Mamook Speaks

Not even I imagined that my sister would one day befriend Bakool Ja Ja...

Alphinaud

Wuk Lamat risks her standing in the rite to attend to her people's needs. 'Tis a degree of selflessness few can claim to share.

Everyone looks uneasy, but their faith in Bakool Ja Ja guides them even now.

Erenville

Now we come to the heart of it.

Hoobigo Merchant

Belief in blessed siblings and the salvation they would bring has sustained me for years and years. But if there's another way...if the Third Promise can truly help us...

Belligerent Boonewa

I don't know what to think or how to feel about this...

Grove Worker

An end to blessed siblings...?

Miilal Ja

I'm sure my son would have preferred to stay, but his presence alone still greatly sways our people's behavior.

Unsure Citizen

Even if Bakool Ja Ja trusts the Third Promise, I don't know if I'm comfortable discussing this with her...

All right, Maringar. Before we start, let's make sure we're remembering our history correctly.

The Mamool Ja and Xbr'aal fought for centuries over the land in the upper forest. But due to infighting, Mamool Ja forces struggled to make significant gains.

In order to promote cooperation, the Hoobigo and Boonewa clans intermarried─and that's how blessed siblings were first conceived.

With that in mind, let's talk to the people and learn why they rely on blessed siblings.

Unsure Citizen

Blessed siblings promise us more than strength─they promise us the sun.

This forest is dark and inhospitable. When given the opportunity to live in Tuliyollal, most of our people didn't think twice.

Still, the prospect of being among so many outsiders was intimidating enough to keep many of us here.

Blessed siblings are meant to deliver us from this accursed forest─to lead us to the fertile land above, where we might make a place for Mamool Ja to abide in peace and plenty.

So you desire fertile land. One that's all your own...

Grove Worker

As you'll have noticed, this forest is very dark. Hardly any sunlight makes it through the canopy, so it feels like it's always night.

We plow, we fertilize, we irrigate─yet our crops shrivel and die as though cursed.

The only one that grows well is najool─Ja Tiika banana in Turali. Try living on that and little else for a few centuries and see how you like it.

A forest where nothing grows... It's not hard to imagine why you'd want to leave.

Hoobigo Merchant

This land was once rich with ore, but the Yok Huy did not stop digging until all the veins were spent.

The meteorites are only good for so much. Even if we made overtures to traders, we have little to offer.

Nothing would make me happier than to make a good life for my family in the place where I was born. But that's impossible...

So with resources as sparse as they are, you don't have good prospects for trade...

Belligerent Boonewa

Those who have known only open skies and bountiful land cannot comprehend our plight.

To thrive we must take what we lack by force. And for that, we need the might of blessed siblings.

There have to be other ways to thrive─ways that don't require fighting!

Optional dialogue

What is it? There are still people we haven't spoken with.

Unsure Citizen

We've long since given up on anyone understanding our plight.

Grove Worker

This forest rejects us. From our doomed crops to those unnatural meteorites─the signs are unmistakable.

Hoobigo Merchant

Trust me. If this forest had anything else others might want, I would have found it by now.

Belligerent Boonewa

We who live in this forest have precious little choice. We have to fight if we're to do more than survive.

Miilal Ja

I'll watch over things here while you're away. Go and help the Third Promise however you can.

Well, I think I'm starting to understand.

Everyone had their own perspective, but all their concerns were about the forest itself.

Dark, infertile─cursed. Hearing that, it's little wonder that people here wish they had better land. And who better to get it for them than blessed siblings?

It's hard to convince people to stay in a place that can't provide what they need. You'd think the meteorites, at least, would have value, but apparently not...

Hold on. Didn't Erenville mention something about the meteorites? That the aether they emit makes the plants glow blue?

A rather significant physiological effect, I would say. If we were to study these meteorites, we might discover other ways they influence local flora.

I noticed a curious amalgam of tree and meteorite just south of here. Determining precisely how they interact with one another may yield crucial insights.

Everyone, I really appreciate you for sharing your thoughts with us. Thanks to your insights, we have a promising idea already.

We just need a moment to investigate it further, so please bear with us! We'll be right back!

Optional dialogue

Erenville

Plants that shrivel as though cursed... I think I can hazard a guess as to why...

Alphinaud

What a remarkable tree... I hope it will provide us with the insights we need.

At first glance, this forest seems a haven of mysterious beauty. But the reality of living here is quite another matter...

I had known that Yak T'el was battered by a veritable deluge of meteorites long ago, but I never considered how their presence might be affecting the environment...

Cutscene 2

It really is incredible how a tree could support such an enormous boulder.

The meteorite's aetheric emissions are palpable, even from this distance...

Seeing this again makes me feel more confident in sharing a theory of mine. I suspect that only plants with an aetheric affinity to these meteorites can thrive in this forest.

Alphinaud

If so, the gargantuan trees that create the dense canopy would by necessity possess the same affinity. As well as the aforementioned najool tree.

Indeed. I should like to analyze samples of meteorite before drawing any definitive conclusions, however.

I carry with me a few devices that will aid in this endeavor, but perhaps you and Krile could lend your expertise as well?

Erenville

I'd like to join you. The aetheric signature of those meteorites may be crucial in determining what manner of species might fare well here.

Ahhh, I think I see what you're getting at! If we can prove to them the cursed forest isn't quite so cursed, maybe the people won't feel like blessed siblings are their only solution!

So how can I help? Want me to climb the tree and break off a piece of meteorite for you?

There are plenty of fragments on the ground already. It should be enough for our purposes if we gather about five pieces each.

Even better if those fragments are gathered from disparate locations.

I will collect your pieces once you have them.

Optional dialogue

So the reason this tree grew so big is because of the meteorite's energies?