There are some opinions in this piece.
This weekend I was watching my spouse as they finally got around to playing the level 70 Dark Knight quest; I had only vaguely remembered it, and I was eager to both see their reaction and to refresh my memory of it. And after having the chance to experience it again: dang, what a fantastic and moving quest. If you haven't yet experienced it for yourself, maybe consider going to do that before you read further; I leave that ball in your court.
Myste kills living creatures for their aether so that he can conjure recreations of the dead from the memories of others, because he (and thus the Warrior of Light) struggles with the sadness and pain and suffering brought about by loss — the loss of both friend and foe alike. Which is what lead him to decide that he should recreate all those who have passed so that they can live again and no one will have to experience that kind of loss again.
The Warrior of Light and their comrades reject this idea along numerous axes. They call out the fact that this task would require killing innumerable living creatures for their aether. They point out that death is an inevitable and important part of life for everyone, and that the temporary nature of the time we spend together is part of what makes it so precious. They speak of how those who die continue to live on in our memories. And of course, they also imply that Myste's plan isn't a logical solution to anything, but rather a flailing attempt to be free of the overwhelming anguish that he is currently feeling; and that while right now the weight of these losses feels unbearable to the point where Myste is desperate to be free of it, their weight is too important to shed.
The Dark Knight level 70 quest (chain) does a bang-up job of tackling this topic, and it was presented in a way that felt honest and moved me to tears. I can't help but wonder why Dawntrail's writer(s) felt the need to return to this topic with a story that was so incredibly similar to the one that Ishikawa had already written, while somehow being less cohesive and impactful.
Continue reading...
This weekend I was watching my spouse as they finally got around to playing the level 70 Dark Knight quest; I had only vaguely remembered it, and I was eager to both see their reaction and to refresh my memory of it. And after having the chance to experience it again: dang, what a fantastic and moving quest. If you haven't yet experienced it for yourself, maybe consider going to do that before you read further; I leave that ball in your court.
Myste kills living creatures for their aether so that he can conjure recreations of the dead from the memories of others, because he (and thus the Warrior of Light) struggles with the sadness and pain and suffering brought about by loss — the loss of both friend and foe alike. Which is what lead him to decide that he should recreate all those who have passed so that they can live again and no one will have to experience that kind of loss again.
The Warrior of Light and their comrades reject this idea along numerous axes. They call out the fact that this task would require killing innumerable living creatures for their aether. They point out that death is an inevitable and important part of life for everyone, and that the temporary nature of the time we spend together is part of what makes it so precious. They speak of how those who die continue to live on in our memories. And of course, they also imply that Myste's plan isn't a logical solution to anything, but rather a flailing attempt to be free of the overwhelming anguish that he is currently feeling; and that while right now the weight of these losses feels unbearable to the point where Myste is desperate to be free of it, their weight is too important to shed.
The Dark Knight level 70 quest (chain) does a bang-up job of tackling this topic, and it was presented in a way that felt honest and moved me to tears. I can't help but wonder why Dawntrail's writer(s) felt the need to return to this topic with a story that was so incredibly similar to the one that Ishikawa had already written, while somehow being less cohesive and impactful.
Continue reading...