#nirios

I like how the fallout of revealing the details of our investigation comes off like telling a criminal that they were caught with completely new evidence they didn't consider to hide. You can clear up the threads, but you can't conceal your DNA signature!

Good I don't have listen to you blame us for becoming an orphan and a bereaved sibling for a little while longer then

Gee ya think? Was it just eating all the other monsters in under five minutes before we got here!?!?

Look at this little trapped goober. Nothing but flaming chaos in that head.

Pretty sure he's safer here with us than the guy who went nuts and tried to kill and/or mind control his former friends and allies while being an infernal tyrant but hey what do I know?

I must say I'm a bit surprised at the departure from The Professor's initial standoffish personality in the original iteration of his introduction. He was clearly more concerned with preserving his own peace and hiding to maintain that level of presence, that not even mentioning the barb he threw the Hero's way.

As much as it is surprising though it is not an unwelcome change for sure especially since this feels more in line with a certain mage's sacrificial nature that was a split and forged into an entirely different being.

As for the proposed plan though...I'm getting very big "let's toss it into the Void wastebin and hope it doesn't come back" vibes at the moment as I'm not sure what other dimension the Professor would know of to send Wargoth.

And I for one can't wait to see your reaction when you find out what's not being told.

Isiri, now is not the time to be suggesting therapy. Well at least not until Book 3 anyway.

Now this is an interesting nugget of lore of the Atealan riftwalkers. Obviously, it opens up new territories as to what their abilities are capable of achieving beyond traveling to physical locations as most understand them to be. The use of the words dreams and nightmares is also a particular choice considering what it might entail for dream/fearscapes or once again that ever present dichotomy of good and evil concepts within the setting.

It'll be interesting to see how Alz'ein uses this power both in the upcoming quests and presumably Book 4 since this was clearly foreshadowing for her attaining potentially new heights in her skills. The question that enters my mind as I write this though is whether or not this is a skill she can master on her own through training and rigorous effort or will she, as the legends suggest, have to accept the position of a Unael in order to effectively use this technique?

Hopefully for her it's the former because if not it would kind of sting the only way to use the best of your abilities is by submitting to a position you rejected.

Little did our king know, these words would age like milk in the years to come.

It never dawned on me that the Atealans were a multicultural society but it makes sense especially after dominating the planet when they were freed from Wargoth. That's a lot of time to create a diverse list of customs unique to each place. Of course, it makes it all the more tragic that this was all lost with Somorah's destruction.

On another note...

I very much like the idea of us happening upon Konnan when finding whatever he's looking for to give to the Professor as opposed to stumbling upon him in a cave where we don't expect to find him to begin with.

Ah hell, this is about to be depressing isn't it?

Yep super depressing. You know now that I think about it, I never really fully digested how horrifying this whole ordeal has been for Veyla. One day you're living peacefully on your homeworld only for the stuff of nightmares you had only heard stories about suddenly returns and starts slaughtering your people seemingly out of nowhere. But he doesn't stop there, no no no, that would be too easy, he then enslaves some of you, yourself included, by pulling on a fire within you that makes you seek out the pain and destruction of your loved ones. A terrifying prospect but at least it keeps you from remembering your planet has been reduced to a smoking crater.

For a brief time, you escape him, your mind now your own you have the ability to once again think about that daunting fact. At least you have the knowledge that some of your people made it out of Somorah and have something resembling home in a foreign world with heroes willing to protect. Except, you begin to feel that all too familiar pull reaching deep inside you in an effort to force you into submission. The worst part is you know you can't fight it forever. The second worst part is you know this likely means the one responsible for all this pain and misery inside you is on his way to hurt you and those you love and he's likely going to make you be the one responsible for all of it and just for shits and giggles I might add.

I've said it before, but I genuinely do love that Alz'ein isn't labeling Veyla as a traitor right out the gate. It characterizes how much she actually she cares more about things beyond strength and combat.

I find the thought of everyone and their mother asking Nythera if she killed him again the moment he disappeared to be amusing. It's a reasonable question considering she DID do it once but they didn't bear witness to her character development during her own little void saga and, as a result, all they know or recall about her is that she was the one that iced Warlic and called down the wrath of the Avatars upon Falconreach.

On a more serious note...

It's a pleasant sight to see Nythera at this point in her character development between the Rise of the Dragon Mage saga and the Calamity saga. She clearly has mellowed out and shaved down a good portion of that haughty attitude that got her, and everyone in her vicinity, into trouble but there's still that childish side of her that shows she's still got some growing to do, yet nevertheless still on the right path while doing so.

NIRIOS NOOOOOO!!!

Love how it becomes immediately obvious as to why narrowing down Warlic's exact location has become a problem before the audience is told what the implication of this visualization likely indicates. Furthermore, it's a good showing as to why it's going to take some time to find the Professor with everything else going on.

Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance

Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissonance Elemental Dissona-

Wasn't expecting the Hero, Draco, and Alz'Ein matching each others wavelength at the end of this but I will sure as hell take all the positive vibes from this moment.

Also,

First, as part of a good step in Elemental Dissonance's reimagining, we received a proper introduction with the Atealan trainers. Then, we received brilliantly detailed background exposition for the Ateala and their relationship with Wargoth. And now, my dears, we have ourselves a true introduction to Atrea itself.

I like how it becomes immediately obvious that Nirios and Etaos are going to take center stage for this quest as far as characterization goes. Prior to this release, a good portion of the narrative had a huge focus on Alz'ein which makes sense given that she tends to be the most expressive and outspoken member of the main inner circle of important atealan characters. As such, it's only logical that we tend to see much more clearly how this whole tragedy has affected her more than the others. With Starlit Sandsea, we were finally able to get a glimpse as to what the loss of Somorah meant for Isiri and now we can see how that loss translates for the cryptic duo.

In Nirios' case, you can see what the conflict has done to his sense of security, that constant need to be prepared for the next catastrophe to take place. It reminds me all too well of stories of those living in war-torn nations never feeling like they can safely sleep at night out of fear that the next bomb could drop at any moment. It is good to see then that finding a familiar face among what remains of their people is enough to brighten his mood, if only for the briefest of moments.

Also proper Yolande introduction!!! We're on a roll!

Now as for Etaos, he hasn't really presented much to latch on to yet at least not fully. Out of all the trainers, Etaos always seemed the most easygoing of the lot. Not the type to let most things get him bogged down in life. So, it makes sense to me that when things have finally gotten quiet that the main thing on his mind is to focus on the little things that bring joy instead of the heavier stuff that can't be immediately addressed yet like whether the other Unael made it off Somorah. Still, I do wonder if there anything more pulling at him at the moment.

Additionally...

I'd kill for my alts to have this hairdo.

At the end of it all though,

At long last...