[
  {
    "id": 700,
    "name": "9. The World Spire",
    "level": 80,
    "story": 133,
    "goals": [
      {
        "active": "Return to Amnytas and await word from the wizards.",
        "complete": "While processing Peitha's ill-timed revelation, I hauled myself back into Amnytas and out of the stifling eeriness of the bastion. But just as I did, Zojja called on me.\n\n Isgarren has been sighted at the Bastion of the Celestial—the gateway to the World Spire. And we've no time to spare.\n \n ***"
      },
      {
        "active": "Explore the Bastion of the Celestial to locate Isgarren.",
        "complete": "I'm not sure what we're going to find inside. Dagda almost succumbed to her possession. Mabon fell to his, a loss that continues to loom over the ward. The Kryptis are growing more powerful each moment, and our time to deal with their threat is running out. If we can't rescue Isgarren soon, he may suffer a fate worse than our dear Mabon. This would be catastrophic not just for the Astral Ward or Wizard's Court, but for Tyria as a whole. Without Isgarren, who knows what'll slither forth from the Mists next. And worse yet, what sort of a threat would a corrupted Isgarren be?\n\nWe regrouped on one of the bastion's floating rings. Dagda and Zojja stood with Zizel, who was listening for movement. Kryptis were waiting to attack, so we marched forward to get the upper hand.\n\nAs we entered the spire, Peitha took on a defensive tone. \"The veil is parting,\" she told me. Zojja overheard us despite our efforts to be covert. She asked if I was okay, assuming I was speaking to myself. I managed to conceal Peitha's existence for just a bit longer. With tensions as strained as they are, I can't risk being compromised for fear of being removed from the field—or worse. But I don't know how much longer I can keep up this deception.\n\nZojja was on the verge of launching into a lecture when she was interrupted by a Kryptis ambush. This fight likely won't cool until something has concluded. I just don't know if that something is going to be in our favor.\n\nAfter fighting wave after wave of Kryptis, Peitha advised me to think of a particularly fond memory—something to hold on to in the moments ahead. I thought of my home. My friends. Aurene... But Zojja, whose attention was already focused on me moments before, snapped. Is \"one of them\" in there? And before I could deflect, Peitha interjected.\n\nZojja's skin crawled, but before anyone else could process that revelation, someone more important hovered just ahead: Isgarren.\n\n***"
      },
      {
        "active": "Defeat Isgarren's manifestations to draw him out.",
        "complete": "Isgarren, the Curator. A being of legend, boiled down to hostility and impatience. Whatever invaded his consciousness was vicious; neither Lyhr nor Dagda could break through the glacier of ice that covered his mind. Even Dagda—with all her stoicism—was shaken by the sight of him.\n\nIsgarren snarled at the group before retreating farther into the bastion. A brutal fight lay ahead of us. We pursued and cornered him in a small opening. His power was flickering outward, as if only a piece of his consciousness was exposed. A distilled manifestation of his bitterness, and we needed to break it down one ornery thought at a time.\n\nDagda attempted to calm his spirit, but words alone wouldn't free Isgarren from the demon's grip. He threw Mabon's death at my feet in defiance. \"Wayfinder\" dripped from his mouth like venom, just as it had from Dagda on our first encounter.\n\nWe fought. Grotesque clusters of Kryptis energy burst from Isgarren's manifestation as we battled. We attempted to quell that corruption before it could reinfect him—returning his thoughts to sludge and impatience. As the conflict raged on, Isgarren pulled farther back into the bastion. Lyhr and Dagda were mortified by what he'd become. Whatever or whoever had their claws in Isgarren's soul had burrowed deep. And the words he uttered pierced like arrows. To talk any sense into him, we needed to expose his vulnerabilities—break down every jaded thought and ideal until there was no refuge in which he could hide. He has mistakes to own up to, consequences to face, and a demon to kill.\n\nIsgarren eventually pulled away, retreating farther onto the ring. The group pushed forward, fighting against their heartbreak. Isgarren aimed his words—at me, at Mabon. Dagda remarked that in normal times he has a cavillous nature, but this far exceeded his worst days. Lyhr maintained his composure, keeping a keen eye on the situation and pointing out that Isgarren was headed straight for the heart of Amnytas: the World Spire. The only thing fending off a full-on Kryptis invasion.\n\nWe pursued Isgarren to the next opening. His attention pivoted squarely to me, accusing me of only causing pain here—as I have all over Tyria. A lifetime of hurt starting with Zhaitan and leading to this moment. Isgarren only saw a threat. While I \"reacted\" and \"scrambled\" below, he claimed to protect this world from above. But I know damn well that his inflated ego is just that. He may have protected us from the Kryptis, but I kept the Elder Dragons from ripping the entire world apart. Toxic and vulgar manifestations ripped from his essence and lashed against us—Isgarren's subconscious attempting to defend his choices. They'd festered for far too long, and Isgarren needed a proper reminding of what's at stake: Tyria. Our mutual home, that we've each sworn to protect in our own way. His, the more dated.\n\nBattle worn and exhausted from our battle of benevolence, Isgarren fled from us once more. But we did not give him respite and cornered him soon after. With few options left for escape, Isgarren froze in place. His snarling spirit simmered, but something...strange happened (even stranger than the events that had come before). As we defeated Kryptis that appeared to feed on Isgarren, they dropped essence of unity—revealing that within Isgarren was at least some flicker of truth. He heard us.\n\nIsgarren saw that the only way to move forward was to do it together, with the Astral Ward. With me, even. When I threw this essence to him—into his manifestation—he was propelled forward. His icy shell began to crumble, a glimpse of the real Isgarren showing through. He crept forward, one step closer to the spire.\n\nAs quickly as that shield fell, Cerus's voice boomed forth from Isgarren and the wizard pulled away—this time, to protect us. A portal to the World Spire opened in his place.\n\n***"
      },
      {
        "active": "Confront and cleanse Isgarren.",
        "complete": "We pursued him to the apex of Amnytas, atop the World Spire. Everyone held firm, ready to defend their home. Eager to keep Tyria safe. The group broke off to fight Kryptis, while Dagda instructed Zojja and I to keep Isgarren busy while she and Lyhr attempted to expel Cerus from his mind.\n\nGlimpses of the real Isgarren broke through as we fought, but those moments of morality were stifled when Cerus pulled his yoke. A surge of energy overcame the group, knocking most of our allies unconscious—only Dagda, Lyhr, and myself stood.\n\nWe slowly approached him, but before we could make the final blow, Cerus shifted his plan of attack and tore open a rift just before us. Isgarren and I were pulled straight inside."
      }
    ]
  }
]