Originally Posted by
Malithar
It's all pretty confusing really. How did August seemingly come back a-ok after hundreds of years? I think it has to do with Ra'kaznar itself. We still have very little information about it. It's the only place in all of Ulbukka that has undead, demons, and arcana. Morimar and Darrcuiln both died there, and while only short term, were brought back and placed back into their bodies. Darrcuiln's body had to be healed with Teodor's powers, saying he didn't know if it was a miracle or a curse, or something like that. Maybe Ra'kaznar itself carries whatever properties Tartarus has concerning death and souls wondering. Maybe all the undead in there are actually former pioneers and such from ages past that were simply enslaved by Hades, not so much just reanimating their bodies, but taking control of their very souls because they were trapped there. Sorta like the Reive Unity KI quest, where you fight a Fomor. Undead aren't supposed to be around, and the Fomor is still somewhat in control, having only recently being turned. Gives me hopes that maybe someday we'll fight former Generals and such in there that are trapped.
I'm thinking August was thrown into Tartarus to seal him away. Perhaps Hades and him were evenly matched back in the day. We know that they (August and his generals) were successful in purging the three blood seals, so it's possible that their fight may of taxed Hades to the point that sealing August away was his only option. Still, hundreds of years in Tartarus did nothing to August, and the combination of a holy wyrm's breath, the leafkin matriarch's seed (which only exists due to him planting the world tree), and his sword bring him out of it? Why? And how is he not only unscathed, but at a high enough level of power to take down Hades seemingly effortlessly? Even through all of that, why was August still able to curse/torture the populace of Adoulin to keep them out of Ulbukka? They erected Rala Waterways in the past (idk when) in order to protect themselves from his spirit; it worked. Yet he was able to curse Ygnas. How?
And concerning blood seals, Teodor's was broken back in the day. Hades hasn't risen to power again since then. So how did Teodor's get replaced? Did he pay his dear old mentor a visit and get re-branded again at some point? Expiration date on his freedom? Seemed strange that we had to re-break him without any explanation given as to why he had the seal again. And agreed, no idea why Balamor had a seal. He's really a wild card in all of this. Hades never once even mentioned him (did he? I honestly can't remember if he mentioned him in passing as having sent you to him or anything), almost like he wasn't even aware of his presence.
Still a lot of unanswered questions and plot holes, but I'm still overall pretty happy with how the story has turned out. Maybe they will differ from previous expansions and introduce a lot of quests that further the story. Certainly a lot of room for it to continue to grow. inb4 Hades was just a pawn etc.
Edit: Also a new Adoulin Examiner article that seems like it woulda been kinda cool 3 months ago when Balamor released that curse. After the conclusion though? Seems silly.