A mystery aboard a Sentient ship reveals visions past and present.
Previous story quest: Chimera Prologue
Starting the quest
This mini-quest is accessed from the New War entry in the Codex, after having completed the Chimera Prologue.
Previously, before Update 27.2, the Erra quest was gated behind a series of indirect requirements.
In the Veil Proxima region, an anomaly will periodically appear on one of the Empyrean mission nodes, indicated by a flashing red Sentient symbol visible on the navigation interface. All Veil Proxima missions require an Intrinsic rank of 7 or higher in at least one skill, but this can be bypassed by allowing another qualified Tenno to host the mission and navigate to the Veil node.
In the mission, Cephalon Cy will direct the Tenno to investigate the anomaly, which turns out to be a massive Sentient ship. The Tenno will be instructed to enter the ship and kill all Sentient fighters aboard (20 in total). In the last room of the ship, a large red crystal will be standing upright in a pool of black, viscous liquid. Shattering the crystal – which can only be done with a melee strike from the Paracesis – will release a smoky cloud in the shape of the Lotus' helmet, which will be absorbed by the Tenno. After this point, the quest will be active whether the Tenno succeeds in the current mission, fails, or aborts.
The use of the Paracesis in obtaining the quest means that the Tenno must have completed the Chimera Prologue and built the weapon in the Foundry. It does not need to be levelled up.
When the Tenno eventually returns to their Orbiter, the Lotus' helmet in their Personal Quarters will be covered by a sheen of shadow. Interacting with the helmet will transition the Tenno into the quest.
This method of quest acquisition is no longer required, and the quest can simply be activated from the Codex.
First Mission: Visions (Lua)
The quest begins with an extended cutscene. Names in brackets indicate that the speaker is not identified, but their identity is revealed or inferred later.
[The scene opens in the vacuum of space, but it is anything but empty. Projectiles and combatants whizz by, as countless detonations and explosions burst around them. A subtitle labels the setting as the OLD WAR. Lua, already shattered, fills the backdrop. Warframes in Odonata Prime Archwings, accompanied by multiple Railjack ships – including those of the Caballero, Sungem, and standard models – fly towards a massive Sentient, similar to Hunhow. Meanwhile, a squadron of Sentient Condrix break off of the main ship and head down to Lua.]
[The scene shifts to focus on the action on the moon's surface. Conculysts and Battalysts descend en masse on a plaza-balcony where a lone Excalibur Prime is successfully fending off the wave with its Exalted Blade and Burston Prime. A large, birdlike Sentient Aerolyst takes the warframe by surprise, knocking it down with a burst of energy and then charging up for some final attack. A Mag Prime, perched on the rocks high above the plaza, leaps down and strikes the Aerolyst from above with an Orthos Prime.]
[The scene shifts once more to a place deep inside Lua. A placid underground lake fills the cavern, while the lunar basalt ceiling hangs oppressively low. Rising out of the water are white Orokin tree branches, each culminating in a cluster of seven lotus pods – seven Tenno. There are hundreds of them. Upon the water is a platform, littered with the dead: Sentients, Dax, and prime warframes. The construction is damaged, with some parts burning from detonated munitions. Large rocks and chunks of Orokin masonry fall from the ceiling and crash on the ground. A young female Dax warrior, gravely wounded, attempts to drag herself away from the carnage, grunting with pain. A slender, bony foot lands beside her, and an equally spindly hand grabs her helmet with its two fingers and hoists her up in the air. The Sentient is extremely tall and thin, with a sharp, pointed face reminiscent of a plague doctor's mask. The Dax struggles as the Sentient brings her close to his face, until he roughly shakes her by the head and she goes still. Bits of her Dax helmet fall off due to the force he exerts on her head.]
Lotus (forcefully): "Let her go."
[The Sentient looks up as the Lotus' purple throne descends from the ceiling. The Lotus floats above it, ringed by six Tenno Operators, also floating. One of the Tenno is that of the player's. The Tenno's heads are down, and they appear to be in some sort of passive or dormant state. The central light on the Lotus' helmet glows red instead of its usual soft blue. The Tenno's eyes glow the same red colour. The Sentient steps towards her, still holding the Dax aloft.]
[Erra]: "If I had a heart, it would be broken. If my eyes could weep, I'd be blind. Look what they've made of you! You're a god. You're a queen! But somehow the bees have you as a hostage. Do you even recognise me anymore?"
Lotus: "I recognise the enemy."
[Erra]: "No, sister. It's me. Erra."
[Dejectedly, Erra releases the Dax and turns his back on the Lotus. The Dax falls heavily on the ground and writhes in pain, but does not otherwise move.]
Erra: "The Makers caught you. Unravelled your mind."
[Erra whirls back around to face the Lotus.]
Erra: "They're using you to kill us! The 'Queen of Aphids' with her Eye in the Void. But I don't blame you. I blame… them!"
[He indicates the floating Tenno, and the Lotus glances around at them. The Tenno do not react.]
Erra: "You believe these are your children… but I am the only family you've got left! So choose! Our family, our people… or these parasites. Choose, Natah! Choose!"
Lotus: "I am not Natah."
[The Lotus spreads her arms, and around her, in unison, the six Tenno bring their hands together in front of their chests to charge Void Beam.]
Lotus: "I am THE LOTUS."
[The Lotus brings her hands forward, as if she is casting a Void Beam herself, and the Tenno fire at Erra, causing him to fall back and scream. The view focuses on the player's Operator as they fire their Void Beam. The combination of the glowing red eyes and complete lack of emotion on their face is unsettling.]
[After a brief interlude to white, the scene now shows the Tenno's Operator deep within a Sentient cavern, staring straight ahead, eyes glowing red. Suddenly, they regain consciousness, gasping and shaking their head, their eyes returning to their normal appearance. A subtitle indicates that these events are now taking place in the present. The Tenno looks around at the vastness and unfamiliarity of the cavern, before turning around and seeing an assembly of Sentients on a central platform. They swiftly drop into Void Mode to eavesdrop.]
[The platform is ringed by Conculysts. Natah, who had been looking out of the circle in the direction of the Tenno, turns around to face Erra, crouched on a simple throne. Erra rises and steps off the seat before pulling sharply at a leash. The leash is attached to a collar around Ballas' neck, and the Sentient-Orokin chimera stumbles out from behind the throne, gasping and pulling at the collar. The Tenno observes, crouched in Void Mode behind some Sentient architecture on the platform.]
The cutscene ends, and the Tenno is given control of their Operator to Void Dash to predetermined hiding spots around the platform, similar to the Chimera Prologue. Unlike that quest, the Tenno does not actually need to Void Dash, and can stay in the same position for the rest of the quest.
Erra: "Reformation is accelerating. Our Condrix are nearly ready. Our rebirth is at hand."
Natah: "And the Golden Spear? How many battalions?"
Erra: "Still having lapses? Listen to me. That's the past. The Old War. Tell her, Maker!"
Erra yanks on the leash, and Ballas stumbles forward, gasping.
Ballas: "Yes! There is no Spear, Lo— uh… Natah. Erra speaks—"
Erra yanks on the leash again.
Ballas: "—Master Erra. He speaks true. My… the Orokin are gone. The 'bios' are divided, in-fighting over what remains. Only the Tenno—"
Natah: "The Tenno. The Enemy."
Ballas: "Yes…."
Natah: "Made by you… to kill us…."
Ballas: "…Yes."
Erra yanks the leash once more, causing Ballas to stumble forward.
Erra: "But you have something our people have never had before, Natah. You're stained by their wickedness. Use it! Use their sin against them!"
Natah (distantly): "They're listening."
Erra: "Let them."
Natah: "They know we are building."
Erra: "It won't matter."
Natah: "No. It won't."
Erra: "So what are you waiting for? Sing for us, sister. Call them home."
[Natah unfolds her human set of hands and holds them out, releasing a series of yellow-orange pulses. The force of it knocks the Tenno back and out of the vision, returning them to their Orbiter.]
On board their ship, the Tenno now has the blueprint for the Shedu Sentient arm-cannon. The pieces for constructing it can be found by returning to the Sentient anomaly in Veil Proxima (when it appears) and killing Symbilysts, a new type of Sentient fighter found there.
Next story quest: The Maker
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