Theories rising from the ashes of the Crimson Keep

Aeron's footsteps as he races up the path to the observatory entrance sound like the ticks of a clock. Since the last few times I've run that way, the curse's gauge has been under 1/4 and the time in the towers beforehand was harrowing so his footsteps had my heart racing. I was also playing in the dark which may have drawn me into the game's atmosphere a bit more than usual.

Not that the fight with the Crimson Keep's master could do anything but.

When you come across the note about it and find out that it's invincible when it has its flames you know you're going to be hard pressed throughout.You know that you'll be sweating it - for sure. I definitely did.

But, aside from the appropriately frantic nature of the fight, it was much more straightforward than previous masters have been. You toss the chain into either of the master's arms or head, pull until it snaps back (somehow extinguishing the flames) and repeat until the beast's been put out. At that point you rush in, hook into its exposed flesh and pull for dear life. The master's ability to re-ignite in the middle of this process nicely complicates things and nearly brings the battle to where it would require you to execute your tactics nearly perfectly, but the battle's pace never gets to that point. The fact that you can stop the mid-bout reignition processes has to be thanked for that.

What comes next is the usual stuff. Elena has her dream, wonders what it means, and then you get the chance to gear up before heading to the next tower. My theory about the family that Elena sees in her dream is that the parents have sold their son to be made into the final master. Horrible, yes, but not outside the realm of this game, I think.

There is an additional scene wedged into that series of events, though. Late at night we see Elena waking from a nightmare, counting herself lucky that she didn't hurt Aeron. The camera then shifts over to him and we see him wince and grit his teeth before the scene ends and the game jumps to morning.

Sadly, there's been no other mention of the "Other World" below the towers. Currently, my theory is that it has something to do with the old homeland of, or possibly was/is the land promised to, the wandering Vestra. Apparently these people were exiled from their homeland centuries previous to the game's action and Elyria made a contract with them, promising a new homeland.

Only time - or the ticking of Aeron's footsteps - will tell whether my crazy theories are right or wrong.