Sythel is one of Dominus Thrax's courtiers within the kingdom of Duviri, serving an unspecified role. She is the focal point of the Fear Spiral in Duviri. Sythel is voiced by Rhiannon Moushall.
Idle quotes
During non-Fear Spirals, Sythel can be found in her house between Titan's Rest and Custos Arch, cowering in a corner. These are quotes she says when the Drifter is nearby.
"The first scholar looked into the Void and he feared it. And his fear took shape. Do you understand? That's how all this started!"
"I've seen them. The black-eyed children. Pointing at me."
"Listen! There. Did you hear it? Rap. Tap. Tap."
"We're both more dangerous than we look, you and I. Keep your distance."
"Were you followed?"
"Keep your hands where I can see them."
"You don't know me. You have no idea what I'm capable of!"
"Not safe here. They'll find me. Her with her carriage. Always nosing around. Got to move. Find a new place."
"I… I can't stay in here forever. I'll starve. Get bitten. Catch the swarming rot. Little eggs under my eyelids!"
[shivers] "Beetles in the earth. Biting oh-so-gently. Tunnelling. Up through my skin."
The Fearful Conspirator
During Fear Spirals in Duviri, the Drifter has the opportunity to play through the tale of the Fearful Conspirator, centring on Sythel, as part of the Tales of Duviri. These dialogue lines are narrated by Euleria Entrati.
(introduction) Euleria Entrati: "Afraid to go outside and afraid to be shut in, Sythel lived a timorous life. Usually, she was too scared to act… but not always."
(introduction) Euleria Entrati: "One haunted day in Duviri, Sythel awoke with the thought: if I could destroy what I fear, I wouldn't have to fear it anymore!"
(first stage) Euleria Entrati: "Like the first rumblings of a landslide, the ominous consequences of Sythel's actions began to build."
(first stage) Euleria Entrati: "Sythel looked in horror upon what had been done in her name. Surely there would be consequences!"
(second stage) Euleria Entrati: "Sythel's fear spiralled. The more she tried to be bold, the greater grew her fear of being found out."
(second stage) Euleria Entrati: "Another might have taken courage from seeing the things she feared exterminated, but not Sythel."
(third stage) Euleria Entrati: "Her brutal actions had consequences. Like a deadly pestilence, Sythel's fear spread across Duviri."
(third stage) Euleria Entrati: "Sythel left fear in her wake. Doors were closed and windows barred, and voices spoke in whispers."
(fourth stage) Euleria Entrati: "All Duviri now lived in terror of Sythel. What a long shadow this scrawny little figure had cast!"
(fourth stage) Euleria Entrati: "Fear ruled Duviri… and yet Sythel, the embodiment of fear, was more afraid than ever."
(fifth stage) Euleria Entrati: "Sythel was afraid to go on, but she was even more afraid to stop. Her fears were allying against her now."
(fifth stage) Euleria Entrati: "Even as her plans led to disaster after disaster, Sythel was more afraid of what might still come to pass."
(when the Orowyrm appears) Euleria Entrati: "For an instant, as she shed her pitiful human form, Sythel was no longer afraid, for she had become fear."
Fear Spiral
As the Drifter plays through the Fear Spiral, Sythel will give dialogue when they approach their main objectives, as well as at the beginning and end of the Spiral.
(Spiral start) Sythel: "Can I trust you? I have to. They're everywhere. Plotting against me. I need you to destroy them. Every single last one!"
(Spiral start) Sythel: "They've kept me locked up inside my own mind all these years. Frightening me with their tricks. Now I need you to make THEM afraid."
(Assemble the shrine) Sythel: "There's a broken shrine nearby. That's bad. Leave a shrine broken, and THINGS will come after you. All bony hands and snaking tongues and…. [deep breath] Please. Put it back together."
(Assemble the shrine) Sythel: "There's a shrine. And I thought it was cursed. So I… I broke it. Into bits. And now I think I'm cursed. Just… just put it back together, for Void's sake."
(Defeat Kullervo) Sythel: "The Warden cages Kullervo, pokes at him, stokes his rage. Putting us all in danger. Give Kullervo what he needs. The honour of a fair fight."
(Defeat Kullervo) Sythel: "I'm too scared to give Kullervo what he truly needs, so he can rest. The challenge of an equal! Oh, but you, you're strong. You can do it."
(Defeat the Dax) Sythel: "It's only a matter of time before the Dax find out what we're up to. There's a bunch of them nearby, acting suspicious. You need to get them before they get us."
(Defeat the Dax) Sythel: "The Dax know EVERYTHING! Why did you let them find out our plan? You've got to wipe them out, quickly! Come on! Let's get cutting throats!"
(Defeat the Dax guarding the treasure) Sythel: "You know what's in those chests the Dax are guarding? Evidence, that's what. I need it. Even if you have to go through them to get it."
(Defeat the Dax guarding the treasure) Sythel: "Listen. If I'm ever going to get out of here, set up someplace new, I'm going to need funds. Maybe… maybe you could find some Dax pay chests. They won't miss them."
(Energise the shrine) Sythel: "I'm scared of mazes. You never know what might be skulking at the centre. You go look. I'll wait."
(Energise the shrine) Sythel: "One day I might be locked up in one of those mazes. Then you'll have to get me out. I need to know you can do that. Show me."
(Enter the Undercroft) Sythel: "Oh no. Oh no no. There's something wrong in the Undercroft. I can't go down there. Not after what I saw that time."
(Enter the Undercroft) Sythel: "I can't go near the Undercroft portals. Can't bear to think about what… might… come out of them. It's going to have to be you."
(Enter the Undercroft) Sythel: "Everyone's afraid of the Undercroft. Even Thrax. It's too close to the Void. To… to HIM. That's why I'm sending YOU in there."
(Enter the Undercroft) Sythel: "You have to go to the place where bad dreams are real. The Undercroft. Whatever's wrong there, make it right. Hurry!"
(Find all lost belongings) Sythel: "What kind of idiot robs a tomb? I saw them. Taking the grave-goods into a cave. Fetch them back. Before the dead… get… upset."
(Find all lost belongings) Sythel: "Pretty trinkets. Underground. What if children go down there looking for them? What if something… bad… happens? There, in the dark? Get those trinkets!"
(Find the hidden chest) Sythel: "I need protection. Talismans. Incantations. Weapons. Whatever you can find. Search around. There has to be something I can use!"
(Find the hidden chest) Sythel: "I locked something up near here, I know I did. Books. Dried roots. A prisoner? Can't be sure. But I need to find it again."
(Guide your reflection into the light) Sythel: "Something's trying to reach you. Through the mirror. The GUARDED mirror. This is YOUR problem! Deal with it!"
(Guide your reflection into the light) Sythel: "One of us has to kill those Dax. Look into that mirror. See whatever's waiting there. You. Obviously. Not me."
(Herd the Tamms) Sythel: "The Tamms are plotting something. They're out of their pens. I don't like it. Round them up. Put them back."
(Herd the Tamms) Sythel: [nervous laugh] "Don't tell me Tamms are harmless. I've seen the way they look at me. All that CHEWING. Round them up and keep them away from me!"
(Kill the mounted Dax) Sythel: "I feel sick. The King suspects. I'm sure of it. He's going to send an assassin after me. Any moment now. You have to get to the assassin first."
(Open the chest and defeat its guardian) Sythel: "I can't bear the sight of those things. Thrax's favoured. Like something out of a vapour vision. You're going to have to kill it. And take whatever it was put here to guard."
(Open the chest and defeat its guardian) Sythel: "Oh, Thrax brought monsters to life to defend his Kingdom. But you're stronger than Thrax, aren't you? You're a monster-killer. Treasure-finder. Aren't you? Well?"
(Purge the darkened areas of Liminus) Sythel: "My own nightmares are bad enough. I don't want Thrax's crawling inside my head too. Kill them, kill them, KILL THEM!"
(Purge the darkened areas of Liminus) Sythel: "They're coming. Out of the ground. The unhallowed earth. Shadows. Moving. I can't look at them. MAKE THEM GO AWAY!"
(Reconnect the power lines) Sythel: "I don't like this. Broken-down machinery is suspicious. It attracts attention. Hurry, fix it before someone sees!"
(Reconnect the power lines) Sythel: "I think this generator pumps the air in Duviri. And it's… broken? Oh Void. I can't breathe. My head's spinning! I'm going to die! Fix it!"
(Stay close to the prisoner to free them) Sythel: "I ordered a man executed. I, I, I was sure he was conspiring against me. But now… I'm… I'm afraid he might be… innocent. You have to stop the Dax. Before it's too late."
(Stay close to the prisoner to free them) Sythel: "The Dax want to kill one of MY prisoners. You mustn't let them. I need him alive for… uh… secret reasons."
(Win the kaithe race) Sythel: "Kaithes terrify me. I keep dreaming I'm at a race, and those pounding hooves trample me to pulp. Maybe if you ran a race… and… and that DIDN'T happen… it might be okay?"
(Win the kaithe race) Sythel: "That kaithe might be mad. Void-struck. Dangerous. You'd better ride all the crazy out of it. Wear it out. To be safe."
(after completing the Spiral's tasks) Sythel (holding her head and shaking): "You! You were never on my side to start with, were you? All along you've been plotting with them… siding with them… preparing to betray me! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO BE AFRAID!"
(after completing the Spiral's tasks) Sythel (holding her head and shaking): "Who are you? Who are you really? Why do I hear whispers in my head when I look at you? WHY ARE YOUR EYES LIKE THAT?"
Sythel appears very briefly in Orowyrm form at the end of The Duviri Paradox, and has additional dialogue in the Orowyrm fight at the conclusion of the Fear Spiral. Sythel is mentioned in the dialogue of Acrithis and Bombastine, and in one of the Zariman tablets.
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