Lore
- The Conquerors of the Atlas
- The Nature of the Atlas
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「最初に着いた探検家たちは地形を見るため丘に登り、
大地が波打ち、ぶつかり、ねじれる光景を驚きながら見つめた。」 -
「この奇妙な新しい場所には季節はあったが、太陽と雪のものではなかった。
波のように上がっては下がる石の季節。
構造と成長と狂気と混沌の季節。
因果を持つようには見えぬ誕生と腐敗の季節。」 -
「一時はこの場所には歴史上の全てを超える
帝国が育つと思われた。
彼らはその地を手懐け、支配することができると思っていた。
だが支配とは、その地の他の全てのものと同様に、幻に過ぎなかった。」 -
Not too long ago I'd have told you that maps were a beautiful mix of science, thaumaturgy, and imagination, that I need only picture a place to conjure a path to it.
I thought them a paradise waiting to happen, but they're more like a tempting morsel sitting below a massive cage. The hunter may be no more, but all the traps are still set. -
I long thought corruption a phenomenon unique to Wraeclast, but you need only a passing glance at any one of the lands in the Atlas to see that something frighteningly similar, if not identical, has taken hold there.
Is it the corruption that is unique to Wraeclast, or is it the apparent lack of corruption elsewhere that's truly the rarity? Instead of lamenting the cursed continent, perhaps we should be counting our uncorrupted blessings. -
During my first forays into the Atlas, I felt like every bit of progress unlocked deeper understanding about the nature of existence. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't the reverse.
There are times when I feel like the Atlas is watching me, observing me, and offering me a glimpse of my desires to keep me coming back. It's as though the deeper into it I explore, the more it wraps itself around my mind. -
I first started exploring the Atlas as a way to grow closer to my estranged father. I had no idea just how close I would get to him, though there was not much left of his mind by then...
Looking back, I think I was overly optimistic about what the Atlas could mean for... well, for everyone. Imagine limitless worlds, limitless resources, limitless open space in which to live.
But now I understand that it all comes at an insurmountable price. To dwell there is to leave yourself vulnerable to unspeakable madness. It's inescapable and insidious. It taps into your greatest desires, offering you a glimpse of what might be, and that temptation... it's all I could do to stop myself from falling into the same patterns as my friends...
The work we're doing is important, but it's also risky. Please, if you start to feel your sanity slip away, you need to tell me. -
The group of exiles that slew the Elder was, unfortunately, not the first group I'd enlisted. The rest went mad or were slain much more quickly, and yet even the dead ones are still rattling around out there. I don't think they will cause much of a problem for you, unless one of my former allies gets to them first.
-
I returned to Oriath with one of the early survivor fleets, excited to finally have the opportunity to put my knowledge to good use. During the rebuilding effort, we stumbled across the golden device -- a device I later learned once belonged to my father.
I'd hoped that it might be useful in the resettlement effort at first, but when we discovered the Elder, it became clear that what lay beyond the device's portals was more likely to harm than help. I assembled a team in absolute secrecy, comprised of exiles who had proved their combat know-how in Wraeclast, and set to work sealing the Elder away. We were successful. The relief I felt... it was indescribable. But...
The Atlas is a dangerous place. It assaults both body and mind. It makes Wraeclast seem positively tame. My team, my friends, they were deeply affected by the journey. The allure of power finally caused them to lose their grip on reality.
And it was only a matter of time until I joined them. -
I'm sorry if I came across as harsh, but by entering the Atlas, you may have jeopardised all of humanity.
My name is Zana, and some time ago I took a group of exiles like yourself into the Atlas. Our task, to ensure a creature named the Elder never reached our world, was of immeasurable importance. Even though the exiles I recruited were adept combatants, the journey was difficult. Yet we succeeded. We defeated the Elder. Though we couldn't save--... we still succeeded.
I thought we were done, but... but my companions just kept... returning. Over and over again, they would enter the Atlas, wiping clean entire worlds. It wasn't about saving Oriath, or discovery, it was just... killing.
The Atlas does strange things to one's thought processes. I thought at first the madness was a symptom of the Elder, but now... it's the Atlas itself. I'm sure of it.
But these exiles are now so strong... I saw no other choice but to destroy our only way out. I sealed us all in and waited for death to find us.
Instead, I found you. - Falling Out
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愛しのランドレン
この奇妙な場所を離れることはできないようだ。ガイドによると、私たちがここに来るために使った装置は壊れてしまっていて、直すことができないそうだ。家に帰る道が開かれるには奇跡が必要らしい。残念ながら、私たちは奇跡の価値を知っている。
勇敢な探検家がこの場所を発見し、この手紙があなたに届くことを祈るしかない、それは1000年後のことかもしれないが。
あと数回だけでもいいから、あなたと一緒に過ごせたら、そしてもう一度だけ、あなたの手を私の手の中に感じられたら。どんなに強く願っただろう。運命はそれを見ていた。裁判所での私達の日々のように。義務は欲望より優先されなければならない。
あなたが安全でいられるようできることは全てやったと思います。
あなたが幸せを見つけることを祈っています。
永遠にあなたのものです。
バラン - ハンター、アルヘズミン
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When you spend as much time in the Atlas as we did, basic survival skills no longer suffice, and it becomes necessary to master the lay of the land. That's a tall ask in a place where the land changes from day to day, and yet Al-Hezmin took to it like a rhoa to mud. I could not count the number of times he saved us from getting lost in endless twisting caverns, or spotted the tracks of a dangerous beast far sooner than the rest of us would have.
Our praise must have gone to his head, because he began to strive to be the best at all times. If Drox brought back two boars from a hunt, he needed to bring back three. In battle, he had to deal the flashiest and most devastating blows, and he had to make sure we all saw him do it.
His fixation on honing his skills was actually quite useful during our campaign against the Elder, so at the time we thought nothing of it, but... It hollowed him out in some fundamental way. He was full of bravado, yet at the same time desperately afraid of being exposed as merely second or third best. He was never unkind to me, even as the madness crept upon him, but for capable warriors like Drox that threatened his self-image... A clash was inevitable. We slipped away in the dead of night, but I doubt we've escaped a man of his talents. He's out there, lurking and watching, waiting for the best time to strike... - ウォーロード、ドロクス
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この手つかずの果てしない大地には、いつも地平線の向こうに青々とした丘が広がっている。かつては追放され、全てを失ったが、今、私は新しい人生を築ける領域を見つけた。
エルダーとシェイパーがいなくなった今、私たちはここで法と正義の王国を作ることができる。テンプラー達の過激な支配から逃れることができる。もう奴らのような権力者を恐れる必要はない。私が先頭に立ち、我が力を人々を平等かつ公正に支配する法とするのだ。
夢物語かも知れないが、私が力を用いれば現実にすることのできる夢だ。私が危険を取り除いた谷は、いつの日か私がここに連れてくる人々のための谷となる。彼らは自由に行き、私は彼らの領主となる。恐怖や宗教ではなく、人々の尊敬により統治するのだ
公平なドロックス -
谷を占拠することで、私の領地の幅と面積は広がるが、私がそこから帰るとその地は再び幻影と歪んだ想像の怪物が広がってしまうようだ。私が移動すると、霧が病んだ生き物に影響してしまうのか、それとも私は自分の来た道を戻ることができていないのか。霧の中に失われた王国は、王国とは言えない。
しかし、私の力が増すにつれ、霧はわずかながら私の期待に応えてくれるようになった。私の力が揺るぎないものになれば、この領域をより巧みにコントロールできるかもしれない。
そう、それが鍵なのだ。私はもっと強くならなければならない。そうしてこそ、私の王国は現実のものとなるのだ。
強大なドロックス -
I've seen my fair share of combat, Exile, but never have I seen someone more comfortable on the battlefield than Drox. Though he was not our leader, he was our commander. When an impossible decision had to be made in the midst of battle, somehow, Drox always found the right path forward. He led us through numerous situations we thought fatal with an unflagging warm grin that let us know he believed in us.
But at some point, almost imperceptibly, Drox stopped making decisions for the group, and started focusing only on his new dream. His smiles turned to scowls. He remained fixated on this mad idea of building a kingdom in the Atlas. He became cold to Veritania and distant to the rest of us. All his efforts went towards securing the Atlas and establishing law. His obsession was putting us in danger, and that is something I could not tolerate.
When I led the group away from him, he either didn't notice, or didn't care. - リディーマー、ヴェリタニア
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アトラスと呼ばれるこの世界には、不安を覚えるわ。エルダーとシェイパーが支配権を求めて戦ったとき、その領域はある種の暴力的な意味を持っていた。私たちが戦った雑多な創造物には、明確な目的があった。その目的が失われた今、この土地は原初の思いのままに形を変えられる粘土に戻り、我々の欲望そのものを捧げ物とし、欲望の充足をしようとしているかのようだ。
昔、私が追放される前、つまり人間の野暮ったい大人の現実を本当に知る前に、私はセオポリスのカーニバルで鏡のホールをさまよったことがある。松明が揺らめく中、私は自分が無限大に映し出されるのを見た。最終的には地平線ではなく、自分自身の像が暗く縮んでいき、自分自身の反響に隠れてますます遠くなるのを見た。
アトラスの霧も同じである。霧もなければ、湿気もなく、曖昧にし、巻き上げるような靄もない。ただ、私の意志、私の思考、私の期待が、広大で計り知れない空間に無数のエコーとして映し出されるだけだ。純粋な存在であれば、ここは楽園となるのだろうが、私たちは死すべき存在であり、悪徳に満ち溢れている。
欲望は、ここでの真の敵である。
訓練をしたヴェリタニア -
シラスを失う前の短い期間、私はこのエグザイルたちを友人と呼んでいた。おそらく、家族とさえも呼んでいた。"死 "を前にした者同士は、ある種の "絆 "で結ばれる。それが、私たちを集中させた。だが私たちは死ななかった。シラスは自分を犠牲にし、我々は勝利した。
その代償は?私たちは離れ離れになっている。各自が形のない地平線に望むものを見、各自が自分の道を追求する。私はバランが正義の怒りで聖戦を続けるのを見た。何日前のことかはわからない。ここでは太陽が日を告げることはない。 踏み入れる谷に太陽が登っているのは私が、太陽が空に登っていることを期待しているからではないか?それぞれの谷に空があるのは、私がそう期待するからではないか?私はもう何も信じられなくなった。
しかし、私は自分の信念を貫く一方で、他の人たちが欲望に溺れていくのを目の当たりにしている。ドロックスは、自分が王となって、この地に新しい王国を築くことができると信じている。彼のプライドのせいで、彼は私からますます遠ざかっていく。アル・ヘズミンは、ドロックスやバランよりも強くなろうと、より危険な敵に対して技を磨こうとしている。奇妙な種類の嫉妬は、彼の魂と彼を取り巻く土地の両方を毒している。
みんな嫌な奴になってきた。
道徳的なヴェリタニ -
今わかった。私はこの場所の道徳的な中心としての役割を果たさなければならない。他の人たちは、自分たちの欲望の追求に没頭している。彼らは耽溺の靄の中に迷い込んだ妄想中毒者に過ぎず、彼らのことを考えると吐き気がする。
私が霧の中の恐怖と戦い続けるのは、彼らを抑制する必要があるからだ。混沌とした世界に秩序を与えるには純粋な者が力を必要とする。アル・ヘズミンやドロックスのような不潔な悪習を広めることは許されない。
そう、私は私たちの中で唯一、鏡の回廊から解放された者なのだ。私だけが、まだはっきりと考えている。手遅れになる前に、ここから脱出しなければならない...。私たちを救えるのは、私しかいない。
純粋なるヴェリタニア -
憎むべき、汚らわしい化け物だ!このアトラスには、悪魔がはびこっている。四方八方、霧の中から現れ、踊り、笑い、食べ、飲み、戯れ、人間の弱さをグロテスクに誇張している。咀嚼するときの唇の音は耳に障り、ワインを飲み干すときの膨らんだ喉の音は怒りに満ち、コインや宝石、黄金の宝を抱く姿は震え上がるばかりだ。
自分がいかに忌まわしい存在であるかがわからないのだろうか。消費するのをやめ、摂取するのをやめ、自らがいかに唾棄すべきものかを見るがいい!胃袋に詰め込むすべての食品、自分に言い聞かせるすべての嘘は、自らをより悪辣な怪物にしているだけだ。お前は変化している。形が崩れている。口が膨らみ、大きくなり、目が大きくなり、手が肥大化する。自分の姿が見えないのだろうか!
私はあなたの弱さを浄化することで、あなた自身の悪徳からあなたを救いましょう。
救済者ヴェリタニア -
When I met her, Veritania was a paradox. She was quiet and reserved to the point of reclusiveness, yet she seemed to feel compelled to help others by a humanistic moral code she'd profess by the campfire. Before, she took care of the hungry, the down-on-their-luck, the homeless, the addicted, and the enslaved alike. She was, in fact, exiled for her charity work... helping one too many mistreated Maraketh or Karui made powerful people in Oriath very angry.
As we explored the Atlas, Veritania's mind became an invaluable resource. Thanks to her, we were able to stretch our limited resources farther than I could've possibly hoped, avoiding fruitless confrontations and conserving our strength for moments that mattered most. She'd see a bad situation coming sooner than anyone, and help steer us away from it.
But her mind, like the others, soon broke beneath the weight of the Atlas, and the once-merciful Veritania became contemptuous of all we encountered. It was impossible for anyone but Drox to meet her increasingly high standards. She broke away from the group not long after we left him. The last time I saw her, she accused me of using the mysteries of Atlas as a drug to distract myself from the loss of my father. After that barb, you can imagine I'm not too eager to see her again. - クルセイダー、バラン
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Like many of those once loyal to the Templar regime, Baran held particular contempt for his former brethren. Our mutual disdain for Dominus helped us bond. We stayed up far too late on many nights, discussing where science and spirituality overlapped... and where they clashed.
While I tended to agree with Veritania's secular view that people must be responsible for their own actions, Baran was still a firm believer that trust in God was necessary for good moral judgement. Despite everything the Templar put him through, his faith was unshaken.
We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but we respected each other's positions. Of course, once the madness set in, that respect vanished, replaced by fevered argument and name-calling. As the group dwindled, he found reasons to cast doubt on each of the departed. In our last fight before the two of us went our separate ways, he accused me of being sent by a shadowy demon to draw him away from the righteous path...
And then I was alone. -
So that's it then. Baran can't be saved. Caeserius... did she understand the costs? Did she know the fate she was consigning my brother to? I've no small bitterness over how far she went to try to save her father, yet here we are, abandoning my brother to eternal madness. There's nothing to be done about it, but it still burns.
-
In my heart, I do blame her for what happened to Baran. If he was simply dead, that would be one thing, but he's out there suffering eternal madness because of her. I can't deny that bitterness. However, duty calls. The people we've got are it. If we tried to explain all this to the citizen Magistrates, Caeserius would be locked up for her associations with criminals, and we'd all be thrown in an asylum for our wild tales. We must face this 'Sirus' together, all grievances aside.
- Watchstones and The Return of Sirus
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彼らは私を置いていった。私が助けを必要とする時に、私を置き去りにしていった。
暗黒の球体に光が飲み込まれるのを見たのを覚えている。持ち上げられたんだ。そいつが何かを掴もうと手を伸ばしていたのを覚えている。絶望だ。前に踏み出したのを覚えている。自分のこともオリアスのことも考えていなかった。ただ友のことを考えていた、それに生活を私に頼っている兄弟姉妹のことを考えていた。そいつが冷たい手をキツく握ったのを覚えている、そして私は滑り落ちたんだ。
覚えているのは... ガラスだ。ガラスに包まれていた。動くことも話すこともできなかった。だが全てを見ることはできた。私は全てを見たんだ。皆を見たんだ。彼らが去っていくのを見た。彼女が去るのを見た。全てがとても素早かった。千の昼と夜が一瞬で過ぎ去った。それから...
虚無だ。私は何も感じない。悲しみも怒りも。楽しみや痛みも喜びも。私は自由だった。自由に動けたし好きなところにはどこにでも行けた。欲望もない。世界をありのまま見ることができた。
「無」だ。 -
この手紙の発見者へ、
この奇妙で歪んだ領域で起こったことは、理解を超えている。時間よりも古くから存在する邪悪なものがこの地を徘徊し、オリアスの息子であるヴァルド・シーザリアスの記憶を糧としていた。
彼を食べた悪魔は計り知れないほどの力を持ち、私たちが発見した「腐敗」と呼ばれるものを広めるという欲望に揺るぎはなかった。どれだけの期間、悪魔を追い続けたかは知らない。私の仲間が狂気の兆候を見せ始めたほどだ。シラスの勇敢なリーダーシップと... 犠牲がなければ、我々は間違いなく悪魔に敗北していただろう。
何度やっても悪魔を倒せず... ヴァルドの娘が悪魔を封じる方法を見つけたが...そのためにザナの父親が犠牲になった。彼の魂に安息あれ。シラスがいなければ、我々の作戦は失敗していた。悪魔は屈せず、ザナの装置から這い上がってきた。シラスは... その上に飛び乗った。悪魔が彼の身体を掴み、装置を掴んでいた手を離した。シラスと悪魔は罠に捕まり、この現実から消え去った。二人共この世界からいなくなった。
そして、シラスは再びそこにいた。その姿を見た者はいない。目は動かず、瞬きもせず、その呟きは...。狂おしく、絶え間ない。そして、黒い魂に取り憑かれた男にだけ見うけられる風に、彼の顔は歪んでいた。彼は何度も何度も私たちに襲いかかってきた。私たちは彼を抑えることができなかった。私たちはその場から逃げ出さなければならなかった。その時、私たちは帰り道が封印されていることを知った。ヴァルドの娘が我々の帰還を妨害したのだ。
どれくらいの間ここに閉じ込められていたのかわからない。少なくとも数週間。もしかしたら数年かもしれない。アトラスでの時間は蜃気楼のようなものだ。
どうか読者諸君、少しでも分別があるのなら、ここに留まってはいけない。オリアスに帰れ、あるいはどこから来たのか知らんが来た場所に戻れ。シラスの勇敢さと犠牲を伝え、彼と我々を、発見した秘密とともに死なせてくれ。
信仰無き者バラン -
彼は沈黙した。そしてついにその狂った呟きをやめた。
それは避けられないことだった。私たちがどこに進んでも、どこに隠れても、どこに慰めを求めても、彼のつぶやきは私たちを見つけた。私たちが別れても、彼の声は蛇のように私たちの頭に巻きつき、他のあらゆる思考を歪んだ形に押し込めてしまった。そのような絶え間ない騒音の中で、私は神のささやきを聞くことができなかった。
私は今、彼を訪ねる勇気がない。私はただこの牢獄を抜け出し、あの不埒な冒涜者、シーザリアスの愚かさを罰したいだけだ。その後、軍勢を率いてここに戻り、アトラスを征服するつもりだ。神の名の下に国家を樹立することが、これ以上の信仰の証となろうか。それからはどうする?神のお告げに従おう。
神は私に扉を示してくれた。石を、道を彼らは明らかにしてくれた。私が見つける必要があるのは正しい鍵だけだ。
全能の神、私はあなたのしもべです。私はあなたの剣です。私はあなたのものです。心も体も魂も。あなたが望むものをすべてあなたに届けると約束します。
祝福されし者バラン -
When Baran fled, he left a stone behind. Superficially, it resembles a virtue gem, but I don't think that's quite what it is.
When we defeated the Elder, we didn't kill it. I don't think something like that can be killed. Instead, we sealed the Elder using a device designed by my father -- a design we salvaged from physical memories of his we found. When we sealed the demon, some of my father's memories were expelled, along with those of the Elder's countless other victims. They were muddled together, completely unparsable.
These stones are what's left of the Elder's victims from across aeons. Crystallised and concentrated, and drawing the latent energies of the Atlas towards them. To hold one is to hold countless lives in your hand, to fill your mind with a maddening mix of sounds and images and emotions.
I don't know if Baran knew what he had, but I think he knew what it did. They are intoxicatingly powerful. It took all my willpower to lift my hand from the stone and step away. I can't in good conscience let you take them, but that doesn't mean we can't use them in our fight against the Elderslayers. -
Each Watchstone contains an immense amount of information from the earliest explorers of the Atlas. As the Exiles seek to hide from us, they will undoubtedly move into deeper territories, masking their paths. But these paths are known to the souls in these stones.
I know of places in the Atlas where these stones might be used to reveal those paths. Show me on the Atlas where you want to explore more deeply, and I can use the stones to reveal locations long-hidden. Be careful, though, for these Watchstones will empower everything near them, and are certain to draw our foes out of hiding. -
I suppose I was a fool for thinking I could just lock us all away -- it was always only a matter of time before someone's curiosity got the better of them.
Exile, I know who you are and what you've done. I know you are strong. Capable of slaying gods! But the other exiles in the Atlas... they are beyond compare.
Yet, they must be stopped. We have a small window while they do not understand that there is a way back to Wraeclast. They are trying to find other ways out.
I've begun finding altars like this one hidden in the spaces between maps. I'm worried the others are building them as a means of escape. We need to find a way to stop them.
I'm sorry. I know you've done so much... but who else can possibly do what I ask?
These Exiles have found hidden pathways like this one. I'm not sure where they hide, but if you can find out, I can get us there. I'll be waiting in your hideout. - 世界を覚醒させる者
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There's something happening to the Atlas, Exile. When you socketed the fourth Watchstone in a Citadel, something responded. A storm on the horizon... a creek becomes a river... I'm not a man of metaphor, but I don't know how else to describe the crackling feeling of power on the wind. If the Atlas is a sleeping giant, our unknown force out there is slowly waking it.
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While you've been tracking the Conquerors, I've continually noticed swaths of devastation left by a force unknown. The land reshapes and awakens with riotous power afterwards, so I thought it might simply be a property of the Atlas, but now I see there's a pattern: a storm. There's a storm somewhere out there, massive beyond anything we've ever seen, and roaring with enough force to disintegrate anything in its path. That storm... I'd bet my eye we'll find our enigmatic Awakener right at the center.
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No... Sirus is still alive? Gods, I thought he was dead! He took the brunt of the energy released when we sealed the Elder. How did he survive?
Sirus was the leader of the group of Exiles I recruited. Brilliant and determined, and a force to be reckoned with even before we travelled the Atlas together. We... grew close. I was distraught when he vanished with the Elder. At first I thought the other Exiles were looking for him as I was, but perhaps they knew he was still alive...
I have a terrible feeling that Sirus may be tied to the madness of the others. Or perhaps he is just as mad as they are. We need to find and stop him -- if the others are looking for a way out, I'm certain he is too. -
Exile, this is urgent. While you were gone, our Map Device began acting strangely. Vibrating, humming, aligning its gears as though being tugged by invisible strings. I fear I know the cause...
There's an enormous storm at the heart of the Atlas that has masked all information in that region since Sirus' return. Sirus wants to escape, and he may have found a way. A Map Device of his own creation, built inside the Atlas, for a journey back to Wraeclast. That's the only possible explanation for our own Map Device's erratic movements. Even that storm wouldn't be able to diffuse the energies of another Device.
We must hurry, Exile. If Sirus makes it back to Oriath... Gods... We must destroy that device, or all is lost. -
The man Sirus was and the entity that destroyed our homes are night and day. Whatever happened to him in the wake of The Elder's sealing stole the very essence of his being. When Sirus returned, he returned incomplete, missing that vital essence.
Not long ago I might've held hope that we'd find that piece out there, that the true Sirus might be drifting through the Atlas, waiting for us to find him and bring him home.
I know better now than to hope. Perhaps the Atlas has eroded that part of me, as well. -
Was he an evil man? I think on it when I'm trying to sleep at night, because it seems the wound he gave me will never fully heal. It itches like rabid mudflies, damn latent disintegration eating away at me about the same speed as the skin naturally grows back...
Oh, but Sirus. I can't imagine being abandoned in darkness for a subjective eternity. I also can't imagine becoming so hollow that I would attack people I loved. I suppose, in the end, it doesn't matter. We did what we had to do... and we will again, when the time comes. - The Second Fall of Oriath
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Seems enough was enough. The Vanguard undertook the largest evacuation in history... hundreds of ships... and Oriath has been abandoned. After the domination of the Templar, then the crackdown under Innocence, then the slaughter at Kitava's hands, and finally the ruination by Sirus, it's clear our little island is no place for men to live. Even cursed, one could say, though we are not entirely blameless for those disasters.
No small irony that the Oriathan people now depend upon the Karui we once enslaved. I always said that if you kick a rhoa in the arse, one day, it'll kick you in the head, but I underestimated the honour of our new hosts. They're different after the death of their gods... and we are, too, after the departure of ours. I wasn't a believer, but I can feel it. We're on our own now.
We're going to have to work together to face what comes next...