Quiescence of Myth

**Quiescence of Myth** is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Elysiana, in the subplane of Olgeria and follows the perspective of a very strange adventurers’ party. It is a sequel to Quintessence of Myth.

## Main Arc

### Uncanny Beginnings

Thalyssa Delyoro, after proving herself in the Venatio, asks of Ellie Monty, her creator, to offer her additional insight on her world, and the true meaning of her last story she wrote, Quintessence of Myth, of which she never truly witnessed the end. Ellie complies, preparing a story for her, Adrianne Medeah and Nelia. However, as the story begins, Thalyssa is cast down in a dark, downward spiral.

Returning to Elysiana, a confused Thalyssa, lacking part of her memories, finds out the world isn't as she expected; she quickly encounters her ancient ally Nanashi, then, more surprisingly, Ellie herself, heavily wounded, whom she cures. Ellie reveals she did not understand what happened - she was supposed to be the Game Master in the story, yet finds herself trapped there.

Traveling to the city of Orsienne to understand more about this phenomena, Thalyssa also encounters Nelia who tells her that Adrianne has been sealed away; furthermore, she has been replaced by Cheren as The World's Enemy, much to Thalyssa's displeasure. As a last straw, Paladins attempt to invade Orsienne, corrupted by a strange substance known as Bethylium.

### Searching for Answers

Thalyssa's group travels, while looking for answers about what happened to them. While Thalyssa experiments with demon summoning, she summons Divs that lure her to Div Goddess Syamura's tomb; Thalyssa frees her and makes a bargain with her, restoring the group's memories and learning that Adrianne is sealed away by three pillars of Bethylium.

On their way, the group also meets Jeanine, a rogue Paladin who helps the group against the Bethylium-using faction of the Paladins, the Order of Leniel. She tells her the position of Bethylium mines, where they forcefully negotiate with the inhabiting Dark Dwarves in order to stop the production of Bethylium and learn the position of all three pillars.

### Unsealing the Temples

In the first pillar-containing temple, close to Adrianne's hometown, the group faces various challenges; Thalyssa, in order to accomplish a trial, summons the half-Oni Uzumae, whom she first attempts to bully into submission, but later shows genuine respect to in order to make her her ally. She also frees Mizuya Medeah from the temple's influence and, by shattering the first pillar, allows once more Adrianne to manifest as a spirit.

In order to access the second temple, Thalyssa studies alongside Emil Bleucastel to summon the extremely powerful Asterie, her creator. Interested in Thalyssa, Asterie agrees to attack the Order of Leniel while Thalyssa sneaks past it to uncover the second temple. There, she also learns of a second type of Bethylium - Crimson Bethylium, corrupted by the mysterious and dark goddess Usha.

Learning that Jeanine uses Bethylium for her own experiments, Thalyssa does everything she can to stop her from abusing this dangerous substance. She then briefly fights her arch-rival Edmond Leniel before entering the second temple and emerging victorious from it as well, freeing Minaressa, another figure from her past, from its dark influence, and allowing Adrianne to manifest as a human being.

### In the Deepest Depths

Knowing that the last temple is hidden in the Distortion, Thalyssa asks of Emil that she helps the group with traveling to the Abyss. However, the traveling is then hijacked by Usha who splits the group. Thalyssa and Adrianne find themselves in the murky depths of Abaddon, forced to sacrifice their own worshipers to survive. However, Thalyssa saves one of said worshipers, an enslaved noblewoman named Bethany.

The next step is finding Uzumae and Nanashi, prisoners of Inferno ; to obtain their freedom, Thalyssa negotiates with Flauros, a tricky Demon Noble, and offers him her Soul as a down payment, while obtaining several clauses in exchange for said offer, including powers for Bethany. The next destination is the Shadow Plane, where Thalyssa finds Nelia and saves her from despair.

### Further in the Abyss

Thalyssa's group then finds Ellie stranded in the Abyss. She reveals that Usha is in fact a dark version of her, an embodiment of despair granted by a Tragoedia Seed. The group then attempts to find the temple, and for that, Thalyssa accepts to receive divine Lamashtu's atrocious mark. The group then defeats the last guardian of the temple - a corrupted Asterie - and restores Adrianne's godhood.

In order to prepare for the final battle, after learning that Usha has made a pact with strange entities from behind the veil, Thalyssa offers her own existence to a Pleroma, a guardian of balance who pits her vision of the future against Usha's and asks for proof. She also enlists the help of Tharos, an Umbral Dragon given human form by Cheren after being encountered on the Shadow Plane.

### Ending the Conflict

Thalyssa first ends her pact with Lamashtu by sacrificing the paladin leader Gordon Leniel to her. She then takes the lead in order to counter an invasion made by Edmond, defeating first him, then a corrupted Jeanine used as a puppet by a Crimson Bethylium Construct. During that time, however, Usha used her powers to turn Thalyssa's own palace into an artifact for her ritual, hoping to channel the world's future desolation.

After a long series of trials, Thalyssa finally manages to the top of the tower, and crushes Usha with the assistance of Ellie and the rest of her allies, submerging her even as she attempts to absorb the Pleroma and become the ultimate arbiter of all existence. A despairing Usha falls down, pleading her desire to be acknowledged - and Thalyssa promises to acknowledge her.

As a last resort, Thalyssa offers Usha's Tragoedia seed to the Pleroma in exchange for Usha's survival, despite being tempted by a perfect kingdom to suit her ambitions. The Pleroma departs, satisfied, leaving Thalyssa to repair her kingdom by herself, with a weakened Usha asking for guidance from those close to her.

## Other Arcs

### Lamashtu's End

Months later, as a revenge for Lamashtu's mark on her, Thalyssa decides to wage war on her, first managing to bring down Lamashtu's heiresses Edimmu. Despite interruption from the mysterious Mithra of Rubelion, Thalyssa manages, with the help of Ludo and Ellie, to send him away, before stopping Edimmu and making a contract with them.

However, as a result of Thalyssa's wars on Lamashtu, her weakened powers allow Flauros to take advantage of this, launching a surprise attack on her behind the party's back. Thalyssa quickly reacts by teleporting to the Abyss and facing Lamashtu herself, making a contract with her and fusing with her, much to Flauros's displeasure. A brief confrontation ensues, causing Flauros to retreat, leaving Thalyssa to piece her mind back.

## Characters

* Thalyssa Delyoro
* Adrianne Medeah
* Ludo (Cheren)
* Ellie Monty
* Elysea

* Edmond Leniel
* Nanashi
* Nelia
* Emil Bleucastel
* Ronakh
* Bethany
* Tharos
* Uzumae
* Syamura
* Lamashtu
* Asterie
* Halcyon
* Flauros
* Gordon Leniel
* Jeanine
* Pleroma

* (Elysandre)

## Trivia

* This storyline follows a Pathfinder narrative.
* The name is a play on the previous storyline's name - a tentative from Usha to forever silence Ellie's myth.