#Paragon Adrestes

[juiceshiru]

cw /// blood + rejuv paragon karma files spoilers !!

[kiroonsmoon]

I know there's a lot of people refusing to play the renegade route in rejuvenation. Sorry if you answered this already but I'd love to know where you stand on this. Have you played renegade? If so what are you most looking forward to about it?

Oughhhhhahhhh Renegade (BEGINS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH) /neg. My thoughts on it are very mixed so to say. But yes I’ve played it, I like doing oc runs so I did my mono dragon run for Lucifer on it.

Renegade has most of my favorite scenes ever in Rejvu but simultaneously is my least favorite part of the game and is like, the worst mix of my criticisms of the game. Which is why I generally prefer Paragon to Renegade despite paragon having a less gripping story/events to me as of 13.5.

Basically if I could summarize it: I love the story and it has WONDERFUL, heartbreaking scenes but it also shares that with the most whiplash inducing humor and scenes possible as well. Which results in severe tonal issues that heavily damages my enjoyment of the route.

I’m going to be putting my more detailed thoughts under cut. All my positives and negatives towards it. I’m putting it undercut because of 1) spoilers and 2) speaking from personal experience I know it’s unpleasant to see some bashing and criticizing something you love dearly. And I don’t want to subject people to that if they do not want to see that. My criticisms point largely to a specific character I know people are major fans of and love dearly. I don’t want to subject people to unpleasant things like that.

Again all of this is subjective and my opinion. You aren’t bad for liking something I don’t like.

Still here? Good great! First things first let’s start with some positives. Because despite everything I do like this route.

The fights were fun! I had a great time with the battles (expect with Spacea/Timepa but this isn’t an issue on the devs it’s just Mono Dragon is NOT good for that fight).

The scenes when the game takes itself seriously are fucking phenomenal. Adrest’s death and then the failed world with the host and M2 are a phenomenal beginning to renegade in my eyes. And Zumi’s art like always fucking rocks. The failed world really sets up the tone well for renegade. Which M2 finally snapping and attempting to murder the only person she’s been stuck for years. Fantastic beginning to a route about destroying the world.

And Karma Beast Talon….oh karma beast Talon. It’s my favoritest fucking boss battle and segment of the entire game. Everything down to the story, music, setting and Talon’s character mixes into one of the best written arcs in rejvuenation ever. Talon’s arc was way better than I could’ve ever expect and the best of his character is shown in his karma beast route. Just seeing his desperation and pain at learning his best friend died, his mother is on death’s door, he was never anything but a puppet that leads him to becoming a monster of his own despair and that on top of the art in music. Chef’s kiss, I love it so much.

I also loved the Ren chase (hell I made fanart of this moment), M2 getting called the fuck out and Venam + Amber battle and Amber’s death…oughhh all good fucking scenes.

However, all these things are torn down by one thing, the humor. Even more specifically M2.

M2..M2, gosh, she’s a fucking lot. I honestly still don’t know how to feel about her. The only thing I’m 100% certain on and don’t have any mixed thoughts on his her design. Her design fucking rocks, probably my most favorite design of all the Melia’s.

M2 is easily the worst part of renegade and the game for me. She’s very poorly written to me. Which is unfortunate. I like her concept I really do. However the problem is I couldn’t really truly understand and appreciate her concept until I sat down and truly thought on renegades story while removing all the silly stuff from my brain.

Basically: M2 is completely shot down by the humor she brings and it negatively affects her and the story as a whole.

Now I’m not saying renegade has to be 100% serious and grimdark. That’s just not realistic and I would just have issues with it the other way instead. However the humor it shows is not for renegade. The humor of renegade (and M2…) is very lol xd and sudden and random. It’s very very very jarring. Especially for such a dark and grim route. Renegade’s humor would be better placed in paragon. Rejvu’s humor is already hit or miss and renegade’s humor is nearly all miss.

Now humor in renegade can work, hell it’s even required. Stories can’t be all dark, you need a breather in there. However, balance of the humor is very important and Rejvu’s renegade route does a really piss poor job of it. Some jokes can work though! The fucking bait and switch with the item during the Ren chase seen is probably my favorite joke it all of Rejvu honestly. It uses the expected actions of the player and turns it on their head. It even works in a character sense! M2 is smart, she’s been taking notes on you and uses what she knows on you against you. It makes for a great joke and prank, I couldn’t even be angry that all my pokemon had 1 hp! It was a fantastic humorous moment that made me go “you son of a bitch” and crack a smile. I also think M2 calling Kanon an incel is a joke that works as well. However I do have problems with that as well, but that doesn’t relate to the humor, I’ll get into that later.

Renegade would’ve benefited from more humor like that. Not the clones, which made me more and more annoyed as time went on. The clones should’ve been left in Ren’s Chase as NPCs that act as obstacles and that’s it. Not the random beef M2 had gotten with random unimportant NPCs offscreen, which just made me more annoyed with her (and not the fun kind of annoyed). The kinda annoyed where I wanted to bash her head into the wall.

However the biggest offender of them all is Guilty or Nah. I’m going to be blunt. Guilty or Nah is not needed and brings absolutely no substance to the story and actively damages it. I hate it. You are actively chasing down someone WHO YOU PLAN ON ERASING FROM THE ENITRE UNIVERSE. And when you finally catch up to them, guess what happens! The most completely unnecessary and tonal whipping lashing gameshow thing I have ever seen in a piece of media. ITS NOT GOOD. IT SUCKS IN LITERALLY EVERY WAY POSSIBLE FROM A NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. It needs to be cut from the story completely. The most important part of the chases are the emotions and perspectives of the victims. Karrina’s, Ren’s and The Hag’s deaths/near death would’ve been so much better and impactful if Guilty or Nah was completely axed. Look at me in the eyes and tell me if Talon (+ Florin in one route) suddenly got a Guilty or Nah before being erased it would do anything for the scene and their arcs. If like anyone has any reasons I would genuinely love to hear it because I cannot see any reason for Guilty or Nah’s existence.

Anyways now that’s out of the way, less negative thoughts more kinda musing I had. M2 to me is a very….nostalgic character. She comes from an older version of Rejvu, which again cool in concept. However it also alienates newer Rejvu fans like me who weren’t around for the older versions. This is definitely compounded by me play renegade first but even if you played paragon first and know every version is canon…a newer rejvuenation player will not have the context of what M2 is talking about in regards to her version. I was completely unaware Ren and Kanon used to be major fucking assholes until my Rejvu veteran friends told me. Basically, a veteran will have a different reaction and feel for m2 than a newer player, with newer players not having all the context unless they ask friends or go looking around. Which they may not have or do.

Anyways yeah! My renegade thoughts. This got way more longer than I meant it too but I have a lot of thoughts on renegade as a whole. It could be so great but it’s extremely brought down by its humor and alienates a lot of people who don’t like the humor it has (cough like me cough).

[axelcreations]

My Renegade OC

So, I really cooked with this gal today, and I'm proud of what I've got so far.

Astrid Mendoza(she/her, 19) is the Renegade counterpart to Adrian, effectively. She is quite self-confident (sometimes cocky), and much more headstrong than her Paragon counterpart. She's very talented at battling and can often back up her claims when it comes down to it. She's also quite a flirt and unafraid to shoot a pickup line, and is very much a tease.

Here's her picrew! I'll definitely make a proper ref for her in the future!

However, she is not good at handling her emotions and trauma. She isn’t comfortable with talking about personal issues and as such just bottles it up. She views herself as a person who needs to protect and only do that, unable to give herself the time she needs to cope. The more times she fails, the more her pent-up anger and self-loathing just builds and builds. This is in stark contrast to Adrian, who is more than willing to embrace their friends in order to get through dark times, treasuring them far more than Astrid realizes she should.

Late Chapter 15 + Renegade spoilers inbound:

In her Nightmare Realm, with Kieran and Clear’s temptation imminent, Astrid’s spirit has already been broken, and with the feeling that she can’t truly accomplish her role, she accepts, just wanting an end to things on her own terms and to run her anger loose. However, at the end of the Realm, she learns an important detail about the world she came from: there was a special person close to her long, long ago. Days later, after disposing of Adrest, Zeight’s resources locate that person in the timeline parallel to her’s, and give her back core memories: those of being with the only friend left to her before everything crumbled apart. Adrian was alive and well, doing what she couldn’t manage to do. And so, she contacted the trainer, with only one direction left to take…

[aliasorwebcomics]

Finally I'm posting the first pages of the AU "Paradox Interceptor" here too. Since unlike Twitter, I don't post too many WIPs here, here is some information:

The current Interceptor is in a pre-v.13.5 pruned Timeline

They are a Renegade Interceptor who decided to do good and repress their evil side (Paarthurnax teaches well)

They have been stuck with Karma for 15 years, they have aged, but have lost the ability to eat, sleep and die. They are slowly forgetting the names and faces of their loved ones.

They have no sexual gender, in a world without other humans biological sex makes no sense.

The souls of Alain and co, Adrest and the Interceptor (Caanan) have merged. They only take the name of Adrest because he was the oldest of them.

They wish to come to the Paragon timeline to help defeat Madame X and Vitus.

In their original timeline they worked for Neved during the events of Blacksteeple Castle as a "gentleman's agreement". They were injured on that occasion.

They didn't die during the events of Valor Montain, but they got burned and lost a hand.

They have the knowledge of everything that will happen up until the Xenopurgis, but even he doesn't know who Madame X really is.

Unlike their counterpart Paragon does not have a crush on Aelita. They have controversial feelings for Crescent, influenced by the various souls that compose them.

They are surprisingly good with children, they are protective of Mosely and Maria.

They hate karma. He surpassed Texen and SEC on the "List of People I Wouldn't Spend Eternity With."

Their signaturemon is Hisui Zoroark.

Paradox Zetta is her morality pet. They chose to have him as an ally by deceiving Karma because he is the only member of Team Xend they trust.

Even today they are easily fooled by Mr.Luck. They can't figure out what Mr.Luck is, they assume some kind of bug in the world or something.

They don't trust "Variya".

The thing they would most like to do once in the past is eat a meal cooked by Tesla, listen to Amber's music, and enter Zenith to meet Nancy.

They use every pronoun without too many compliments.

[heretodefyfate]

Maybe i should made my paragon interceptor OC into a normal human

Like, a normal human who was not from pokemon world, like, your usual isekai into a fantasy verse

Because i want them to react like how i did at Adrest's backstory

[prismshrimp]

V13 spoiler ahead. 

Anyways, this Asther when they get their own Interceptor form, since in my Au version of Rejuv, Asther initially just used one of the MC gangs form ( Ariana being the most common form to take) since she didn’t see herself as an individual worth of using the ability due to original Asther’s action, also she didn’t have much will to live either thinking she’ll just poof off after doing her job as proxy so thats another factor.So after some self-reflection, (maybe thorough getting to meet original Asther) , she decided to live as her own individual seperate from the original while still taking on the name “Asther” so people would remember her rather than the original while also respecting the original’s wish to be forgotten by time.( For Paragon Route that is)

Renegade would have slightly darker context being she manged to eject/erase the MC gang souls from her body leaving only Adrest behind but making Asther as the dominant control of the body as she establishes her individuality as the original Asther, albeit leaning more to the original’s desire for revenge.   

So as you can see from the ref sheet, her design is basically a mixture of my knowledge of FGO, Hi3 and a some MM Zero into making this.

[mysdrymmumbles]

Iskaara Tuskarr and Maruuk Centaur for Pelagos, Grand Hunt for a character of your choice?

Iskaara Tuskarr - If your OC had to tell any story about their life to a stranger, what would it be? A tale of heroism, a funny anecdote, maybe a sad story?

For a lighter story, Pelagos (pre- or post-Arbiter) would tell of the time he wanted to write to one of their maw walker friends, but Kleia took the parchment and quill from him and flew out of his reach to do it. The maw walker in question told him that it was a very heartfelt message, but he still has his doubts

(referencing in game stuff with the quill of correspondence)

If he's trying to inspire whoever he's talking to, he would talk about how he and so many more came together to help in Korthia, and how it really made him think of what more could be done to right the wrongs of the Shadowlands.

Maruuk Centaur - What trophy/symbol of their accomplishments is your OC most proud of?

I don't know that he really has any physical trophies, so to speak. There is one thing he's pretty proud of, but I can't really talk about it just yet, because it's a spoiler for the epilogue >.>

I think his biggest trophy would be the sight of souls going to their intended afterlives.

Grand Hunt - What would be the ideal animal companion for your OC? It can be anything, from a dog to a dragon!

Liila has no specific critter she would like with her, and honestly most of the ones she has in her life are a result of happenstance, though it rarely ends well.

Piikii her undead steed, named for the odd noises its joints made as it sauntered along, was eaten by a devilsaur.

Piikiitwo, the venomhide ravasaur she befriended after she lost Piikii, was beheaded while trying to protect her by her tormentor when he led the attack on Orgrimmar pre-Northrend campaign.

Her pet jellyfish from Helheim was stolen by druids and released into the wild--surely nothing bad happened with that.

Nibbles the devourer ended up being far too sentient to be a pet. He is friend-shaped.

She had to leave her vombata in the Zereth Mortis.

Adrestes said, "Absolutely not," to bringing any crawbrats over from Maldraxxus.

Adrestes is currently baffled because she's got a 'pet' goat that keeps showing up in Devotion and chewing on the banners when it can't find her. She insists Pari the Paragon of Goatliness is not a pet, but no one knows what else to call it.

For Ta'lim, a troll hunter I do not talk about enough, it is his phoenix that he got at Magister's Terrace. Every pet he's ever had has died in some way or another (murlocs, friendly fire, etc), until that phoenix. He got it as a hatchling, and it ended up saving his life in Icecrown. Now that it's grown, he keeps it as his hunter pet. The best part is he's retired from adventuring, so now he's just a courier with a phoenix flying around with him in the Echo Isles.

Mitchell had a spider that he loved very much, but it died of old age (and possibly plague exposure) and he has sworn off all other pets. After all, he's gonna live for a very long time and doesn't want to watch all his little critters die. He does still have a soft spot though, for Fluffy, the void-sheep. People keep suggesting he get something that's undead, but he just grumbles about it.

---

Ty for the ask :D This was fun <3

[amani-outrider]

Adrestes enjoying hours

[vawianwynn]

Me: YOU CAN’T PLAY ME FOR A FOOL, ADRESTES

Me: I DON’T CARE HOW BIG AND HANDSOME AND ANGELIC YOU ARE, I WON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU

Adrestes:

Me: hhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,,

[kiroonsmoon]

So now that Fate and Lucifer have met, what do they think of each other? Do they get along? Fight? What happens?

Oh! They don’t actually officially meet.

They’re the renegade and paragon of my au of rejvu yes but also…it’s an au that has been made since before 13.5 release. My verse isn’t really canon compliant now. At least from karma files onwards :p

Fate and Lucifer were both made before 13.5 same with their connection. This is because I was very curious about the whole world resetting fact and how the MC was thought to be behind it, albeit briefly and I was like, what if it was? So, Lucifer is the first timeline, however he comes to regret his decision of renegade and resets the timeline, deciding to have someone else take his place which was Fate. That’s the whole story concept for Fairytale.

13.5….kinda broke that whole concept but I like it, I’m keeping it. It’s why I typically refer to Fairytaleverse as an au/own verse of Rejvu. As it goes against the canon story alot. Also I justify it by Karma. Karma is trying many different stories for the best ending, who’s to say he wouldn’t try one where the interceptor did reset the timeline once themselves. Am I expecting future updates to make me keeping this concept harder? Yes. Do I care? No.

I like the concept. I like the horror I have made it bring. I’m having fun thinking about how having renegade happen before affects paragon and all the people in it. I’m having fun that’s all that matters.

So no, Lucifer and Fate haven’t actually met, that doesn’t mean they don’t know about each other though. Fate keeps seeing Lucifer is various places. Remenets of Renegade. In the Darchlight Caves, Nightmare Relam, the Chess Board(??), Whenever she dies, Zeight when Adrest was being deleted…she’s seen glimpses of him. She doesn’t know who he is but she knows he’s important. I haven’t really have fully settled/am satisfied of where to place Lucifer yet but either way: he knows she exists and is doing much better than he ever could.

[one-winged-dreams]

Not me real time realizing I can also post my dumb oc x canon content on here too! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[mysdrymmumbles]

for the character thing uhmmm adrestes!! i wanna see what u think!!

Ty for the ask!

Let’s see: 

favorite thing about them - He is a total introverted nerd who hates his going to parties. He is a kindred spirit to me <3

least favorite thing about them - The fact that he was totes cool with just chucking souls into the Maw for as long as he did just because that was not an Ascended problem. 

favorite line - I don’t know if it quite counts as a line, but the fact that he had a stamp made for his letters is absolutely fantastic. 

brOTP - Adrestes x Lysonia - It’s only hinted at in OaF, but I feel like they would have been best buds, especially because he was a disciple of Loyalty back in the day 

OTP - So long as it’s well written/thought out, I’m intrigued by most any pairing

nOTP - Adrestes x the Archon, though I might read it if was handled well

random headcanon - He doesn’t tell anyone, but sometimes he takes a break from being paragon to fly to Azeroth and check on the Maw Walkers himself.

unpopular opinion - I don’t think Adrestes is a popular enough character for me to have unpopular opinions of him, but maybe that I hope we see more of him in future expacs/patches? Since so much of the fanbase wants to pretend Shadowlands never happened.

song i associate with them - I’m gonna be real, I have so many songs that remind me of Renathal or Revendreth, but when it comes to Adrestes, I don’t really have one. Maybe So Close for my Adrestes in Of a Feather, though. 

favorite picture of them - Impossible to decide, especially because he wears a hood and is thus immune to my screenshot curse gift of always snapping shots when people look their worst best. I love all of @amani-outrider’s and @toastvogel’s pieces <3 And @bloobabloo’s drawings of him are great too <3 

ty again for the ask <3 

[mysdrymmumbles]

Devos: The path is wrong!

Kyrestia: Um, sweaty, I’ve been doing this for like, a billion years. You’re wrong.

Adrestes: The path needs to change.

Kyrestia: Oh shit, not the hot one, too. 

Everyone: 

Adrestes: Wait what?

Kyrestia: Youheardnothing. We are so changing the path. Be happy. Want a promotion?

Devos, from beyond the grave: T-T

[vawianwynn]

Me, grabbing me by the shirt: We are NOT into Paragon Adrestes like that! He looks like an angel and sounds kinda like Crispin Freeman and you've got your gay goggles on you stupid slut!

Also Me: Yeah but. Him big and carry you around.

Me:

[mysdrymmumbles]

Tolling Bells

This was going to be yesterday’s prompt, but I decided it didn’t focus enough on any one character so instead it’s just its own thing.

Ao3

Chyrus is the first to come visit the rededicated temple. He descends with a small entourage, their eyes sharp despite the smiles they try to bear. It was not so long ago that many of Adrestes’ new disciples had held blade against them, and despite the assurances that peace will come between the ascended and forsworn, there is tension. Lysonia did try to bend Chyrus to her will, after all. He was the only paragon to have been directly attacked, and Adrestes wonders if that is why he is the one to make the effort to appear so quickly.

Adrestes meets Chyrus in the largest open space the Temple of Devotion has to offer, and they clasp hands as though they have not seen one another in ages, rather than the few short days it has been.

It does much to bleed some of the tension from those around them though.

Chyrus is quick to compliment the temple grounds, recalling with genuine regret how damaged it had been when they had led their forces against Lysonia. His nearest disciple scans the faces around them, looking for threats.

Adrestes can understand their anxieties.

Had the forsworn merely disagreed with Bastion’s tenets, merely withdrawn from the rest of the realm, it would have been one thing. But they struck down so many good souls in their endeavors to break free. In both the Temples of Humility and Purity and in the Spires themselves.

Their civil war, no matter how brief, has cost so much already, and even with all hearts intent on mending, there is so much pain to get through first.

They must work to understand, to forgive, to have compassion.

It is going to be a difficult road, indeed.

Chyrus jokes that he has left his own compassion at his temple, though no one laughs. The forsworn know he is speaking of a blade, and his disciples are aware that he has come unarmed.

Perhaps that is why there is an escort to begin with, though Adrestes knows that it is not of Chyrus doing. Voithe is likely pacing and flying circles back at their temple, waiting for her paragon to return unharmed.

After greetings and a few updates are out of the way, Chyrus smiles at Adrestes and asks leave to make an announcement. He looks around with interest and that regular easy expression, as though he is completely comfortable with the people around him, as though he has already forgotten what so many are striving to come to terms with.

“I wanted you to know that you are welcome to come to me to continue your training,” Chyrus says, motioning to a few forsworn aspirants. “Many of you still need to finish your five rites and—while some will be seeing great changes to come—the trials of Humility are largely the same. You will be welcomed.”

A few of his disciples almost look guilty.

He leaves shortly afterwards, back to tend to his duties.

Adrestes is relieved, however, for the visit.

This is a step forward, a step toward reunification. For there to be peace, the forsworn must be accepted back, and while some do dare to fly to Elysion Hold, many seem bound to the Temple of Devotion, as though they fear what will happen to them if they step beyond its walls.

It takes about a week before a few brave aspirants head out, professing that they would very much like to get their wings, if they are able.

Of course they go with Adrestes blessing—something that feels strange to give.

He is still not used to his power, but he does his best to fill it, does his best to act with the confidence that he hopes will grow inside of him as they move forward. To be the leader of the change happening in his realm, after an eternity of a rigid, unerring course, is intimidating.

It is good to know that Chyrus has his back.

Xandria is the next to come. She is alone when she arrives, completely unconcerned for her safety. Or perhaps she simply trusts that no one here is an actual threat. It can be hard to tell with her, sometimes.

Again, Adrestes meets his fellow paragon in the most open space, the space where others can come join them, if they so choose.

Xandria is more to the point than Chyrus, though she still waits for permission before offering those in the temple a chance to come to hers. “It took a lot to stand up to something so…eternal.” Her words are pointed. “It tells me you have the courage needed to pass my rites, though what I had need of now is willing hands. The Temple of Courage struggles to rebuild from Maldraxxus’ attack, and your help will garner a great deal of good will.”

She pauses to call out two of the forsworn ascended as she goes. They are former disciples of hers, and rather than ask if they will come back, she treats them as though they have already said they will. Both seem relieved, and when she leaves, they take to the sky with her.

It feels like such simple first steps, but they help.

There has been a quiet that has plagued the Temple of Devotion, one that Adrestes has struggled with, unsure how to address it. He has given words of comfort, of inspiration to his disciples, words of unity, and yet once the bobbing heads have stilled, the hope that bubbles up in response to his words always stalls.

They have their hopes, but the matter has been what to do with them. That and just how far will hope and desire for change take them alone.

Now, there are palpable paths forward. Humility and Courage beckon. The Path is unclear at the moment, but it is reforming, slowly.

And with it, his temple comes to life. The aspirants talk of their futures, of getting their wings, and being bearers and watchers and collectors. The forsworn and kyrian ascended alike discuss their coming tasks with gathering souls and defending the realm and stopping the Jailer.

It is refreshing, and Adrestes is pleased that his words hold more weight as it becomes evident that Devotion is not isolated from the rest of the realm.

When Visephone comes to visit, it is in private. She is waiting in the higher reaches of the temple when Adrestes comes to her, gaze downward as she watches the aspirants and ascended below. Black and white feathers mix,

“We have a wall dedicated to the fallen,” she says, not looking up. “If your disciples would like to pay their respects, they are welcome to.”

Adrestes notes the way her jaw tenses as she watches a few forsworn flying a bit closer to them than the others.

“We will need to work on the vespers before the forsworn will likely want to return,” she finally says. “Their chimes are still such that it causes them pain if they are too close.” She pauses a moment before adding, “Perhaps they can bear that pain as penance when they pay their respects.”

She turns her head away then, though Adrestes is sure he catches tears in her eyes before she does so. He gives her the distance she wants, instead looking down over his temple, his disciples. “Have you been able to figure out how those who wish to remember will…”

It abruptly feels arrogant to ask.

Of all the temples, Purity is the one that will need to change the most, with accepting branching paths. Paths that allow for memories to be kept.

With all the change that is to come, Adrestes has focused on how much he must shift, from Loyalty to Devotion, and he has given little thought to how the temple hit hardest will have to do almost as much—if not more.

“If you need help—”

“Thenios is assisting me,” Visephone says, finally turning back to Adrestes. Her smile is soft and sad, but genuine. “Though I suppose some assistance from some of those taking the new path would help.” Her gaze turns toward the figures far below them. “The vespers will need adjustments.”

Adrestes offers her his hand, unsure what else to do. She blinks, surprised, and then clasps his arm, some of the sadness disappearing from her smile. He nods to her. “I will see who would be willing to go.”

Already, he thinks he will make sure that it is no one who attacked the temple. Not unless they intend to make amends for their misguided actions. Many are not ready to face those they have harmed in their quest to keep their memories.

Visephone squeezes his arm and offers him any guidance he may need, in his coming days as he settles into his new role as paragon.

Weeks go by before Thenios finally makes an appearance.

It is not as though the paragon has been avoiding Adrestes—they meet regularly during meetings with the Archon, as well as just among paragons, discussing what should be done moving forward and the like.

The first time that Adrestes sees Thenios in his temple, Thenios is in the upper reaches, much as Visephone was. Rather than inspecting the disciples below, however, Thenios stands on a small platform, surrounded with vespers. He has a smaller one in hand, thumb tracing over a few intricate runes carved into its sides.

Before Adrestes can offer a word of greeting, Thenios speaks.

“This was her favorite.”

The silence that has been bleeding from the temple atmosphere coalesces around them, almost enough to smother.

Adrestes walks over to his fellow paragon and stands beside him, inspecting the small, dark bell in his hand.

“I made it for her, eons ago,” Thenios says. “I’ve made far better ones since—and even those are nothing compared to what Visephone can muster—but she always said she liked this one’s sound the most. She said it sounded like home.”

“You should have it,” Adrestes offers. His next words come without thought. “You deserve good memories of her.”

Thenios stiffens immediately. However, before Adrestes can apologize, fingers curl gently around the bell. “It is fortunate then that I have so many.”

Well after Thenios has returned to his own temple, Adrestes stands among the remaining bells, inspecting them with care. The hardest part about moving forward is knowing what to bring with them and what should be left in the past, but he can see now, more than ever, how important it is to keep that which is precious close.

He strives to incorporate this into the teachings he is writing with the help of his disciples. Bastion will move forward, and Bastion will heal.

But to do so, it must learn from what has been lost.

And its denizens must allow themselves small comforts from the past along with their hopes for the future.

If only it can all be as simple as new scriptures and old bells.

[mysdrymmumbles]

The Polemarch’s Ghost

So, I’ve posted before about the ghosts of Bastion, but basically, if a kyrian had a particular thing that they did repetitively, the realm can sort of capture a part of their soul after they die, and that part of their soul will go through that task/patrol/whatever over and over until someone collects the anima fueling it.

Like these two: 

Well, once Adrestes gets promoted, rather than just have Paragon Adrestes give us our quests, blizz went this route: 

He was polemarch so long that even after promotion, a part of him stayed behind.