Welcome to Sanctum!

An unfamiliar face.

If this is your first visit to Sanctum, shall I show you around?

• You keep listening.

Sanctum is the capital of Elysea and is notable for floating in the air!

This fortress of the sky-dwellers was built after the Cataclysm and receives the blessing of the five Lords who protect Elysea.

(The voice recedes and is hard to hear.) Among them especially the Lords... especially... the power of the Aether... the glory of...

There are halls and plazas... Hey, do you hear? Do you hear me?

• You keep listening.

Quest: Pass the Crucible of Shadows and become a Daeva of the Sanctum Headquarters.

Hm? I think we met briefly earlier. You’re still here?

Are you perhaps afraid of Sanctum’s secrets?

Or don’t you know where to start? How about introducing yourself to the High Priestess first?

If it’s too difficult the first time, I’ll take you there.

Now, close your eyes. It might make you feel a bit dizzy, so be careful!

• You close your eyes.

Nice to meet you, Daeva.

(Smiling) You look as though you don’t know how I know your name and face.

That’s not really strange. We actually have never met before.

I’ve only seen Daeva before in a dream.

• ‘Did you see me in the High Priestess’s dream?’

(Looking into the air as if remembering) That dream was like a kind of revelation.

In the dream the Balaur finally broke through the Aetheric Field and invaded Atreia. Through their acts of violence and plunder and the wars raging everywhere, heaven and earth burned; the world sank into chaos.

Then an unusually blue and bright star crossed the sky, defeated the Balaur and saved the suffering Atreia.

It was a revelation that a new star would appear in Atreia.

Perhaps the thirteenth mentioned in the prophecies... (shakes her head) No, that would be an overly hopeful interpretation.

• You keep listening.

Be that as it may: the new star that had appeared in Atreia fell upon Sanctum, and scarcely had I awakened from that daydream when Daeva stood before me.

As if you had received a revelation.

(With a smile) You look rather embarrassed.

Well, how about this?

• You keep listening.

The Sanctum Headquarters are preparing an advance into Balaurea to face our long-standing arch-enemies, the Balaur, in direct combat.

That’s why they’re recruiting capable Daevas; if you’re interested, why not go there and receive training?

And if Daeva grows up to become one of Atreia’s stars, won’t my revelation be proven right?

• You nod.

Another new Daeva has arrived.

Did you come here because you heard about High Priestess Jucleas’ daydreams?

If you expected something, I’m sorry, but quite a few Daevas have come because of such tales.

You’re here to receive training, aren’t you?

• You keep listening.

You know that our home is called Atreia and that the world outside the Aetheric Field is called Balaurea, a land ruled by the Dragon Lords, right?

Recently the situation in Balaurea has been unsettled. The constellation of a long-stagnant power is changing...

Therefore we plan to send only a small elite of Daevas to Balaurea, who can adapt to rapid changes and are capable of carrying out missions.

Only Daevas with outstanding endurance, intelligence and ability may go to Balaurea.

• You keep listening.

You make a face as if you want to know what else Daevas need besides combat skills.

For example, something like this.

If you are infiltrated into an enemy position to steal tactical plans, you need eyes that can recognise which document is important.

If you are isolated somewhere, you need the ability to find an escape route.

• You keep listening.

Do you now more or less understand why you need training beyond combat?

Then go to the Library of the Sages and meet the universal scholar Fuchsia. She will help you.

By the way: For Daevas specialised in combat, this training can be very arduous and harsh. If you therefore don’t absolutely want to undertake it, you can skip it.

There are no disadvantages if you skip it, but if you complete the training diligently, you will receive compensation for your effort. Think it over carefully and decide.

For those who do not want to learn, science is like torture...

• Take language training.
• Skip language training.

Hm, a new face.

You don’t seem to have come for books. What brings you to me?

• I have come to undergo the Crucible training.

Ah, so you have come to receive training in enemy reconnaissance.

I don’t know Daeva well yet, but there are different factions not only in Atreia but also in Balaurea.

Krall, Mau, Kobold and Skurv, as well as Shugo, Shulack and even Drakan...

Above all, you should know the languages of the Krall, the Mau and the Balaur. If you understand their languages, it will help with espionage operations or assessing the situation.

But it’s too time-consuming and difficult to learn on your own, so I’ll briefly explain the key points to you.

• You keep listening.

First, the Krall. The Krall also use, in basic form, the language of Atreia, like us humans/Daevas.

Their pronunciation is rougher than ours, and their words and sentences, like their intelligence and behaviour, are rather simple.

It is also typical that they append onomatopoeic sounds like ‘krak! kruruk!’ or metallic noises at the end of sentences.

• You keep listening.

The Mau are one of the Sapien races that follow the Balaur; learning their language will help in espionage operations or when interrogating enemies.

Like the Krall, the Mau also use the language of Atreia as a lingua franca. However, they are somewhat more intelligent than the Krall and command more agile sentence constructions.

At the end of sentences they often add plaintive cries like ‘kreong!’ or growling sounds... Are you listening to me?

• She nods, albeit a little belatedly.

(suspiciously glancing) Hmm, next up are the Balaur. The basis of their language is Old Atreian.

The language we use now is based on Old Atreian and was adapted for the Elyos; Balaurian is, how shall I say, closer to the ancient tongue...

So, from the Balaur’s appearance alone one might think their language is rough and plain, but that’s not the case. In some respects it even uses more complex and more ornate embellishments than our Elyos tongue...

Hm? Are you nodding off?

• You categorically deny it.

Hm, would you like to continue listening to the lecture?

Or would you prefer to learn the language through my attribute magic?

If you’d rather hear a lecture, let’s begin together with when the Atreian language had its origin.

Come closer if you want to learn; close your eyes if you wish to absorb the language via attribute magic.

• You politely close your eyes.

(giggles) Truly, you are an extraordinarily honest person.

(concentrating, murmuring a spell) There, done.

Because it’s attribute magic that only grants basic language knowledge, it will be hard to understand at first; but if you listen often enough, your hearing will eventually open up.

Now that the language has been covered: how about finding a method to continue your training?

Meet the stigma master Mirya. She will tell you about stigmas.

• You end the conversation.

Are you training to travel to Balaurea?

In Balaurea, Daevas undertake many missions and roles, but in the end what counts most is your combat prowess.

Then you should definitely use stigmas.

Have you ever heard of stigmas?

• You say that you don’t know.

Stigma stones aren’t just pretty to look at.

They contain the power and the spirit of great Daevas who fell in battle for Sanctum.

It is a great honour to bear stigmas because through them we make direct contact with those who have died.

In this way I help to ensure that we remember the will of our ancestors.

• You keep listening.

Do you know the proverb ‘seeing is better than believing’?

It means that hearing something a hundred times is not the same as seeing it once.

So, I’ll give you this stigma and a stigma shard. Please equip them once.

• You end the conversation.

You equipped the stigma.

How does it feel? Do you feel that something has changed?

• You say that you don’t know.

That may well be the case.

But if you can no longer become stronger through mere training, the stigma and the souls of the ancestors resting within it will make you more powerful.

If you want to equip the stigma, come by anytime.

Now that combat training is over, meet Lavirintos. He will be waiting for you.

• You end the conversation.

You don’t seem to have equipped the stigma yet.

Caution is good, but sometimes you have to run before you can walk.

Try out the stigma and then come back to me.

• You end the conversation.

Hm, Daeva, I’ve been waiting for you.

Is your training going well?

I heard you’d had stigma training; that’s why I called you here to give you useful information for use in combat.

• You keep listening.

Combat is about more than just health and mana. As a Daeva you also need to learn to deal with divine power.

You look like you’ve never heard that term before.

Divine power is also referred to as DP. Did you know that only Daevas can use divine power?

But it cannot be restored naturally, in contrast to your health and mana. It is only refilled through combat or eating jelly.

You can store a maximum of 4,000 DP.

• You keep listening.

Once you’ve stored up some divine power, you can use your Divine Power Skill.

Each class has its own DP skill, so you should make sure you learn about yours.

It isn’t easy to use DP skills, but they are very powerful. If you’re good at using your divine power, you can gain a decisive advantage in combat.

Any questions, noble Daeva?

• You say no.

Your expression gives no clue as to whether you’re arrogant or entirely ignorant.

Well, you’ll find that out soon.

I haven’t seen a recruit like this in a long time... Whether that’s good or bad will depend on you from now on.

For now, you have passed.

Now go and meet Governor Fasimedes.

• You end the conversation.

Hm, you are the Daeva that High Priestess Jucleas recommended.

You completed the Crucible training at the Sanctum, didn’t you?

How was the training? Was it manageable?

• You say it wasn’t especially difficult.

Confidence is good, but you should cultivate a bit more humility.

You began as a recruit and are now a proper Daeva. Can I trust you to watch our backs?

Welcome to the Sanctum Headquarters as a Daeva.

Shortly after your arrival in Sanctum, while speaking with a sentry, you experience ringing in your ears and dizziness and are transported to the Sanctuary of Between.

There you undergo training to pass the Crucible of Shadows training, the fiery ordeal imposed by the Lord of Light and Darkness.

When the training ends, you are returned to Sanctum as if nothing had happened and are summoned by the High Priestess to be trained as a participant in the Crucible training.

To prepare for the advance into Balaurea you receive language training, stigma training and DP training (Divine Power training), after which you meet Governor Fasimedes.

Governor Fasimedes welcomes you as a Daeva of the Sanctum Headquarters and encourages you to serve the Elyos in the future.