Starfallen Act II Story and Notes
VI: Verdant Anthesis
Characters:
Gillean
Lots of forest animals
Location:
“Site 4” and home of Abbot Vaelor, the monks of the one, and possibly even other civilizations.
Code;Praxis ended with our protagonist, Gillean, being blown out of the sky. He crash-lands on the planet below, his ship gone and his dreams of avenging his family gone after seeing the creature's power. He looks out at the lush forests and beautiful landscapes of the planet he is trapped on. Despite the horrors he has seen, he can't help but be at awe at the life and color around him.
This track is a huge tonal shift from the album. Gillean finds himself in a lush forest. He feels hope. Maybe he can endure, as the wildlife around him has? The song has a slight sense of danger, just out of sight.
VII: Ensanguined Reliquary
Characters:
Gillean
“Dead” Infant Alien
Location:
Temple Of the One (defiled)
Gillean has been given resolve after surviving his crash and the jungle. He enters a temple after hours of walking. What he finds is both terror and hope. The monks all slain, the walls soaked in blood, and the body of one of the "star children" that he had read about. These priests had actually killed a God, though it cost them everything. He travels deeper into the temple, the terrors only increasing. Is this alien creature really dead? He hears whispers in his mind. A crawling feeling as he delves deeper.
(This voice will be relevant later…)
VIII: Starfallen
Characters:
Abbot Vaelor
Monks of the One
“Dead” Infant Alien
Location:
Temple of the One (before/during the fall)
In "Ensanguined Reliquary" Gillean faced the horrors of the abandoned temple. He found the monks all killed and the body of a smaller eldritch horror propped up. He made his way to the bottom of the temple and rang the ceremonial bell. His mind was transported to the past. This track is him re-living the memories of Abbot Vaelor. He watches the monks bring the "Dead" body of the baby alien into their home after slaying it deep within the ruins under the temple. He watches them fall victim to it, brother slaying brother as it drives them insane. He watches as Vaelor succumbs to the alien influence. Watches as it corrupts and turns the gentle and kind man into a monster with no remorse.
(The traveling of his mind to the past seems like a byproduct of some ancient magic, but this is a subtle hint at later Acts. Gillean can see the past because the infant alien lived it)
IX: Abbot Vaelor, The Vestigial
Lyrics:
“Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā”
Meaning: “Gone, gone, gone to the other shore beyond. O’ what an awakening, all hail!”
Characters:
Abbot Vaelor/Infant Alien (Their mind is one and the same now)
Gillean
Location:
Temple of the one deepest level and entrance to the caverns below.
Gillean awakens from his vision of the monks. He has no time to think though as Abbot Vaelor attacks immediately. This once proud and peaceful monk who cared for his brothers as family has been reduced to a mindless puppet. Gillean hears the cries from the "dead" alien body as he fights back. When Vaelor is pushed to the brink, the alien awakens and takes control. There is no escape. Gillean will have to end Vaelor's suffering.
(There are leitmotifs for all Act II songs here. Starfallen plays at the interlude between phase 1 and 2. This is when the alien awakens and tethers to Vaelor. The final sound/scream is the alien)
