Orlanth and Ernalda

Orlanth and Ernalda is a special ritual to visit the wedding of the two gods, from before they died. It may be performed only once every game of Lights Going Out. Before you gain access, you must first obtain the right knowledge (acquired through events such as Gods War Wedding Plan or Gods War Wedding Competition). You will also need the assistance of multiple clans, recruitable by emissary missions, before conducting the ritual. Finally, you must find treasures related to the divine wedding (for example: the Cattle Dowry Necklace, Bridal Mirror, or Groom's Belt). These may be found by sending expeditions on the Map Screen, with the goal "Seek Treasure for Gods War Journey." After you have gathered the necessary support and treasures, the sky may literally give you a sign in the Clouds Storm Rune event.

Start of Ritual

You have chosen to enter the Gods Realm in a modified version of the ritual your people use, back when your people couldn't just ride there. It might allow your appointed hero to find a story where Orlanth and Ernalda still live. Should you reach them and gift them at their wedding, you will gain a boon that may keep you alive as everything around you dies. When <Chieftain> speaks in advance of the rite, what does he emphasize?

1. A new world, free from kings.
2. The courage of other clans taking part.
3. The royal line of Beren.
4. Seeing beyond the obvious.
5. The triumph of hope over fear.

All options test Leadership vs. Skepticism, but have different modifiers. Option #1 will only appear if your clan's realist faction is strong enough.

The Horn of Vingkot and Mantle of Redalda may give a bonus to this test if your king is also your chief. The Blue Stick and Hair Perfume Drop give a bonus to option #4.

Emphasizing a new world, free from kings, the people hearing this dream may share it, at least if the clan is realist. If so, Mood rises.

If you emphasize the courage of other clan taking part, they will bask in your chieftain's rhetoric, likely improving relations.

The royal line of Beren may have the people feel the glory of their history, raising Mood.

Telling your people to see beyond the obvious may raise Mood.

The triumph of hope over fear will fill the people with courage, meaning increased Mood.

After the speech, you must choose who to send to the Gods War and how much to sacrifice to aid them (as usual, this is followed by a Magic vs. Divine test made by your clan's best magic user). You will lose one Magic at the start of the ritual.

Advice

• "We must always take the opportunity to extol my ancestor, Beren." - Iverlantho
• "Wisdom over hope." - Venef
• "I am willing to go." - Kerenna
• "There will be much to kill on the Other Side. Send me." - Korestene/Humakt devotee
• "No one journeys like I do. This mission is made for me." - Reda
• "I follow the journeying goddess, and should be the one to ride this trackless path." - Rodene/Redalda devotee
• "Normally you would not send a shaman to the god world. But we do not seek the normal god world." - Dresta/Shaman
• "The words my father handed down to me, prepare me, more than anyone, for the Gods War." - Serestev
• "What you need in the Gods War is someone who can sneak around. Meaning me, of course." - Hanth/Hanvan
• "I have studied all our surviving stories, but do not know which we will find on the Other Side." - Lhankor Mhy devotee
• "While I consider myself a <Player Clan>s now, I don't know the sacred stories well enough to feel confident on this journey." - Agimori Adoptee
• "When our final test comes—and this is not it—we will need hope and insight."
• "While I consider myself a <your clan>, I don't know the sacred stories well enough to feel confident on this journey."
• "These days you can ride into the Gods Realm without ritual preparation, but not for a raid as daring as this."
• "Who cares what the speech says? We must decide who to send."
• "No matter what we say, the ritual is doomed."
• "Never pass up a chance to flatter neighbors."
• "It never hurts to make friends."
• "When in doubt, make friends."
• "Should we send our best magician, fiercest warrior, wisest sage, canniest hunter, or boldest explorer?"
• "What a foolish path we tread."
• "If it works, the exit from the mortal realm will be more dramatic than usual."
• "Finally, the moment has come. Praise those who stand with us, and let us begin." - (also alternative advice for Iverlantho)

The Journey

After the preparations are complete and the quester is chosen, they will have to survive three encounters before they reach the diving wedding. These encounters and the order in which they appear seem to be random. The first encounter begins with the text:

“	<Quester> plummets through fog, through poison smoke, through a thousand shredded stories. <He/She> falls through tales of Orlanthi, of the Solar Empire, and of a dozen peoples no Berenethtelli has ever heard of.	”
— Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out

Cosmic Spike

Finally, <Quester> stands before the great divine mountain known as the Cosmic Spike, home to the Storm Court and the other gods besides. Then the terrible Chaos King, Wakboth, emerges from nowhere and destroys it. Like a thousand earthquakes and a thousand volcanoes it blows to rocks and dust. These fragments, and the metallic bones of countless forgotten gods, hurtle toward <Quester> at blinding speed.

1. Call on spirits of protection.
   Tests Magic vs. Spirits.
2. Hide and wait out.
   Tests Hunting vs. Chaos.
3. Kill that which must die.
   Tests CombatLore vs Despair.
4. See what lies beyond.
   Tests Lore vs. Elusiveness.
5. Ride through.
   Tests Exploring vs. Chaos.

Note: Some options may not appear on any given playthrough.

Advice

• "My sword can't cut rocks." - Kerenna
• "I must extend Humakt's last mercy to the helpless and dying." - Korestene/Humakt devotee
• "I must ride!" - Reda
• "Spirits wouldn't come for others, but will come for me." - Dresta/Shaman
• "My father’s every word prepares me for this moment of seeing." - Serestev
• "I am trying to see beyond it, but the sheer reality of it all overwhelms my every stupid thought." - Serestev, alternate
• "What chance have I, to survive the death of the gods?"
• "I might be able to call spirits…"
• "Against Chaos I am strong."

Crushed Glacier

<Quester> wends in and out of this realm and that of the warring gods. Finally she arrives at an event that occurred in living memory, and is now both being immortalized and destroyed in that mythic world. The glacier that crushed Nivorah flies to pieces, exposing the peoples of the hibernating Solar Empire to attack by monsters of Chaos.

1. Aid the helpless with healing spirits.
   Tests Magic vs. Spirits.
2. Hurl yourself at the biggest monster.
   Tests Combat vs. Monster.
3. Ride across the breaking ice, distracting the Chaos horde.
   Tests Exploring vs. Monster.
4. See past the outward, to the paradoxes within.
   Tests Lore vs. Elusiveness.
5. Attack Chaos by stealth and ambush.
   Tests Hunting vs. Chaos.

Note: Some options may not appear on any given playthrough.

Advice

• "Stealth is not my way, but I see no better alternative." - Kerenna
• "I see where to hit it." - Korestene/Warrior
• "I know the secret words to find healing spirits even in this awful space." - Dresta/Shaman
• "Father<'s words never prepared me for this/would want me to see this another way>." - Serestev
• "I must be merciful, like Ernalda." - Ernalda devotee
• "Wait, does this mean the Glacier is gone back in our world?"
• "How can it both be freezing cold and burning hot?"
• "By fleeing the empire, our Rider ancestors escaped this fate."
• "My magic is enough to bring spirits even to the Gods War."

Rashoran & The Unholy Trio

<Quester> enters a quiet citadel, coming upon a serene willowy man lost in contemplation. Three sinister beings creep up on him, murder clearly on their minds. <Quester> guesses that they are the Unholy Trio: the Chaos deities Thed, Ragnaglar, and Malia. That means that their victim is Rashoran, holder of a mysterious secret.

1. Warn Rashoran.
   Tests Strategy vs. Fear.
2. Sneak up on the trio, as they sneak up on Rashoran.
   Tests Hunting vs. Alertness.
3. Attack.
   Tests Combat vs. Chaos.
4. Show the Unholy Trio you've spotted them.
   Tests Intimidation vs. Confidence.
5. Seek Rashoran’s wisdom.
   Tests Lore vs. Elusiveness.

Note: Some options may not appear on any given playthrough.

If Serestev or Sereden successfully seek Rashoran's wisdom, you may unlock the Illumination achievement.

Advice

• "I must warn Rashoran!" - Iverlantho
• "They may slay me, but I must fight." - Kerenna/Korestene/Warrior
• "I can't ask spirits to face these dread gods." - Dresta/Shaman
• "The secret of Rashoran has always been mysterious. Can I comprehend this secret truth?" - Serestev
• "I don’t really know this story, but I know Chaos gods when I see them!" - Agimori Adoptee
• "No one understands the story of Rashoran."
• "Ernalda could never tell which runes defined Rashoran."
• "I don’t like three-on-one odds, but maybe I can scare them off."

Laughing Tsunami

<Quester> finds a place where a monstrous wave rears back to smash an Orlanthi community. Its cruel laughter fills <his/her> ears, causing blood to rush from them. “O flicker of dirt, o ember of storm,” it booms, “you have come to join these others in unending obliteration!”

1. See the impossibility of this vision.
   Tests Lore vs. Elusiveness.
2. Imagine a deep forest, far away.
   Tests Hunting vs. Chaos.
3. Send heat spirits to sizzle it into mist.
   Tests Magic vs. Spirits.
4. Attack it, like any other monster.
   Tests Combat vs. Monster.
5. Ride up the cresting wave, dissipating its power.
   Tests Exploring vs. Monster.

Note: Some options may not appear on any given playthrough.

Advice

• "If anyone can ride up a wave, it is me, in this place, now." - Reda
• "Is the laugh on us, or on it?" - Serestev
• "Spirits are too small to fight this thing." - Doresa
• "Most spirits won’t come this far into the Gods War, but heat spirits could be drawn through our Elmal connection."
• "Blood from my ears. This can’t be good."

Divine Wedding

Exhausted from the whirl and dangers of the Gods War, <Quester> stumbles on, finally reaching a place of peace. Pure air fills <his/her> lungs. Spotting a landmark from the oldest stories, <he/she> move toward this, then into the rattling hills where Orlanth and his brothers first roamed. Hearing the entrancing sound of pipes and lyres, <Quester> comes to Orlanthstead, newly built home of the young storm gods.

Orlanth's attendants, in this place still alive, welcome <Quester> and dress <him/her> in wedding finery. "On behalf of Storm and Earth, we thank you for your gift of cooperation." <Quester> realizes that <he/she> will have to sacrifice part of cohesion that keeps the clan together, allowing them to work toward collective aims.

1. "Yes, that is our gift."
   Tests Magic vs. Divine.
2. "You're trying to trick me out of choosing a gift!"
3. "Take my life instead."
4. Leave the Gods Realm.

If you say "Yes, that is our gift," then you may ask a reciprocal gift from the gods out of the following:

1. Cattle.
2. Goods.
3. Fertile fields.
4. Peace with neighbors.
5. Success in battle.

If you choose cattle, you will gain a large herd (e.g. 120), and the clans who assisted you will each gain a smaller one.

If you choose goods, you will gain weapons, pots and clothing worth a fortune (e.g. 120 goods), while the clans who assisted you will each gain a smaller amount.

If you chose fertile fields, then your fields will receive a fertility blessing.

If you choose success in battle, warriors made of pure air will appear to assist your clan whenever it raids or is raided; the clans that assisted you will also gain some. Several of your people will take inspiration from this, instantly becoming Swords.

You will also receive 2-5 Whirlwind Jars (seems to depend on the degree of the ritual's success) and you will be able to find Finovan Effigies and Ernalda's Seeds, as well as the Exotic Goods Copper and Green Clay, when exploring your own clan lands. Finally, because your quester had been a part of the holy union between Orlanth and Ernalda, you will receive a bonus to future harmony rituals.

If you say "You're trying to trick me out of choosing a gift!", then the gods will be offended that you called them tricksters; not only will you not get any reward, but your clan will also suffer the Divine Disfavor stress. In addition, you clan's mood will drop, and the other clans that took part in the ritual will think less of you.

If you choose "Take my life instead", you will be regretfully told by gods that a life by itself is not enough, but now they must take it. You will then be allowed to choose again. However, if you pick this choice and after that you pick ''yes, that is our gift''. The quester will die after you get your gift.

If you leave the Gods realm, your quester fill fall back to the ritual grounds, injured. You will gain no reward, you clan's mood will drop, and the other clans that took part in the ritual will think less of you.

Advice

• "I was right all along!" - if the one to first suggest the visit to the wedding back in Gods War Wedding Proposal is the one to attend it
• "One life means nothing." - Korestene/Humakt devotee
• "The divisions between divine forces are not as they appear, but that does not mean the gods are false." - Illuminated Serestev
• "After all the struggle and danger, I'd be a fool to say no."
• "No trickery here-these really are the gods."
• "This is a trick played on my senses by some awful Chaos manifestation."