Echo of Queen's Reign (Xarth Mire)

Synopsis

You enter Xarth's Skull to stop Queen Una from sacrificing Tristaine so that Una can gain full control over Ahnket and creating a new world tree. There are several little bits and suggestion in the text.

Instance Text

Entrance
Tasuil: This bone castle unnerves me.
Tasuil: I have seen that skull in my nightmares.
Anthousa: It is the skull of an Akvan.
Anthousa: At the beginning of creation, there was a great war between these nightmares and the celestial beings who created the planes.
Anthousa: This Xarth fell into the plane of life, where my ancestors were stewards of the land.
Anthousa: One among their kind, Una's father, if I understand correctly, discovered that they could bleed the dying Akvan for power.
Anthousa: This horrified the Kelari and the elves, and we abandoned this plane in disgust.
Anthousa: But Una's people stayed, and grew twisted and evil.
Anthousa: Until they became the monsters you see before us today.
Tasuil: And these are the people the Tower has fallen onto?
Tasuil: Those who are capable of doin such unspeakable things?
Anthousa: It is a curious coincidence isn't it?
Tasuil: I can tell from your voice that you don't think it is.
Anthousa: When the wanton corrupted the sourcewells of Ember Isle, many priests tried to pass it off as chance.
Anthousa: It was our bad luck that the spirits turned on us.
Anthousa: It was just bound to happen.
Tasuil: It wasn't was it?
Anthousa: It was my son. He and his cult awoke that dragon.
Anthousa: They sought power. The power of Maelforge and the Wanton.
Anthousa: The released the evil. They doomed by people in their quest for power.
Anthousa: The Tower my be a malevolent evil, but Una is just as bad.
Anthousa: We must stop her; whatever her plan is.

On Royal Guard Combat
Royal Guard: More blood for the Queen's Madstone.
Tasuil: Stand aside! Your Queen is about to commit a great evil. We have to stop her!
Anthousa: Tasuil, they live in a giant skull.
Anthousa: They know what side they are on.
Tasuil: How! All that sacrifice? All that pain?
Tasuil: How can you look someone in the eye and commit such evil?
Tasuil: How can you not think about what you are doing?
Anthousa: Power. They value power over all else.
Tasuil: Then I shall show them power...

• Tasuil removes his glamor and shows as his dragon form.*
  

Tasuil: Tell me, you lost children of the forest, HOW DOES IT FEEL?

On Royal Guard Combat End
Anthousa: It is done! Tasuil, regain your glamor.
Anthousa: We don't want Una putting you on her madstone.
Tasuil: You aren't upset?
Anthousa: You made a choice of what it takes for you to exercise power.
Anthousa: You are starting to think like a Prince.
Anthousa: I couldn't be more proud.

On interaction with Queen Una
Queen Una: This is a fitting audience for the ceremony.
Queen Una: The very ones that caused me such sadness.
Queen Una: The ones that stole my Son's love.
Tasuil: She has him on her madstone!
Anthousa: Una, do not do this!
Anthousa: To lose your child in this pursuit would be unbearable.
Anthousa: You talk of your love, but never your loss. Even you could not deal with the guilt.
Queen Una: I have sacrificed children I love more for less.
Queen Una: An animal such as you could never understand the depths of my love.
Queen Una: But it is you that forced this upon me. You removed all other options.
Queen Una: It is I who called for the Tower.
Queen Una: I heard Ahnket's song in the dark beyond the cosmos.
Queen Una: The power and strength was like nothing I had ever sensed.
Queen Una: I could use such a creation, to work my will, to reshape Creation.
Queen Una: Ahnket would become a great world tree.
Queen Una: With the planes as fruit in her branches, and the mortals tangled in her roots.
Queen Una: And I would be Queen eternal.
Tasuil: That is- insane.
Anthousa: She is well past that.
Queen Una: Goodbye my bonnie child. I may have lost your love, but you will never lose mine.
Tristaine: No! Mother, I've changed my mind!
Tasuil: No! Wait!
Anthousa: Stop!
scream of anguish and pain that transforms into a monstrous form
Queen Una: I will never forgive you three.
Queen Una: I will never forgive your filthy world of mortals.
Queen Una: You took my son's love.
Queen Una: You forced me to resort to the most painful of sacrifices.
Queen Una: When I plant the tower as the new World Tree, its roots will grow strong through your bones.
Queen Una: Now, my coven, earn my love and bring the foci outside.
Queen Una: Guests will soon be arriving.
Tasuil: No! How could she?
Tasuil: He was her son. He loved her.
Tasuil: Why?
Anthousa: We must get to Tristai- to the Foci!
Anthousa: If we allow it to continue, she will take control of Ahnket!
Anthousa: As deadly as the tower is on its own, we don't want it under the sway of that insane Queen!

On interaction outside Xarth's Skull
Tasuil: No wonder the cosmos is so messed up.
Tasuil: No wonder we fight.
Anthousa: I can hear them out there. Something is coming.
Anthousa: These walls are stronger than stone!
Anthousa: She will most likely be turning the shards and sentinels over to her power.
Anthousa: But if we don't get out there soon, her control will spread to the main tower.
Queen Una: Come to me Ahnket! Come to your eternal Queen!
Queen Una: Give me your obedience! Give me all of your love!
Ahnket: This was the call I heard in the space between universes.
Ahnket: It was you that told me of the Plane of Life.
Ahnket: It was you that directed me towards the Plane of Fire.
Ahnket: I cannot seem to resist your will.
Queen Una: You are now the land, which I had long ago been given dominion over.
Queen Una: Now transform for me Ahnket!
Queen Una: Become the world tree!
Queen Una: Soon I will plant you upon the rock of Telara!
Queen Una: Soon I will remake this unloved Cosmos!
Tasuil: Ascended! We must save Tristaine!
Tasuil: Destroy the sentinels! These shards of the tower must never make it out of here!

On killing a sentinel
Tasuil: That one down!
Anthousa: I do not think it will be this easy to defeat the Queen.
Tasuil: What? The Shards of Ahnket came back! How?
Queen Una: Faithless dragon, Ahnket is the land. She is the comet that we ride.
Queen Una: You could destoy all the land beneath our feet and there would still be more Ahnket!
Anthousa: Ascended, Tasuil, it's not Ahnket that we need to destroy here.
Anthousa: It's the Foci!
Anthousa: If we destroy the Foci, she loses her control.
Tasuil: No, that is Tristaine! We can't kill him. We need to turn him back!
Tasuil: He's innocent in this.
Anthousa: He may be a victim, but he is gone.
Anthousa: His mother's spell has transformed him.
Anthousa: He is lost. He is just her Foci now.
Anthousa: His live means our destruction.
Tasuil: Forgive us Tristaine.
Tasuil: I failed you

On Combat End
Queen Una: Noooo!
Queen Una: My foci! My power! All gone!
Queen Una: I sacrificed my beautiful boy for it.
Queen Una: And you destroyed it. It was all for nothing!
Tasuil: Now you must face justice for your crimes, Una!
Queen Una: Crimes? I am the Witch Queen. I may do as I please.
Queen Una: But I am in mourning. My son has been slain.
Queen Una: My plan has failed. The old magics slip through my fingers.
Anthousa: You will submit to the Ascended, Una.
Anthousa: Or we will destroy you.
Queen Una: No, no, no, no, no, NO!
Queen Una: I must weep for my boy.
Queen Una: I have lost Tristaine, and his father Fionn.
Queen Una: All that I have sacrificed. It is for nothing.
Queen Una: I will not forgive this.
Queen Una: Begone with you.
Queen Una teleports everyone back to the entrance
Tasui: How did we get back here?
Anthousa: Queen Una's magic.
Anthousa: She was using her power to work her spell of control.
Anthousa: When we destroyed the foci- killed Tristaine, she could work her witchcraft on us.
Anthousa: It is fortunate that she was so mad with grief as to send us away rather than to destroy us.
Tasuil: Anthousa... Do you think about your son, Jace, much?
Anthousa: Every day.
Tasuil: Would you have ever sacrificed him?
Anthousa: Idid, Tasuil. I sacrificed him to save my people.
Anthousa: I try to tell myself that this is different than what Una just did.
Anthousa: But perhaps this is only true because I succeeded.
Tasuil: Ascended, Anthousa, lets go back to Bailghol.
Tasuil: We will mourn those that we lost, and plan for the next crisis we must face.
Tasuil: But also, lets celebrate living another day.
Tasuil: We saved Telara, the planes, the entire cosmos from the evil of Una, from destruction by Ahnket.
Tasuil: Let us find joy with those who love us.
Anthousa: You have become wise as well as strong, Tasuil. Soon, I will not be able to teach you anything.