#tumenis

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Tess: Moonlit Trek

Designer's Reflection: Moonlit Trek

Obtained: top-up for Forgotten Golden Dynasty hell event

Rarity: SR

Attribute: Green/Fresh

Awakened Suit: Starry Odyssey

Story - transcripts from Designer's Reflection

Chapter 1 - Golden Legend

Chapter 2 - Adventure in the Desert

Chapter 3 - Tess and Hester

Story - summarized

Young Tess grew up hearing the stories of old. Her favorite was the story of Queen Hester and the lost kingdom of Tumenis. She loved the story so much that she took the book with her into the desert to try to find the lost palace herself.

Normally, people would find nothing and turn back. But young Tess kept going. As she did, the ancestors sent her help: a cheetah to carry her across the burning sand, plump wild fruits to eat, fresh water from the spring. With their guidance, the little priestess finally found the entrance to the underground palace!

She wasn't scared of the ghosts or wraiths lingering in the halls, so eventually, they gave her directions to Hester's hidden room. There sat the majestic Hester, forever trapped between life and death. Young Tess introduced herself and offered to read the queen a story, to keep her from feeling lonely. The two became friends, and even when the people of Wasteland began unearthing the forgotten kingdom, Tess kept her promise to leave Hester's section unfound.

Connections

-Tess explains how she can communicate with spirits in Spirit Whisper. Two of the spirits she talks to in that Reflection show up here, too: Priestess Sharna and Hoare I.

-During the hell event, Nikki and friends discover that Hester can't cross over with other souls once they die. This is because she defied the god Bastet: while she killed the tyrant Cesar, she didn't establish Bastet as the central god to be worshiped, even though she became queen thanks to the god's help.

-Hester used to be a black cat herself, as shown in Late-Night Tricks. That's why she has a black cat with her in the underground palace, and why she's so fond of them.

Fun Facts

-River Styx is from Ancient Greek mythology, not Ancient Egyptian. It's the river of the underworld, and it's named after the goddess Styx, daughter of the titans Oceanus and Tethys.

-In Ancient Egypt, the lotus represented rebirth, healing, and the cycle of life and nature. You can learn more here.

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Hester: Lightborn Grace

Designer's Reflection: Lightborn Grace

Obtained: Forgotten Golden Dynasty hell event

Rarity: UR

Attribute: Purple/Sexy

Awakened Suit: Shadowborn Favour

Story - transcripts from Designer's Reflection

Chapter 1 - Lion-Slaying Girl

Chapter 2 - Tribal Dispute

Chapter 3 - Silent Scream

Chapter 4 - Cesar's Legacy

Chapter 5 - Witness of History

Story - summarized

Hester and some other captives are thrown into an arena, where a hungry lion will hunt them down and eat them. By order of the tyrannic king Cesar, if any of the captives manages to slay the lion, they would be pardoned.

Wasting no time, Hester gets close and plunges a dagger into the lion. Only Cesar finds this amusing. He declares her his bride and moves her into his palace. She wants for nothing, but now she needs to figure out how to kill Cesar, as she is actually an envoy for the god Bastet. When Cesar conquered the Lost Sand Tribe, he destroyed anything relating to Bastet. His divine punishment would be death.

But as Hester gets closer to Cesar, she recognizes that his ideas aren't bad, per se, but they're extreme, working the citizens and slaves to death. He is much like Bastet or any other god: they all see humans as servants, just means to an end.

Cesar sees himself as above gods, not needing any of their divine permission or care. To him, gods are just fairy tales made up by people who can't handle reality.

Hester remembers that she is here to kill Cesar on behalf of Bastet, not fall for him. So, she makes efforts to help the people of Tumenis, providing food and jobs, undermining Cesar's power in the kingdom. As the queen, Hester needs to shift the balance of power before she can kill the lion-hearted king.

Connections

-Hester calls herself the princess of the Lost Sand Tribe. The Lost Sand Tribe was one of the three tribes that partook in the Hawk Hunting event in Vol. 2, Ch. 7, and it's also the tribe that the little girl Lygia belonged to during the Starsand Whispers event.

-According to Hester's other Reflection, Late-Night Tricks, Cesar was blessed with good health and a strong body by Bastet. Without her power, he would've died of childhood sickness and lost in several battles. So him destroying her temple is especially offensive.

Fun Facts

-Cesar is most likely based off the first Roman emperor Julius Caesar. He married the Egyptian queen Cleopatra as a power grab: her wealth would help him maintain power in Rome. And everything Caesar did was to push his influence and garner more power for himself.

-Whenever Cesar conquers a new land or tribe, he is quick to destroy their religious statues and places of worship. This was something else the Roman Empire did: if they could not incorporate local deities into their own pantheon (or they just didn't like it), they would quash that deity or ritual out of existence.

-Bastet is an Egyptian god with a cat or lion head. She presides over the sun, moon, fertility, home, protection, and the Eye of Ra. Bastet was known as both a motherly figure and a fierce avenger.