Hello, everyone!
I tried to post these many words in some proper thread but found none, so I apologize in advance if writing here was not right.
At least I hope you won’t be bored with my text below 
Hard to imagine - more than 2 yeras have passed already as I was here last time. But Grim Dawn is from my point of view still the best there is in its genre. I still remember how “cruel” it was to face the dead end after that epic battle with Loghorrean. But then come Ashes of Malmuth. And the thirst for new adventures burns anew again! Another astonising chapter in the struggle agains the Archenemy - the Aetherials. For all that complex experience I want to thank all the Crate’s team. Much new content: foes, horrors, tons of new gear, skills, crafting materials, astonishing areas to explore, fascinating music, graphics, many letters with interesting info to read, trying to puzzle all the pieces of the Story together.
Especially I want to say that through combinig all that in one masterpiece you achived the most important thing - you’ve created the ultimate ATMOSPHERE that drawns people to play the game again and again with undying interest.
You keep on remembering your even smallest characters - for example the witch that you can save or burn in Blood Grove and many others. That’s very nice of you. It gives a strong feeling that the world of Cairn not olne has a deep history but lives on, it’s not static or frozen.
And now we have Forgotten Gods at our doorstep…
Ashes of Malmouth left the main storyline hanging. The Cirlce of Five is untouched and in full force, the erulan capitol is burning, cult of Ch’thon is crippled but far from defeated.
Now the teaser tells us that we’ll leave Erulan empire and travel somewhere south in the deserts searching for a ruined city that contains some dreadful secret. Why should we turn our backs and go god knows where when aetherials are all around? The fall of the Shaper of flesh is a major blow and they will react fast.
Possible reasons:
- the Witch gods and Mogdrogen are attending to something VERY important. Maybe the will finally reveal themselves.
- Kymon’s chosen. Whatever gave father Kymon his power… but it’s not the Lightbringer. Father himself doen not know with what he struck the deal… and I think he’s afraid. Inquisitor Creed himself tells us in his diary that the presence of Kymon and his followers feels uneasy, otherwordly, gruesome. Nothing like Empyrion’s peace. And we can find Kymon’s Scripture: first passage. Where are the other ones?
- In a secret place near Gryver’s mill you can find a small area called “Shrine of the forgotten god”. Doesn’t ring a bell? Furthermore scribe Osterram in his diary says that he cannot dechiper the words carved on the altar. Noone spoke this language for thousands of years in any culture known in Erulan. And he casts aside the Three gods, because the pictures are different and the devotion was open, not hidden as the witch gods like. The display of the altar is gruesome. The forgotten god was “bad”.
- Where did Uroboruuk go? What was that immense and unknown not flesh-not spirit power that drew his attention. He believed it to be tearing through the veil near Burrwitch but it was no ch’thonic. Then what was it?
- Altar of Rattosh. Is that just a mere tool or something of more importance? And who really is that Rattosh in the first place?
- Findings of Yeathleanis. Under Ugdenbog you can find his writings. He was in a group of refugees from orginal Arkovia and tried to lift off Uroboruuk’s curse. He mentioned something about knoweledge so vast and deep that even immortality won’t let him grasp fully. Who knows what he achived…
- That Power from the void it was to which turned one of the sides of the original war, that raged eons ago between the masters of the aetherials. Was that Ch’thon or something more malevolent that maybe consumed all sides of that war?
- Ulgrim seems to be a demigod as Creed suspects. Who is he and why pretends to be a human? What power he serves?
And the most interesting: what is the biggest mystery of the game - who really is our main character? We know from the beginning of the game, that our hero was a “taken” - posessed by an unknown aetherial. The evil spirit was seperated from the human body but not destroyed. Also Kasparov said that our hero emerged from Devil’s Crossing unactive for god knows how long rift already posessed. Furthermore, if I’m not mistaken, in some writings/letters aetherials already suspect that a certain “taken” ruined their plans in Mailmouth. So, who REALLY is our main character? No further info for the time being…
Waiting eagerly for 2nd expansion release! Thanks again for your hard work!
p.s. Old Grove! Looking forward to see and explore you in the upcoming update!
