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SPOILER WARNING: THE WHOLE MAIN PLOT (MAIN QUESTS) OF THE GAME

Arx Fatalis
Arx was once a kingdom of the world, governed by King Poxsellis, who lived in the kingdom’s capital city of the same name. In the year 226, many years after Poxsellis’ death, the sun began to fall into decline and the world began to fall into a constant winter. King Lunshire, Poxsellis’ son, decided to move the city of Arx underground, into one of the dwarves’ abandoned mines. All the races of Arx (humans, dwarves, trolls, goblins) worked together for this migration, which took 5 years to complete. During this time the sun disappeared completely from the sky. But, as time passed, the differences and tensions among the races emerged anew.

At present the year is 266. You are thrown in a cell by goblins and you wake up with total amnesia. Another prisoner (Kultar) prompts you to look for a way out in your cell, because there isn’t any in his, so that both of you can escape. He also names you “Am Shaegar”, which means “he who has no name”. After you escape, and fight some goblins along the way, you also free an imprisoned goblin, named Polsius, who says that he’ll be waiting for you at a tavern and he’ll help you if you need anything.

You arrive at a human outpost and the captain of the guards (Ortiern) says that they were attacked by Ylsides warriors, who are known to be sided with Akbaa (the god of destruction), but an underground earthquake has blocked the pathway connecting the outpost with the city of Arx, so he can’t send for help. He gives you a gem dealer’s license and urges you to find another way to go to Arx and inform King Lunshire. Also, in the goblin region you find unsigned papers that allow the bearer to move freely in the region. You take these papers to Polsius, who signs them for you. With the signed papers and the gem dealer’s license at hand, you are allowed to move further and eventually arrive at the city of Arx and meet the King.

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King Lunshire sends you to the King of trolls (Pog) with a message, asking from him that the trolls must clear the pathway, between Arx and the human outpost, from the fallen boulders. By now you may have learned that the trolls (being stronger) work for the goblins in mining gemstones and the gemstones are then sold by the goblins (being somewhat cleverer), who in return give some of the profit to the trolls for their labor. But as you reach King Pog, you learn that the trolls are currently on strike, because a troll idol was stolen from them by a goblin and King Pog wants it back. After you find the idol, the trolls end their strike, clear the pathway of the rubble and continue their work for the goblins as gemstone miners.

After you successfully arrange this, King Lunshire sends you to investigate a ritual that a shady sect had just performed. It was the third sacrificial ritual performed around the castle in less than a week. The King believes that this ritual could be related to the murder of Falan Orbiplanax, the King’s previous astronomer. You must question the people of the castle about it and learn what you can. The King needed someone who is not known to be an agent of his.

You find out that Falan Orbiplanax had learned about the Cult of Akbaa. Apparently its followers had found a meteorite stone, placed it in their Temple and attempt to invoke Akbaa onto the world of Arx through it. But Falan, before he was murdered, managed to send a message about it to the Noden, the dimension of the gods, where there is equilibrium among them, as no one is above the others and also no one is permitted to leave the Noden. A race of supreme beings living in the Noden, called “the Sybartas race”, are responsible for keeping this equilibrium. As they can’t impose anything on the gods in the Noden, they had dispatched an emissary onto the world of Arx to stop Akbaa’s reincarnation from here. This emissary, or “Guardian of the Noden”, is a creature made of pure energy while in the Noden, and while in Arx he can destroy the, normally indestructible, meteorite stone simply by touching it and stop Akbaa’s reincarnation. Felnor, the King’s alchemist, has a fragment of koltk (which is the same material as is the meteorite) that would help in locating the Guardian, as the Guardian would touch this fragment and successfully destroy it, so King Lunshire gives it to Am Shaegar to locate him. But as Am Shaegar touches the fragment, it is destroyed and he sees a vision about his past meeting with Sulib Nurash (one of the Sybartas race), who informed him about his mission in stopping Akbaa’s reincarnation in Arx, but also warning him that the shock of the passage from his own transportation to Arx would have the consequence of losing his memory temporarily.

In the region of Arx is located the Order of the Sisters of Edurneum, half-women half-snakes, whose origins is a mystery, but they were always helpful to the Kingdom of Arx. One of them, Sister Chinkashh, lives permanently in the castle, as the King’s librarian. Apart from the aforementioned matter concerning Akbaa’s incarnation, Am Shaegar overhears a discussion between the Head Sister (Queen Zalnashh) and King Lunshire about something called “Krahoz” that the Sisters want it returned from the King, but both the King and Chinkashh are unwilling to share the matter with Am Shaegar, as they consider it a matter of the kingdom.

Am Shaegar finds the location of the Temple of the Cult of Akbaa, where high-priest Iserbius is preparing to sacrifice an unknown woman in front of the meteor stone. Iserbius then escapes, Am Shaegar releases the woman, but it seems that he can’t destroy the meteor stone. In fact it is draining his energy (mana) off of him and channeling it to Akbaa! Am Shaegar informs the King and his consultants about it, who are then compelled to reveal to Am Shaegar the aforementioned matter.

Apparently the Sisters gave to Poxsellis (Lunshire’s father), many years ago, two stones, named “Krahoz” and “Zohark”, which, when combined, are able to protect the user from energy-draining effects. Poxsellis was able to win a war with the help of the stones. The Sisters’ only rule was that the stones were to be returned to them when they would ask for it. Thus, a treaty was signed between Poxsellis and the Order of the Sisters. The problem in the matter is that 20 years after the treaty, and during Lunshire’s reign, the latter claims that rebels murdered his wife (Queen Florence), kidnapped his newly-born daughter and stole the Krahoz part, fortunately not Zohark too, and these rebels were not heard from again. Immediately after that, the Sisters asked for the two stones to be returned to them, but Lunshire was able to return only Zohark, informing the Sisters about what had happened. So, up to the present day, the Sisters continue to demand from Lunshire to honor the treaty and return Krahoz to them too. As a result, Am Shaegar has to get the two stones, not only to use them for his mission in destroying the meteor, but also to have both of them given to the Sisters.

As he searches for the two stones, Am Shaegar stumbles upon the unknown woman again, who tells him that she can help him find Krahoz. Am Shaegar is then knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant and taken to a hideout. The unknown woman (Alia) reveals that she is the chief of the rebels and she too was trying to learn more about the Cult of Akbaa, but she was captured. She tells Am Shaegar not to believe everything that Lunshire says and also tells him that the rebels have the Krahoz, but, in return for it, they want an item of equal power: the “Shield of the Ancients”, located in a crypt.

Am Shaegar then goes to the Order of the Sisters to borrow the Zohark part, which he gets, after passing a trial test. After getting Zohark, he goes to the crypt and he acquires the Shield, after great effort. When he brings the Shield of the Ancients to Alia, she reveals to him that this is her grandfather’s, King Poxsellis’, shield and she is King Lunshire’s daughter! The people around her are not rebels, but the secret Order of the Sacred Dagger, founded by Poxsellis to safeguard his royal bloodline! Apparently the Order of the Sacred Dagger had some information, before Alia’s birth, that the Order of the Sisters of Edurneum were planning to abduct her after being born, though they couldn’t determine why. They found her near her mother’s (Queen Florence’s) body, after she was murdered, and orchestrated the kidnapping to prevent her abduction from the Order of the Sisters. King Lunshire doesn’t know anything about this and Alia doesn’t want Am Shaegar to tell him, for his own (King Lunshire’s) safety. She also tells him that no one yet knows who killed her mother and she allows him to get the Krahoz part.

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After successfully acquiring both the Krahoz and the Zohark stones, Am Shaegar goes to the Temple of the Cult of Akbaa and destroys the meteor stone. But as he leaves the place, Akbaa appears to him in a vision and tells him that there is another channel though which he will inevitably come to the world of Arx.

Am Shaegar then returns to the city of Arx in order to inform the King and the rest of the council, only to find it having been attacked by the Ylsides warriors and a guard informs him that the King has been thrown in the castle’s prison. As Am Shaegar reaches the prison, he finds it empty and as he is about to be attacked from behind, Kultar appears and kills the attacker, saving Am Shaegar. Apparently Kultar, after his escape with Am Shaegar, joined the Ylsides warriors under Iserbius, because he approved the latter’s preachings about Akbaa bringing back the sun in the sky. He also tells Am Shaegar that Iserbius didn’t care at all about the King, but only to get rid of Am Shaegar. But nonetheless, he didn’t want to see his friend killed. Kultar then leaves, leaving behind his Ylsides armor (the best armor in the game) for Am Shaegar to wear.

Am Shaegar finds King Lunshire and tells him that he destroyed the meteor stone, but Felnor (the King’s alchemist), informs them both that, though Akbaa will be considerably weakened, he has still found another channel for his incarnation and this channel is Iserbius, who will use his own body as a vessel for this. The only way to stop this is to break the link between Iserbius and Akbaa while it is happening, but Iserbius’s body will be immune to all known weapons during the fusion. So Felnor tells Am Shaegar that there is a book about forging the ultimate weapon. Am Shaegar asks for the book from Sister Chinkashh, but she informs him that the book isn’t in the King’s library, but in the Sisters of Edurneum’s.

One of the Sisters, who is responsible for keeping the Order’s library, gives him the book, but also mentions that this is the second time Am Shaegar owes to the Order (the first was having taken the Zohark part). He then goes to the lowest level of the game’s world, where there is a dwarven forge and eventually forges the ultimate weapon (there is a choice between an one-handed or two-handed sword).

As a part of a side quest starting in the crypt, in a lower level than the one where you find the Shield, you hear the voice of a woman’s unseen ghost (without telling you who she is) asking you to find her murderer, an one-eyed man. Near the human outpost, where the guards are located, there is a tavern and one of the patrons is an one-eyed man, named Enoill. While denying everything at first, when you buy him a drink, he gets drunk enough to drop his house key. Searching in his house in Arx, you find some correspondence between him and Carlo (the captain of the King’s guards). It seems that Enoill had been following the Queen for some time and when he discovered a peculiar letter, Carlo had ordered him to kill her. In the letter, written by Queen Florence (she is the woman’s ghost), she admitted to be a member of the Order of the Sacred Dagger and she was saying that a specific operation would take place the following day, when the King was asleep. When you confront Carlo, he admits everything. He had thought that Queen Florence was planning to murder the King and he had her followed and later murdered in order to protect him. You inform the King about Carlo and he is thrown into prison. Neither the King nor Carlo knew what the Order of the Sacred Dagger is (and Am Shaegar still doesn’t tell them, due to the promise to Alia).

You now go to a magically sealed area where the Ylsides’ outpost (and Iserbius’ hideout) is located. Before you enter, Alia walks up and thanks you for all you’ve already done. She changed her mind and feels that the King (her father) should know that she is alive, so she asks you to give her sigil ring to him. In a cutscene they meet later at the great underground lake. Suddenly, the snake women of the Order of the Sisters of Edurneum appear and claim Alia to be their new queen! Queen Zalnashh of the Order explains that the treaty Poxsellis had made was to be able to use the two stones (Krahoz and Zohark) from the Order of the Sisters so that he could win the War of the Magi. In return, he was to give to the Order his 4th direct descendant to ensure the rebirth of their queen and save their race. King Lunshire orders one of his guards to attack the snake women, but he can’t do anything against their superior magical skills. Then the King orders a full-scale attack, but Alia, wanting to honor the treaty and prevent more bloodshed, prepares to leave with the snake women.

At that difficult time for Alia, the unseen ghost of Queen Florence (whose murderer you have uncovered earlier) is heard again to help end the dispute. She explains that, while at the time before her death was a high officer in the Order of the Sacred Dagger, she had arranged for Alia to be “kidnapped” shortly after her birth, by her Order. What she didn’t know was that she was about to have twins! In fact Alia was the 5th descendant of King Poxsellis, the 4th one was her twin sister Clarice, born mere minutes before Alia. So, she had both of them taken away. Alia from the Order of the Sacred Dagger, and Clarice from the Guild of Travelers (the only people capable of travelling aboveground) to another place of the world. After that, the Sisters leave without anything, disappointed as their race is dying out.

After all this is settled, Am Shaegar enters the Ylsides’ outpost not in time to stop Akbaa’s incarnation through Iserbius, but he defeats him in battle and sends him back to the Noden. At that time Sulib Nurash (who had sent Am Shaegar into Arx in the first place) appears and tells him that Am Shaegar too must return to the Noden, as are the rules, to which he accepts.

END