On day 71 of my Final Fantasy marathon, I left off after my failed attempt to save the fire crystal. Today, I’m on my way to the Library of Ancients.

Library of Ancients

I walk south through the newly opened path to the Library of Ancients. I find a bunch of scholars in a tizzy because Cid’s grandson Mid is somewhere in the basement, where monsters have overrun the stacks.

The Library contains three chests and no items. I go looking for Mid and find a book that contains Ifrit. He tells me that if I can withstand his flames, I will gain the ability to summon him.

Ifrit is weak to blizzard spells, so using Lenna’s magic, I defeat him and gain the Ifrit summon. He also helps me get past an enchanted bookshelf that tries to block my path to the rest of the library.

I find Mid reading a book. A monster named Byblos attacks. This monster is weak to fire spells, so Lenna’s magic is once again critical to defeating him.

He hits pretty hard, but I take him down without too many problems. Before he dies, he tells us that the master’s seal will be blown wide open soon.

We approach Mid and find he was absorbed in the book he was reading the whole time and didn’t even notice us or the monster. He shows us a shortcut back to the library entrance.

Mid excitedly shows the scholars the book he found. He says they can use the method in the book to get the fire-powered ship moving.

Mid says he must show it to Cid right away and goes on about how unstoppable his grandpa is. We tell him that Cid seems to have given up, but Mid doesn’t believe it.

He takes off out of the Library. I missed a chest on the way to Mid, so I go back and get it.

It has the Ninja Suit, which I equip on Galuf. I then leave the Library to go find Mid and Cid, who I assume are back at the fire-powered ship.

Cid

I return to Karnak and find Cid moping at the Pub. Mid shows up and slaps some sense into him.

Cid declares it’s not over and the earth crystal is still out there. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know where.

Mid shows Cid the book he found and they set off to work on the fire-powered ship. We follow them to ship.

Memories

While on the ship, Galuf complains about his head hurting. The scene between Mid and Cid causes him to remember a similar encounter with his granddaughter Krile.

Galuf remembers that he is from another world. He says he came here in a meteorite because the evil he had sealed away thirty years ago was being to reawaken.

He remembers that the evil is the dark warlock, Exdeath. He flashes back to himself and three others sealing away Exdeath.

He tells us that if the last of the four crystals is destroyed, then the seal on Exdeath will break. Galuf collapses, but says he is OK.

Fire-Powered Ship

We wake Cid and Mid on deck, and they both say they slept like a top, which is a weird expression. Mid says they finished the ship.

The ship can now move without any wind. Cid and Mid return to the Library of the Ancients, leaving us to go looking for the Earth Crystal.

Jachol

There is no clear indication of where to go next, so I just look for the closest place we haven’t been before that I can get to by ship. My first stop is the town of Jachol.

It has no chests or items, but we do find some weapons and armor to purchase. We also learn about a cave that supposedly has treasure in it.

Jachol Cave

Jachol Cave has three chests and no items. We occasionally run into a creature called the Skull Eater. It has only 1 HP, but is very hard to hit and it can OHK any member of my party, so I opt to use Galuf’s scram ability to run away.

One of the chests contains the Blitz Whip. I leave the cave and return to the ship.

Crescent Island

Our next stop is the town of Crescent. It has no items or chests. There is an earthquake going on when we arrive.

The quake creates a whirlpool that swallows my ship. I explore the town and learn the song Mighty March from a bard.

I also learned that there is a forest where black chocobos live to the south, though an old man claims they are extinct. I go to the forest and find a living black chocobo.

Black Chocobo Forest

The forest has no chests or items. I catch the chocobo and take off, but he stays in the air only briefly before crashing back to the ground.

Faris says it sounds like the bird has something stuck in its gullet. She whacks the chocobo and it coughs up two crystal shards.

We decide they must have landed here after the castle exploded and the chocobo swallowed them. Rand gathers the shards and we learn the Bard and Ranger jobs.

The chocobo can fly now, so we get on board and start exploring again. My first stop is Castle Tycoon.

Castle Tycoon

There are five chests and nine items in the castle, but two chests are either inaccessible or I can’t figure out how to get to them. The Chancellor greets Princess Lenna and tells her she needs to stay for her people.

She says she can’t, because the world is in danger and her father is still alive. The Chancellor relents, saying they will protect the kingdom in her stead.

He asks us to spend the night and we do. Lenna wakes in the middle of the night and finds Faris standing on the balcony.

She addresses her as “my sister.” However, Faris denies it.

Faris leaves and Lenna reveals she noticed Faris’ pendant. The next morning, we find the chancellor waiting for us in the storeroom.

He gives us the Healing Staff, saying it has been in Lenna’s family for generations. We find a Shuriken, a Diamond Bell, and an Ashura in some chests.

An elderly woman tells us that Princess Lenna’s older sister, Sarisa, was sailing with her father when a storm hit and caused her to fall overboard. After looting the castle, we return to exploring.

Lix

Our next stop is Rand’s hometown of Lix. There are no chests or items. Rand flashes back to when his mother suddenly died of an illness, right as his father was about to secretly leave to go after some bad guys.

We also see a scene where Rand climbed on a roof during a game of hide-and-seek and nearly fell off, which resulted in his fear of heights. After purchasing some discounted supplies, we return to exploring.

Istory

The town of Istory is our next destination. It has no chests or items. We run around some flowers until a toad hops out of a hole, leaving the toad spell behind for us to learn.

A woman tells us there is a monster dressed like an old man wandering the eastern woods. We learn Romeo’s Ballad from a bard.

The townspeople say there is a treasure behind Istory Falls, but I don’t see a way to access it right now. I head to the woods to look for the old man.

Ramuh

We encounter Ramuh in the woods. Rand’s Coral Sword heals him, so I’m forced to fight him with just my other three party members.

The battle drags a bit, but I eventually take him out with Lenna’s magic and gain the ability to summon him. I don’t see anything else to explore, so I return to the Library of Ancients.

Library of Ancients

We reunite with Cid and Mid at the Library and tell them the ship sank. Mid says they’ll just build another one.

Cid tells us that King Tycoon was spotted in the Desert of Shifting Sands to the west. The Town of Ruin lies beyond the dunes, but no one can cross the desert.

Rand asks how the king did it and Mid says someone saw the king floating. Faris urges us to head for the desert and figure it out when we get there.

Desert of Shifting Sands

The desert has no items or chests. We enter the desert and Mid and Cid follow after. Cid says they will build a bridge so we can get into the desert.

They will use a bell to call the sandworm and then we have to kill it and use its body as a bridge. However, we can’t use magic on it.

Without Lenna’s magic, we have to rely on Galuf and Rand’s attacks, so the battle is a bit slow, but we win. We enter the desert and make our way to the pyramid in the center.

However, the door is locked. We head for the exit.

Gohn, the Town of Ruin

After leaving the desert, we walk to the Town of Ruin. It has no chests or items. We spot King Tycoon sneaking around and follow him.

However, when we try to approach him, he opens a trap door and we fall through it. Faris calls the king “papa” before falling.

When we land in the room below, Lenna confronts her and she finally admits to being her older sister. Nobody is sure where Galuf is, so we decided to head out and he’ll catch up later.

Galuf finds us and questions why we’d ditch him so fast. We find a teleporter and get warped somewhere near Crescent Island.

Meanwhile, Cid and Mid ride the black chocobo back to his home in the forest. The warp pad explodes and we speculate that activating it must have caused something to snap.

Catapult

We are now inside something called Catapult. It has three chests and no items. We have to solve a puzzle to get to the chests.

They contain two shurikens and the mini spell. We pull a lever that opens a door for us and also opens a trap door in the chocobo forest that Cid and Mid fall through.

We discover the fire-powered ship in a hangar attached to the Catapult. We also find a second ship with propellers on it.

Cid and Mid fall from the sky and land on the new ship. They tell us what happened to them in the forest and Rand concludes that we are under Crescent Island.

Mid says that the Ancients must have built the Catapult. Cid does some tinkering and gets the new ship working.

Airship

Rand asks what the new ship is and Cid says it’s an airship. A monster attacks the airship and starts pulling it down.

The Cray Claw looks a lot like a previous monster we fought. Fortunately, it is weak against both Thunder and Rand’s Coral Sword, allowing us to defeat it easily.

We get a Frost Bow as a reward. We land the airship back in the hangar, and Cid says he can fix it with parts from the fire-powered ship.

Cid and Mid fix the ship while we take a nap then tell us the skies are ours, and they will stay behind and search for clues about the Earth Crystal.

Floating City

We fly back to the Town of Ruin where we saw King Tycoon, but as we approach, a giant machine rises from the desert and flies away. We return to Cid and Mid to tell them what we saw.

Mid says the Earth Crystal is in the city. He explains that the ancient Ronkans amplified the Earth Crystal to make their town float.

However, when they realized the amplifier would make the crystal shatter, they turned it off. Cid says someone has turned the machine back on.

Rand wants to know how we are supposed to get high enough to get to the city. Mid says we need some adamantite to make the ship strong enough to reach higher altitudes.

Galuf says he remembers seeing some adamantite in the meteorite he came here in. We decide to go check it out.

Adamantite

We fly back to the Tycoon Meteorite and find the adamantite inside. An Adamantoise attacks us.

It is weak to Lenna’s Blizzard magic and we destroy it fairly easily. We get a turtle shell as a reward.

We return to Cid and Mid and they tell us to rest while they fix up the ship. We can now fly to the floating city, but Cid warns it is protected by a robust defense system we must disable first.

Ronka Ruins Defense System

We fly to the floating city, which has 12 chests and no items. Each side of the city has a pair of Rocket Launchers and a pair of Flame Throwers.

These enemies are weak to Lenna’s Thunder magic and Rand’s physical attacks. They hit hard, but we defeat them without much trouble.

Once they are down, a big gun emerges from the center of the floating city. The Soul Cannon is accompanied by two Launchers.

The launchers aren’t too bad, but once they are down, the Soul Cannon relentlessly hits us with a powerful attack that knocks out Rand and Galuf. The only thing I can do at that point is use Faris to continually heal the remaining two party members, while Lenna zaps the cannon with Thundara.

It takes a bit, but I win the battle. We fly into the floating city through the hole it leaves.

Ronka Ruins

The Ronka Ruins is by far the largest dungeon we have encountered. It has several branching paths that take us to various treasure, some of which are trapped.

I find some Golden Armor in a chest, which goes to Rand. I also find a Shuriken, Power Armlet, Ancient Sword, and a second Moonring Blade.

Rand gets the Ancient Sword. I find a Golden Shield in another chest. We eventually find our way to King Tycoon.

He complains that the clapperclaw is blocking the path and tells us to kill it. He warns us that it can change its weakness at will.

The monster, Archeoaevis, attacks. It hits us with some powerful attacks, some of which hit the whole group.

I use Libra to discover that its initial weakness is wind, but that doesn’t do me any good, since I don’t have any wind magic. Magic that it isn’t weak against heals it.

I use Lenna to help heal the party, by having her toss hi-potions and phoenix downs when needed. Faris uses her Cura spell and Healing Staff.

Fortunately, Rand does a decent amount of damage, so with the little bit of help from Galuf’s attacks, he takes the monster down. Unfortunately, it immediately revives.

We take it down again and get a bunch of drinkables as a reward. King Tycoon congratulates us on our good work and laughs evilly.

We follow him into the crystal chamber. Galuf says something must be controlling the king. Rand starts to do something, but Lenna and Faris stop him.

The king says with the four of us gathered together, he can destroy us all. Another meteorite crashes nearby and Krile bursts in through the wall. Oh yeah!

She zaps the king with a thunder spell, knocking him out. Galuf sees Krile and gets his memory back.

The king wakes up and realizes that Sarisa is alive. The earth crystal shatters. We see the seal on Exdeath’s prison break.

Exdeath

Exdeath appears in the crystal chamber. He commands the crystal shards to smite us. The shards zap Rand a few times.

Exdeath gloats about destroying the crystals and tells Galuf his world will be next. He disappears and King Tycoon approaches the crystal shards.

He calls on the light of earth to reclaim its essence from him. However, it doesn’t work and the king dies.

Before he disappears, he tells us we must save the crystal. He asks Rand to take care of his daughters.

We absorb the crystal shards and learn the Samurai, Dragoon, Dancer, and Chemist jobs. The floating city begins to fall to the ground.

We escape to the airship. Galuf tells Rand that Exdeath is an evil warlock from his world.

The Dawn Warriors

Thirty years ago, Exdeath came here to destroy the crystals. Galuf and three others, the Dawn Warriors, came here and sealed Exdeath away with the power of the crystals.

Everything was fine for 30 years, but then they realized something was happening to the crystals and took the meteors back here. However, they were too late.

Rand asks if it’s because they used too much of the crystals’ power. Galuf says they were the ones who left Exdeath here in the first place and they should have dragged him back to their world when they had the chance.

Galuf tells us that he and Krile must return to their world to seal Exdeath away again. Rand tells him that we will come with him, but Galuf says no.

The meteorite only has enough power for one trip and we would be stuck on Galuf’s world. Galuf and Krile leave and the rest of us return to the airship.

However, Lenna and Faris have been talking. They want to avenge their father’s death. As a group we decide we should go to Galuf’s world.

However, we don’t know how to get there. We decide to ask Cid.

Charging the Meteorites

We return to the Catapult and find a note from Cid saying he and Mid decided to put the adamantite back where we found it. We go to the Tycoon Meteorite site and find the black chocobo waiting.

Inside the meteorite, Cid tries to put the adamantite back and finds that the meteorite begins absorbing its power. We speculate that the meteorite is recharging.

However, Mid says the adamantite is too small to fully recharge it. However, if we can combine the power of all four meteorites, perhaps we can warp to Galuf’s world.

At the first meteorite we go to, we find Titan. We defeat him and gain the power to summon him.

At the next one, Purobolos attacks. It is a group of six bomb-type creatures. Unfortunately, when we defeat one, it casts Arise to revive its fallen comrades.

Eventually, it runs out of MP and we are able to finish it off. At the final meteorite site, we decide Cid and Mid are taking too long and go investigate.

We find them trapped by an evil force. A Chimera Brain attacks us, but we defeat it easily.

Cid shows us a map and we see a spot where the power of all four meteorites converges. He tells us to go there to find the warp point.

Galuf’s World

We travel to the warp point and hop in, landing on a deserted island on Galuf’s world. We make camp in the forest.

Faris asks Lenna why she risked her life to save the wind drake. Lenna says it reminds her of their mother.

A monster attacks and drags Lenna and Faris away. It returns and attacks Rand.

Rand beats it easily and it leaves behind a chest. When I open it, gas comes out and Rand passes out.

Castle Exdeath

Rand awakes in the dungeon of Exdeath’s castle with Lenna and Faris. Exdeath arrives. A monster tells him that Galuf and his cohorts have made it to Big Bridge.

Exdeath tells him to prepare the giant mirror. Exdeath uses the mirror to project our image into the sky and tells Galuf to back off or he will kill us.

Galuf tells his men to fall back. Back at the castle, Exdeath summons Gilgamesh to watch us.

Rand tries to give him some lip and Exdeath zaps him. Back at Big Bridge, Galuf tells Krile he needs to borrow her wind drake.

Galuf flies the wind drake to Exdeath Castle and breaks in. He sends the wind drake back to Krile.

Galuf finds our stuff in a chest and makes his way to our cell. Gilgamesh confronts him and they battle until Gilgamesh runs away.

Galuf frees us from our cell and Rand apologizes for messing up his plans. Galuf says he’ll berate us later, but first we need to get out of the castle.

We leave the castle and I save the game out front and quit for the night.