Journey into Nyx as Told by Flavor Text

Athreos cares little for the other gods' conflict with mortals. He is concerned only with safe passage for the dead.

Erebos's minions hunt the Returned and warn those who consider the same folly.

The enemies' shields are the first to shatter, and their battle line is never far behind.

Even when many of the soldiers who guarded Akros were called away, its safety was never in doubt.

From a distance the weapons look pristine, but in fact they are tarnished and dented, each as unique as the champion who carried it to battle.

"My adopted children are loved no less." —Pharika, god of affliction

Setessan warriors of Bassara Tower are known for their guerrilla tactics and skill with the bow. Interlopers into the Nessian Wood do not get far.

To hold the heavens from the earth is no curse, but a titanic responsibility.

Deathbellow Canyon is home to minotaurs and many other creatures that share a love for the taste of human flesh.

In desperation the soldier prayed to Phenax, begging for the power to cheat the gorgon's gaze.

The greatest heroes are the first to stand, the first to take up arms, and the first to meet the enemy.

"That is not the voice of the wind singing on the stones." —Callaphe the mariner

The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in his mind.

"The anger that festers inside this one is contagious." —Anthousa of Setessa

Choices are rarely as simple as they seem.

Honesty is the first casualty of war.

"Nyx may belong to the gods, but the skies of Theros are ours."

"It is done." —Elspeth

"The gods think of us as insects. Perhaps there is wisdom in that." —Perisophia the philosopher

In Akros, the penalty for running from battle is one night's stay in the Deserter's Quarters.

At the Akroan gates, hoplites revived the tactics of Kytheon Iora's infamous irregulars.

"I take no pleasure in your suffering, but it is necessary. Once you accept your fate you'll find eternity more tolerable."

"In our war Heliod gave mortals some favor, yet other times he withheld aid. Are we still no more than game pieces to him?" —Polyxene the Doubter

"I refuse to let the folly of mortals endanger the home I made for them."

"Knowledge is cruel. It will break your heart and test your allegiances. Are you certain you want this curse?"

Iroas and Mogis are as different in appearance as they are in personality.

Crippling fear precedes it. A foul stench accompanies it. Death follows in its wake.

"Even from miles away, I could see our eagles circling. That's when I gave the command to pick up the pace. I knew we were needed at home." —Kanlos, Akroan captain

The emotional echoes of dryad gatherings attract lost souls.

It is the soul of a philosopher who died of starvation contemplating the universe.

Xenagos reveled while Theros burned.

Phenax offers the hope of life, while Pharika grants the solace of death. Between them stands Erebos, who promises nothing but eternity.

"We gave the gods the power to war against us. It is time we took that power back."

It's common practice among minotaurs to collect the heads of their victims as trophies. Sometimes the trophies prove more than ornamental.

A minotaur does not distinguish between human, satyr, and triton. They are all meat.

Drink deep, and know the path to the heart of the wilds.

Drink deep, and your thoughts will flow freely.

Drink deep, and find your vengeance fulfilled.

Drink deep, and death will recoil from you.

Drink deep, and be restored.

Purphoros shaped the oreads out of stray coals from his forge.

The cyclops had learned to never eat a shepherd. Instead he gently flung the "pit" aside to grow a new flock.

"I will match Thassa drop for drop and show a god what true power is." —Kiora

"It is not yours to hunt, mortal. Be content with its beauty alone." —Nylea, god of the hunt

The temptation to take the ox's golden hide is as irresistible as it is fatal.

Blessed by the gods. Coveted by mortals. Beholden to neither.

Occasionally the living wander to the Rivers, but the wardens of Athreos ensure that only the dead pass.

Heroes act without thought of glory or reward. Accolades are a consequence, not a goal.

Not all shields are forged of iron or bronze.

Travelers' tales claim that hydras bite off their own heads to make themselves deadlier.

"You wish to learn of Nyx? Very well." —Phenax, god of deception

The anger of the gods multiplied in Nyx, and the land awoke in dark echoes of their rage.

"Information is a powerful weapon." —Cymede, queen of Akros

The horizon is tantalizing in both its uncertainty and its potential.

Go forth with honor, return with glory.

"The stars belong in the night sky. This is our world, and we are our own masters."

"I fight for Keranos and for mortals. I see no contradiction."

The ancient dragon Thraxes sleeps in Purphoros's sacred peak. When he stirs in dreams, so does the mountain.

Five rivers encircle Theros, flowing with waters more ancient than the world itself.

Commerce is always the basis for peace.

Any pleasure, when taken to excess, becomes torment. It's a formula that demons have perfected.

Nature protects its own.

"To think some believe it peaceful to die in one's sleep." —Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

A balm or a poison depending on how it is administered, and to whom.

The gods are fascinated by innocence, perhaps because it's a quality they themselves lack.

"I do not know if the forest was different after they passed. But I know I was." —Ianthe, Setessan hunter

After the Battle of Pharagax Bridge, the Champion spent many months among the leonin of Oreskos. She found that they were quick to take offense, not because they were thin-skinned, but because they were always eager for a fight. —The Theriad

The Champion and her companions marched through the night, but the battle was over before they arrived. In the middle of the carnage sat a solitary minotaur, lost in what seemed to the Champion to be thought. —The Theriad

The serpents' dens built into statues of Pharika serve not only to consecrate her temples, but as a hidden line of defense.

"Flesh and bone or star and shadow. It makes no difference to my club."

The renowned warchiefs of Pheres Band fight with the might of minotaurs and the sagacity of sphinxes.

"Mortal strength, like mortal hope, is so easily crushed." —Thassa, god of the sea

Fire to destroy. Fire to create.

Ideas, not stones, form the true foundation of Meletis.

Hunger makes a leucrocota dangerous. A full belly makes it angry and dangerous.

"You think your weaving as beautiful as mine? Let me show you the true meaning of the craft."

"A tiny flame is enough to dispel the night." —Elspeth

The flesh is dead and the life forgotten, but old habits persist.

"Xenagos has fallen, and the world grows dark without him. What can ever fill that darkness but our rage?" —Guruthes, disciple of Xenagos

"Listen to my song, and you need never forge a golden mask to return to me."

"I want one." —Kiora

An offering to the sea brings an insight from the stars.

A mask forged to avenge a death forgotten.

"Embrace every moment, for it could be your last." —Xenagos, god of revels

The hulk rose from the sea and loomed over the Champion. Pinned beneath the twisting, rotted planks of wood was the body of Kaliaros, the helmsman of her former crew, and beside him the captain, Photine. —The Theriad

"Some of my kin dance for themselves, without greater purpose. Nylea gives me purpose, and with it strength."

"Xenagos has become what he once despised: a tyrant and an oppressor."

The runes seem to come alive as it moves, rippling like slow flames across its scales.

Kruphix hid the most dire prophecies about humankind where humans would never find them and tritons wouldn't care to read them.

Pray her spear reaches you first. Her griffin is less kind.

Sparks from Purphoros's forge fill the belly of every dragon.

"Only a fool takes Phenax at his word. What do you expect from a god born of lies and betrayal?" —Verenes, priest of Iroas

Leeches are sacred to followers of Pharika for drawing poison from a wound, but feared by everyone else for drawing blood from the flesh.

"The most brilliant stars are not born of Nyx." —Rhexenor, Akroan flamespeaker

Ephara taught some mortals to feel every vein in marble as though it flows with their own blood.

They are trained from hatching to deliver aid where it is needed most.

"Death is tyranny. Like all tyranny, it must be opposed."

When mortals claim there are places Thassa cannot reach, the sea god laughs.

The sailor had never seen a god before. Now she had gazed upon Thassa. Shortly she would see Athreos, and then she would meet Erebos.

Some predators can sense fear in their prey, but the lamia is drawn to madness.

"Not all nightmares can be escaped by waking." —Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

The tritons broke the surface, and the Nyxborn broke ranks.

"Who will miss you, drywalker? A wife? A child? Perhaps they will blame the sea for your fate, and teach future generations to stay far away from it."

Coins of the Underworld are shaped from clay funerary masks.

Once she sang sailors to their doom. Now she leads them to glory.

Stand against the crash of the river's rapids and you will know the power of the naiads.

Elspeth feared that her trespass into Nyx would not go unanswered.