Shadowfall allegiance variants

The Empress Demands an Answer

A separate Shadowfall interlude, released on August 24, 2012. Its place here does not make it part of the original immediate aftermath of Swordhaven.

The quiet troubles Gravelyn. Reports of chaorrupted creatures have dwindled, but she sees complacency rather than safety. Alteon is ill and leaves her messages unanswered. If the Alliance will not take the offensive against Drakath, she intends to lead it herself. Chuckles is sent to bring the hero to Shadowfall, where the Empress has a question more urgent than any ordinary errand: whose cause does the hero serve?

The answer divides this story. A hero who declares for Good is directed to General Cynari; one who declares for Evil goes to Tibias. Choosing Chaos produces an accusation of treachery, a comic game-over warning, and another chance to answer. It opens no third campaign. The lasting choice belongs to this Shadowfall story, rather than changing the hero’s separate character alignment.

Both routes begin by strengthening the same Alliance. The hero trains ten members of Gravelyn’s undead army, then investigates thirteen samurai in Hachiko suspected of chaorruption. Tibias demands ruthlessness; Cynari emphasizes finding the truth. Their reports nevertheless reach the same conclusion: the chaorrupted samurai have been eliminated. Cooperation has not removed the differences in how the two generals describe their work.

Those differences become sharper when Gravelyn needs drakhounds. Under Tibias, the hero steals nine puppies and obtains feed from seven Shadow Munchers, preparing the animals for service as undead warriors. Under Cynari, the hero saves the puppies and feeds them instead. Willing prisoners from the king’s cells are offered as replacement recruits. The Good route seeks another way to supply the Empress’s forces without sacrificing the puppies.

The next test concerns eight dragon eggs in the Lair. Gravelyn fears that their future hatchlings could fall to Chaos. Tibias orders the eggs smashed to remove that possibility. Cynari sends the hero to save them. In that route, the grateful mother offers to fight for the Alliance, though she dislikes the Empress’s willingness to destroy her young. Where one approach removes a possible enemy, the other gains an ally.

In Poisonforest, both generals send the hero to rescue five villagers from a bandit attack staged by Gravelyn herself. Tibias explains the intended deception: the villagers will become her eyes and ears across Lore. Cynari knows that she arranged the attack, but says she has withheld her reason. Both routes end with the rescued people pledging support. The hero either carries out the scheme with its purpose disclosed or performs a rescue while the Empress keeps that purpose from the general giving the orders.

Even the gift brought back to Shadowfall follows the chosen route. Tibias has the hero steal candy from Swordhaven’s citizens. Cynari instead orders stolen candy returned, and the grateful citizens provide apples. Afterward, both paths lead below the jail, through a hatch into Sepulchure’s crypt. The final task is to defeat the shadow of Gravelyn’s past and free her from the doubts that obstruct her rule. Only after that encounter does the concluding audience begin.

Gravelyn challenges the meaning of the hero’s service. In the Good ending, the apples become an argument over methods: the hero has helped the Alliance while refusing to do Evil in Good’s name, and will not surrender loyalty to Alteon. In the Evil ending, the candy prompts her to question whether petty cruelty proves anything; the hero answers that her orders were obeyed and renews the pledge of service. In both versions, Gravelyn speaks of growing up beneath her father’s shadow, watching his undead obey. Destroying Chaos and establishing her own authority have become parts of the same ambition.

She leaves the hero waiting. From the throne room come a scream, a heavy impact, and laughter; the scene does not identify their cause in its written account. When Gravelyn appears again, she is ready to let her enemies underestimate her. Anyone who approaches will be struck down, she declares. Chaos must fall so that Shadowfall can rise. The Alliance remains her instrument against Drakath, but the future she imagines is unmistakably her own.