The Phaethons' Syrtos

The Phaethons' Syrtos is a World Quest in Enkanomiya. To start this quest requires the completion of The Subterranean Trials of Drake and Serpent.
==Pre-Quest==
The quest is started by talking to Clymene in a room protected by a dual barrier. The barrier must be dispelled by leading two Seelie to it.
# Lead the first seelie to the barrier
World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Seelie 1 Start Location.png|Seelie #1
World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Seelie 1 Start Location Context.png|Seelie #1 Context
# Lead the second seelie to the barrier
World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Seelie 2 Start Location.png|Seelie #2
World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Seelie 2 Start Location Context.png|Seelie #2 Context
# Talk to Clymene (initially "???")
World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Start Location.png|Clymene Location
File:World Quest The Phaethon's Syrtos Start Location Context.png|Additional Context
==Steps==
Start the quest by talking to Clymene.
# Offer a Sango Pearl to the seven royal tombs (0/7)
# Go to where Clymene is
# Go to the Soul Guide's Locus
# Talk to Clymene
# Obtain the Divine Bridle
# Place the Divine Bridle within the waters
# Talk to Clymene
==Gameplay Notes==
* Obtaining the Divine Bridle requires completion of the Hyperion's Dirge quest line.
==Post-Quest==
* After completing the quest, the Hidden Exploration Objective Sunchildren Hide and Seek will become available. Complete this hidden objective by finding and interacting with all seven Sinshades of the Sunchildren, which will grant the Wonders of the World achievement "The Children of God Shall Dance."
==Dialogue==
;(Talk to ???)
:???: Hmm? How strange. I have not seen someone in your garb for a many long years...
:???: From your mannerisms, you are not from Byakuyakoku either.
:???: Are you some guest from afar who fell into this place?
: That's more or less correct...
:???: To think that there were ways to access Byakuyakoku from the outside world... Shocking news indeed.
:???: I was born here, and I have never seen anyone from the outside world.
:???: Someone once told me that he wanted to catch a glimpse of the world outside. I took his words for a jest...
:???: *sigh*
:???: Traveler. In truth, I have a humble request for you.
:???: There are seven royal tombs scattered throughout Byakuyakoku, in which the remains of our "" have been interred.
:Paimon: The Sunchildren...
:???: Indeed. Here, we worship the Dainichi Mikoshi.
:???: After a certain number of years, an infant will be chosen as the Sunchild, gaining control over the nation.
:???: We had... a total of seven Sunchildren.
:???: O rare Traveler from another land, please, kindly pay respects at their tombs.
:Paimon: Um, why would you need us outsiders to do that?
:Paimon: Isn't it usually up to their family and friends to pay respects to them?
:???: Indeed, that would normally be the case.
:???: Unfortunately, I fear that no one in this nation would want to do so.
:???: In fact, it is likely that these royal tombs have not been visited in a long time.
:Paimon: But why's that?
:Paimon: Do the people of this nation dislike the Sunchildren?
:???: "Dislike" is perhaps too kind a word. "Detest" might be more fitting.
:???: As I said earlier, the Sunchildren were born into their role.
:???: But how could mere children rule a nation? The ones who truly controlled everything were powerful people behind the scenes.
:???: The Sunchildren were mere puppets, their every move manipulated by these people.
:???: And yet there was no end to the greed of those powerful people. They grew fat off the toil of the people, compelling the Sunchildren to perform heinous deeds.
:???: And so, the peoples' ire rose, and many of those sins were laid at the feet of the Sunchildren.
:Paimon: That's awful...
:Paimon: The Sunchildren were innocent!
:???: Innocent? Oh no, they were not.
:???: As far as the people of Byakuyakoku were concerned, their ignorance was the greatest sin of all.
:???: A sin, even committed in ignorance, can hurt others. Can a person who commits such transgressions truly be called innocent?
:???: It would be difficult, no? The damage is already done, and it cannot be undone.
: But if that's what you think...
: Why do you still want us to pay our respects to them?
:???: Well, you can consider this... my personal sentimentality speaking.
:Clymene: My name is Clymene. I was a female official in charge of taking care of the Sunchildren's daily lives within the Dainichi Mikoshi.
:Clymene: Though I knew that they did wrong, and though I was aware that they were being manipulated...
:Clymene: They were still children that I watched grow up. I pitied them, and I grieved for them...
:Clymene: In the end, I could not hate them...
:Clymene: Though my work involved being around them every day, I was under heavy surveillance.
:Clymene: I was not permitted to say a single word when I was around those children.
:Clymene: But when no one was around, when they were helpless and afraid, they would say so, so many things to me...
:Clymene: ...And I could not offer them a single word in reply.
:Clymene: If I had possessed but a little self-sacrificial courage to say something, anything to them...
:Clymene: Perhaps everything might have gone differently...
:Clymene: So please, I beg you. I cannot face them as I am, so this is the only way I can honor them.
:Clymene: Please, good Traveler, lend me your aid just this once.
:Clymene: A single Sango Pearl is all I ask, to be laid before their tombs.
: Alright.
:Clymene: Thank you. This task is in your hands, then.
;(Talk to Clymene again)
:Clyemene: There were seven Sunchildren in all. Traveler, please take my place and pay respects before their tombs.
----
;(Tombstone — Dainichi Mikoshi)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Orupeusu no Mikoto, who was skilled in music as a youth, specializing in playing the lyre. His voice was so lovely that even the very earth would be moved."
;(Tombstone — North of Evernight Temple)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Surepio no Mikoto, who contracted a terrible illness as a young child, and upon recovering, gained some knowledge in the realm of medicine."
;(Tombstone — South of Evernight Temple)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Risutaiosu no Mikoto, who loved to imitate the craftsmen who molded with clay, creating sculptures of the female officials of the court that were exquisite and lifelike."
;(Tombstone — East of The Narrows)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Isumenasu no Mikoto. On his free days, he would go boating, consulting his map of the country."
;(Tombstone — West of The Narrows)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Rikoru no Mikoto. He loved to build. He once built a small-scale Dainichi Mikoshi. It was six feet tall and immensely vivid."
;(Tombstone — East of The Serpent's Heart)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Ion no Mikoto, versed in fortune-telling and sigil-signs, but who often predicted falsely, never errant only when reading the span of his own years."
;(Tombstone — West of The Serpent's Heart)
:Royal Tomb: There are two rows of text on this headstone. The first row is in the script of Byakuyakoku and is unintelligible.
:Royal Tomb: The second row is in the common script, and it goes as follows:
:Royal Tomb: "Here lies Piramumon no Mikoto. Oft did he insist that there must be a world beyond our skies, but they were just wild claims."
----
;(After offering the Sango Pearl at all 7 tombstones)
:Paimon: One, two, three... Looks like we've finished paying respects at all seven tombs!
:Paimon: Let's go back to the stone shrine and tell the spirit there about this.
;(Talk to Clymene)
:Clymene: Ah, the seven Soul Lamps are lit...
:Clymene: It seems that you have completed your task. I will always remember how you have aided me.
:Clymene: Now come, allow me to open it for you... The path to the Soul Guide's Locus.
:Clymene: Traveler from a foreign land, I know that I have caused you much trouble... But please, bear witness as they are laid to rest.
:Clymene: Follow this path. I will meet you on its far side.
;(Approach the Soul Guide's Locus)
:Paimon: Huh, Paimon didn't think we could get up here at all!
;(Talk to Clymene)
:Clymene: Ah, Traveler, you have arrived.
:Clymene: This is the Soul Guide's Locus, and this is where my final thoughts remain.
:Clymene: When the Sunchildren reached a certain age, they would follow a ceremony and enter the Dainichi Mikoshi on their birth date.
: They would enter it?
::Clymene: Yes, and that process was known as the Rite of Solar Return.
::Clymene: The Sunchildren were birthed from the Dainichi Mikoshi, and they would again return to the seat of the sun before the mortal world could taint them.
::Clymene: ...The temperature of the Dainichi Mikoshi was such that its light could warm all of Byakuyakoku.
::Clymene: Of the Sunchildren, naught but shreds of the souls that once were returned at last to the Locus.
::Clymene: But I still believe that, perhaps...
:: Perhaps...?
::Clymene: If I was the one who opened the Locus, I might be able to use my memories to supplement what remains of their souls.
: Doesn't that mean...
:Clymene: Allow me to try.
:Clymene: Piramumon... Orupeusu... I am here. Will you not return?
:Clymene: ...
:: How did it go?
:Clymene: *sigh* Of the seven Sunchildren, Piramumon and Orupeusu were raised by mine own hand. If even they will not return...
:Clymene: It seems that my memories alone are insufficient...
:Clymene: If only there was something I could use as a medium... If I had the Divine Bridle, perhaps, the badge of the Sunchild's office, it might just work.
:Clymene: But alas! It was lost to us long ago.
:Clymene: *sigh* This nation, Byakuyakoku, still hates those children.
:Clymene: Perhaps my desire to free their souls is but a forlorn hope.
:Clymene: ...But still, Traveler, if you would consider this my final request — could you help to find the Divine Bridle?
:Clymene: I know that the chances of finding it are quite slim, and indeed, it is rude of me to ask yet more of you.
:Clymene: But...
: I understand.
: I'll do my best.
:Clymene: I... Thank you...
:Clymene: Still, the bridle has been lost for many long years. You need not rush.
:Clymene: If you should hear of it, please, tell me.
----
;(Talk to Clymene)
:Clymene: Traveler... Have you... found the bridle?
:Clymene: Could you... let me have a look at it?
;(After submitting the bridle)
:Clymene: Ahhh... This is the Divine Bridle. The genuine article indeed!
:Clymene: I never thought that the day would come when I might lay eyes on it once more. Traveler, tell me — whence did you get this?
: From Aberaku...
:Clymene: From Aberaku no Mikoto himself?
:Clymene: How strange. I remember clearly that he was a great figure from the days when our nation had just been founded.
:Clymene: But it was said that he planned to usurp the seat of the Sunchild, and was branded with the crime of treason.
:Clymene: But since you say that you obtained it from his hands, perhaps there are hidden things at work that I do not understand.
:Clymene: So, fate has decreed the bridle should resurface here... Ah, I can recall the faces of those children already...
:Clymene: This way, I might finally atone for my failings...
:Clymene: Traveler, place the bridle within the pool at the Locus. With it, we can surely revivify their souls.
:Clymene: Yes, that they may be made whole, and that they may walk the path to the next life hale!
;(Talk to Clymene before putting the stone in water)
:Clymene: Please Traveler, place the Divine Bridle within the waters of the Soul Guide's Locus...
----
;(Cutscene)
;(Talk to Clymene after putting the stone in water)
:Clymene: Ah, Piramumon. You did so love books, saying that there must be a world outside our knowledge, though I did not believe you then...
:Clymene: I always smiled and shook my head at your wild pronouncements. Alas, alas! I should have believed you!
:Clymene: You said that one day you would escape the Dainichi Mikoshi and venture into paths beyond...
:Clymene: Go now, Piramumon. Let no one shackle you again. Go, be free!
:Clymene: And you, Orupeusu, Orupeusu. What would I give to hear you sing again?
:Clymene: There was no one who could hear your clear, pure voice, and did not wish to sing along in their hearts.
:Clymene: The night before the Rite of Solar Return, you suddenly wished to hear my voice. No matter what, you desired to hear me sing.
:Clymene: You told me that no matter how terribly I sang, you would not laugh.
:Clymene: You knew, didn't you? You knew that this Solar Return would be your last.
:Clymene: And yet I... To the end, I...
: Clymene?
:Clymene: ...I apologize, Traveler. That was unsightly of me.
:Clymene: The female official who serves the Sunchildren is meant to maintain her purity... She shall never marry.
:Clymene: Thus, I had no children of my own all my life.
:Clymene: These children, whom I served and watched grow older... At some point, they became closer to me than blood.
:Clymene: Thank you, Traveler. Thank you for finding the bridle.
:Clymene: It has passed through the hands of every Sunchild, and the memories it has inherited are enough to fill the gaps in their souls.
:Clymene: ...Even though these memories are double-sided.
: Double-sided?
: Memories have sides?
:Clymene: Of course. In this case, the memories are two-fold. On one hand, you have your own memories, and on the other, you have others' memories of you.
:Clymene: Thus the gaps are being filled by both the Sunchildren's own memories, imprinted upon the bridle...
:Clymene: As well as the memories of them as the children who were blamed by Byakuyakoku, of those who became children of sin.
:Clymene: My own memories are insufficient, and so I had to supplement them with those of the people of our nation.
:Clymene: And it is thanks to these transgressions that have been laid upon them that they have now been remembered by Byakuyakoku, and can now leave their afterimages behind.
:Clymene: Thank you, Traveler. My greatest wish now lies fulfilled.
:Clymene: I can finally... be at ease.
:Clymene: Yes, I... can finally be with those children again...
==Trivia==
* In Greek mythology, was the son of Helios, god of the sun, while was a traditional Greek dance in which the dancers linked hands to form a chain. Thus "The Phaethons' Syrtos" can be interpreted as "the dance of the children of the sun god," connecting with the name of the Achievement gained from completing the Hidden Exploration Objective after this quest, "The Children of God Shall Dance."
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
es:El syrtos de los Faetones