Scenario:Noa - A New Light
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A New Light
(Captain) and company arrive at the village to find its residents looking fearful of Noa. The chief explains to the crew about the star god and the teachings that the villagers follow. Noa asks to see the temple of the stars in hopes of finding out more about this strange misunderstanding.
Vyrn: So this is the village? Looks pretty... normal.
The man leads the crew through a forest, and soon they arrive at a modest village.
Rackam: Things do look a bit outdated, but nothin' too different from what'd you see in the countryside, huh?
Noa: Right...
Islander: The chief's house is at the far end of the village. It's just down this—
Child: Hahaha!
Noa: Oh!
Child: Whoa!
Islander: Hey, be more careful!
I'm very sorry about that...
I'm very sorry about that...
Noa: It's fine.
Sorry for getting in your way. Are you all right?
Sorry for getting in your way. Are you all right?
Child: Yep!
Noa: Haha. You're quite the lively one, aren't you?
Child: Huh?
Noa: Hm? Is there something on my face?
Child: Silver hair... White clothes with wide sleeves... Gold rings on the ankles...
Child: Are you the star god?
Noa: Huh?
Child: You're the star god, aren't you? Wow! I can't believe you're real!
Child: I was just listening to your story at the chief's house yesterday, you know! That's how I knew right away!
Islander: Stop that this instant!
Child: ...!
Islander: Watch your words! Do you know what you're saying?
Child: But look! He's holding a shiny staff!
Child: That definitely makes him the star god!
Islander: D-don't be ridiculous...
Noa: ...
Islander: But... can it be?
Taking another closer look at Noa, the man grows increasingly flustered.
Islander: Is it true? Does that mean the village is going to...
Vyrn: Hey, you okay? You look kinda pale...
Lyria: Do you know Noa, Mister?
Islander: Oh, no! It's just...
Child: Are you taking the star god to see the chief? I wanna go too!
Islander: No! It's time for you to go home!
Child: Wha! But why?
Islander: No talking back! Now get yourself home and don't leave the house!
Child: Sniff...
Vyrn: Hey, you don't hafta shout at the kid... What the heck did he do?
Islander: ...
Lyria: Um...
Islander: I apologize... In any case, let's get to the chief's house.
The man refuses to say any more and leads them to the other end of the village.
Village Chief: I see.
Islander: Um, Chief...
Village Chief: You may leave now.
Islander: As you wish...
The man does as he is told and leaves the room. The chief turns back to the crew.
Village Chief: ...
Vyrn: What exactly is goin' on here...
Lyria: I'm not sure, but I'm getting nervous...
Village Chief: O great star god and blessed forefathers...
Village Chief: We welcome you to our humble village.
Speaking in a tone of reverence, the chief bows low to Noa and the crew.
Rackam: Wait a sec... No need to bow or do any of that formal stuff.
Village Chief: It is only right that I do. We are very privileged to be graced with your presence today... As chief of this village, please allow me to pay my respects.
Lyria: What do you mean? We just happened to pass by this island on our way...
Noa: Chief, if I may—
Village Chief: M-my deepest apologies!
Village Chief: It must have been a careless mistake! We will most certainly atone for our sins, so I pray that you will find it in your heart to forgive us...
Village Chief: Please know that for many years we have devoted ourselves to following your teachings, strictly and wholeheartedly!
Village Chief: If you may grant us your pardon just this once...
Vyrn: Wh-wha?
Village Chief: I swear that we will correct our misdeeds, so please, have mercy!
(Captain) and company are utterly bewildered by the village chief's desperate cries.
Rackam: I'm completely lost here...
Lyria: He seems to be really scared of us...
Noa: To be exact, I believe he's scared of me.
Rackam: You know something, don't you, Noa?
Vyrn: Have you been to this island before?
Noa: This is truly my first time on this island, although I'm starting to have an idea on what this might be about. But first...
Noa: Chief, there's something I'd like you to tell me.
Village Chief: A-anything!
Noa: Thank you. I hope you can tell me a little about the story that's passed down on this island and in this village.
Noa: The story of the star god and his temple.
Village Chief: Certainly! It is a legend that has been passed down for generations and engraved in the memories of all the people in this village.
The village chief begins his story.
Village Chief: In the beginning, our forefathers were sent by the almighty star god.
Village Chief: Our forefathers who descended from the god's temple taught us the knowledge and practices of the stars.
Village Chief: Through this gift of the stars, the island on which we live has developed into a place of abundance.
According to the village chief, the star god watches the people closely through the temple and is revered not only for his greatness, but also for his severity.
The teachings of the forefathers must be passed down correctly.
The people must not forget to pray to the star god and the temple.
The ways of the stars must be practiced accordingly.
Village Chief: It is our duty to never forget our gratitude toward the star god, and to live our lives in accordance with his teachings...
Rackam: The teachings of the star god... What happens if you don't follow 'em?
Village Chief: If we don't...
Village Chief: The angered star god will descend upon us to deliver his punishment, and the people will be taken away to the realm of the stars.
Village Chief: In that realm, there is no freedom. Those sent there will be put under strict survelliance and forced into hard labor...
The chief trails off and hangs his head, concealing his expression.
Village Chief: Oh, what have we done...
Rackam: Okay, I think I finally have a grasp of the situation.
Rackam: In other words, the people of this village believe Noa is this star god that they worship.
Lyria: And now they think he's come to punish them...
Vyrn: Guess we can't blame 'em for freakin' out, huh?
Rackam: But why do they think Noa's the star god in the first place?
Lyria: Maybe it's like that little boy said earlier. It seems Noa looks like how the star god is described to be.
Lyria: Tiamat was also worshipped as a god on Port Breeze. Maybe that's how the people here see Noa as well.
Rackam: Still, it's weird. Noa's never even been on this island before...
Lyria: That's true... We have to clear up the misunderstanding!
Noa: Hm...
Noa: Chief, may I ask one more thing of you?
Village Chief: By all means! Anything...
Noa: If possible, I'd like to see the temple of the stars myself.
Village Chief: Of course. The temple is yours, after all—I'll have someone take you there right away.
Noa: I'd appreciate it.
A New Light: Scene 2
The crew realizes that the temple of the stars is simply an airship that no longer flies. Noa is now certain that the "star god" refers to himself, and tells the crew about his past role in teaching shipbuilding to skydwellers. Just as he proposes that they leave the island, they hear a child's scream.
(Captain) and company are led to a place a short distance away from the village.
Lyria: This is... the temple of the stars? But...
Rackam: It's an airship all right.
The crew find a small airship, not unlike other ones they've seen throughout their journey so far.
Noa: Just as I thought...
Noa: So you've been here all along. It's been a long time...
Rackam: Noa, you know this ship?
Noa: Yes. I think this ship is what I felt from the island when we were flying past it.
Noa walks slowly around the airship, his expression softening as he looks at it.
Islander: Um... Could it be that we were inept in preserving the temple?
Noa: Not at all. I can see that you've been taking very good care of it.
Islander: Naturally! It is our job, after all...
Noa: You don't have to worry. I didn't come to punish any of you.
Islander: You... didn't?
Noa: I came to thank you, for taking care of this... temple so well.
Islander: The honor's all ours...
Noa: We'll be going back to our own world, so you should return to the village too.
Islander: Very well... Then if you'll excuse me.
The man gives a deep bow and scurries off toward the village, glancing back every now and then.
Noa: Phew...
Rackam: Can you explain what's going on, Noa?
Noa: Yeah.
Vyrn: Why'd ya pretend to be that star god thingamajig that they talked about?
Noa: I'm not pretending... The star god that they believe in really is me.
Vyrn: Wha! Whaddya mean?
Lyria: The star god is someone who's very strict and feared by everyone in the village, right?
Vyrn: That's definitely not the Noa we know...
Rackam: Noa.
Noa: Don't worry, I'll explain everything.
Noa: First, I'll have to tell you about myself and the kind of primal beast I am.
Lyria: You're a primal beast who reigns over shipbuilding, right?
Rackam: And the one who built the Grandcypher...
Noa: Yes. But as correct as those assumptions are, they're only half of the whole picture.
Vyrn: Half?
Noa: As I believe all of you already know...
Noa: As far as shipbuilding goes, it's not like I can build a ship with just a simple wave of my hand.
Noa: I convey all of the knowledge necessary to build a ship to people, guide them, and support them as they build it...
Noa: That is what I do as a primal beast of shipbuilding.
The crew quietly listen as Noa explains in a calm voice.
Noa: Now, as for the main question... This goes back to when I first came to the Sky Realm.
Rackam: You mean from the Astral Realm, together with the Astrals...
Noa: That's right.
Noa: It may be hard to imagine now, but before the Astrals came, there was no such thing as an airship in the Sky Realm.
Noa: In other words, there was no way to move between islands.
Rackam: Huh... I never thought much about that.
Lyria: It must have been very inconvenient not being able to go to another island...
Noa: I'm not sure the skydwellers were at a point where they realized it was an inconvenient situation.
Noa: For all they knew, the world only consisted of the length of their island.
Noa: They had absolutely no idea that there were other islands, let alone ones that had other people on them.
Noa: That's how the world was at the time.
Rackam: Yeah, I can't even begin to imagine... That must've been a small world to live in.
Noa: And then, one unassuming day, the Astrals arrived in the Sky Realm...
Lyria: And introduced airships to them.
Noa: Yes.
Noa: Thanks to that, skydwellers finally discovered that the world was a lot bigger than they had known it to be.
Noa: But that knowledge meant nothing when they didn't have the freedom to travel.
Noa: In order to govern the Sky Realm and its many islands, first, the Astrals had to increase the number of airships produced.
Noa: As a means to do that, they gathered multitudes of skydwellers to be their shipbuilding work force.
Noa: And the one responsible for ensuring that the work was being efficiently carried out was me.
Noa briefly pauses to give a sigh.
Noa: To the skydwellers building the ships, I must have been a fearful existence that forced them to undergo such demanding labor.
Lyria: No way!
Noa: It'd never been my intention to bind them through terror, of course.
Noa: But that is how it became in the end.
Noa: And the story of the star god on this island is a manifestation of that.
Vyrn: But that's what I don't get...
Vyrn: How come they've got a story about you here when you've never even been to this island before?
Rackam: It's this airship, isn't it?
Noa: That's right.
(Captain) and the others turn to look up at the ship that sits unmovingly beside them.
Noa: This ship was brought out without permission from the shipyard.
Rackam: You mean the laborers stole a ship they made themselves and escaped with it?
Noa: That's a very blunt way of putting it, but... yes, that is what happened.
Noa: Without the necessary skills or maps to help them along the way...
Noa: Still, they escaped out of desperation and finally reached this island. That's where the ship stopped moving.
Lyria: So those people became the "forefathers" the chief mentioned earlier.
Noa: Yes.
Noa: The people settled here on this island and passed down the knowledge, skills, and experiences they had to the next generation.
Noa: Including their stories of me.
Vyrn: And over time, it turned into that story the gramps at the village told us, huh?
Rackam: Okay, I think I get the gist of it. But if they had so many stories to tell, why didn't they pass down anything about airships?
Rackam: Calling this ship a temple and caring for it all these years when it was all a misconception...
Choose: Is it because the ship was wrecked?
Lyria: Oh... I guess if the airship couldn't fly anymore, then there wouldn't be much use in talking about it.
Rackam: If that's the case, then they coulda still said it was a ship from the stars or whatever.
Rackam: But they didn't even pass down the fact that they all flew here on it. Don't you think that's strange?
Vyrn: Rackam's got a point. What's the deal with that?
Choose: Maybe it's because of the Grim Basin.
Vyrn: Oh yeah, this is the creepy Grim Basin... Can't be easy gettin' out, so I guess just havin' a ship wouldn't do much if you can't steer it, huh?
Lyria: But then how did they manage to come all the way here?
Noa: It's likely that the Grim Basin came to be what it is now after they arrived on this island.
Rackam: And for some reason, this island just conveniently escaped all the miasma?
Noa: I don't know the reason for that either. We can only say it's a miraculous coincidence...
Vyrn: In any case, the people couldn't leave the island anymore, so all the stuff about airships got forgotten over time, huh?
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Noa: I'm not sure... I don't know what exactly the people who ended up on this island were thinking at the time.
Noa: But I think they might have hid the existence of airships intentionally.
Lyria: Why would they do something like that?
Noa: To them, the airship was a symbol...
Noa: A frightful symbol of the control that the Astrals—no, that I had over them.
Noa: They may have managed to escape, but in the end, perhaps they simply wanted to forget about their experiences with airships altogether.
Noa smiles sadly and continues.
Noa: With the arrival of the Astrals, many new practices were brought into and born in the Sky Realm.
Noa: The existence of airships uprooted the existing knowledge and values of this realm.
Noa: The world changed completely for the skydwellers.
Noa: Sometimes, changes that are too sudden can cause friction and backlash.
Noa: There may be people who can't accept these changes. It's only natural.
Rackam: Yeah...
Rackam: I guess everything we take for granted now went through a lot before it became what it is today.
Noa: Yes...
Noa: The forefathers that escaped to this island must have wanted the Sky Realm to remain small and confined as it had been before...
Noa: And it was by a stroke of luck that the island became trapped in the Grim Basin, shutting it off from the outside world... just as they'd wanted.
Lyria: Noa...
Noa: That's why I think we should leave this island as soon as—
Lyria: Huh? Did you hear something just now?
???: Aaaah!
Vyrn: The scream came from over there!
Child: H-help!
Monster: Groooar!
Rackam: Ack, a monster! I almost forgot that we're smack dab in the middle of the Grim Basin!
Noa: Come on, (Captain)!
A New Light: Scene 3
(Captain) and company defeat the monster and rescue the child. The child thanks Noa and says that he is glad to have met such a gentle god. Noa promises to come back and visit the island again someday.
(Captain) and company manage to fend off the monster and rescue the little boy.
Vyrn: Phew, made it just in time! Hey, kid, you okay?
Child: I-I'm sorry... I went out on my own even though I was told to stay in the house...
Noa: Don't worry about that for now. Are you hurt?
Child: No, I'm okay.
Noa: That's good.
Child: Thanks, Mister Star God!
Noa: I'm glad you're all right, but it's not safe for you to wander so far out all by yourself.
Child: What's not safe? Is it you?
Noa: Yes... It is.
Rackam: Noa!
Noa: It's okay, Rackam.
Noa: It's not safe to be so close to me. So it's time for you to go back to the village.
Child: But... you saved me just now, didn't you?
Noa: I did, but that doesn't mean...
Child: You know, everyone back at the village says the star god is scary, so that's what I always thought too.
Child: I'd never met the star god before, so I didn't know.
The little boy reaches out to grasp the edge of Noa's sleeve.
Child: But then, when I actually met you, you weren't scary at all.
Child: Plus you saved me just now. So now I know...
Child: The star god is actually really nice!
Noa: ...
Child: You are, aren't you?
Noa: I'm...
Rackam: You're right on that, kid. The star god is the kindest god out there.
Child: I knew it! Heheh, I'm glad I got to see for myself!
Child: The star god's voice is so soft, and he's got really pretty and gentle eyes too!
Rackam: Yeah. So make sure you tell everyone back at the village, got it?
Rackam: The star god wouldn't punish anyone. He's the kindest god in all of the skies.
Child: Okay! I'm gonna tell everyone that!
Rackam: Attaboy. We're counting on ya!
Child: Leave it to me!
Child: Oh! Are you leaving now, Mister Star God?
Noa: Yes, I'm afraid it's time for us to go.
Child: Aww... Then while you're gone, I'll take good care of the temple for you!
Child: So promise you'll come back to see it, okay?
Noa: Thank you... I'll come back again—I promise.
A New Light: Scene 4
The crew decides to depart from the island without explaining the existence of airships to the villagers. Noa worries that he may have done more harm than good to skydwellers through his past actions, but with the crew's encouragement, begins to come to terms with his role as the primal beast of shipbuilding.
Safely back on the Grandcypher, the crew quietly depart from the island and continue on their way through the Grim Basin.
Vyrn: Hey, Noa, are you sure you wanted to leave it at that?
Noa: You mean not telling the people on the island about airships?
Vyrn: Yeah...
Noa: Hmm... It's hard to say.
Noa: You see, even if we told them about the existence of airships, the airship they have on the island can no longer fly.
Noa: And with their island located in the Grim Basin, it's unlikely that another airship will ever land there again.
Rackam: I guess so...
Rackam: If the map pieces had led us through another part of the Grim Basin, we might not have come across the island at all.
Noa: On the other hand, we can't possibly fit everyone on this ship, so we wouldn't be able to take them anywhere.
Noa: We don't know if they'd want to leave the island in the first place either.
Lyria: Do you think that... the forefathers also considered all of this, and that's why they decided not to tell the next generation about airships?
Vyrn: Oh, you might be onto somethin' there!
Noa: I see... Yes.
Noa: Maybe I'm thinking about this a little too much.
Rackam: You absolutely are. I get where you're coming from, Noa, but it's not somethin' for you to shoulder.
Noa: Haha... Thank you, Rackam. Sorry for making you worry.
Noa: I just can't help but think about it, you see.
Noa: With the passing of time, the existence of airships has become something normal in the Sky Realm.
Noa: I was beginning to forget what it was that I had brought and given to the people of this realm.
Noa: What if what I'd been doing all this time wasn't giving, but forcing...
Noa: (Captain)?
Rackam: That goes without saying. C'mon, we're skyfarers!
Rackam: If we didn't have this airship you made, we wouldn't have been able to make it this far. Heck, we wouldn't have even met each other.
Vyrn: Rackam's right!
Choose: We're thankful for you.
Noa: (Captain)...
Lyria: I'm happy that we can now see just how vast the skies are.
Lyria: There are still so many things I don't know, but being able to experience them one by one on a journey together is a real blessing!
Vyrn: Yeah! And we definitely wouldn't be able to do that without an airship!
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Noa: Haha... Again, a journey is made with not only the airship, but with the people on it as well.
Noa: As the primal beast that rules over shipbuilding, I can only provide the means of establishing a world that uses airships...
Noa: It is the people that take those means, think on them, and use that to build the world itself.
Noa: Just like how all of you are shaping the world as you go on your journey across the skies on the Grandcypher.
Touched by Noa's gentle smile, (Captain) slowly extends a hand.
Noa: (Captain)?
Choose: Let's go together, Noa.
Noa: Huh?
Rackam: What're you lookin' so confused for? Of course you're coming with us! You're part of our crew, Noa.
Noa: Oh... I see. Is that how it is?
Lyria: Hehe. Yep, that's how it is!
Noa: Coming with you on your journey... means I'll be able to help shape the world too, together with all of you.
Noa: Haha...
Noa: Somehow, I feel like a heavy burden's been lifted off of me.
Noa turns to face the crew with a genuine smile on his face.
Noa: Thank you, everyone. I'm looking forward to continuing our journey together.
A new light shines in Noa's eyes as he looks on toward a brighter future from the deck of the Grandcypher.