When Oblivion Entertainment dropped the teaser trailer for Avowed, comparisons were quickly drawn with Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, with many fans hoping Avowed could be the spiritual successor to Skyrim.
Avowed will be set in Obsidian’s world of Eora, the setting of its past two Pillars of Eternity games. One huge event in the Pillars of Eternity timeline that is likely to have a lasting impact on the world of Avowed is The Saint’s War, which involved everything from righteous prophets to magical mega-bombs, and its effects will likely still be felt throughout Eora.
The Farmer and the God
The Saint’s War was fought between the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood and the Penitential Regency of Readceras. Dyrwood is an independent nation, formed when a duchy split off from the Aedyr Empire. Readceras was also a former colony of Aedyr. This war would likely strike many fantasy fans as a run-of-the-mill struggle for dominance if it wasn’t for some key events which took place in the Penitential Regency of Readceras in its recent history. Also called the Divine Kingdom of Readceras, the country became a theocratic dictatorship under the very real influence of Eothas, one of the gods of Pillars of Eternity.
Waidwen was a farmer and a religious zealot, who, during the economic hardship that struck Readceras, began raving in the streets. Completely devoted to the god Eothas, Waidwen was selected by the deity to become Saint Waidwen, his avatar on Eora. He gathered followers and entered the palace of the local governor. According to some, his flesh began to shine and his head became a beacon of blinding light, likely representing the dawn symbol of Eothas.
The governor relinquished his power and the Divine Kingdom was formed. The Saint’s War, claimed by the followers of Eothas to be a war to liberate Dyrwood, began almost immediately and is seen in the first Pillars of Eternity. Saint Waidwen led many of the battles himself, and though the people of Dyrwood were initially able to fight the Saint’s armies back into Readceras for a time, the Divine Kingdom performed a flanking maneuver that took the other side by surprise, approaching from the East while the bulk of the Dyrwood forces were fighting Waidwen in the North.
The Godhammer Bomb
Despite help from The Watcher, the forces of Dyrwood were pushed all the way back to Halgot Citadel, and hope was seemingly lost. However, worshipers of Magran the fire goddess began working on a weapon which could change the course of the entire war. They created something called the ‘Godhammer,’ a magical bomb, twelve feet in diameter that was hidden under the Evon Dewr Bridge leading into the citadel.
It was there that Saint Waidwen was lured into a trap, with brave heroes distracting his forces on the bridge until the detonation was possible. When the bomb went off it killed Waiden and, as far as many Dyrwood citizens were concerned, the god Eothas himself. Without their prophet the Divine Kingdom began to fall apart and the invasion quickly dissipated. Worshipers of Eothas began to hide their practices and hoped for their god’s return. Their wishes would come true in Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.
The detonation of the Godhammer bomb was such a landmark event on Eothas that phrases like “as sure as the Godhammer ended the Saint’s War” became common. Assuming Avowed is set after the events of Pillars of Eternity, players are likely to see the long-lasting effect that the Saint’s War had on war, religion, and even language in the world of Eora.
Avowed is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.