Welcome to Pandaemonium!

A face I haven’t seen before.

If this is your first visit to Pandaemonium, shall I show you around a little?

• You keep listening.

Pandaemonium is the capital of Asmodae and was built on the island where, before the Cataclysm, the temples of the highest rulers stood!

This stronghold of the Asmodians is under the protection of the five rulers who guard Asmodae.

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

There are assembly halls and... squares... Hello? De...? Are you listening to me?

• You keep listening.

Command: Overcome the Crucible of Shadows and become a Daeva of the Pandaemonium Headquarters.

Hm? I think we’ve met briefly before. So you’re still here?

Have you perhaps been intimidated by Pandaemonium’s mysteries?

Or don’t you know where to begin? How about paying your respects to the High Priestess first?

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

Now, please close your eyes. You might feel a little dizzy, so be careful!

• You close your eyes.

Greetings, Daeva.

(Smiling) You seem surprised, as if you don’t know how I know your name and face.

That’s not so unusual. We really are meeting for the first time.

It’s just that I first saw you in a dream, Daeva.

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

(As if remembering, she stares into the void.) That dream was like a revelation.

In the dream the Balaur ultimately breached the Aetheric Field and descended upon Atreia. Their wanton pillaging and the wars that erupted everywhere set heaven and earth alight and plunged the world into chaos.

Then the heavens split and an unusually bright blue star appeared, which defeated the Balaur and saved Atreia, which cried out in pain.

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

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

• You keep listening.

Be that as it may: the new star that had appeared in Atreia crashed down on Pandaemonium, and scarcely had I awakened from that daydream when you, Daeva, stood before me.

It seems you have received a revelation.

(smiles) You look very embarrassed.

How about this?

• You keep listening.

The Pandaemonium Headquarters are preparing an advance into Balaurea to engage in direct conflict with our long-time arch-enemies, the Balaur.

Therefore talented Daevas are being recruited. If you’re interested, how about going there to undertake some training?

If Daeva grows up there and becomes one of Atreia’s stars, wouldn’t that confirm my revelation?

• You nod.

There’s another new Daeva.

Have you come here because of High Priestess Balder’s visions as well?

If you had expectations, I’m sorry, but there are quite a few Daevas who came because of those stories.

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

• You keep listening.

You surely know that we call this place Atreia, and that the world outside the Aetheric Field, a land dominated by the Balaur realms, is called Balaurea?

Recently the situation in Balaurea has been uneasy. The balance of power of a faction long stuck in stagnation seems to be shifting...

Therefore we plan to send only a small elite of Daevas with adaptability and operational competence into Balaurea.

Only Daevas with outstanding physical strength, intelligence and skills can go to Balaurea.

• You keep listening.

You may be wondering what else Daevas need besides combat ability.

For example, the following.

If you’re sent on an operation to infiltrate enemy territory and steal tactical plans, you need an eye for which documents are important.

If you become isolated somewhere, you also need the ability to find escape routes.

• You keep listening.

Do you understand now why, besides combat training, you should train other skills as well?

Then go to the Temple of Knowledge and meet the Grand Sage Cavalorn. He will help you.

By the way: for Daevas specialised in combat, this training can be very exhausting and tough. If you don’t absolutely want to do it, you can skip it.

If you skip it there is no disadvantage, but if you complete the training conscientiously you’ll receive a small reward. Think it over and decide.

For one who does not wish to learn, knowledge is like torture...

• Accept language training.
• Skip language training.

Hm, a face I’ve never seen before.

You don’t look like you’ve come for books. What brings you to me?

• You say you came to undergo the Crucible training.

Ah, so you’re here to undergo training in enemy reconnaissance.

Perhaps Daeva doesn’t know them well yet, but there are many peoples not only in Atreia but also in Balaurea.

Krall, Mau, Kobold and Skurv, and of course Shugo, Shulack and even Drakan...

In particular, you should know the languages of the Krall, the Mau and the Balaur. Understanding their languages helps with espionage operations and assessing the situation.

Alone that would take too long and be too difficult, so I’ll briefly explain the main points to you.

• You keep listening.

First, the Krall. Like us humans and the Daeva, the Krall basically use the Atreia language.

However, their pronunciation is a little rougher than ours, and their language and sentence structures are, like their intelligence and behaviour, rather simple.

It is also typical for them to append onomatopoeic sounds like ‘krak! krürr!’ or metallic noises at the ends of sentences.

• You keep listening.

The Mau are one of the sapiens races that follow the Balaur. Learning their language helps with espionage and interrogating enemies.

Like the Krall, the Mau use the Atreia language as a common tongue. However they are somewhat more intelligent than the Krall and employ a more refined mode of expression.

At the end of a sentence they often emit a howl- or growl-like sound such as ‘kheong!’... Are you still listening to me?

• He nods, albeit a little late.

*eyeing you suspiciously* Hmm, well, further on in the text it says – the Balic tongue: This is still deeply rooted in the old language of Atreia.

The Asmodic language that we speak today has developed over hundreds of years from old Atreian, and has almost none of the older language’s traits. This is in stark contrast to Balaurian, which has hardly changed at all.

If we were to judge the Balaur by their looks alone, we would be making a huge mistake: their language is nobler and more poetic than most asmodic expressions!

Hold on... are you falling asleep?!

• (You shake your head vigorously.)

Hm, would you like to hear more instruction?

Or do you want to learn the language through my magical ability?

If you prefer lessons, then let’s begin together with when the language of Atreia began.

Come closer to learn, and if you want to learn the language through the trait, close your eyes.

• (You politely close your eyes.)

(chuckles) What an honest fellow you are.

(Concentrating as he casts a spell) There, done.

It’s only trait-magic by which one can acquire basic language knowledge; at first you will understand very little, but if you listen often enough, your ears will eventually open.

Good, the language is settled. How about we now find a way to train you further?

Meet the stigma master Aud. She will explain everything about stigma.

• You end the conversation.

You’re training to go to Balaurea?

In Balaurea Daevas do take on many tasks and roles, but ultimately combat ability is most important.

For that you should definitely make use of stigma.

Have you ever heard of stigmas?

• You say that you don’t know.

Stigma stones aren’t just pretty to look at.

They are filled with the power and spirit of great Daevas who fell in battles against Pandaemonium.

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 a hundred times is not as good as seeing once.

Well, I’ll give you this stigma stone and a stigma shard; try equipping them once.

• You end the conversation.

You tried to equip a stigma.

How is it? Do you feel in any way changed?

• You say that you don’t know.

That may still be the case for now.

But when you can no longer get stronger through mere training, stigma and the souls of the ancestors dwelling within it will make you more powerful.

Drop by anytime if you want to equip a stigma.

So, combat training is now over; please meet Kvasir. He will be waiting for you.

• You end the conversation.

It seems you haven’t equipped a stigma yet.

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

Try equipping a 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 received stigma training; I called you to give useful information that can be applied 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.

I cannot say whether you are overconfident or know nothing at all.

Well, you’ll find that out soon.

I haven’t seen a recruit like this in a long time... whether that’s a good thing or not... that will be up to you from now on, won’t it?

For now I’ll give you a ‘Pass’.

Then visit the Governor Vidar.

• You end the conversation.

Ah, so you are the Daeva High Priestess Balder recommended.

Did you complete the Pandaemonium Crucible training?

How was the training? Was it manageable?

• You say it wasn’t especially difficult.

It’s good that you’re confident, but a little more humility would do you good.

By the way, you’ve advanced from recruit to a fully fledged Daeva. Could we entrust our backs to you?

Welcome as a Daeva to Pandaemonium headquarters.

As you had just arrived in Pandaemonium and were speaking with an administrative guard, you were overcome by ringing in your ears and dizziness, and you were transported to the Sanctuary of Between.

There you underwent training to pass the Crucible of Shadows imposed by the rulers of Light and Darkness.

When the training ended, you were returned to Pandaemonium as if nothing had happened, and at the High Priestess’s summons you were trained as a Crucible recruit of Pandaemonium.

You receive language training, stigma training and DP training in preparation for the advance into Balaurea, and then meet Governor Vidar.

Vidar welcomed you as a Daeva of the Pandaemonium Headquarters and encouraged you to put yourself at the service of the Asmodians in future.