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The Earthen's Fading Memories - Allied Race Unlock Side Quest in the Isle of Dorn
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In a side quest on the Isle of Dorn, players experience firsthand how the Earthen grapple with memory loss and death as we aid one of their Caretakers for one final trip.
Content Warning: This questline deals with heavy subjects surrounding allegories to dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
While the main story is the primary vessel of learning the history of the Earthen, one of the questlines required for unlocking them as an Allied Race takes place in the Mourning Rise in the lands beyond Dornogal, where we meet Caretakers in the midst of aiding their fellow Earthen into their final rest.
As we learn through our questing in the Isle of Dorn and the Ringing Deeps, the Earthen currently face a crisis on two fronts. First, the Machine of Awakening that renews them is not currently working, meaning their typically immortal forms are now doomed to one day shut down. Second, the Machine of Awakening itself comes with a caveat: when an Earthen enters it to renew their energies, the memories beyond their pre-programmed duties are wiped from the gems at their core.
In large part, it is this strict adherence to losing a sense of self that defines the two Earthen factions, the Oathsworn and the Unbound. While neither group is able to undergo the Machine's processes at present, the Unbound have no desire to do so even if it were possible, as they wish to keep the memories within their gems. They choose instead to live their lives outside the bounds of the Edicts, a path that ends the same as any true mortal: with death.
Urtago and Korgran
It is that concept of death that leads us to this questline, where we first meet Urtago in the Crossroads Plaza outside the city. She has come there to request aid in routing the Candlelit Kobolds that have overtaken Mourning Rise. While she promises answers, she rushes off in a hurry, citing how little time they have left in whatever task she wishes for us to help with.
As we arrive at Fallside Outpost, we meet the source of her urgency: the head Caretaker named Korgran. As we talk with him, it is clear that he is suffering from issues with his memory, not even knowing if he'd met us before or not. Despite that, he makes it clear that he intends to shut down soon, and pass leadership of their retreat over to Urtago.
Before he can do that, however, he wishes to solve the issue with the kobolds, but Urtago insists that she do it herself and spare him the trouble. Despite his worries, he accepts her offer, and we go with her to clear out Mourning Rise, the site where many Unbound Earthen are laid to rest either by choice or after an untimely demise. Among those are the Caretakers who came before Korgran, but while he feels it is his duty to clear out Mourning Rise, he does not wish to shut down there. Instead, you can find a note inside his house that describes how he wishes to eschew tradition and shut down in a place of personal meaning for himself by the isle's shoreline.
While our troubles with the kobolds are dealt with swiftly, over the course of our fighting we see Urtago espouse the importance of the Rise's traditions, and how the kobolds are trampling upon them. In all practical respects, Urtago has taken up the role of Caretaker from Korgran, and we see here that she is more than capable of carrying out the duties in his stead. The question in her head remains however; is she ready to do so without Korgran?
One Last Tradition
As we return from our victory against the kobolds, we see Korgran and Urtago discussing the location of Korgran's final shutdown. Korgran wishes to be in a place that gives him joy, not sadness, but Urtago insists that Mourning Rise is the traditional place to shut down. Korgran retorts with an important message to his apprentice, and perhaps his last: they chose to be Unbound to free themselves from the edicts that shackled them, not to simply bind themselves to new ones.
Despite that, Korgran wishes to undergo one last tradition with his mind intact. He wishes to forge an item that is meaningful to him, which in his case is a lantern that reminds him of his time before he chose to become Unbound. As we craft it with him, we can see his memory begin to slip before our eyes. He forgets the name of the only city he has ever known, the player's name, and even the task right in front of him as he performs it. In the time before his final moments, the person he was has begun to slip from his mind.
While we manage to finish the lantern, Korgran enters into a state of hazy panic shortly after, believing himself to be a much younger man from before he had met Urtago. When she tries to calm him, he is incited into panic at the 'stranger' before him, and flees into the wilderness. Blaming herself for not keeping an eye on him, Urtago bids us find him.
We eventually do find Korgran, along with his newly forged lantern, which he has discarded and forgotten the meaning of. As he warily approaches us, we help him slowly regain a grasp on his memories. We start slow, letting him think things through, before showing him the lantern to jog his memory. Once he has begun to remember, we remind him of Urtago's name, and guide him over to her. Through patience and calm explanations, the player is able to bring Korgran back to a state of relative lucidity, so that he might complete his final task.
Korgran's Final Rest
While he is able to follow without panic, Korgran is still in need of guidance, and Urtago ultimately accepts her teacher's request and brings him out to the shore to be put to rest. Using the same gentle explanations we did, she explains the shore's meaning that Korgran has forgotten. When we arrive, Korgran the sounds and feelings help him recall more of why he wished to shut down there, and grants him further lucidity to pass the torch fully to Urtago.
While she is hesitant to let him go, especially with his memory still fading, Urtago tasks us with crafting the horn that will signal the passing of the torch to her. When we return with it, the ceremony commences. After a brief moment, Korgran recites the words and passes his title. With his final act complete, Korgran is free to shed all his burdens and pass on.
In his final moments, his thoughts are complicated. He is glad to be in a spot he loves, but wishes he had explore more beyond the Isle of Dorn. He accepts the inevitability of nature in the spot he has chosen, and hold his lantern up to guide the way for others as he shuts down.
With her dear friend gone, Urtago has but one more task to perform with us as the new Caretaker. Returning to Fallside Outpost, we help her create her first plaque, inscribing Korgran's name and deeds to sit alongside him at his final resting place, just as the Caretakers before them had in Mourning Rise. Amidst its forging, Urtago reflects upon what she had learned from her mentor -- and what she would have to learn for herself now that he is gone.
In the end, Korgran is given a peaceful end, and Urtago is given peace of mind to continue without him. The plaque at his resting spot now hangs on the lantern, and Korgran is remembered for the Unbound that he was, even if the man himself did not.
Korgran stands in the shallows, his once warm eyes now locked in a gaze of wonder at the horizon as his lantern sways with the gentle ocean breeze.
A small ornate plaque hangs on the lantern. It reads:
Here stands Caretaker Korgran in his final shutdown.
May his forever rest not be dictated by tradition, but rather by choice.
- Caretaker Urtago
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