Lyris was an Oceanid who lived around 500 years ago and served as the Director of the Narzissenkreuz Institute, an orphanage in Fontaine.[1] At some point, she became a member of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, where she gained the title of the "Red Empress."
In the World Quest Series Ann of the Narzissenkreuz, she is referred to as "Princess Lyris," based on a fairy tale told to her by Mary-Ann Guillotin, one of the children cared for by her at the Narzissenkreuz Institute.
Profile[]
Lyris was a gentle-natured Oceanid whose position of orphanage director was established in honor of the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria. In the Court of Fontaine's official register of Oceanids, she was noted to be highly affectionate and caring towards the children of the orphanage, but she was also said to be unintelligent compared to other Oceanids, having trouble understanding cause and effect and not knowing how to count.[2]
Appearance[]
Lyris was described by Mary-Ann to be "tall" and "pure."[3]
Story[]
Not much is known about Lyris's backstory before she became the Narzissenkreuz Institute's director. In this role, she took in and cared for the children there, often playing games with them. She regarded the vice-director, Basil Elton, as her assistant.[4] However, Basil was the actual manager of the orphanage's affairs.[2]
When the cataclysm occurred 500 years prior to the game's events, Lyris and her fellow Oceanids disappeared. During this period, Basil was killed at sea during her battle against the beast Elynas, while the Institute's location was destroyed in the calamity, and the organization itself was disbanded in the aftermath. Afterwards, Rene and Jakob, two children who were formerly cared for by the Institute, established a secret society known as the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, with the goal of creating a gestalt consciousness to absorb the personalities of everyone in Fontaine and thus save them from prophesied doom.
Unlike many other Oceanids, Lyris returned to Fontaine; she was saddened by the loss of the Narzissenkreuz Institute and the destruction caused by the cataclysm, and no longer saw a way forward. She longed to return to the past when she played happily with the Institute's children, and spent her time encircling the underwater ruins of the orphanage.[2] It was there that she was approached by Rene and Jakob, who convinced Lyris to join the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, despite her reservations.
The Ordo[]
Eventually, Rene and Jakob brought Lyris with them to the Tower of Ipsissimus, and she was given the title of "Red Empress." Her participation was a great benefit to the Ordo, as Rene noted that the original Oceanids could no longer be found in Fontaine, apart from some "inferior mutants." Lyris was given the job of dissolving the egos of the Ordo's members in order to help create the gestalt consciousness. However, Lyris's condition began to deteriorate, meaning urgency was needed for the Ordo's project. In time, Rene opted to become the first subject of his experiment and was absorbed into the gestalt, being reborn as Narzissenkreuz.[5] Narzissenkreuz went on to absorb numerous other personalities, presumably with Lyris's aid.
While in the Ordo, Lyris once returned to the ruins of the Institute, and was visited there by Mary-Ann Guillotin and her robotic companion Seymour, who had dove into the ruins. Seeing Lyris depressed, Mary-Ann tried to cheer her up by telling her a fairy tale based on the story of the "hero Narzissenkreuz," which Alain had made them play at the Institute as children.[6] In this story, Lyris played the role of Princess Lyris, who sacrificed her "time" to save her friends and fell into an endless slumber, but made a promise that her friends would carry her "future" for her and one day be able to reunite with her. This was an allegory to convince Lyris that the future was not as hopeless as she believed, as her friends were working to rebuild Fontaine, even making reference to Lyris's work with "Ney" (Rene) and "Jak" (Jakob). However, Lyris was more interested in the story itself, so Mary-Ann came up with the start for a new chapter and suggested that Lyris create the ending for herself, before she returned to the surface.[7]
Soon, it became clear that the Court of Fontaine did not tolerate Narzissenkreuz's existence. The Marechaussee Hunters, led by Alain and Mary-Ann Guillotin, were sent to hunt down Narzissenkreuz and destroy the Ordo; Lyris was also branded a criminal with a high-priority arrest warrant. To buy time for the project, Narzissenkreuz sent Jakob, Lyris, and many other members of the Ordo on a mission to Elynas, effectively using them as bait.[8][9] There, they fought with the Marechaussee Hunters, during which Lyris ended up absorbing the personality of Mary-Ann for unknown reasons. After the battle, Mary-Ann was listed as missing in action.[2]
The merged consciousness of Lyris and Mary-Ann Guillotin became the Oceanid "Mary-Ann", who constructed the dream world of Annapausis. She herself within the fairy tale world to avoid confronting the harsh reality of all that had happened, and wait for everyone else from the Institute to return. As a byproduct of this dream, "Mary-Ann" accidentally created the Oceanid Ann, who possesses the memories of both the real Mary-Ann and Lyris, while acting in the role of the hero that Mary-Ann Guillotin dreamed herself to be in the fairy tale.[10]
"Mary-Ann" herself is not certain whether she should be considered as Lyris or as Mary-Ann Guillotin. Narzissenkreuz refers to her more as Lyris, saying that she "just holds onto Mary-Ann, who herself still clings to life."[6][11]
Trivia[]
- It is likely that Lyris, along with the other Oceanids, went to the Girdle of the Sands in search of Egeria during the cataclysm. The Oceanids scattered themselves upon learning that Egeria's remains had become what is now the Amrita Pool.[12]
Etymology[]
- Lyris is the name of one of the Oceanids in Greek mythology.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Lyris |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 莉利丝 Lìlìsī |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 莉利絲 Lìlìsī |
| Japanese | リリス Ririsu |
| Korean | 릴리스 Rilliseu |
| Spanish | Lyris |
| French | Lyris |
| Russian | Лирис Liris |
| Thai | Lyris |
| Vietnamese | Lyris |
| German | Lyris |
| Indonesian | Lyris |
| Portuguese | Lilise |
| Turkish | Lyris |
| Italian | Lyris |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 World Quest: Riddles Awaiting Answers
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 World Quest, In the Wake of Narcissus: Act I - Search in the Algae Sea: Search in the Algae Sea
- ↑ Artifact, Nymph's Dream: Heroes' Tea Party
- ↑ Artifact, Nymph's Dream: Odyssean Flower
- ↑ Quest Item: Enigmatic Page (IX)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 World Quest, In the Wake of Narcissus: Act IV - Rowboat's Wake: Rowboat's Wake
- ↑ Interactable: A Story
- ↑ Quest Item: Enigmatic Page (XI)
- ↑ Quest Item: Enigmatic Page (XIII)
- ↑ World Quest: Unfinished Story
- ↑ World Quest, In the Wake of Narcissus: Act III - Waking from the Great Dream: Waking from the Great Dream
- ↑ World Quest, Pale Fire: Pale Fire