Zebuxorok's message at the end of SoD

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Absymbel, Apr 4, 2019.

  1. Absymbel New Member

    Zebuxoruk's dialog at the end of SOD

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    I've always found his dialogue at the very end to be intriguing and wonder what it's about exactly. Here it is:

    You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
    Zebuxoruk says 'All has been restored; all that remains is the final merging of the tired shards of reality into a unified whole. Norrath, as you knew it, is [saved] . . . For now.'
    You say, 'It's saved'
    Zebuxoruk says 'There is no escape for either of us, however. The gods will never notice that I have served my eternal sentence of imprisonment many times over, so I will yet linger in my cage when Norrath is reconstituted. You, of course, will return to Norrath with your friends, and do the great things you do, live out your life, leave your [legacy], until at last you pass on. Then, the cycle will someday begin anew as the lamentable Discordians again dabble in time.'
    You say, 'What about our legacy?'
    Zebuxoruk says 'It is my fate to be punished for the endless eternities, for giving mortals the power you needed to save yourselves, to prevent the destruction of Norrath and the planar realities it touches. Your legacy will be to remember me, and to use the time you have gained to [prepare] for what is to come. Norrath cannot stand forever against its invaders.'
    You say, 'We will prepare'
    Zebuxoruk says 'Soon you will leave, and I will watch you go through the portal. Later, as the portal shimmers to show a different vista, I can see what I call the Thing's Eye . . . something which waits for the right moment to strike. Perhaps when the [weave] of time becomes too weak, it will come.'
    You say, 'The weave?'
    Zebuxoruk says 'There are many curious creatures beyond the shattered shards of time. The Discordians are aware of some of them; some they even created, others they evicted from the worlds they struck. Others are completely foreign and beyond your vaguest appreciation. Watch for them. They will sweep aside the very foundations of Norrath in the cosmos, and they will destroy me and all the other gods. I have [foreseen] this. I have spent eternities gazing through the portals, looking upon impossible visions.'
    You say, 'What have you foreseen?'
    Zebuxoruk says 'When the timeline is weak enough, a new assault will come to Norrath. By then your powers will be so great that both past and future will be evacuated, their peoples to make a last stand in the Now. What a magnificent effort that shall be, though it will be utterly futile. At the moment of your greatest despair, look up and see the Alabaster Tower which shall offer your [salvation].'
    You say, 'Our salvation?'
    Zebuxoruk says 'You ask too much of me. I saw what I saw, but can offer no evidence. It is but another path among ruined timelines, perhaps one that will yet not be taken. Go now, and savor your victories. I shall wait here in endless timelessness, here with this forlorn tree, for your unwitting return.'

    So what is this "Thing's Eye"? and what does he mean by evacuating the past and future and the Alabaster Tower? Since I first knew about this I've always thought it was setting up some even greater threat and figured it was alluding to some sort of crossover between EQ1 and 2. However, we never heard anymore about it, and since it's been 10 years and a new company is in charge I fear they may have just abandoned/forgotten this whole story arc.
  2. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    Zebuxoruk has a history with Enchanters. And the symbol of the Enchanter is the eye. Related, maybe?
  3. Absor Developer

    Don't forget, he's also a bit mad. He has lived and remembered a near infinite number of lives, and in most of those he is immortal. That's a lot of things to know. It can drive you mad.
    IblisTheMage likes this.
  4. Horyuken Augur

    Is this a homage to your many years working on this fine game?!?!
  5. IblisTheMage Augur

    So, a memmory allocation issue?
    Moege likes this.
  6. Rondor Augur

    In the Call of the Forsaken (CoTF) expansion that was releasd a few years after Seeds of Destruction, the story line again involves Zebuxoruk. In CoTF there is a tower called the Tower of Rot (ToR) that features prominently as well. Maybe this is meant to be the Alabaster Tower? Though I would not call ToR an "alabaster" tower as it doesn't look like it's made of a smooth gem mineral. There is indeed a little bit of time travel involved in CoTF, and there is a mixture of EQ1and EQ2 storylines. We also encounter some new NPC types from the Void specifically from the Ethernere that spill over into West Karana. We don't quite "evacuate the past and future to meet in the Now" to defeat "The Thing's Eye" but there is some use of artifacts recovered from an alternate timeline to help fix the problems encountered in CoTF.

    I don't know for sure if this is meant to be related to what Zebuxoruk says at the end of the SoD expansion, but there is indeed a little bit of overlap and hints of it.
  7. Boze TLP complaint factory

    "By then your powers will be so great that both past and future will be evacuated, their peoples to make a last stand in the Now. " makes me think he's almost breaking the fourth wall, like he's talking about the end of EQ altogether. You'll be super powerful, have done everything, and any last stand will be futile. Some day it will just end, The Nameless (who in my head cannon is the dev team) will unplug the server, as Norrath exists solely at The Nameless's whim.
    Androktasiai and Aziuno like this.
  8. IblisTheMage Augur

    It is EQ1 and EQ2 :)
  9. Act of Valor The Newest Member

    I think Zebuxoruk is referring to the library in the center of PoK where Maelin is when he talks about the Alabaster Tower.
  10. Numiko Augur

    of course could mean nothing and was just written to add a bit of flavour by some summer help intern.

    This is what I was told was said at a fan fair when a friend who attended asked about all the stores and tales found when chatting with the plane of justice prisoners....
  11. Sheex Goodnight, Springton. There will be no encores.

    Am I the only one getting a Talenelat’Elin, Herald of War and Bearer of Agonies vibe from this guy?
  12. Scorrpio Augur

    Could be allusion to Everquest Next.
    SoD was announced and launched in 2008, and first public disclosure about EQ Next came in 2009.