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Endgame A-2: Dress Rehearsal

Objective Kill “God”

Slay the figure who claims to be a god

Opening

oriana
What an amphitheatre.
It would take maybe thirty of Irinde's arena to fill this thing.
tower
Even the Capital's structures do not measure up in size.
It is little wonder why so many cling to false hopes of the past.
oriana
It must be hard for us to imagine the grandeur of the old world.
(Tower and Oriana gaze in awe at the structure. When they look down again, a duplicate of Quilan has appeared before them. The Quilan from their own party fuses with her.)
quilan
Indeed, this marvel lasted across seven dynasties before I sunk it into the earth.
I was certain that the delusional shell of a man was sufficient to mislead you,
but I misjudged and here you are.
oriana
Qiulan? Were there two of you? What is this?
tower
I've never seen such concentrated divine energy. That's- Elis bless us.
oriana
Why have you hidden yourself away in our crew? Was this a trap laid for us?
quilan
Don't overestimate your importance. This stage was not meant for you.
It should be here that Ellerie completes her conquest and slays the mad god.
I was very fond of the elevator set piece, It's a shame Ellerie won't experience it.
tower
I knew you had some deranged obsession with Ellerie's story, but never could I have guessed it would be on such a scale.
Were Ellerie's conflicts, ours too, all a result of your machinations?
quilan
Ellerie is only the latest centrepiece in a long line of spectacular failures.
These lands, the Crescent, used to be nothing more than abandoned wilderness,
how can that alone be of sufficient challenge to create heroes and legends?
A few monsters here, a quick dungeon there, the Age of Adventure was born.
It is incredible how a few bags of metal and trinkets will send countless to their doom.
oriana
All those lives lost, the years of strife on the Crescent, it was merely in service of a twisted sandpit for your games?
quilan
The overwhelming majority are nameless faces, no past, no future, no legacy.
If a thousand of them perish to establish the legend of a single worthwhile name, is that not summing zeroes to obtain one?
tower
See for yourself the callousness of the gods.
oriana
How can you expect me to respond to such bizarre logic?
quilan
Are you not an example of this?
Without the Crescent's dangers, you'd have only a mundane life.
It is the Age of Adventure that gave you this chance, to become your ideal of a hero,
one with an endless stream of non-sentient foes to slay, untouched by moral repercussions.
oriana
...
That's- That-
quilan
Your ideal arises not from virtue, but from selfishness.
You wished for fame and glory, but to be unburdened by guilt.
tower
Do not let her words affect you.
It does not change the fact that your deeds as an adventurer saved lives.
quilan
Tower, Tower, Tower. You must be ecstatic about my existence.
A manifestation of everything you've claimed to be corrupt about the divine.
But what have you and the Sect really done for humanity, Tower?
tower
We've safeguarded this world from your influence for decades. What is your point?
quilan
My forests, my dungeons and the Green Tide, they've eaten many.
But are these numbers not minuscule compared to wars on the Crescent?
I intended my experiment to last twenty years, now it's lasted two hundred, owing to the inability of the Crescent to cooperate even against a common foe.
The Sect concerns itself with petty religious woes and censorship, but does nothing to keep the peace.
tower
The foolishness of the settlers does not relate to the duties of the Sect.
Elis's tenets are to protect innocents, not for us to enforce laws on others.
quilan
Your Sect claims to protect humanity, yet it ignores this purpose whenever convenient.
How many crimes has the Sect committed in Elis's name in a war against nothing?
If not for your betrayal, the blessed you call a granddaughter would be naught but ash.
I even dare to wager the Sect has saved less lives than it has ruined, and for what?
Has your Sect really stopped a god, or the dangers of these supposed heretics?
tower
Our purported failings are irrelevant.
It does not change the fact you are the root of the Crescent's evil.
quilan
What a boring response. This is why you're destined to be supporting characters.
Legends used this stage across the aeons. You should be honoured to join their ranks, acting out this tragic last stand that will end your insipid lives on an interesting note.
(Quilan flies up to the throne that overlooks the amphitheatre.)
quilan
This is a little empty without a proper audience. I'll have to improvise.
(Quilan generates monsters and clones of herself to fill the amphitheatre.)
oriana
I thought I was ready for whatever the Crescent might throw at us,
but to come face-to-face with a supposed deity?
tower
She tried to throw us off her trail with Blaine instead of smiting us.
This suggests weakness, and if there is weakness, we can slay her.
oriana
You're right. She must have some reservations facing us. Either that,
or she intends to play with her food.
tower
She has no reason to lie about us coming down being an unexpected occurrence.
Besides, there is one silver lining.
My point that bards are the worst kind of person is proven beyond all doubt.
oriana
I can't rebut that.
(Tower points out four Quilans who have taken the forms of angels.)
tower
It does not take a genius to figure out something is up with those versions of her,
at least compared to all the others.
oriana
Understood. Let's kill a god.
tower
My axe has never been more hungry for the blood of the divine.
oriana
Do not let your spirits be swayed, Shearwaters! We face not a god, but simply an insane sorceress.
Let us put down this threat to the Crescent like the mad beast she is!
(All units gain +2 Move.)

If Lance Lass was spared in Chapter 11

(Lance Lass appears before Quilan.)
lance lass
Forgive me, but what greater purpose could all of this serve?
quilan
There is no greater purpose. It is all for my entertainment.
lance lass
Is your goal not to reclaim your rightful place in the world, return this world to the era of the gods as it should be?
quilan
Those days will never come again.
Elis has already broken us once, and I have little interest in playing the part of the supervisor.
lance lass
But you are a god. Is it not your duty and purpose to shape the world?
quilan
We claimed the title of gods when we found ourselves trapped in this realm, but in truth, we were all once mortals, with mortal desires, with weaknesses.
There is no purpose to assigning some greater expectation to what we are.
lance lass
My father, my family... Even the fundamentals of their faith...
quilan
You suspected as much, didn't you? That is why you never developed magic.
lance lass
Then what am I to do?
quilan
Be a part of my final audience, or die alone. It is up to you.
lance lass
...

Turn 4

quilan
The actors are leaving their stage. Audience, shall we join in the fun?
(Quilan teleports to the party's starting location and begins chasing them.)

After killing all True Quilans

quilan
Aaahhh... A surprise upset in our hero's darkest hour...
Of course I wouldn't be immune to this timeless cliche.
It's impolite to steal centre stage from the protagonist, Oriana.
(Quilan teleports back to her throne and transforms into a draco zombie.)
quilan
Centuries of cultivation to shape my form into a beautiful, majestic predator, all undone by the years trapped in this filthy, wretched, barren, lower realm.
Behold, my wretched, decaying form!
oriana
That's....
It comes full circle.

Conversations

Acielle & Quilan

acielle
At last, a real, living goddess... Are you the one who gave me these powers?
Then why do you seek to destroy the Crescent? What is your goal?
quilan
I have little need to bestow my blessing upon some random girl.
acielle
That solves the moral conundrum. I shall stop you in the name of justice!
quilan
You're a curious one indeed. I will tell you, no god forms the basis of your magic.
acielle
You're trying to trick me, to stop my mission. How else could I harness magic?
quilan
A desire to be more special than the common person has many possible origins,
perhaps from being bullied, perhaps some kind of inferiority complex,
maybe a dissatisfaction with your projected future, maybe all of the above.
Regardless, your delusions were so potent they manifested into reality. Fascinating.
acielle
That's impossible. I had dreams, I had visions, it all means something.
quilan
If a deity demanded something of you, why lead you around with such vague signs?
You simply took the circumstantial evidence needed to arrive at your chosen conclusion.
Once those walls of delusion are cracked, I am curious to see what would happen.
acielle
No, no, no, no!
(Acielle loses the ability to use magic and becomes a Civilian.)

Lance Lass

Combat

lance lass
Whether you die, or I die, it's all meaningless anyways.

Death

lance lass
So, my clan ends with me...

Quilan

Combat

quilan
You will have no speaking lines.
Your name shall appear once when the crew are listed, and no more than that.

Combat w/ Oriana

quilan
What does this form remind you of, Oriana?
What consequences will my death bring about?
oriana
I'm not so foolish to fall for your obvious provocations.
quilan
I watched you for some time, considering whether you could be my hero, Oriana.
But you were too defined by living for another for the role.
oriana
What purpose does this serve, Qiulan?
quilan
If you had not bound yourself to your daughter, you could have been much more than what you are.
oriana
“So much more” by your definition means nothing to me.
quilan
If I did not have an eye on you, I would not have found Ellerie.
It all works out well in the end.
oriana
Ellerie does not matter, for you shall not see her again.
If it was I that kicked off this unfortunate chain of events, I shall be the one to end it.

Combat w/ Tower

quilan
You-
tower
You shall meet no answer but my axe.

Combat w/ Dune

quilan
You just kept whining, going on and on about wasting time, defending the Crescent from being invaded. What about now?
Am I worthy of your time,. “Captain” Dune?
dune
After adjusting my priorities, I will conclude the answer is no.
I can't believe that Oriana's nonsense wasn't... nonsense.
quilan
Of course Oriana needs to be nosy now of all times.
Where was this determination while she was under Ellerie?
dune
I should thank you, now that you've brought purpose to this diversion.
If I can be the one who slays a god...
quilan
With your pitiful strength? I'd love to see it.

Combat w/ Maurice

maurice
That form, what is your connection with Keilu?
quilan
The original blessed took my blood into themselves.
No magic, no medicine, no ritual could have reversed it.
maurice
I see. That is all I need to know.
quilan
If you hoped for an answer to absolve yourself of guilt, you thought wrong.
Oriana's husband lived to thirty even with the blessing.
If your interference had not ruined Keilu's life, his madness would not have come earlier by a decade.
maurice
... I will not hear this from the progenitor of his suffering.
quilan
Maurice, you poor fool.
You may as well blame Elis, it does not change your failure.

Combat w/ Vermillion

If Vermillion is a Pseudo-Deity

quilan
What are you?
How could you possibly hold traces of the upper realms?
Answer me, wretched thing!
vermillion
...
quilan
Are you too far gone to respond?
Years of certainty that we are forever trapped, and only now is there a flicker of hope?
Hah.

If not

vermillion
Such powerful presence!
But I shall not fear, for every challenge shall only further my capability!
quilan
I am not being killed by a fat flightless bird.

Combat w/ Joyful Jo

joyful jo
It should not be this way. You're from the upper realm.
Should you not be free from plain and simple mortal desires?
quilan
I have no idea what delusions are in that bird brain of yours,. but there is no such thing as “mortal” desire. Only just desire.
joyful jo
Then you are no ascended being. Only a mortal trickster.
quilan
Your ascension nonsense is the funniest thing I've heard.
You large birds should stick to eating grain and insects.
How can your stubby wings let you soar to the heavens?
joyful jo
To judge based on mere appearance and prejudice,
not even gods are immune to being shortsighted fools.
We are already soaring. We will reach the heavens.

Combat w/ Empress

empress
I've found you, interloper! I am the Celestial Jade Empress,
Guardian of the Skyward Gate, Ruler of the Cerulean Crescent,
and no more shall you or your monsters ever contest my rule!
quilan
You don't own these lands any more than a bird owns its cage.
Hmm, maybe not the right metaphor I was going for.
empress
Enough of your insolence!
I am the only deity upon these shores.
quilan
That's factually incorrect.
There are actually- Why am I arguing with a chicken?

Combat w/ Murky

murky
So this is how you survived my death, by having many bodies.
What allows your mind to transcend your flesh prison?
quilan
Because I am a god, and you are not.
What more needs to be said?
murky
You are no less bound by reality's laws than we are.
You gods are no different.
quilan
I'm less bound by reality's laws. I'm not from this world at all.
Your efforts to understand the secrets of flesh were futile, for you are but a short-lived mortal in a primitive society.
murky
I always believed I was born before my time.
But your words shall not affect my determination.
I will discover how to extend my life long enough to see my time.
quilan
To speak of longevity as if it if it was within your grasp.
Such arrogance.
You will not get that chance,
I've still yet to deliver payback for ruining one of my bodies.

Combat w/ Unari

unari
I always did think the Crescent was a land of cruel intent.
I am glad to see my assumptions proven right.
quilan
You're no less a beneficiary of the of the land than Oriana.
How else could a slave have found leadership of a town?
unari
No matter what world I lived in, I would've crawled to the top.
No more will Frosthaven suffer the pain of your wicked games.
quilan
You're just a common warrior, no background, no bloodline.
What makes you think you stand any chance against me, compared to a true hero?
unari
I don't like gambling, but I've only rolled well.
I've overcome all the odds to get to where I am,
I won't let a god stop me.

Combat w/ Iosaf

quilan
My favourite one-eyed monster.
No, being a god does not make me the best, nor will killing me make you.
iosaf
I did not intend to ask about being the best.
quilan
Then what are you asking?
iosaf
I was uncertain about purpose, about why I was not mindless.
But all around me are humans uncertain about their purpose.
Even you, a god, are uncertain about your purpose.
quilan
I am uncertain about my purpose? Me?
How did you possibly come to that conclusion?
iosaf
I spent years alone in a cave. You spent years in a cave.
There is no other reason to spend years alone in a cave.
If we are all purposeless, then I have nothing I need to ask.
quilan
... You're no longer my favourite one-eyed monster.

Combat w/ Mince

quilan
My most disappointing hero candidate. At least you're here, able to contribute to a heroic final stand instead of...
However else you waste time.
mince
Hey, don't insult my hobbies. I'm a little disappointed too.
The final form of a god should be something majestic, unique, not something we've already slain before.
quilan
I'll take your criticism to heart.
I've also changed my mind, I'm removing your name from any records of this battle.
mince
It wasn't intended to be rude. No need to take it that way.

Combat w/ Lilac

lilac
A summit towers on the horizon, but only a hill once approached.
quilan
Speaking like that doesn't make you sound intelligent.
lilac
I'm calling you disappointing. A god should get metaphors.
quilan
You have achieved nothing in your short and miserable life.
All you have was due to the sacrifice of your parents.
The Sectmaster sent you to Tower to be rid of you,. for she knows all you'd be is a parasite on the Sect.
You are a bottom feeder, the lowest of the low.
You don't even deserve to be in a story to be laughed at, for your pitiful existence is of the most mediocre kind.
lilac
Bright is the peacock's tail, but ugly is the sounds it makes.
quilan
Here's a metaphor for you. A skull cracks like an egg.

Combat w/ Acielle

acielle
You can't be the one!
I didn't think my goddess would even be merciful or kind, but they can't possibly be... whatever thing you are!
quilan
You're right. I'm no goddess of yours, as you have no patron.
Your journey will be endless, for but a non-existent answer.
There is no fate more tragic than a story with no ending.
acielle
You're trying to mislead me! I won't be fooled!
quilan
Shield yourself with denial all you want, lunatic.
When you grow old and tired, you will remember my words.

Combat w/ Telon

telon
So this is what my trials have prepared me for!
I challenge you-
quilan
You bore me. Die.

Combat w/ Helisent

helisent
Of course this nonsense about gods is true on the crescent.
I would never have come here, if not for the job market.
quilan
You are the most nobody person I've ever met. Die.
helisent
I hear that on a weekly basis.

Combat w/ Tasel

tasel
Oh, Tasel. Aim carefully!
How did it come to be that I, a mere merchant, would fight a deity! What madness!
quilan
You have impressed me. I would have thought you'd have died, or left, long before now. But you've persevered all this way.
tasel
For my accomplishments to be acknowledged by the sworn foe!
While I never made my fortune, few can say they faced a god.
quilan
You get three second of self- satisifaction until I blast you.

Combat w/ Chalice

quilan
The nominal Sect member, who never helped the Sect.
Tell me, was that all for show, or do you truly believe in Elis?
chalice
Their words and tenets are falsehoods attributed to Elis.
I'm certain Elis herself would have despised the Sect.
quilan
You're talking to one of the few who have met Elis.
Let me hear who you believe she was.
chalice
Someone who cared little for this world, so she abandoned it.
Someone selfish, who felt bound by the world. So she broke it.
quilan
Hhmm. Pretty accurate, I'd say. Good job.
I laugh whenever the Sect tries to portray her as caring, or use her words to direct the path of mortal society.
chalice
Thanks for verifying my interpretation, false god.
There is one thing that Elis did undoubtedly stand for, and that is to free humanity from those that interfere.
Let's return to the violence.
quilan
A nice short break from the action that was.

Combat w/ Dazzledart

dazzledart
Get ready to fear the beak of Dazzledart,
the Yellow Storm, Master Assasssin!
quilan
A small one? Why are there even more of you?
dazzledart
There cannot be more of me, because I am unique!
There is only one Dazzledart, the Yellow Storm, Master as-
quilan
Alright, I've heard your stupid little gimmick long enough.
I'm going to make sure your lot stop interfering, permanently.
You're from the wrong genre!

Combat w/ Big Berd

quilan
How do you and your partner keep surviving your defeats?
big berd
You're the deity. Shouldn't you just know?
quilan
Evidentally not.
big berd
We keep being hit in non-vital spots. As simple as that.
quilan
But so many times, and consistently at that?
I just can't sense the work of any other magics on you.
Maybe you are one of those rare statistical anomalies.
big berd
I imagine you're pretty knowledgable as a god, so, could you answer a question of my own?
quilan
No. This is not a reciprocal relationship, brigand.
big berd
But I answered-
quilan
I am interested in testing if you'll continue to survive.
How about an experiment?"

Ending

If Lance Lass survived

lance lass
What's even the point? Why am I even here?

quilan
Well done. You've seen my true form, you know my connection to your daughter.
You should also know it was only me who could delay her madness, nothing else.
oriana
You lie. That cannot be.
tower
Cease to wag your poisonous tongue.
quilan
Did you really think your impromptu solution could have possibly worked?
There are no miracles in this world except ones which come from a god.
My death seals Krynia's inevitable fate. Are you willing to make that decision?
tower
Oriana, you know what is at stake. You know what she has done and is capable of.
oriana
... Tower, can you really do it? She is your granddaughter.
tower
I can.
I must.
oriana
... I can't, Tower.
tower
Is that your decision?
oriana
Do it for me. I lack the conviction myself.
quilan
There was no chance the self-righteous two of you would take that bargain.
I just wanted to make it hurt more.
oriana
Are these the last words of a god? Attempting to bargain for her life?
quilan
Quite the contrary. All I've desired is an extravagant death instead of obscurity.
You may have derailed my plans for the epic I both write and star in, but your victory shall ensure my name remains remembered regardless.
oriana
No. You should know well as a bard that the victor controls the narrative.
Whatever story is spun about a victory in the Buried City, there shall be no god.
quilan
(scowls) You'd really give up the title of a godslayer to spite a dying woman's wish?
You're one malicious woman, Oriana.
oriana
I've always been. Tower, go ahead.
tower
(smiles) With pleasure.
(Tower strikes Quilan with a critical hit.)
quilan
You merely saved one town...
Your friends, Ellerie and Lindros, will... Isn't that amusing?
(Quilan dies.)
oriana
I've achieved a greater victory than I could have dreamed of, yet it only tastes like ash.
tower
Pay no mind to her last words. She merely seeks our misery.
oriana
If only I could fully believe that, but I know exactly what she refers to.
tower
Is there something you haven't told me, Oriana?
oriana
It was in my meeting with Rosetta.
She claimed it was Ellerie who invited House Heron's invasion.
I wanted to believe it was a lie, but... This is Ellerie we speak of.
tower
That power-hungry fool! She's made no secret of her hatred for her family,
I should've known this lined up far too well for her to have been a coincidence.
This is the third time an external force has been a stepping stone to consolidate power!
oriana
If it was staged from the start, why did she look so genuine wishing for our safety?
Is she apologetic because it is her doing that denies us reinforcements for the Tide?
tower
How could she show any sincerity when she brings war and death to the Crescent?
I've tolerated Ellerie's blatant desire for power, but a line has been crossed.
oriana
We do not know who might prevail. What can we even do with this information?
tower
We must return, and we must find out.
The crew must rest, but as soon as we are able, we will depart immediately.
oriana
The crew will not be happy about this, but it is for the good of the Crescent.
And it will take my mind off...
dune
We may have fought a battle worthy of legends, yet Oriana denies us this glory?
Is she determined to ensure my efforts all amount to nothing?
unari
I see I'm not the only one who isn't feeling very victorious, despite the fact we just killed a god and saved the Crescent.
dune
I don't recall having any business with you, Frosthaven commander.
unari
Is it so wrong to want to share a drink with a kindred spirit?
dune
There's little kindred about us.
unari
We're both going to be out of power regardless if Ellerie or House Heron wins.
A homecoming neither of us look forward to.
dune
For me, certainly. I would've assumed you'd be nice and secluded in your frozen city.
unari
It's only a difference of time.
The Crescent will be united, one way or another.
It might be time to consider alternate avenues of work.
dune
If you intend to convince me to do Irinde harm, you'll have no such luck.
(Dune leaves.)
unari
So she insists, but I can taste the bitterness from here.
With a subordinate like this, Oren, no wonder you fell from power.
mince
I'm thinking of retiring from adventuring.
tower
Already?
mince
I wanted to be an adventurer for the thrill of the unknown, but it is a little hard to get a bigger payoff than killing a god.
tower
I can think of a few things.
mince
Tower, surely you must be ecstatic. You've achieved what none has done since Elis!
tower
The mad god did not lie.
Her death does nothing to end the bloodshed on the Crescent,
does nothing to slow the decline of the Sect here and on the Mainland,
does nothing to justify everything we've done in the past few decades.
mince
Tower, you killed a god and ended the monster invasion.
You don't need to commit this hard to the whole being down thing.
tower
I try, Mince. I really do.

If Lance Lass survived

lance lass
You're not going to kill me?
oriana
We don't have a habit of executing people who've dropped their weapon.
lance lass
Could've fooled me. Now that my supposed deliverer is no more, what is even left?
All those traditions, teachings, history, it's all just a waste of words and breath.
oriana
You're alive, aren't you? Go do something useful.
lance lass
How can it be that easy? All I've known has tumbled down around me.
oriana
Maybe you should ask that to someone you weren't trying to kill minutes earlier.
lance lass
... Yeah. Good point.
(Oriana leaves.)
lance lass
Maybe I could start a farm or something. Is there a guide to farming I can read?

maurice
You're leaving this soon?
oriana
Were you not the one constantly bemoaning about not leaving sooner?
maurice
That was before jumping into the unknown, and before we've slain the local deity.
Now that we're here, there must be many secrets and treasures to be discovered.
Surely you must want that for yourself too.
oriana
If you wish to stay behind, then suit yourself. But finding a ship will be your own business.
maurice
Alright, alright. What in Elis's name has you in such a hurry?

If Acielle lost her magic

acielle
Without my magic, without my purpose, what do I have?
How can I return to the boring existence of merely surviving?
Should I just stay here to rot?

If Murky is alive

(Murky walks up to Quilan's body.)
murky
(grins) It is truly great fortune which has brought me here.
Who can claim to have dissected and studied the flesh of a god?
What secrets might be revealed to me about the nature of the divine?
I'll have all the time in the world...

Kalor Keep

ellerie
Qiulan? I would like to check on your progress. Qiulan?

Character Descriptions

Quilan
Lets see if her claim to deityhood stands up to a blade to the neck.

True Quilan
She seems to like her bard form more than all the others. They need to die.

Lance Lass
Nothing more than a young woman caught in the middle of madness she cannot possibly understand.

The Quilans
No matter how many copies of herself she can create, we will kill them all.

Free Fiend
Our greatest enemy, but also what keeps us in business. A lot easier to cut down than a human, in a manner of speaking.