Tyranny: Fall of the Archons

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the trial of Graven Ashe complete, Tunon the Archon of Justice then put Shelumu on trial for betraying Kyros and found him guilty! To enact this death sentence both Tunon and the executor and Archon of Shadows, Bleden Mark, attacked Shelumu and Sirin. Thanks to Sirin's increased power, the Archons of Justice and Shadow fell in combat leaving the victors free to return to their home spire.

"I guess that makes me the last archon!" laughed Sirin giddily. "Indeed," replied Shelumu in a measured tone. "About that..."

Only a fool would keep a potential traitor alive.

With the next of Kyros forces assembling at the border, Shelumu turned to the ancient device to cast his next Edict - one that would throw Kyros armies into retreat and inspire many others in the Kingdom of Kyros to begin openly rebelling against the overlord. It was time to see just what Kyros was made of.

Shelumu grinned.

Insight: Archon wise, I found Graven Ashe to be the easiest to fight while Bleden Mark was the hardest. If you play your cards right (which I didn't in either play through) you can probably end the game without fighting ANY of them which is really cool!

Tyranny: Of Secrets and War

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The Voices of Nerat, Archon of Secrets, didn't expect Verse's will to be so strong. She overpowered his mind and took over his body. Loyal to Shelumu, the Voices of Verse then took all the remaining Scarlet Chorus for an all out assault on the Disfavored main base and Barik went with her to confront his ex-commander and Archon of War, Graven Ashe. Shelumu and Sirin wished them luck and instead headed to Tunon's court to angle for a different type of victory.

The battle is fierce and Ashe's ability is to protect his soldiers makes them a force to be reckoned as Chorus suffer terrible losses. Graven Ashe personally manages to trip Verse over and smash her head like a watermelon with his giant maul and then proceeds to smash Barik's armor off one swing at a time. Suddenly, Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows appears and whisks Graven Ashe away... and right into Tunon's court where the Archon of Justice finds him guilty of sedition and war crimes thanks to evidence presented by Shelumu.

Tunon is ready to play GTFO.

The Archon of Shadows immediately carries out the sentence and executes Graven Ashe. Unfortunately this means all those once protected by the Archon of War suffer the same fate in an explosive fashion, leaving Barik the sole survivor in the camp, free of his cursed armor but broken in the mind amidst the bodies of his half sibling and his previous brothers and sisters in arms. All he can do is scream.

Insight: Verse is actually the first companion you can kill, with the same scripted death as the above. Finishing her quest lines to avoid the boss fight against Nerat is handy though. In combat she has a few handy combo moves that are nice (the one with Barik especially) but needs some management as she is not too tough. Meanwhile Barik is great as a tank, but is easily replaced by Killsy who can tank AND DPS. Also, its a pain to get that armor off him (for both Barik and the player).

Tyranny: Of Blood and Hunger

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the war in full swing, Eb and Kills-in-Shadow return to Lethian's Crossing to aid their forces in repelling a massive Disfavored attack. Eb's tide casting is handy in putting out the fires while the beast woman tears into the enemy force... until she is killed by Lucia. This rallies the Disfavored forces to victory and forcing the rebels to surrender. To further teach them a lesson, Lucia executes Eb in front of them.

Lucia's celebration is short lived however, as Bleden Mark the Archon of Shadows catches her in the privy soon after and slits her throat for Kyros, taking with him the Silent Archive.  

Don't mess with the Archon of Shadows.

Meanwhile Verse had come up with a plan to handle the Voices of Nerat so she, Shelumu, Barik and Sirin push on to the main Scarlet Chorus base to confront him, a surprisingly easy task due to the low number of guards. Nerat knows he is on the back foot and offers a deal - he and the Chorus will withdraw from the region if Verse gives herself up and she agrees.

The Voices of Nerat devours her on the spot.

Insight: You can execute Eb much earlier, after the battle for Ascension Hall. Kills-in-Shadow is a little trickier as you can only eliminate her in the later part and only if you are too friendly with Graven Ashe and the Disfavored. Eb is an ok mage but not much of a loss (I rarely used her), but Killsy is an excellent and ultra mobile DPS machine (titan tree) so think hard if you really want her gone.

Tyranny: Of Stone and Fire

[Part of the Cursed story line]

A broken Barik, on a suicide mission against the Chorus, eventually found his way to Shelumu in the Stone Sea and thanks to Verse (who turns out to be his half sister) convinces the soldier to join the rebel team. There they also manage to convince a tribe of earth shakers to join their growing alliance by breaking the Edict of Stone and putting their leader to rest. As a side effect, this also ruined the already low crop supply of the main Chorus camp nearby.

Enraged, the Voices of Nerat unleashes the Chorus horde upon Shelumu, but thanks to Eb's studies of the ancient devices atop the spires, Shelumu manages to halt their advance by recasting the Edict of Stone! This kills over three quarters of the attacking force, causing the rest to flee. Admittedly, this does fix their low food issue thanks to the fewer mouths AND the return of fertile ground.

Elsewhere Lucia found herself back in the Burning Library, which was still ablaze with the Edict of Fire she herself had proclaimed years before. Kyros' intention was for the fires to continue until all the forbidden knowledge in the library was gone, but with the Chorus trying to save said knowledge to strengthen themselves in the war she had no option but to take a more hands on approach, eventually finding the last remaining item called the Silent Archive - a magic scroll that knew the answers to almost everything.

Well, that looks like a trap.

Despite strict orders to destroy everything, she opts to take the powerful artifact for herself. As soon as she leaves the library the Edict of Fire ends, as all the forbidden knowledge within is gone. While the Disfavored are easily fooled about its destruction, her crime does not go unnoticed by the Archon of Shadows, Bleden Mark, who is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Insight: When fighting people I normally go for two handers and mages first, followed by the weaker scout types and leave the tanks for last. Regular bane wise, I find the red ones scarier than the blue so I always burst them down first. It's all about enemy DPS mitigation.

Tyranny: The Bane

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the armies back in their respective camps, Tunon summons both Shelumu and Lucia to his court for a debriefing all while under the watchful eye of the executor, Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows. When questioned why he sided with the rebels, Shelumu argues that peaceful subjugation is better than outright conquest - a concept Tunon agrees with, thus the Archon of Justice allows him to continue helping them, for now.

Tunon then tasks the pair with investigating both Graven Ashe and the Voices of Nerat for any broken laws they or their forces have committed before sending them on their way with Lucia travelling to Sentinel Stand to help the Disfavored reinforce their base there while Shelumu heads to Lethian's Crossing to secure supplies for the rebellion.

In the small town Shelumu encounters Sirin, the Archon of Song, who has defected and is hiding from the chorus. It is an easy task to convince her to join his party as they end up exploring the nearby Old Walls - ancient structures that normally are forbidden by law to enter, mainly because they house magical "spirits" known as the bane. While doing so, Shelumu manages to activate a second spire.

Any time you see a bubble, it means boss fight!

At the same time, Lucia also deals with the bane in walls that have been breached by the Edict of Storms in an effort to claim an artifact that will help break the edict once and for all.

Insight: The Old Walls are the combat orientated "dungeon" section of the game with a small set of puzzles while the overland areas are mostly dialogue choices peppered with optional combats. So yes, there is A LOT of reading in this game!