Arx Mentis Lore

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Alkaline, Dec 28, 2020.

  1. Alkaline New Member

    Possible spoilers for TDS ahead.

    Was a big fan of Combine stuff in older Everquest lore. Loved making characters who would go to Luclin and join the two factions and just explore what I could of it. The stuff in TBS was ok for the most part. Backtracked on some stuff, but overall pretty good. Didn't play during TDS's prime, but I went back and did all of the solo and group quests, finishing yesterday.

    I have some questions about Arx Mentis. In the pre-release notes for the expansion I found online, it's mentioned that Arx Mentis was established by followers of Seru, and not Loyalists who stuck with the Kattas. However, in none of the quest dialogue I saw was this ever confirmed. Perhaps I just missed it, or it is in the raid dialogue instead, so a pointer to where I can find that would be appreciated. Specifically, I am curious if Arx Mentis is indeed a Loyalist or a Seru-faction settlement, and I have other questions depending on the answer.

    If Arx Mentis was indeed established by followers of Seru:
    1. Why are there so many citizens and soldiers from the evil races? All previous lore notes their inclusion in the Empire as the reason Seru attempted to assassinate Katta. If this was a decision made after Seru and (a portion of) his soldiers left for Luclin, when and why was this reversal made?
    2. Is Lord Inquisitor Seru canonically dead? I know he isn't in EQ2, but that's another timeline. Lcea Katta was also a raid target in Luclin, and is not canonically dead. Is there any mention for him?
    3. The quest dialogue makes it sound as if Calix and his followers are unwilling to harm Tsaph Katta, and Calix in his dialogue shows admiration for Tsaph's attempt to unify all races (though has his own ideas on how to do so). Why would a follower of Seru feel this way?
    4. Katta Castrum was sunk under the sea as a sort of secret base, to hide Tsaph Katta from Seru while Lcea led him on a wild goose chase to Luclin. Is Arx Mentis' close proximity to Katta Castrum just a coincidence?
    5. When hailed in Lceanium, Salli Westell tells us to check out the recipes brought from Arx Mentis. I have not done much in EoK or RoS yet, but is there a stated reason why followers of Seru were so willing to reverse course and follow Tsaph again? I do not mind EoK or RoS spoilers.
    If Arx Mentis was actually established by Loyalists or perhaps a 3rd splinter group of the original Combine Empire, I guess I mainly have one question: Why are they so willing to invade and kill the Loyalists?
    Thanks for any insights you may have.
  2. Axxius Augur

    From what I understand:

    Arx Mentis is a Loyalist city. It's populated by all races including the 'evil' ones and recognizes Tsaph Katta as the supreme authority. Maybe it was originally founded by Seru's faction before his departure to the moon, but since he and all his followers left, it was taken over by the Loyalists from the nearby Katta Castrum.

    Seru is not dead. He's still on Luclin in his stasis bubble. There is no story line of his fall in Luclin, or ever since. Lcea returned from the moon to join Tsaph in the new rebuilding of the empire in EoK/RoS. But nothing changed about Seru.

    If the recent expansion pattern continues, we may return to Luclin in the near future and see new developments in the Combine lore. Perhaps it's time for Tsaph to pay a visit to his arch rival? ;)
    Jhenna_BB, Astral64 and Thunderkiks like this.
  3. Alkaline New Member

    Hey, thanks for the response Axxius! Interesting that some lore-related raid fights seem canonical (waking the Sleeper, The Nest stuff in DoN, etc) and some don't (Seru in this case). I too hope that they bring back Luclin soon! If recent history is anything to go by, we'll probably get a new content expansion next, then a throwback pair. Hopefully it's Luclin.

    Do you happen to have a source for the 'Arx Mentis were Loyalists' theory? The pre-release information I mention is on Allakhazam (https://everquest.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=35344):

    Of course, anything in-game would override that. If you happen to know a source I could look at, that'd be awesome.
  4. Beimeith Lord of the Game

    My understanding is that Arx Mentis is the counterpart to Katta Castrum.

    The history of Katta Castrum is as follows:

    After the poisoning of Tsaph, he was spirited away by the Elves and put in stasis. The city of Katta Castrum was built in secret to hide him, while Lcea went up to Luclin to lure Seru away with them both becoming trapped there until two-way travel was established during Shadows of Luclin.

    Meanwhile, back on Norrath Katta Castrum over time became a sort of sanctuary for "endangered" species such as the Shissar and the Kedge. After many centuries of looking for a cure, some researchers began to experiment on the Kedge to help in finding a cure. Some researchers then went beyond even this and, like Phinigel before them, tried to alter the Kedge to leave the water. This resulted in Prexus attempting to destroy the city by sinking it below the ocean. However, through the use of the Pellarus Satum, an Artifact from the Plane of Sun, they were able to create a shield around the city to hold back the water, and thus they remained hidden and forgotten for thousands of years.

    Mayong ascended to demi-godhood after we killed him during the Depths of Darkhollow, however his claim to godhood was shaky. To solidify his grasp on power, he set about corrupting Ayonae Ro and subsuming the Demi-plane of Music. We stopped him during the events of the Prophecy of Ro, but Mayong had already gained power enough to enter the Plane of Sun and challenge Solusek Ro himself. The fight with Mayong drained Solusek Ro's power and as a result the star Ro was dimmed and likewise the Pellarus Satum lost power, causing the shield protecting Katta Castrum to weaken and the outer parts of the city to flood and the citizens to come to the surface to seek help and reveal their existance.


    As for Arx Mentis, the best I can piece together is as follows:

    Arx Mentis was built by the followers of Seru who didn't go up to Luclin. The Combine Empire already having fractured they focused on rebuilding their own power base, intending to eventually reconquer the world in a new Combine Empire. They built their city on the backs of those they considered inferior, but when the current ruler, Calix, came to power he made changes.

    Calix believed that each species had special properties that could be combined to create an ultimate species that would rule the future. Thus he opened Arx Mentis to all races, even evil ones, under the guise of inclusiveness while in reality they were performing horrific procedures on them, (not unlike what some of their counterparts in Katta Castrum did).

    Calix eventually succeeded and created Una Lucem, the first of this new Master Race. When he learned (from Lanys?) that Firiona Vie was healing Tsaph, he sent Una to capture him because he didn't want Tsaph cured OR killed. If Tsaph was cured, he would be a rival for Calix's power as the true leader of the Combine, and if he killed him it would likewise look very bad with his subjects. It is best for Calix for Tsaph to stay in stasis.


    So to answer your questions:

    1) There are evil races in Arx Mentis despite it being founded by followers of Seru because the current leader allowed them to be so he could secretly experiment on them (along with the good races too).

    2) I don't know, but given that we actually *kill* him, I feel he *should* be...but then we've *killed* a lot of things that are still alive somehow.

    3) Calix isn't really a *follower* of Seru. The city was founded by followers of Seru, but that was thousands of years ago. Since then he has sort of emulated Tsaph's inclusiveness doctrine to serve as cover for his experiments so Tsaph has served as a kind of absent figurehead in Arx Mentis. Calix doesn't want that figuredhead *harmed* but nor does he want him actually coming back into the picture and challenging him.

    4) Katta Castrum wasn't sunk to hide Tsaph. It was sunk as a result of their experiments on the Kedge. Arx Mentis being in close proximity could be either a coincidence or it could have been the result of them hearing rumors about the existence of Katta Castrum either before/after it sunk and thus building their own city in the approximate area.

    5) Again, they're not the followers of Seru. They're *descendants* of followers of Seru. Not only that, but they're descendants of the followers that DIDN'T go up to Luclin, so they likely weren't ride-or-die to start with. And, most importantly, the lower classes of Arx Mentis were under the impression that they were following in Tsaph's tradition, unaware they were merely fodder for Calix and the upper classes.
    Ssdar, Axxius, Andarriel and 4 others like this.