Because of all the Eight Leaves One Blade talk there's one thing I always wanted to ask. How is the title of Divine Blade written in Japanese? Does it happen to be the same as Miyamoto Musashi's Sword Saint title?
And an Ao question for good measure.
SpoilerSpoilers CS4, Ao no Kiseki plot twistsIs it ever spelled out how KeA exactly manipulated time and causality to redo the Zero Duology plot? I'm not referring to how she intertwined the Renne plot thread with the SSS. My question is directed at what kind of time travel mechanic was used in general, considering that there are several ways how time travel could theoretically work. I mean there's mental timetravel, timetravel when the person is transported back with the whole body resulting in two identical people running around. Timetravel could potentially result in two independent timelines running in parallel et cetera.Due to that nasty ability of the final Ao Boss, my current speculation is that KeA actually did something more outrageous and completely rewound time on a global scale whenever she became powerful enough to do it and everything that happened until then was basically undone from existence. Which is kind of frightening to think about, but it also leaves me with even more questions, because we know that there are different planes of existence in Zemuria and there's even an Outside....so when KeA rewound time, were the different planes also affected? And what about the Outside? I mean, due to Divergent Laws and stuff, I'm more inclined to think that she wouldn't be able to affect it even with all the Septerrion power in the world, which leaves me with the strange implication that anybody who could watch from the Outside into Zemuria could have observed how that world kind of turned back the clock in its entirety.
This is kind of meta, now that I think about it.
I mean with all the stuff that CS4 endgame throws at us about Ouroboros, this would be an important point to clarify in my opinion.
Yep, exact same Japanese word that's been applied to Musashi (剣聖)
So yeah, for all intents and purposes it's treated as KeA going back in time to whenever she wants history to change, willing the path of history to go down a route with conditions A, B and C but not X, Y and Z and then letting it happen. And the explanation for how she can do that is 'She's a living Sept-Terrion, miracles are what they do'. 😉
On the Outside and planes, I suspect that KeA's power doesn't affect the former so anyone looking 'in' at Zemuria would either observe the world unwinding and turning back or they'd just see it blink from 'Timeline A' to 'Timeline B'. But we have no idea how time operates Outside or if there's even one realm or many, so who knows on that count? As for planes, I imagine that Azure Demiourgos' power would affect the ones that we can be fairly certain are 'inside' Zemuria and the realm of causality it represents, like the expanded space inside the Old Schoolhouse/Reverie Corridor. Trying to work out how that power might interact with Aureole and thus Phantasma is twisting my brain in knots; my guess is that Aureole might transcend causality to the point that it could retain a record of multiple timelines (and so Phantasma would also incorporate both) but I can't recall offhand if Roselia mentions anything on those lines in CS4. I figure if anyone, she'd be our source for that kind of knowledge. And then figuring out how Azure Demiourgos' changes and AZOTH interact is really making my head hurt...
Two questions.
1) Do we know where exactly Rufus got his divine knight? Where its trial was located and etc?
2) Where did the Weissland Army get its name from?
Two questions.
Spoiler1) Do we know where exactly Rufus got his divine knight? Where its trial was located and etc?
2) Where did the Weissland Army get its name from?
We know both of those answers in fact.
2) It's German and means 'White Land'; it was deliberately picked by Musse to contrast with Erebonia, whose name is derived from Erebos ('Darkness') per the Black Records.
Two questions.
Spoiler1) Do we know where exactly Rufus got his divine knight? Where its trial was located and etc?
2) Where did the Weissland Army get its name from?
We know both of those answers in fact.
SpoilerCS4 early game1) Rufus' Knight is unusual in that it wasn't placed in a fixed location like the others, instead its trial can manifest in different locations where and when there's a high enough concentration of mana. After Crossbell was annexed, it became a viable location for the trial to appear in, as there's a region in the state with an extremely dense concentration of power that basically acted as a beacon. It's the same location that the Azure Tree appeared in, for basically the same reason. We actually see Rufus obtain the Knight in CS4 though we don't see him undergo the trial itself, just the immediate aftermath.2) It's German and means 'White Land'; it was deliberately picked by Musse to contrast with Erebonia, whose name is derived from Erebos ('Darkness') per the Black Records.
Where do we know that first answer from?
I'm gonna guess one of the long Q&A sessions with Kondo post-Sen 4's release.
It's actually mentioned ingame, at the same time it's introduced. There is something related to it that was only mentioned in an interview though.
So playing zero, chapter 2, visiting the hospital for no reason other than to chat to npcs and maybe catch the odd book or something, that bracer girl aelia or whatever her name is is there and she's evidently the cute-maniac trope character. Analace being the first, I can't help but wonder. Is she mentioned at all later on in this game, Azure, or CS4? If so, just a passing comment once or twice? Or does she play some kinda role at all?
Also, I opened a chest and it said something like
"disappointed with the contents, you close the chest and walk away... You could call this. An open and shut case".
Great one, just needs a *puts on sunglasses* after the 'this', it needs one so bad =P
Incidentally, Anelace and Aeolia meeting is something I'd love to see happen in a future game.
SpoilerBig CS4 endgame stuffI don't recall seeing Ricky anywhere during the Mishelam stopover - does Anton mention where he is? Has Ricky milked all the laughs he can from Anton's spiral of failure? Honestly, it sort of seemed like the end of Anton's antics, and I'll genuinely be sad to see the two of 'em go lol
I'd actually be surprised if the two don't reappear eventually, but we'll probably get a break for a while.
Referring to Yotaka's response about KeA, Azoth and causality in Zemuria in generral, this ties in with something I have been wondering - and I apologize if this came up here before. I certainly could not find mention if it has.
Happenstance: Trails from Zero begins with an ill-fated raid on the Cult's base in Sun Fort, then cuts to a train scence. When we return to Sun Fort, it is with additional party members, and the outcome of the events is different.
Coincidence: Trails of Cold Steel 1 begins with Class VII's attempt to stop the railway cannons before live shots are fired at Crossbell City. The game strongly implies shots are fired before we cut to a train scene and Rean's first arrival at Thor's. When we return to Garellia Fortress, it is with additional party members, and the railway guns are stopped.
Enemy Action: Trails of Cold Steel 3 begins with new Class VII's attack on Juno Naval Fortress. Given the interactions and the importance of certain guest characters' presence when we return to that scene later in the game, I suspect that this attack too was doomed to failure. We cut to a train scene, and revisit later with additional party members.
Now, I understand that from a gameplay perspective, especially the Cold Steel instances of this make perfect sense as tutorials. Narratively, though, the parallels make me wonder, and the reveals we had about time travel and hints about changed realities still affecting the timeline we are seeing reinforce the sense that in each case, both outcomes actually happen. Now who do we know in-world with the capability to rewrite history...
Danke, Yotaka. Apologies for missing spoilering the first part.
I don't know how many people are here that aren't all caught up, but you should probably spoiler tag that to be safe.
Don't sweat it too much @andi598d but in the future, try and tag stuff like that so people who aren't caught up on everything don't necessarily get spoiled. I know Ghaleon for one is at the point where some of that would be big spoilers.
and I apologize if this came up here before. I certainly could not find mention if it has.
SpoilerCrossbell/Cold SteelHappenstance: Trails from Zero begins with an ill-fated raid on the Cult's base in Sun Fort, then cuts to a train scence. When we return to Sun Fort, it is with additional party members, and the outcome of the events is different.
Coincidence: Trails of Cold Steel 1 begins with Class VII's attempt to stop the railway cannons before live shots are fired at Crossbell City. The game strongly implies shots are fired before we cut to a train scene and Rean's first arrival at Thor's. When we return to Garellia Fortress, it is with additional party members, and the railway guns are stopped.
Enemy Action: Trails of Cold Steel 3 begins with new Class VII's attack on Juno Naval Fortress. Given the interactions and the importance of certain guest characters' presence when we return to that scene later in the game, I suspect that this attack too was doomed to failure. We cut to a train scene, and revisit later with additional party members.
Now, I understand that from a gameplay perspective, especially the Cold Steel instances of this make perfect sense as tutorials. Narratively, though, the parallels make me wonder, and the reveals we had about time travel and hints about changed realities still affecting the timeline we are seeing reinforce the sense that in each case, both outcomes actually happen. Now who do we know in-world with the capability to rewrite history...
It hasn't come up here before, though I'm pretty sure somewhere on the old XSEED forum archive you'll find several discussions about it.
SpoilerBonus Crack TheoryNow, who IS the grandmaster of Ourobouros, who seems to have an uncanny ability to predict the future, and speaks as if she knows what is to happen? KeA, perhaps? Or should I say, the FIRST KeA, from the first time the history of Zemuria ran? Who has been trying to alter history ever since?
One of the questions everyone wants an answer to. xD
It must have come up on the XSeed forums, I am not early enough to the party to be the first.
Something else that has been making me think is the way the protagonist names seem to bookend what we are told is a major arc of the Trails continuity - we open up with Estelle Bright, and close with Rean Schwarzer. Is there a significance to that? And looking at them, is there a significance to Estelle's surname being attributive, and Rean's surname denoting an actor - one who blackens things? I keep waiting for the tragedy to strike here.
