Transcript (Elpis)

[filikos]

Bold: Main voiced cutscene

Italics: Non-voiced quest dialogue

Small italics: Optional dialogue

Index;

• Hope Upon A Flower
• Petalouda Hunt
• In Search Of Hermes
• Ponder, Warrant, Cherish, Welcome
• Lives Apart
• Their Greatest Contribution
• Aether To Aether
• A Sentimental Gift
• Verdict And Execution
• Travelers At The Crossroads
• A Past, Not Yet Come To Pass
• Witness To The Spectacle
• Worthy Of His Back
• A Flower Upon Your Return
• Hunger In The Garden
• Words Without Sound
• Follow, Wander, Stumble, Listen
• Caging The Messenger (pre-dungeon)
• Caging The Messenger (post-dungeon)
• Thou Must Live, Die, And Know

Comments

A Flower Upon Your Return

[filikos]

Venat: Let us move over to the edge before mounting, shall we? That will allow Argos to catch the currents rising up from below, and give us a smooth ride over to the isle.

Venat: Isn't this pleasant? Argos certainly seems to think so. Now, what was the name of that tree...? Noe... something... Ah! Noetophoreon! Quite a striking specimen, is it not? Brace yourself for the landing- I wouldn't want you tumbling off at the last moment.

Venat: Quite a small place, lacking even the most basic equipment. The present may yield no clues, but we may yet try perusing the past. Have you done this before? ...So you cannot control the power freely. Worry not, I shall assist you. Come and stand before me. There are two ways to see the past. The first entails peering through the walls of the soul in the moment a subject is recalling a memory. The second requires no subject, and is instead a process of piecing together an event from ripples left in the ambient aether. As memories are etched upon the aether of the soul, so too are they etched upon the aether of the world. In this way can history be preserved. Such memories are given to fading, however, and can prove challenging to visit. But come, let us try. Close your eyes.

...

Meteion: All units fully functional and proceeding on course towards their respective stars. Estimated time to completion of survey is one hundred and eight cycles. End of status report. Severing connection with shared consciousness. ...Did you hear that, Hermes? All is well!
Hermes: Yes, good tidings at long last... every step of the way, I've been reminded how little we understand creation. How the universe defies imagination.
Meteion: But soon we won't need to speculate. We'll know the answers- what others live for!
Hermes: Indeed... and we'll owe it all to you and your sisters.
Meteion: I wonder... what answers we will get?
Hermes: Whatever intelligent beings exist out there are bound to be vastly different from us. Diverse in form and culture. Possessed of unique ways of thinking. Their conception of life and its purpose will be no exception. Completely and utterly unlike ours.
Meteion: Utterly unlike... how?
Hermes: I have no idea. Yet whatever answers we receive, I will not dismiss them out of hand. No, I will think earnestly upon them all. Then I will share them with our people, that together we may contemplate our own existence. Perhaps then our star will become a better place- not only for man, but for all life. Meteion. Though I gave you wings to soar the heavens, I did not teach you how to walk the earth. So loath was I to bind another living being. In the course of your long journey, you will learn from those you meet. Learn to walk and run and so much more. And when you return, older and wiser, we will have a celebration to mark your homecoming and coming of age both.
Meteion: Will there be apples? Covered in syrup?
Hermes: And how are you supposed to eat them? Hmm... rather than food... perhaps... A flower. Yes. Upon your return I will gift you a beautiful flower.

...

Venat: So, what is your opinion?

"Hermes wouldn't wish for the Final Days."

Venat: I am inclined to agree. As we had suspected, the two are somehow involved. Yet 'tis difficult to believe that they would deliberately seek to end all life. In light of this... I propose that we reveal your tale to Hermes himself. If he does not wish for the Final Days, as we believe, he may well join us in pursuing a solution. ...Then it is settled. Let us seek out our friend with all swiftness. 'Twould not do to let such a pure soul be blackened by tragedy.

Venat: There are any number of places where Hermes might be in Elpis... but we could do worse than to look in Ktisis Hyperboreia, the largest facility. It stands in Ethoseletikos Boreas, the northern isle. I wonder, [NAME]- for an institution which claims to studiously research every species destined for release into the world, did you not question how they find room for them on so few islands? The answer lies within Ktisis itself. I touched upon the practice before back at the archives, where a vast area is stitched together out of multiple conceptual spaces. The same holds true for the interior of this facility and its magically constructed environs. 'Tis there, within those sprawling habitats, that the chief overseer and most of Elpis' observers conduct the bulk of their work. Come, the simplest route is via the neus north of Poieten Oikos...

Venat: Ah, good, the neus acknowledged you as my guest. You should now have the authority to use it as you wish. As for the way to Ktisis Hyperboreia, we follow this path, then turn left at the crossroads.

Venat: Here we are: the grandest research facility in Elpis. We should head inside and ask after Hermes' whereabouts...

Hythlodaeus: Hermes is at another facility... as we have just discovered. Furthermore, we've confirmed that his studies into dynamis, as well as his creation of Meteion, were entirely private pursuits. No one else we spoke with appeared to possess the chief's depth of knowledge on the subject, and neither did we hear any tales of stolen research. Which means that if Hermes himself harbours no desire to bring down an apocalypse, then he might be recruited to help prevent one... or so sayeth the illustrious Emet-Selch.

Emet-Selch: According to your story, the Fourteen divined the connection between the celestial currents and the Final Days, but were never able to pinpoint the root cause of the calamity. With our people's greatest minds- not to mention Hythlodaeus' sharp eyes- committed to the pursuit of a solution, such an outcome seems... inconceivable. The only possible explanation is if the nature of the catalyst was so inexplicable that even we failed to perceive it. And what better fits that description than the invisible, intangible dynamis?

Hythlodaeus: Which in turn, leads us to our next question: how did Hermes, in his role as Fandaniel, not recognise the subject of his own research? We must assume that he either knew and was unable to help, or that he was otherwise prevented from identifying the cause in the first place. At this juncture, all we can do is speculate.

Emet-Selch: To be clear, the Convocation does not tolerate acts of deception or malice. We are practiced at perceiving truth, and would have known had Fandaniel lied to us. Hermes has no conscious wish for the world to end. Of that, I am certain.

Venat: It seems there is more to the tale after all. We conducted an investigation of our own, you see...

Emet-Selch: How comforting... we seem to have reached the exact same conclusion. I see no reason to delay further. 'Tis time we brought Hermes into the fold, as it were.

"Thank you for your understanding."

Emet-Selch: Save your thanks. I did not say I believed your ridiculous story. But as Emet-Selch, I have a duty to examine any potential threat to our existence. No matter how ludicrous or personally offensive I may find it.

Emet-Selch: Do not approach me, do not speak to me, and do not dare presume to treat me as a friend. I am merely carrying out my duty.

Venat: How lovely- our merry duo has become a quartet. Past disagreements are no reason to reject collaboration in the here and now. I commend Emet-Selch for his practicality.