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Memories of the Ancients is a main quest in the fourth and final act of Pillars of Eternity.

It leads to the final confrontation with Thaos and the end of the game.

To be clear: after initiating this quest (specifically, entering the final area), you will not be able to exit, use the map, finish other quests, tie up any loose ends, return to your stronghold, etc. The game will end and if, after the closing credits, you select "Continue," it'll take you back to just before the final boss battle.

Synopsis[ | ]

The Watcher has done as the delemgan advised - I have been carried safely into the depths of Breith Eaman with the blessing of the gods, who would have them stop Thaos before he sends the souls of Dyrwood's Hollowborn to be consumed by his goddess, Woedica.

Whether or not that happens, they have unfinished business, and the Watcher needs to find him as soon as they can. The whispers are louder now, and no amount of rest is any relief. By the time the Watcher reaches him, they may be as lost as Maerwald was.

Walkthrough[ | ]

  • Find Iovara's soul prison in Breith Eaman, to the northeast, and speak to her.
  • Enter Sun in Shadow and make your way to the Court at its heart. Make your way to the machine at the center of Sun in Shadow down the walkways and confront Thaos. This completes the quest, and will start with the Watcher reliving the moment that wounded his soul and tied him to Thaos (at a sanctum similar, but not identical to the one at Sun in Shadow):
Click expand to view dialogue
Items in italics are quoted directly from the game.

"Did you lie to me when you said the gods could end suffering?"

Thaos says nothing.

"Are there no gods?"

Thaos' face remains a mask of impassivity. "What IS a god? Hm? A higher power? A rewarder of good deeds and punisher of the wicked? Something men can turn to in their darkest moments, when their days seem only like bridges from one tragedy to the next? Our gods are all these things."

With Thaos' every word you find yourself losing control of a boiling cauldron of rage and doubt and fear and hopelessness, until you can take it no more.

"Are there no gods?!"

With maddening calm, Thaos puts an index finger to his lips. "We are in a sacred place, within earshot of the gods themselves. This is not the time.

"You have been through much these past few months."

"You will return home, and you will rest. When you feel you have recovered, you may rejoin us at the trials. The Inquisition is far from over, and I will have need of you."

"There are many who continue to spread the lies of the Apostate. The Inquisition will not end until we have pronounced judgment on ALL of them."

His eyes linger on you, and there is no mistaking the threat behind it, and your rage shrinks at the image of an iron wheel in your mind, monolithic and caked with the dried blood of thousands. You do not ask your question again.

  • Thaos will confront you afterwards and annoy your followers, trying to throw them off-balance. Bringing Hiravias to the party is worth it just to see his reply. Either way, you will wind up fighting him and the two massive statues, Woedica's Judge and Woedica's Headsman respectively. They are a challenge, especially as Thaos will go into hibernation when wounded and transfer his essence to one of the statues.
  • After his defeat, you will witness the birth of the gods.
Click expand to view dialogue
Items in italics are quoted directly from the game.

You come out in the room you are standing in now, but it is new and pristine and filled with people - thousands of them, all turned towards the great adra pillar and the machine that encases it.

Thaos stands at the machine, and you are one with him now. You look out at the crowd, at faces of shriveled old men and cherub-cheeked little girls, at mothers bouncing infants to quiet them and fathers clasping their children's restless hands and watching you with somber acceptance. A woman with tears in her eyes gives you a small nod.

You turn back toward the machine, your breaths constricted beneath the weight of unwanted knowledge, preparing yourself to set out alone on a journey without end. You close your eyes and open them again to find the machine still in front of you, beckoning.

You take your place in front of it and place your hands upon a large mechanical disc at the base of the great crystal column and speak a single word. Giant rings creak to life, building speed, setting arrays of carved draconic mouths aglow and sending tremors through the platform beneath you.

The entire room shakes now with the force of the accelerating machine, all sound drowned out by its deep, deafening thrum. Brilliant tendrils of light arc outward from the pillar in all directions, and you look over your shoulder to see them engulfing the crowd, burning them brightly like hot iron.

One by one, the tendrils disappear, leaving ashen effigies where people once stood, many of them disintegrating into gray heaps under the stress of the tremors.

You look above to the adra pillar, and a glowing spherical mass has begun to coalesce atop the column where the arcs converge. It grows and pulses, translucent and bulbous like some immense chrysalis, suspended in slow rotation as though it were being spun from the arcs of light.

When the last arc disappears, the spectral mass hangs a moment, no longer rotating, so bright you must shield your eyes with an outstretched hand, and it seems to you as though it is looking at you.

You bow your head in acknowledgment, and look back up to see it melt into the pillar like warm candle wax. The pillar flares with a flash of light bright as the sun itself, then fades to darkness.

The machine slows down to an abrupt halt, and when the last echo of its grinding cogs has passed, the chamber is still, and you are alone.

  • After disposing of Thaos, you will receive five options:
    • [Return it to the cycle.] "You will remember this, Thaos. Remember that no man can hide the truth forever, and all you've done was done in futility. Your memory shall be your penance." → Return his soul unaltered to the cycle.
    • [Destroy all memories contained within.] "Your memory makes you a slave to your own past. Perhaps it can't be undone, but it can be forgotten. It shall trouble neither of us any longer." → Return his soul to the cycle, but with all memories of his past lives erased.
    • [Tear his soul apart.] "You caused me great suffering, Thaos. You do not deserve to exist." → Do so savagely
    • [Tear his soul apart.] "I do not envy you, Thaos. I of all people realize the sway memories can hold. It is time you were granted peace." → Do so compassionately
    • [Banish his soul to Breith Eaman.] "Thaos ix Arkannon, there can be no forgiveness for your deeds, only justice. You shall escape judgment no longer." → He does not like this.
  • Afterwards, it's time to decide. The decision affects which endings take place:
    • [Send the souls back into the reincarnation cycle.] (for Berath)
    • [Return the souls to the bodies they were intended for.] (for Hylea)
    • [Entropically disintegrate the souls, ending their existence.] (for Rymrgand)
    • [Distribute the essence to existing souls in Dyrwood to strengthen them.] (for Galawain)
    • Alternatively, if the associated god proposed an alternative (see Sun in Shadow for more information about this), you may:
      • [Allow the souls to pass through the vein to Woedica.] (for Woedica / Skaen)
      • [Disperse the souls to an unknown location.] (for Wael)

Congratulations, you have ended the Hollowing of the Dyrwood - and ushered in a new era.

In Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire[ | ]

Your decision made in regards to what you do with the souls will influence the endings slides, but otherwise has no real repercussions in Pillars of Eternity.

That said, should you choose to import your save into Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, you'll have to face the consequences (or reap the rewards) of your actions. If you choose an option that goes against your promise made in Teir Evron during Council of Stars, you will have to endure a punishment. Likewise if you keep your promise, you'll gain a boon or reward later in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Note that these are only applicable if you actually made a promise to the associated god. Effects that occur regardless of if you made a promise are listed in the "Other effects" column below.

Choice Deity n_Ending Repercussions in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Reward
(for keeping promise)
Punishment
(for breaking promise)
Other effects/notes
Distribute the essence to existing souls in Dyrwood to strengthen them. Galawain 4
  • Galawain takes his revenge, granting Jadaferlas Galawain's Wrath and making the fight much more difficult.
Return the souls to the bodies they were intended for. Hylea 1
Send the souls back into the reincarnation cycle. Berath 2
  • Berath's Wrath, removed after killing 75 souls have been claimed for Berath.
The logic seems to be broken or not fully implemented. You will get the punishment if you made the vow and either kept or broke it, although Berath's Black Bell will still appear if you kept your promise.
Entropically disintegrate the souls, ending their existence. Rymrgand 3
Allow the souls to pass through the vein to Woedica. Woedica / Skaen 5
Disperse the souls to an unknown location. Wael 6

Journal[ | ]

quests\critical_path\act_4\cp_qst_confront_lka
ID Objectives
0 Memories of the Ancients
10000 I have done as the delemgan advised - I have been carried safely into the depths of Breith Eaman with the blessing of the gods, who would have me stop Thaos before he sends the souls of Dyrwood's Hollowborn to be consumed by his goddess, Woedica.

Whether or not that happens, we would seem to have unfinished business, and I need to find him as soon as I can. The whispers in my mind are louder now, and no amount of rest is any relief. By the time I reach him I may be as lost as Maerwald was.

5 Search for Thaos.
10005 The souls given to me by the gods have illuminated a path through the darkness of this place. Thaos lies somewhere ahead.
4 Enter Sun in Shadow.
10004 I have survived the fall from the top of the Court of the Penitents. The path before me leads through the Engwithans' eternal prison, and, if the delemgan sisters spoke true, to this "Sun in Shadow" where Thaos is bound.
End states
Yes Reached Machine
30000 I have reached the Engwithan machine I saw in my dreams. Thousands of Dyrwoodan souls have been drawn to it. Thaos cannot be far.
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