#temenos 3 stormhail spoilers

[serennes-art]

the truth lies in the flame

[smilepebble]

cleric disease 👍

[soup-for-ghosts]

you know I’ve lived in my imagination for so long now that I almost forgot crick is canonically dead

like tf you mean he died, he’s right there

[biggest-bara-tiddies]

Temenos is so dumb. He gets cornered and attacked by a hooded assailant, finds the corpse of his prime suspect soon after, and despite the danger he is still clearly in, tells Crick he’s tired and goes to an inn taking no precautions for his or Crick’s safety. How is he shocked when Crick ends up dead the next day??? 

[starmagnets]

ain't it great that temenos and crick aren't completely doomed by the narrative :) ain't it great that they both live to see the end of the mystery :) ain't it just the greatest thing that their tension is resolved in a satisfying way :) because i think it's great :))

[cefalodankovsky]

Spoilers for all of Temenos' chapters//

Honestly after thinking about it I feel like one of the reasons I love crimenos so much is the guide section in stormhail 3.

Temenos special ability is to guide, "guide the lost lambs towards the light", and for most of the game this is played straight with Crick. He is presented as a well meaning but scatterbrained knight. The Watson to Temenos' Sherlock.

But when stormhail happens, It is Crick who actually figures out the mystery, way ahead of Temenos, because Temenos' view of the world is crooked, things are the way they are, no one is to be trusted because doubt, doubt is what you do, while Crick isn't Naïve, his trust in others is an active choice he makes because he's seen that's the only way he can truly reach happiness.

It is Crick who takes the role of the shepherd, guiding Temenos towards the light, both in the literal sense with the stained glass window being the most illuminated part, the answer of the mystery, and the realization he has to let all his layers of cynicism go to finally be able to truly move on.

[lunar-insanity]

Gonna ramble a bit bout Octopath Traveler II because I think that it's both funny and interesting how different yours and potentially the traveler's understanding about this "Shadow" that seems to haunt 4 of the narratives can be depending on what comes first.

Note: I Have not finished Agnea's Chapter 5, it is literally the last thing I have before I presume the thing the Crossed Paths have been leading up to kick in.

And of course: Spoilers below just in case

So, ya see, I had initially planned to save Hikari's CH5 for last, since in Octo 1 I started with Olberic and ended with his last chapter. But then I learned the Conjurer class is locked behind completing it soooo.

My journey so far was Do all of CH 1 Do the Western CH2s Do the Eastern CH2s Do everything in Welgrove (Hikari, Partitio, Throne) Do two of the chapters in Stormhail (Hikari, Ochette) Do Hikari's last Chapter

And then amble about doing what I felt like next. Which went as follows:

Parti's Last Chapter -> Ochette's Last Chapter -> Castti's CH3 -> Osvald's CH4 -> Throne's CH4 Father Route -> Osvald's Last Chapter -> Castti's Last Chapter -> Temenos' Stormhail Route -> Throne's Last Chapter -> Temenos' Last Chapter -> All Crossed Paths as they became available -> Agnea.

4 of those tales have you goin up against the shadow in some form, 5 if I'm counting Castti and Ochette's Crossed Paths.

Now, Imagine, if you will, if you saved Hikari's Final Chapter for last.

You end up dragging the guy into close contact with the very thing that's haunting his veins. The Scarlett Moon and the creature of the Sorrowful Moon, Harvey and the Sorrowful Golem, Harvey and his concentrated blasts of his "One True Magic", Kaldena becoming consumed by the Shadow like Mugen would/did.

How would that be affecting him? Does each brush with the shadow call the curse even closer to the forefront? Does the Scarlet Moon test his resolve, determination, and strength to keep his blade sheathed and unbloodied?

Does he feel the call of the Shadow when Kaldena is consumed by it?

Of course, each triumph over this could instill in Hikari some faith that, Yes, the Shadow can be overcome. Yes you can beat it, Yes, you can. So when you finally go up against Mugen, he's got all that behind him.

... But what if you do his last chapter first?

Hikari, going up against his Shadow for the final time, doesn't have all that build up behind it, no, but he's still got the words of his friends (and I'm including fellow travelers) to bolster his resolve. He finds the Light himself.

So Mugen ends up being the party's first true blue brush with that Shadow. And, at the time, what they think is their ONLY brush with it.

And then the Scarlet Moon comes, and Ochette smells the same pungent scent along with the underlying familiar one from years ago.

And then they meet Harvey for the first time. And then they go up against his Shadow True Magic. AND THEN KALDENA PULLS THE SAME MISTAKE MUGEN DID-

That sequence events turns this into "Okay. We know the Shadow can be beaten. We've seen Hikari do it. BUT WHAT IN THE HELLS IS THIS THING?!"

Scarlet Moon: So it's a corrupting force.

Harvey: It's too powerful to be controlled by 1 man, but it does have it's opposite.

Kaldena: Please don't do that, we've seen what happens 3 times over now ARE YOU KIDDING ME WOMAN WTF-

It's not just the Shadow they're comparing notes on either at this point. It's the Light that keeps coming to their aid.

Hikari's Latent power changes to Radiance, Ochette (and the party I presume) are saved by the First Flame, Osvald kamehamehas a colourful laser light now, Temenos has an explosion of light skill now.

Light always seems to come to their aid whenever they go up against the Shadow.

And it all starts with Hikari as well.

[bad0mens]

Things about Octopath Traveler 2 that I think about WAY too much 2/????

Under the cut for late game spoilers, loose and speculative nonsense

So the four sacred flames and their connections with the gods connected to each one.

Brand and Sealticge to the Ku Flame

Alephan and Bifelgan to the Crackridge Flame

Dohter and Draefendi to the Toto'haha Flame

And Aelfric and Aeber to the Flameschurch Flame

Going to go ahead and put it out there, that my head canon is that the Moonshade order successfully completed the sacrifices line out in the Book of Night in this manner: Pontiff Jorg (Cleric, Temenos chapter 1), unnamed apothecary in Canalbrine (Temenos Chapter 2), scholar in Canalbrine (who's name I don't remember, also from Temenos Chapter 2) Tanzy (dancer/Sealticge aligned), Petrichor (Hunter), Ageha (Warrior), Ori (merchant), and Crick (Thief, as mentioned in some dialogue in Stormhail about his background).

I feel like, in a lot of ways, these flames would have been great spots for boss fights. I feel like, for a game like Octopath Traveler 2, just getting to relight the flames with ease was a bit too easy. There's a couple of different routes I personally would have taken with them.

Option 1 (least favorite) - the party fights a shadow creature of some type (excluding in Flameschurch because there is already a boss fight there). Alternatively, remix the chosen travelers' final chapter boss fight.

Option 2 - the party fights the shadows of the sacrifices associated with that flames gods (so Ku would be Ageha and Tanzy, Crackridge would be Ori and the scholar from Temenos Chapter 2, Toto'haha would be Petrichor and that unnamed apothecary from Temenos's Chapter 2, and Flameschurch (after Arcanette), would be Crick and the Pontiff (not a fun fight for Temenos especially)). Standard boss fights would be cool, but you could go a step further and have it a two on two fight with the chosen travelers against those shadows where path actions and skills came into play in defeating the shadows. Also makes the relighting of the flames a bit more personal. You've got potential either way with this option for some really cool character exploration and thematic resolution. This one is probably my personal favorite.

Option 3 - the party (or just the chosen travelers for that flame) fight the gods themselves (as a test). There's a few ways to do this too: 1. fight images of the gods. 2. the statues of the gods by the flames come to life and you fight those, not dissimilar to Osvald's chapter 4 fight with the Golem. 3. You fight a being of combined powers of the two gods, a strange and otherworldly combination of Alephan and Bifelgan for example, staff and scales in hand, plying magic and calling allies, making it rain in leaves as easily as flashes of magic lightning, or Brand and Sealticge (which I think would look something akin to Hinoekagura). This is also a personal favorite just to see how when faced with the gods, our travelers might act, when within the world itself the gods are mostly pretty hands off. The situation with Vide is an urgent one, and I think the gods would be willing to test their chosen in the final hour to make sure that they are truly ready.

I just think it would have been neat

[powwidge]

rant about ochette and temenos and their (negative) parallels

all below the cut for endgame spoilers and everything!!!! just me talking to myself n tryna arrange my thoughts on Temenos, Ochette, and hwo they relate and are in a very contrasting position which is also kind of all in one big messed up parallel. I'm sorry; this has gotten very long! i tried my best keeping it short

okay so we all can agree that starting with Temenos' route is probably the most satisfying since it starts with a fight against Vide, right? yeha so i have some things to say about that in relation to Ochette and the entire theme of the game to begin with

Something clearly links Ochette and Temenos togehter, namely Roi. the implication that the dark entity of Ochette's chapter 1 is Roi si well... more than just clear, I'd argue. and ok listen: this entire thing MAY be me overanalyzing stuff. so u now get the

disclaimer: i am a literature student. i am taught to overanalyze everyhting and it's my RIGTH to! so bear with me. i have very elaborate thoughts on Ochette and Temenos and how they reflect each other in a very contrastign way.

Roi: right with the beginning of Ochette's route and Temenos' chapter 3 (it was his ch3 i beleive, right?) we get Roi and a direct parallel between their stories. the thing is just - Temenos' knew Roi while alive. Ochette knew him while sort of dead and then completely dead. and that remains the single connecting dot/parallel where this is the case. everything else is things being dead for temenos and things being alive for ochette

Ochette has an entire support system which grows as she travels; she has Juvah, her parents implied to be alive in a banter, Akala/Mahina; she gains more friends in Pom, Acta the Smol, Glacis, Tera, that other lady whose name i forgot i'm really sorry, and with her help, even the hateful Cohazeh becomes soft towards them all and the entire village makes friends with the Beasting Village.

now for temenos, we have EVERYTHIGN in contrast. he loses everythign as he travels; first Roi, the pontifex, later on crick (sorry for the mention guys). he loses literally everyone he loves, be it platonic or familial or romantic or whatever; and the enemy to him? the sacred guard? yeah he low key destroys that thing for a while. and while that's still GOOD, i can't beleive it weighs lightly on him especialyl since stormhail is in a rather tense situation with the gaurd and the mei clan as hinted by loads of npcs. everythign good that happens to ochette happens to him, but in the exactly contrasting way.

on to trust: i think i don't need to say much here; ochette is ever-trusting, but learns to actively distrust some peopel on her journey, learning about the lies of people (especially humans), while the exact opposite happens to temenos: temenos learns to trust people. not just the travelers but also crick. the issue? it's at least implied, or u can read into it, that he does trust mindt; and he gets betrayed once more. whereas Ochette, even at the very end, still trusts people. she trusts the hunter trying to kill Glacis regardlessly, she trusts Juvah, she even trusts Lajackal/mahamowl and tries making friends with them. she trusts something that wants to kill her, while temenos nearly gets killed by someone he trusted

flame/belief: i quite like the difference of faith u have in those two; temenos, an inquisitor, who still doubts the flame's existence, who doubts the gods' existence because that's just waht he does - linked to his trust issues once more, obviously. even though he's one meant to have an unshakable belief, yet he's quite the shady guy, and while his intentions may be good, he doesn't always condcut things the correct way. well. looks at his path action. yeah. hmm! okay temmy! go off! on the other side, there's ochette - far away from any kind of institutionally organized religion, and the only traveller directly meeting "the flame", which saves her life, proving its existence once and for all when that's somethign temenos has forever doubted

i don't really WANT to go as far as to say ochette died, but she did NEARLY die. as the only one out of the cast of her story, meanwhile, temenos is the only one ALIVE out of the cast of his story (minor characters like orth aside, same goes for some of Ochette's side characters, btu i'm talking mainly here akjfghkd)

i feel like saying that any character of the 8 travelers is more or less important than the others would be wrong; however, i do believe that if we're talking characters that the story build on, Temenos' and Ochette are high up there. we have parallels inside of the traveller of someone who nearly succumbs to darkness and someone who looks forward to the dawn, no matter what. temenos' route starting with Vide, in my opinion, is a great hint at him being sth akin to a "main character", story-telling wise - i like to personally make a distinction between main cahracters and protagonists. e.g. in OT1, the travelers are the protags, while graham (and perhaps kit, too) is the main character, who the story actively centers around.

While Temenos' is the embodiment of shadow, esp with his closer relationship to Throné in the crossed paths, one who was originally meant to be a vessel for Vide and who def had one of the most tragic stories, Ochette is the embodiment of the flame, always looking forward despite any grievances she might have - again, related to castti in her crossed paths.

you get a character who, if he wasn't picked up by the pontifex, by roi, and crick, might have been part of the moonshade order otherwise - and a character who is so determinedly looking forward to the dawn that she would have never considered it.

my conclusion? I love temmy and ochette a ot and i cannot keep anythign i say short. anyways there's no conclsion these are just rants. if u read that then uh, congrats! u have witnessed my insanity! :)

[beantothemax]

spoilers for:

Partitio’s Chapter 1, Castti’s Chapter 3, Hikari’s Chapter 5, and Temenos’s Chapter 3 Stormhail Route under cut

square enix will not let us have gay people. malaya? dead. crick? dies. partitio’s dads? divorced. ritsu? also dies.

[boycow69]

temenos ch 3 & 4 spoilers

you know what would be tasty? a fallen!temenos au where he, overcome with grief, ends up joining kaldena because she promised him he could see his loved ones again.

like he’s without the other travellers for some reason (either never joined them in the first place or left after stormhail, maybe even just snuck off without them in the nameless village).

but either way it’s just him and kaldena and she’s just making such an enticing argument to see his adoptive father, roi, crick again. temenos who is just so tired of the conspiracy and the church and everything. temenos who’s tired of losing people, and never processed his grief properly and is just coming apart at the seams now.

maybe his companions coming by later if you think he slipped away from them in the village and seeing him so utterly ruined, so fallen from grace. they try and help him but the shadow is already closing in and they cant.

imagine he does see crick again. and roi, and the pontiff. imagine it just feels so so real and they all tell him how proud of him they are for making it so far, and being so smart for uncovering the truth. how he did so well and was so good but now it’s time to let it go. it’s time to leave it behind now and come with them, because his job is done. he can rest now, the truth has been revealed and he can be with them again.

imagine though, that it’s not real. just an illusion made by the shadow. imagine he knows this, and falls for it anyway. the grief he’s pushed down so far just comes spilling up into tears as he collapses into the shadows hold. imagine illusion roi kneels down to hug him. illusion pontiff places a hand on his head and tells him it’s alright to cry, that they’re there for him and can cry for as long as he needs. illusion crick smiles at him and kneels too, telling him he always believed in him over everything, even when his faith wavered.

imagine they all hold him as he sobs, the shadow taking further hold. the illusions are whispering platitudes and reassurances into his ear. telling him to come with them, be happy again. he can have them now, he just needs to stay. and he does.

hehe just in an angst mood sorry 🤭

[skulkingfox]

*Me finishing Temenos chapter 3 stormhail knowing fully well the big spoiler*

Crick's last words were for Temenos...

His very last thought was of him too..

I can't... 😭

[xsparklingravenx]

daybreak

Title: daybreak

Fandom: Octopath Traveller II

Characters: Temenos, all Travellers, Crick

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,818

Summary: Temenos navigates grief once again, messily, but with friends at his side.

Major spoilers for Temenos’s Stormhail Chapter 3 Route.

AO3

In the gauzy light of a crackling flame, Temenos warmed his hands and tried to direct his thoughts to an avenue worth wasting his time on walking.

The others moved in his periphery; their routines a familiar comfort. Osvald, a worn book in his hands as he read by the low-light, Partitio none-too-subtly stealing glances over his shoulder. Throné and Hikari, both cleaning blades with meticulous care as Agnea danced her steps around them. Ochette, scarfing back food with Mahina while Castti chastised their manners. Nothing had changed. Everything was the same as it had been a night ago, two nights ago, three.

Only, it wasn’t. The sun had set on the memorial service and Temenos had walked away with a promise held in his heart, yet now the night was here and the space at his side felt emptier than ever before. Seven companions to his name, and loneliness still threatened to gnaw a hole inside his chest. Seven friends to share his loss with, and the hollow in his heart grew bigger with every passing beat.

They gave him a wide berth, not because they didn’t care, but because he had deliberately asked them to. He knew that they would come if he called out, but the last thing he wanted to do was talk about it. Agnea had already seen the cracks in his carefully crafted shields the morning she’d come to him and asked why his eyes were red. If those fissures were left unattended, he would break apart entirely.

So, he sat, staff laid across his lap and his mind darting between the evidence he’d obtained. The Book of Night, a scrap of paper held tightly in bloodied fingers, Kaldena. Temenos's hand tightened around the weapon at the thought of her, Crick’s mangled body in his mind’s eye. Aelfric be damned, what he wouldn’t give—

“Revenge is a dangerous game,” Osvald said, not looking up from his book. “Play the board too long, and you’ll find yourself a different man than before.”

Temenos glanced his way, a wry smile dancing at his lips. Anger broiled on his tongue. “And aren’t you a fine one to be speaking of revenge, my dear Professor?”

The camp fell silent around them, every activity grinding to a sudden halt. Osvald cleared his throat, his hand stilling on the page he’d been about to turn. “I’d say I have more authority than most on the matter.”

“Would you, now? Then pray tell, what kind of man would I be, Professor? I’d love to know.”

He was being unfair, and he knew it. His bark had always been worse than his bite; fighting truly was not his forte. Throné let out a soft whistle in the silence that followed, while Partitio hopped up from the log he’d been occupying, coat rustling with the movement. “Now, now, hold your horses there, both of you! Ain’t nothin’ to be gained from a brush now, you hear?”

Osvald, never one to say more than was necessary, needed no further warning. Temenos let go of his staff and pressed his fingers to his temple. “Well said, Partitio. I think I will retire then. Do enjoy your evenings my friends.”

He stood, gathering his things, straightening his robes. In the morning they would carry on, forget this happened, take on the next issue at hand. Ochette had a lead near here too, didn’t she? Out here in the Flame-forsaken snow there was still something to do, and yet they weren’t staying at Stormhail’s inn. Instead, they were out in the open at Temenos’s insistence.

To save our leaves, he’d told them, but they’d all agreed too readily, hadn’t even put up a fight despite the extreme weather. Partito could haggle with anything so long as it had a pulse, and they all knew it. Money was no question. It was Temenos’s conscience that was the problem, how he couldn’t return to the room he’d slept in while Crick was beaten to death only a few streets over.

What had his final words been? Had he called out for someone to help him? Had he fought back? Temenos would never know, and it was that which haunted him most.

“Wait,” Castti’s voice drifted on the wind as he turned his back. “Temenos, don’t do this.”

“Sleep?” he returned. “Why, Castti, I thought you were our biggest advocate for a good night’s rest!”

“No. Withdraw. Grow thorns.” Castti stood, hands fisted in the blue fabric of her uniform dress. “You are hurting, I know, but there is no simple fix for it. I cannot make a salve for this wound, nor can I concoct a vulnerary. I can only offer you my heart or my ear, but I fear you won’t take either. Not when you’re so set on turning your head away.”

How easy it would be to snap back, to drive a wedge between them, to argue that the apothecary knew nothing because her memories were as thin as Temenos’s own faith. But there was no argument to be had, because she was right. He was already balancing so many wounds; the Pontiff still raw and bleeding. Roi was a scar he still scratched at constantly. How was he meant to just add Crick’s death to his growing body of injuries and accept that when it was Temenos's fault that Crick had walked the road that had led to his murder?

“We liked him too,” Ochette piped up, her eyes a little shiny in the glow of the flame, ears flickering when the bitter wind touched them. “I liked giving him jerky. I was gonna give him more, next time…”

“Next time,” Hikari mused quietly. “I, too, had thought of it. His bladework was incredible. I wanted to spar with him, to learn it.”

“Next time,” Throné echoed, her eyes flicking to her blade. “Haven’t we all said that at one time or another, only to realise that it won’t ever come to be?”

Next time. Temenos’s eyes were uncomfortably hot, irritated, like he’d caught sand in them. What had been in his plans, next time? To share the evidence, to tease and laugh and joke, to call out wayward lamb, to see the end of this mystery together. Why hadn’t he doubted that? When it was all he did, why hadn’t he ever considered that there would never be a next time?

A hand touched his. Agnea had crossed the camp while he’d been caught in his thoughts, her delicate fingers cold as she intertwined them with hers. “I’m just—just a dancer,” she said, voice wavering, uncertain as her careful accent slipped. “I don’t know much about death or revenge or anythin’, but I do know that when Mama died, it was the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life. It won’t do to keep all that hurt inside. So…stay a little while. Even if you’re angry, or sad. Even if it hurts so much that all you can do is shout.”

Her eyes were earnest, bright and bold. He opened his mouth to speak, but found the words would not come. What did he want to say, when he could no longer hide behind his jests and barbs? What-ifs danced in their place. What if they’d never met that day in Flamechurch, what if Temenos had just left him be? What if he’d been kinder when Crick’s faith had been shaken, what if they’d gone down into that library together?

“He wanted to protect me,” Temenos said, a little anger leaking into his tone. “I told him—I said I had no need of it, yet still he came running like the fool lamb he is. He should have stayed behind me. He should have let me take charge. He put his faith in me above his god, and now I’m left in his debt.”

“One that you swore you’re gonna repay,” Partitio reminded him. “I ain’t gonna pretend I know what he was thinkin’, but I do know he was a good guy. I’d barter he’d be happy with that, no matter what.”

Agnea took him back to where he’d sat before, gently taking his staff from him as he took his place again at the fire. Osvald looked him in the eye this time. “I won’t promise you this will get better,” he said. “I know from experience it will not. If revenge is the path you want to take, know I will follow you and help you exact your vengeance—just as I know you will help me with mine.”

“And if you need someone to do it for you,” Throné said, wearing a small smile, “well, I’m not exactly free yet. My dagger can still be hired—for a price.”

“You know you have my sword,” Hikari added.

Ochette waved her hands. “Me and Mahina too!”

“A fine group,” Castti nodded. “And I will be there to tend to your wounds afterwards—if my axe is not the bloodiest of the lot. Now, if we’re all in agreement that we will be awake for a little longer, I’ll get to cooking dinner. I do think Ochette caught a wonderful haul earlier, even if she did eat much of it on her own…”

“Aw, c’mon Ma, nagging me again?”

Temenos watched as Castti shot Ochette a withering look before retrieving her cooking utensils. The others returned to their tasks, the uncomfortable tension that had settled over the camp dissipating. Quietly, he wished he’d had the foresight to ask Crick to join them, even if he knew that the answer would have never been yes. He was a Godsblade, newly anointed, but one all the same. His duty came before all else. Temenos would never have convinced him.

No matter how much love he had in his heart for the man he called a friend, no matter how many what-ifs he entertained, it would never change that fact. There would never have been nine of them, despite how he desired it.

Everyone left. It was the lesson he’d learned the day Roi walked out the door to never return, and time only seemed determined to reinforce it—but it couldn’t be a reason to distance himself. These people had reached out to him. It was all he could do to reach back.

So he lowered his head and said, softly, “Thank you.”

The food, when it arrived, was warm and hearty and delicately spiced. Partitio heaved another helping from his own plate onto Temenos’s, while Ochette doled out extras from her personal stash of meat. It was not a night spent with laughter, but it was a night spent with friends, the best of the worst situation. When the sun rose again, it would still be a world wherein someone important was lost—but it would rise nonetheless.

With or without his loved ones, it always did.

[sleepysheepy6]

Octopath Traveler 2 Temenos Chapter 3 Stormhail Route Spoilers

This is totally what happened! Nothing seriously bad happened ever!

[thatnebbles]

**TEMENOS CHAPTER 3 STORMHAIL ROUTE SPOILERS**

Temenos dances with grief yet again.

[starmagnets]

get in loser we’re going to revive crick