My Adventures in Dragon Quest XI: The Calamity of Erdrea
Act 2: Regrouping with my companions in a new perspective, finding Mordegon in a destroyed Erdrea, and the cost of turning back time!
A Devastating Turn of Events
Last time in Act 1 of Dragon Quest XI, Mordegon had used the Luminary’s power to bring forth an era of darkness to the land of Erdrea. In doing so, he destroyed Yggdrasil — the World Tree — and caused widespread destruction across the world!
Act 1 had this shocking finish, and it was one I was not fully expecting.
This game did a great job at reeling you in to believe everything would turn out fine, but with the sudden reveal that King Cornelian of Heliodor had been possessed by Mordegon, as well as seeing that Jasper the Knight aided Mordegon in his nefarious ways, you quickly realized that everything was far from fine!
Now, with the World Tree destroyed and monsters running rampant with Mordegon seated in the Fortress of Fear as the Lord of Shadows, the Hero and his party must come back together to take Mordegon on directly!
Upon waking up for the first time after the beginning of the darkness, I found myself in the shoes of the Hero’s faithful companions!
For today, I’ll be taking a look at Act 2 of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age as I continue this mini-series on this wonderful game! It’s been an incredible experience, and one that I know I’ll look fondly back on for years to come!
My hope is that you’ll be interested to also pick up and play this game, or to relive some amazing memories through this article if you’ve played it before!
Of course, this mini-series will undoubtedly have spoilers for this game — so keep that in mind if you’ve never played it before and plan to 🙌
Let’s get started!
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A New Perspective
Once the first Act closed of Dragon Quest XI, I woke up in the shoes of none other than Sylvando — and eventually as the Hero’s other companions, such as Jade, Erik, and Rab!
The first several hours were a fascinating experience as I saw the world from these other character’s perspectives. It really helped to cement their place in the world, and the struggles they also dealt with. One thing they had in common though was their desire to reunite with the Hero and to defeat Mordegon!
Some of the characters, such as Sylvando and Jade, were fascinating to see from their eyes. Sylvando gathered up his senses and refused to go down without a fight, where he placed a heavy focus on spreading happiness wherever he went in the world. Jade as well had a similar fighter’s spirit, where she got thrown into a new and terrifying reality in Octagonia with the monsters that had taken over, and fought hard in an attempt to overcome the challenges!
Rab and Erik also had interesting perspectives for their parts at the beginning of Act 2. It was quite emotional to see Rab experiencing the life he once had back in the Kingdom of Dundrasil, where he has to make the effort snap back to reality — though that may not be what it seems when he faces his old teacher, Grand Master Pang, in a sort of dream-like reality.
Erik was always a fascinating character to me, and he really grew with his background throughout Act 2. At the start though — when he realized he was in a dungeon of sorts and with the help of a friendly Healslime — Erik made his way to freedom. However, after being cornered by powerful monsters, a mysterious figure called the Seer grants Erik powers if he gave up his memories, thus resulting in an amnesia after escaping!
Notably though, I never had one of these side missions from the perspective of either Serena or Veronica, which struck me as a bit odd.
After several hours of experiencing a post-Mordegon life from the perspectives of the Hero’s companions, the Hero finally awakens…
…as a fish!
It quickly became apparent that Queen Marina in the underwater world of Nautica had transformed the Hero into a fish to shield and save him from Mordegon’s power. Shortly after this, the Queen had a protective shield around Nautica that was failing from a giant sea monster, and she ushered the Hero up to the surface. She then pressed him to save the world from Mordegon — thankfully with the Hero turning back into a human shortly after resurfacing!
The Changed Landscape
After Mordegon destroyed the World Tree and set darkness on the world of Erdrea, the landscape was scorched and partially destroyed.
Erdrea was recognizable, but deeply scarred. Much like the lands and cities, the people in the world were existing, but dealt a severe blow after the fall of Yggdrasil.
Once I took control over the Hero on dry land, I found a new and surprising ally in a familiar place.
The Hero’s home village of Cobblestone had been rebuilt as a base of rebellion against the dark forces, with a much friendlier King Carnelian and Knight Hendrik in charge. I also had a reunion with both the Hero’s stepmother, as well as his childhood friend, Gemma! They both were thankfully safe after Jasper had attacked the village earlier back in Act 1, and were helping the effort against the monsters that had taken over the world.
The most surprising ally though came in the form of Hendrik, who swore his sword and shield to protecting the Luminary, and would help him bring about the end of Mordegon! He started off as an enemy in Act 1, but became a powerful companion to the Hero now!
Upon leaving Cobblestone, I found that the first step in my journey was to reunite with my lost companions. I visited new places, such as Angri-La — a settlement built into a snowy mountain that’s meant as a training ground — to find the Hero’s grandfather, Rab. I also travelled back to past locations, where I came across Sylvando near the city of Phnom Nonh in the western continent, with him rejoining the party. I also found Jade in Octagonia, where I helped undo the spell she was placed under from Booga and his army of monsters.
Walking throughout the world of Erdrea in Act 2 had a profound impact on me. Everything changed when Mordegon ushered in darkness and destroyed Yggdrasil, with the partially destroyed landscape showing the evidence of his ruinous reign of destruction over the world.
A magnificent moment came about near the desert city of Gallopolis. While the city was a familiar sight, there was a dark, red star known as Erdwin’s Lantern that was hovering in the sky just north of it! Upon a quick investigation with Rab helping to translate some words on the star, all you come away with are the words:
CALASMOS
Shortly afterwards, an unknown being destroys the star — with a small, dark Tockle (a small ethereal-type entity), that seemed to be horribly dismayed at the destruction of it. This was the same type of Tockle found in the intro of the game, which had me thinking more about the significance of it, and the others I came across elsewhere.
The world of Erdrea felt dark. Everything was a stark contrast to the first Act which felt so bright and hopeful. Throughout my journey in Act 2, I was reminded of the destruction that Mordegon caused, and there were plenty of moments during this time that were very emotional compared to the first part of the game.
Sacrifices and Emotions
There were many emotional moments that happened during the course of Act 2. Many of these moments seemed pretty indicative of the current world after the destruction of the World Tree.
One example was the emotional reunion with Erik’s sister, Mia, who the party helped save in the snowy continent, just north-west of Sniflheim. She was given a magical amulet by Erik before the story took place, which allowed her to turn anything to gold — like the Midas touch. However, she ended up turning to gold herself, but was broken free of the curse after Mordegon rose to power, with her then using the evil power of greed against the people of Sniflheim. After defeating the monster surrounding her, she was broken from the grip of Mordegon, and was happily reunited with Erik!
Another gripping moment that stood out was in the mountainous village of Hotto, right before I forged the Sword of Light. The Priestess Chief Miko was put into a terrible spot. It’s found out that her son, Ryu, had transformed into a nearby dragon named Tatsunaga that was terrorizing the village, and that Miko was willing to sacrifice villagers to the dragon so that she could find ways to get her son back. However, it came to a head when she — as well as the magic mirror item she had that could transform Ryu back — were consumed by the dragon. The Hero and party tracked down and took out Tatsunaga. Though the village was saved, the cost of losing Miko was high.
One emotional but more upbeat moment came in the form of reuniting with the Hero’s father, the former King Irwin of Dundrasil! It was a nice, heart-warming segment where you and the party were able to free him from his curse, and allow him to pass on in peace!
Once I completed many side quests, I made my way past Sniflheim in the snowy continent. From there, I was faced down by a once-frozen dragon that was shockingly powerful!
Fortunately, Serena stepped in and helped!
This was the first sighting of Serena in many hours, ever since the separation from the end of Act 1. Though, her sister Veronica was nowhere to be seen.
Once we got to Arboria, the truth came out about what happened when I looked back at past memories. Veronica, in an effort to save the Luminary and the rest of the party, sacrificed herself and shielded the others from death when Mordegon destroyed the World Tree at the end of Act 1!
Veronica had died!
Evil Defeated… or Not?
With the loss of Veronica filling the emotions of the Hero and his companions, I used the Calamus flute I received in Arboria, which summoned the great, flying whale Cetacea!
After a bit of leveling up and finishing off a few more side quests, I made my way to the Fortress of Fear to take on the Lord of Shadows: Mordegon, as well as any of the imps or monsters beneath him, such as Jasper!
The two stages of Mordegon’s boss battle were fairly easy, with my characters being around level 55 or so.
I felt a wave of relief after Mordegon was defeated. The World Tree was restored to life, and it honestly felt like a lot of Erdrea was returning to the way it was from Act 1. There was still a lot of destruction around the world, and the loss of Veronica was still hanging in the air. However, even with everything that had happened, it felt like a good closing to the story of the Luminary and his party of companions.
But… a glimmer in some ruins near Octagonia pointed to an ancient tome that described a way for someone that is lost to eternity being able to get restored to life. I figured there might be a way to bring back Veronica, even though I wasn’t sure what the cost would be!
It also made me realize that, while Mordegon was defeated, there was still the issue of that dark star — Erdwin’s Lantern — mysteriously appearing and being destroyed earlier on that really needed to be explained.
With some new knowledge from the tome, I flew on Cetacea to a tower in the northern part of Erdrea, where I would find out what I should do next!
The Cost of Turning Back Time
Once I was at the tower, called The Tower of Lost Time, I was given the choice by the ethereal Timekeeper at the top to harness the power of the Time’s Sphere by shattering it with the Sword of Light, thus allowing me to go back in time.
By doing this, I found that I could go back and possibly save Veronica!
“But to lose time is to lose much… The path you propose to follow is not one to be trodden lightly…”
— The Timekeeper —
The Timekeeper described the terrible consequences that could fall upon the Hero for seeking the path towards saving Veronica, or even going back to the time before Mordegon destroyed the World tree. Only the Luminary could use the Sword of Light to return. Nothing else could go back with me except for my items. The world, the reality, nor my companions would go back with me. The Timekeeper continues by saying that the life of the Hero may be lost as well, with it being impossible to foresee what may or may not happen.
To be honest, I’m not wholly sure I would’ve chosen to actually go back given the consequences!
This is a part of this game that I was a bit bummed out about. I didn’t see any spoilers about it at all, so it was shocking when I was hit with the reality that I would be leaving everyone to return all the way back to essentially the ending of Act 1. All the progress I made, all the character growth, all the hours invested in the world I knew, and everyone we helped save would just be… reset?
It also presented some moral challenges. Is it worth altering the reality of time in order to save the life of one companion? Is it right to leave behind the people who helped save the world with you and sacrificed so much in their lives for you? Would everyone else just be… left behind to live in that post-Mordegon timeline of reality without the Hero and Veronica? Left to deal with the consequences of you leaving?
I do wish that the story had weaved together the moral dilemmas better, so that the risk of going back in time and shattering the Time’s Sphere would make a bit more sense. Maybe if it had shown more widespread destruction, or more of the party had died, or a more desperate need to go back in time existed, then it might’ve made the risk seem more worth it.
It all just felt like a huge hazard to undertake for what I thought was an otherwise good ending. Not only that, but once I shattered the Time’s Sphere with the Sword of Light, the scene faded with my old companions seemingly left behind in that reality’s timeline — looking out towards the Hero being transported back in time — with Rab reaching out at the last moment to his only grandchild and imploring him to wait, though it was too late at that point... It just felt cold to leave them all behind after everything that we fought and sacrificed over — even though they eventually urged me towards going back.
Once I shattered it though, I was back in a brighter Arboria. There was no more destruction in the city, there was no sign that Mordegon had destroyed the World Tree yet, and Veronica was alive!
What I did love about Act 2 was the amount of character development. Erik really had a lot that he went through with losing his memories, and then he stepped up and helped to save his sister. Sylvando and Jade had to fight for others and themselves, with Rab choosing to not give up. Serena remained strong, despite the loss of her sister, and made the decision to continue helping the Luminary.
Mordegon’s defeat felt like a satisfying end to a hard-fought journey for all of the characters. It was an ending that honestly felt like the true ending to the game — or at least the most realistic ending.
But, it all just felt a bit hollow after I travelled back in time at the end.
Questions still lingered in the air though: Why were those dark Tockles trying to usher down that star in Gallopolis? What exactly was the star to begin with? Could the Hero — now with a full party again with Veronica — defeat Mordegon before the destruction of the World Tree?
In the next part, I’ll go over my experiences with Act 3 of this amazing game!
Thank you for the honor and privilege of your time! It means a lot that you’re here, and I appreciate your readership!
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See you again,
Joe
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Have you ever played Dragon Quest XI, or any of the Dragon Quest games? How do you feel about them?
How do you feel about the story and adventures in Dragon Quest XI? Is there anything you liked or disliked about the second Act in this game?
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So I got about half-way through act 2 it looks like. Might have to pick it back up, looks like it took an interesting twist. Or maybe just follow along with you. We're cursed with more games than time these days, as modern gaming adults.