Season 3

“	Would you repeat the same choice even if you were to lose everything? Is that what is called destiny?	„
	~ 'Cichol'

Season 3 is the third major plotline in Vindictus and is the direct continuation of Season 1, picking off after the Season 1 Epilogue. During this season, the player must uncover the mystery behind everyone's amnesia, disappearance of the mercenaries from both the Mercenary Outpost and memory, and the events that are yet to come.

Complete Season Summary

Chapter 1: Paradise Crossing

Prologue: Paradise of Oblivion

The story picks off a few days after the events Season 2. The Rookie is left distraught by his inability to prevent Elchulus's awakening and disappearance of Keaghan and Tieve from everyone's memories. Seanna wakes the Rookie up and hands him a letter from the captain Aodhan, informing about the Royal Army's proclamation of total war against Fomors and summoning all mercenaries to Colhen. Arriving at the Mercenary Outpost in Colhen, the mercenary is caught in a heated argument between Marrec, Aodhan and Riordan on the mercenaries' role in the upcoming war: the veteran mercenaries are to be dispatched to the Fobellow Prairie while the rookies are instructed to gather in Rocheste. After delivering a rousing speech, Aodhan instructs mercenaries to pack things and head towards Rocheste, while Ceara stays behind.

Arriving to Rocheste Castle for a briefing, mercenaries witness the Lord Ronaun's and Riordan's (who is revealed to be the lord's brother) speeches before the Royal Army soldiers begin the move on Fobellow Prairie. Having a bad feeling about the upcoming battle, Aodhan instructs the Rookie and Gallagher to stay and guard the Rocheste's Castle, while he, Marrec and Riordan go with the Royal Army to the prairies.

While the Rookie and Gallagher were chatting with Nel and Brakis, the monster invades the Rocheste. The Rookie tracks it up to the Rocheste Castle's Towers. There, after a heated long battle, the Rookie manages to wear the monster down, as it falls from the tower down to the ground, where it is caught and bound in chains. While discussing the monster with people, the intruder calls out to the Rookie and says something that shocks him: "Isn't there something that only you remember?". After the monster has been taken away, Brakis asks the Rookie to get some yarn from Caryl at the Bar.

The soldiers came back from the Prairie with with Lord Ronaun announcing the flawless victory against the Fomors and claiming the Fobellow Prairie as their own. However, the Rookie notices the absence of Riordan, Marrec and Aodhan even though the battle went without a single casualty. The Rookie is shocked to find that absolutely no one in Rocheste acknowledges or remembers Riordan at all, with the captain's position being vacant and Lord Ronaun temporarily fulfilling that role. He then hears the monster's voice in his head, once again pointing out that the mercenary is the only one who remembers, while foreboding that he will come back to the monster.

Returning back to Colhen's Mercenary Outpost, the Rookie is shocked once again, as he observes the identical state of affairs to occur in the outpost: nobody in the outpost except him (and maybe Gallagher) acknowledges either Aodhan or Marrec's existence, while the captain's position is vacant and Ceara is handling most of the administrative affairs. Puzzled, the Rookie goes to the Fobellow Prairie, which was devastated from the war. There, he notices the familiar sword and helmet, covered in blood. Then, he hears Cichol's faint voice in the distance: "...If you could relive your life, knowing that you would one day lose everything... Would you still make the same choices? Is that what we call "destiny"?". The mercenary calls out to Cichol/Keaghan, but is met with silence.

Returning to the Mercenary Outpost and showing the items to Ceara, she is puzzled about the gear not being on inventory list.

Episode 1: Path of the Hero

Ceara sends the Rookie on an errand to deliver the late payments to Ferghus, Aislinn, Kirstie and Brynn for their services. Amazed by the mercenary's feat in Rocheste, Shayla offers the mercenary the place in the Coffer Chasers Guild, but is met with rejection. Kirstie reveals that Ceara appeared in Colhen 2 weeks before the mercenary did and suddently became the representative of the Crimson Blade Mercenaries.

After resolving the debt issue the mercenary goes back to the Mercenary Outpost. Ceara attempts to supply him with the Crimson Blade Veteran gear, but immediately stops after noticing that he is wearing an even better gear. As Gallagher and Ceara engage in an argument, the Rookie decides to return back to Rocheste to seek answers from the invaded monster.

At the Rocheste Outpost, the beast remains in captivity, pleading for help as the members of a Royal Army is in dicussion regarding the creature's fate. Jarlath notices that the creature fell under someone's influence, though most of the magicians fail to notice this. He then casually implies Reilly could provide more insight on the matter, and maybe even help.

Back at the Outpost, the decision of executing the creature has been made. While Brakis and the soldiers are preoccupied with cleaning the dragon's poo, the mercenary manages to persuade Nel (by providing her with hints on her "future" husband) to set the monster free from captivity. Using the Sewers, they reach the Colhen's Mercenary Laboratory, where Reilly lifts the manipulation spell. Back to his senses, the creature pleads to go to the Ben Chenner mountain, located north of the Fobellow Prairie, in order to bring his memory back. Realizing that both the creature and the mercenary are aware of the Silent Brotherhood's existence, Nyle offers help in bypassing the Royal Army patrols.

While preparing for the expedition at the Inn, Ernmass asks the mercenary to escort Seanna to the temple. There, Seanna reveals that although she isn't the prophesized oracle, she once heard someone's voice in her head saying the seemingly ominous words: "This is how I will beget paradise...".

The investigation of Ben Chenner proves to be fruitful, as the party stumbles upon the existence of wood elves, that are said to predate Morrighan's existence. Intrigued, Brynn offers to join in the search. This puzzles the mercenary, as it was previously known that Brynn would die if he were to walk out of the Magic Laboratory's protection. Continuing on, they find the live wood elf, suffering under the manipulation spell and bring it back to the laboratory. After gathering the ingredients from the Rocheste's Magicians Guild and the Light Shade from Ben Chenner, Relly succeeds in concocting a potion, that lifts the manipulation spell. The wood elf doesn't recognize the creature before him and asks the party to head towards the garden, where his queen resides. The wood elf dies from exhaustion and his body vanishes. No one but the mercenary seems to recall meeting the elf, but they are aware of the next place to explore - the queen's garden.

Making it further into Ben Chenner forest, the party comes across the garden's guardian, the blind swordsman Callidus. Despite the guardian's exceptional prowesse with the swords, he is soundly defeated and subdued. With the manipulation spell lifted, Callidus tells about the corruption, which appeared from the mountain top and began to affect every living thing, including the creature, whom Callidus calls "Lord Muir". He then leads the party to the gardens, where they encounter with the queen of the wood elves, Regina, who has also succumbed to corruption despite her powers to purify. With the aid of Brynn and Muir, the Rookie manages to subdue the queen. Free from madness, Regina "awakens" Muir, restoring him his human form, but before she could tell more, an apparition of Cichol appears. He questions the choice the mercenary has made then vanishes. The queen pleas the party to journey to the top of the Ben Chenner mountain, believing the answer could be found at the origin point of the corruption. The mercenary, Brynn and Muir then return back to Colhen.

Back in the Magic Laboratory, Brynn, Nyle, Reilly, Muir and the Rookie discuss what they have witnessed. Nyle is in disbelief, as the information on the false prophecy, as well as Cichol's existence is knowledge privy only to the members of the Silent Brothehood, and demands answers, but puts the interrogation off after Muir mentions the prophet Naveen. Reilly offers Muir to visit the Morrighan Temple and he agrees. In the temple, Muir muses about not being able to remember anything about himself, despite Reilly seemingly knowing him, and asks the mercenary whether he wishes to pursue this road further or remain ignorant. The episode ends with the mercenary replying.

Episode 2: A Mountain of Ash

Annoyed by the silence filling the Magic Laboratory, the Rookie decides to visit the Mercenary Outpost for the change of scenery. Muir offers to join in on the walk, seemingly panicked by being alone in the company of two intimidating people.

At the Mercenary Outpost, Muir is stumped when Ceara passes by as she is making preparations for recruiting new mercenaries to the roster, her hair giving off a bad feeling to him. After a brief introduction, Muir signs the papers for joining the Crimson Blade Mercenaries. An order from the Royal Army comes in, issuing the mercenaries to assist with the operations at the Mount Fobellow, by which name Ben Chenner mountain is known.

At the Royal Army Base, the head of the Rocheste cadets, Blawynn, instructs the mercenaries on their mission: the goal is to survey the Ben Chenner area for any fomorian outposts, believing that the remnants of the Fobellow Prairie forces have managed to retreat to the mountain. The archbishop of Rocheste, Gilliam, instructs to deliver the letter to the oracle in Colhen, who happens to be Seanna, muttering under himself about gathering some kind of intelligence while Pontiff Laurys is away.

Back at the Colhen Inn, the mercenary delivers the letter to Seanna, which is revealed to be an order from the Pontiff's Court to assist the mercenaries and soldiers in the expedition to Ben Chenner. The oracle then relays a rumour about the missing soldiers and priests, mismatching lists and the lack of memories about them. Muir believes there is a link between those disappearances and the disappearance of the wood elf, pointing out that Muir also retained the memories of the event. Believing the Ben Chenner mountain to be their only clue, Muir and the mercenary head to the Ben Chenner Trailhead.

While surveying the trailhead, they stumble upon the Ancient Seal Stone, which gives Muir headache. Back at the laboratory, Brynn is fascinated by the mercenary's find, but before he could examine the stone, Blawynn comes in and confiscates the stone. Nyle offers to steal the relic, but Brynn advises against, as the Pontiff's Court is yet to find the prophesized oracle, and proposes to observe. In the meantime, Brynn asks the mercenary to trail the cadet to gain intel on the seal stone's future whereabouts. The trail leads to the Rocheste Cathedral, where Blawynn reports to the Gilliam about the find. Jarlath arrives and upon inspection of the stone, theorizes it to be a relic predating the Ancient Elchulus era. Blawynn intends to report the find to Lord Ronaun and the Pontiff, but is stopped by Gilliam, providing a sufficient excuse to keep the seal stone away from the lord's and Pontiff's attention.

The Rookie returns back to the Mercenary Office, where he is showered with greetings from Ceara. The archbishop sent a letter to the Crimson Blades, commending their "great discovery" and hoping to recognize the Crimson Blades as an official mercenary unit, bringing more revenue and people to the Crimson Blade mercenaries roster, as well as ordering them with another survey mission to delve deeper into the trailhead's forests.

As the mercenary and Muir continue their expedition though the trailhead, they spot the robed figure, which is revealed to be Milo. Surprised at such a meeting, Milo briefly introduces himself to Muir before running off. Back at the Magic Laboratory, the mercenary relays everything he heard to Nyle and Brynn. Muir comments on the mercenary's meeting with Milo, believing that the boy doesn't seem to belong to the living. Brynn attempts to gather materials for the immediate summoning of the goddess, but is stopped by Nyle and Reilly, who warns him he won't be saving the magician again, which confuses Brynn. In the meantime, Milo converses with another figure in the red robe, which is known to be Iset, about his chance meeting. Not wanting to involve the Rookie in their plans, they head down the river.

In order to find out the reason behind the seal stone's appearance in Ben Chenner, Brynn joins Muir and the Rookie in their investigation. Reaching the river, the party crosses paths with Milo once again. The boy notes the similarities between the river of Ben Chenner and the river of Annwyn and tries to chase the Rookie out, but is stunned when Muir asks him about his condition. Unable to respond, Milo dashes off, but not before warning the Rookie about the danger lurking further ahead. Brynn notices that Milo emits an energy akin to an erg crystal and asks the Rookie, but receives no meaningful response. Muir is afraid of finding out the truth his "old self" holds, but is told by the mercenary that they've already reached the point of no return.

Deep into the ruins, the party fends off the groups of maddened wood elves and are met with an opposition from another guardian of Ben Chenner, Akadus. After defeating the guardian, Akadus warns Muir about the collapse of timelines and manifested beasts from Erinn, enraged by the corruption. Arriving the depths of the ruins, the party encounter a pair of giant creatures, that Muir identifies as Braha and notes about the impossibility of two Brahas existing in a single world. With an impeccable timing and teamwork, the party manages to put two Brahas down.

Back at the Magic Laboratory, Muir points out that Erinn has descended, but is incomplete, as the present and past began mixing together instead of simply stopping the time in the world. The Rookie notes that Muir's memories keep returning to him. Brynn is surprised at the revelation that Erinn has already descended, but remains sceptical. Feeling that Brynn and the mercenary are having a hard time believing that, Muir begins to tell that Ben Chenner Mountain is used to be an active volcano, before for some reason, the fire was extinguished. In the meantime, Milo continues discussing with Iset the meeting with the Rookie and Muir, but before he could say more, a mysterious woman intervenes, offering information about the mercenary and Muir. The episode ends with Milo agreeing to listen, despite Iset's protests.

Episode 3: Light and Shadow

The story continues on with Muir explaining the origins of the Ben Chenner volcano, where the dragon Elchulus is said to be sealed away. The flames of the volcano signify Elchulus's awakening and the descent of Erinn. When asked why the evidence of Erinn appeared in Ben Chenner and nowhere else, the scene transitions to Milo, Iset and the mysterious woman, who answers that Ben Chenner they currently traverse is a part of Erinn, and the noted similarities between it and Annwyn occured, because Annwyn is Ben Chenner from the timeline when Erinn is not part of the original world (confusing, isn't it?). The individual also reveals that people like her and Muir fall asleep when Erinn is separated and awaken once Erinn is descended, but before Milo could ask what she meant by that, she just shrugs if off. The scene transitions back to Muir, struggling in vain to remember, much to Brynn's dismay. Before he could press Muir any further, Ceara busts into the room, telling the mercenary that the Royal Army has issued a call to arms.

The mercenaries are called before Lord Ronaun. Cadet Blawynn reports that the Royal Army is unable to venture into the depths of the Ben Chenner ruins on the orders of the Pontiff's Court magicians, that surmise they've found the remnants of the completed summoning ritual, possibly related to the summoning rituals held by the Pontiff's Court. Ronaun instructs the cadet to seek out the magician that is unaffiliated with the Pontiff's Court, who happens to be the Colhen magician, Brynn. In addition, he orders to replace her squad with mercenaries only, much to the cadet's surprise. She then hands the commision to the Crimson Blade mercenaries to recruit Brynn and bring him to Ben Chenner.

Back in Colhen, Brynn accepts the offer despite Nyle's protests, noticing a schizm between the Royal Army, the Pontiff and the archbishop and finding it a opportune moment to attempt to summon the Goddess. In the ruins, Brynn examines the summoning site, only to discover that whatever the summoning ritual was complete, but it supposedly summoned an unintended entity. He then tells Blawynn to seek advice from Pontiff's magicians, while he returns back to the laboratory, seemingly in a very bad mood.

Back in the laboratory, Brynn is furious and reveals he told Blawynn only half of the truth. He discovered that the summoning ritual was identical to the one he himself devised and showed his work to no one. The Rookie manages to establish the connection between Brynn's summoning ritual and the remnant of the summoning ritual in the ruins and deduces that the event of Brynn summoning Glas Ghaibhleann has been mismatched by the collision caused by Erinn's descent, which is why Brynn is no longer confined in the laboratory. Brynn decides to go back to the ruins and find out the meaning behind the ritual, but not before handing the Rookie and potion, concocted from the remnants of the Light Shade.

Brynn, Muir and the Rookie return back to the ruins, where the summoning ritual has been held. As they begin their investigation, the stone floor collapses and the party falls into the dark chamber. The potion proves to be effective, as the surroundings begin to brighten in the mercenary's eyes. The chamber springs to life, revealing a large door, which opens at the slightest touch. The door reveals the large winged creature with four hands, two of which are bound with chains. With a pair of giant swords in hand, the creature engages in battle with the party.

Despite the monster displaying phenomenal control over gravity and dimensional portals, Brynn, Muir and the Rookie manage to put it down. As the magician observes the corpse of the creature, who is identified by Muir to be the god's guardian, he begins to act strange, lamenting his powerlessness over saving Tieve. Confused by what he just said, Brynn experiences a surge of shock and lack of breath as he begins questioning the memories from the past that begin to overflood him. Before the Rookie and Muir could decide on what to do next, they hear a sudden clap of applause as the elf in a bright suit of armor appears. He congratulates on finding the magician and is disappointed that Muir still haven't fully regained his memories. Muir identifies the man as Dauna. The elf goads the party to reach the top of Ben Chenner's mountain, but not before recommending to head back to town as Brynn still struggles with the flood of memories and may have the risk of dying. Having no choice but to go, the party leaves.

Back in the Magic Laboratory in Colhen, Brynn continues lamenting over his choice to remain alive instead of sacrificing his life for Tieve. The Rookie seeks answers from Reilly, who explains that memory is a fragile thing, yet very cunning: as soon as there is a gap in memory, it is naturally filled with things that may not have happened, despite all the contradictions that come as a consequence. Meanwhile in Ben Chenner, Milo asks the woman why he and the Rookie didn't suffer the memory loss. She explains that he, the Rookie and other people were safe from oblivion, as they were in Erinn's part of the world during the event. As the world is purged of the events that predated Erinn's descent, the memories of other humans were erased instead of fixed to match the fact. To prevent the onslaught of dementia caused by conflicting memories, the entity known as the Hero is needed to re-seal Elchulus and reverse the damage caused by the temporal collapse. The woman also tells that compared to the last time, the collapse is happening on an increased pace, much to her amusement. The episode ends with the woman casually revealing her identity as the goddess of war and anger, Macha.

Episode 4: Crossroads to Ruin

After talking with Reilly, the Rookie goes back to the Magic Laboratory, but Brynn is missing with Nyle weirded out by his strange behavior. Further inquiry at the Mercenary Office reveals that Brynn left for the ruins in Ben Chenner, where the mercenary heads out to. There he finds Brynn inspecting the erg crystals on the summoning ritual site. The magician deduces that the reason the summoning failed last time was because the Goddess at the time ceased to exist and the creature bearing the divine power has been summoned instead, and muses on the possibility to summon the Goddess in the current state in the world. Seanna passes by and identifies the falllen creature as Lord Glas Ghaibhleann.

At Colhen, Seanna tells more about Glas Ghaibhleann and his relationship with the gods, Morrighan and Cichol, and the young hero Lugh. When questioned about the source, the oracle points them in the direction of the cathedral in Rocheste, where she hid some of the books from the forbidden section of the Royal Castle's library. After fulfilling a small errand for Ceara and the Royal Army, the mercenary reunites with Muir and Brynn by the Rocheste Cathedral, where they sneak into the library and get ahold of the forbidden book "A God Without Wings" written by the legendary alchemist Resenlian. The book tells about the elf Dauna, whom the sea deity Mannanan adopted as his son and set on the Path of Heroes. Chosen by the sword Fragarach, Dauna was revered as Lugh Lamhfada, the Shining One. Together with the Morrighan and Cichol, Lugh succeeded in sealing Elchulus. As Lugh began to fade away, Mannanan promised that he will be the final hero. The deity then cut off his wings and became a mortal man. The priest walked "the path of doom", while the magician chose "the path of eternal life". In the end, the names of heroes, the gods and the history of sealing faded away from everyone's memory. The party flees the Cathedral before soldiers arrive.

At Colhen, Seanna tells that she was once expelled from her duty and sees her role as the military oracle as her last chance. But then, she says something that confuses the mercenary - the building that is known as the Mercenary Outpost has been abandoned for a long time. In disbelief, the mercenary rushes to the Mercenary Outpost, only to find no signs of life (except for Gallagher, who doesn't introduce himself as the mercenary and wears a suspicious robe), including Ceara.

At the Magic Laboratory, Brynn and Muir theorize the worst possible scenario after hearing about Ceara's disappearance - the temporal collapse is imminent as more people fade from existence. When questioned about the possibility of the sword Fragarach fixing the issue, Muir refuses, explaining that resurrecting the dead lies in Elchulus's authority, but demands to seek the sword out. Fed up with cryptic answers, the mercenary demands answers from Muir, but he remains silent. Distraught, the mercenary leaves the laboratory. On the way to the inn, he crosses paths with Seanna, who recommends visiting the Morrighan Temple to collect his thoughs. The mercenary accepts the offer.

At the temple, the mercenary meets an apparition of Cichol, who offers him a chance to resurrect everyone who fell to oblivion. In exchange, he demands that the mercenary defeats the current hero, Lugh Lamhfada, and obtains his sword, Fragarach. Unwilling to refuse, the mercenary accepts. At the Magic Laboratory, Muir reveals that he is the sea deity Mannanan and has regained all of his memories. Surprised by the Rookie's sudden interest in Fragarach, he accepts the mercenary's help and together they begin their expedition to the summit of Ben Chenner. Fending off against mad wood elves and stone guardians of the summit, they reach the mountain summit, where Lugh Lamhfada awaits them. He refuses to yield Fragarach to the new hero, disappointed in Muir after breaking his long-made promise. With no choice left but to take the sword by force, the mercenary engages Lugh in a battle.

After a long battle, the mercenary manages to deal decisive blow to the Shining One. As the hero lays dying, he curses Muir for finding another fool to guide. Muir resolves to put Fragarach to rest, believing that the path of the Hero is too heavy a burden for anyone. Before he could do anything, the time stops and Cichol makes an entrance. He tells that Muir knew his son would follow this path did nothing to prevent it. He then reveals a feather which is revealed to be a part of Elchulus's power, allowing Cichol to manipulate time and life. For resurrecting the ones who fell to the oblivion, Cichol asks the mercenary to obey him when the time comes. The mercenary agrees, sealing the deal. Cichol infuses Fragarach with Elchulus's power and leaves. The time resumes. As Muir ponders on what to do with the sword, the mercenary reaches his hand to Fragarach.

Sometime after the event, the mercenary returns back to the Mercenary Outpost in Colhen, where he is greeted by revived Ceara, Marrec and Aodhan. At the Rocheste Castle, Riordan has also returned. Ronaun mentions that the Pontiff will be arriving in a few days to join the expedition to the land of Fomors, Lochlann. At the same time, he orders his brother to take care of Blawynn's movement up to the rank of a knight, to which Riordan obliges.

At the Magic Laboratory in Colhen, Muir ponders why the mercenary took Fragarach, shouldering himself with the fate of walking the Path of the Hero. He then tells that Fragarach is not yet awakened and its full power will belong to the mercenary at the end of the path. The first point of destination where Muir guides the mercenary to is the land of Fomors, Lochlann. Summoned by the horn sound at the Mercenary Outpost, the mercenary voluntarily enlists himself as the participant in the expedition to Ben Chenner, much to Marrec's surprise.

At the same time, at the Ben Chenner's mountain top, Lugh Lamhfada awakens alive and well, but with purpose lost. He is then approached by an unknown individual, whom Lugh seems to know. At the same time, an expedition to the land of Fomors is underway, with the Pontiff leading the expedition. Below the sunken temple, Milo, Iset and Macha have overseen the battle between the mercenary and Lugh Lamhfada. Milo asks why no one stopped the path of the hero from happening, a question that Macha shrugs off. The paths of three main sides converge in a single point - Lochlann.