Quest: A Voice on the Other Side, Presage (First Visit)

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Name: Quest: A Voice on the Other Side, Presage (First Expedition)
Video URL: N/A
Playlist URL: The Voice on the Other Side | Presage (First Expedition) | Season of the Chosen - YouTube
Recorded: 2020.02.19

Transcript:

++ Space, Derelict Vessel

** The Guardian boards the Glykon near an anomaly.

Osiris: Several months ago, a Cabal vessel bearing the name “Glykon” disappeared near the Reef. This ship matches its description and heading. So far, our hails have gone unanswered, and the distress signal continues to loop. You’re clear for live-fire engagements. Board it, and find our missing Guardian.

** The Guardian approaches the main entrance gate, but finds the control panel inoperable. The Guardian ventures along the exterior of the Glykon and finds an opening.

Osiris: There’s a distortion in the feed — no, frequencies… like ripples meeting in conversation. Executing trace. Stand by.

** The Guardian traverses passageways, observing unusual flora along the way. The Guardian climbs through vents and exits them inside the entryway. The Guardian activates a control panel, unlocking the entrance gate. The Guardian proceeds toward the next room and is burned by an aura blocking the way forward.

Osiris: Those spores are harmonizing with a nearby concentration of Darkness.

** The Guardian damages the spores gaining a temporary Egregore Link. The Guardian bypasses the barrier and enters the room.

Osiris: There is no Light here.

** The Guardian bears witness to dead Cabal caught in the flora. The Guardian exits the room through another vent.

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE The Guardian scans the dead Cabal
Osiris: Sarcophilous growths, with cores of Darkness. The material is organic. It reminds me of a certain flora kept by our silver-tongued Drifter. Curious. The Cabal here, their minds hang suspended in the death throes of cognition; falling into a singularity.
}

Osiris: The Glykon navigation system marks their destination as an anomaly… left in the wake of Mars’s disappearance.

++ The Glykon, Derelict Vessel

** The Guardian drops down a vent into the inner hulls of the Glykon and encounters corrupted Scorn. The Guardian approaches a control panel and activates it: a door opens.

Osiris: Guardian. You’re not the only life sign aboard. I see at least one other. It may be our missing friend… it may not.

** The Guardian finds the open door and gains an Egregore Link to pass through the next barrier. The Guardian defeats more corrupted Scorn.

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE The Guardian scans Scorn armor
Osiris: Scorn. They did not come from Calus’s Menagerie. The Dark Ether in this device has been tampered with: its connection to the Darkness galvanized, rooted. Calus always did embody a clever sort of madness.
}

** The Guardian crosses over and destroys a fuse, revealing a passageway. The Guardian defeats more corrupted Scorn.

Osiris: I found a journal of Calus’s scribe, Amsot. Translation as follows: “Today, Calus graced the Glykon with his presence and gazed upon the anomaly. His councilors prepare the exhibition chamber with gold from the Castellum. They are confident the crown is ready. The end will lay eyes upon him, and weep at his magnificence.”

** The Guardian activates two control panels, destroys the final fuse, and descends into the Glykon’s trash compactor. As the walls gradually draw near, the Guardian destroys three fuses and accesses a hidden passageway.

Osiris: This ship’s passageways no longer connect as they should.

** The Guardian exits the passageway and drops down into another area. Locus of Communion appears.

Osiris: Movement — in the dark!

** The Locus of Communion summons corrupted Scorn and leaves. The Guardian clears the room of all corrupted Scorn.

Osiris: They relent. We must not. Forward.

** The Guardian continues venturing through the Glykon.

Osiris: Guardian, I’ve pieced together another of Amsot’s records. It reads, “A tragedy of silence. He tore the wilting failures apart himself. The connection is strong, but the Darkness does not speak through them. An ocean without wind. Even the Lightbearer could not coax it to awaken.”

** The Guardian enters the Glykon’s hangar bay and encounters more corrupted Scorn. Darkmind Abominations appear. The Guardian defeats both Darkmind Abominations and the corrupted Scorn.

Osiris: Hangar systems are intact… why didn’t they try to run?

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE The Guardian scans the Emperor’s Chosen ship
Osiris: Jump logs indicate this ship made berth from the Leviathan. Its pilot has an officer’s clearance; our Guardian appears to have a long and storied history with the emperor.
}

++ REFERENCE {item: The Emperor’s Chosen}

** The Guardian continues exploring the Glykon and hears whispers of familiar voices over the Glykon’s communication system.

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: You’re my favorite. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: This… this ain’t on you…
}

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: Bring back some tales, Guardian.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Uldren Sov: [laughs] Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so very thin.
}

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE This line was originally spoken by Riven using Uldren Sov’s voice
Uldren Sov: Shall we be friends?
}

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE This line was originally spoken by Riven using Uldren Sov’s voice
Uldren Sov: But paradise is a prison when you cannot leave.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Ghaul: You’re not brave. You’ve merely forgotten the fear of death.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Ghaul: You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: I promised you true power. Here, you shall find it.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: Amuse me, Traveler-spawn.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: I have admired you for some time now. [laughs] You never fail to inspire.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: Your people do not appreciate you as I do.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: So, Guardian… Go be you — the stray variable.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: You can’t blame yourself for every missing Guardian, Osiris.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: You say that like this isn’t your fault.
}

** The Guardian climbs into another vent and falls down a shaft into the Glykon’s laboratory. The Guardian uses an Egregore Link to pass through another barrier and temporarily disables an electrical barrier.

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE The Guardian scans Ether tanks
Osiris: Wine? No… concentrated Dark Ether. These are similar to Gahlran’s chamber in the royal baths, but without life support systems. Micro etchings along the interior walls… scratches.
}

** The Guardian passes through the next areas by utilizing more Egregore Links.

Osiris: Amsot kept notes on experiments as well. It seems that Scorn exposed to the anomaly all suffered contiguous neuron death. It consumed their minds. All but one, who “spoke with many dead voices.” This survivor would become the centerpiece of their studies.

** The Guardian uses more Egregore Links to pass through the Glykon’s irrigation system and hears whispers of familiar voices over the Glykon’s communication system.

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: You’re my favorite. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: This… this ain’t on you…
}

// OPTIONAL {
Cayde-6: Bring back some tales, Guardian.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Uldren Sov: [laughs] Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so very thin.
}

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE This line was spoken by Riven using Uldren Sov’s voice
Uldren Sov: Shall we be friends?
}

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE This line was spoken by Riven using Uldren Sov’s voice
Uldren Sov: But paradise is a prison when we cannot leave.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Ghaul: You’re not brave. You’ve merely forgotten the fear of death.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Ghaul: You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: I promised you true power. Here, you shall find it.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: Amuse me, Traveler-spawn.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: I have admired you for some time now. [laughs] You never fail to inspire.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Calus: Your people do not appreciate you as I do.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: So, Guardian… Go be you — the stray variable.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: You can’t blame yourself for every missing Guardian, Osiris.
}

// OPTIONAL {
Sagira: You say that like this isn’t your fault.
}

** The Guardian passes through one final barrier using an Egregore Link and jumps down a shaft. Locus of Communion appears.

Osiris: Put this decrepit creature to rest.

** The Guardian forces the Locus of Communion to retreat below the deck into the burning Boiler Room. The Guardian activates three Coolant Flush panels, proceeds below the deck, and battles the Locus of Communion and the Scorn. After repeating this process several times, the Guardian defeats the Locus of Communion.

Osiris: Guardian. This anomaly left in Mars’s wake… I have seen it and others like it. Too many Scorn for an active Guardian. In place of each world the Darkness stole. At the edge of our heliopause. Calus meant to commune with the Darkness.

** The Guardian exits the room through a vent.

// OPTIONAL {
// NOTE The Guardian scans a hologram of Calus
Osiris: This is an address from Calus to his crew. “I chose Gahlran, and his frailty betrayed us. He was too pure, too alone. Our new guests are neither. A glorious chain of Dark minds. An open mouth for the One in the Darkness, that it may sing in exaltation of my majesty. Greatness recognizes greatness. To invoke the attention of the End, our offer must be great.”
}

** The Guardian reaches the bridge and discovers an Unknown Guardian entangled in the flora.

Osiris: Faint traces of Light. That thing… was a Guardian. We’re too late — far too late. Take the rifle. It was offered, was it not? Better in your hands than left for another. I’ll speak to Zavala about authorizing exploratory outings. If we can recover our lost friend’s Ghost, we may learn more of how he died. Return to the City. We must assess our findings.

** The Guardian steals a rifle.

// REFERENCE {entry: Dead Man’s Tale}

2 Likes

This one covers all of Osiris’s dialogue from Week 1 (the first event) plus the first 5 scans for the triumph “Figments of an Answer.” I also included duplicates of the the whispers (familiar characters’ voices) we hear because they can play in each section.

In the first and second variations of Presage, Osiris calls them “exploratory outings” but I opted for “Expedition” - maybe we could call them “Exploratory Outings” or “Investigations” if Expeditions doesn’t feel quite right.

2 Likes

What about ‘visit’? We’ve used the term ‘visit’ in other transcripts.

2 Likes

** The Guardian proceeds.
Osiris: I’ve sourced the distortion. There’s an open patch into the ship’s computer. Perhaps courtesy of our lost friend.

can you confirm the above line @1:08?

i think a “field” or “barrier” might be clearer? barrier is used a couple times later.

my interpretation was completely different, not that these are coming over a communication system. any arguments for/against? if not, could we just adjust it to be less specific without implying spooky telepathy or whatever

anything specific, or just because lots of pipes?

i believe this voice line is way out of place. it seems like a comment regarding the boss battle, and the unlikelihood of finding katabasis alive.

it’s distinctly interrupting two related sentences about the darkness/anomalies though, so maybe a weird dialogue trigger happening.

1 Like

(1) Can confirm that “Osiris: I’ve sourced the distortion” line – I either deleted it by accident or forgot to add it, but it’s 100% in the video.

(2) Probably “barrier” would be best.

(3) It’s weird, because the voice is not directly in our ear like the other comms and it sounds distant. I’ve heard multiple people consider that it is a broadcast over the ship’s comms, but if it’s emanating from the Locus or is just from the Darkness, then it’s just around/nearby us. Theoretically, we see the Locus once before and then it flees, so it could be stalking us, kinda like how the Scorn were stalking Katabasis and that could explain why it sounds distant.

We could say "The Guardian hears familiar voices from their past in the distance" to keep it open to interpretation for where the sound comes from.

Something else I noticed that I just want to remember: the Guardian, Caiatl, and Osiris all experience hearing different voices from their past (Week 2), so it’s unique to the individual and others can’t hear. Same thing happens when you’re playing with friends, you all don’t hear the same voice, if not same voice but different messages. This ties in to the ambiance and how the Darkness is taunting us, wanting us to pursue it further through the ship because it’s not our typical way of hearing things.

(4) “Irrigation System” for me was because of all the pipes and it just reminded me of Leviathan’s Underbelly, and well, aircrafts have irrigation system onboard IRL. Is this too far-fetched or is there a better name to label it under?

(5) It is out of place, but every single run I’ve done while “Week 1” dialogue was available never triggered a ‘normal’ version. It was always this weird interruptive mesh. I do have a character that’s not played through Chosen’s story - I could see if any updates were made though tbh I doubt it has changed. I’ll circle back on that later.

Created Presage (First Visit) based on this post.