Remus

Remus was the Sebastos and God King of Remuria,^[1] a historical nation located in Fontaine. Originally from Sumeru, his land was conquered by King Deshret, leading him to seek his fate in other lands.

Remus' desire to maintain his nation's eternal prosperity and free humanity from the shackles of fate ultimately led it to its own destruction. Though Remus realized the error of his ways and attempted to end the disaster of his own creation, he ultimately failed, and his demise led to Egeria's return to Fontaine.

Profile

As a God King, Remus had "unsurpassed authority,"^[2] although he also shared governance of Remuria with four humans of great capability known as the Four Harmosts, two of whom were Boethius and Cassiodor.^[3] He was also friends with Scylla, the Prince of Vishaps, and Scylla still remembers Remus fondly.^[4]

Remuria's destruction came at the hands of Remus' "Grand Symphony," which aimed to avert their prophesied destruction by allowing humanity to take charge of their own destinies.^[5] Remus believed that the water from the Primordial Sea could bring wisdom and life to Remuria, using it to create Ichor which would allow his people to transcend the confines of mortality.^[6]

Quests and Events

World Quests

• Canticles of Harmony
  • Prelude: Petrichorror Dream
    • The Shadow Over Petrichor
  • Second Movement: Prisoner in Shackles
    • The Last Day of Remuria
  • Third Movement: Pharsalia's Rhapsody
    • Gradus ad Capitolium

Story

Remus was a god from Sumeru, where he was a "singer of the oases" in his homeland. After King Deshret conquered his homeland, Remus refused to serve him and chose to leave Sumeru instead, heading towards the High Sea to seek a place to die. There, he accidentally discovered the ruins of a forgotten city — one which was older than the High Seas itself — and met the city's only surviving inhabitants: Sybilla, a former envoy tasked with guarding the Irminsul tree there, and the other Golden Bees. They foretold that Remus was destined to come here; that he would create a new, prosperous, and thriving nation; and that the nation's desire for justice would lead to its downfall. Remus' begrudging acceptance of his destiny caused the Irminsul to turn into a golden ship,^[7] which they used to establish the empire of Remuria over the waters.^[8]

Remuria

Remus' reign was a prosperous one, known as the "golden era" and the "grand symphony" of Fontaine. Remus is credited for helping his people develop agriculture, construct giant cities and temples, and spread the beauty of music and art.^[9] To push his dream of creating a harmonious, enlightened civilization,^[6] he used the Fortuna to call other tribes to join the empire of Remuria and conquered any tribe which refused to join him, such as the tribe which Erinnyes and Cassiodor hailed from.^[10]

After turning Remuria into a flourishing civilization, Remus' worries about its future led him to seek a way to avert the destruction that Sybilla had prophesied. Though she believed it to be a futile effort, citing the rise and fall of civilizations as the law of Fortuna, she pointed him to Egeria, who was imprisoned in the depths of the Primordial Sea, to find a possible solution.^[11] Scylla, who was guarding Egeria's prison, attacked him, and they did battle for thirty days and thirty nights. Afterward, their exhaustion gave Remus an opening to explain the reason for his arrival. Bemused by Remus' futile dream, Scylla granted him passage to visit Egeria.^[12]

To Remus' dismay, his meeting with Egeria yielded no results, as Fontaine's fate was sealed by her "original sin" of creating a new race of humans using the Primordial Sea's power.^[12][13] She gave him a goblet of primordial water, which he promised to use to "create a world of endless prosperity, one without conflict." Intrigued by Remus' ideals, Scylla decided to leave the Primordial Sea to join his cause.^[14]

Grand Symphony and Downfall

To avert the prophecy and overturn Fortuna's control over humanity, Remus began developing Phobos, or his Grand Symphony, by combining his powers with Sybilla's wisdom. Remus granted his people eternal life by mixing the primordial water he previously received with an immortal stone, creating golden Ichor. This could dissolve people's physical bodies while containing their souls and minds, allowing them to be transferred into undying golems.^[15] Such Remurians, who were known as "ascended" Remurians,^[16] were also attuned to the Grand Symphony, which told them the course they should take for a harmonious future. Eventually, the Grand Symphony would be able to control Fortuna itself, allowing humanity to take charge of their own fates and obtain true free will. Remus' massive ship was used to create the Domus Aurea, a giant harp from which the Grand Symphony would be played.

However, Remus' plan went awry. Without their mortal lifespans and perishable bodies, ascended Remurians began thinking themselves superior to all other humans, even going as far as to believe that non-Remurians were inferior entities who could not be considered human. Sybilla used her own life to create Phobos,^[17] and it inherited her desire to make all humans happy. However, because Sybilla had no persona (i.e. 'will') of her own, Phobos in turn adopted Remurians' self-centered ideas and biases, and began satisfying their selfish and destructive desires.^[18] Rather than fulfilling Remus' original design of a peaceful and harmonious empire, Remurians began waging war against Lochfolk, Vishaps, and other human civilizations in accordance to the Grand Symphony's instructions, believing this to be Remus' will.^[19] Other Remurians became unable to hear the Grand Symphony, causing them to panic due to their reliance on its guidance.^[17]

Outside of Remuria, enmity and resentment built up against them, particularly from tribes which originally worshipped Egeria and the Oceanids, like the Aremorica and their allies. A resistance group known as the Lochknights, led by Erinnyes, formed to fight against Remus and his Harmosts.^[20] The Harmost Boethius and his followers, were convinced that the path to Remus' ideal world and a free humanity meant subjugating all non-Remurians,^[6][21] causing chaos to spread throughout the land.^[22]

As Remus became aware of the problems with Phobos, he decided to put an end to the very symphony he had created. He separated Cassiodor, who became a Harmost after joining Remuria, from the Golden Symphony so he could act on his free will and lead the Remurians who were acting on "blind faith."^[17] Then, unbeknownst to Cassiodor, he conspired with Scylla to destroy the Grand Symphony entirely by giving Scylla his final symphony, the Requiem — the Grand Symphony's self-destruction order — and sacrificing his life to activate it. Remus would unleash the Requiem's power, while Scylla would enter the Domus Aurea to control the primordial energy unleashed and return Remurians to their original flesh-and-blood forms. To enter Domus Aurea without arousing suspicion about his true purpose, Scylla would "betray" Remuria and lead the barbarians and vishaps in an invasion against the capital city.^[14][17]

However, Phobos learned of Remus' designs and — unknown to the god or his allies — had devoured Boethius, turning the Harmost into its puppet. Believing Remus to have betrayed his original goal, "Boethius" lured Scylla and his allies into a trap, sealing the Prince of Vishaps for the next few thousands of years.^[23] Meanwhile, Remus' final attempt to steer his people in the right direction met with similar failure, as Boethius and his follower rejected Remus' instructions to put an end to the war and seek a peaceful conclusion to the conflict. Remus presumably activated his Requiem shortly thereafter, but with Scylla sealed, none were able to control the raging waves. All present at Remuria, whether Remurian or invader, were caught in the destructive wave, and the nation sank underwater in an instant.^[17][24]

Legacy

Following Remuria's fall, much of Remuria's history became obfuscated by legends and myths. The term "Fortuna," for example, gradually became distanced from its original usage as a byname for destiny, and is now known as the name of Remus' ship.^[25] Boethius survived Remuria's initial fall, mustering remnants of Remuria to establish the Golden Troupe in an attempt to revive Remuria and Phobos.^[26] Cassiodor, who took on the name "Marechaussee Hunter," led his own followers in opposing the Golden Troupe. Eventually, Cassiodor succeeded in shattering Boethius' soul and sealing the shards within the Domus Aurea.

Though Remus' plan failed to save his kingdom, remnants of his power remained in the Sea of Bygone Eras. During the World Quest Series Canticles of Harmony, Phobos' attempt to restart the Grand Symphony causes Cassiodor to reawaken, while Paimon and the Traveler become involved due to the situation developing in Petrichor. The Traveler proves to have a particular affinity for Remus' power, having several dreams over the course of the Quest Series in which they relive Remus' memories during the final days of Remuria. In their quest to stop "Boethius," they free Scylla, who joins their cause, albeit in a greatly weakened form — he lost his original body and only retained a body made of Ichor, which still contained the power of Remus' Requiem. Together, they finally fulfill Remus' final wish and destroy Phobos once and for all, and the souls of the Remurians trapped in the Golden Symphony — including Cassiodor's — finally move on, to be reborn as mortals in the future.^[18]

Trivia

Aliases and Titles

• Remus is known by these aliases or titles:
  • Sebastos^[1]
  • God King^[5]
  • Imperator^[1]
  • King of Fortuna^[27]
  • Dark Lord^[1]
  • Philharmonic God^[1]
  • Glorious King^[11]
  • King of the Immortals^[28]

Etymology

• Remus was one of the mythical founders of Rome alongside his brother Romulus, the city's namesake.
  • In-game, Remuria is named after Remus.
• Sebastos (Ancient Greek: σεβαστός) was a title used by ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title Augustus.

Other Languages

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References