Part 64: (Bonus Update) Conversations and Stuff from Endgame Map 1
There's a fair bit of conversation on offer here. As with the last bonus update, not all of the conversations are getting showcased, because some of them are just not that interesting. But most of them are, and will be shown.First up is Hetzel.
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I don't understand any of you. how can you oppose the goddess? It's only natural that people live to please the gods...the weak follow the strong.
Strong, weak... It doesn't matter. I fight on the side of my conscience, and have yet to regret my battles.---
Wait... I remember you... You were one of the dracoknights that fled to Daein, defying the senators... You opposed the almighty Begnion and the word of the goddess... Why? Why would you defy such power?
You could live another lifetime, and you'd still never understand.---
It is not too late, child, to surrender and accept Ashera's grace. You can win favor in her eyes by abandoning her enemies.
Surrender? I wouldn't' dare "accept the grace" of a goddess that turns her worshippers to stone! Some things simply can't be helped. You and I are alive, and we should be thankful for that. I have a feeling that we're not going to be able to come to terms on this.---
Rafiel... Rafiel, I'm sorry.
... I did a horrible thing. I have lived in the shadow of my regret for many years now. Please tell me that you can find it in yourself to forgive me! Please... I... Rafiel... I was kind to you, was I not? I didn't treat you like a slave! I always watched over you so kindly. Be kind in return and forgive me, Rafiel. ...I'm sorry, I... I don't have anything to say to you. No! Rafiel...---
L...Lord Lekain! Help! Help me!
As payment for taking care of Rafiel when I couldn't, I'll make this quick.---
You look so much like Rafiel... Is there anything in the world so beautiful as a Serenes heron?
I was born this way, and mere birth is not praiseworthy. Praise me instead for my strength. What I look like is irrelevant, so long as I have the power to protect my friends.---
Oh! Oh my! A fair heron maiden. I thought they were all gone...
... W-wait! Don't run away. Don't just run away!---
D-Duke Tanas! You've betrayed us? But why?
You could never understand the depth of my commitment to beauty! Sometimes it simply overwhelms me. I can't stop the love welling up inside! I'd do anything to keep the hideous likes of you from my precious birds!---
Mortals cannot measure up to the gods. Any child knows as much. Why do you not kneel before her?
That would be throwing away my own beliefs to live a life of blind obedience. I stopped doing that three years ago, and I've never looked back.---
Hetzel... I had thought that you alone might be above Lekain's foul conspiracy! It saddens me to see you at his side. N-no, Apostle Sanaki! I-- I didn't ask for excuses! You fight alongside Lekain. That's more proof than I'll ever need. ...You are right, I fight with him. I had no choice. But...please, understand that I've always done my best to honor and respect Your Majesty. Then how do you explain my confinement in Mainal Cathedral? I-I didn't do anything! It was all Lekain! I didn't know anything about it, and only heard later... And when you did hear of it, why didn't you stop it? I...couldn't. Actually, I could have, but I...didn't say anything. It was the same with Misaha, and the Serenes Massacre... I... ...didn't say anything. In other words, you stood by as my grandmother and the Serenes people were killed! P-please forgive me...---
Wait, please... I never wanted to fight... I'm here only because I was ordered.
Then surrender your weapon. I-I cannot do that. I would fall into disgrace with Vice-Minister Lekain. ...---
So, Hetzel is, basically, kinda just a coward, but he's more a coward of the authoritarian sort than a coward of the self-preservation sort; he continues to fight for Lekain for no other reason than because Lekain has authority over him, even as he decries everything Lekain does and endlessly apologises for everything. It's as Sanaki says; he just stands back and watches as Lekain fucks everything up.
All in all, his death is not the greatest of losses for Begnion.
The other rich source of conversation is, of course, Lekain.
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Why is it that authority figures are always so unwilling to let go of their power? The world could flip upside down and you'd be trying to boss around gravity.
You clearly know nothing of me, lout! To oppose me is to oppose the goddess Ashera herself! That's strange... I always thought that role was filled by the apostle. But who can keep up these days? So you're defending the goddess... but will she do the same for you?---
You're quite tenacious for a heron. I thought your entire fragile race had been exterminated... Evil... You are pure evil. I hear it in your heart. How do you even survive? How pathetic. Hated by a heron, the only sub-human so weak as to actually be incapable of violence. This must feel just like the massacre to you: completely helpless before your inevitable doom!---
("Eep, it's you! Where's Tibarn when you need him...") The lovely heron maiden... If not for the battle raging around us, I'd keep you as a... trophy.---
I'm glad I got to you first. See, I heard that the Serenes Massacre was all your doing... That puts you at the very top of the list of the enemies of the bird tribes. That may very well be, but I am under the divine protection of the goddess herself! A shabby sub-human pirate like yourself will find me quite invincible! As much as I'd love to draw this little chat out, I don't think I can keep my talons out of your neck another instant. Why... Why are you laughing? Are you...enjoying yourself? Some of us here are just overflowing with the chaos you're causing with this fight. That might be part of it... But, to be honest, there's a part of me that can hardly believe how much fun tearing your head off will be.---
... Hm? Who are you? How did a shabby little burglar get in here? If that's how you want to see me, then so be it. But know that that's also how I see you. I don't think we even need to exchange names. I'll just kill you and leave it at that.---
Tah ha ha... So nice to see you, King Naesala. When you can't oppose me, that is. Your blood pact means that you'll have to betray your companions...yet again.
Not today, actually. What did you say? Sorry to break it to you, Lekain, but I have recently...been promoted, shall we say. I now take orders from over your head, Vice-Minister. From Empress Sanaki, to be exact. Wh-what... Whaaaat...?! The curse of the blood pact applies if the master's orders aren't obeyed, but by the law of Begnion, you're overruled. So, Lekain, right here, right now... I'm going to tear you apart, as I've been wanting to do for years. Urk!Now this one is interesting. Did Lekain just get Lawyer'd by Naesala? Possibly the pact binding Kilvas referred only to "the ruler of Begnion", so when Sanaki found out about it...
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No! Tah ha ha... How delightfully pathetic. Poor heron prince, teeming with rage, but incapable of hurting me! Tah ha ha ha! How absolutely marvelous! Your soul...is deeply scarred...---
Ah, interesting! You're one of those sub-humans from the east that I've been hearing about.
And you're one of the fat, corrupted pieces of filth that we're fighting. How dare you! I am Duke of Gaddos! Gaddos? Where's that? That name means nothing to me. How do beorc always get the idea that the place they're from is the center of everything? Silence, you loathsome cur! I'll ensure that your country is left in ruins!---
Duke of Tanas... What's gotten into you? Why are you fighting with these mercenary scum? I am Oliver, champion of beauty! You would harm my precious feathered angels! That makes you my enemy! Unsightly man... Prepare yourself! Have you finally gone stark mad? Who, exactly, do you think you're blathering at?---
Lekain, Duke of Gaddos... Don't bother with any of your practiced lies. Speak with your weapon. Dame Sigrun... I suppose I'm not surprised. I should have known you would still be on Sanaki's leash! Have you asked yourself why? She is a mere pretender to the throne. You're just a dog to a false apostle! Correct me if I'm wrong, Lord Lekain, but Sanaki was formally recognized by the senators as the empress. Where in Begnion law is an empress required to also be an apostle? This sounds like yet another case of you senators trying to twist the law for your own benefit. Bah! Your legalistic manipulations don't make you right! For too long, we have tolerated you bending laws for your own benefit, with no foundation whatsoever in justice. Now it's time for you to pay for your sins! Impudence! You can't beat me... I am the chosen one!---
Hmph... Hello, Tanith. How odd to find you alongside these imbeciles, not to mention their imposter of a leader.
Silence your filthy mouth! I will not brook such insults. F... Fi... Filthy?! How dare you slander the duke of Gaddos! I will rule the world in place of our goddess Ashera! Sanaki is not a true apostle or an empress. She's a mere slip of a girl! There is no Begnion law that requires an empress to also be an apostle. Whaaat? Each apostle has thus far been seated as emperor only because that has been what served the senators best. Sanaki has ruled successfully without the benefit of divine inspiration for more than half her life. She is well loved by her subjects. Saying that she is not a true apostle will do nothing to alter that fact. Dogmatic rhetoric will achieve nothing! Very true. Empress Sanaki is my liege, and as her knight, it is my duty to destroy her enemies. Blasphemy! Striking me is no different than raising your sword to our goddess! Speaking of dogmatic rhetoric... Duke of Gaddos, farewell.Wow. Not only is he out-lawyer'd by Naesala, but also Sigrun and Tanith?
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Lord Lekain... Hm? You... You are from House Damiell... Yes, I am. It's been a while, but I didn't think you'd forget me quite so easily. I wasn't sure at the time, but marrying you would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Ha! Bold talk from a penniless mercenary! You were never worthy of Lekain of Gaddos, head of the senators and chosen by the goddess herself!Oh, wow, was that a backstory revelation? I guess it was! It turns out that the arranged marriage from which Astrid ran away in Path of Radiance was to none other than Lekain! Sounds like she made a smart choice there.
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Burn, traitor! Watch your tongue, girl!I guess these two have already met their
quota for this chapter.---
Tah ha ha! Laughable mercenaries! Sanaki could certainly have chosen better allies. If only she had sided with me, she wouldn't be damned now. Oh well... Yeah, whoever chose you as an ally has had better days, too. So who is it? Who's pulling your strings? Pulling my strings? What are you saying? I alone have been chosen to protect her! I masterminded the plan to resurrect the goddess and become Ashera's chosen one! It is my right! Mine alone! Really? I didn't see you around when the galdr of release was sung to the medallion... What medallion? What nonsense are you talking about? Wow... You don't have any idea what's really going on, do you, "mastermind"? I'm just wasting my time. You... You! Urghh! I am Lekain, Duke of Gaddos! The one and only!And there you have it. Lekain has officially lost it.
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The conversation after the mission re: the Blood Pact of Kilvas also changes slightly depending on whether Pelleas or Naesala or both are present. However, it doesn't change that much. You'd think it'd be the cause for some serious conversation with Naesala, especially from Tibarn, Reyson, et al, but no - it's just "oh hey that's my blood pact" "what, you too?" "damn that Lekain" "true dat" and then they all leave. Missed opportunity if you ask me.