The former World Guardian meets Adrasteia, who is now the Basilissa- Empress- of the Saradominist lands, at Falador Castle to discuss a serious threat. Adrasteia narrates a cutscene where she says that as the new Basilissa, it's her job to protect the human lands and maintain their alliance. However, there's a problem: the Zamorakians are now duking it out in the Wilderness. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, except that Moia has been killing Varrockian patrols near the Wilderness border. Moia is Bilrach's lieutenant, not a faction leader in her own right, but Adrasteia thinks that she's the biggest threat right now, so she wants the player to stop her.
If asked, Adrasteia does have a little more information: the Zamorakians have split into two factions- K'ril Tsutsaroth and his demon army, versus Bilrach, his Daemonheim forces, and the other Mahjarrat. Part of her wants to believe that Moia can be reasoned with, but she also has to admit that there's a fairly big chance that Moia's too much of a threat and will have to be killed. As such, she's sending a trusted agent, Anne Dimitri, with the player. Anne has only entered Adrasteia's services recently, but she's been providing her with vital information on the civil war.
The player meets Anne, who is very flippant and rather derisive of Adrasteia. Anne thinks that Adrasteia is letting her history with Moia cloud her judgement, and that Bilrach and the other Mahjarrat are the real threat. Upon entering the Wilderness, Anne says that she interviewed the sole survivor of Moia's attack, who said that the attack was horrific, but notably, it wasn't at all subtle or discreet- Moia was making a statement. They head to the volcano and find an abandoned camp that was used by Bilrach's forces, along with a faded memory. The two use Divination to make the memory strong enough for the player to enter, which they do.
In the memory, Moia looks for Bilrach among his forces. She's on vaguely civil terms with Enakhra and Hazeel, but on rather bad terms with General Khazard and Zemouregal. Upon finding Bilrach, she reports that she defeated demon forces near the Black Knights' Fortress, and also killed the Varrock patrol. Bilrach doesn't want to get Adrasteia mad at them, since they took heavy losses at a battle at the Graveyard of Shadows, but Moia doesn't think that Adrasteia is anything to be concerned about. Bilrach advises her to stop thinking about Adrasteia and focus on unlocking her full power. Moia says that when she focuses on the chaos inside her, the discord between her human and Mahjarrat sides, her power grows. Before they can say anything else, the camp is attacked.
Moia defeats the attackers, but Bilrach is still furious. He's mad that K'ril would attack him after Bilrach summoned him in the first place, and says that the attacks on their forces have been frequent and well-coordinated, so he orders Moia to find whoever's behind them and deal with them.
The player comes out of Moia's memory and tells Anne what they learned. They head to the Red Dragon Isle, and get in some more conversation. Anne says that A, she thinks that Adrasteia has a lot of potential, but is out of her depth, and B, while Anne has been in this line of work for a long time, she went on an 'involuntary hiatus' recently. Hmmm, sounds a bit familiar...
They find more memories, strengthen them and the player enters them. In this memory, Bilrach reports that they were attacked again and lost more forces, so they're falling back to Daemonheim. Moia, who's north of a camp that was attacked, defeats the remaining enemies and interrogates a wounded cultist. The cultist tells her that Avaryss the Unceasing, now one of Kril's generals, is leading the attacks from the Infernal Source. Moia kills him, and then Adrasteia appears. Moia realises it's an illusion- it's actually Trindine. The two insult each other for a bit, and then Moia asks why she's here. Trindine's come with an offer of assistance- when a demon is killed, it just comes back. But the Zarosians devised a method of trapping and weaponising demon souls: the portable phylactery, also known as a diabolus, and Trindine just happens to have one with her.
Moia admits that capturing Avaryss' soul would both strike fear into Kril's forces and give Bilrach a strong bargaining chip, but she wants to know what's in it for Trindine. Trindine says that the demons would be weakened and the Mahjarrat's survival would continue, but Moia points out that it would also prolong the civil war. After the inevitable 'Why should I trust you?' 'You shouldn't', Moia gives in and takes the diabolus. Once Trindine is gone, Moia reports in to Bilrach, who orders her to deal with Avaryss, but Moia doesn't mention anything about Trindine.
The player comes out of this memory and tells Anne what they learned. The player then asks Anne how they know they can trust her, and Anne gives the exact same answer that Trindine did in the memory. Hmmm. They head to the Wilderness Crater, where the portal to the Infernal Source is. There's a very fresh memory, but the portal's sealed, so the player looks at the memory while Anne tries to get the portal open.
In the memory, Moia absorbs several demon souls into her diabolus before taking on Avaryss and defeating her. Avaryss tells her that Moia can serve the other Mahjarrat all she wants, but she will never be their equal, and Moia absorbs her soul too. With that done, the player comes out of the memory and finds that Anne's got the portal open. They head inside and find Moia, who reveals that 'Anne' is actually Trindine, to literally nobody's surprise. The player and Moia talk, and Moia doesn't respond well to any attempts at diplomacy. Instead, she says that she won't kneel to anyone who was handed their authority- aka Adrasteia- and that she won't let the Mahjarrat disrespect her. She's done with being looked down on for being half-human. She's done struggling for every bit of power and respect- now it's time for the world to struggle against her. With that, she leaves.
Trindine admits that Moia may be a bigger problem than she thought, but still, things went pretty much to plan. The player asks why she gave Moia the diabolus, and Trindine explains that the Zamorakians want to tear the world apart. The Zarosians aren't on the best terms with the Saradominists, but peace is a better outcome than chaos. She was given the task of upholding it, and that's what she's going to do. Besides, the Mahjarrat were about to lose, and the longer and more painful the civil war is for both sides, the better it is for literally everyone else. Other than that, she won't be resuming the role of Anne Dimitri. Instead, she'll try to keep tabs on Moia and Bilrach. With that done, the player reports back to Adrasteia, and the quest is complete.
Tropes
- Deadpan Snarker: Anne Dimitri. Then again, she's Trindine in disguise.Anne Dimitri: This memory, though... I'm sensing hate, bitterness and a whole load of daddy issues within it.
Player: It must have come from Moia!
Anne Dimitri: Yes, this seepage has ‘Moia’ written all over it.
Player: Please stop describing it like that. - Defiant to the End: After being defeated by Moia, Avaryss spitefully tells her that, no matter how much she serves the Mahjarrat, she will never be their equal.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Trindine made sure to capture Moia's "luscious hair" in her drawing. The player has the option to agree that Moia's hair is indeed fabulous.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Moia doesn't garner much respect among both her allies and enemies. By the end of the quest she gets sick of it and declares that now it is the world's turn to struggle against her.
- Enemy Civil War: Unlike Saradomin, Zamorak did not pick a successor before his banishment, confident in his victory as he was. As a result, his forces are now engaged in a civil war for the position:
- Bilrach's faction includes his fellow Zamorakian Mahjarrat along with his forces in Daemonheim.
- K'ril Tsutsaroth's faction includes the Twin Furies along with the demons, cultists and witches from Zamorak's invasion.
- Evil Power Vacuum: Zamorak left one when he was banished. Now his followers are trying to fill it.
- Evil Versus Evil: Moia fights against Avaryss the Unceasing in the Infernal Source.
- Motive Rant:Moia: I do not kneel to those handed their 'authority' on a silver platter. I won't let Adrasteia take this from me. 'Basilissa' indeed... An empty title for a weakling and a fool. I won't let Trindine and the Mahjarrat continue to disrespect me. This is MY time. My own father treated me like an experiment, and threw me aside the moment I ceased to be of use. The Mahjarrat demeaned and belittled me for the audacity of being born to a human mother. I've had to struggle against this world for every breath I draw, every scrap of power I wield, every modicum of respect I'm shown. Now it's time for the world to struggle against me.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: "Anne Dimitri" doesn't try particularly hard to hide the fact that she is Trindine in disguise; Moia tells her to drop the act the moment they meet and Adrasteia had her suspicions from the start but kept her around because she was a valuable ally.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Moia calls the player out on doing anything for the vague promise of a reward and for taking orders from their inferiors.Player: Strong words, coming from Bilrach's lapdog.
Moia: That's rich, coming from someone who licks every boot going. All anyone has to do is offer a reward and you'll do anything they say. How can I respect you when you don't even respect yourself? - Significant Anagram: "Anne Dimitri" rearranged spells out "I am Trindine", pointing to her true identity, though she doesn't bother hiding it.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Moia and Trindine give as much as they take.Moia: You must be Trindine. I’ve heard all about you.
Trindine: And you are Moia. I’ve heard nothing of interest.
Moia: You would do well to show me respect.
Trindine: Oh please. I was a praetorian of the Zarosian Empire at the height of its glory. You scuttle across its ashes, brawling with demons at the behest of a senile fool.
Moia: And what a fantastic job you did, given nothing but ashes remain. - Turned Against Their Masters: Though it was Bilrach who created and summoned K'ril during the Third Age, he is now leading his demonic hordes against Bilrach and the Mahjarrat.
- Villain Respect: Should the player choose to attack Moia rather than try to reason with her or snark at her, she will express her approval while pitying them for wasting their potential.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Because Zamorak didn't appoint a successor prior to his banishment from Gielinor, in-fighting occurs between Bilrach and K'ril's factions over a disagreement on who should succeed the god of chaos.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Using the diabolus Trindine gave her, Moia is able to capture Avaryss after defeating her.
