Part 45: Episode XL: In Which We Get a Lengthy History Lesson
Episode XL: In Which We Get a Lengthy History Lesson
Welcome to the penultimate chapter of Drakengard 2. This one is rather short as well. But err...quite a bit goes down during the course of it. Weird stuff... Poorly explained stuff... Err...you'll see... But first, another opening monologue.
Uhh...beg your pardon...? Ancient Tomb...? What ancient tomb...?
Verse 1: The Holy Dragons - Music: Old Tombstone
...What ships? Shit... Did I forget to record a few verses in the last chapter...? I thought if felt sort of short. Hmm. No... There was only the two in Chapter 10... Err...alright then...?
"Distortions in time dredge up forgotten relics. The Holy Dragons' Ancient Tomb might be in the sky. It is our castle."
"The Ancient Tomb? The Holy Dragons? What are you talking about? What do you know, Legna?" "A lot of things are starting to come back to me now that the world is in this...refreshed state..."
"...'kay?"
"What do you mean countless crises?"
<snort> "Do you think this is the first time this has happened, my boy? This isn't even the first time in a lowly human generation. Nor is this even the only outcome to that prior occurrence." "...You're losing me here, Legna." "The smallest misstep or alteration can drastically alter the flow of history. Only one path took us to this point. In other timelines the gods descended from the heavens and attempted to consume the world. The goddess became a corrupted and twisted legion bringing the planet to ruin. My dragon brethren sought to reclaim the realm. And even the boundary between worlds were shattered. But here we are on the precipice of a new end..." "Okay, now I'm even more confused... But umm..."
"Well, we couldn't find Hierarch Seere... Maybe he went to the Ancient Tomb. What do you think, Legna?" "Utterly unlikely a mere human would ever be allowed to set foot on our most holy ground... But...ergh..." "..." "Better to go there than stand still, wouldn't you agree?" There is no other choice."
You know I'd think fixing the world should probably take priority over repairing the mind of one cute girl Nowe might sort of have a thing for, I guess. But hey... It's Nowe.
Anyhow, unto the Ancient Tomb to...do something or other!
It's erm...kind of a large place. What is up with dragons and their love for giant flying sky towers? Is Belthasar going to show up here to vaguely explain the entire plot too?
Legna approaches the Ancient Tomb...
"Is that the Ancient Tomb?" "Indeed." "I guess that was kind of a dumb question." "Indeed."
"They're the Holy Dragons. They protect the Ancient Tomb." "I have to fight dragons now?" "We JUST fought one of the most powerful dragons in existence not but a few hours ago." "Well, yeah. But I figured that'd be enough for today... Gosh."
The Holy Dragons are pretty lame. They just sort of dart around and spew out the occasional fireball. After taking on Angelus, they barely qualify as a mild threat.
A couple dozen dead dragons later...
"Strange. The Ancient Tomb should be more heavily guarded."
Despite that line, nothing weird comes up and we're allowed to fly right into
Verse 2: The Truth - Music: Unrest
"Indeed. This is the pride of the dragons, and it is the place we call home." "It smells moldy in here. The doors must have been shut for some time." "Moldy?! You dare to insult the must ho-Ehem... No, my boy..." "It's the aroma of history. Finally...I am home! Just listen, Nowe, and learn our history."
"If I have to... Is this going to take long?" <twitch>
It would be EXTREMELY difficult to get lost in this place. It is more or less one linear path through techno corridors with the odd turn, dip, or climb.
The only hazards in the entire tomb are the occasional laser firing cannons that hit for a pinprick worth of damage. And that's just about all there is to be said about the area's layout.
Over the PA system, a pleasant monotone voice will provide a cryptically worded cliffnotes of the history of the dragons. Or at least the last few relevant years of it. So, I'll just let that run its course unless something of note happens to pop up on the journey.
"A man without a voice descends, seeking revenge. His pact with the red dragon shall bring us a new vision."
Hahaha. Furiae became the previous goddess so she didn't ever get drunk one night and try to pull any moves on Caim.
The party travels deeper into the fortress...
"Where's that voice coming from?" "This is the Book of Seeds. Its voice shall reveal the truth." "The black dragon attains enlightenment before the casket. There, he gains a name, a child. He embodies very existence in his blood. The red dragon offers to become a pawn. The fallen dragon will be the key to a new world."
"The man and the woman become one after the union. The creation from the casket is the new breed we have awaited. The curtain rises on a new era. The foolish creation destroys its own plaything and parts with the red dragon."Traveling further still into the tomb...
"The black dragon bears the memory of our history in his blood. His blood shall guide him. We await the time of awakening before the bone casket." "The new breed? Well... What's that?"
"What!? What do you mean!?" "Patience, patience. Like it or not, you'll soon understand."So yup. Nowe is basically the genetic soup of Inuart and Furiae mixed with some Dragon stew to create some kind of man-dragon hybrid for...some reason? Well, at least that explains even more why he's such a retard. He probably literally has several extra chromosomes in his Frankensteined abomination of a body.
"Their woman meets and trifles with the new breed. This meeting shall be the turning point." "I sense it! I sense the truth sleeping deep within!"And...it turns out Manah isn't exactly a total idiot. She's just been the Watchers' puppet the entire time. They've just been taking a backseat role in getting her to fuck up the world this time around, after the first go failed spectacularly. The whole Knights of the Seal's mild oppression thing was just a good excuse to subliminally suggest she become a terrorist and destroy them all again. For equality!
After some more flying down endless techno-corridors, we finally reach the core of the Ancient Tomb. One last info dump for the road..
"Here, you shall learn the truth." "The Holy Dragons and the nameless engage in an endless war. We leave the throne with much anguish, but with our dignity intact. Brothers, do not despair. Exploit the artifact we have created by the order of the nameless. It shall become our tool."
"What? Humans were created? How could the dragons..." "Humans foolishly assume superiority. They're just one part of the grand plan." "Long shall be the wait. The wars and passions of the artifact will give birth to the new breed. At that time, we, the Holy Dragons, shall rise against the nameless." "Is this about me?" "The bone casket-the plaything of the gods, and our weapon. It shall reveal its true value in the presence of the new breed. Our enemy will be defeated. Our trials shall lead us to the throne. This, we engrave in the blood of all the Holy Dragons."
"...What? That... But... I am SO confused and I was already pretty confused to begin with..." "Wait. Even if-even if I were the new breed, what would that change? Would I be stronger?"
Err... Alright, then? So basically Nowe is the Chrono Trigger arbiter to open the locked door to the chamber of FATE so the dragons can regain control of the world from Lavos? Or something...? Hell, I dunno anymore... Drakengard! 2!
Verse 1 and 2 Infodump
Music: Old Tombstone
Ancient Tomb Concept Art - What do the dragons do with all the floating cubes...?