With Chapter 10 confirmed to be in development by Vetex and the addition of 2 new (storyline?) bosses, see:
*One of the two bosses in the upcoming story chapter will be fought alongside one of your allies. Who or what do you think the boss will be, and which character do you think will join you in the fight? (From the AO Twitter)
*
I have some new theories about who these bosses might be and some other events that may happen during Chapter 10.
Chapter Length
First, let’s talk length. The fact that Chapter 8 was a longer story chapter, one of the longest in the game by parts actually, and Chapter 9 being a fairly short chapter (mostly us fighting Ivar) might suggest that Chapter 10 will be a longer one. If we’re to fight two story bosses, then this might point to the chapter being extremely content-dense.
Who are the bosses?
Boss 1: General Hassan.
Evidence: Morden states that ‘there’s something off’ about Hassan, one of the Samerian generals in Empress Nilah’s general staff. Given that he doesn’t seem like an overly paranoid character I think these hint at Hassan having ulterior motives.
Also, when conversing with Empress Nilah in Chapter 9, she states that Tiwaz, the user of the Frostmetal Curse and one of Wotan’s sons, attacked Rosehenge directly and killed Captain Khalida, one of Nilah’s commanders.
Which I find to be rather strange: Rosehenge is out by the border of the Nimbus Sea close to where the Fenrir is(was) parked. If Keraxe wanted to take the island they could have just sent out an invasion force on boats and landed there without much effort.
It wasn’t as if Rosehenge was a particularly important target like Fort Montu, or Sameria itself, so why would Keraxe send out a user of a lost magic curse to attack the island? Jarson, who has the Lunar Curse, was away from the Nimbus Sea when Chapter 9 happened and only returned when the Fenrir was being attacked.
Given sea curses are the equivalent of walking WMDs in the Arcane Universe, I posit that Tiwaz’ attack on Rosehenge occurred only because somebody tipped Keraxe off about some VIPs being there. General Hassan could have fed intel to somebody in Keraxe that Captain Khalida/Iris were on the island, and Keraxe could have sent Tiwaz to take out Khalida as a result. Hassan could have made contact with Keraxe at any time (most likely when he and Morden were ‘ambushed’ on Pefkos) and let this information slip.
He could also have staged the ambush on Pefkos to confirm that Morden held the Death Curse, and also to give Keraxe confirmation of the Death Curse’s whereabouts. Wotan would be more than willing to let a few grunts die to find out the wielder of one of the War Seas’ strongest curses
I think that during Chapter 10, Hassan will be exposed or openly betray Empress Nilah for Keraxe and as a result we’ll have to murderdeathkill him.
Boss 2: Jarson (Optionally Tiwaz)
The absence of other Keraxe curse users in the war so far points to it being one of Wotan’s sons, namely Jarson and Tiwaz, the only two curse wielders to have participated in the war so far.
Of these two, Jarson seems like the most likely suspect for the boss. He’s mentioned near the end of Chapter 9 (Akeem mentions Jarson’s heading for the Fenrir as we’re about to leave), so it’s not implausible that he chases us down while the MC and their group is out on a mission and tries to kill us all. Empress Nilah also mentioned that Tiwaz had returned to the Vimir Sea.
If, as said above, Hassan let Keraxe know that Morden has the Death Curse, then Jarson could arrive with a group of soldiers to try and take it from Morden for the Big Tan. Given how Morden seems to be getting used to the curse it would make sense for him to help the MC fight a curse user (and win).
Other stuff: Reinforcements from Ravenna
Vetex also hinted at Ravenna getting involved in the war to back Sameria. Considering how their King was assassinated no more than like a month ago I find it strange that they’re throwing themselves into a war so soon.
Of Ravenna’s named commanders, all of them are occupied. General Valerii was ordered by Calvus to stay on Fort Castrum and defend against the Thorne Empire. General Argos is straight up dead. General Julian’s whereabouts are unknown but I’d assume he’s still beaten up from his fight with Morden (and besides I don’t think Ravenna would risk its only curse in this foreign war).
Of the nobles, Elius and Carina are out of the question already since they could be dead or in hiding based on the MC’s choices. Lord Ulricus could fit the job but he seems like a spymaster rather than a commander. Revon’s a bum so he can’t command anything.
What I think will happen is that NEVIRO COMES BACK.
Sure Vetex could introduce a new general, but the reason that Neviro returned to Ravenna was to ‘change it for the better’.
He could have become an advisor for the new King (Prince Revon or another nobody) or he could’ve overthrown the government outright, to send some troops our way. With how Neviro is supposedly a ‘major character’ I wouldn’t be too surprised if he showed back up next chapter with an army. It also makes some narrative sense since it’s been quite a while since we last saw him
Anyway rant over I’m going back to sleep
