?
Ramza: But how—?
Beowulf: Let us just say I have my own debts to settle. As have you.
Ramza: Who are you?
Beowulf: No enemy of yours. This I swear on Reis's life. If you permit it, I would lend my sword and shield to your cause. What say you?
Ramza: One cannot have too many comrades. I would be glad to count you among mine. Come. Let us quit these darkened halls.
The Automaton[]
Mustadio: Will the Stone truly bring the sphere to life?
Besrudio: You saw as much, did you not? I know not the how of it, but I'm confident it will work.
Mustadio: You were right! It stirs!
Mustadio: Is that all? It must no longer be operational.
Automaton: REINITIALIZATION COMPLETE. VERIFYING ACTUATOR STATUS...ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL. WHAT IS YOUR COMMAND, MASTER?
Mustadio: By the gods! The machine speaks!
Automaton: AWAITING YOUR COMMAND, MASTER.
Mustadio: Give it a command, Ramza.
Ramza: M-me? Must I? Mayhap you could—
Mustadio: What are you talking about? Your Stone brought the thing to life. You're its master!
Ramza: V-very well. Uhmm...Dance!
Mustadio: Oh, for the love of the gods!
Ramza: Well, what would you have it do?
Mustadio: It...it's dancing!
Mustadio: I wonder how powerful this thing is.
Automaton: I AM VERY STRONG.
Ramza: Well, then... Ummm... Dispose of Mustadio!
Mustadio: What!? (screams)
Ramza: Oh, no! Phoenix down—where is the phoenix down!?
The Orrery[]
Mustadio: Father, what is this monstrosity?
Besrudio: I'm not entirely sure. I've been assmebling it from pieces recovered in Tunnel 83.
Ramza: It has the look of an orrery.
Besrudio: To hear it said, it does. But something tells me there is more to it. Hmm...
Mustadio: What was that?
Ramza: This device reacts to auracite as well?
Besrudio: What's this? There's a mark inscribed upon the base. (symbol) Indeed...another Stone appears to be required.
Ramza: Then I suppose we had best begin searching.
The Guardian of Nelveska[]
(Upon entering Nelveska Temple.)
On-screen: Nelveska Temple
Construct 7: WARNING! WARNING! HUMAN ENTRY PROHIBITIED! VACATE PREMISES WITHIN 30 SECONDS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. 30...29...28...27...26...25...24...23...22...21... SYSTEM ERROR. SYSTEM ERROR. 3...2...1...ANNIHILATION MODE INITIATED. RESEARCH STAFF: EVACUATE TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY. EVACUATE TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY.
(After the enemy construct is defeated.)
Construct 7: SYSTEM FAILURE. UNABLE TO RECHARGE POWER. CONNECTING RESERVE CIRCUITS.
(When the enemy construct is defeated again.)
Construct 7: DATA SECURITY PROTOCOL INITIATED. ENGAGING SELF-DESTRUCT MODE AND COMMENCING COUNTDOWN. 30...29...28...27...26...SYSTEM ERROR.
The Curse[]
Ramza: ...What? This dragon? If what you say is true, then the Zodiac Stone may indeed lift the curse. But to invoke its power requires a fervent desire—the desire to see this evil undone.
Beowulf: Worry not. I am certain that, above all else, she wishes to return to her true form.
Beowulf: Go now. Be not afraid.
Beowulf: Reis. It's you! It's truly you! For years I have awaited this moment!
Reis: Beowulf, my dearest Beowulf! I had thought the joy of your embrace forever lost.
Beowulf: Oh, Reis, my love... To hold you in my arms once more, my heart is fit to burst! Naught shall come betwixt us again. I am yours, now and forever.
Cloud[]
Mustadio: You don't suppose the orrery will metamorphose as well, do you?
Ramza: We'll soon know.
Mustadio: Father's mercy!
Cloud: What...what is this place? Who...who am I? I was swallowed by a current—a great stream, and then... Damn it, I can't remember!
Besrudio: Hmm... I recall reading of something like this in a volume long ago: an interdimensional transporter.
Mustadio: And what, pray tell, is that?
Besrudio: A device for teleportation across dimensions—across the very fabric of time and space.
Ramza: Then, the man before us hails from a world beyond our own?
Besrudio: Like as not. Behold his manner of dress.
Cloud: My name is...Cloud. Yeah, that was it.
Ramza: I am Ramza, and my companions are Mustadio and—
Cloud: I'm not interested in your names. What I need is a battlefield. That's right. I was...I was a member of SOLDIER.
Mustadio: Has he no manners at all?
Cloud: Uhn...What is this tingling in my fingertips? And my eyes...they burn... No, stop... Sephiro—Agh!
Mustadio: Best keep your distance. That man is not stable.
Cloud: I have to go... I have to get there...
Mustadio: What do you suppose that was all about?
To the Promised Land[]
(Upon returning to the Trade City of Sal Ghidos.)
On-screen: Sal Ghidos
Flower Peddler: A flower for a gil, ser?
Cloud: ...
Flower Peddler: Is something the matter? You look as though you've seen a ghost.
Cloud: No. It's nothing.
Flower Peddler: Well, then... Good day to you, too.
Flower Peddler: What do you want?
Ruffian: We've been searching for you, Aerith. Thought you'd kick'd away, eh? Hawking flowers for your mum again today, I see. Such a dear girl.
Aerith: Please, just ten more days—even just a week is all I need!
Ruffian: We set the date, and the date's long passed! You'll make good on that gelt here and now—all thirty thousand as we lent you!
Aerith: Let me go!
Ruffian: You know, now as I look at you, you're quite the rum-dutchess. If you're looking to make a quick gil, there are easier ways than selling flowers, you know! (chuckles)
Cloud: Get your hands off her!
Ruffian: What did you say?
Cloud: I said get your filthy hands off her.
Ruffian: I'd not be talking to me like that, pretty boy. Might be as you get blood on them fancy riggings of yours.
Cloud: Run. Now.
Ruffian: You whoreson! You just earned yourself a good drubbing!
Cloud: You want to fight? Agh! Uhnnn... My head...
Ruffian: What's this, now? All that snarling, but you've got no stones?
Ramza: Cloud! Are you all right?
Ruffian: The local watch!? Twice-be-damned luck! Come on, boys!
(After all enemies are defeated.)
Cloud: I've lost someone...someone important.
Ramza: Cloud...?
Cloud: I haven't been myself since. Who...who am I now? What should I do? How can I stop this pain?
Ramza: Cloud... There are people waiting for you back in your world, am I not right? With the power of another Stone, we may be able to return you there.
Cloud: Let's go, Ramza. I can't stay here. I have to get there—to the Promised Land.
On-screen: Side Story Concluded