WEBVTT 00:00:02.350 --> 00:00:04.690 Hey Pants People, just wanted to take a brief 00:00:04.690 --> 00:00:06.910 moment before the episode to say thanks for listening 00:00:06.910 --> 00:00:47.920 and thanks for being our friends. Enjoy! I'm 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.600 sure the events of yesterday have lingered darkly 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:51.979 in the minds of all residents of all worlds. 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:55.219 The merchant monarchy of Zinda targeted by a 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:59.659 serial killer. The entire Ain family slain. Meloara. 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:04.180 Azranir. Tragedies. Tragedies all. On top of 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:06.719 that, we have confirmation of the deaths of Arlhafim. 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:10.340 And Amomata were also linked to this plot. Those 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:12.420 bloodletter revolutionaries that were taken into 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:14.659 custody for Amomata's murder are being considered 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:17.640 for release. In the wake of this new information. 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:21.459 And who was behind all of this? None other than 00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:24.120 Diva Luma. We've received diamond recordings 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:26.379 provided by the Captain of the Asylum Burst that 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:29.560 reveal everything. And who was it that saw through 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.019 the heart of this plot? That brought down the 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:34.480 deadly Diva and her spirit servant and stopped 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:37.359 them from stealing any more lives? Who, I ask? 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:47.640 Well, folks, you ain't gonna believe this. We 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:52.859 open into darkness, and we see Jean, face locked 00:01:52.859 --> 00:01:57.060 in frustrated agony, floating amidst blackness 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:00.319 with a voice just ringing out, echoing all around 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.099 him. His own voice, speaking lines from the past, 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:06.900 lines that, in our journey together, we have 00:02:06.900 --> 00:02:11.240 all heard. My name is Jean Franklin Montelio, 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:14.039 by far the greatest and most noble warrior you 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:17.099 could have on your side. And the important thing 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:19.500 is justice was done. That fool Kasim will spend 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:22.020 an eternity in Atasha's prison. The Sky Prison. 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.620 Isn't that lovely? He was supposed to be my guide. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.120 So what are we supposed to do when we can't ask 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.479 him where to go? Does that make me a terrible 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.439 person, sir? Does this change the very pillars 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:38.259 of my beliefs? Make me weak? Father is a lying, 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:40.300 betraying murderer. All the kings of Koynar. 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:42.680 They're all murderers, sir. And I'm going to 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:46.669 prove it to the world. All of this and more mingling 00:02:46.669 --> 00:02:50.069 together into a horrid cacophony. You see him 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:53.370 brace his head against it, fingers going to his 00:02:53.370 --> 00:02:56.129 temples, pressing deep into his scales or skin, 00:02:56.210 --> 00:02:59.169 whatever turtles have. But something swells behind 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:02.310 the noise, and you see his fingers begin to release, 00:03:02.590 --> 00:03:05.090 his face begins to calm as something, another 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:08.990 sound, a uniform, chanting, repeated, growing 00:03:08.990 --> 00:03:11.250 in volume, pushing away the words, the doubts, 00:03:11.330 --> 00:03:15.469 the failures. This... Wonderful, wonderful sound. 00:03:16.289 --> 00:03:21.490 For golden tides! For golden tides! For golden 00:03:21.490 --> 00:03:25.389 tides! Light explodes in the darkness, driving 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:29.150 away all shadow, all sound, apart from that glorious 00:03:29.150 --> 00:03:34.250 chant. A golden light in the shape of Blanche 00:03:34.250 --> 00:03:37.189 Trudeau, standing tall, sword raised towards 00:03:37.189 --> 00:03:40.490 the heavens, standing just as she had all those 00:03:40.490 --> 00:03:43.090 years ago when she had won the Golden Bay tourney. 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:46.479 and claimed her title as Master of Defense. When 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.719 a young John Franklin stared in awe, his heart 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:55.500 forever changed. We see John's eyes snap open, 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:59.139 his features strained. He snaps up from the cupboards 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:01.159 of his bed. He lies in his movements, pushed 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:05.719 by a deep, frustrated fury. Damn it! And beside 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:11.060 him... John, it's all worth. We see Ledoux raise 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:16.370 from the covers. It's none of your concern, Ledoux. 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:20.790 A dismissal, really. Might I remind you that 00:04:20.790 --> 00:04:22.730 it was you who came to me in the middle of the 00:04:22.730 --> 00:04:29.430 night? Was our evening so unsatisfying? It was 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:34.050 good, Ledoux. It was very, very good. I have 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:38.449 no issues with our choices last evening. It may 00:04:38.449 --> 00:04:40.370 have been the single right choice I've made of 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:44.980 late. Sean... This again? You couldn't have known 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:47.480 the truth about Eden and your father? Yet Blanche 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:50.959 trusted him. She hubered me, sure, but she knew 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.980 I was wrong. The math to defend is simply loyal 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:56.600 to your health. I failed to see. You weren't 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:00.800 there, Ledoux. You didn't see. You didn't see 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:04.699 her that day. He kind of rises up, begins to 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:08.439 very uniformly start making his side of the bed 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:12.449 covers neat. Something he's... Something I've 00:05:12.449 --> 00:05:14.370 beaten into him in years. I mean, not beaten, 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:16.350 but you know what I mean. You know what I mean. 00:05:16.769 --> 00:05:20.589 The day she earned her title. The way she stood, 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:24.529 reflecting Carnarola's golden glory. I've seen 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:27.750 champions aplenty, but none like Master Blanche. 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:31.670 I knew, I knew that she would always get it right. 00:05:32.290 --> 00:05:34.829 She has never let me down, let anyone down. I 00:05:34.829 --> 00:05:37.689 wanted that. More than learning to fight like 00:05:37.689 --> 00:05:40.990 her, I wanted to be good like her. But I'm starting 00:05:40.990 --> 00:05:43.509 to realize I can't learn that. I'm just going 00:05:43.509 --> 00:05:46.870 to fuck it up, time and time again. I thought 00:05:46.870 --> 00:05:48.529 if I followed the letter of the law, I would 00:05:48.529 --> 00:05:51.430 always be right. A pitfall that Jules swiftly 00:05:51.430 --> 00:05:54.629 pulled me from. That perhaps my sense of honor 00:05:54.629 --> 00:05:56.370 would lead me to righteousness. Yet all it did 00:05:56.370 --> 00:05:58.509 was drive me to defend a monster and attempt 00:05:58.509 --> 00:06:01.370 to destroy my own house. What would that have 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:04.009 done to our people, the total people? To Father? 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:09.779 To Blanche? I just... Want to be a good person. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:15.920 Why is it so hard? I think maybe that's because 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:22.639 you are a good person. Jaune just stands up, 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:25.199 his side of the bed fully made, and just moves 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.000 to the wall with sort of furious step, grabs 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:31.040 his spear, a newly mended banner hanging from 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:35.800 it. I should train. I only have nine days until... 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.339 I'll see you tonight. And the dude just watches 00:06:40.339 --> 00:06:43.319 on as John Franklin pounds through the door and 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:46.600 almost slams it behind him. Steps retreating 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:51.839 down the hall. We cut outside. The thorn apple 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.000 is established. Maybe there's a small sort of 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:56.579 recreational court in the back. And here, under 00:06:56.579 --> 00:07:00.560 the very, very early day, the sun's still barely 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:04.879 breaking into day here. John begins to just... 00:07:07.349 --> 00:07:11.149 training with the spear. The coral catches the 00:07:11.149 --> 00:07:15.889 fish. The urchins strike. Damn it, damn it. And 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.930 maybe as we hone in on this, as we see Jaune 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:23.910 working so hard, maybe we pan back and see Blanche 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:28.689 watching from afar, perhaps out on your own morning 00:07:28.689 --> 00:07:32.649 jog, your bed already well made, your eyes catching 00:07:32.649 --> 00:07:37.600 your pupil and your mind flashing. Back to the 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:42.339 day before. To De Piero taking his leave. You 00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:44.360 see a contingent of your own soldiers had been 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.160 waiting on standby in Zinda. Not really allowed. 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:50.439 I mean, allowing Ledoux already was kind of like 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.480 pushing the limits of what the Grand Master would 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:55.319 bring into this party. It was supposed to be 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:57.660 a very, very enclosed affair. And the silent 00:07:57.660 --> 00:07:59.319 verse was supposed to be the only sort of armed 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.759 guard. But there were some... What's the word? 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:06.779 They were nearby. They were waiting. Yeah, yeah, 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:12.959 yeah. I'm sure they escorted him there to bring 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.360 him home. Yes, exactly. Up to this point, the 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:17.740 Golden Bay don't really utilize the silent verse. 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:20.660 Even though DiPiero is a king of coin, the Golden 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:22.779 Bay maintains their own sort of trained military 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:26.019 and policing force. Badass. Which is, of course, 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:29.100 what you control as the master of defense. And 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:32.200 so we see here as DiPiero is making way to depart. 00:08:32.930 --> 00:08:34.889 wagon sort of loaded with whatever belongings 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:37.129 he brought, about to get back on an elephant 00:08:37.129 --> 00:08:40.710 because, of course, he is. You've got to ride 00:08:40.710 --> 00:08:42.470 in style. You've got to ride in style. Penny's 00:08:42.470 --> 00:08:43.710 back. It's the elephant that was kind of hurt 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:48.309 before. Oh, Penny. It's Penny. You see a number 00:08:48.309 --> 00:08:51.649 of turtles in salute standing by, you know, perfect 00:08:51.649 --> 00:08:54.429 posture as you've taught them, and DePiero staying 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:59.529 before them. He's sort of grumbling to you as 00:08:59.529 --> 00:09:02.620 he's about to make his leave. Jean and... Ledoux 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:04.779 and everyone else would have already made their 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:06.600 way towards the thorn apple, but perhaps the 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.539 loyal soldier, loyal master defense, you stayed 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:13.679 to make sure your liege escaped unharmed. At 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:15.840 least to see him off, yeah, if she's not actually 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:19.919 going. Watch him, master defense. Keep an eye 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:26.120 on my son. He's so much like his mother. Pure. 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.159 Focused wholly on means rather than their ends. 00:09:30.029 --> 00:09:32.149 I often wonder what our house would be had she 00:09:32.149 --> 00:09:35.429 not passed. Had my ambitions not gone unchecked. 00:09:36.029 --> 00:09:37.769 And there's like a weird bitterness to him here. 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:41.450 Not a bitterness towards John, but a bitterness 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:45.370 almost towards himself. You see, he kind of turns 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:46.830 to the side. He doesn't look you in the eye and 00:09:46.830 --> 00:09:53.129 just says, tell me, master defense, in your opinion, 00:09:53.429 --> 00:09:57.649 have I been a good ruler? Have I led the total 00:09:57.649 --> 00:10:00.860 people well? Well, my lord, I suppose that I'm 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:04.799 not qualified to say, but I couldn't imagine 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:11.480 backing anyone else. This doesn't make him happy. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:14.940 You read, he kind of winces, almost like this 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:18.779 strikes at him in some way. Master of defense, 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:23.360 Blanche, you have proven yourself once again 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.580 to be invaluable to our house and people. In 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:29.730 truth... I begin to wonder if you were sent to 00:10:29.730 --> 00:10:33.389 my side by Kondorar themselves. A boon and a 00:10:33.389 --> 00:10:38.269 test. My son was wrong about Proud Eden, but 00:10:38.269 --> 00:10:44.350 I fear he was right about me. I do not deserve 00:10:44.350 --> 00:10:48.970 your loyalty. And before you concede, I have 00:10:48.970 --> 00:10:51.570 much to consider over these next ten days. And 00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:56.370 we have much to discuss when we meet again. In 00:10:56.370 --> 00:11:00.990 the meantime... Take care of him. Please. I'll 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:05.590 keep an eye on Jean, but the boy's... Well, you've 00:11:05.590 --> 00:11:09.730 seen he's quite capable on his own. Yes. Quite 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:14.549 capable. And there's something in his eyes as 00:11:14.549 --> 00:11:18.669 he turns away from you. Begins to move towards 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:22.009 the elephant. And watching your liege's sort 00:11:22.009 --> 00:11:24.690 of slooping shoulders, if burdened by a great 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:28.450 weight, it... strikes you in this moment that 00:11:28.450 --> 00:11:30.929 DiPiero and Jean Franklin are just so much more 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:33.870 alike than they may ever realize. So burdened 00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:37.250 by this self -doubt that they pretend they don't 00:11:37.250 --> 00:11:41.230 carry. At least the father does. And as we fade 00:11:41.230 --> 00:11:46.529 away from this, you watch Jean. Gah! Gah! Gah! 00:11:46.929 --> 00:11:52.210 Dammit! Training under the morning light. Blanche 00:11:52.210 --> 00:11:55.759 sort of walks around the corner. A little bit 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:01.120 closer to Jean. Your form is good, but rigid, 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:07.519 as always, when you're in this manner. Yes, sir. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.320 My apologies, sir. You'll do more harm than good 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:15.299 training your muscles in this mindset. Yes, of 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:20.120 course. Sit, sit. Yes, sir. Kind of lowers down. 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:24.139 And Blanche and Jean sit, sort of like cross 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:26.509 -legged and... And she brings him through, like, 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:30.610 a meditative sort of breathing exercise. I love 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:33.269 this. With all your oceanic, like, move sets 00:12:33.269 --> 00:12:35.149 and phrases, I imagine there's a lot of, like, 00:12:35.210 --> 00:12:37.809 you know, you're on the beach, you're hearing. 00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:41.230 Right, exactly. It's very... Imagine the waves, 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:46.350 Sean. Yes. Yes, sir. The waves bring all the 00:12:46.350 --> 00:12:51.149 stress in, and they gather in one place, and 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:59.700 when the waves go out, you expel. Try again. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:04.559 He looks at you with a smile and uses his spear 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:08.000 to kind of hoist himself back up. One strong 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:11.740 movement, twists it in his arms, drops into a 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:17.720 stance. Sir, your order. What move? A rhyming 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:27.519 mouth. Pike strike. Pike strike, I love it. That's 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.279 one of the basics. No, you're right. You're right. 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.419 Always establish the basics, then move on to 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:35.440 the more complex. Yes, yes. Always the fundamentals, 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:37.700 Jean. The fundamentals, I'm sorry, yes. Pike, 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:41.740 strain. Perfect sort of easy movement. Shoulders 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:46.019 go in. Spear flashes out so fast. He's getting 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:49.440 quicker. His jab's getting quicker, deadlier 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:53.159 every single day. He just might pull this off. 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:58.519 Perhaps we... Pan out here as Blanche is coaching 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:02.419 Jean through more, you know, the more complex 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:05.379 styles and skills that you've taught him and 00:14:05.379 --> 00:14:07.220 just kind of going through the entire arsenal. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:14.899 Ha! Ha! Yeah! We'll pan up and up and up to the 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:20.500 top of this in the thorn apple where some very 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:25.960 recently opened curtains flood light. Into the 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.120 room that belongs to Jules and Chester. Light 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:31.980 that has fallen onto an intruder that has appeared 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:38.259 in the night. Sturgeman. Chester, Jules, you 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:43.139 both face this figure as the mask is removed 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.789 from the man. The Sturgeman, this... Helm of 00:14:47.789 --> 00:14:50.450 Telepathy just lowers to his side, and you see 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:53.429 an easy, bright smile on a boyish, handsome face. 00:14:53.909 --> 00:14:56.909 Elegant features with large eyes, dark skin, 00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:01.210 and a fully shaved head. This face you see truly 00:15:01.210 --> 00:15:05.629 is a match to Larissa Reen's. I suppose there's 00:15:05.629 --> 00:15:08.889 no reason for this sweaty thing. You know who 00:15:08.889 --> 00:15:11.230 I really am, and it seems detecting your thoughts 00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:14.570 isn't a possibility anyway. Ring of Mind Shielding? 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:18.330 Don't need to tell me. I know my magic items. 00:15:19.110 --> 00:15:24.370 Congratulations, David. You remembered. I can 00:15:24.370 --> 00:15:28.769 look at your sheets. I want to make sure it's 00:15:28.769 --> 00:15:31.129 out there. Oh, God. You still have it. You still 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:33.490 have this power to, like, totally deflect mind 00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:36.809 shielding or mind reading. Uh -huh. And, like, 00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:41.909 control it. It's pretty great. You see Sturgeman 00:15:41.909 --> 00:15:44.909 shifts, and something kind of rolls out from 00:15:44.909 --> 00:15:48.720 just beneath his legs. You see a bottle. There's 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.240 another one sort of half full, resting on the 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.259 arm of his chair. Bottles of jelly wine. And 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:55.899 you, looking into this face and seeing these 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:58.519 somewhat like red, somewhat kind of unfocused 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:00.480 eyes, you realize Sturgeman's a little drunk. 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.440 He's drunk. Sturgeman is a little drunk. Whoa. 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:06.179 Uh -oh. There's maybe a silence for a moment 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:07.860 as you kind of take this in, as he's kind of 00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:11.419 looking at you, blinks a few times. Ah, you're 00:16:11.419 --> 00:16:15.289 probably still mad about the kids, right? It 00:16:15.289 --> 00:16:17.970 was nothing personal. And my involvement was 00:16:17.970 --> 00:16:20.669 minimal. Rune asked that I find a way to hurt 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.549 you, to send a message. I told him about the 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:25.769 coyote and the kids. That's it. That's all. He 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:27.509 asked me to kill you since then, but I turned 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:31.070 him down. He knows who I am, too. Just as you 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:33.610 do. So he has some power to blackmail me, but 00:16:33.610 --> 00:16:36.929 he won't push it. He knows that I could kill 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:43.409 him easily. Look at me. Never again. You don't 00:16:43.409 --> 00:16:45.590 need to tell me that, Jules. You have done... 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:50.590 You don't understand what you have done for me. 00:16:51.750 --> 00:16:55.990 Rune, whatever partnership I have with him, if 00:16:55.990 --> 00:17:00.230 it pertains to you, it's ignored. He set me up 00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:03.769 with this identity, this luminary figure, the 00:17:03.769 --> 00:17:06.829 mysterious Sturgeman. It was all his idea. My 00:17:06.829 --> 00:17:09.539 father funded it. Rune planned it. He pulled 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:11.759 some strings, and I owe him, which is why I have 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.359 not arrested him yet. The time may come, but 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.859 you, Jules, you've done so much more for me than 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:23.680 that. My sister, I have heard tell of what has 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:26.119 happened last night. I heard it from her, herself. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:31.819 You saved her, while my bumbling father sat there 00:17:31.819 --> 00:17:36.359 in shock. You, a real luminary. There are so 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:43.559 few. Real luminaries. But you... He just reaches 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:50.400 down to the bottle. To you, Jules. Raises it 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.319 to his lips and begins to drink little trickles 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:58.119 of dark wine running down the sore mouth. It's 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:03.000 pretty good, huh? It's very good. I have much 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.509 to celebrate and this is my home. In... the height 00:18:06.509 --> 00:18:10.250 of celebration. So, how about a toast together? 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:15.390 To, uh, what commonality do we share? Kind of 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:17.170 snaps fingers and sort of looks like he just 00:18:17.170 --> 00:18:20.849 realized, to shit fathers, how about? I know, 00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:23.309 I know. Yours was a piece. Does Jules laugh? 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:26.789 No. No, okay. What's Jules, how are you taking 00:18:26.789 --> 00:18:28.930 this? Like, he's talking about shit fathers, 00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:30.990 brings up your father, and like, what's, this 00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:33.130 is a weird, surreal, you just woke up. Jules 00:18:33.130 --> 00:18:36.660 will grab the nearest, uh, He'll grab the nearest 00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:41.079 bottle. He doesn't laugh. Chester had a few leftovers 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:47.720 next to him. But he'll raise up the bottle to 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:52.619 leave in the shit fathers in the past. Were I 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:55.900 only so lucky. I got to help arrest yours. I 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:58.559 can only hope that my father joins him in the 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:03.019 sky prison someday. But family is complicated, 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:07.130 right? raises up and drinks. Do you drink, too? 00:19:07.450 --> 00:19:11.329 Mm -hmm. Damn it. I should have waited to open 00:19:11.329 --> 00:19:13.430 my beer until now. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, yeah. Drink 00:19:13.430 --> 00:19:17.829 your beer. Drink your beer. There you go. It's 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:22.930 open. Nice. I think Sturgeon, like, lowers his 00:19:22.930 --> 00:19:27.349 head and sort of shakes it. Yes, my father is 00:19:27.349 --> 00:19:30.950 a megalomaniacal pile of shit, but my sister, 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:35.700 she really loves him. Her only true weakness. 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:40.400 But once he's gone, Jules, once I kill him, she'll 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:44.099 be in charge. Thanks to you, these plans can 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:47.440 still push forward. My only true family yet lives, 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.859 and I am indebted to you. This whole city is 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:54.000 indebted to you. Larissa's survival ensures a 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.400 bright future for our world. Zinda, this city 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.220 of sin, will change beneath Grand Madame Larissa 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:04.799 Nier. My... Revolutionaries have already started 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:08.220 to pave the way. He mentions revolutionaries 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:09.940 and his eyes flicker to you to see if there's 00:20:09.940 --> 00:20:15.880 any reaction. No. You surprise me. You and your 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:18.539 party learned that Diva Luma is a secret serial 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.319 killer, yet never figured out who the true founder 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.160 of the Blood Letters really is. It's right there 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.359 in the name, Jules. The Blood Letters. What's 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:32.039 under the side? I wear a mosquito mask. Shit. 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:36.220 Damn. You see, that's another link that binds 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.079 us. We see the worlds for what they really are. 00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:41.839 And we see how much better they can be when the 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:46.059 filth is cleaned up. We are the leaders of a 00:20:46.059 --> 00:20:49.019 new order. A just order where the rich are made 00:20:49.019 --> 00:20:51.819 to follow the very laws they write. We believe 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:56.779 in justice. True justice. You be careful with 00:20:56.779 --> 00:21:02.700 that, though. It's a fine line. Care? We can't. 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:08.490 Dwell on care. Our burden is too great. The changes 00:21:08.490 --> 00:21:11.789 we can bring to these worlds, they can shape 00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:16.630 so many lives. We have power over people. Well, 00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:20.470 you just answered my question. If you don't have 00:21:20.470 --> 00:21:23.430 care, then what are you doing this for? I thought 00:21:23.430 --> 00:21:27.069 you... You were there. In the tower, you watched 00:21:27.069 --> 00:21:29.730 your father. The way he ruled, the way he looked 00:21:29.730 --> 00:21:32.740 down on everyone. You don't beat power with more 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:36.279 power. Of course you do. When those who ignore 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:42.019 the laws can thrive. Law binds us. Law should 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:45.160 bind all like gravity itself. Bring them down. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:48.420 Those on high should fall farther and harder 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:56.119 when the new order comes. Fine line. Just be 00:21:56.119 --> 00:22:00.170 careful. Of course. Of course. Kind of raises 00:22:00.170 --> 00:22:04.650 his hands up. Of course. I don't wish to get 00:22:04.650 --> 00:22:10.230 heated with you, Jules. We're friends. Another 00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:15.809 swig. I think Chester's been staring this whole 00:22:15.809 --> 00:22:18.069 time, kind of like in pure disbelief, kind of 00:22:18.069 --> 00:22:20.829 like backed up towards the window. He actually 00:22:20.829 --> 00:22:22.650 has his bow in hand. He's kind of during this 00:22:22.650 --> 00:22:25.410 time like snuck over to it, like gotten a hold 00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:28.859 of it, facing it down. You see there's almost 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:30.759 like this malign magic that's starting to fade. 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:32.200 Perhaps he's starting to realize this is okay, 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:35.799 but he was ready to go. Sergeant's eyes flicker 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:40.380 to him, flicker back to you. But I am impeding 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:45.240 your celebrations. I should take my leave. But 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:52.299 before I go, gifts. He kind of stands up slowly 00:22:52.299 --> 00:22:57.329 and unfastens something from his belt. You see, 00:22:57.369 --> 00:22:59.309 like, it's a full, like, utility belt of magical 00:22:59.309 --> 00:23:01.130 gear. Like, you know, I think some of the pockets 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:02.490 in the belt, he can reach into it. You pull, 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:04.150 like, things that are way too big for it. He 00:23:04.150 --> 00:23:06.529 has a number of bags of holding, like, on his 00:23:06.529 --> 00:23:09.390 belt in pouch form. He kind of reaches in, pulls 00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:12.430 out little things. You see he grabs a stone. 00:23:13.329 --> 00:23:16.009 You've seen sending stones before when Crispin 00:23:16.009 --> 00:23:18.789 was using one to speak with Dresden. On Saint 00:23:18.789 --> 00:23:21.250 -Étienne, you see one now, but this one has kind 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:24.190 of a strange sign etched into it. One that looks 00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:27.069 like a hybrid of a bat and a mosquito, a sturge. 00:23:27.869 --> 00:23:29.990 There may come a time when you want to contact 00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:36.609 me. The sturge don't. How dare you! How dare 00:23:36.609 --> 00:23:39.529 you! Fine, very well. The sending, the sending 00:23:39.529 --> 00:23:48.500 sturge. No, it got worse. Oh my god. Oh, fuck. 00:23:50.059 --> 00:23:52.859 It just gets worse and worse and worse. It just 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:56.059 emits, like, a high -pitched frequency. Just, 00:23:56.200 --> 00:24:00.039 like, travels across the worlds. Oh, my God. 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.539 He lowers it down to the chair. I think he doesn't 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:04.200 approach you because he has that feeling, maybe 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:06.960 it's something he experiences as well, that you 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.839 don't take well to people you don't really know 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.660 stepping up close to you. Yeah, and quick question. 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:16.220 Yeah. These, like, sending stones. Yeah. Do they 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:18.500 only work? Oh, a starch stone. Sending Sturge, 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:25.579 yeah, please. Shut the fuck up. Do these only 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:28.559 work if both sides activate it, or can somebody 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:35.940 listen in without the other's knowledge? Only 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:38.299 if both sides activate it. Okay, cool, cool. 00:24:38.420 --> 00:24:40.920 So it's not something that he can listen through? 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:43.299 Yes. Yeah, he can't listen through it. Okay, 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:46.319 cool, we're good. That's fine. That's fine. Yeah, 00:24:46.339 --> 00:24:47.539 you could basically, he could send a message 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:48.920 to you, but it would be like, and then you could 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:50.480 respond to it, but you would be aware of it. 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:52.740 The way I have them work is like you hear, normally 00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:54.819 they just happen in your brain. I like to have 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:57.000 it work like a weird little like creepy cell 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:58.700 phone where like little mouths in the snow and 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:00.660 such are open and closed and like make a whispering 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:02.200 sound. When you pick it up, you hear the voice 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.259 through it. It's fun and magical and creepy. 00:25:04.619 --> 00:25:07.259 Waspy talky. Waspy talky. Waspy talky. That's 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:10.180 pretty good. Not bad. That's really good. That's 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:14.880 better than sending Sturge. He leaves it down, 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:18.759 and then you see he reaches down, and this. And 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.539 he pulls, maybe not actually in a pouch, but 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:24.660 just resting on his belt, a fine -looking blade. 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:28.180 You see a handle of, like, a dark sort of red 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:30.440 that matches the Sturge costume. And even the 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:34.740 handle itself seems to, like, the sort of guard 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:38.400 breaks out into two bat -like wings. The sort 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.539 of body seems to form a shape, and you see, like, 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.210 almost, like, connected to the guard is... The 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:45.630 very sort of bear, like the Sturge head that 00:25:45.630 --> 00:25:49.470 the nose forms into the very long pointed blade 00:25:49.470 --> 00:25:53.289 of this rapier. Oh. I believe this is your weapon 00:25:53.289 --> 00:26:04.930 of choice. The Sturge sword. Baby. Fuck. It was 00:26:04.930 --> 00:26:09.109 good until it wasn't. The thing about this is 00:26:09.109 --> 00:26:12.359 what's called a rapier of life stealing. is a 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:14.779 magical weapon as far as it's concerned, damage 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:17.640 is concerned. When you attack a creature with 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:19.500 its weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.160 that target takes an extra 10 necrotic damage. 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:25.700 If it's not a construct or undead, you gain 10 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:27.619 temporary hit points. Wow, that's pretty cool. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.900 It's a life training. It's very Sturge. It's 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:33.740 very Sturge. Leans up against the chair and then 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:39.279 sort of stands. I thank you again, Jules. I look 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:41.880 forward to meeting you again. I'm going to take 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:44.119 the door because now that it's daytime, it's 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:45.599 hard for me to do the window, the cool window 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.259 thing I did. No, try it. No, I'm just going to 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:51.440 walk. Try it. It'll be real weird. Yeah, exactly. 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:54.160 Yeah. Exactly. I wish I'd left earlier. Do it. 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:56.019 I want to watch you sleep. Now this is just off. 00:26:56.180 --> 00:27:04.380 See ya. I'm sexy and you know it. He just leaves. 00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:12.180 You hear the door close behind him. That just... 00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:15.759 That took a turn. Give me a second. I want to 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:19.759 change the song. Let's talk about the next ten 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.420 days. Or, I guess in this case, next nine days. 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:25.420 The first day has ended. Remember, this was a 00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:28.000 ten -day sort of celebration. The first day was... 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.259 A lot of shit went down. You burned everything 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:33.779 in the attempt to save these people, but you 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:37.160 made it through. And now, one of those rare moments 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:39.460 in time where our heroes can actually celebrate 00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:42.950 their victory. And so we see these celebrations 00:27:42.950 --> 00:27:46.609 to a quick blur, a montage of what people are 00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:48.930 up to. I told you already that during these 10 00:27:48.930 --> 00:27:52.569 days, you're going to level up. So perhaps intermingle 00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:54.569 with celebration there, some studying, some training. 00:27:55.109 --> 00:27:58.480 I know we see Jean training hard. every day, 00:27:58.539 --> 00:27:59.980 almost all day. There's actually very little 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:02.440 rest that he takes just preparing for the Golden 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:04.440 Bay Tournament. Perhaps many mornings are spent 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:07.779 with him. Blanche coming upon him. They go over 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:09.839 the meditation and then they go through the forms, 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:12.059 the fundamentals again and again and he gets 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:15.220 faster and faster and faster. I'll tell you right 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:19.099 now that Jaune at the next level has access to 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:24.059 an extra attack per turn. Oh yeah. That's going 00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:26.980 to be great for him. Hell yeah. Oh yeah. See, 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.859 he's been working hard this week. And Blanche, 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:30.640 you've kind of come to notice something a little 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:33.099 interesting. That perhaps through how you're 00:28:33.099 --> 00:28:34.539 pairing him visits here and there to check in 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:37.099 on him, you found out that he has not been staying 00:28:37.099 --> 00:28:40.240 in his rooms lately. It seems that he's been 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:42.779 making somebody else's bed in the morning. And 00:28:42.779 --> 00:28:45.680 it doesn't take a detective to know who's. I 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:49.160 also love the idea of Jean getting out of bed 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:54.160 while... LeDoux. Sorry, yeah, while LeDoux is 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:57.200 still in bed and Jaune making his half of the 00:28:57.200 --> 00:29:00.559 bed. 100%. He won't start the day without it, 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:02.779 and LeDoux's kind of a late sleeper. Yeah. You 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:04.619 know, I wanted to see a kiss, but this will do. 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:07.420 This will do. No kiss for you. We're classy. 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:09.400 We keep it off camera. Maybe we'll kiss. Maybe 00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:11.500 we'll kiss, but not today. Not today. Because 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:15.480 I'm crazy. Speaking of LeDoux, we actually see 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:17.440 that throughout this week, he's in near -constant 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:19.210 meetings with the other kings of Corbyn. with 00:29:19.210 --> 00:29:21.210 their families, with various merchants throughout 00:29:21.210 --> 00:29:24.809 the town. This, to him, is a work trip. And he 00:29:24.809 --> 00:29:27.829 is dedicated to doing what he can to further 00:29:27.829 --> 00:29:30.970 the Golden Bay's influence in Zinda. And so he's 00:29:30.970 --> 00:29:34.089 working. He's pushing at it. And he's making 00:29:34.089 --> 00:29:35.710 good deals. He's actually been spending a lot 00:29:35.710 --> 00:29:38.130 of time with Margus Ruba in particular, who I 00:29:38.130 --> 00:29:39.750 think you've all probably seen a fair bit as 00:29:39.750 --> 00:29:42.470 they are just having a blast during the celebration 00:29:42.470 --> 00:29:45.029 now that the negative bits are out of the way. 00:29:45.970 --> 00:29:48.230 Chester. actually spending a lot of time with 00:29:48.230 --> 00:29:50.210 these silent birds. You know, he was kind of 00:29:50.210 --> 00:29:51.710 speaking with them a lot during that first day. 00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:54.769 Yeah, he's kind of become friends with them. 00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:56.930 Yeah, that's great. It actually turns out that 00:29:56.930 --> 00:29:58.970 a number of officers are accomplished crossbow 00:29:58.970 --> 00:30:01.890 snipers. He's picking up some tricks. He's been 00:30:01.890 --> 00:30:04.430 training with Harlan himself. Harlan and Chester 00:30:04.430 --> 00:30:07.450 working at it in the fields. He's been in good 00:30:07.450 --> 00:30:09.230 spirits following the events at the palace. His 00:30:09.230 --> 00:30:11.069 insistence on saving Diva Luma brought him some 00:30:11.069 --> 00:30:14.430 turmoil following that betrayal. But he's faced 00:30:14.430 --> 00:30:16.660 darker things and he's come through. Time and 00:30:16.660 --> 00:30:19.099 rest, he knows, will help to wash these pains 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:21.700 clean, so he channels those pains into the bow 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:26.240 every day. Training, training. Also getting a 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:27.960 little faster, because he, too, at level six, 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:31.720 gains an extra attack. So, another big power 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:35.259 spike for another sidekick. All sorts of crazy, 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:38.720 fast -hitting boys around here. Oh, yeah. See, 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:40.640 Marcus and Xenia invite you to party after party, 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:42.859 parade after parade. The two are inseparable 00:30:42.859 --> 00:30:45.059 during the time of the march. You also note that 00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:47.700 Samira Ara, tailed by Harlan Burnshadow, joined 00:30:47.700 --> 00:30:50.319 the Rubies in Celebration here and there. There's 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:55.000 a somber air to Samira, but buried within it 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:57.799 is a spark of true joy as she takes Xenia shopping 00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.980 to the markets once or twice. There's a relationship 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:04.119 there. There's a connection. You don't see Amos 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:08.099 near again, nor do you see Larissa Reign. There's 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:10.579 no announcement at this point of Larissa's true 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:12.740 identity, but you know it. With the heir gone, 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:15.299 it's likely to follow soon. But the two have 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:20.240 been shut off. The palace in which you battled, 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:22.400 in which you struggled, has been closed off to 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:24.920 the world during this celebration. No theater? 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:28.200 You know what? I want some more omelets. You 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:32.039 know what? One night as you show up to Margus 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:33.960 and Xenia's place. I mean, he's got to go grocery 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:37.440 shopping. You see omelets. Lying the table. It 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.880 turns out, it seems that following everything 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:42.500 that happened at the Manor, Fyodor found himself 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:46.240 a better master to serve. Whoa. He works for 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:50.900 Marcus now. Whoa. Damn. All right. Macanoli. 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:52.980 Okay. And so, yeah, there's definitely some, 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:56.000 Blanche, the jewels, how are you doing? There's 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:58.079 a lot of, you know, he's happy, he's cheerful, 00:31:58.279 --> 00:32:02.680 everything is going well. That's great. So, during 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:05.180 all of this, Actually, one more thing before 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:08.079 I get to that. During your time spent with Margus, 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:11.079 Fjodor, Xenia, all that, there will come a night 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:15.119 where Margus, while in their cups, offers you 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:19.319 a relic of some import. A nice little magic item 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.079 called the Amulet of the Drunkard. Essentially 00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:25.819 an amulet that allows you to recover HP off of 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:29.619 alcohol once a day. I'll take it. Hell yeah. 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:33.730 Absolutely. Oh my god. So that sort of slid out. 00:32:33.930 --> 00:32:36.369 Boom, party collects the amulet of the drunkard. 00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:40.390 Margus, delighted. And now, following all that, 00:32:40.569 --> 00:32:43.309 we've talked before about how this party, Jules 00:32:43.309 --> 00:32:45.309 and Blanche, they haven't really spent a lot 00:32:45.309 --> 00:32:48.710 of time together. You know, Zebulon and Jules, 00:32:48.750 --> 00:32:50.150 they live together in the Coyote. Blanche, she's 00:32:50.150 --> 00:32:53.589 got a job to do. She's got places to be on Zinda 00:32:53.589 --> 00:32:55.890 and the Golden Bay and all that. She's barely 00:32:55.890 --> 00:32:58.089 around the Radiant Citadel. So when you guys 00:32:58.089 --> 00:32:59.829 actually meet, it's because shit's going down. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.140 But now you find yourselves, Blanche, you're 00:33:02.140 --> 00:33:04.099 on vacation. You've been told to stay on vacation 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:06.480 for a week, essentially. Jules, you're here. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.819 I mean, is there a time when these two line up, 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:12.940 just like sitting at a busy bar? Maybe the bottom 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:15.259 floor of the Thorn Apple is in celebration. Maybe 00:33:15.259 --> 00:33:17.759 you're watching a parade go by, beads all over 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.559 your necks, just drinking out in the streets. 00:33:19.579 --> 00:33:23.319 What's going on? Give me a scene. Yeah. You go, 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:25.619 Jerry. No, no, go ahead. Go ahead. I insist. 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:30.230 No, no, no. I insist. I mean, I imagine. It's 00:33:30.230 --> 00:33:34.190 similar to a lot of the just kind of encounters 00:33:34.190 --> 00:33:37.609 we've had so far where I think we have moments 00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:40.710 where, you know, first we sit down and we talk 00:33:40.710 --> 00:33:44.430 serious. We talk business. We just sit kind of 00:33:44.430 --> 00:33:49.029 on our own. But does Blanche drink? Oh, yeah. 00:33:49.490 --> 00:33:53.289 Okay. I think there was a sake scene with. Oh, 00:33:53.289 --> 00:33:57.339 yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I love the idea. of 00:33:57.339 --> 00:33:59.339 Blanche and Jules getting drunk together. Totally. 00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:04.660 Maybe Blanche is sharing her love of sake. There's 00:34:04.660 --> 00:34:07.500 a big stone crock, or a tall stone crock anyway, 00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:11.519 and they've got the small little cups that they 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:16.780 use, and Blanche is pouring it out. It may be 00:34:16.780 --> 00:34:20.980 an acquired taste, but this one I find is particularly 00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:23.489 smooth. You want to put a bet on this? I can 00:34:23.489 --> 00:34:27.090 drink you under the table. Oh, shit. Drinking 00:34:27.090 --> 00:34:31.469 contest. This bottle may be more about quality 00:34:31.469 --> 00:34:35.489 than quantity, but what do you say about tomorrow 00:34:35.489 --> 00:34:39.429 night back at the Thorn Apple? All right. I'm 00:34:39.429 --> 00:34:42.610 in. Yeah. Thorn Apple. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, 00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:44.610 yeah. I heard drinking contest. I came running. 00:34:47.269 --> 00:34:48.889 Chester, you're not old enough, but you're old 00:34:48.889 --> 00:34:52.489 enough. I'm an alcoholic now. It's my new arc. 00:34:52.510 --> 00:34:57.670 We kind of don't know. No, it's... Zinda's drinking 00:34:57.670 --> 00:35:00.730 ages 16. I'm right there. I don't know if anybody 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:06.369 from DCF is listening, but... It's Zinda. There's 00:35:06.369 --> 00:35:08.010 toddlers in the street drinking. There's cops 00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:14.909 everywhere. City of Sin. Come on, gentlemen. 00:35:16.989 --> 00:35:20.710 Hell yeah. So that's... Quite the sod you got 00:35:20.710 --> 00:35:24.590 there from Sturge, man. It's still, well, it's 00:35:24.590 --> 00:35:26.650 hard to believe. Yeah, I was a little surprised 00:35:26.650 --> 00:35:31.030 myself. Yeah. Especially after the stories you've 00:35:31.030 --> 00:35:33.949 told me about your run -ins in the past. Yeah. 00:35:34.429 --> 00:35:39.429 I still don't trust him. Smart. But it doesn't 00:35:39.429 --> 00:35:41.329 mean I'm not going to take a sword. Yeah, of 00:35:41.329 --> 00:35:43.070 course, of course. I mean, let's be real here. 00:35:43.369 --> 00:35:50.119 Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of your past. Jules, I've 00:35:50.119 --> 00:35:55.659 never gotten to Tythos. What was it like? Ooh. 00:35:56.380 --> 00:36:01.659 Oh. Ooh, this is interesting. I love this. Steven. 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:03.940 I want to know where you came from. I mean, you're 00:36:03.940 --> 00:36:10.659 here now in my home world, and I'd like to share 00:36:10.659 --> 00:36:15.179 in yours as much as I can. You've got to look 00:36:15.179 --> 00:36:17.800 past what you've seen on the network. Look to 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:23.860 the people. Tithos was so rich in community and 00:36:23.860 --> 00:36:27.099 love and genuine connection among the people. 00:36:27.659 --> 00:36:31.179 All I ever saw, all I ever showed were, I mean, 00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:34.360 the towers. Of course, of course, they were, 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:37.119 I mean, magnificent. They were beautiful. But 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:41.079 that's not real. So much love and so much evil 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:44.780 trying to stifle that love. But we stood together 00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:51.420 until the end. For what it's worth, she pours 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:56.739 the last of the sake into the two cups. For what 00:36:56.739 --> 00:37:01.260 it's worth, I am... She hoists her glass to Tithe 00:37:01.260 --> 00:37:05.239 House. And to Zinda. And they clink glasses and... 00:37:05.239 --> 00:37:08.579 Oh, my gosh. Empty them. Speaking of clinking 00:37:08.579 --> 00:37:12.860 glasses... Ooh, that's a clinking noise. Each 00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:14.719 of you take a button. I'll take it. Each of you 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:18.159 take a button. Absolutely. Oh, hell yeah. I think 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:20.679 that is the most words that have been exchanged 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:23.500 between players. That was awesome. I think it's 00:37:23.500 --> 00:37:26.679 his plan, yeah. It's awesome. And I love this 00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:28.300 because I think as that last little bit of sake 00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:30.440 is drained from your glass plant, you look across 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:33.119 the jewels and you think back to the last time 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:36.320 you shared sake with somebody. And I think you 00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:41.059 realize it was Ozen so long ago. This has been 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:43.960 a personal, a private thing for you here on your 00:37:43.960 --> 00:37:47.219 world and on Noari. But we don't want to think 00:37:47.219 --> 00:37:49.400 about that right now. I think... Come on, drink 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:53.900 more. Jules, is it too late? Do you want to... 00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:57.519 That drinking contest, are you still on? I'm 00:37:57.519 --> 00:37:59.960 always on. I've already started. I'm always on. 00:37:59.980 --> 00:38:02.320 I think they're still pouring. Just a fair warning. 00:38:02.500 --> 00:38:04.860 I'm too in. I might ask to ride on your back. 00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:08.119 I haven't had quite enough of that, but let's 00:38:08.119 --> 00:38:10.059 see what happens. We'll get there. We'll get 00:38:10.059 --> 00:38:17.829 there. Incredible. And so, ten days of partying, 00:38:17.829 --> 00:38:21.150 of training, of studying, of working, of celebration, 00:38:21.369 --> 00:38:26.489 and of friendship pass in a blur. And we find 00:38:26.489 --> 00:38:31.130 ourselves at the end of the March of Vice. The 00:38:31.130 --> 00:38:34.289 parade has ended. The Prince of Vice has been 00:38:34.289 --> 00:38:36.789 cast into the sea, carrying all the sins of the 00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:41.050 city along with him. And the city is purged. 00:38:41.590 --> 00:38:46.119 And all is bright and sleepy. But where Zinda 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:52.019 sleeps, somewhere else wakes. It's time to go 00:38:52.019 --> 00:38:57.340 to the Golden Bay. So we are going to leave behind 00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:02.940 those white, shining walls. The palaces of the 00:39:02.940 --> 00:39:06.639 kings of coin. And we're going to travel. Not 00:39:06.639 --> 00:39:09.639 by elephant this time, because... Penny's already 00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:12.159 gone. Penny's already gone. Depeo didn't leave 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:14.730 money for another elephant. So you're huffing 00:39:14.730 --> 00:39:17.969 it. No pennies, so no penny. A small retinue 00:39:17.969 --> 00:39:23.309 walking along the seacoast to the north. A short 00:39:23.309 --> 00:39:26.889 journey. A few hours on foot will bring us to 00:39:26.889 --> 00:39:30.650 another place of such beauty as Zinda. Here. 00:39:31.610 --> 00:39:33.550 I think I've used this before, but I don't care. 00:39:33.710 --> 00:39:36.170 It's awesome. Here we see that the sea has carved 00:39:36.170 --> 00:39:38.989 its niche into the land. A great bay. The shimmering 00:39:38.989 --> 00:39:41.750 water reflects a blue sky as the sun begins to 00:39:41.750 --> 00:39:45.340 sink towards the horizon's edge. As you're reaching 00:39:45.340 --> 00:39:49.679 this area, you're cutting it close. The tourney 00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:53.260 is coming up soon. Perhaps Joan was dragging 00:39:53.260 --> 00:39:56.840 his feet this morning. You beeline towards this 00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:59.780 central beach. Structures of stone more humble 00:39:59.780 --> 00:40:01.900 than zinda in their material, but just as pompous 00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:03.699 in their spectacle, banners of red and gold decorate 00:40:03.699 --> 00:40:07.179 these structures. All this surrounds you. All 00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:10.900 these banners decorated by an image of a leaping 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:16.090 fish. A red sky, a gold sea. You see turtles 00:40:16.090 --> 00:40:19.809 moving about, some mostly with the paler, grayed 00:40:19.809 --> 00:40:21.769 -out scales of the elderly, where full -flowing 00:40:21.769 --> 00:40:24.230 robes like the Piero. But most tend to dress 00:40:24.230 --> 00:40:26.650 as Jean, wearing colorful trousers and sleeves 00:40:26.650 --> 00:40:29.010 over their arms, connected by chains of like 00:40:29.010 --> 00:40:31.829 jewel -adorned metal. They stop as you pass, 00:40:32.030 --> 00:40:34.070 all eyes locked on the returning prince, the 00:40:34.070 --> 00:40:37.710 turtle, luminary. Their smiles and awe -filled 00:40:37.710 --> 00:40:40.420 eyes follow him everywhere. Maybe some elderly 00:40:40.420 --> 00:40:42.619 tend to scowl and turn away, but the younger, 00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:44.880 the younger love him. Children, their scales 00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:48.880 are a vibrant green or yellow or turquoise. They 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:50.960 rush forward to greet the young lord, crowding 00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:53.079 around him and breaking into a barrage of questions. 00:40:53.420 --> 00:40:55.199 John, John, John, what's it like being Illumina? 00:40:55.219 --> 00:40:57.199 What's it like off -world? Did you really fight 00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:03.500 a spider? I'm sorry, I have to go. He's pushing 00:41:03.500 --> 00:41:06.130 past them. And as he is just pushing through 00:41:06.130 --> 00:41:07.809 these crowds of people, as he gets closer and 00:41:07.809 --> 00:41:10.050 closer to the enormous stone arena that rises 00:41:10.050 --> 00:41:13.090 from the white sands of the beach, just dominating 00:41:13.090 --> 00:41:16.250 the harbor, you can see the tension rising in 00:41:16.250 --> 00:41:18.730 the set of his shoulders and the stiffness of 00:41:18.730 --> 00:41:21.929 his steps. He starts responding to those waving, 00:41:22.010 --> 00:41:24.449 shuts down entirely, his eyes locked on the structure 00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:28.269 and the battle ahead. It's a curious place for 00:41:28.269 --> 00:41:29.610 you, Jules. I think you've never been somewhere 00:41:29.610 --> 00:41:33.329 that's so fully dominated by a non -humanoid 00:41:33.329 --> 00:41:36.340 race. They kind of tend to look at you strangely. 00:41:36.460 --> 00:41:38.340 There's not many visitors. You know this, Blanche. 00:41:38.460 --> 00:41:41.800 Very few non -tortal visitors come to the Golden 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:43.900 Bay. It's not far from the heart of civilization 00:41:43.900 --> 00:41:46.219 here, but there's still this sort of alienation. 00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:48.059 There's still this disconnect between the turtles 00:41:48.059 --> 00:41:52.119 and the people of Xena. So there's a lot of sort 00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:54.400 of wide eyes and gasps following you, Jules. 00:41:55.139 --> 00:41:58.539 And that's not anything that's new to Jules at 00:41:58.539 --> 00:42:02.300 all. I think he recognizes it, but it doesn't 00:42:02.300 --> 00:42:05.960 really faze him. Yeah. All that much. Yeah. And 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:07.380 if one thing, you're a luminary. You're used 00:42:07.380 --> 00:42:10.400 to a lot of eyes following you. A luminary and 00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:14.840 a prince. You guys got it all. Except HP. Except 00:42:14.840 --> 00:42:22.219 HP. We cut to a quiet sort of stone room with 00:42:22.219 --> 00:42:24.760 great doors resting on the edge of it that you 00:42:24.760 --> 00:42:27.019 know is going to open up soon. Magically, all 00:42:27.019 --> 00:42:29.260 of them will open as all champions pour from 00:42:29.260 --> 00:42:32.420 their personal chambers into the Tidepool Arena. 00:42:33.179 --> 00:42:35.840 When the sun hits just right, when the water 00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:39.539 reaches the very edges of the arena, figures 00:42:39.539 --> 00:42:42.719 will splash through it and begin their melee. 00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:49.099 Jaune just... Man, I see Father's not here to 00:42:49.099 --> 00:42:52.039 greet me. No doubt ashamed of my mistakes in 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:57.260 Zinda, but how to blame him, hmm? From the door 00:42:57.260 --> 00:43:00.480 behind, there's like a knocking. And there's 00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:03.480 a kind of... opens up. I think one of your soldiers, 00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:08.179 Blanche, comes forward. Good. I see you all here. 00:43:10.260 --> 00:43:13.639 Lord DePiero has asked me to bring this to you. 00:43:13.920 --> 00:43:19.400 A gift. Jean. Sorry, my lord. He kneels and sort 00:43:19.400 --> 00:43:22.679 of presents something to Jean. All of your eyes 00:43:22.679 --> 00:43:27.199 walk on this. This gift. A spear of gleaming 00:43:27.199 --> 00:43:30.280 gold metal with a spiraling pattern lined by 00:43:30.280 --> 00:43:33.920 fine inscriptions running up its length. You 00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:35.659 know, it's shaped blanched, as you see it, in 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:39.500 the image of Kondorala, which the total people 00:43:39.500 --> 00:43:42.239 know Kondorala's form, or takes the form of, 00:43:42.280 --> 00:43:44.539 a twisting, spiraling coral reef jutting up from 00:43:44.539 --> 00:43:47.900 the bottom of the Golden Bay. This is a spirit 00:43:47.900 --> 00:43:50.539 of great honor. This is... This is... And then 00:43:50.539 --> 00:43:52.920 John sort of says his thoughts out loud. This 00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:56.610 is... The father's spear. The king's spear. But 00:43:56.610 --> 00:44:01.369 why? I don't deserve to. My... He's here with 00:44:01.369 --> 00:44:05.269 you, Jean. And it's not even just him. You know, 00:44:05.369 --> 00:44:08.110 another part of what makes this so incredible 00:44:08.110 --> 00:44:11.010 is this. DiPiro has never wielded this spear, 00:44:11.170 --> 00:44:16.469 but his wife had once. Jean steps towards it, 00:44:16.530 --> 00:44:19.989 hands sort of reaching out, and those fingers 00:44:19.989 --> 00:44:25.840 sort of close. No. No, no, no. No, I shouldn't 00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:29.579 be here. What? Sir, I can't do this. I can't. 00:44:29.679 --> 00:44:33.179 I can't go out there. I can't. I can't. Not alone 00:44:33.179 --> 00:44:35.659 in front of all of our people. I'm not good enough 00:44:35.659 --> 00:44:39.820 or strong enough for this. I shouldn't have this. 00:44:40.119 --> 00:44:42.840 Just gestures towards the spear. Hell, I shouldn't 00:44:42.840 --> 00:44:47.780 even be here. A luminary. It's a joke. We all 00:44:47.780 --> 00:44:49.599 know that I was carried into this role by both 00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:54.349 of you, by Zeb. I'm... Sir, I'm nothing on my 00:44:54.349 --> 00:44:57.010 own. Your father certainly thinks you deserve 00:44:57.010 --> 00:45:00.769 it. I think you deserve it. What was the point 00:45:00.769 --> 00:45:03.829 of all of our practice if... if you're going 00:45:03.829 --> 00:45:07.949 to give up now? When you're so close. John, you've 00:45:07.949 --> 00:45:12.849 earned this. How? The battle for the Golden Bay 00:45:12.849 --> 00:45:16.389 begins today. Defeated by the runaway to their 00:45:16.389 --> 00:45:19.170 dismay. Display arrays of forms and plates to 00:45:19.170 --> 00:45:21.860 slay your way. Through the disarray to prove 00:45:21.860 --> 00:45:25.280 to your sensei that you're the greatest. Mentored 00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:27.519 by greatness. Posted the temple to honor his 00:45:27.519 --> 00:45:30.139 father the latest. King of coin racists. Won't 00:45:30.139 --> 00:45:31.579 keep him down because he's got a crown. You'll 00:45:31.579 --> 00:45:33.820 make it. You've been trained to take hits. So 00:45:33.820 --> 00:45:36.119 look alive. Defend your sides for golden times. 00:46:03.719 --> 00:46:06.019 and Zeb in front of Rune's estate. Now with your 00:46:06.019 --> 00:46:08.400 new friend's trek to battle spooks and snakes, 00:46:08.539 --> 00:46:11.079 and when it's time to step, you escaped from 00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:13.760 the belay. Can I take your hand? They'd be done 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:16.320 with. If Jean wasn't there, Mesmer would win. 00:46:16.460 --> 00:46:19.159 Takata, Kolo, and the sickness in the studio 00:46:19.159 --> 00:46:22.199 made Atash look witless unstoppable. You're right, 00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:53.929 sir. I can do this. My people, no worry, I'll 00:46:53.929 --> 00:46:57.170 spit shit. My habit of cowering twisted. I've 00:46:57.170 --> 00:47:00.809 underestimated this kid. For the last time, now 00:47:00.809 --> 00:47:02.130 blast rhymes. What the thought of these fools 00:47:02.130 --> 00:47:03.389 bringing me back to the moonlight for bedtime? 00:47:03.630 --> 00:47:05.510 On the way, I'm not on the Citadel. I'm back 00:47:05.510 --> 00:47:07.510 in Monsanto on Baytime. It's a place I'm from 00:47:07.510 --> 00:47:09.030 where the lights in the water, they look like 00:47:09.030 --> 00:47:10.869 a sunrise. I can't realize that tomorrow's the 00:47:10.869 --> 00:47:13.809 moment to feel. Ah, yeah! Get him, John! Chester! 00:47:13.929 --> 00:47:16.150 Keep it real! Bust him like black, black, black! 00:48:00.559 --> 00:48:04.139 Oh my gosh. So I guess what we're saying, John, 00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:07.320 is we believe in you and we're on your side. 00:48:07.599 --> 00:48:12.300 You got this, buddy. You got this. Amazing. Amazing. 00:48:13.260 --> 00:48:18.280 Hand reaches out and grasps the gold of the spear. 00:48:18.940 --> 00:48:21.800 Plus one spear, actually, by the way. Ooh, la 00:48:21.800 --> 00:48:25.500 -dee -da. Nice. Upgrade for John. Okay. Double 00:48:25.500 --> 00:48:30.579 upgrade now. Oh, guys. That was awesome. That 00:48:30.579 --> 00:48:34.719 was so much fun. We'll go into the details of 00:48:34.719 --> 00:48:36.320 the behind the scenes in the Unzipped episode. 00:48:36.579 --> 00:48:39.440 Unzipped. Unzipped. Coming next week or the week 00:48:39.440 --> 00:48:42.460 after. Two weeks from the release of this episode. 00:48:43.300 --> 00:48:47.260 Steven, what's your zipper sound like? That's 00:48:47.260 --> 00:48:50.139 pretty good. Yep. Mike picked that up. Oh, yeah. 00:48:50.320 --> 00:48:52.539 Oh, yeah. I'm going to leave it. I'm going to 00:48:52.539 --> 00:48:54.480 leave it down. I'll leave it down. Leave it down. 00:48:54.760 --> 00:48:57.280 Get some air. I'll leave it up. Hey, leave it 00:48:57.280 --> 00:48:58.360 down because this next scene is going to give 00:48:58.360 --> 00:49:12.179 you a boner. You need the space. So let's cut. 00:49:14.380 --> 00:49:18.239 Let's once again find ourselves in an arena of 00:49:18.239 --> 00:49:21.139 gray stone that stands upon the white sands of 00:49:21.139 --> 00:49:23.980 the coast. We can hear thunderous cheers as we 00:49:23.980 --> 00:49:26.239 move in towards rows of benches circling an open 00:49:26.239 --> 00:49:29.460 battleground. We see where a wide break in the 00:49:29.460 --> 00:49:31.539 ring of the benches faces the sea, where the 00:49:31.539 --> 00:49:33.880 lapping tide is swiftly filling the arena floor. 00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:37.119 The water surges in around the ankles of a number 00:49:37.119 --> 00:49:41.199 of combatants, all tortles. We see painted shells 00:49:41.199 --> 00:49:43.940 of many colors and crests, many of these characters 00:49:43.940 --> 00:49:47.059 wielding traditional spears and nets, summed 00:49:47.059 --> 00:49:51.219 on shields. Only one carries a spear of gold. 00:49:52.119 --> 00:49:54.920 that bears the waving banner of the Golden Bay. 00:49:55.739 --> 00:49:58.780 We cut to the stands, to the great viewing box 00:49:58.780 --> 00:50:01.119 where DiPiero Montello, who has been strangely 00:50:01.119 --> 00:50:04.039 silent until now, stands up and moves to the 00:50:04.039 --> 00:50:07.960 edge, hands raised towards the sky. Behind him, 00:50:07.980 --> 00:50:11.320 Blanche, Jules, and Chester. Blanche, Jules, 00:50:11.340 --> 00:50:14.239 and Chester. I heard that. No. I heard that. 00:50:15.280 --> 00:50:19.590 Watch for seats of high honor. The crowd hushes 00:50:19.590 --> 00:50:22.050 at Tapiro's silent command. And after a short 00:50:22.050 --> 00:50:24.849 pause, his voice begins to boom across the benches. 00:50:25.030 --> 00:50:29.809 He begins his usual speech. You have seen our 00:50:29.809 --> 00:50:32.650 combatants. You have seen their strength and 00:50:32.650 --> 00:50:35.849 their honor. So I ask, good turtles of the bay, 00:50:36.090 --> 00:50:44.769 will these fighters impress Kondorala? The tides 00:50:44.769 --> 00:50:47.789 have covered the arena floor. Kondorala touches 00:50:47.789 --> 00:50:49.829 our fighters and watches from her throne beneath 00:50:49.829 --> 00:50:53.090 the waves. Should she be impressed by their powers 00:50:53.090 --> 00:50:55.070 in battle, then the tide shall be blessed with 00:50:55.070 --> 00:50:59.010 gold. Our harvest season begins tomorrow. Should 00:50:59.010 --> 00:51:01.909 it begin in glory, then the Golden Bay will be 00:51:01.909 --> 00:51:11.570 prosperous! Only one warrior will have the honor 00:51:11.570 --> 00:51:15.570 of welcoming Kondorala's gift. Only our champion. 00:51:16.380 --> 00:51:20.139 As you are well aware, my son, the very son of 00:51:20.139 --> 00:51:22.280 our Golden Bay, has returned from his journeys 00:51:22.280 --> 00:51:26.380 to prove his worth. Let us all bear witness to 00:51:26.380 --> 00:51:30.739 his glory and see in it the future of the Torta 00:51:30.739 --> 00:51:37.219 people! John Franklin! John Franklin! His eyes 00:51:37.219 --> 00:51:40.519 lock on to John Franklin. He smiles. And John, 00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:44.159 wielding that spear, meets his gaze and nods. 00:51:44.619 --> 00:51:47.780 Now the sun begins to sink. The sky will soon 00:51:47.780 --> 00:51:50.500 fill with crimson and the time for golden blessings 00:51:50.500 --> 00:51:56.039 will be at hand. Let the melee commence! His 00:51:56.039 --> 00:51:58.019 final words are punctuated by the blaring of 00:51:58.019 --> 00:52:02.380 horns. In the arena, the fighters snap to action. 00:52:03.019 --> 00:52:06.360 Steven, how does Jean Franklin start this combat? 00:52:07.239 --> 00:52:10.699 Fast and aggressive. Hell yeah. Whoever is closest 00:52:10.699 --> 00:52:14.010 to Jean. That's who he's attacking. Just drops 00:52:14.010 --> 00:52:17.130 down and begins pounding forward. Spear flashing 00:52:17.130 --> 00:52:20.190 out in an instant. Catching this figure off guard. 00:52:21.309 --> 00:52:23.710 And as spear makes contact, he clings against 00:52:23.710 --> 00:52:26.150 a shield. Switchlight slides past it. But as 00:52:26.150 --> 00:52:28.949 we see this sort of striking of metal, striking 00:52:28.949 --> 00:52:33.889 of gold, we cut to the end where the sky is red 00:52:33.889 --> 00:52:36.730 with sunset. Jean Franklin stands in the center 00:52:36.730 --> 00:52:40.010 of the arena alone. The water level has risen 00:52:40.010 --> 00:52:42.369 swiftly since the combatant's start, and now 00:52:42.369 --> 00:52:44.969 touches his waist. The defeated have been carried 00:52:44.969 --> 00:52:48.329 off the floor, unworthy of what comes next. Only 00:52:48.329 --> 00:52:50.489 vague murmuring can be heard throughout the stands. 00:52:50.809 --> 00:52:54.010 All hold their breath, waiting. All eyes are 00:52:54.010 --> 00:52:55.829 locked towards the opening in the ring, with 00:52:55.829 --> 00:52:59.070 the tides of the bay pushed into the arena. It 00:52:59.070 --> 00:53:03.650 is time for Kondorala's judgment. And once again. 00:53:04.619 --> 00:53:07.739 We watch as the water begins to fill with luminescent 00:53:07.739 --> 00:53:10.739 flakes of gold. They surge in from the depths 00:53:10.739 --> 00:53:12.780 of the bay, spreading across the whole of the 00:53:12.780 --> 00:53:16.880 arena beneath the darkening sky. A surge of new 00:53:16.880 --> 00:53:20.039 gasps and cheers as large dark shapes rise amongst 00:53:20.039 --> 00:53:23.079 the swirling gold. One moves just beside Jean 00:53:23.079 --> 00:53:25.559 Franklin and his sphere flies down in a flash, 00:53:25.719 --> 00:53:27.679 striking the water and sending ripples through 00:53:27.679 --> 00:53:31.039 the gold. He raises his sphere, using both hands 00:53:31.039 --> 00:53:34.489 and stares and mouth wide. at the massive fish 00:53:34.489 --> 00:53:37.889 that hangs in the blade, a rare black salmon, 00:53:37.969 --> 00:53:42.130 the season's first catch, a second honor, and 00:53:42.130 --> 00:53:45.130 one that has never occurred during the tourney. 00:53:46.210 --> 00:53:49.130 The luminescent algae that fills this arena has 00:53:49.130 --> 00:53:50.829 filled the surface of the bay outside as well, 00:53:50.869 --> 00:53:53.530 promising a mass migration of fresh fish and 00:53:53.530 --> 00:53:55.929 a surge of fortune for Meliteron, for the Golden 00:53:55.929 --> 00:54:00.699 Bay, Kondrala's gift to deserving Tornkind. For 00:54:00.699 --> 00:54:05.820 the fish to come so soon is a sign of great fortune 00:54:05.820 --> 00:54:09.840 indeed. The algae swirls in a circle around the 00:54:09.840 --> 00:54:13.539 arena floor, moving around Jaune, blending, shimmering, 00:54:13.539 --> 00:54:16.400 and soon Jaune himself seems to be radiant with 00:54:16.400 --> 00:54:20.059 it. He looks to you, Blanche, you sitting where 00:54:20.059 --> 00:54:23.179 he had so many years ago, and your eyes lock 00:54:23.179 --> 00:54:25.380 your positions now perfectly reversed from that 00:54:25.380 --> 00:54:29.099 day. The golden radiance reflects most brilliantly 00:54:29.099 --> 00:54:31.400 off the fresh tears that run down your pupil's 00:54:31.400 --> 00:54:34.340 cheeks. He tries to hold a straight face, but 00:54:34.340 --> 00:54:36.639 can't stop the smile from taking his features. 00:54:37.460 --> 00:54:40.900 He nods to you, then turns his features towards 00:54:40.900 --> 00:54:44.300 the sky, raising his spear in the salmon and 00:54:44.300 --> 00:54:46.980 letting the crimson banner flap gloriously beneath 00:54:46.980 --> 00:54:50.500 the sky of the exact same shade. For the golden 00:54:50.500 --> 00:54:57.170 time! The crowd erupts into applause. Horns blare 00:54:57.170 --> 00:54:59.409 again, mixing with the cheers and the chants 00:54:59.409 --> 00:55:01.949 and the roaring triumph. It all blends together. 00:55:02.170 --> 00:55:05.269 The very sound of honor punctuated by three words 00:55:05.269 --> 00:55:09.630 shouted over and over and over again. For golden 00:55:09.630 --> 00:55:16.389 times! For golden times! For golden times! As 00:55:16.389 --> 00:55:19.769 cheering finally begins to die down, Jean lowering 00:55:19.769 --> 00:55:23.869 his catch down, standing in this moment of glory, 00:55:24.510 --> 00:55:27.369 His father once again approaches the edge of 00:55:27.369 --> 00:55:31.690 his box, looking down proudly upon his son. He 00:55:31.690 --> 00:55:34.110 raises his hands again. All eyes turn towards 00:55:34.110 --> 00:55:37.809 the Lord of the Golden Bay. I present to you 00:55:37.809 --> 00:55:41.210 my people. He paused for a long moment at that. 00:55:41.530 --> 00:55:45.030 Takes in everyone. There's just something behind 00:55:45.030 --> 00:55:50.400 his eyes, those words. The pride of Noiri! Jean 00:55:50.400 --> 00:55:54.539 Franklin Montelio, heir to House Montelio, future 00:55:54.539 --> 00:55:57.059 lord of the Nine Pools and bearer of the banner 00:55:57.059 --> 00:56:06.539 of the Golden Bay. Alas, this title will no longer 00:56:06.539 --> 00:56:10.480 be spoken. A surge of whispers to the crowd, 00:56:10.579 --> 00:56:13.260 Jean's confident pose begins to break as he turns 00:56:13.260 --> 00:56:16.519 a nervous eye towards his father, towards the 00:56:16.519 --> 00:56:21.159 two of you. Kondorala responds to honor. It is 00:56:21.159 --> 00:56:24.000 the very lifeblood of the tortal people. Honor 00:56:24.000 --> 00:56:27.679 must lead us. So it is with great pride that 00:56:27.679 --> 00:56:30.280 I announce that our wayward luminary will be 00:56:30.280 --> 00:56:32.579 suspending his gallivanting across the world 00:56:32.579 --> 00:56:36.840 and will henceforth remain here upon this bay 00:56:36.840 --> 00:56:42.380 with his people. I hereby resign as monarch. 00:56:43.250 --> 00:57:08.429 What the fuck? And we'll call it there!