Bastion

Bastion, Home of the Kyrian, is one of the ruling realms of the Shadowlands, ruled by the Kyrian Covenant. It is a kingdom of pristine spires, crystalline skies, and elysian vistas, ordered and purposeful.

Souls naturally drawn to service are sent here by the Arbiter to examine their lives, cleanse themselves of their burdens, and work toward a state of virtue so they might ascend to serve the Shadowlands as kyrian—messengers, couriers, and some of the purest souls in the realm of the dead. Fresh arrivals to Bastion will become kyrian Aspirants—wingless beings who train for eons to one day earn their wings and join the ranks of the Ascended.

Bastion is the residence of Uther the Lightbringer's spirit.

Description
''Those who have lived a life of service are drawn to Bastion to assumed the highest duty of all — carrying the souls to the Shadowlands. Amongst Bastion's gleaming spires and sweeping vistas await challenges to test the mettle of the steadfast kyrians.''

''Bastion is a beacon for those who lived a life of service. Souls worthy enough to stand upon its fields soon face challenges in pursuit of their highest calling of all -- sheperding [sic] souls to the Shadowlands. A life of service determines who is worthy to tread upon the golden fields of Bastion. Stalwart commitment to their duties was their goal in life: ascension is their goal thereafter.''

Maps and subregions




Travel hubs
...

Wild creatures

 * Cloudrunner
 * Etherwyrm
 * Larion
 * Vulpin

Notes and trivia

 * Denizens of Revendreth are not allowed to enter Bastion via Oribos and must use one of their mirror portals to access it instead. According to Theotar, they may even be killed on sight in Bastion.
 * Bastion has been invaded by the Void, leading to the death of the Paragon of Courage Agthia, and by devourers, leading to the death of the first Paragon of Humility Mercia.
 * A section of the northwestern map had the following caves located below the terrain until late beta testing: Bastion Bones Cave, Bastion Crystal Cave, Bastion Lava Cave, Bastion Snow Cave, and Bastion Vault.

Inspiration

 * Bastion's themes borrow from various parts of the Europe and West Asia, in particular Greek, Sumerian, Norse, and Abrahamic mythos and cultures.
 * For themes specific to the Kyrians themselves, see Kyrian.
 * For themes specific to the Archon, see Kyrestia the Firstborne
 * Bastion shares some themes with the Greek (e.g. Elysian Hold).
 * The inspiration of the Elysian Fields of Greek myth was further confirmed Assistant Lead Quest Designer Johnny Cash.
 * Bastion's kyrian are retroactively based off the concept of the Val'kyr, who are in turn based off norse mythos of Valkyries. Within Norse myth, the Valkyrie take half the warriors to Valhalla and the other half to . This calls back to the Kyrian's duty to ferry souls to Oribos so they may find their proper afterlife.
 * In the game files, many of Bastion's assets are listed as 'valkyr', with the Kyrian covenant even listed as 'valkyr_covenant'.
 * In the game files, Bastion is called "Babylonzone". Within the Tanakh, Babylon is described as a vast city with hanging gardens, and palms, surrounded by plains, which is very similar to Bastion. Additionally, the only remaining entrance to Babylon, the (currently in Berlin), uses blue and gold colors, and features lions and winged lions.
 * The five virtues of the Kyrians on the path of Ascension that their Temples are named after may be loosely derived from the and the  of Christian tradition, parallel to how the seven sins in Revendreth are analogous to the seven deadly sins. Purity may be derived from castitas (sometimes termed purity), Courage may be derived from fortitudo (sometimes termed courage), Humility from humilitas (humility), Loyalty from iustitia (often tied to loyalty and duty), and Wisdom from sapientia (wisdom, the "mother" of the cardinal virtues but also synonymous often with prudentia/Prudence).
 * In this sense, and similar to Revendreth, Bastion's path of ascension is similar to Dante's , requiring the amplification of virtue in order to literally ascend into the Heavens.
 * The owl theme of the stewards may be a reference to the within Greek myth and culture.
 * The various centurions are likely based upon the s of Greek myth.
 * The mostly silver structures of Bastion, as well as the floating silver complex of Elysian Hold and it's Spires, is likely based on the Silver City of Heaven in the DC universe.
 * The seemingly eternal Eonian Archives that contain the memories of all mortals, as well as the way memories can be viewed from an archive in the Mnemonic Locus may be a reference to the of theosophy that contain all thoughts and memories of all people in existence throughout time.
 * The way kyrians are expected to let go of their memories throughout the process toward ascension resembles the way in the Greek afterlife the dead would drink from the river to forget.
 * The Eternal Forge may be a reference to the various s across the Mediterranean since antiquity. This, along with the torch-running required to loot the Gift of Devos and Gift of Agthia, may be references to the specifically, sacred to Hestia, which may have served as partially inspiration for Kyrestia's name.