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DemonicDarkwraith -> From the Embers (3/11/2023 21:59:38)
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From the Embers
Location: Swordhaven Castle -> Queen Victoria -> Quests! -> Convergence -> From the Embers
Requirements: Completion of Fallen Facade
Release Date: March 11th, 2023
Objective: With Jaania's departure from Swordhaven Castle, Queen Victoria's left to pick up the pieces.
Objective completed: No looking back.
Experience rewarded: 0
Gold rewarded: 0
Monsters
None
NPCs
Akanthus
Alteon
Amadeus
Jaania
Laid Back Soldier
Optimistic Soldier
Queen Victoria
Tall Soldier
Warlic
Rewards
None
Dialogue
*In Swordhaven Castle's strategy room, Queen Victoria—accompanied by Warlic and Amadeus—walk around the room following her failure to stop Jaania and Akanthus from leaving Swordhaven.*
Queen Victoria: ...What do we even do now? What can we do?
Warlic: ...
*Queen Victoria continues to walk around the room as she is disgruntled.*
Queen Victoria: I threatened to cut off support for The Rose, and I still can, but it's... it's too late.
*Queen Victoria keeps walking around the room.*
Queen Victoria: We clearly can't stop them, and they know it.
*Queen Victoria take another walk around the room before stopping as she should have not listened to Jaania.*
Queen Victoria: I shouldn't have listened to her.
Queen Victoria: I thought... I thought we could work together.
Queen Victoria: Even with <Character>'s warnings, I believed... I wanted to believe that Jaania was reasonable.
Warlic: We all did.
Queen Victoria: But she played us for fools! And now what?
Queen Victoria: If not even you can't stop Akanthus...
Queen Victoria: Not to mention Father and... er, Amadeus...
Amadeus: ...You may not be able to stop them, but you can still slow them down.
Queen Victoria: What do you mean?
Amadeus: Send your knights to seize the tower and the airship from The Rose.
Amadeus: By force.
Queen Victoria: They wouldn't stand a chance. The Rose is much more prepared, not to mention Jaania and Akanthus—
Amadeus: They'll buy some time.
Queen Victoria: By inciting a civil war! I will not— can not do that to my people!
Amadeus: Hmph. You're unwilling to make necessary sacrifices. Just like—
Warlic: Amadeus. Enough. Even if chaos were to erupt in Swordhaven, I doubt Jaania would look back.
Queen Victoria: What about magic? You're a powerful mage, Warlic. Can't you find a way to disable the airship?
Warlic: Jaania's sure to be on guard for that. I doubt any spells I weave would manage to get through.
Warlic: I'm... sorry.
Queen Victoria: Then—
*Alteon arrives at the strategy room.*
Queen Victoria: Ah. Father.
*Queen Victoria asks Alteon what happened to their daughter, Princess Brittany, after Jaania's spell to cure her.*
Queen Victoria: ...How is Brittany?
Alteon: She's awake. Speaking, even. It seems Jaania wasn't lying about curing her.
Alteon: ...She's in the care of the royal physicians now.
Queen Victoria: That's... That's good.
*After speaking about Princess Brittany's health, Alteon tries to apologize to Victoria for deceiving her during her time as queen.*
Alteon: My dear Victoria, I cannot apologize enough for deceiving you—
Queen Victoria: Stop.
Queen Victoria: You watched me struggle. You watched me question myself and suffer— not knowing— You even had the Vind cover for you!
Queen Victoria: I trusted the Vind. Trusted that you were occupied by some greater mission.
Queen Victoria: You're my father. I believed in you.
Queen Victoria: But I never stopped wondering. Never stopped worrying. And all this time... you were here.
Queen Victoria: You didn't even try to help.
Alteon: I... meant to reveal myself sooner. But—
Alteon: But I was afraid that if I were to tell you the truth... I...
Alteon: I had intended to return and cast out The Rose for their crimes. But by that point, such an act would have only sown strife and confusion.
Alteon: So I settled for protecting you.
Alteon: Had you faltered, I would have stepped in. I swear to you.
Alteon: You've become such a capable ruler, Victoria. I'm so very proud of you.
Queen Victoria: Proud because I became what you always wanted me to be?
Queen Victoria: ...You may have returned, but you have not changed, Father.
*Queen Victoria decide to stop her discussion with Alteon.*
Queen Victoria: ...We don't have time for this.
Amadeus: Agreed.
Amadeus: I'm getting out of here, before it's too late.
Warlic: Amadeus, wait—
*Before Amadeus leave the strategy room, his eyes look at Warlic as he cannot stand idle any longer.*
Amadeus: There's nothing left to do. None of you are willing to take action.
Amadeus: We tried, we failed. Regardless of Akanthus' plans, we don't even know what Jaania's intent with the Fissure is!
Amadeus: And I don't intend to wait around—
*You and the Alliance—with their mission to close the Northlands Rift completed—arrived at the strategy room.*
<Character>: Hello! We're back!
*The Alliance—oblivious to events that occurred while on way back to Swordhaven—found out that Queen Victoria is working with Alteon, Amadeus, and Warlic.*
<Character>: Um. Okay, we definitely missed something.
*Scene cuts to black; in a dark forest, set during the wind elves' invasion on Greenguard, Jaania and other Rose soldiers are in a horse wagon, telling stories.*
Optimistic Soldier: My parents have a farm up in the countryside by Swordhaven. I'll probably just settle there after this is all over.
Optimistic Soldier: Nothing fancy, just grow some crops and live a quiet life, you know?
Laid Back Soldier: Oh, but you'll have stories to tell! You got to travel alongside the hero Jaania!
Jaania: Please, I'm... I'm not—
Laid Back Soldier: No, you are! I heard you froze a whole forest of those elves, before they even had a chance to crawl out of the bushes!
Laid Back Soldier: Saved an entire town!
Jaania: I... just did what I had to. To protect everyone.
Laid Back Soldier: Ah, if only we had more heroes like you around. Whatever happened to that <Character>? And their tog?
Optimistic Soldier: Dunno. Meanwhile, the King's just been holed up in his castle behind all his knights, while we're out here doing the hard work!
Laid Back Soldier: We need a real leader, you know? Someone who isn't afraid to take the fight to the elves.
Optimistic Soldier: Someone like you, Jaania! They'll be telling stories of your deeds for generations to come!
Laid Back Soldier: I know I'd follow you anywhere! With a hero like you around, there's no way we'd lose.
Laid Back Soldier: What about you, big guy? You'd follow Jaania anywhere too, right?
Tall Soldier: ...I am just here to find my fortune.
Laid Back Soldier: Don't be that way! We'll be fighting together, soon enough. What's a bit of—
*Scene goes white as suddenly, wind elves ambush Jaania's wagon; sounds of fighting, including fires and Jaania's ice spell, can be heard.*
Jaania: I tried to protect them. To save them.
Jaania: I... was caught off guard. I made a mistake.
*Jaania—despite her mistake—remains defiant as she will not meet her end from the elves.*
Jaania: But this was not my end. It could not be my end!
Jaania: ...Not when so many people... are counting on me.
*Scene then depicts Jaania—now stuttering—realizes that her spell have left her and a lone, tall Rose Soldier—who would become Akanthus in the present day—as the only survivors; fires, ice crystals, and dead bodies of wind elves and Rose soldiers can be seen during the aftermath of the wind elves' ambush and Jaania's spell.*
Tall Soldier: Such power. I am... impressed.
*Jaania, surprised, turns around to face the Tall Soldier and confuses him as Alexander.*
Jaania: A-Alex...?
Tall Soldier: I see your ambition, even though you try to hide it.
*Jaania stop confusing the Tall Soldier as Alexander.*
Jaania: No, Alex is... gone...
Tall Soldier: Yes, I think I will follow you, Jaania. We are alike, after all. Souls seeking to leave our mark on this world.
Tall Soldier: To... uncover why we must suffer so.
Tall Soldier: To enact change.
*Enticed by his words, Jaania demands to know the Tall Soldier's name.*
Jaania: ...Who are you?
Tall Soldier: I have no name. We all have things we wish to leave behind, do we not?
*Back in present day, Jaania—accompanied by Hesperrhodos—wakes up from her nap in her desk on her office in the Rose airship; Jaania rapidly blinks as she looks at Akanthus, who reports that repairs and final preparations have been completed.*
Akanthus: Lady Jaania, vital repairs and preparations have been completed.
Akanthus: The gnomes assure me that trithril reinforcement can be done mid-flight.
Akanthus: We are ready to depart.
Jaania: Thank you, Akanthus. Let us waste no more time.
*The Rose airship departs from the Ivory Tower; scene fades to black.*
Complete Quest
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