Oh. I'm late. I'm several days late.
Listen, I'm sorry, I was distracted by gay.
Without further ado - let's talk about one of the most critical arcs of Endwalker.
We begin with an abrupt summons to Thavnair. The Final Days have begun. Our brief respite has come to an end.
The moment we arrive, everything has already fallen into hell. And so off we go to Vanaspati to eliminate the Blasphemy and as many of the corrupted beasts as we can.
It's. Horrific. Watching as soldiers and innocent villagers fall to despair and become beasts themselves.
A parent gives in to the despair, and upon seeing them transform, their three children given in as well.
Vrtra is reluctant at first to fight the beasts, knowing that they were once his own citizens. But we are able to convince him that we can at least save those who have not transformed.
We ascend the steps of the shrine. In the skies above, thousands of terminus beasts blanket everything, swooping off to destroy everything.
And the Blasphemy that triggered all of this... weeping in hopelessness, hinting with its words to its own identity.
Y'shtola revealing that she sees nothing, the beasts possessing no aether at all.
Everything happens so fast. Everything happens so much. We are completely out of our depths.
Even as we eliminate the Blaphemy, Thavnair is still burning. Countless people are dying and there is nothing we can do. So we retreat to Radz-at-Han to investigate what caused all of this.
It only grows more grave as we realize that emotion is the trigger. Giving in to despair. The man who became the first Blasphemy, a man we met all too briefly.
And it only gets worse.
A grandmother, desperate for news of her grandson's safety. The news that Palaka's Stand has been attacked.
More people turning into Blasphemies.
The Satrap, eaten alive as we rush to his side but just do not make it in time.
Only through G'raha taking charge and utilizing his experience as the Exarch are we able to maintain some semblance of order as the city is ravaged by Blaphemies.
It only gets worse.
We set out for Palaka's Stand alongside our friend Matsya while most of the Scions stay behind to protect the citizens in Radz-at-Han.
Near everyone is dead or fled or actively dying.
We search for a family that Matsya is friends with, a couple with a newborn.
The father is dead. We barely save him from becoming a Blasphemy with his last breath.
It only gets worse.
We cannot find the mother. We cannot find the child.
We are able to rescue a good number of people who fled from the village, helping them return safely to Palaka's Stand. A glimmer of hope.
It only gets worse.
Alisaie spots the mother, fleeing from Blasphemies. We give chase. We are too late.
The mother is thrown into the water alongside her infant.
We dive in.
She's already dead.
Died on impact, like as not.
Her baby is at the bottom of the pool. They are hanging on by the thinnest of threads.
We regroup and do our best to heal the baby, but they are fading fast.
Matsya takes them to Palaka's Stand to find healers, warm clothes, and a warm bed.
It only gets worse.
The baby begins to give in to despair, begins to transform.
Matsya does everything he can to calm the baby, but he too is beginning to transform.
Blasphemies descend, mere fulms from Palaka's Stand and safety.
Finally, a true glimmer of hope.
Vrtra and Estinien. Barely saving Matsya and the baby.
Y'all. This arc. This arc is so fucking heavy. It is a rapid, uncontrolled, horrifying descent into despair. The bodies are piling up. These truly are the Final Days.
It really is something you have to experience yourself.
By the end, Vrtra has revealed himself as the true satrap and blessedly he is accepted by the people.
We have the slightest of leads. The word "Elpis". The flower which bears the name. The possibility that akasa is responsible for this.
And so we set out to learn more.
I... do not have many words that I can say about this arc. The entire purpose is to establish just how horrific the Final Days are, and it does an outstanding job. To think this is just the start.
The Final Days. Transformations brought about by despair. Despair brought about by transformations. A never ending, self-perpetuating cycle. How long until the world is gone? We don't know. We have so little to cling to.
And this is just the beginning unless we can stop it.
I truly don't have many words beyond... fuck. It does an incredible job of really cementing the despair and horror we are going through.
I'm gonna give myself two weeks to do the next arc, with how distracted and behind I fell last week. I am aiming to complete act V, through the quest "Though Must Live, Die, and Know" and the corresponding achievement "Carrying Our Song", with a due date of 2023-11-03.