Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike

Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, two knights newly joined to the Niren Corps, are sent with Senior Knights Hisca and Chastel to investigate an abnormal aer gushing near Shizontonia. They search the forest and nearby towns to understand the disturbance and its source. The team prepares to stop the threat before it endangers the town's protective barriers.

The group meets Merzhom Keida, the local guild leader, who provides context about ongoing monster trouble and the aer crisis. Niren, captain of the Shizontonia knights, reflects on his past rigidity after the death of his wife and daughter. His attitude foreshadows a conflict between strict duty and pragmatic action.

Commandant Alexei calls Flynn to attend a formal gathering in Zaphias and asks for reinforcements, a request that is denied. Niren and Chastel depart to search for the strange blastia expert Rita Mordio to restore order to the aer. Yuri and Hisca remain behind to care for Lambert and Repede.

Niren succeeds in locating Rita Mordio and obtains a device capable of returning the aer to normal. The device offers a potential fix, but deploying it requires time and cooperation from others. The group prepares to use it to stabilize the region.

Commandant Alexei admonishes Flynn for delaying and denies reinforcements until the imperial capital gathering ends. The town of Shizontonia endures ongoing monster threats with limited support. The tense situation highlights the fragility of the defense against the aer crisis.

Yuri and Hisca defend Shizontonia against a strange aer creature that assaults the town. Although the attack is repelled, the monster seizes Lambert and two wardogs, plunging the town into further danger. Yuri is forced to kill Lambert to protect Hisca.

Upon his return from Zaphias, Flynn confronts Yuri about the perceived unequal assignments, and they come to blows. Each accuses the other of taking an easier task, revealing a rift in their teamwork. The sparring foreshadows deeper conflicts within the corps.

A platoon of high-ranking knights from central is slaughtered by monsters; only one survivor escapes to Shizontonia's gate and delivers a report to an unseen commander. The town realizes the threat is escalating beyond their immediate reach. The scene signals a wider conspiracy at play.

Niren decides to lead the knights toward the fortress at the center of a nearby lake to investigate the aer's source. Garista, the corps' strategist, tries to dissuade him, but Niren persists with resolve. The mission marks a transition from defense to proactive investigation.

Inside the fortress, aer begins turning the structure into a living weapon. The knights press toward the center where a giant blastia manipulates the aer. The danger intensifies as the fortress becomes an active threat to its occupants.

Niren uses Rita's device to stop the aer flow, but the sudden shutdown triggers a backlash that blows the fortress and surrounding barriers apart. The barrier blastia protecting Shizontonia collapses, and Chastel is knocked unconscious as the fortress begins to crumble. Niren sacrifices himself, throwing Chastel to Yuri before being stranded in a sinkhole of gushing aer.

The knights and town mourn Niren's death while Yuri struggles to save him. Yuri finally acquires Niren's blastia as a keepsake, and he departs with Repede, honoring Niren's memory. Flynn shares a somber farewell with Yuri as the town reevaluates its leadership.

Yuri and Flynn confront Garista and learn that he engineered a new, illegal blastia project. Garista admits that the fortress blastia was his creation, intended to destroy witnesses and ruin Shizontonia. In the ensuing fight, Yuri kills Garista.

With the barrier blastia failed, Shizontonia is evacuated, and the town begins to recover from the disaster. Yuri leaves the knights, taking Niren's blastia as a keepsake and bringing Repede along, saying his goodbyes. Flynn sees him off at the gates, and the two vow to meet again.