Online:Lauriel

Lauriel
Location	Direnni Acropolis
Race	High Elf	Gender	Female
Health	15,000
Reaction	Friendly
Other Information
Faction(s)	Direnni
Condition	Spirit

Lauriel

Lauriel is a High Elf spirit haunting the Direnni Acropolis. As you explore the acropolis and listen to Lauriel's song, it is revealed that in life Lauriel was a member of the Direnni clan buried alive for practicing necromancy.

Lauriel and her sister Selenwe were inseparable until Selenwe left to study with the magisters on the Isle of Balfiera. Lauriel fell behind in her studies until a necromancer started to tutor her in the dark arts - a subject that she naturally excelled at to the extent her power rivaled that of her sister. Selenwe returned to discover this; she killed the necromancer and bound Lauriel until the Direnni clan could pass judgement on her.

It was decided that killing Lauriel would not be wise considering her powers, and so she was bound to the sarcophagus, her corpse marked with runes of restraint that stopped her soul from departing, and a circle of magical braziers ensured she was silenced.

Once you make it to her tomb, you have an option of freeing her by burning her corpse and releasing her soul, or relighting the extinguished brazier which will keep her contained within the tomb.

If freed, Lauriel will be sighted by Dominion officers Nirunar and Sawen heading toward the Isle of Balfiera.

Related Quests

• Lauriel's Lament: Investigate an ancient curse at Direnni Acropolis.

Quest-Related

After placing the golden seal, her spirit appears besides the pillar, a short distance away. When spoken to:

"A Keeper? No... no an intruder. Did you not hear the shrieks? The groaning admonitions? This is a cruel and sour place, outsider. Your beating heart mocks the dead."

Who are you?

"Who am I? I was called Lauriel. But in truth, I am sorrow given voice... agony given form. A prisoner, confined to this cold, dead acropolis for all time.
You were brave to come here. But are you brave enough to seek the truth of this place?"

Yes. Tell me what happened here.

"I haven't the heart to speak it aloud. I can only bear the pain through song. Even now, all these long centuries later, the taste of betrayal still fills my mouth.
My soul is bound to the catacombs. Sealed away in a vault of stone deep below."

How do I find this vault?

"You carried the Keeper's Golden Seal. There is another—a Crimson Seal. It is close. I sense its presence... like a whispered accusation.
Follow my voice. Find the Crimson Seal and place it here beside its golden brother. They will clear the path."

I'm sorry, but I have to know—who are the Keepers?

"My jailers—sons and daughters of the Direnni, sworn to keep me imprisoned here. I no longer sense their presence. That gives me some small relief, at least."

Why did they imprison you?

"Did you not hear me? The sorrow robs me of my breath. I can only bear to tell you in song. I... I am sorry."

If spoken to before chasing after the Crimson Seal, she will say:

"I can say no more. Grief's noose tightens around my throat. Find the Crimson Seal. Listen for my mournful song. I can say no more..."

As you progress through the Acropolis, Lauriel will expunge her tale through song:

Lauriel: "Hear ye my tale of sisters, two, bound by love and joy..."

Lauriel: "The elder set sail, but the younger remained, alone with her tomes and her heartache..."

Lauriel: "At length a caller came to the gates of the Direnni—fellow traveler on sorrow's road, with dark wisdom on his lips."

Lauriel: "All her heart's doors closed and locked, the sister's power grew—her gold eyes fixed on graves and tombs, the necromancer's muse."

Lauriel: "At length the eldest did return, flush with arcane might. She found her sister's undead thralls, and wept long at the sight."

Lauriel: "Knowing death could not contain her sister's newfound power, the eldest and her Direnni kin buried me alive... here, screaming into the black."

As soon as you make it to the tomb where her physical remains are, her spirit will appear she'll say:

Lauriel: "You found me. At last..."

Speaking to her spirit at her tomb:

"Do you see? What they did to me? What they are still doing? Is a young girl's curiosity worthy of this torment?
I only wish to pass on—to be free of this place. Please, help me."

How can I help you?

"You see my prison now—this circle of braziers.
The Keepers would have you relight these fires to whip me back into silence. But I beg you, take up the Keeper's Flame and burn my corpse. Without my body, the Direnni's cruel magicks cannot bind me."

What will happen if I burn your body?

"The Keepers marked my body with runes of restraint before they locked me in the tomb. After I... expired, my soul tried to escape. But even now, centuries later, I am tethered to that husk.
If you burn away my body, you also burn these runes."

And what will you do with this freedom?

"Would you ask a caged meadowlark what it would do? It would fly free—feel the sun on its wings and sing its forgotten songs. It would find the joy that it had long been denied."

You wouldn't seek revenge?

"Revenge upon whom? The Elves that locked me away are long dead. Dead and gone. Only their tombs remain. Their tombs... and their descendants."

What will happen if I light the brazier?

"I... I would return to that coffin. I would go back to screaming in silent horror—gazing up at the ancient scratches on the coffin lid, where I tore my fingernails to pieces trying to get out."

And you would stay that way forever?

"Forever. Or until some other kind soul burned my corpse-prison.
You followed me and listened to my tale. I know you will do what's right."

I've heard your song, but I have to know—what really happened here?

"It's as I said in my song. My sister and I were inseparable—different sides of a single coin, my uncle used to say. Eventually, she set out to study with the magisters on the Isle of Balfiera. I was left here, alone."

And?

"I struggled with my craft, falling further and further behind.
Eventually, I found a mentor. A black-clad sorcerer who taught me the dark arts. Necromancy. I took to it like a sparrow to the wind. Eventually, my power rivaled that of my sister."

Then she returned?

"Yes. She found my mentor and I weaving spells over the corpses of our ancestors. She struck my mentor dead with a killing word, then wrapped me in searing chains.
My sister wept when our kin rendered the sentence... that I would be buried alive."

She didn't try to talk them out of it?

"No. She carried out the sentence herself. Her face was the last thing I saw before they closed the lid.
The Direnni feared what I would become if they executed me outright, so they constructed this arcane prison. This torture chamber."

How do you feel about your sister now?

"She did what she was expected to do. I have nothing more to say."

If spoken to before deciding she will say:

"I only ask that you do what's right. I have paid my debt to the Direnni, many times over. Please... just let me go."

Then once you pick up the Keeper's flame:

Lauriel: "We arrive at the moment of choice. Please, use the Keeper's flame on my remains and set me free."

If you elect to burn her body and set her free:

Lauriel: "Yes. Finally!"

Lauriel: "I feel the chains slipping from my shoulders. My spirit is free... free, to go wherever I wish."

Lauriel: "Oh, you have done quite a deed. Your kindness will not be forgotten... or squandered."

Lauriel: "I'm sure you have many questions. I'm sorry I cannot stay to answer them. I have much to do. So much to do. Farewell."

If you elect to light the brazier and keep her trapped:

Lauriel: "No! Why would you…! Agh!"

Lauriel: "I … trusted you! You're just like them! Just like my family!"

Lauriel: "Curse you! I won't go back! I won't! I'll kill you all!"

Lauriel: "No!"