Kyrestia the Firstborne

Kyrestia the Firstborne, the Archon, is the first of the winged kyrians, the most stalwart and dedicated of the Eternal Ones, and the ruler of Bastion and the Kyrian Covenant. She resides at Archon's Rise in Elysian Hold.

Biography
Kyrestia has ruled Bastion for countless ages and overseen the transforming of the virtuous and valorous into Ascended. Her process critically involved mortal souls to purge themselves of their memories, storing them away, so that they could perform their tasks with objectivity and neutrality. However, this process has long had flaws, as aspirants had to give up their good memories as well as their bad ones. Once upon a time, it was rare that an aspirant would find this process so difficult that they abandoned her path and rejected her. They would become Forsworn, wandering the outer reaches of Bastion, lamenting their failure.

When the Paragon of Loyalty Devos learned from her student Uther's memories that an agent wielding the power of the Maw was running rampant on a mortal world, she tried to convince Kyrestia that the path of purging new kyrian of their memories was flawed. Kyrestia interrupted Devos, telling her that the Shadowlands depended on the kyrian carrying out their charge and that she had to abandon her rebellious course. In response, Devos took matters into her own hands by turning Uther into an Ascended and later convincing him to cast Arthas' soul into the Maw.

Since then, Devos has been secretly rallying the Forsworn into an army. As the Shadowlands were struck with severe drought caused by the Arbiter's incapacitation, many kyrian, both aspirant and ascended, found themselves without their tasks and contemplated and questioned their decisions. They began to feel that they were giving up their identities arbitrarily, and slowly more and more began to reject the Archon's ways. When they lost their way they would be sent to the Temple of Loyalty, and right into the hands of Devos. Many Forsworn would go further to become Mawsworn for the Jailer.

All this culminated in the Forsworn launching an offensive against Bastion shortly after the arrival of mortal Maw Walkers in the Shadowlands. This initial offensive proved to be part of a strategy created in tandem with the Houses of Constructs and Rituals from Maldraxxus, who proceeded to launch a surprise attack against the Temple of Courage as the kyrian were distracted by grappling with the Forsworn.

Some time later, when Devos and the Forsworn attacked the Spires of Ascension, Kyrestia led the defense while a group of mortal Maw Walkers came to lend their aid. The mortals cut through the Forsworn's forces, eventually arriving in time to prevent Devos from destroying the Archon and, with some small help from her, managed to destroy the corrupted Paragon instead.

Kyrestia was not ultimately enraged at Devos' betrayal, but rather mournful. After seeing that mortals had been the ones to save her and her realm from destruction, she admitted that the path she designed may indeed have been flawed and that once the crisis with the Jailer was ended, there would be much for the kyrian to discuss.

Chains of Domination
During a discussion between Kyrestia and the remaining Paragons on how to counter the threat of the ever-growing Maw, the Ascended Kleia arrived to tell the Archon that the mortal king Anduin Wrynn sought an audience with her. Once the outsider stood in front of her at Archon's Rise, however, Kyrestia realized that Anduin was under the control of the Jailer and demanded that the latter release Anduin from his grasp. In response, the Jailer's voice spoke through his vessel to proclaim that "He is bound to me, just as you once sought to bind your own brother". Anduin then used his sword Kingsmourne to stun the Paragons before leaping at Kyrestia and stabbing her through the chest to extract her sigil, a magical key—one of several desired by the Jailer. He subsequently returned to the Maw to deliver the key to his master. The Archon survived the attack.

Quotes

 * Greeting
 * I will hear your words.
 * Your path has brought you to us.
 * Speak, mortal.
 * You may approach.
 * Duty and service.
 * You walk among the Ascended.
 * Much is expected of you.


 * Farewell
 * We will see this through.
 * Proceed upon the path.
 * Persevere. Endure.
 * The past is prologue.
 * Go in service.
 * Trust the path.
 * Honor our ways, mortal.


 * Irritated
 * You are either very brave or very foolish to pester me. I am inclined to believe the latter.
 * Careful: Bastion has many, many high places from which annoying mortals can quite easily fall!
 * My people's duty is to carry mortal souls into the Shadowlands. It would be a simple matter to escort one back out again... permanently!


 * Dialogue

Notes and trivia

 * Kyrestia is voiced by Courtenay Taylor.
 * The Archon is a composite of Greek and Babylonian mythological motifs.
 * Kyrestia as a name may share an inspiration with Kyrians (see Kyrian) as well as the Greek goddess.
 * The Archon's visual aesthetics may be based on the Babylonian goddess (Bastion's files are named "Babylonzone"), who is usually depicted as a crowned woman in a loose dress with wings wielding a spear, whose archaeological depictions resemble the model, as well as the seven-pronged helmets worn by.
 * The term was used as a title for various offices throughout Antiquity and even into the Middle Ages, particularly in the context of someone who ruled through military power or served as a judge in a dispute. Historically, the latter role was carried out in a, today considered a word foremost associated with Christian temples, perhaps inspiring the various Kyrian temples.