October 23, 2023

Shadows of Doom Lore

Shadows of Doom - A Peek at Defeat

Hello all, it's Cylisse the writer again! On October 15th around 7:00AM EST, you crushed the Invasion of Shadows that threatened Battleon. Thanks to your incredible efforts, Empress Gravelyn is going to...oop! No spoilers for the future of this saga, but what about a peek at what would have happened if Gravelyn's HP bar ran out before you defeated all the monsters?

Be aware, big spoilers for Part 1 and 2 of Shadows of Doom!

The results of the invasion wouldn't have changed the last cutscene of Part 1, where you came face to face with the Mysterious Stranger who whispers into your ear.

The differences would begin in Camlan, after you and Gravelyn scared the Metamorphosis Maw back into hiding.

Rather than being awake, Gravelyn would've been completely unconscious with no way of waking up. Her wound is about to destroy her body and the Hero rushes her to Termina Temple, the closest safe haven nearby.

Instead of Gravelyn being conscious in this scene, she is laying on one of the beds, unresponsive. Song ruefully reports that there is nothing anyone in the Temple can do. Exerting that much power after pushing herself to the brink in Battleon was too much.

Shakaz is present to ask what happened to Sigrid and Camlan in Gravelyn's place. After recieving an explanation, Shakaz feels that there is no other choice. They have to consult the Lightguard and the Emissary of Light Astero, who has been trying to contact them inccessently, having been completely rebuffed until now. Both the Hero and Shakaz feel unease but are helpless. No one at the Temple or the Empire knows how to save the Champion of Light. They can do nothing for Gravelyn but surrender to the whims of the Lightguard.

Essentally, the Lightguard and Astero would gain custody of Gravelyn with little to no interference from the Shadowscythe. The consequnces of this event would have bled into the next installment of Shadows of Doom as well as the Rumbling of Cold Thunder set to go live next year.

This future, however, will not come to pass. Your victory ensured that Gravelyn would be safe. She definitely noticed how hard you fought for her (I even went back to the win-end script to update her lines when I saw how much people cared about her).