Bombastine Dialogue
Bombastine is one of Dominus Thrax's courtiers within the kingdom of Duviri and serves, among other roles, as a playwright and performer. He is the focal point of the Envy Spiral in Duviri. Bombastine is voiced by Kevin Lim.
Idle quotes
During non-Envy Spirals, Bombastine can be found in the Agora, standing on the stage before a small audience. These are quotes he says when the Drifter is nearby.
"Days of being executed all behind you, are they? (angrily) Be nice if you remembered your old friends."
"Heard the King put a bounty on your head. How's it feel? To know you're worth that much to someone?"
"Helping one of the others today, are you? It's okay. I understand. (angrily) Not a problem."
"If I had your resources, I'd be on the throne by now. Bombastine the First. Just saying."
"I suppose she is still chirping away on her perch of honour? Of course she is."
"My, don't you look fancy. Where do you get those outfits?"
"If I could just borrow their powers. Lodun's fire. Sythel's lightning. Then I'd be a Wyrm to reckon with."
"Look at you. Feared and respected wherever you go. Must be nice."
"Oh, to be a Drifter! No ties. No responsibilities. Nobody to take care of."
"The shoe will be on the other foot one day. Oh, yes."
The Covetous Courtier
During Envy Spirals in Duviri, the Drifter has the opportunity to play through the tale of the Covetous Courtier, centring on Bombastine, as part of the Tales of Duviri. These dialogue lines are narrated by Euleria Entrati.
(introduction) Euleria Entrati: "Bombastine, Duviri's preening peacock, was consumed by Envy. Oh, many envied him, but he cared nothing for that."
(introduction) Euleria Entrati: "Bombastine was envious. Of what? Anything. Wherever his gaze fell, it seemed other people had it better."
(first stage) Euleria Entrati: "Bombastine was never satisfied. He wanted moreā¦ for all that others had was an affront to his being."
(first stage) Euleria Entrati: "Oh, Bombastine was admired, even loved. But others were loved more, and that was poison to him."
(second stage) Euleria Entrati: "With sweet words, he persuaded others to his side. But his thoughts were only ever of himself."
(second stage) Euleria Entrati: "Behind his acts of kindness and generosity lay but one thought: how can this performance benefit me?"
(third stage) Euleria Entrati: "Like a child becoming bored with each new toy, Bombastine moved from one fixation to the next."
(third stage) Euleria Entrati: "With each new conquest, never once did he think: 'Surely that is enough. Surely now I can stop.'"
(fourth stage) Euleria Entrati: "Demented beyond hope of return, Bombastine set his heart on the throne. Was he not as good a king as Thrax?"
(fourth stage) Euleria Entrati: "If Bombastine could only have loved himself, he might not have yearned to become someone else."
(fifth stage) Euleria Entrati: "Bombastine thought his self-doubt was his alone. If only he had known how many others suffered it too."
(fifth stage) Euleria Entrati: "And so the envy that might have motivated him to better himself hurled him headlong into disaster."
(when the Orowyrm appears) Euleria Entrati: "What dragon is Envy? A hunger never sated, a gift never enough. It darkens the sunny days with a wanting that never is met."
Envy Spiral
As the Drifter plays through the Envy Spiral, Bombastine will give dialogue when they approach their main objectives, as well as at the beginning and end of the Spiral.
(Spiral start) Bombastine: "I am better than any of them! Fate and small, jealous others have conspired to inflict this upon me! You! Will you defy their cruelty and aid me?"
(Spiral start) Bombastine: "Duviri has owed me for an age, short-changed me at every turn. We shall set things to rights. Let us collect."
(Assemble the shrine) Bombastine: "That meddlesome witch Acrithis says there is hidden knowledge in the old shrines. Assemble one. She can't keep it all for herself."
(Assemble the shrine) Bombastine: "I've often wondered what power the Otherworld spirits could offer a man like me. Nothing ventured, nothing gainedā¦ rebuild one of the lost shrines and let's see what happens."
(Defeat the Dax) Bombastine: "That witch Luscinia's poured poison in the King's ear with her harpy's verse. After all I've done for the arts, they mean to kill me! Stop his ingrate thugs!"
(Defeat the Dax) Bombastine: "Hah! 'Dax'. She has them wrapped around her little finger. 'Oh boys, go smack Bombastine's bot-bot for me.' They won't be expecting YOU."
(Defeat the Dax guarding the treasure) Bombastine: "'There goes raggle-taggle Bombastine, with nothing to his name but bad verses and bile!' Get me money, Drifter. I want to drip with gold."
(Defeat the Dax guarding the treasure) Bombastine: "The Dax have been collecting tribute from the peasants. What about ME? I think you should collect tribute from THEM. I'll make better use of it, naturally."
(Defeat the high ground Dax) Bombastine: "Ah! I know those Dax. They're the ones that like to use me as a target in their spitting contests. Even the score, would you? Oh, I've dreamed of this."
(Defeat the high ground Dax) Bombastine: "Those sentries look down on me. 'There goes Bombastine,' they say. 'Fire a shot over his head and watch him jump!' [chuckles] Well, today, you're taking them down to MY level."
(Energise the shrine) Bombastine: "I can hear them now. Little children laughing at me because they could solve the maze and I couldn't. I won't have it. Solve the wretched thing!"
(Energise the shrine) Bombastine: "I grew up hearing stories of these odd configurations. How riches awaited those clever enough to solve them. Show me what that feels like!"
(Enter the Undercroft) Bombastine: "Ah, the Undercroft. A seething mass of Void-ridden potential, spiced with childish nightmares. Give me some."
(Enter the Undercroft) Bombastine: "Whoever controls the Undercroft grasps all of Duviri by the roots. I won't let its reputation stand in the way of claiming what's mine. Get in and do what you have to."
(Enter the Undercroft) Bombastine: "Thrax's 'power' is rooted in the Undercroft. Pfeh. Without it, he's not that big of a deal. Not really. Perhaps you should make your way inside for a littleā¦ takeover bid."
(Enter the Undercroft) Bombastine: "I want what a man of my talent and worth rightly deserves, and that includes the Undercroft that Thrax guards so jealously. [seethes] Off you pop."
(Find all lost belongings) Bombastine: "The indulgence of desire occasionally demands a frenzied scrimmage in the dirt. I covet certain gewgawgs. Fetch them."
(Find all lost belongings) Bombastine: [gasp] "A consignment of fine trinkets, waylaid and rudely pitched into the caverns below? Some hapless merchant's loss is my gain! Drifter, if you please?"
(Find the hidden chest) Bombastine: "By sacred law, any treasure dug up in Duviri is automatically the property of the King! Not today, 'your Majesty'. Today, it's finders keepers."
(Find the hidden chest) Bombastine: "When people have more wealth than they can spend, they hide it. People like that make me sick. I want you to find what they stashed and give it to me!"
(Guide your reflection into the light) Bombastine: "Hours I've spent gazing into Void mirrors, and here you are, with some mysterious benefactor gazing back! Deal with those Dax, and see what your friend wants."
(Guide your reflection into the light) Bombastine: "Something's calling for you through the Void mirror. Aren't YOU special? Get rid of those Dax and see what's so urgent."
(Herd the Tamms) Bombastine: "Some days I yearn for the simple life of a farmer. No reason why I shouldn't HAVE that, of course. Why don't you round me up a herd of my own?"
(Herd the Tamms) Bombastine: "I want EVERYTHING. Every coin, every thread, every blade of grass. The Tamms in the field! Yes. Yes! Steal them for me!"
(Kill the mounted Dax) Bombastine: "I will not be 'kept in my place' by swaggering bullies! Just because I wasn't born with strength of arm, they feel like they can push me around? Teach them that my worth and talent are worth far more than theirā¦ engorged biceps!"
(Open the chest and defeat its guardian) Bombastine: "Some people have it all. This fellow, for instance. Strong. Fast. He even has Void powers. What I wouldn't do to have what he has. You're going to kill him and TAKE what he has."
(Open the chest and defeat its guardian) Bombastine: "That oaf bars my way every time I try to return to the Palace! Wouldn't he look so much better coughing his last while you loot his chest of goods?"
(Purge the darkened areas of Liminus) Bombastine: "The spirits of the greedy dead rise, wanting me to return what is obviously mine! Well, I'm keeping IT ALL! You! Banish them!"
(Purge the darkened areas of Liminus) Bombastine: "Oh, how the shades envy the living. Craving our life, our warmth. Sorry, ghostlings. I feel you, really I do, but I'm going to ask my friend here to put you down."
(Reconnect the power lines) Bombastine: "Mmmm. Cunning devices like this feed Duviri with power, just so those witless peasants can piss it away. It's wasted on them. Recalibrate it in MY favour!"
(Reconnect the power lines) Bombastine: "The King has these generators built, and then he lets them go to rack and ruin. Get it running again. Give me a taste of his power."
(Stay close to the prisoner to free them) Bombastine: "People owe you their lives, don't they, Drifter? How does that feel? Save a condemned criminal for me. I want to see the pathetic gratitude in his eyes."
(Stay close to the prisoner to free them) Bombastine: "It is unjust that Thrax has the sole power of life and death. I want some too. Nearby a man is marked for execution. Save his life, that I may also, rightly, be thought of as Lord of Life and Death."
(Win the kaithe race) Bombastine: "The mark of true nobility is an affinity for horseflesh, you know. I want to be the patron of champions. All YOU have to do is win."
(Win the kaithe race) Bombastine: "How would it beā¦ to own the fastest kaithe in all Duviri? Glorious. Make a little boy's dream come true."
(after completing the Spiral's tasks) Bombastine (holding his head and shaking): "I'll see she never sings again. It was ME that gave her that voiceā¦ it's I who deserves the stage, not that ungrateful harpy! Me, me, me!"
(after completing the Spiral's tasks) Bombastine (holding his head and shaking): "It's not fair! The things I did were supposed to break her, not make her his favourite! I was meant to be the one who was loved! Me! IT'S NOT FAAAAAIR!"
Undercroft
In the Opera scene of the Undercroft, a large hologram of Bombastine can be found, who will say the following lines to the Drifter when they approach. These lines were also used in the Amphitheatre TennoCon showcase (see below), before the presentation began.
"Ah, the tingle of mounting excitement."
"Savour the anticipation while you can!"
"Come on, come on! Plenty of room for everyone!"
"Do not shove! You'll all be able to see, I promise!"
"The performance will commence presently."
"We crave your patience for just a little longer."1
Duviri Amphitheatre, TennoCon 2022
During TennoLive at TennoCon 2022, when the Duviri Paradox gameplay demo was being shown, there was a Relay orbiting Earth in-game labelled "Duviri Amphitheatre". Entering this Relay took the Tenno to the floating Duviri island known as the Amphitheatre (which can now be found during non-Sorrow Spirals as a normal part of Duviri's landscape). In the centre was a stage upon which stood Bombastine. During the gameplay demo, as each new character or concept was shown, a facsimile would appear on the stage in the Duviri Amphitheatre in-game, and Bombastine would announce it. As there were connection problems for some players due to high server traffic during TennoCon, the entire presentation was re-run during DevStream 163, roughly 6 weeks later.
(beginning of presentation, while showing an image of Dominus Thrax) "Welcome, one and all. Vagabonds and wastrels, nobles and nobodies, tatterdemalions, tramps, and troubadours! Welcome to a display without equal among the trillion wonders of the ever-giving Void. But first. A salutation to Him by whose will we are gathered here. The brightest of stars in the firmament! Our magnificent Majesty, by whose very whim we exist! Our most modest and serene sovereign! DOMINUS THRAX!"
(while showing an image of Duviri Dax) "In Duviri, our Dax are not flawed, mortal flesh and blood. They are legends given form. A pure ideal, smithed into shape by our King's will. I advise you not to cross them."
(while showing an image of Luscinia) "Here, your eyes are treated to what your ears have already feasted upon. Behold Luscinia, whose voice blesses all in Duviri. Through her song, the King sleeps soundly and deep, untroubled by fell dreams."
(while showing an image of kaithe) "The kaithe of Duviri. A memory clad in a steel dream. Swifter than bowshots, more loyal than a steadfast soldier's heart. Run true, noble kaithe!"
(while showing an image of Teshin) "Teshin Dax. A veteran veiled in scars and sorrows. I cannot tell you how long he has dwelled with us. I only know that something has compelled him to watch and wait."
(when Orowyrm flies around the Amphitheatre) "LOOK UP, UP TO THE SKY! Meet one of our primordial enigmas. One of the titanic entities that coil around our world at its very root. Behold, the Orowyrm LODUN!"
(when the presentation is over) "Alas, merciless Time has not stinted on his forward march, and our dalliance together draws to a close. How different from the hours in sweet Duviri, where the same day may be lived over and over, like a beloved song, and never grow old! Of course, it is not so sweet for those who the King wishes to see suffer, and death is no release when it can be undone and decreed againā¦ but enough of such dark forebodings. Duviri awaits. And we shall meet again."
Bombastine plays a small role in The Duviri Paradox. He has additional dialogue in the Orowyrm fight at the conclusion of the Envy Spiral. Bombastine is mentioned in the dialogue of Acrithis, Brimon, Luscinia, Teshin, the singing children of Duviri, and in one of the Zariman tablets.
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