Shadowflame: three allegiances and Sepulchure's return

A Vessel for the DoomKnight

While the Firestorm presses Embersea, another force prepares to enter the conflict. The official ShadowFlame announcement describes Gravelyn hearing a voice in her dreams as news of the attacks on Drakonus reaches Shadowfall. She commands the Dragonbone Necromancers to summon her father, Sepulchure. His return will require a vessel capable of containing his spirit.

The community transcript of Sepulchure Returns supplies the scene's account of how that spirit survived. It recalls Drakath crushing Sepulchure's soul before he could defeat Alteon, then describes its scattered fragments drifting together over the years. Enough of them reunite for a whisper to reach Gravelyn. Recognizing her father, she listens as his voice fills her with possibilities, then summons the necromancers. This is the scene's explanation of this particular return.

The Dragonbones cannot fully return him without a suitable host. Enferr Os begins to volunteer, but Gravelyn refuses: she says her father's power would overwhelm an ordinary human or undead vessel. Instead, the necromancers identify Akriloth, lord of the Fire Dragons. Enferr Os leads an expedition with necromancers and half the Empress's army into the Dragonlands. Their spells subdue the dragons, and the scene brings Akriloth before Gravelyn in chains.

The official release account confirms the resulting possession: Sepulchure's spirit inhabits Akriloth, bringing the dragon's army under Gravelyn's command. She sees her father's guidance and the dragons' strength as the means to destroy the Queen of Monsters. It is a return through a dragon host; the opening does not show Sepulchure restored to his former human body.

Three Banners at ShadowFlame

The arrival of Gravelyn's fire dragons creates a three-sided war. Both the Shadowflame hub and the official release present a choice: defend Embersea, fight beside the Shadowscythe against the Firestorm, or join the Queen's forces. These routes offer different allegiances within the same conflict. They do not require the Hero to serve each army in turn.

At Dragonspire, Galanoth makes civilian safety his priority. In the preserved NPC dialogue, he acknowledges why Gravelyn wants to fight the Queen and can almost admire her purpose. But bringing dragons into Embersea puts its people in danger. Akriloth was already formidable; with Sepulchure as his possessing spirit, Galanoth considers him more dangerous still. He refuses to let children become orphans in the crossfire. The official Good route accordingly opposes dragons, Shadowscythe and Firestorm alike.

Fajra Drekinn represents this side at the hub with a more personal grievance. Her grandfather was a dragonslayer killed by Sepulchure, and the news that he has returned inside a dragon intensifies her desire for vengeance. Her account explains her eagerness to fight; Galanoth's concern for Embersea remains the broader purpose of the defensive route.

At Shadowspire, Gravelyn describes the Queen as feeding on children and draining power from the world itself. These are her accusations and her reasons for intervening. She also insists that the Shadowscythe remain hers despite her father's return, while welcoming his advice and strength. Enferr Os celebrates Sepulchure's possession of the dragon and imagines Shadowscythe supremacy. The official Evil route asks its fighters to drive the Firestorm out of Embersea, whatever the cost, before confronting the Queen.

At Queenspire, Charolus suspects the Hero might be infiltrating the Firestorm to learn Tyndarius's secrets. He nevertheless accepts a willing blade against Gravelyn's invading army and offers the possibility of a recommendation to the Commander. At the hub, Dama Slav praises the contract she signed with Tyndarius and claims the Queen's fire and power live in her warriors. Her devotion explains the Firestorm's appeal from within; her promises of shared strength remain her claims. This is the route that fights for the Queen against the Shadowscythe and Embersea's defenders.

The Race up the Mountain

The war's original release turns these competing loyalties into a race up ShadowFlame mountain. The March 27, 2015 announcement sends fighters to their camps for quests and trophies, and says the winning side will determine what happens after the war. The following day's challenge ties the next phase to a side reaching thirty percent, with the last phase announced for seventy-five percent. These dated thresholds describe the original event's progression; they do not establish the present state of its war meters or identify a final winner.

The opening's account of Sepulchure's return is shared across the faction replay listings. The guide repeats that scene beside each spire, but it remains one account of the same preparation for war. Its ending points onward to Fire Dragons Rising. The launch announcement says that second cutscene was delayed until the following week, along with the scenes surrounding the boss battle. The armies are now in motion, while the later confrontation and its consequences remain ahead of this opening.