King Deshret and the Three Magi is the fourth act in Chapter III of the Archon Quests.
Quests[]
Summary[]
- The Missing Village Keepers
The Traveler and Cyno begin their investigation on the missing Village Keepers by talking to some of the locals. After talking to them, Cyno overhears two others talking about King Deshret's resurrection and confronts them. The two people, Sharkan and Makan, are terrified of Cyno's presence and quickly spill everything they know, including their hatred for the Dendro Archon and that a "radical" was responsible for the missing cases. Cyno warns them not to warn the radicals before Isak brings them to his grandpa's house, where the Traveler nearly faints from the aftermath of some incense.
Cyno then catches a whiff of the incense after concentrating and upon hearing Paimon mention Tighnari, tells them that he's a friend of his. After some further investigation around the hut, he discovers that someone else had come in and lured Isak's grandpa away with the incense. Returning to the village chief's house, Dehya suggests visiting her drinking friends at Caravan Ribat, but stops Cyno from coming along as she's worried he might intimidate them. Cyno and Candace remain behind while the Traveler accompanies Dehya.
As the two travel back to Caravan Ribat, Dehya expresses her hatred for the Wall of Samiel, explaining that its purpose of protecting the rainforest from sandstorms has been co-opted by the sages to also keep the Eremites out of Sumeru, as the sages simply take advantage of them, regarding the desertfolk as little more than tools or livestock to be exploited and discarded, "undeserving" of the Akasha's wisdom. At the local tavern, Dehya meets with Zaki and tells him to let Delavar that she has a spice deal for him. When Zaki takes them to the arranged spot, it is revealed to be an ambush, with both Delavar and Engur also appearing. Believing Dehya to be an incompetent fighter, they are quickly surprised when she and the Traveler defeats them with ease before taking them back to Aaru Village.
The following night, Candace interrogates the radicals for information and they reveal that the Eremite band had met with a masked man claiming to be King Deshret's envoy, who gave them incense to lure the Village Keepers out. They would then meet at a junction where the man would take them away to an unknown location. Uncle Anpu then chimes in, but to ensure the radicals wouldn't learn anything, Cyno knocks them out. Uncle Anpu states that he believes the mystery man might be related to the Akademiya, as they approached him before to take the Village Keepers back, which he refused.
The group prepares to set out for the desert to find more information, while Candace stays behind to handle the radicals.
- Cry from the Eleazar Hospital
Before the group leaves, Paimon spots Alhaitham, believing he had done nothing useful. Alhaitham tells them he had stayed in the village to continue his investigation and reveals that one of the villagers they spoke to had not been completely truthful to them. He explains that if the person had become too friendly to the Village Keepers, they could make themselves a target for the radicals. The group quickly realizes that Shani had lied and return to her home to demand an explanation. Shani explains that she could hear screaming in the night, which Alhaitham confirmed with one of the village guards. After asking what was around the village, Shani tells them that there was an abandoned Eleazar hospital nearby and they go there to investigate.
Arriving at Dar al-Shifa, the Traveler eliminates the monsters camping outside. After Alhaitham unlocks the entrance, they wait for nightfall, upon which they hear the crying that Shani had heard. Alhaitham discovers a hidden entrance and after unlocking a few more mechanisms, they enter the hospital and discover a person inside, who Alhaitham recognizes as Razak. Alhaitham realizes that they might be too late, since there were traces that indicated a hasty withdrawal. He explains that the Akademiya's misinformation campaign made the radicals spring into action to unknowingly help in their plans while ensuring that no liability could be traced to them, reminding them of their encounter with Mizri at Port Ormos as an example.
They take Razak back to the village, where they brief the others on what they found at the hospital. Cyno wonders how the Akademiya is aware of their plans before Alhaitham tells him that he's the mole, much to his anger. He explains that the sages knew of his conviction and that it posed a threat to them, so they needed to monitor him at all times. While he was idling about, Alhaitham found a book detailing his activities and movements which were uploaded to the Akasha on Jnagarbha Day. Cyno fails to see the reasoning behind it until Alhaitham tells him that the Akasha is capable of computation, thus it could predict his activities for the day. Cyno is initially dismayed at this, but realizes that if they were trying to avoid him, the perpetrators would go in the direction opposite of him; the desert.
Heading out into the desert, they find some headsets buried in the sand and continue following them, surmising that they were left there recently. Cyno then hears arguing and they spot Dehya and a group of Eremites led by Rahman. Isak, believing Dehya to have betrayed them, confronts her, causing the others to follow up, much to Dehya's annoyance as she was trying to convince Rahman to aid them. Rahman refuses to accept Dehya's reasoning, so Alhaitham offers himself as a hostage, although he still refuses to accept the deal. Dehya asks Alhaitham if he'd uphold his promises, which he does. Dehya then asks Rahman if he trusts her, which he does. She then offers her right arm as payment for her friends' words, which Rahman accepts and orders one of his men to chop her arm off.
At the last moment, Rahman changes his mind, believing that cutting her arm off would be akin to cutting his own fingers and sees no point in hurting his own kin. He allows the group to leave, but demands a fight the next day to settle the score, which she accepts.
- Secret of the Scorching Desert
The next day, the group heads out to meet up with Rahman's group. However, they only find one of the Village Keepers, which Rahman states that it was a one-on-one exchange since he had reluctantly accepted the honesty of Dehya's friends. This angers her, who immediately charges and easily overwhelms him. One of Rahman's men then threatens Isak's grandpa, but when his hands start shaking, another scolds him for cowardice. The man then loosens his grip before realizing that it's an earthquake, but Isak's grandpa suddenly glows and protects the entire group with a barrier as the sands swallow them.
When the group comes to, they find themselves in some mysterious ruins which excites Rahman as the ruins belong to King Deshret. Rahman leaves his group to let them recover as he joins the others in investigating, where they find the Dendro Archon's power imbued in the ruins, which gets the group's attention due to the harmony between the Dendro Archon and King Deshret. After running into some runes, Alhaitham deciphers them, revealing the transcript to be from Kasala, the last priest of King Deshret. The transcript tells how King Deshret introduced forbidden knowledge to his people, causing them to go mad; to save them, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata used her own powers to give the people life. This was not without a cost, as King Deshret chose to sacrifice himself to prevent the knowledge from returning, while Rukkhadevata reverted to a small child.
Rahman is shocked by the transcript before realizing that he and his people made an enemy of their savior and accepts the truth. He apologizes to the group for his actions and promises to return the Village Keepers and share what supplies his people have after explaining to them what he saw. Upon arriving at his stronghold, Rahman brings the group to the perpetrators, Morghi and Judar. Upon seeing both Alhaitham and Cyno, they become terrified. The Traveler asks them if the sages were planning to create a new god, which they confirm, much to the group's surprise. They explain that since Rukkhadevata's death, scientific breakthroughs had been rare and on the decline. After Il Dottore approached them with the notion to create a new god, they accepted and began to set the plan in motion, with the dream samsara and harvesting Divine Canned Knowledge from the mad scholars being part of the process to create their new god.
Returning to the village with the Village Keepers and the suspects, everyone agrees that what the sages are doing is completely unacceptable and begin to concoct a plan to crush the sages and rescue their true god.
Achievements[]
There are 3 Achievements obtainable from King Deshret and the Three Magi:
| Achievement | Category | Description | 
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Raider |  Wonders of the World
|
Find the ancient temple beneath the flowing desert. | 5 |
| When the Dark Sun Passes | Wonders of the World
|
Understand the past through the final words of the priest of Deshret. | 5 |
| King Deshret and the Three Magi | Wonders of the World
|
Complete "King Deshret and the Three Magi." | 10 |
Soundtracks[]
| No. | Soundtrack Name | Album | Played In |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sumeru | Forest of Jnana and Vidya | Secret of the Scorching Desert (cutscene) Event Gameplay |
| 39 | Crumbling Sands | The Shimmering Voyage Vol. 3 | Secret of the Scorching Desert (cutscene) |
| 100 | Benevolence Bequeathed | The Unfathomable Sand Dunes | Secret of the Scorching Desert (cutscene) Locations, Event Gameplay |
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | King Deshret and the Three Magi | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 赤土之王与三朝圣者 Chìtǔ zhī Wáng yǔ Sān Cháoshèng-zhě | King of the Red Earth and the Three Pilgrims |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 赤土之王與三朝聖者 Chìtǔ zhī Wáng yǔ Sān Cháoshèng-zhě | |
| Japanese | 赤砂の王と三人の巡礼者 Akazuna no Ou to Sannin no Junreisha[!][!] | King of the Red Sands and the Three Pilgrims |
| Korean | 적토의 왕과 세 순례자 Jeokto-ui Wanggwa Se Sullyeja | King of the Red Earth and the Three Pilgrims |
| Spanish | El Rey Deshret y los tres peregrinos | King Deshret and the Three Pilgrims |
| French | Le roi Deshret et les trois mages | The King Deshret and the Three Mages |
| Russian | Царь Дешрет и три волхва Tsar' Deshret i tri volkhva | King DeshretKing DeshretKing DeshretKing Deshret Tooltip for King DeshretKing Deshretⓘ and the Three Volkhvs |
| Thai | ราชันมงกุฎแดงและโหราจารย์ทั้งสาม Rachan Mongkut Daeng Lea Horacharn Tang Sam | The Red Crown King and the Three Magi |
| Vietnamese | Xích Thổ Chi VươngXích Thổ Chi Vương Và Tam Triều Thánh GiảTam Triều Thánh Giả | King of the Red Earth and the Three Pilgrims[※][※] |
| German | König Deshret und die drei Heiligen | King Deshret and the Three Saints |
| Indonesian | Raja Tanah Merah dan Tiga Peziarah | Red Dirt King and Three Pilgrims |
| Portuguese | O Rei Deshret e os Três Magos | King Deshret and the Three Mages |
| Turkish | Kral Deshret ve Üç Büyücü | King Deshret and the Three Magi |
| Italian | Re Deshret e i tre magi |
