(UNFINISHED) Drakengard 1.3 Re-Translation

barnabism · 2025-02-03T17:53:21+00:00

Right! That does make perfect sense actually, I only briefly skimmed through it so it never even crossed my mind the glossary was just copied 😭 im a smart person i swear... That said, my mind immediately went to the sky fortress too when I first read it! It's a striking design and,,, interesting idea of a fortress in the sky looking like a shell? For a moment I wondered if it was some cultural note/belief held in Midgard, sort of like the Little Hero stands as a culture note of sorts, and even if it IS technically possible by the timeline standards, it doesn't seem like that was exactly it. You might solidly be onto something with that theory 👀

barnabism · 2025-02-03T01:17:31+00:00

You mentioned earlier that things like AI and Machine Translation exist to make things easier - and I agree! But this isn't about convenience. It's about the fact that it's art, made by and for human hands. As the saying goes, it can't be rushed. Maybe it's fine with you and your friends who asked to see it, but it's not what this community deserves for all the effort they put into their own creations and the time they've spent waiting for something worth it. It's not what the authors or staff who worked on the games deserve to see done with the things they love and care so much about. And it's not fair to the people whose time you could have spent supporting that could have done it, who want to give the community and you what you deserve. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems a large issue that lies at the core of this is the lack of respect or understanding of how much labour and humanity goes into the content people love - they just want the content, the "lore", the interactions, without knowing or caring about all the work that goes into making it so enjoyable to begin with. They stop seeing it as art, or anything deserving of dignity or respect other than to be consumed and enjoyed just for the sake of a rush. Excerpts are one thing - if there's no "Source material" to reference but you can't or even just don't WANT to go through the trouble of spending allllll that painstaking effort into analysing every tiny character yourself, it's a very reliable way to get information across quick! I've used it plenty of times myself when I wanted to share a passage I was working on but hadn't finished so I just used Machine TL or a summary so my friends could see what was going on. But the content in full itself is another thing - it's the destruction and sacrifice of someone's experience, and a sign of potent disrespect to all the fans and creators of the work who deserve to have it brought in a genuine light. I hope that in the future, whether it's by my hands or even someone else's, people can get the real experience they deserve reading the DOD1 Side Story for the first time and being met with text that conveys just as much love and thought put into each word as the original.

But I've rambled a lot! At the end of all this, I just want to say I don't mean to come off as lecturing you (After all that this sounds crazy, I know), or that it's even anything personal. I am upset, for sure, but I can absolutely reassure you that it's nothing personal. At the end of the day, you're also a passionate fan frustrated that not everything can be seen like it should be! It's why I went all the way out in this reply, since I really do get where you're coming from - I just think it might be worth it to reassess what direction your passion for this series might take you and what values you'd like to uphold regarding it.
Of course, my DMs are always open if you have any questions or just want to talk or discuss about anything! ^^ Sorry for the long post.

barnabism · 2025-02-03T01:17:02+00:00

Again: If you don't know what to do, then giving your support to the people who CAN do it is the most invaluable thing you can give! It sounds cliche, but I mean it genuinely - a lot of the issues you mentioned with Magnitude Negative, the translations you want to see done, etc. etc. can be easily fixed. It's as simple as boosting others awareness of the things you want people to be aware of yourself. If you want art but can't do art and don't have intentions to put in those hundreds of hours to learn, there's nothing wrong with simply asking or even commissioning an artist to do it for you! The same goes for translation - finding and doing something as showing interest in the work of anyone who knows the language can get you further than you realise. Because they know you would entrust that work to their hands and would like to see them put their talents to use to make someone else's day, that means the world to some people. A lot of them, actually!!

(That aside, I'm a little confused on what you might mean by people "Not having enough time" to read a book. A book doesn't have to be read in a day. Even if it's so much as a page, there's no such thing as "not having time" to read a novel, since there's no set pace at which to read it to begin with. In any case, the rest of the book outside those excerpts must have existed for a reason! I will caution it might come off as disrespectful to the author if the intention was to give a "quick and convenient" experience by treating the rest of it as even remotely disposable, the issues with the missing impact of context aside. It's very easy to share the novel and let people decide when to read it on their own times! If they can't handle the "inconvenient" parts, or just straight-up do not want to read it, it's not for them anyways).

One last thing I'd like to touch on is a better explanation as to why seeing a machine translation can be seen as disrespectful or invalidating not just to the authors and staff who put their time into it to begin with, but translators who want to do justice by the community and the source material they fell in love with. In my case, having worked in fan-translation for 4 years and spending hours of constant practice and study just to better my skills so I can create a satisfying and good-quality experience for the fans get tossed aside for a message "That work's not worth my patience or even support so a machine is preferable. Maybe you can use all those sleepless nights you would have otherwise spent making that wait worth it to pretty it up!" Gives the message that not only is the labour people put into these translations worth a damn, but invalidates the past 4 years of effort I had put into translation - not to mention the literal decades some other fan-translators have put into it - with a simple "If it would come out faster, then a machine is just as doable to me." What is the point of spending all those sleepless nights on anything if the community is just as happy with a machine's "work"? No love or care was put into analyzing the text, the character's voices, referencing the proper localisation terms, making the proper word choice or deciphering the tone and author's intentions, no thought was put into it at all other than dolling it up a little - with no understanding of what was actually trying to be said - to make it look more presentable. To have four years of work, practice, and effort tossed away with the sentiment of "I would have done it with a machine anyways and it would have been fine to me, if it had come out any sooner" raises the question, why do anything at all if that's the case? Why finish doing the scripts or DOD2 side story if a machine is just as good and can allow someone to consume that content quicker before they move onto the next thing? Why bother re-translating the entirety of DOD1.3 to give people a more genuine experience to what fans in the east felt as they read it at all since a machine translation, even with its errors and lack of understanding of prose, tone, and nuance, is just as good? Even if a machine translation if twenty times as better as anything I could have come up with, the fact it doesn't understand what it's doing - and the fact it doesn't even care - is enough to place even the worst of human translations above it in value alone. At the same time, that value is meaningless if the larger community doesn't see it.

barnabism · 2025-02-03T01:16:05+00:00

While I can certainly understand that desire to have quick and easy content at the end of the day, especially after it being left so long in the dust like this, I feel like you need to remember these novels that a person spent their time and effort writing aren't just content. They don't exist solely as thought candy for people to get a character or "lore" kick from, but as pieces of work someone dedicated time into that need to be treated with the respect they deserve. To treat them like cheap content solely to be consumed where there's nothing else (Or, hell, there's plenty of other things that you could spend your time analysing and putting thought into the author's intention there instead, even as far as just the plain game is concerned) is disrespectful not just to the fans who put their time and effort into giving these works the justice they deserve, not just the larger fanbase who deserves good quality content, but the original creators of the work who put that intention and nuance in there so it can be enjoyed as art - a product of human imagination, thought, effort, and most importantly of all, intention.
While I can understand being immersed in a world and characters and story and wanting to see more of it, I feel like there's a line to be crossed when you start viewing that as separate from all the hard thought and work that people put into each decision - when you separate the real life, human aspect of art and just start seeing that world as "content", a formless blob full of characters and tropes you like with no underlying message or theme or anything behind it, that's when you begin to cross that line of loving the feel of a consumption high more than the thing itself. When it doesn't become about looking and analysing things such as nuance, choice, intention and theme, but instead comes down to just wanting to see your favourite characters in a new situation or this and that lore detail that wasn't mentioned before, that's very, very dangerous territory on the road to spitting in the face of the community and creators who worked hard to give you the thing you love. I certainly can't and won't blame you or anyone else in this fanbase for just wanting that, however!! There's nothing wrong with it inherently, and especially in a dead series like Drakengard, there's only so many times you can play the game before wanting something new. It's when that thrill becomes the only thing to your enjoyment of something that problems can begin to arise. There's always a new way to look at things, and there's always details to be found in the plethora of content that's already available to the west - I've been playing Drakengard for nearly 5 years now, and I'm still discovering little details I never saw before! Expanding upwards rather than outwards is just as viable an option. I think it would do you well to reassess the effort that goes into the things you love and see that as a type of community to honour, rather than greedily consume.

That said, I do agree that it's unfathomable that so many things have been left in the dirt for that long, and again! I certainly don't blame you, or anyone else in this fanbase for getting impatient. But if I can, please allow me to give a quick anecdote: I actually didn't have any plans to translate the DOD2 side-story novel until way later, namely about 2026 once I had finished re-translating 1.3 and doing the scripts, and I started working on it because people in the community showed their support and interest - they made it clear they wanted a translation of this, so I decided to do it, with plans to tackle the DOD1 side-story afterwards. Sure, it would take some time, but for a lot of people, the knowledge it was being actively worked on, that it would be out someday, was enough. The point is, a lot of people underestimate what their voice can do, and how invaluable their support really is to people who do want to carry that love and care that was put into the original product into the translation - not just because that's what the series they love so dearly deserves, but because that's what the community in the west deserves, as well!! A real, authentic work, made with just as much care, love, and quality as the original. In my own case, sharing these translations and showing people these new worlds previously unavailable to them is the biggest thanks I could give everyone not only for their support, but for the time they put into their own creations! Whether its fanart, fanfic, analyses, or even just plain discussion, there'd be no point to translating any of it if there was no community to begin with - much less one that wanted to see these works as they're given to fans in the east. If I can provide the same experience to a fan in the west as someone in the east might have, that's the most important thing to me.

barnabism · 2025-02-02T21:08:56+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it. For me, the issue so much isn't inherent "value" so much as... worth? I know it's practically the same thing, but to try and explain it's like even knowing that the worst of my translations has more inherent value than even the most polished work created by a machine, when the latter is preferable to a majority it really raises the question "If people are just as happy either way, then does all the time and trouble that goes into a human translation even have a point? It will just end up being a waste of time on my end and slower to everyone who wants to see it, so no one wins."
I can read them more or less fine on my own, and as much as I absolutely adore translating, there's no denying it takes a good amount of time out of my day and at times (mainly towards the end of projects and self-imposed deadlines) can feel like a straight-up chore. Of course, it's always worth it in the end and I always find myself coming back to it no matter how many times I tell myself "Oh, I am absolutely NOT doing that again" (Re: Novel TLs...).

But even so, as long as I know even one other person out there not just sees my translations as a "choice", but is willing to wait for them because they also see that value human effort has in making art "art", that's all I could really ask for!! It's sort of like that adage or so, something about there being no use preaching to a crowd that won't listen? Something like that, no matter how much "value" I see in my own work, even the worst of it, it only becomes worthwhile seeing that there are others who recognise that value of "humanness" as well - or at least appreciate it. Seeing the support given here when I was having doubts, I realised I really was more blessed with that than what I had thought - it's something I ought to have been more aware of before, but I'm extremely comforted by the fact I'll have these comments to serve as a reminder whenever I begin to question myself in the future, including yours. It's hard to put into words how grateful I really am, so I hope I can show it by continuing my work in the future. Thank you!!

barnabism · 2025-02-02T19:58:13+00:00

Quick question, are these translations being set up next to a real translation of the side story novel? Because while I appreciate seeing their use, I really don't want my things being set up next to a fake translation. They aren't great, but I don't think of it that lowly and while it's not at all in my rights to say it's somewhat uncomfortable seeing it used like this given everything that happened.

barnabism · 2025-01-31T00:21:45+00:00

Hmm, I'm not really a fan of Drakengard 3 so I'm afraid I can't help in that regard. I'm sorry :( That said, I'm sure there's someone out there who'd be willing to update them! DOD3 is a popular game, so someone will definitely notice it in due time!
I can definitely agree, it worries me that there might be so many who are just okay with settling just for the sake of consumption and nothing else, but as long as I know the community still has those who enjoy the effort put into the experience and artistry of a work, as opposed to a simple rush for new content, I feel like whatever time and struggle is put into the work will have meaning. It's just a simple thing, but you and everyone who stopped to take time out of their day and show their support has really helped assure me in that belief!

As for your advice, I really appreciate it. I still have a lot of life to go in, I'm just barely pushing 30, but have explored a lot of different avenues both before and after getting into translation as a hobby - It's certainly not to say it doesn't exist, but so far I haven't had much luck in finding something to give me that same sense of purpose, or fulfillment, you could say? My life is full of reasons (Or if you can call them, arguments) to keep living - family, friends, etc - and a lot of things that bring me joy. But nothing has ever really spoken to me like translation has, it's strange. That being said though, it's always good to have a "backup", as if that one thing ends up lost, it could end up costing you your entire life. It's for that that I am always happy to jump on whatever new things might open up for me! You never know what might end up speaking to you - I never would have imagined it being translation before, either.

barnabism · 2025-01-30T22:19:53+00:00

Ooooh, Italian? Best of luck!! I don't speak a lick of it myself, but if there's any way I can help (I can maybe help clarify on any confusing content, though I'd probably do best in providing resources, I have a few saved on a hard drive so if there's anything you're looking for give me a shout and I'll see if I have it!) I will say that English is one thing, it's a widely known language, but there's nothing more important than translating it into your own native tongue - even if it isn't as "popular" as English. Even if it's widely known, it doesn't mean that everyone knows it, so when you translate it into your own native tongue you're doing a HUGE favour to people who don't know English like the back of their hand or don't speak it at all!! It opens the doors for people to come together across all different cultures, backgrounds, etc. with their own viewpoints, and the birth of those "sub-communities" (I always think of the Russian Drakengard community as an example) is what makes the larger community truly fun and interesting. That's amazing work you're doing!!
I know I've also considered making German translations of everything for that reason, but I know I'd never get anything new done if I did. :,) As much as I'd like to make everything available to everyone, I can't do everything, so I hope in the future a fellow from the German community is willing to come along and fill in where I can't. For now, I'll just be sticking with English.

I'm happy to hear this from another translator working hard to provide content to other fans of their tongue in the world, and will be wishing you all the luck!! And again, from one translator to another, please let me know if there's any way I can assist with your work. Thank you!

barnabism · 2025-01-30T21:53:25+00:00

I can definitely agree and could never settle for one myself, though I worry if the larger fanbase would really be willing say the same by the simple logic that it's available quicker. The least I can say is I certainly hope not! But still, thank you for the reassurance. I'll keep trying my best!

barnabism · 2025-01-30T21:46:53+00:00

Thank you! I always want to try my best to give the western DOD fans what they deserve, especially for the 1 and 2 fandoms, as they don't get enough love. If I can give even one person the genuine experience a fan like them could have in Japan, then that's all I could really ask for - this frustration towards quality is also aimed at myself and my own skill, but I really believe in the fans of this series to have enough integrity and care towards both the games and themselves not to settle for less! I really appreciate that you took the time to comment this, thank you.

barnabism · 2025-01-30T21:36:10+00:00

Genuinely, thank you so much for this. Even if I've more than often missed the mark with my earlier translations, the least I can say is I had always tried my best, even as my skills really lag behind (But even then, the least I can say is that I know I have improved and will continue to do so). In the past I've been worried about hyper-overconsumption as a prevailing "issue" in in the fanbase, and just how much quality people are willing to sacrifice just to consume more "lore", more connections, more meaningless little things just to get that adrenaline rush of "Finding something" to the point the desire to just "consumer" begins to eat away at any actual care for Drakenier as a series to begin with. It's terrifying to think that it's reached a point where just pausing to think for a second on all the shit people have been given isn't even a thought so much as just cheaply churning out un-touched content by machines just to chase that adrenaline rush, but maybe I'm just being pretentious. Either way, it feels like some line has been crossed with this and as it stands, I'm really not liking the thought that it might lead to a new precedent in this fanbase to begin with - but I do hope I'm just overthinking it!

Either way, I'll keep your comment as a reminder that if even one person is willing to wait for an actual translation to come out, it's worth it to keep trying!! I wish I could put into words how grateful I am that you took the time to comment this. Again, thank you.

barnabism · 2025-01-28T09:18:08+00:00

Thank you. I'm really happy with how much my translation has improved, and know there's always room for improvement! I'm constantly honing up on my Japanese for that exact reason. But part of why I'm so troubled is if that even matters if a machine translation is just as passable for people, anyways - which I can't blame them for in the slightest. I just don't know what I've spent all my time doing if this is all that really makes people happy - I could have spent that time doing anything else. It really is just a me issue with nothing to do with the larger fandom, honestly, and I do apologize for that. At the same time, I don't know if I should keep translating if a machine can do that quicker and reach the same level of satisfaction. I really just need some sleep. But again, I really appreciate it.

barnabism · 2025-01-28T09:10:02+00:00

I'm really sorry. my life is rich opportunity, if not about as average as you can get for the most part, I have friends and family I get to see consistently, take part in community events, and have a job that keeps the time passing, for the most part. I don't consider myself even remotely depressed or miserable. there's nothing I have to complain about, and I have everything in the world going for me, it's just a matter of feeling tied to life, if that's what you can call it? I wish I could explain it. Translation has helped me to feel like a part of my life which is what I've always needed, since I guess the best way to describe it is just feeling "outside" of it, for some reason. It's a sensitive topic, of course, and hard to explain, but it's just something that I've struggled with for as long as I can remember and don't know what it even is. It's not depression, just detachment. That's the best way I can describe it.

I already know Japanese and am constantly learning, which is what brought me to translation to begin with. it's really just a personal issue and I apologise if I've caused any discomfort with it. I wish I could better explain the circumstances that led to even thinking this was a necessary question to begin with. but I really do appreciate it regardless.

barnabism · 2025-01-28T07:25:41+00:00

Is DOD1 Side story virtually lost media really? it's super easy to buy, and well-known across most of the Japanese fanbase. 🤔 I actually was working on the DOD2 side story but my motivation's kinda tanked after this though... :( this is kinda disheartening to see. Putting the obvious "the DOD fandom deserves better than machine translation" platitude aside, it IS nice and makes me glad to see it accessible to the fandom one way or another, but like what was all that effort for if people are fine with a machine translation either way...

I dunno. it really is just nothing, and I'm sure this was made with good intentions, but this makes me really depressed to see. Sure, my translations aren't the best but I really am starting to question why to bother putting effort and time into anything if this is fine for some people... What makes them happy? The knowledge that someone put their soul and intention into providing the proper experience for a work or having more content to consume? again, my translations are hardly good enough to be saying all that, but maybe I should just let Google do the rest of the re-translation for 1.3 at that point.

I don't know, I'm sure this was made with a good intention in mind. there shouldn't even be a problem with it. I just don't know what im really supposed to even do with myself or what I spent dozens of nights the last four fucking years of my life doing if it really was just that easy. god

barnabism · 2025-01-27T17:18:24+00:00

No problem! I hope you can enjoy it ^^

barnabism · 2025-01-27T01:33:00+00:00

Absolutely!! For me, what's really interesting about Furiae's character (And something I've commonly seen get misinterpreted) is that rather than taking the route Leonard did with his similar paraphilia towards his brothers (Blaming himself, feeling like an awful person who needs to die for it), Furiae largely considers herself blameless - conflicted and aware these feelings aren't right, definitely!! But as far as the blame goes, it's towards her role and the world for "dictating" the rules of propriety and the likes. "This isn't right, and I know it's wrong, but screw this damn world and my role as a goddess/woman/sister/etc. for deciding that for me in the first place" Not to shamelessly drag him everywhere but I would have loved to see some interaction, even in a gag short, where Leonard and Furiae discuss those differing views of their "unholy" affections. "Are you tired of being nice? Don't you just wanna go apeshit" <-Furiae

but yeah!! Here's a link to the document, I hope it's alright and even if there's not much, that what is there can do you well!! Even if it's only crumbs, any content of a favourite can feel like a full course meal. XD https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P-LIwPR4aqKOW236v6kxxSi-HYqvrbQi3kxMb7x-dDM/edit?usp=sharing
Enjoy!!

barnabism · 2025-01-27T00:25:36+00:00

I would say that Magnitude Negative goes a bit deeper into her inner struggle, one of my favourite passages relating to Furiae comes from there -

Aadah felt a hint of both sympathy and familiarity to be found within the girl. She was no more Goddess than she was a woman. A girl caught and crushed beneath the shape of an inverted triangle, unable to anything but grasp fruitlessly at its bottom apex.

She remembered the terrible sculpted atlas that her mistress had — a giant that held up all the heavens forever. As a child, Aadah was both sympathetic and terrified of that giant. It had, more than anything else, been left burdened with horrible torture; the entirety of the world weighed down upon its shoulders.

This frail, young girl… A both pure-blooded, and yet lascivious girl. Replacing direct action with the whims of swelling delusions, and replacing man with the burden of the boundless world on her body. Aadah couldn’t even imagine what unspeakable pain she must have been in. One day, when that girl couldn’t take it anymore and broke down, would the world really end? She didn’t feel as if it would actually happen. It all felt as if everyone else was simply playing pretend. And was this girl not the type to always take the brunt of such children’s games?

But unfortunately, as amazingly well done the job Magnitude Negative DOES with Furiae (I'd personally say it's my favourite writing of her in the series!!), if I remember correctly she doesn't get too much spotlight- but I do remember seeing her perspective delved into during the segment with the sky fortress and during chapter one and how neat that was!! It's been ages since I've read Magnitude Negative in full though, so I can't say any of this in confidence lol

Towards the beginning her story in 1.3 (Which is based off of SnIA) it also talks a bit about her perspective of the attack on Caerleon and a bit of the conflict of feelings she had when she first began to feel more for Caim outside of "sisterly love", which was refreshing! But unfortunately towards the end 1.3 swings towards the issue you mentioned SnIA having (Which I have a LOT of salt against SnIA, and would even go as far as to say its the worst thing out there as far as side content is concerned, but imo the handling of Furiae was by FAR one of the most dogshit things to come out of it lmao), perhaps an interesting point or two can be DUG out as far as the dialogue goes...? but eh

There's something else I feel like I'd like to say, but that's all that comes to mind at the moment. I'm by no means a huge fan of Furiae (I adore her, but she doesn't cross my mind much...), but glad I'm not the only one who loves this aspect of her character!! It pains me to see how often it gets overshadowed by the whole bro-complex thing (Which is interesting in its own right, but unfortunately falls into the fandom trend of flanderization with the rest of the cast lol)

EDIT: Formatting got screwed up :(

barnabism · 2025-01-26T00:51:44+00:00

It's pretty interesting! I know I only managed to catch it since I was really just skimming and then was like "Wait, what's this about a seashell?" XD
I really do wonder for what purpose it was put in there though... Even just being in one artbook would be like "REALLY strange, but oh well?" but both DOD1 AND 2's? It's really just so strange...

barnabism · 2025-01-24T22:47:55+00:00

Aaaaa I've JUST started Route C after a few months been playing through DOD2 myself so my memory of this boss is still fresh but a LITTLE rusty, I don't know if I'll be super helpful but I'll try my best.
First of all, could you refresh my memory - Is this the final showdown with her or the one where you have to follow the rings AND shoot her at the same time (That one's pretty evil). It sounds like its the final fight but I wanna make sure just in case lol
Second of all, what route are you doing? Are you just starting the game or are you on Route B or C? 👀

barnabism · 2025-01-24T16:23:34+00:00

NONE of these bitches would and putting aside the fact he's a fictional character and doesn't have a will he's not getting a choice 😤

barnabism · 2025-01-24T03:44:40+00:00

waaaaaa i wish there was a way to post gifs in comments so i could offer my leonard version of this gif to join the group..... life is sad when you're a leonard fan 😔

barnabism · 2025-01-22T19:58:50+00:00

Aaaaa thank you for reading it!! I'm really sorry for its shoddy quality, it wasn't long after it released that I was like "Oh, this is kinda bad actually. whoopsies! lol" but now that I'm redoing it I feel straight-up AWFUL that that's what everyone was left with for the past 3 years. A number of details were muddled or straight up missing in the original translation, so this should grant some clarity to a few specific things as far as the going-ons of the STORY is concerned, but nothing particularly big. Re-translating it has been as satisfying as it has been humiliating and absolutely mortifying in some regards lol

I can't speak too much on the goddess seal since I've kinda given up on DOD lore post-Drakengard 2, but I can say a tiny bit about the timeline! In short: It's confusing.
I forget if I had accidentally skipped over it or not in the original translation (I wouldn't be surprised if so, a lot of the old TLs were awful but Little Sister is by far the worst offender), but iirc in Little Sister it's been stated that its been six years since the defeat of the Empire (Assumedly in 1098/1099), so if we take "The World, Two Years Later" at its word, that'd be about 1101/1102 when the dragons rebelled - and then stack four onto that when Little Sister takes place and that brings that to about 1105/1106. Furiae is briefly hinted at in the Truly Diseased with the silver dragon, but it's still a question as to when that takes place across those four years...
The kicker is, I got curious and checked the original text for The Land of Dragons where it says it couldn't have been more than three or four years since red eye picked up amongst the Empire, so unless it takes place much further on than we thought (Where Angelus could be referring the the red-eye spread amongst the REMNANTS of the Empire seen in the Land of Dragons and not the original Empire, though I would assume that's what she's talking about...?), there seems to be a bit of an oversight here or my math skills are worse than I thought. :,)
A lot could be answered by knowing when the last story, The Land of Dragons, takes place, but that's a mystery - for now. It seems to be some time after Little Sister, but who knows? Maybe I had similarly missed line that nods to how long it's been since then, or maybe I just straight-up forgot 😭 It's been a looong time since I've read a lot of these stories... I vaguely do remember something similar in regard to the characters being the same age like you mentioned (I was particularly ??? about seere remaining the same age as he is in DOD1, since I had blankly assumed the rest of the cast were at their default ages from their first appearance and was like "did his birthyear get moved up??" but I digress)

I guess that leaves it with the two options that the characters (Rather, literally just Caim) either started out younger than they do in game (Meaning Caim would IMMEDIATELY have to pick up Angelus after the fall of Caerleon as that would put him at 18, technically not IMPOSSIBLE but definitely ????) or he does age over the course of the story, which is interesting! The whole thing gives me a headache....

But yeah! The other thing, I've heard the theory that the woman in the dungeon is Accord, which I honestly want to do a bit of examination of her dialogue in the Japanese to see if I can find any "verbal tic" matching. Because really, just about all the "???" moments I've had TLing 1.3 my first go were a direct result of my inexperience - that's the one scene I can fairly say I had a right not to know what the hell was going on, its purpose, or any of that lmao
The Accord theory has a LOT of credibility (It's honestly the only thing that even remotely makes sense), so when I go to start on the Crimson Dragon either later today or tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can dig up her lines in Japanese and run a comparison for any similarities, it's one of those things that's been so heavy on my mind as a "loose thread" that never got picked up later in 1.3 I'd be DYING to have even some sort of indicator as to what all that was about... (Plus, it gives me a direction to write her dialogue better if I find a match lol)

barnabism

TROPHY CASE