Maelihs Dialogue¶
SPOILER WARNING! This page contains a full transcript of a late-game interaction, which takes place in a late-game area tied to the 75% completion event.
Unless you have FINISHED the 75% Completion Sequence, ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE "Apotheosis" ADVANCEMENT, we strongly advise that you DO NOT continue to read this article, as this will interfere with your ability to discover crucial aspects of the map for yourself.
This dialogue itself does contain some story spoilers and heavy lore implications, and it is highly recommended that you discover it for yourself.
At the top of the western tower in Ytaj, the Burnt God Maelihs can be found lounging on a throne, and he can be spoken with through the in-game chat. The following is a full transcription of his dialogue tree.
Transcription¶
*Player first enters Mael's chamber, and approaches him.*
[Maelihs] This is hallowed ground, snakespawn. Speak or leave me in peace.
[Player] Who are you?
[Maelihs] Do you... really not know?
*The player can then respond with one of two options:*
[Player] I do not.
[Maelihs] I am Maelihs, the deity known as the Burnt Lord. If you must disturb my rest, then speak.
\OR
[Player] Are you Maelihs?
[Maelihs] That I am. If you must disturb my rest, then speak.
From this point, the player is offered a dialogue tree, with five major conversation topics.
Path 1 (Why are you here?)¶
[Player] Why are you here?
[Maelihs] Must I have some reason to act as I do?
[Maelihs] Does a wildfire need a grand purpose to consume a village?
[Maelihs] I am here to rest in the halls of my forebears, and that is all I can say.
[Maelihs] As myself and the Aspects share a piece of the same creator, this place brings me some calmness.
[Maelihs] They are the closest thing to what you would call a family.
[Player] A piece of their creator?
[Maelihs] Yes. We all were created by the Primal Tree and granted some portion of its essence.
[Maelihs] I have recently edified myself on the circumstances of my ancestry, and learned that my snake sibling and sister, like myself, have much more of the tree’s soul and memories than the dragons do.
[Maelihs] ...I have no reason to tell you this. We’ve never met. And yet, here we are.
[Player] What about the Burnt Palace?
[Maelihs] …There have been some… revelations, and discoveries.
[Maelihs] Spending time in my palace and living the life I once had… it has become very, very difficult.
[Player] What kind of discoveries?
[Maelihs] Do you think it wise to interrogate me?
[Maelihs] What am I to you?
[Player] Sorry. Let’s talk about something else. [Return to main 5 options]
[Player] I was just curious.
[Maelihs] …I apologize. Curiosity is in our nature, isn’t it?
[Maelihs] I was… I was curious myself. I… traveled far, to a place beyond our vision and our time, wreathed in chromatic fury.
*Player is presented with two options:*
[Player] Where did you go?
[Maelihs] That is all I am willing to say.
[Player] I see.
[Maelihs] My existence was not one of intention. The chaos I was birthed into was not natural, it was forced.
[Maelihs] I do not wish to speak on this subject any longer.
*Regardless of which of the two previous paths is chosen, Mael will then ask:*
[Maelihs] What of you, snakespawn? Why are you here?
*The player will then be presented with four new dialogue options.*
1-A (To Speak With You)¶
[Player] I came to speak with you.
[Maelihs] Flattering. Allow us to speak, then. [Returns to main 5 options.]
1-B (The Fate of Avsohm)¶
[Player] I am trying to discover the true fate of Avsohm.
[Maelihs] I see.
[Maelihs] You wouldn't be the first.
[Maelihs] I witnessed their empire's downfall firsthand, a true sight to behold.
[Maelihs] At the time I did not think of the "why," I only sought to take full advantage of the sudden vacuum of power within the West.
[Maelihs] And when I finally acquired what I had craved for centuries... it wasn't everything I had dreamed.
[Maelihs] Then, I thought about the "why."
[Maelihs] What power-beyond could have possibly struck an entire empire from history in a mere day?
[Maelihs] Truthfully, the sudden and violent disappearance of Avsohm is one of few things that makes me feel uneasy.
[Maelihs] You seem to be all that remains.
*Two options are presented for further dialogue, as well as an option to return to main 5 options.*
[Player] What do you mean, "all that remains?"
[Maelihs] A child of Avsohm has not been witnessed by the realm in centuries.
[Maelihs] You are an impossibility, little remnant.
[Player] How did you know I'm Avsohmic? [Jumps to Path 2]
OR:
[Player] It makes me uneasy as well.
[Maelihs] Unsurprising.
[Maelihs] To be the last of your people, struck by some unknown force.
[Maelihs] You are but a loose end, remnant.
[Maelihs] I would advise you to watch your back, lest you become tied up.
1-C (Behold the Aspects)¶
[Player] I wished to behold the Aspects.
[Maelihs] Then you may find yourself out of luck.
[Maelihs] They rarely show themselves in their true forms here much anymore.
[Maelihs] Especially not in the presence of... outsiders, such as yourself.
[Maelihs] Not since the schism. Especially not since the death of their dear Greatbeast.
[Player] The schism?
[Maelihs] That is quite a long story, and not mine to tell.
[Maelihs] If you plan to spend more time here on the Divine Moon, you will surely come to learn of it.
1-D (idk lol)¶
[Player] I don't know.
[Maelihs] Hah!
[Maelihs] You have journeyed all the way here to the Divine Moon, aimlessly?
[Maelihs] Perhaps your purpose has not yet revealed itself.
[Maelihs] Your fate will come, Remnant.
[Maelihs] Or it won't.
[Maelihs] Perhaps the last of Avsohm truly has no purpose, doomed to wander the realm and pick up the pieces of their desecrated empire.
[Maelihs] How entertaining.
Player may then ask, "How did you know I'm Avsohmic?", which leads to the same response as in the next section.
Path 2 (Why aren't you attacking me?)¶
[Player] Why aren’t you attacking me?
[Maelihs] *Laughs*
[Maelihs] I could ask you the very same, child of Avsohm.
[Maelihs] Your people wanted nothing more than for me to be dead.
[Player] How did you know I’m Avsohmic?
[Maelihs] Some Aspects can be especially talkative.
[Maelihs] And for them, you are certainly one to talk about.
[Maelihs] Even had I not heard the rumors, you still stand out quite a bit.
[Maelihs] Drehmari steeped in the magic utilized of that era have a certain resonance about them.
[Maelihs] It’s more violent, unstable.
[Maelihs] Unpredictable.
[Maelihs] It’s unmistakable from any Drehmari I’ve witnessed since Avsohm’s fall.
[Player] I want to ask you something else.
[Maelihs] Very well.
Path 3 (What do you do?)¶
[Player] What do you do here all day?
[Maelihs] In times past, I would have said that I was plotting.
[Maelihs] Devising some way to expand my territory, perhaps defile the followers of my dear sister.
[Maelihs] Or perhaps I would be ordering the creation of a new, twisted legion of Maelmari.
[Maelihs] In reality, many of my days here are spent in restful meditation.
[Maelihs] Wise Wyrm Koh has been a wonderful teacher.
[Maelihs] When I woke today, I thought much about the fate of your people.
[Maelihs] As well as what their fate means for what lies beyond this realm.
[Player] What happened to Avsohm?
[Maelihs] An unspeakable thing, little remnant.
[Maelihs] In complete honesty, even I do not truly know.
[Maelihs] A terrible oculus revealed itself in the clouds, sweeping focused devastation across the realm.
[Maelihs] Creatures far more corrupt and chaotic than any of my own legion’s seeped in from rips in the very fabric of reality.
[Maelihs] I heard tell of a hooded figure seen across many points of destruction, impossibly present for nearly all of them.
[Maelihs] For what could have done such a thing, none of us are certain.
[Maelihs] As the chaos waned both Virtuo and I attended a meeting of the Prismatic Council.
[Maelihs] Every single Aspect was present, and none claimed responsibility.
[Maelihs] Unsurprising, as even the Aspects lack the unadulterated might required to cause such an event.
[Maelihs] Mystic Elder Khive asserts the cause is beyond our realm.
[Player] What lies beyond this realm?
[Maelihs] Ah, the question-to-end-all-questions.
[Maelihs] For this, I cannot give any definitive answer, little remnant.
[Maelihs] I do know that our very souls did not originate here in this realm.
[Maelihs] They come from the outside, and they return to the outside.
[Maelihs] What happens to them when they are beyond our reach can only be left to speculation.
[Maelihs] I know from observing the Tehrmari that when bodies perish, Voynahla allows them to be ferried through the Veil.
[Maelihs] Vayniklah draws souls in through the Veil, and coaxes them into their vessels.
[Maelihs] Whatever it is that truly lies beyond, it is far stronger than anything that exists here.
[Maelihs] It is terrifying to know only power, and assume that one is a rightful sovereign of their own universe, only to find oneself a groveling fool at the hands of a power so vast and inescapable that resistance is futile.
[Maelihs] And yet, it only makes me tired.
[Player] I want to ask you something else.
Path 4 (The Aspects)¶
[Player] What do you think of the Aspects?
[Maelihs] They are, by and large, far wiser than I shall ever be.
[Maelihs] The four Elders— Khive, Rihelma, Dahr, and Taihgel— are especially wise.
[Maelihs] I should have taken advantage of their advice much more frequently.
[Maelihs] Why haven’t I seen any Aspects in Ytaj?
[Maelihs] While some, especially Dahr, Khive, Nahyn, and Dahroehl, still frequently physically visit, astral projection is the main medium of communication.
[Maelihs] Once, I would have deemed them cowards, but now I cannot be so judicious.
[Maelihs] Regardless of their motivations, it appears to be an efficient arrangement, as they can focus on individual pursuits while being able to convene as-needed.
Path 5 (Virtuo)¶
[Player] What happened to Virtuo?
[Maelihs] You tread on dangerous ground, snakespawn.
[Maelihs] She left.
[Maelihs] Visit her chambers here, and perhaps you will find some of the answers you seek.
[Maelihs] Off to the edges of the realm, pursuing some idea of perfection.
[Maelihs] I fear it is largely my doing, our last confrontation was... less than pleasant.
[Maelihs] Of my many regrets, that is among the largest.
[Maelihs] Wherever she is at this time... I hope she is well.
*If the player is holding Eyebiter in their main hand, the following two lines will be added to this sequence:*
[Maelihs] It seems you carry the artifact of that meeting.
[Maelihs] I would ask you not to turn the eye inlaid to that shield towards me.
[Player] What kind of “regret”?
[Maelihs] When I roamed Drehmal, I caused nothing but misery.
[Maelihs] Murders. Kidnappings. Plagues.
[Maelihs] I was jealous of my sister.
[Maelihs] Jealous of the people that had devoted themselves to her, devoted their very lives to her.
[Maelihs] She had something I could not, and that would drive me into rage.
[Maelihs] I devoted myself to bringing her low.
[Maelihs] I took joy in killing her closest friends.
[Maelihs] In maiming her.
[Maelihs] In burning her forests and cities.
[Maelihs] But every time I finished some goal, I only felt more emptiness.
[Maelihs] Ennui.
[Maelihs] Until I find some other meaning through meditation, I am better off remaining here, where the world can be safe from my madness.
Malevolentia Dialogue¶
If the player approaches Maelihs with Malevolentia in hand, then he will give additional dialogue:
[Maelihs] I see that you carry Malevolentia.
[Maelihs] That blade is forged of my own blood and rage.
[Maelihs] Did you... take it from my palace?
[Maelihs] Surely, they would not have let you steal it without a fight.
[Player] That I did.
[Maelihs] Ahah! Then you have done what I could not!
[Maelihs] Tell me, were the screams of the palace's residents as you slaughtered them as glorious as I've imagined?
*The player is presented with two possible responses.*
*Option 1:*
[Player] Uh...
[Maelihs] Ahem.
[Maelihs] Apologies... I am simply pleased to hear that justice has been served.
[Maelihs] May you wield my blade more righteously than I.
[Maelihs] I hope it serves you well.
[Player] Thank you.
[Maelihs] ...
*Option 2:*
[Player] Their screams were music to my ears!
[Maelihs] Ahahaha!
[Maelihs] Wonderful!
[Maelihs] You are welcome to keep Malevolentia, I have no need for it now.
[Maelihs] May it serve you well.
Devoted Introduction¶
If the player has reached maximum devotion to Maelihs prior to the first meeting with him, then a different version of the introduction occurs.
*Player first enters Mael's chamber, and approaches him.*
[Maelihs] You reek of Maelmari, snakespawn.
[Maelihs] The stench is sickening.
[Maelihs] Do you really revere the Burnt Lord so?
*Two options are given.*
[Player] Who are you? [This option then follows the default intro branch.]
OR
[Player] I do. All hail his Radiance!
[Maelihs] Fool.
[Maelihs] There was a time in which I would have rejoiced at the thought of thousands of followers like you.
[Maelihs] That thinking only led to ruin.
[Maelihs] If you truly worship the Burnt Lord, cast your Sprout of Anguish into the ocean and renounce his name.
*The player has two options.*
*Option 1*
[Player] Never! My Radiance shall conquer the realm! Hail the Burnt Lord!
[Maelihs] *sigh*
[Maelihs] And here I thought I was long done dealing with fanatics like you.
[Maelihs] Leave me in peace. Should you denounce his name, return and we may speak.
*The player will not be able to speak to Maelihs further unless they return and denounce him.*
*Option 2*
[Player] Okay.
[Maelihs] Hmph. False worship is still worship, I suppose.
[Maelihs] Do me a courtesy and cast your Sprout of Anguish into the ocean.
[Maelihs] The less of those there are, the better.
[Maelihs] Now, if you must disturb my rest, then speak. [Player is given main 5 options.]
*If the player picks the first option, refusing to denounce Mael, then they will be given the same dialogue choice whenever they leave and re-approach him.*
[Maelihs] Have you ceased your worship of Maelihs?
[Player] Never! His Radiance is supreme! All hail Lord Maelihs!
[Maelihs] Then I have nothing more to say to you.
OR
[Player] Yes, I have.
[Maelihs] Good. Then we may speak. [Player is given 5 main options.]