- Venat has Argos and his double at heel.
- Having proven yourself to him, Argos is now willing to lend you his back. Venat suggests you move over to the edge to give your mounts a better launching point.
- Argos delivers you and Venat to the isle, where at first you find nothing out of the ordinary. Venat suggests a glimpse into the past, which reveals to you a conversation wherein Meteion reports to Hermes on the progress of her star-faring sisters. The chief overseer's vow to accept their discoveries with an open mind gives no impression that he might desire an apocalyptic end to the world─indeed, you return to the larger island intent on recruiting his help in solving the mystery of the Final Days.
- Venat directs your search for Hermes to Ktisis Hyperboreia─the largest facility in Elpis. The path to this facility lies to the north of Poieten Oikos, where a teleporter will transport you to Ethoseletikos Boreas.
- You have arrived in Ethoseletikos Boreas. Venat stands nearby with further instructions.
- The former Azem gives you directions to Ktisis Hyperboreia, before setting off for the facility herself. It seems all you need do is follow the road to the crossroads, then turn left...
- You meet with Venat at the door to the facility, but just as you make to venture inside, you come face-to-face with Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus. After hearing the results of their investigations, you realize that all have arrived at much the same conclusions with regards to the chief overseer and his research. It is then agreed that if the true nature of the Final Days is to be understood, you will need to enlist the aid of Hermes himself.
|
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.
|
Climb onto Argos's back and we can be off. ...You know, I honestly cannot remember the last time he carried anyone but me.
|
System
Argos motions to his back with his muzzle. You've been given the go-ahead to hop on!
|
Ride Argos to the isle?
| Yes
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No
|
 Cutscene start.
|
System
Argos launches into the air with a powerful leap!
|
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. |
| Cutscene end.
|
| The Unending Journey: # 1: Voiced cutscene start.
|
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. |
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! |
|
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.
|
|
But soon we won't need to speculate. We'll know the answers—what others live for!
|
|
Indeed... And we'll owe it all to you and your sisters.
|
|
I wonder... What answers we will get?
|
Whatever intelligent beings that 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. |
I have no idea...
Yet whatever answers we receive, I will not dismiss them out of hand. No, I will think earnestly on 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. |
|
Will there be apples? Covered in syrup?
|
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. |
|
So, what is your opinion?
|
What will you say?
| Hermes wouldn't wish for the Final Days.
|
Hermes is a gentle soul. And yet...
|
I couldn't say just by this moment alone.
|
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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.
|
|
|
I understand. He is a gentle soul, and well intentioned. Yet it does not take ill intent to beget ill.
We must consider the possibility that something may have gone awry. Perhaps it was oversight...or simply an accident.
|
|
|
As you say, that was hardly conclusive. Yet based on what we witnessed, I find it difficult to believe that they would deliberately seek to end all life.
Be that as it may, we cannot rule out the possibility that they will play a part in bringing about the Final Days. Perhaps unwittingly.
|
|
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. |
| The Unending Journey: # 1: Voiced cutscene end.
|
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, Forename─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 all 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's observers conduct the bulk of their work.
Come, the simplest route is via the teleporter north of Poieten Oikos... |
System
This appears to be the teleporter Venat told you about.
Motes of light yet hang in the air, suggesting the device was but recently activated...
|
Proceed to Ethoseletikos Boreas?
| Yes
|
No
|
Proceed to Kallimelios Zephyros?
| Yes
|
No
|
Proceed to Ethoseletikos Boreas?
| Yes
|
No
|
|
Ah, good, the teleporter 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.
|
| Cutscene start.
|
|
Here we are: the grandest research facility in Elpis.
We should head inside and ask after Hermes's whereabouts...
|
|
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 harbors no desire to bring down an apocalypse, then he might be recruited to help prevent one...
...Or so sayeth the illustrious 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's 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? |
|
Which in turn, leads us to our next question: how did Hermes, in his role as Fandaniel, not recognize 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.
|
|
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.
|
|
It seems there is more to the tale after all.
We conducted an investigation of our own, you see...
|
|
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.
|
What will you say?
| Thank you for your understanding.
|
...
|
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Save your thanks. I did not say I believed your ridiculous story.
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This does not mean I believe your ridiculous story.
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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.
|
| Cutscene end.
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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.
|
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.
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|
Acquisition
Closest Aetheryte: Poieten Oikos
Requirements
Rewards
Description
Objectives
Unlocks Quests
