#Aquella take my homie home

[vaalthus]

Remthalas:....AAAAAGGGGHH I was so so wrong (tragedy) spoilers too

I was wrong. This entire time I thought Remthalas was just some mad man with delusions of grandeur. I kept telling myself he wanted to break free of reality to impose chaos on to the world for his own amusement. That in becoming a god he believed he could be truly free but for himself and him alone. I told myself that in spite of his former loyalties to Kathool the only insanity the Primordial inspired in him was the ambition to strike out on his own. That he had escaped being heavily warped by Kathool’s madness. But no, I was wrong. The Primordial’s influence was absolute under the surface. 

When Remthalas told us that he was bad at communicating his ideas I always thought it was just a particular trait of his character. Something that was unique to himself. But no it was a struggle to think and communicate clearly through the sea of madness that was left upon his mind.

Guess we know now the context behind this scene:

I knew there was a possibility of Kathool, or any Primordial, getting involved upon seeing the madness fragments but once we played through the Myalos section of the war and we got this line:

I knew something was wrong.

The worst part though is how apparent that fact became the very second we confronted him in the dream. He’s a flurry of thoughts, bouncing from one idea to another. Only becoming clear, or as clear as he can manage, when he takes a moment, and stops moving, to try to desperately say what he wants to us.

I have to wonder how horrible it all was for Remthalas. To not only have his mind in turmoil like this but also to be aware of the Reset and the constant cycles Lore has gone through thanks to the twins, something Kathool would have experienced each time he was awoken and found the world around him so very different than what it was before.

And I only just now realized as to why Remthalas was so impatient and forceful when trying to get us to aid him with Aequilibria, at least on two fronts anyway. The first front is that Remthalas was likely aware that he did not have much time before Kathool’s madness left him a raging adept to be used as the squid face pleased to its own ends and thus desired to seek out the Aequilibria, with our aid, and use them to either cleanse or cure himself of Kathool’s influence or still use them to become a godlike enough to the point where Kathool couldn’t touch him. The curious thing in that scenario though is that the Avatars locking him away with the others might have slowed down this process if that’s the case. The second and more likely possibility however is that much like Kathool was able to push us to bring Aquella to it, it too planted the seeds of suggestion in Remthalas’ mind to “bend or crush” the Aequilibria and this Whisper (gonna be talking about this one later) alike while making him think it was to secure freedom for all. The latter scenario does seem evident in Remthalas’ boss fight. (Which I have to say the slow build up to Remthalas’ eldritch form is just absolutely amazing. It was like witnessing a terrible god sprouting its wings)

In the end, Remthalas’ will was not his own and it’s tragic. It’s tragic to watch this guy completely out of his mind but so terrified of what’s happening to him. To cry out for a hero to save him. To have Kathool speak through him. To wonder if his people are finally free as he unravels into nothing. He yearned for a freedom that might not have even been his own, serving someone else’s dream.

Sleep well Remthalas, your nightmare is over...I hope. This quest has just left me well:

There is more of course we learned here. Of the Aequilibria, Of this Whisper that embodies doom, which may or may not have bypassed the effects of the Reset. But I’m going to hold off on that for now. Ah what a release.