#ignore the dumb little star wars reference at the end i didn't know how to wrap this up

[manchblack]

I want to hear your pet theory of Nas'hrah convincing Nosramus to leave the fellowship

That would cure my soul I think

HI can i just say this absolutely made my day i didn't think anyone would actually ask me about this. super happy to see people are actually interested, i've been thinking about this for a while now! alright on with my funny little nerd theory glasses.

Okay, so.

In the book of the fellowship, we are told that Nosramus is tricked by the Older Gods into not finishing their ascension alongside the rest, by being told a "lie" about the true nature of it—that, of course, being that the New Gods were a scam that only existed to trap humanity in a loop. We know from later in the game that this is in fact the case, and that the golden throne is a way for the Old Gods to keep humanity complacent.

Here's the thing. If the New God cycle is a trick by the Old Gods to keep humanity in place, it wouldn't make any sense for them to be the ones to tell Nosramus the truth. That'd go against the whole point of the New Gods in the first place, they'd have nothing to gain from it.

You know who would have something to gain from it, though?

It's implied that Nas'hrah became disillusioned with being a New God before the fellowship even came along, given his hostile relationship with the other New Gods and his refusal to join them in The Hall after the fact. It'd make perfect sense for him to be the one to dissuade Nosramus from ascending—especially given that he does the exact same thing in game, if the player has him in their party once they reach the throne room. It's actually one of the most genuine interactions you can have with him.

Let's go back to the book and what it says Nosramus was told.

"The grand lie told of the way the older gods directed the flow of mankind. That many had gone before the same trials as the fellowship. Yet nothing had changed for the better for men as eons went by."

And then let's look at some of Nas'hrah's dialogue from when you (or Le'garde) reach the throne.

"New gods are in fact just a creation of the rules of the old. They are there to guide mankind like a cattle to the slaughtering ground."

"... But doing so won't change a thing. It would just start a new cycle that would eventually reach the very same conclusion."

It starts to look very familiar, doesn't it? It's almost like Nas'hrah has given this exact speech before.

It also adds a fun pipeline of sorts to all the enlightened soul characters. Nas'hrah convinces Nosramus not to ascend to godhood, so in turn Nosramus convinces Enki of the same.

It's like poetry. It rhymes. Something like that.