#i could do a whole other post on the way ranni handles marika in the age of stars ending

[mastersofunlocking]

at first i thought it was kinda silly that ranni is so upfront with you/the tarnished about everything but in retrospect i see now that it was probably bc ranni was scared of ending up like radagon

now ofc we as players know that radagon had no choice in leaving rennala but ranni does not have that foreknowledge. they were a family, they were happy, radagon loved them and they loved him. one day that was all cast aside in favour of a ‘greater purpose’ and it begged the question: was it always going to end up like this? were they always living on borrowed time? it wasn’t radagon leaving that broke their family, it was the silence that followed. rennala went insane trying to fill it.

so ranni tries to prevent leaving that same silence in her wake; she tells you outright that she is the one that stole death, that the path laid out for her entails leaving behind everything you know, and during the final moments of her quest she even gives you an out:

As it is now, life, and souls, and order are bound tightly together, but I would have them at great remove.

And have the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch... All become impossibilities. Which is why I would abandon this soil, with mine order. Wouldst thou come to me, even now, my one and only lord?

it’s so interesting to me that she only asks you this at the tail end of her quest. after all, you’ve done enough to show your loyalty and understanding of her cause by this point, but that’s probably what rennala thought, too, isn't it? that radagon couldn't possibly leave her, not after putting aside the war to marry her. he shirked duty for love — it had to have been stronger than his obligations. it wasn't.

and so ranni is laying it bare once more: the path has already been set and she has always intended to walk it. she loves you, but that can only do so much in the face of duty. her asking you if you would still come with her knowing all that doing so would entail is her telling you that.

so, yeah. ranni isn't comically bad at keeping secrets, she just listened to like him by tyler the creator one too many times