As the Blazing Sun

As the Blazing Sun is the first act of Mavuika's Story Quest, the Sol Invictus Chapter. In order to unlock this quest line, the player needs a Story Key, must have completed , and reached Adventure Rank 40.
During the Story Quest, the Traveler and Mavuika learn from Citlali that the first Pyro Archon, Lord Xbalanque, is returning to Natlan.
==List of Quests==
# After the Peace
# A New Pilgrimage
# Hearken, Ye Who Have Returned
==Summary==
;After the Peace
The day after the Natlan-Abyss War, the Traveler and Paimon take a rest at the Weary Inn, only to be woken up by Citlali, who tells them to meet with Mavuika at the Speaker's Chamber. There, she reveals to them that the Wayob in the Night Kingdom have informed her that the first Pyro Archon, Xbalanque, is returning to Natlan. While Paimon questions how he could have returned, Citlali tells them that the Wayob were telling the truth, and Mavuika states that any news regarding him is quite serious. With her job done, Citlali leaves, while Mavuika informs the Traveler about the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame, which is now being reworked as a friendly competition. She also hopes that the new tournament would attract Xbalanque to them, and suggests they visit the tribes to see how everything's going.
First arriving at the People of the Springs, they find Kinich, Ajaw, Mualani and Kachina fishing. They do not have any leads on Xbalanque, but Mualani catches something on her hook and fishes it out, revealing it to be two tribesmen who were in danger of drowning. Everyone had been finished with their work and relaxing, while Ajaw continues to mock Mavuika. Mavuika then asks Kinich if he had done anything, and he promises to send him the most dirtiest jobs, much to his chagrin. 
They then head to the Masters of the Night-Wind, where they find Citlali musing about Xbalanque's return. After being reassured, she asks them to check on Ororon before she goes to home to sleep. They find Ororon right outside the valley entrance, along with a juvenile qucusaur named Cacucu. Ororon was preparing a trap to catch Xbalanque, which he had used against animals. After wishing him luck, they walk further down and discover Xilonen, who was sleeping to avoid the work that Mavuika gave her. However, as she had kept herself out of the loop, she is surprised to learn about Xbalanque before going to sleep.
Finally, they arrive at the Flower-Feather Clan, where they find Chasca returning from patrol. She brings them to Iansan, who was helping out with her people with bringing supplies to the stadium. While they didn't visit the Collective of Plenty and Children of Echoes, Iansan assures her tribe is doing well while Mavuika was satisfied after seeing Kachina and Xilonen. Iansan proceeds to bring them to a mock-up of the course she had planned.
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;A New Pilgrimage
Upon returning to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame, Iansan presents her course to Mavuika, who tests it out. Near the end of the course, a Secret Source Automaton awakens and attacks her. Mavuika dispatches it while Iansan apologizes for the interruption, as it was dormant to her while she was working on the course. Mavuika finishes the course and gives her feedback to Iansan, who leaves to make the appropriate adjustments. The Traveler later tests a ball launcher with her, before Iansan makes further improvements. Mavuika then brings them to the Scions of the Canopy to dine at a restaurant, having the "usual" meal. Paimon is baffled by the massive amount of food ordered just for the three, and becomes even more shocked when Mavuika casually finishes off half of the meat dishes with ease, conceding that there is someone who eats more meat than her. After the meal, the two take a walk and overhear two people talking about Xbalanque's return. They then return to their room to rest for the next three days, only to oversleep on the day of the tournament. 
To their surprise, they find Mavuika waiting for them outside, who offers them a ride on her Flamestrider to the stadium. They accept the offer, and Paimon is startled by how fast Mavuika is going. Mavuika tells her that if it speeding, Mualani would've been arrested long ago. The speed they travel through causes Paimon to get air sickness, who also remarks that Barbatos would've laughed at her comment. Mavuika then remembers that they're friends with the other Archons and asks them to introduce her to them in the future. They finally arrive at the stadium, and Mavuika asks them to check in on the other contestants. They do so and inform her that there hadn't been any information about Xbalanque.
Mavuika starts the tournament, with the contestants competing in several games. Ultimately, Kinich wins the pilgrimage as everyone (apart from Ajaw) congratulates him. Mavuika then walks among the crowd and finally discovers Xbalanque, addressing a young boy who the people recognize as Mausau. Mavuika then has the Traveler and Xbalanque follow her to a quieter location, while Iansan handles the situation.
----
;Hearken, Ye Who Have Returned
Outside the stadium, Xbalanque talks to Mavuika, who is surprised to discover the first Pyro Archon was not to her expectations. Xbalanque reveals that he had possessed Mausau and partook in the tournament, however, as Mausau was not trained, he was quickly eliminated. He explains that in the past, he asked to Ronova if he could borrow her powers after praying to her as a "mere mortal." His plan to save Natlan would take course over several mortal lifespans and wanted to see the current state of Natlan should they win against the Abyss. As Mavuika had won, the shade honored their deal and he asks her how they managed to defeat the Abyss. She summarizes the battle to him, and he praises her leadership for bringing the people to victory. He then reveals that he intends to stay for a single day in Mausau's body, as he did not want to occupy it for so long nor bring any harm to him. 
Xbalanque wishes to test Mavuika's strength and she agrees to a duel with him. She expresses concern over Mausau's body, but he assures her that they will be able to fight at full power without bringing any harm. He brings them to the Temple of Souls, where their spiritual forms could fight without the limits of flesh. The two Archons proceed to duel each other until the flames extinguish, and Xbalanque declares Mavuika as the winner, feeling that she narrowly defeated him. As a reward for her victory, he offers the rest of the life force that Ronova had provided him to her, which she could use to bring back someone from the Night Kingdom, if only for a short duration. Mavuika declines the offer, stating that the past should stay in the past as a memory, as meeting someone who no longer existed would lead to more longing. Xbalanque tells her that her loved ones called and watched her from afar, causing the Traveler to realize that he already knew her answer from the start and wanted to bring their voices to her.
With the duel out of the way, Mavuika asks Xbalanque to follow her back to the real world, where she takes him, the Traveler and Paimon on a ride with her Flamestrider across Ochkanatlan and the People of the Springs. As they get off, Xbalanque thanks her for showing him the current state of Natlan before leaving Mausau's body. They then head back to the stadium, where Mavuika sets off some signal flares to inform Citlali of their arrival. Mavuika explains to the others about Xbalanque and during this time, Mausau awakens. He tells her that he had a dream about fighting the Pyro Archon, and the dream has inspired him to train hard and participate in the next pilgrimage. The crowd is amazed when they learn that she defeated Xbalanque in a duel. The Traveler then asks Mavuika if she felt that she was going to lose while fighting Xbalanque, but she tells them that she didn't think about it, so it never crossed her mind. The Traveler wonders how she knew what they were going to say as she tells them that the night is young.
==Characters==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
es:Como el sol abrasador
vi:Như Mặt Trời Rực Rỡ