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Ixion is Come

From Playonline.com



The legendary horned stallion, Ixion...
Feared by some as the reaper of souls, spawned from the blackest depths of the abyss...
Revered by others as a symbol of mankind's salvation, the divine incarnation of a celestial being...

Ixion, the wielder of lightning, is come!

The raging flame, whose lapping tongues but a moment ago had threatened to scorch the underbelly of the sky, had regressed to wisps of smoke unfurling hypnotically in the cool breeze. An elderly knight, a veteran of countless campaigns, lies half buried in smoldering debris with limbs entangled with those of fallen friends and foes, his pallid complexion masked in the grey and crimson of ash and caking blood. He stares with glazed eyes at clouds drifting lazily across the dusk sky, his head swimming in the mingled smell of rusted metal, burnt foliage, and death. The faint whistling of the wind is a soothing song compared to the horror-filled shrieks that accompanied the sickening sound of flesh and bone giving way to tempered steel.

The knight knows that his time is near, and with his departure, death can finally rule supreme over this ravaged battlefield. Most would consider it a blessing for a soldier to have lived this long, but not he. Living has meant enduring the torment of blood-smeared memories of comrades—friends—falling one after the other. Let it end, he prays, his consciousness fading slowly but surely with the setting sun.

The sharp, distinct snap of a twig breaking underfoot ends the hours-long silence, jerking the knight back to reality. Opportunistic Goblins, here to scavenge the battlefield, he thinks with renewed alertness. If they were to find him in this defenseless state, there would be no reprieve. His loathing towards the vile creatures reignites his will to survive. With clenched teeth, he musters all remaining strength in an attempt to move his legs, but they fail to heed the call. Defeated, he allows his helmed head to fall back to the ground with a soft clunk, his breathing now more labored than ever.

The footsteps draw nearer, thudding out a slow but elaborate rhythm on the charred plain. His experience tells him they are that of a four-footed creature—perhaps a hell hound here to feed on flesh. Despite knowing very well his dwindling life force could no longer sustain the desire for self-preservation, with the same battle-honed instinct that has allowed him to survive till this day, the knight fumbles for the hilt of his weapon with a leaden hand. The footsteps draw nearer still, and with a final, decisive thud, the creature comes to a standstill, drawing breath deeply as if perceiving the aftermath by smell rather than sight. From the slit of his visor battered by a vicious blow, the knight spies four towering black limbs hosting a network of veins each as thick as a grown man's finger, pulsating with life blood. A gasp escapes his lips.

Careful to avoid detection, he shifts his head slightly to more fully behold this unannounced visitor. He finds himself locked in a gaze with large, fiery eyes burning with intelligence, glaring back at him with crystalline pupils that probe into his soul, sensing his confused emotional state. Its long, mauvish mane flows pliably in the wind, striking a contrast with its hulking frame that looked like it would bend not even to the fiercest storms. But the most startling of its features, is a single protrusion—a horn of fearsome design, spiraling thick and long from its forehead in cruel twists, like a lance bracing to puncture the very fabric of reality itself.

Fear gives in to marvel as memories of evenings spent by the fireplace as a child mesmerized by his grandfather's fantastic fables of the unicorn, the mythical horned horse, resurface. Could this truly be the legendary creature, sent by the Goddess to guide him on his journey to the afterlife? Touched by what he interprets as a final gesture of grace from his revered Divinity, tears well up in his tired, deep-set eyes. He begins reciting a verse of prayer from the faith of his ancestors, but a few breathy words are all he can manage before the sound of scuffling footsteps and chinking armor in the distance disrupts what he had hoped would become his final moment of peace.
"Look, there's Ixion! Over there!" an excited voice echoes across the plain.

With an agitated neigh, the creature identified as Ixion hoists its sizeable head aloft, eyes dilated in anticipation of the interlopers. There is a brief moment of stillness—serenity, even—in the air. Then the beast's dormant horn awakens with an intensifying crackling sound as a static charge builds up, sending lashing tendrils of electricity dancing furiously up and down along its shaft.



"Stay on your guard!" an authoritative voice yells out mere seconds before Ixion rears up and unleashes a barrage of lightning bolts with a deafening thunderclap. Although the discharge is but a warning, the approaching figures frantically raise their shield arms in defense. The flickering brightness from the lingering charge reveals them to be a small contingent of young mercenaries. No older than when he first enlisted into the army and most likely no wiser, observes the knight, their reckless overconfidence striking a nostalgic chord within him.

Sensing no merit in a confrontation, the mighty stallion pivots, turning its substantial mass around in one fluid motion, then kicks into a thunderous gallop, leaving the stunned aggressors behind in a wake of spark and dust.
"Damn! It's making a run for it!"
"Don't let it escape! After it!"

The young mercenaries commence what seems a futile chase, when one among them—a girl robed head to toe in white—sensing something amiss, stops mid stride and turns towards the ailing knight. She crouches beside him, reaching out with gentle hands to check his vital signs.
"Wait! This man is still alive!"

"I-Ixi...on..."
As though no longer sure of the reality in what he has just witnessed, the knight weakly mouths the name of the horned beast. And finally succumbs to the darkness.

Comments

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Ixion
# Jun 09 2008 at 5:34 PM Rating: Default
I highly doubt this is a new Avatar or Dynamis Boss. I think it will be one of the new ENMs that they have introduced with the new NPCs and point system in Whitegate...
Dynamis
# Jun 09 2008 at 9:47 AM Rating: Decent
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257 posts
Well notice the dark sky in the picture and the use of "Interlopers" in the dialogue. Could be a new Dynamis megaboss?!
Dynamis
# Jun 09 2008 at 10:15 AM Rating: Decent
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61 posts
Well nice idea but the sky is the key. If you look in the picture you will clearly see the comet in the sky that marks the "past" skys. So it has to be in the past. Im still hoping its a new avatar. I have had every avatar and spirit sice my smn was lvl 6.(Glad i lvl'd blm to 75 1st ^^ ) So im really ready to see some new faces. Only downside is i gotta catch up on the Wotg storyline now. I guess ToAu is taking a back burner again..
zuh?
# Jun 08 2008 at 12:34 PM Rating: Good
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2,705 posts
If ixion is a unicorn/horse thing....why does he have claws?
hmm
# Jun 07 2008 at 1:45 PM Rating: Decent
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61 posts
well i looked at this and the first thing i said was "Thats a new avatar". I could be wrong but i think it is. SE also said new avatars were to be released. So it makes sence for them to let one out soon. Looks neat. I personally am one of the many that think Pheniox needs to be released. And honestly when i saw WoTg was going to be in the "past" i was positive SE would release it. Seeing as this would technicaly be before tezen's (sp) sword thing happened. Soooo i still think SE should release the fire bird ^^ Thats my 2 cents
I knew I had seen them before
# Jun 07 2008 at 6:30 AM Rating: Decent
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149 posts
When I read this I was surpriced that people where thinking of an avatar immidiately. I have played quite a few FF games but not FFX (my son has the playstations and live with his mom and I have been playing most of his disks on emulator on my PC and it is not until recently it has been possible to play playstation 2 games that way... well anyway...) I was thinking more in the lines of that Dark Rider that poped up in Aht Urghan (like Miel is pointing out further up in this thread).
I started looking through this page http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/espmon/summons2.shtml . You can navigate through different avatars with the arrows at the bottom of the page. What made me almost more excited was when I navigated all the way back to Atomos. This has probably been pointed out somewhere else before but look at the first versions of him! I knew I had seen those somewhere before.
Hmm
# Jun 06 2008 at 10:37 PM Rating: Default
Well, as far as I can see SE is just going to make him a theme in the WotG storyline since they are working on the missions-- probobly as I am typing this. If it's a new summon, cool. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. All I can say is .dats ftw ^^
Ixion... Avatar?
# Jun 06 2008 at 8:16 PM Rating: Decent
OK... so if you've done reading up on the background of summoning magic and avatars in FFXI then you know that Ixion isn't an "avatar".

In the world of FFXI there are 13 avatars corresponding to the constellations.

8 elemental (Ifrit - Fire, Shiva - Ice, Garuda - Wind, Titan - Earth, Ramuh - Thunder, Leviathan - Water, Odin - Dark, and Alexander - Light)

and 5 Terrestrial Avatars (Carbuncle, Fenrir, Bahumut, Diabolos and Pheonix who I'm pretty sure is the only one who hasn't turned up yet although has been mentioned.

So is Ixion a new avatar? Maybe. I'm guessing due to the story being about war that he's associated with the wings of the goddess story and there for in the past. Maybe there were more avatars in the old days?

But also consider that avatars are not the only thing that summoners can call. The elemental spirits are not avatars. Maybe Ixion is the first in a wave of new types of summons.

He might just not be a summon at all. Personally I'm hoping he is and I'm also hoping that pheonix (Raisega?) or some others show up too! I'm of the opinion that giving summoner a wider aray of abilities will not over power them since they have major time constraints on how often to use abilities as it is.

I'm also working on unlocking summons now and plan to make it my next job so for myself and all those summoners out there- here's hoping!

Ixion... Avatar?
# Jun 09 2008 at 7:38 AM Rating: Decent
The Esper at the long, labrynthine path in the Magitek Research facility in Vector is Ixion, that is nulled by Kefka's spells. He faces annilihation at the hands of the Emperors Jester, and the Espers Terra's team rescues, or Locke's team are in the giant-enormous test tubes.
Ixion... Avatar?
# Jun 06 2008 at 8:58 PM Rating: Good
Darqflame's Peon
ZAM Administrator
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6,096 posts
FostyrDRG wrote:
OK... so if you've done reading up on the background of summoning magic and avatars in FFXI then you know that Ixion isn't an "avatar".
Remeber when fenrir was released as a summon he had a story of his own.
Wow. Tad Dark
# Jun 06 2008 at 4:34 PM Rating: Default
This was kind of a dark story, don'tcha think? I'm sure I'd want my 13-year old reading that, if I was a parent.
Wow. Tad Dark
# Jun 11 2008 at 12:14 AM Rating: Decent
40 posts
Wow, seriously? I can understand being protective of children seeing violent movies, or playing violent video games, but written word? I read Lord of the Flies by the time I was fourteen years old, which is a very dark book. Thirteen isn't THAT young, and reading literature at that age should be encouraged, not suppressed.
Wow. Tad Dark
# Jun 06 2008 at 6:54 PM Rating: Good
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3,816 posts
Dragonli wrote:
This was kind of a dark story, don'tcha think? I'm sure I'd want my 13-year old reading that, if I was a parent.

It's against the Terms of Service for anyone under the age of 14 to play this game. Sooooo technically, your 13 year old shouldn't be playing.
And if you're a parent, and don't want your kid reading this stuff... BE A REAL PARENT and DON'T LET THEM READ THIS STUFF.

Simple as that.
Wow. Tad Dark
# Jun 08 2008 at 9:14 AM Rating: Default
But a child can still play a game as long they have parent guidance
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 10:23 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) I'm 26, and not a parent, but my point is, first off, the age limit is 13 and older, not 14. Secondly, what kind of warning is there that this content may exist? On the box to the game? Nope, Teen rating. On allakhazam? Nope, no rating period. No warnings, no nothing. All arguments aside, all I'm really saying is wow, dark story. I read the first two paragraphs to my wife, and she made me stop.
Wow. Tad Dark
# Jun 07 2008 at 2:29 AM Rating: Good
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803 posts
The average fairytail is more dark and bloody then that story. Yet kids love it, maybe it's time to not be so over-protective so the kids will know that not all is happy when they go explore our world on their own..
should this be an ez boss or NM...........
# Jun 06 2008 at 12:19 PM Rating: Default
man if this avatar is the 'avatar of death' shouldn't it cast doom or something instead of lightning i mean the whole thing that is "I'm here for your soul." is kind of idk sort of ironic it would be nice to see a boss or an ENM that casts another insta-death spell like AV with meteor i mean it seems SE is going soft on the whole BS with no more MPKing and the aggro system i mean i like it and all but i miss MPKing some bastards who KS from u but other than that i wanna see another UBBER boss or ENM like AV SE is getting soft
should this be an ez boss or NM...........
# Jun 06 2008 at 12:39 PM Rating: Good
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463 posts
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 11:45 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Why hasn't anybody said anything about the really bad English? It's pretty funny.
English
# Jun 06 2008 at 1:35 PM Rating: Excellent
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212 posts
"(Person) or (Subject) is come" is not bad English, it's archaic English that's been used at least as recently as the 1800s.

Perhaps you've heard of this song... it goes something like "Joy to the world, the lord is come."
English
# Jun 06 2008 at 12:15 PM Rating: Excellent
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463 posts
Speaking as a college student who was (for a time) an English major and who has read more than she would care to admit, I have to say that I saw nothing wrong with the writing. No noticeable "bad English" here.

I actually thought it was very nice; kind of like an anime scene put into writing, really. I give this story (and the gorgeous new mob, unicorn yay!) my Dancing Pirate Cat stamp of approval.
English
# Jun 06 2008 at 3:15 PM Rating: Decent
Thief's Knife
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15,054 posts
Miel wrote:
Speaking as a college student who was (for a time) an English major and who has read more than she would care to admit, I have to say that I saw nothing wrong with the writing. No noticeable "bad English" here.

I actually thought it was very nice; kind of like an anime scene put into writing, really. I give this story (and the gorgeous new mob, unicorn yay!) my Dancing Pirate Cat stamp of approval.


I knew it reminded me of something and it finally came to me.

http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/SF-Archives/Misc/Eye_Of_The_Argon

That's The "Eye of Argon", infamous as the worst fantasy story ever written.
____________________________
Final Fantasy XI 12-14-11 Update wrote:
Adjust the resolution of menus.
The main screen resolution for "FINAL FANTASY XI" is dependent on the "Overlay Graphics Resolution" setting.
If the Overlay Graphics Resolution is set higher than the Menu Resolution, menus will be automatically resized.


I thought of it first:

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=130073657654872218#20
English
# Jun 06 2008 at 4:15 PM Rating: Excellent
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463 posts
Lobivopis wrote:
infamous as the worst fantasy story ever written.


Really? I'd say there's a lot of competition for that. ;P

It's mostly that I'm happy that they made an effort. They could have easily said, "Ixion, the great horned stallion said to be the bringer of death, maybe, and who has something to do with lightning, will be showing up in the next version update. Here's a picture."

Instead, they obviously put some effort into writing a story that, for a simple advertisement, really isn't half bad, and is definitely more intriguing than just some kind of blurb.
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 9:59 AM Rating: Decent
40 posts
Ahh, I remember this aeon from FFX. As of right now I think it'll just be a new NM to the WotG expansion. As others have said there's already the summon Ramuh with lightning element. It would be kind of weird to have two summons of the same element (not that I wouldn't mind). What I really want is my Atomos, SE!
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 10:47 AM Rating: Excellent
-REDACTED-
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3,059 posts
So... what are Diabolos and Fenrir?
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 11:30 AM Rating: Good
40 posts
"So... what are Diabolos and Fenrir?"

To be technical they're terrestrial avatars. While Ramuh would be considered an elemental avatar.

But I get what you're really asking, they are both dark. Hope that answered your question.
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 11:52 AM Rating: Default
Quote:
"So... what are Diabolos and Fenrir?"

To be technical they're terrestrial avatars. While Ramuh would be considered an elemental avatar.

But I get what you're really asking, they are both dark. Hope that answered your question.


The only thing remotely "Dark" about Fenrir is Howling Moon and thats it... so besides that, not a single thing on him is is dark based nor does he resist anything cast on him that is of Dark Element, so this comparison cannot be made lol between these two avatars at all... Look at the avatar, not the staff that goes with it lol.
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 6:04 PM Rating: Default
Vahnslet wrote:
Quote:
"So... what are Diabolos and Fenrir?"

To be technical they're terrestrial avatars. While Ramuh would be considered an elemental avatar.

But I get what you're really asking, they are both dark. Hope that answered your question.


The only thing remotely "Dark" about Fenrir is Howling Moon and thats it... so besides that, not a single thing on him is is dark based nor does he resist anything cast on him that is of Dark Element, so this comparison cannot be made lol between these two avatars at all... Look at the avatar, not the staff that goes with it lol.


Actually Fenrir uses Dispellega which is a Dark based spell, and I'm not sure about your Fenrir but mine has been known to resist sleep. Also consider that FEnrir is weak to Light based Spells and Strong to Drk based spells.
.
# Jun 07 2008 at 5:12 AM Rating: Default
Badat wrote:
Vahnslet wrote:
Quote:
"So... what are Diabolos and Fenrir?"

To be technical they're terrestrial avatars. While Ramuh would be considered an elemental avatar.

But I get what you're really asking, they are both dark. Hope that answered your question.


The only thing remotely "Dark" about Fenrir is Howling Moon and thats it... so besides that, not a single thing on him is is dark based nor does he resist anything cast on him that is of Dark Element, so this comparison cannot be made lol between these two avatars at all... Look at the avatar, not the staff that goes with it lol.


Actually Fenrir uses Dispellega which is a Dark based spell, and I'm not sure about your Fenrir but mine has been known to resist sleep. Also consider that FEnrir is weak to Light based Spells and Strong to Drk based spells.


Fenrir is not just dark he is of the moon that is were the most of his power come's from and if you look at it in the line of that why can't there be avatar's that are astral in a way like maybe this new avatar or whatever it is going to be is a astral monster or mybe it is ramuh's war horse or it could be the other half of a storm avtar pair
.
# Jun 06 2008 at 8:38 PM Rating: Decent
even if it does count as another type of avatar. SE will make up another story behind it =D
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 7:59 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Ixion? Well, I hope this is the only ffx summon they throw at us. The FFX summons were some of the most boring (aside from Shiva's design) summons.
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 7:17 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Ixion is nice and all, but I would prefer they add Anima or even something crazy like the Magus Sisters. Yeah....the sisters would be pretty sweet.
Sweetness+1
# Jun 06 2008 at 7:10 AM Rating: Good
Ixion is one of the badest avatars ever. My one question will be is how does he rank up against the Celestial Avatar Ramuh who is also lightning.
Sweetness+1
# Jun 06 2008 at 8:36 PM Rating: Decent
well ramuh's abilities are pretty old school. like enthunder and shock spikes. i think ixion will have more buffs and possibly more unique like fenrir and diabolos have. and then have the typical dmg pacts.
Woah.
# Jun 06 2008 at 6:16 AM Rating: Excellent
Ixion? Awesome!

I wonder if he'll be part of the WotG missions first like Diabolos was. So that people need to do them to have him.
Ixion!!
# Jun 06 2008 at 6:03 AM Rating: Excellent
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216 posts
:O...





:O!!! :D!
avatar
# Jun 06 2008 at 5:03 AM Rating: Excellent
17 posts
i hope he is a new avatar :D, just got smn to 60 the other day so would be nice to get a new one :D
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 4:25 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG IXXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMA KISK UR *** AND OWN UR SOUL FINALLY!
Coming back
# Jun 06 2008 at 3:13 AM Rating: Decent
Scholar
**
638 posts
....If Ixion turns out to be the new Avatar, I'm SOOO reactivating my content ID O_O HE'S BEAUTIFUL
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[ffxivsig]460104[/ffxivsig]
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 6:24 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) I agree w/ u. It's a very beautiful creature. But, chances are, as it seems from the story, it's gonna be a NM. If it is one, u can bet RMTs are gonna have a field day w/ this.
#REDACTED, Posted: Jun 06 2008 at 6:44 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) lol peoplee know how to identify RMT, being /anon doesnt mean anything nor can someone just call a GM because you're /anon (or they can because they might be a tad retarded) But anywho, some easy to remember things to identify RMT:
Coming back
# Jun 07 2008 at 9:59 AM Rating: Decent
You've forgotten a few: When they're all Rank 1, or they have all similar names, like Aaab, Aaac, Aaad, etc. Though I would tend to agree that /anon means a lot. I make it a firm policy never to trust anybody who is /anon.
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