Stormblood (Quest)

This article is about the Main Scenario Quest. For the expansion, see Stormblood.

Stormblood

Quest giver

Pipin

Location

The Lochs (X:32.6, Y:22.9)

Quest line

Stormblood Main Scenario Quests

Level

70

Experience

 10,800

Gil

 7,500

Previous quest

The Measure of His Reach

Next quest

Arenvald's Adventure
The Hunt for Omega
Dramatis Personae
A Hingan Tale: Nashu Goes East
And We Shall Call it Eureka
For Wilred
Journey's Beginning
Between a Rock and the Hard Place
Dreaming of Home
To Kill a Coeurl
An Unwanted Truth
Secret of the Ooze
Another Striking Opportunity
Those We Hold Dear
Journey's End
King of the Castle
The New King on the Block

Patch

4.0

Links

EDB

---

Main Scenario Progress: 501 / 960 (52.2%)

   

Stormblood Progress: 122 / 162 (75.3%)

   

“

At long last, the end is in sight.

— In-game description

Rewards

Unlocks

• 
  Ala Mhigo (Duty)
• 
  The Royal Menagerie
•   The Measure of His Reach
• 
  Aether Current
• 
  Mount Speed Increase
• 
  Stormblood - Part 1
• 
  Stormblood - Part 2

Notes

Completion of this quest unlocks an increase to mount speed in Rhalgr's Reach.

Also unlocked are the Poetics vendors in Rhalgr's Reach and the Sundry Splendors vendor in Kugane.

Steps

• Enter Ala Mhigo.
• Confront Shinryu in the Royal Menagerie.
• Speak with Lyse.
• Speak with Alphinaud.
• Speak with M'naago.
• Speak with Raubahn.
• Speak with Yugiri.
• Speak with Lyse.
• Speak with Lyse in Rhalgr's Reach.

Journal

• After convincing the Ferae Domitae to withdraw, you and Alphinaud rejoin the main host outside the gates, and the assault begins in earnest. All proceeds as planned until a unit of airborne magitek armor launches a counterattack, throwing the Allied forces into chaos... Moments later, however, your Far Eastern allies, led by Lord Hien, swoop in to the rescue, engage the imperial flying machines, and leave the Alliance free to resume their attack. The gate buckles under the renewed assault, and soon gives way.

• Now begins the battle for the future of a nation. Together with the brave men and women of the Eorzean Alliance and the Resistance, you and your fellow adventurers must enter the city and make for the castle where Zenos yae Galvus resides, and put an end to his reign of terror.
  • ※Challenge Ala Mhigo with other players via the Duty Finder, or with a party of NPCs via Duty Support. Both systems are accessible from the main menu as well as the dungeon's entrance point.

• Twice before, you faced Zenos yae Galvus, and twice before he beat you. But the third time proves different. The viceroy falters and withdraws, and subsequently erupts into maniacal laughter. At long last, you are become the beast he has longed to face, and so he bids you join him at the top of the Royal Palace, where the gods may bear witness to your dance.

• In the Royal Menagerie, you are greeted by a terrible sight: Shinryu, Ilberd's draconic god of vengeance, at the mercy of the viceroy. Zenos fawns over the primal, which he proclaims a being of pure violence, and muses upon how instrumental you were in its creation and capture. You regard him silently as he proceeds to mock his great-grandfather's legacy, while hinting at his own dark ambitions, biding your time to strike. At last, he declares that all he has done, he did but for the joy of doing it, and that only man has the wisdom and the clarity to embrace violence for its own sake... as you have.

• His manifesto thus delivered, Zenos frees Shinryu from its restraints and cries out defiantly as it bathes you both in dragon fire. Unscathed, your foe rises into the air and uses his power as a Resonant to merge with the primal, binding it to his will. As he towers over you, transformed, he glimpses Ilberd's final moments, and declares this to be “an ending to mark a new beginning,” before taking to the air. Nor is he mistaken. For if you and your comrades -- those stalwart yet humble adventurers who have stood by you from first to last -- do not stop Zenos yae Galvus... no one will.
  ※The Royal Menagerie can be accessed via the Duty Finder.

• One day the world may be consumed by fire and blood, and all that you hold dear be forever lost. But not this day. Zenos yae Galvus, Legatus of the XIIth Legion, imperial viceroy of Ala Mhigo, has fallen.

• Alphinaud and Lyse join you in the Royal Menagerie as Zenos, returned to his former form, struggles to his feet, coughing blood. To their astonishment, he is filled with a joy he has never known, for he has experienced a moment unlike any other: clear and pure and real. He brings the blade to his neck and smiles the smile of a man at peace, and before Lyse can intervene, the deed is done. Zenos yae Galvus is dead.

• Soon after, Raubahn, Hien, and others arrive, expecting a fight and are relieved to find there is none. Though Lyse is initially reluctant to celebrate, Hien urges her to raise a cheer for all those who fought for freedom. And so you, together with your many comrades and the leaders of the Eorzean Alliance and the Resistance, gather at the castle's ramparts, and as the horns spread word of the viceroy's death, the people of Ala Mhigo raise their voices in song...

• Lyse is unsure how to feel in the wake of Ala Mhigo's liberation. However, she knows that she does not want to keep you all to herself, and so she urges you to seek out your comrades, as they doubtless have much they wish to say.

• None can predict what the future holds now that Zenos is dead and Ala Mhigo and Doma are free. But your comrades are hopeful of a better tomorrow, and are prepared to do their utmost to ensure it comes to pass.

• Lyse remains where you left her, still quiet and thoughtful. Upon hearing you have made your rounds, she asks you to return with her to Rhalgr's Reach, along with the other Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Clearly, something weighs on her mind, but what?

• In Rhalgr's Reach, before your gathered comrades, Lyse declares her intention to formally leave the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. The work to rebuild Ala Mhigo has only just begun, and she believes she cannot serve her homeland and the order both. Yet even if this marks the end of her tenure, you are still comrades, now and ever after -- and Y'shtola is not about to let her forget it. Overcome with emotion, Lyse's eyes begin to water, and you come together to embrace as Scions one final time...

Dialogue

Quest Acceptance

Pipin: The battle for Ala Mhigo is at hand! all forces have been ordered to advance into the city proper! Lieutenant, Alphinaud. May I ask you to be part of the first charge? 
Alphinaud: 'Twould be our honor! 
Raubahn: I will join them, as but another solider. The command of the Flames, I leave it in your capable hands, Pipin. 
Lyse: I don't suppose we could come along too? 
Alphinaud: Lyse! Arenvald! 
Lyse: Naago and the others told me to go with you, [Forename]. To bring Zenos to account, for everyone. 
Arenvald: I'm Ala Mhigan too, in case anyone's forgotten. My place is in the thick of it, and it doesn't get thicker than where you'll be. 
Alphinaud: Let us sally forth, then! Together, we make for the Royal Palace, there to find and strike down Zenos! 

Post-Battle

Zenos yae Galvus: heh heh heh heh...Ahahahaha! Yes, yes! Such ferocity, such tenacity! I am loath to recall how disappointed I was when we first fought...but finally, finally, after bathing in the blood and offal of your enemies, finally you prove yourself worthy prey for the hunt! It fills you even now, doesn't it? The hunger. To bite down on my jugular, to feel the warmth fill your mouth and run over even as you drink deep. Good, good! This is the beast I have longed to face! As you sharpened your claws, I too sough newfound strength! But this is no place for a final contest. Come! The heavens shall bear witness to our dance! 
Alphinaud: Confound it! Go after Zenos, my friend! We shall deal with this! 

Zenos yae Galvus: Welcome to the Royal Menagerie. The King of Ruin built this place for his foreign queen. He kept it filled with familiar creatures from her homeland. They bored me all. This fine specimen, on the other hand, is simply...divine. Your fates are entwined, are they not, eikon-slayer? This dragon, this...embodiment of unbridled despair, born of a desperate man's burning hatred for the Empire...How raw the raging tempest that churns within its breast. No myth made manifest this, but...a being of pure violence. Ha hah, mayhap you are the true architect of our design. You who fought the very soul of vengeance to the edge and watched him fall; you who let slip the Allagan hound to drive the eikon into my arms! Oh...My. Have I said too much? Forgive me, this...sensation is wholly unfamiliar to me. A question, then - and I should like very much for you to speak from the heart. If I were to stand aside, what would you do to this eikon? 
What will you say? Kill it. / Bind it. / ... -> ...
Zenos yae Galvus: Hm. You will not indulge me with a simple reply, then? No. You think only of the fight to come. How alike we are. A pity. There is another alternative. Or there would be...had you only mastered your abilities. I speak of the Echo, of course. Does it merely render you immune to eikonic influence? Or is it rather that your influence is far greater than theirs? Granted, these implications are of no moment to a savage, who thinks only of killing the beast before him... But when I read van Baelsar's reports, I immediately saw the boundless potential of the Echo. I saw how it could be instrumental in binding an eikon to one's will. Hence my research and the Resonant - and oh so much more! All eikons must be exterminated, without exception. Such was the imperial mandate issued by my great-grandfather after he saw firsthand the destruction wrought by one such being. They are a blight upon this star, he felt, and so he began his great and just crusade. Pah! 'Twas not justice which spurred his campaign, but fear! Fear of the eikons, fear of their power. Cowardice made them march forth to battle. Pathetic! Man should fight for the joy of it. To live, to eat, to breed - lesser beasts snap and howl at one another for this. Only man has the wisdom and the clarity to embrace violence for its own sake. For we who are born into this merciless, meaningless world, have but one candle of life to burn. I know you understand this. You and I are one and the same. Together, we could while away the quiet hours, as friend and confidant...if you will accept me. 
What will you say? I accept you. / I deny you. -> I deny you. 
Zenos yae Galvus: Heh heh...and yet, in doing so, you prove me right. We are warriors. 'Twas plain from the first how this would end. You live for these moments - when all hangs in the balance. When the difference between life and death is but a single stroke. I live for them too! This is who are, my friend! this is all we are! Ala Mhigo and Doma and Garlemald be damned! (Zenos unleashes the Eikon). We tower above the gods! You by your gift, I by my might! And before the Resonant the gods shall be made to kneel! (Zenos disappears into the Eikon)
Zenos yae Galvus: An ending to mark a new beginning! 

Confront Shinryu in the Royal Menagerie

Lyse: Are you all right!? Zenos! 
Zenos yae Galvus: Hah...hah....hah... The hunter has indeed become the hunted. And yet...there is only joy. Transcendent joy that I have never known. How invigorating, how...pure, this feeling. 
Lyse: Is that what this was all about? All the meaningless death and destruction? So you could feel something? 
Zenos yae Galvus: Meaningless? Men die that others may live. Those who survive are stronger for it. Not that you could ever understand. To have stood upon this great stage of fools...to have played my part to perfection...Oh, this...this moment...let it be enshrined in eternity. My heart...beating out of time...So clear, so vivid, so real...So real. (Zenos prepares to take his own life)
Alphinaud: Coward!
Lyse: Stop! 
Zenos yae Galvus: Farewell, my first friend. My enemy. 
Raubahn: Where is he? 
Alphinaud: He's dead. By his own hand. 
Raubahn: Then justice has been done. 
Lyse: No...there's no justice in that...in that rabid animal's end. 
Alphinaud: Liberty or death. That so many should be forced to take up this creed to defeat such madness...
Raubahn: We won. Forget him. The living have need of us now. 
Hien: Stand tall, Lyse! Now is the time to raise a cheer for all who fought for freedom! A cheer loud enough to carry to the highest heavens! (Lyse's eyes are closed, as she focuses)
Lyse: ...You're right. (To the Warrior of Light): Thank you. Without you...Well...you know. So let's do it together. For Ala Mhigo! 

Crowd, singing:
O come ye wayard brothers 
Berefet of hearth and home
Beneath yon burning star there lies
A haven for the bold
Raise up your hands and voices
Let fill your hearts with pride, 
Above the churning waters we
Stand strong and unified. 

Lyse: (Narrating). In crimson it began, and in crimson it ended. And then..and then we were free.  But what is freedom, really?  We may be free to live, to love, to grow old. To have dreams and desires. But in the end, we're define by the legacy our forefathers bequeath to us. Even Zenos was once a baby in the cradle, innocent and pure. He was made into a creature that lived only for death, not born one. Twenty years of imperial rule have left Ala Mhigo torn and bleeding. It won't be easy to heal a generation's worth of wounds, to bridge the gap. But I won't give up, Papalymo, I won't. Because I remember the price of freedom. I remember the smoke and the ashes and the blood. I remember the screams...and the silence. And I'll do whatever it takes to honor their sacrifice. To build a home for us all. I promise you. This is the end. The end of the imperial province of Ala Mhigo, and the rebirth of Ala Mhigo the free nation. Long may she endure. 

With Estinien, at the Royal Menagerie

Estinien: Well, well, well, what a fine mess we've made. (Estinien stares at the Eyes of Nidhogg). All but spent feeding that primal, eh? Well, you won't be making any mischief with that amount of aether. (Estinien puts his lance onto an eye). Still...better safe than sorry. (Estinien destroys both eyes). There. There ends your hateful legacy. 

Elsewhere

Varis zos Galvus: ...It's over. 
???: My condolences for your loss. A father should not outlive his son. 
Varis zos Galvus: ...What nonsense. 
Elidibus: You do not mourn his loss? ...You surprise me, Your Radiance. He was your son and heir...and an irreplaceable test subject. 
Varis zos Galvus: I know what he was. Monsters are not made for thrones. Nor are stars made to sustain false gods who sup on their very essence. Eikons summoned by desperate savages who hearken to the whispers of shadowless charlatans. 
Elidibus: should you raise a hand against my black-robed brethren, I will not stop you. Our desires are one and the same. Preservation. Restoration. 
Varis zos Galvus: Compression. Resurrection. All is in service to your "one true god." And when the sundered shards are made whole, will there be a place for us mere mortals? 
Elidibus: Doubt my claims and question my motives if you will, Your Radiance. You will come to trust me in time. Until then, mayhap you will find this...reassuring. (Elidibus takes his mask off).
Varis zos Galvus: How...how dare you...

Speak with Lyse

Lyse: We did it. We liberated Ala Mhigo. I don't know what to say...I don't even know how to feel abut it all... Relief, I suppose. Pride...and hope, too. We did it, Father. Yda. Papalymo. Conrad, Meffrid...Minfilia...We really did it...Hey, don't feel like you have to stand here listening to me mumble. Everyone else will want to talk to you. You beat him, after all. You're the real hero of this story. So run along and take your plaudits! 

Speak with Alphinaud

Alphinaud: After all we have been through, I really should know better than to worry, but - as ever - the relief I felt upon finding you hale and whole in the Royal Menagerie well-nigh reduced me to tears... "The Warrior of Light," victorious again... Hm. I should be surprised if some small part of you had not come to resent the title and the responsibilities which accompany it. You must forgive us if we call you "hero" when you accomplish heroic feats... But as the Warrior of Light goes, so goes the world. You should take pride in the good you have done,and in the good you have inspired others to do. 
Thancred: You are a natural-born leader of men, [Forename]. All these people weren't just following their commanders - they were following you. 
Alphinaud: And you led them to victory. To freedom! ...Alas, not everyone could see the journey through to the end. But history shall remember them, and the glorious future they made possible. 

Speak with M'naago

M'naago: Can you believe it? We won! We beat the bastards! Ala Mhigo! Ala Mhigo! Heh heh...Sorry, got a bit carried away there, didn't I? It's hard not to, you know? We owe it to the friends we buried to shout and scream and cheer with all our hearts. I want them to know it wasn't for nothing - that it's finally over, and they can rest in peace. You...you hear that lads? <sniffle> We'll be all right! We'll...we'll be...<sniffle> Oh bugger, not again... I'm so...I'm so bleedin' happy, I could cry! <sniffle>

Speak with Raubahn

Raubahn: The hero of the hour! I suppose we'll have to add "liberator" to your titles. With their commander fallen, the remainder of the XIIth chose to surrender to our force.s After twenty long year,s it's official: the occupation is ended. But now the hard work starts. Though the people have had their fill of kings, there is no clear consensus on what sort of government they would prefer instead. 
Pipin: Indeed, Father. Momentous as this achievement may be, the road which lies before us is no less uncertain than the one we have walked. 
Raubahn: Aye, aye. Yet if we can overcome two decades of oppression, I've no doubt we can find a way forward. Thank you, Lieutenant, for helping to make this dream a reality. 

Speak with Yugiri

Yugiri: For you to best Zenos, even after he had harnessed the power of a primal, is a testament to your ever-growing strength. 
Hien: Not bitter to have had your vengeance stolen by another? 
Yugiri: There is some small regret, perhaps, but that is outweighed by the satisfaction I find in his death. I commend you, [Forename]. 
Hien: As should we all. Zenos was a monster and a tyrant - the man who killed my father and countless other of my countrymen. The world is a better place without him in it. I should also praise Master Alphinaud for his foresight and restraint. Had he not intervened, I might never have had the pleasure of being reunited with Hakuro and his Lupin brothers! 
Hakuro: 'Twas a timely intervention, aye. Full glad am I not to have been burdened with the guilt of killing my lord Hien's most trusted allies. 
Yugiri: Hah! Indeed, my friend. Indeed. 

Speak with Lyse

Lyse: Finished your rounds? Great. In that case, I'd like you to come with me. Back to Rhalgr's Reach. Not for a rematch or anything, sadly. I want to call all the Scions together. I'll explain later. w

Speak with Lyse in Rhalgr's Reach

Lyse: I...I don't even know where to begin...

Cutscene

Lyse: We've been through a lot together, haven't we? I can't thank you enough. There's something I need to say to you all. That is, if you have a moment...? Good, you're all here. Good, good..."Thank you" doesn't really suffice, does it? I'm grateful...truly grateful, from the bottom of my heart. But I know you didn't fight so hard just to hear me or anyone else say that. You fought because you wanted to help - because you believed it was right. Because you're Scions. Now, I'm obviously a Scion, but as Conrad left me in charge of things here, I also have responsibilities to Ala Mhigo... (Lyse looks down). When I put it like that, though....I realized I couldn't even pretend to be impartial anymore. So it seemed best to make it official. As long as I serve Ala Mhigo, I can't be a Scion. It might be selfish and shortsighted...but that's my decision. 
Y'shtola: Am I to understand that you summoned us all - some of us still nursing wounds - to hear this? 
'Lyse: Oh! I-I...I didn- Um...
Y'shtola: Hahaha! Forgive me, Lyse! 'Twas but a jest. But this I say with the utmost sincerity: Scion or no, we are comrades. Now and ever after. Is that not so? There you have it. Come what may, you may count on us in your hour of need. We shall never refuse you. 
Lyse: (Lyse's eyes water): Y'shtola...Oh gods, I swore I wouldn't cry...

Elsewhere, on a desert island

A fisher catches a fish
??? (Gosetsu): Come back here, you slippery little devil. <grumble>  To think fishing could be so difficult! What greater proof of a man's lingering mortality than an empty belly. A fate worse than death. Fie on it. To have arrived at the appointed place and time, only to survive by mere force of habit. Truly, the kami are not finished with us yet. 
Gosetsu: O capricious fortune! How you test me with this wretched soul...

Elsewhere, with Cid

Cid: ...Hm. This is indeed the work of either Shinryu or Omega. ...And since there is undeniably something down there radiating a massive amount of energy...which cannot very well be the late viceroy's lapdragon... Yes, I think we have our suspect. Well. This is a mess of our own making, so it falls to us to clean it up. It won't be easy...but is it ever?  
Jessie: And now comes the part where you say you've got no choice but to divert company resources and employees to this pet project of yours. Lost profits and belligerent clients be damned. 
Cid: I...er...Financial considerations notwithstanding, you have to admit there is an unquantifiable benefit in giving our people the opportunity to study such advanced technology - 
Jessie: Oh? Is that before you blow it up or seal it away? Fine, fine - but the moment I judge this little venture an unsustainable risk to the Ironworks, I'm ending it, savvy? (Cid nods). And to keep you honest, using my authority as deputy president, I've gone ahead and brought a consultant  - a master engineer and mechanical genius! (Cid nods)
Cid: ...You didn't. 
???: Come now, you mustn't build their expectations too high! It will be less dramatic when I surpass them. 
Cid: Oh. Oh no. Absolutely not. This is not happening. 
Nero tol Scaeva: Nero tol Scaeva, eager to begin his first day as a loyal member of the Ironworks team! Looking forward to working with you, Garlond! (Jessie claps).
So fell the hunter, but what of the hound? So rose the children, but what of the father?