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Previously...
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- LORDLESS CASTLE INTERIOR 1
(The party is walking in a castle. They stop and look around.)
Jake: So, seriously... there used to be some real hot elf living here, right?
Lasswell: I'd heard that this place was the home to a collection of great art, but it certainly doesn't look that way to me.
Lid: I thought this place would be an even greater treasure trove than Dilmagia's Junkyard...
Nichol: I sense the presence of many, many monsters.... and an even greater presence lurks further within.
Sakura: So either a fearsome monster, or... something else entirely. I have a bad feeling about this.
Rain: Yeah, but... this presence... It feels sort of sad, somehow?
Fina: I thought so, too.
Rain: Let's check it out.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- LORDLESS CASTLE INTERIOR 2
Lid: Elves are different from dwarves, and are much rarer.
Nichol: Long ago they used to live in the same village as us...
Sakura: Different ways of thinking. The dwarves, craftsmen all, chose to live alongside the humans, honing their skills. Elves, on the other hand, preferred peace and quiet. They did not want to do anything to upset the humans... And began slowly disappearing. That was a long time ago.
(Wave 1 of battle commences, and leads to wave 2.)
Rain: If an elf had been living here, surely folks around here would know that...
Jake: If there were hermit elves, then surely there must have been some sociable ones, too.
Sakura: Surely that was the case.
Nichol: If they were interested in art, then they must have had some dealing with people.
Lasswell: It's been a while, but it'd be nice if that couple were still around...
Jake: This sucks. What could have happened to them?
(Wave 2 commences. There is no further dialogue.)
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 1
(The party approaches a figure. Sakura gets an ! over her head.)
Sakura: ...An esper! I know this creature.... Lakshmi!
Jake: ...Is she alive? Why isn't she saying anything?
Fina: Hey, Rain... She seems sad.
Rain: You're... an esper, right? What are you doing in a ruin like this?
Lakshmi: I don't need... people...
Rain: What?
(There is a flash of white light.)
Lasswell: Rain! Watch out!
Lakshmi: I will avenge my dear friend! You can pay with your blood!
Nichol: She's going to attack!
(Rain draws his weapon. Battle begins! Afterward...)
Rain: Lakshmi, right? What did we ever do to you?
Lakshmi: ...Do not try to act innocent. Children of men always bring war... Unsatisfied with razing the land... You brought destruction upon us over and over.... all out of desire for my dear friend's treasures.
Nichol: I think I'm beginning to understand. This castle... has been plundered before.
Sakura: The esper Lakshmi was always known even back in Paladia as an esper with no love for war. ...After that great war ended, she was full of hatred for humans. She turned her back on them and befriended the elves and lived long alongside them.
Lakshmi: Humans die so soon. But the elves.... The elves would not abandon me so quickly... And still... I could not keep them safe at my side...
Nichol: You're a support-type esper, aren't you? It is not all that surprising that you could not protect such fragile beings as the elves.
Lasswell: Still, it does seem that she is tormented by the fact that she could not protect her friends.
Fina: We are not the people who attacked your friends.
Lasswell: Indeed. Nor have we started any wars.
Rain: Lakshmi. Why don't you fight together with us?
Lakshmi: ....You will not live long, so it hardly matters.
Jake: Even if the time you have together is short, does that mean it's worth any less? You're too lovely to be so lonely.
Lakshmi: ...What nonsense you speak. But an esper has little choice but to obey when overpowered. I am now yours to command.
(There is a flash of light, and Lakshmi turns to stone. The esper Lakshmi has joined the party!)
Rain: So that's the loneliness that comes with living so long... I hope traveling with us might help her feel a little less alone.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 2
(The party approaches Lakshmi's statue.)
Fina: Lakshmi's sorrow... Do you think we've been able to retrieve it even a little?
Rain: What do you think now, Lakshmi? About our ideals?
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns flesh.)
Lakshmi: You do seem to have noble ideas... for humans. Yet still... your lives are so fragile. You cannot relieve my loneliness.
Jake: But you want to lend us greater power, right? Isn't that why you called us here?
Lakshmi: I will lend you my strength, in accordance with our covenant. That is all.
(Battle begins! Afterwards...)
Lakshmi: I wonder... if I can become strong enough to protect you?
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns stone again. The esper Lakshmi evolved!)
Nichol: She just can't admit how she feels, can she?
Sakura: She has been lonely for a very long time... Espers live even longer than elves do. To bring her any comfort, she needs a friend who can live as long as she will.
Jake: Sometimes memories are all that you have to keep you going. They can be a comfort to you even if they are memories of a time that passed too quickly.
Rain: I hope that we can be something like that for Lakshmi.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 3
(The party approaches Lakshmi's statue.)
Rain: I'm sensing a strong emotion from Lakshmi.
(Lasswell turns to Rain.)
Lasswell: Is it her loneliness?
Fina: No.... I think this is something else.
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns flesh once more.)
Lakshmi: Your lives are so fleeting.... And yet, you fight to protect what little future you have. Should you accomplish your task, I can hold on to your memories and keep them alive for all eternity.
Sakura: Is this why you wish to make a stronger pact with us?
Lakshmi: If you should wish this of me, you will have to defeat me once again.
(Battle begins! Afterward....)
Lakshmi: Good... Your memories shall be the nourishment that keeps me alive.... My power that had once been sealed has now been released.
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns to stone. The esper Lakshmi awakened!)
Nichol: The nourishment that keeps her alive. I guess even supernatural beings like espers have feelings.
Lid: Now that you mention it, it seems obvious.... but I guess I just never thought about it.
Rain: We'll have to make some great memories for Lakshmi to hold on to. Let's make this journey an unforgettable one.
Next entry...
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- LORDLESS CASTLE INTERIOR 1
(The party is walking in a castle. They stop and look around.)
Jake: So, seriously... there used to be some real hot elf living here, right?
Lasswell: I'd heard that this place was the home to a collection of great art, but it certainly doesn't look that way to me.
Lid: I thought this place would be an even greater treasure trove than Dilmagia's Junkyard...
Nichol: I sense the presence of many, many monsters.... and an even greater presence lurks further within.
Sakura: So either a fearsome monster, or... something else entirely. I have a bad feeling about this.
Rain: Yeah, but... this presence... It feels sort of sad, somehow?
Fina: I thought so, too.
Rain: Let's check it out.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- LORDLESS CASTLE INTERIOR 2
Lid: Elves are different from dwarves, and are much rarer.
Nichol: Long ago they used to live in the same village as us...
Sakura: Different ways of thinking. The dwarves, craftsmen all, chose to live alongside the humans, honing their skills. Elves, on the other hand, preferred peace and quiet. They did not want to do anything to upset the humans... And began slowly disappearing. That was a long time ago.
(Wave 1 of battle commences, and leads to wave 2.)
Rain: If an elf had been living here, surely folks around here would know that...
Jake: If there were hermit elves, then surely there must have been some sociable ones, too.
Sakura: Surely that was the case.
Nichol: If they were interested in art, then they must have had some dealing with people.
Lasswell: It's been a while, but it'd be nice if that couple were still around...
Jake: This sucks. What could have happened to them?
(Wave 2 commences. There is no further dialogue.)
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 1
(The party approaches a figure. Sakura gets an ! over her head.)
Sakura: ...An esper! I know this creature.... Lakshmi!
Jake: ...Is she alive? Why isn't she saying anything?
Fina: Hey, Rain... She seems sad.
Rain: You're... an esper, right? What are you doing in a ruin like this?
Lakshmi: I don't need... people...
Rain: What?
(There is a flash of white light.)
Lasswell: Rain! Watch out!
Lakshmi: I will avenge my dear friend! You can pay with your blood!
Nichol: She's going to attack!
(Rain draws his weapon. Battle begins! Afterward...)
Rain: Lakshmi, right? What did we ever do to you?
Lakshmi: ...Do not try to act innocent. Children of men always bring war... Unsatisfied with razing the land... You brought destruction upon us over and over.... all out of desire for my dear friend's treasures.
Nichol: I think I'm beginning to understand. This castle... has been plundered before.
Sakura: The esper Lakshmi was always known even back in Paladia as an esper with no love for war. ...After that great war ended, she was full of hatred for humans. She turned her back on them and befriended the elves and lived long alongside them.
Lakshmi: Humans die so soon. But the elves.... The elves would not abandon me so quickly... And still... I could not keep them safe at my side...
Nichol: You're a support-type esper, aren't you? It is not all that surprising that you could not protect such fragile beings as the elves.
Lasswell: Still, it does seem that she is tormented by the fact that she could not protect her friends.
Fina: We are not the people who attacked your friends.
Lasswell: Indeed. Nor have we started any wars.
Rain: Lakshmi. Why don't you fight together with us?
Lakshmi: ....You will not live long, so it hardly matters.
Jake: Even if the time you have together is short, does that mean it's worth any less? You're too lovely to be so lonely.
Lakshmi: ...What nonsense you speak. But an esper has little choice but to obey when overpowered. I am now yours to command.
(There is a flash of light, and Lakshmi turns to stone. The esper Lakshmi has joined the party!)
Rain: So that's the loneliness that comes with living so long... I hope traveling with us might help her feel a little less alone.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 2
(The party approaches Lakshmi's statue.)
Fina: Lakshmi's sorrow... Do you think we've been able to retrieve it even a little?
Rain: What do you think now, Lakshmi? About our ideals?
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns flesh.)
Lakshmi: You do seem to have noble ideas... for humans. Yet still... your lives are so fragile. You cannot relieve my loneliness.
Jake: But you want to lend us greater power, right? Isn't that why you called us here?
Lakshmi: I will lend you my strength, in accordance with our covenant. That is all.
(Battle begins! Afterwards...)
Lakshmi: I wonder... if I can become strong enough to protect you?
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns stone again. The esper Lakshmi evolved!)
Nichol: She just can't admit how she feels, can she?
Sakura: She has been lonely for a very long time... Espers live even longer than elves do. To bring her any comfort, she needs a friend who can live as long as she will.
Jake: Sometimes memories are all that you have to keep you going. They can be a comfort to you even if they are memories of a time that passed too quickly.
Rain: I hope that we can be something like that for Lakshmi.
DARK CONTINENT GRONOA -- EMBRACE OF ATTRACTION -- ALLURING EMBRACE 3
(The party approaches Lakshmi's statue.)
Rain: I'm sensing a strong emotion from Lakshmi.
(Lasswell turns to Rain.)
Lasswell: Is it her loneliness?
Fina: No.... I think this is something else.
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns flesh once more.)
Lakshmi: Your lives are so fleeting.... And yet, you fight to protect what little future you have. Should you accomplish your task, I can hold on to your memories and keep them alive for all eternity.
Sakura: Is this why you wish to make a stronger pact with us?
Lakshmi: If you should wish this of me, you will have to defeat me once again.
(Battle begins! Afterward....)
Lakshmi: Good... Your memories shall be the nourishment that keeps me alive.... My power that had once been sealed has now been released.
(There is a flash of light as Lakshmi turns to stone. The esper Lakshmi awakened!)
Nichol: The nourishment that keeps her alive. I guess even supernatural beings like espers have feelings.
Lid: Now that you mention it, it seems obvious.... but I guess I just never thought about it.
Rain: We'll have to make some great memories for Lakshmi to hold on to. Let's make this journey an unforgettable one.
Next entry...