Endgame

"He knew someone had to die. In the line of work he's chosen... There almost always is. But Immortalis didn't want it to be him. And after he and Charon took me in, well, I don't like seeing him suffer. All angels bring their own abilities to the table. My domain is nightmares, Lind. I can tell Immortalis fears this grave, for what it represents. I watched him dig it myself, with his own two hands. And gods do not feel fear."

You need at least a Masters Degree to be a God, just an FYI. What you're describing qualifies you for demigod at best. A Doctorate qualifies you for Elder Godship, or so I hear.

Being a member of divinity, for starters, not just an old lizard with lots of time on his hands.

"That is very polite. But do you realize what you've done? Immortalis is no god. He will be the first to say it. He is beyond anger, but he is not beyond grief and pain. And you caused him a lot of it."

Then why do the Voyager enemies need Zee to revive them? Out of curiosity, are the enemies killed when Zee is on the field added to the destroyed soul count, and then subtracted later when revived, or just never added at all?

Have the Defenders not def3nded enough if the enemies are starting to be recycled?

"I'm aware of their business. I meant here, at this memorial. You do know that the corpse of the dragon you felled is below our feet, yes? The wounds your knife left still in his body? So why come back here, when there is so much else Eschaton has to offer?"

Vaermina shakes her head. "No. That's not it. When someone important to us in Eschaton dies, the torches - all of them - are lit like this. They turn back to normal, before long. These torches will remain this way forever, though, as part of the memorial. After Vorpalis died, Eschaton was lit black for longer than I could ever remember. Immortalis only changed the torches back to their original color yesterday, to not intimidate our guests too much. Why are you here, may I ask? And may I inquire your name?"

"We can have you healed up in an instant. Plus, all of the water in Eschaton is medicinal, so a dip in the hot springs near here do wonders. If you want to spar, you'd just have to tell me how much of a challenge you want, and I'll summon up the golems to match."

The angel seems to be unintimidated. ""Army" is strong word for a small force like us. I can't tell you the numbers, but I can say we don't break triple digits. Oh, no, he does do it singlehandedly, almost. Takes a little bit, but, well... If you want any hints, just look towards the sky. So. What brings you here? Would you like to train? Chakraval may be a little bit too much for just the three of you, but I have some other golems you could go toe to toe with. Even a couple of flying ones, if your dragon would like to practice aerial combat." says Strivus, jerking a thumb towards Arx.

QM Note: Noted, JimBee. Since this next portion of the quest is mostly spent individually (unless y'all wanna go to the same place at the same time) it shouldn't hold anything up or anything, so no worries. Now, I'll be moving those who already specified where they're going... ------- Lind heads to the memorial. It was quiet. The only sound was the rustling of the greenery in the wind, and the crackling of the black flames suspended above the monument. Small statues of dragons flanked the large grave, its tapering top casting a shadow over both Lind and the angel viewing it. She stood there quietly, reading the inscription. Here lies Vorpalis, The Conqueror My fallen son, may your wings of darkness carry you into the light and reunite with those you have lost and those you have loved. The angel turns around to look at Lind. Her gaze made him tense up, despite the apparent lack of eyes. She steps closer to him. "Well then... Hello there, knight. I am Vaermina. Tell me, do you know why these torches carry black flames, while the rest carry blue?" ----------------------------- Jinnipher and Thormanil head to the training grounds. It was not like any other set-up they've ever seen. For one, the training arena itself was a stone platform suspended in water. Ivory columns and white flowers surround the platform - to the other sides were caches of different weapons and some pools of water that looked like they were made for resting up in. The layout wasn't the most unique thing, though. The instructor was controlling a giant golem to skirmish with the group of Angels. Using his staff like a baton, the instructor makes the massive statue glide across the battlefield with ease. It pummels a cadet with its fist and sweeps another with its tail, before receiving a blade to the shoulder from one of the more clever trainees. In response, it lashes him out of the air, before another angel whirls around him and plants a blade into his back. The golem manages to fend off its assailant with its tail, but not before a blast of ether from one of the remaining angels severs an arm. The golem seems to hiss in frustration, before striking down the remaining angel with its whirling claws. The trainer lowers his staff. The golem stands still. "Alright. Angels, Chakraval, that's enough for today. Heal up. I don't want any of us suffering any permanent injuries... I would've called this a failure on your part if you hadn't managed to take Chakraval's arm off. We'll go over the details later. Now, shoo." The angels pick each other off the gravel and exit. The trainer notices the heroes, and flies down from the platform. "And who might you be? The name is Strivus." ------- Siercon heads to the wildlife garden. The area was teeming with life. While the rest of the hall seemed quiet, this stretch of land was filled with creatures of all shapes and sizes and shades, all shuffling about the biome's streams and hills. Strange beetles scutter about, rare looking birds sing a melodic song, and large lizards escort their child to the stream for a quick drink. An angel was caring for all of them, making sure nothing went awry. It occurs to Siercon he had never seen any of these particular animals before - similar ones, perhaps, but all of these looked quite unique... "Greetings. I am Corvis. I have never seen you around here, stranger. Might you be a new recruit?" Corvis offers his hand for a handshake.

There is something very darkly comedic about this, and I don't know why. 147 update coming soon! Just editing the final pictures.

They can attack the round they are resurrected.

"What the hell?" was about the only thing going through my mind. On instinct I sprint off with the rest of the party.

"The Silent Hall is a room relatively close to the Judgment Corridor, so Immortalis prefers quiet. No sound exists in the room. You'll find people outside of it - mostly people about to be judged - and there are still ways to communicate there. It kinds a little strange if you linger there too long, though... Charon might've spent a couple of eons too many hanging out there. The reflection room serves two purposes: first, as a meditation area. The angel who runs it is one of the kindest souls you'll ever meet. If you need to take a load off, head there. And it's also where we do some memory processing. Immortalis likes keeping records. of, well, a lot. And as a result, stray memories are kind of just... floating around this place. The Reflection Room is where that is sorted oout. If you start remembering things that didn't seem to happen to you, don't be surprised. Some knowledge wants to be known. And the knowledge that really wants to be learned, the knowledge we've erased places for in the past... You won't have to worry about that. Trust me, keeping that under wraps is practically priority number one."

"Charon and Immortalis. They just barely tolerate praise. Barely."

"I hope you haven't been spreading the good word about them, Knight. They... Frown down upon that."

The party's attempts at shovelling yeild nothing but fistfuls of fertile dirt. The group continues along the path until they find a large ivory building - not unlike a cathedral - looming over them. Immortalis, Charon, and a unidentified angel stand at the entrance. "Heroes, ambassadors, thank you for coming here. This angel is another one of my associates." The luminous angel was made entirely of bright light, sans her jet black hair. "Hello. I am Telethia. I will be helping you while you spend the rest of your day in Eschaton." "And I'm sure you'll do a damn fine job, darling." Charon pats the angel's shoulder affectionately. "Now, I'll be off. I've got places to be." And with that, Charon takes a step backwards, and vanishes into thin air. "I'm not sure if I love it or hate it when he does that." "On that note, I will be heading into the Judgment Corridor. Enjoy your stay, heroes, ambassadors. Your visit will not be long here, but I try to be a gracious host." And with that, the dragon launches into the sky, leaving only the heroes, ambassadors, and Telethia. "They're odd, aren't they? Charon especially. But that's why I'm with the man. Now..." The angel unfurls a map. "Now, Immortalis recommends that those who will be judged hide to their rooms in the Barracks, in order to prepare themselve mentally for whats to come. He is not an intimidating judge, most of the time, but he is always a piercing one, so be prepared. As for the heroes... Well, the Barracks offer you little right now. You can head essentially anywhere else the map indicates though - iif one of us angels doesn't stop you, you can do it, as a rule of thumb, so enjoy what we have here." The ambassadors nod, and head to the barracks, murmuring amongst themselves. "Thank you for your service, heroes." "Be seeing you *wheeze* soon! It was nice meeting you, Lind, Jinnipher, Thormanil, Siercon... and it was *cough* nice seeing you again, Karie." And with that, the ambassadors were gone. "Now, you more or less have time to spare as Immortalis judges each person individually. Judgments can less 5 minutes to 5 hours, so expect some wait... Eventually, you might have to go to the barracks and hit the hay, but why not get yourself about familiar with Eschaton first? No need to stay in a pack, either... If a place sounds interesting, head to it."

QM Note: Sorry, been super busy. Updates will have to wait until tomorrow night.

"We have settled the issue. She will be handled within her own home town."

Siecon bottles up the sparkling water. It seemed to act as a remedy. "He might have reason to have that opinion of himself, to be honest..."

"I do not agree with his ways, but the demon infestation of Mercution was deathly serious. Those demons... Well, they still have their influence on the world even today. Drowning them didn't fully cure the issue, only destroy what was left of humanity there." Umbra accepts the hand and shakes it. Hello, Jinnipher. Oui, I am Umbra. I've had a couple of scraps - even one with Heroica, back in the early days of the organization renzzaince - but I am afraid I left my weapons away. I muzt admit, I did not expect zis Father of Dragons to be... Well, what he iz. Such a kind tone while threatening us with destruction." Umbra turns towards Arx and Thormanil. "What does your you and your dragon think of Immortalis, dragoon? I'd be curious to get another perspective on zis supposed judge, especially from someone as well versed as you two."

Once again, Zee is the biggest pain in the a out of the entire court.

"Wait a moment. You killed this dragon's son? And he's just letting you come into his home? Is this a trap?"