#im one insane step away from asking the dogma social media account or itsuno for clarification lmao

[wokestone]

I really appreciate your dig into this! <3 This game is gonna drive me mad with these inconsistencies, especially since it's a game series that asks you to dig deeper lol.

For posterity, here is the NPC dialogue I mentioned at the masquerade:

The only other shaky thoughts I had were the definition of "consul" and "regent", which admittedly in a fantasy setting can mean whatever the heck they want it to be, but:

I'm still getting tied up on the word "consul" being used by Brant and that generic NPC dialogue (from Oswald) in particular, which seems to generally mean an elected/appointed representative position rather than on the same level as divinely chosen Sovran. Unless they really intend for "consul" and "Sovran" to be used interchangeably?

Disa does indeed have the title of "queen-regent", but it has me wondering if all past non-Sovran rulers are considered regents by default; perhaps her husband was known as the "king-regent" and the "regent" role means they're just acting in place until the next Sovran arrives? Disa might have manipulated things to be appointed as queen-regent after her husband's death considering Brant implies she was pretty much already running things while Vernworth was under her husband's rule already.

But this does bring up the question of how she's able to just pass the role onto her young, inexperienced son like the consul role is inheritable like she's just temporarily holding onto power until it can be given to the true inheritor (her son). This, I haven't a clue and requires more speculation and assumptions on how the governing of this damn kingdom is done lol. Perhaps she or other past nobles manipulated the consul role to be inheritable as a psuedo-monarchy without a Sovran around? Unfortunately I don't have enough lore to know for sure.

But yeah, that's just my food for thought.

(Side note, Sven needs more melanin if this Sovran is his dad.)

Depictions of Past Arisen (and various thoughts)

Was walking around Bakbattahl and noticed this mural depicting Rothias, the first Sovran (left), and a second figure (right). Considering they too are standing triumphant on top of a dragon, I assumed they must be Arisen too.

I had also collected some photos of the throne room's stain glass windows depicting the past Sovrans: a humanized Rothias, the 2nd Sovran (presumably the Arisen that Rothias said sealed him under the sea), the 3rd Sovran (the one from the Bakbattahl mural!), the 4th Sovran, and the 5th Sovran.

This makes us (or Darraugh/"Arthur"), the 6th Sovran in line.

Based on the dress of the 3rd Arisen and their appearance in Bakbattahl art, I can only assume Bakbattahl wanted to pay tribute to the Sovrans that originated from their land, so the rest are likely of Vermund origin.

The only other lore that I am aware of exists about past Sovrans is that with the underground library crypt, Waldhar says it was sealed by a Sovran "of generations past" that "in a bid to pass the throne on to his own descendants, this Sovran attempted to consign our kingdom's histories to oblivion" and that this "Sovran's line ultimately fell to ruin." Considering how forgotten this library is, I'd estimate maybe 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Sovran did that? 5th Sovran might be of too recent memory, because based on ambient NPC dialogue at the masquerade, it's been "decades" since they last had a true Sovran.

(This is speculation, but perhaps the beastren were run out of Vermund after blaming Mad Sovran for killing random people he thought were the Pathfinder, and thus the kingdom split in two? Perhaps the 2nd Sovran didn't help matters either.)

Interesting of note is each Sovran depiction hints at the types of vocations they might have favored.

Rothias - Greatsword (Warrior), Stave (Mage/Sorcerer), Duospear (Mystic Spearhand). The depiction of him over the throne appears to be have just a regular longsword, so Fighter too perhaps? Would make sense that Rothias would be an accomplished Arisen who mastered multiple vocations.

2nd Sovran - Stave (Mage/Sorceror); makes sense if they had the magick to seal away Rothias

3rd Sovran - Sword and Shield (Fighter) and Dagger (Thief)

4th Sovran - Stave (Mage/Sorcerer)

5th Sovran - Greatsword (Warrior)

I also had the thought - had any of these Sovran taken the Dragon's deal like Edmund did in Dark Arisen, which extends your life? Considering we aren't aware of any prolonged longevity past Rothias, they might have all successfully slain the Dragon and reclaimed their hearts. Rothias for sure did since he rose to Seneschal, and if the 2nd Sovran did indeed have the power to seal Rothias under the sea, I can only assume they were of strong enough will to be able to defeat their Dragon too. It is possible that perhaps any that took the Dragon's deal might have perished through other means (murder, accident, disease, etc.). While Ser Brant says Disa poisoned/cursed you and sent you away because an Arisen "can't be killed by mortal hands", I assume this to be meddling by the Pathfinder or a deeply believed superstition, and perhaps once an Arisen has claimed Sovranhood through a deal with the Dragon, Pathfinder stops caring about protecting their immortal ass lol.

Other miscellaneous depictions of Sovrans at the palace, and in the world:

Above the throne itself. Another human depiction of Rothias, along with (presumedly) kneeled pawns wielding weapons.

2. Rothias' statue as depicted in Battahl, with the head of the statue preserved and not knocked off to hide Rothias' true heritage like in Vermund.

3. On top of the Vermund palace. I can't fit this one to any one specific Sovran, so it might be a symbolic representation of one wearing the Stygian Omen armor because they're missing Rothias' beard. Considering Darraugh was wearing the armor, I assume it to be a flawed recreation based on the statues of Rothias' armor (considering the actual Sovran's Plate is a very similar but slightly different set).

4. Fountain of the 1st Sovran - a human Rothias wielding a duospear and wearing the Stygian Omen armor.

If any of you know any Sovran lore I'm missing, please let me know!