Storm on the Horizon

Quest giver: Hien
Location: Yanxia (X:24.9, Y:12.7)
Quest line: Post-Stormblood Main Scenario Quests
Level: 70

Experience: 10,800
Gil: 972
Previous quest: Elation and Trepidation
Next quest: His Forgotten Home
Patch: 4.2

Main Scenario Progress: 517 / 960 (53.9%)

Stormblood Progress: 138 / 162 (85.2%)

“

The Empire is on the move, and Hien would not be caught on the back foot.

— In-game description

Rewards

Choose one of the following options:

Unlocks

The Doman Enclave

Steps

Speak with Hien at Castrum Fluminis.

Speak with Hien.

Speak with Yugiri at the mercantile docks.

Speak with Hien at the Doman Enclave.

Speak with the guardsman.

Speak with Hien.

Speak with Alisaie.

Journal

There are no journal entries for this quest.

Dialogue

Accepting the Quest

Hien: While you were out searching for Jifuya, we received word from our shinobi allies: an imperial airship has been sighted over Doman soil.
Hien: Our visitors' objective remains unclear. It may be another attempt to recover Yotsuyu... or a prelude to invasion.
Hien: Either way, the craft reportedly advances at speed, and appears bound for Castrum Fluminis. I mean to go there and ascertain their intent.
Hien: If we ride out in force, it will only end one way, so we shall keep our numbers to a minimum. Yugiri, [Player]-- can I count on you?
Yugiri: Yes, my lord.
Alphinaud: Alisaie and I would fain play our part as well. We will not stand idly by while a common foe threatens the lands of our friends and allies.
Hien: We would be glad of the help. You are acquainted with Hakuro, I believe? Then I bid you seek him out and assist in maintaining order in the enclave.
Hien: When the people see an imperial airship, they are liable to panic. I would have you reassure them, and, should it come to it, aid in their evacuation.
Alphinaud: Very well. We shall depart at once. Do take care.
Gosetsu: What of me, my lord?
Hien: The Empire may well be after Yotsuyu. You are to remain here and guard her until my return.
Gosetsu: ...As you wish. Pray stay close to [Player] and Yugiri.
Hien: Well, well... Guard duty and not a breath of protest. Now I have seen it all.
Hien: To Castrum Fluminis, then. Let us find out what the Empire's game is.

Outside the Castrum

Yugiri: Doma is ill-equipped to deal with an aerial offensive. Should the Empire be so minded, the Xaela's flying mounts would be our only hope.
Hien: The area is secure. Whatever our visitors' purpose, they plainly believe they can achieve it alone.
Hien: The craft should come into view at any moment. Let us await them inside the castrum.

Inside the Castrum

Hien: A smoke signal...? Thoughts, Yugiri?
Yugiri: In former times, such signals were used to announce the coming of an emissary of peace -- in Doma, at least. But could that truly be their intent?
Hien: Who can say?
Hien: Whatever they want, we cannot simply blast them out of the sky -- not when they were so gracious as to honor one of our cherished traditions. I would not have it said that we Domans want for propriety.
Yugiri: Then I shall go and reconnoiter.
Hien: Nay, that won't be necessary. We will meet them openly.
Hien: I would welcome this student of Doman history in person, whomsoever he or she may be...
Yugiri: As you wish, my lord. I shall arrange for a signal of our own to be fired in answer.

The Airship Lands

Asahi: Well! That we should be received by the lord of Doma himself!
Hien: I but afford an emissary of peace the courtesy he is due.
Hien: Welcome to Doma, my lord...?
Asahi: Ah, where are my manners? I am Asahi sas Brutus, ambassador plenipotentiary of Garlemald.
Yugiri: He is heir to the Naeuri clan... and Yotsuyu's stepbrother.
Asahi: It seems I need not introduce myself -- not in the presence of the famed Yugiri Mistwalker. Your skills as a shinobi are known far and wide, my lady.
Asahi: It is true -- the former acting viceroy is my sister. Yet, bonds of kinship aside, we have precious little in common. As will soon become plain, I come not to sow strife, but to end it.
Asahi: I am of the Populares, a collective which represents the interests of the common man. Long have we labored to bring about reform to the Empire's provincial policy.
Asahi: Happily for us, our master acknowledges the need for change. Indeed, His Radiance, Emperor Varis zos Galvus personally sanctioned this mission, granting me the authority to speak with his voice.
Asahi: To negotiate peace with Doma.
Hien: Well then, we have much to discuss.
Hien: Will you accompany me to my hall?
Asahi: Gladly, my lord!

After the Chat

Yugiri: Peace... After all they have done. Never has the word rung more hollow.
Maxima: Lord Hien is magnanimous in victory. Given our nations' troubled history, we did not expect such hospitality.
Asahi: I say, do I stand in the presence of the fabled eikon-slayer? What an honor.
Hien: We shall escort our guests across the river to the enclave.
Hien: Yugiri, pray go on ahead to the Yuzuka Manor docks and see that the ferries are ready.

At the Docks

Maxima: I have read much about the architecture and geology of Doma... Words do not do it justice.
Asahi: Such scenes of devastation greeted us on our journey here... The bitter wages of war.
Hien: Upon disembarking, we will proceed directly to my hall, where we may enjoy some privacy.
Yugiri: Lord Hien and I will accompany the imperial delegation on the first ferry.
Yugiri: When you are ready, speak with the boatman and join us on the other side

At the Enclave

Alphinaud: So it's to be a peace negotiation. I am curious to see what the ambassador brings to the discussion table.
Alisaie: The residents took the news of the imperial delegation well enough. It should be business as usual.
Hakuro: Thanks to Master Alphinaud and Mistress Alisaie's assurances, the people are reacting calmly to imperial presence.
Yugiri: Lord Hien has requested that Master Alphinaud and Mistress Alisaie also be present at the negotiation.
Hien: There you are, [Player]. So, first things first: what do you think of the enclave? I must say, I'm quite proud of what my countrymen have accomplished in the time.
Hien: We even have an aetheryte now, courtesy of the Onishishu. Be sure and attune to it, would you? Once it has the Warrior of Light's seal of approval, people might actually start using the thing.
Hien: But on to the matter at hand: the ambassador and his retinue are at my hall, taking their ease ahead of the negotiations. I want you there when the talking starts.
Hien: It will serve to send a message to the Empire that Eorzea and Doma stand united. I am not normally one for hollow posturing, but in this game of nations, such gestures carry weight.
Hien: Oh, and should you feel uneasy about speaking for the Scions, Alphinaud and Alisaie will also be there. You need only eat, drink, and look imposing. Say you'll come.
[Player]: I'll be there. / Oh, very well.
Hien: I knew I could count on you.
Hien: When you are ready, come and join me at my humble abode, the Kienkan. The guardsman will see you in.
Kienkan Guardsman: Lord Hien is expecting you. May I show you in?

Asahi pleads his case.

Making Negotiations

Asahi: On behalf of my delegation, I offer you my humblest thanks. Never did I imagine that I would meet the gallant and noble lord of Doma himself, nor be welcomed into his magnificent hall.
Hien: You'll forgive me if we forgo the pleasantries. You say you are come to negotiate peace.
Hien: Unless I am mistaken, such negotiations are typically conducted between sovereign nations. I was not aware that the Emperor had recognized Doma's sovereignty.
Asahi: His Radiance has yet to do so, that much is true. Know, however, that he has expressed willingness to cede Doma to her ancestral masters and treat with her as a friend.
Asahi: Since the days of Emperor Solus, the Empire has aggressively expanded its territory.
Asahi: While you may not agree with our founding father's policy of expansion, I believe there is room for discussion on the matter of his lifelong goal -- to rid the world of eikons.
Asahi: Eikons are a blight upon this star. They cannot be suffered to exist. This you know as well as we. In his wisdom, Emperor Varis wishes to explore the possibility of an alliance to combat this common threat.
Asahi: On the condition that Doma renounces summoning and pledges to police the Kojin's practice of it, His Radiance would extend the hand of friendship.
Hien: Doma has never shown any appetite for summoning. And it should go without saying that we will address any threat to our people, eikon or otherwise.
Hien: With regard to the Kojin, I must stress that they only resorted to summoning under extreme provocation. When the Ruby Sea was at peace, and their sacred relics safe, they looked not to their kami for protection.
Hien: Yet even now there are certain parties who would destabilize the region with ill-conceived military forays. Unless they alter their course, we cannot hope to be rid of eikons.
Asahi: ...Quite. I can but apologize.
Asahi: In seeking to eliminate eikons, the Empire creates them. 'Tis an irony among ironies. One with which the people of Eorzea are well-acquainted, I am told.
Alphinaud: Indeed, many summonings are the result of persecution, the weak being driven to call upon the divine for deliverance from the strong. So it was in Ala Mhigo -- the bitter fruit of Garlean oppression.
Asahi: A tragic state of affairs. If we are to put an end to summoning once and for all, it shall not be through might, but harmony. Yet we continue to repeat our mistakes, oblivious to the lessons of history.
Asahi: My comrades and I would change all that. We Populares have campaigned long and hard for a shift in imperial policy, and at last the Emperor has seen fit to lend us an ear.
Asahi: Alas, there is a faction within Garlemald that would obstruct our every attempt at reform. A collection of pure-blooded Garleans who seek to consolidate their own supremacy: the Optimates.
Asahi: Lest you wonder, theirs was the hand that loosed our forces on the Confederacy. 'Twas a regrettable incident, one that flies in the face of everything we believe, and I swear to do all in my power to prevent a reoccurrence.
Hien: That would be most welcome. But if I may speak plain -- if the Empire itself is not of one mind, how can we be certain that any peace we negotiate will be honored?
Asahi: I cannot blame you for doubting us. Indeed, I should find it strange if you did not. And so, in the name of building trust, I would like to make a proposal: a prisoner exchange.
Hien: Hm...
Asahi: Under Garlean rule, no few Domans were conscripted into the imperial army. We would repatriate them in return for those of ours you captured in the recent conflict.
Asahi: Naturally, any exchange would include the acting viceroy.
Hien: Yotsuyu? What makes you think we have her?
Asahi: Forgive me, my lord. Was it not your wish to speak plain? Let us not play games. I desire only to work to our mutual benefit.
Asahi: The Optimates tried -- and failed -- to take my sister by force. I would succeed by peaceable means, thereby strengthening my party's hand. 'Twould be a lie to say I would not also be glad of my sister's safe return.
Hien: A fellow plain-speaker. How refreshing. Very well. Your proposal has merit, but I will need time to consider it.
Asahi: Of course, my lord. May we remain in Doma until you have come to a decision?
Hien: You shall be our honored guests.
Hien: Yugiri, I leave the ambassador and his retinue in your care. See that they are well looked after.
Asahi: You have our gratitude, Lord Hien. We shall look forward to your answer.

After the Negotiations

Hakuro: Whatever Lord Hien's decision should be, I shall abide by it. Yet... I would be glad to welcome my lost brothers back to Doma.

Alisaie: That the Empire should send Yotsuyu's stepbrother of all people... I wonder how he feels, a son of Doma returning home to speak for the oppressors his countrymen drove out.

Alphinaud: The fact that there are two opposing factions at work in Garlemald complicates matters. Even assuming Asahi and his associates can be trusted, what of the others?

Hien: Well, that was... unexpected.

Alisaie: You can say that again. I still don't know quite what to make of it all. But on the surface, a prisoner exchange does seem a good way to begin. The question is, can they be trusted?

Hien: Hm. They had naught to gain by divulging the details of their internal divisions. As it stands, we have no reason to doubt them.

Hien: But the ambassador's mention of Yotsuyu left me ill at ease. It made his grand talk of peace seem uncannily like a lengthy preamble.

Alphinaud: You think this might all be a ruse to facilitate her retrieval?

Hien: Perhaps. Though I cannot fathom why they would go to such lengths. Yotsuyu may have been the acting viceroy, but she is not Garlean, nor even highborn. Her value must presumably lie in what she knows...

Hien: ...Which brings us to the little matter of her memory loss. In her present condition, she would not yield any worthwhile intelligence. Nor is she worth much as a bargaining piece.

Hien: Alphinaud, you are well acquainted with the Empire's methods. I would have your thoughts on this matter.

Alphinaud: My knowledge is at your disposal, Lord Hien. While the ambassador's proposal is appealing in principle, it would be remiss of us not to give it due scrutiny.

Hien: Indeed. Though it seems to me I have little choice but to accept regardless. With so many of our brothers and sisters languishing in imperial camps, I cannot well turn my back on a chance to secure their repatriation. Only the kami know when I will be afforded another.

Hien: ...But ere we continue, shall we excuse these two? I fear what follows will bore them to tears.

Alisaie: I was just about show myself out as it happens. Come on, [Player] -- let's leave Alphinaud to dispense his copious knowledge.

Alphinaud: Someone is still sore from being made to watch at Sakazuki...

Alphinaud: Go on and keep Alisaie company. We are safe enough for now.

Hien: You've more than earned a rest, my friend. Leave the interminable bits to us.

Alphinaud: Worry not, [Player], we shall take care of the rest. Go on and keep Alisaie company.

Finishing the Quest

Alisaie: <sigh> A chance to relax at last.

Alisaie: I know when I'm out of my depth, [Player].

Alisaie: Though no weapons are drawn, a negotiation is no less a battle, and the stakes can be every bit as high. One misplaced word and people could die. It takes someone with a cool head, and I'll be the first to admit that's not me.

Alisaie: So we're left with the eternal question... What to do while they prattle on?