Afterlives: Bastion – Between the Eyes

This is My Take on Afterlives: Bastion, the first animated short released in the lead up to Shadowlands. I wrote this up after writing up the one for Maldraxxus – which, in hindsight, may have led to some conclusions. I wonder how this would be different had I written it first.

There are so many parallels between this piece and Maldraxxus. And many similar indications.

In contrast to Maldraxxus, we start in the living world with warm colors. The blue of Arthas’ eyes and Frostmourne’s runes are in stark contrast to the rest of the scene.
Uther also has blue eyes, but they are in shadow so they aren’t emphasized. This differentiates his blue from Arthas and the power of the Lich King.
That both Bastion and Maldraxxas contrast good/evil, us/them, within the same palette is fascinating. It’s a subtle difference, but it also tells us that there is a sameness.
And here’s the thing about sameness, it’s easy to infiltrate, and infiltration leads to betrayal, and betrayal leads to the Burning Legion.

“Light, save my soul.”

This line. It makes my heart break for Uther.
The Light seems to have had nothing to do with where his soul went. It was claimed by Bastion for a truly selfless life lived.
But, his soul is damaged and when he was judged and sent to Bastion, that wasn’t noticed…or was it? We don’t get to eavesdrop on his sorting hat scene, but is this something that the Arbiter knows? The Archon? And if not, the whole system suddenly seems fallible.
Certainly Devos questions the choice. An error? Has that never happened before? Or is it something deliberate…wheels within wheels.

So lives, souls, are judged and placed without their knowledge. They just wake up where they are placed.
Uther wakes up with no idea of where he is and why. Like Draka, he just doesn’t seem to fit.
Draka’s response is, “seems odd.” Uther’s is that he has business to finish. Draka looks forward, Uther looks back.
Draka’s forward is to a warm pallet. Uther’s back is from a warm palette.

Welcome to Bastion:

This castle in the sky needs no explanation, unlike Maldraxxus where we are told the lay of the land.
Bastion is above it all – a castle in the sky.
Bastion is just and good and selfless. Kinda like the Light? But Bastion is blue and the Light is yellow.
Bastion is flawless.

Purpose:

“Serving to ferry the souls of the dead unto the Shadowlands.”
Ok, so here is how it works. Someone dies. They get grabbed by an Ascended and taken to Oribos where they are sorted by the Arbiter. The Arbiter plops them down in their assigned Covenant.
The purpose of Maldraxxus is to protect the Shadowlands. The purpose of Bastion is to ferry these souls.
Learning how to become an Ascended and earn one’s wings takes a great deal of work and training.
There’s a parallel here to Draka again. They are both deposited in their assigned places and then trained.
Draka’s purpose is “to protect what matters most,” she looks forward and finds that her purpose will still be satisfied.
Uther’s purpose is to defeat evil. There is no evil in Bastion, he is told. No wonder he can’t see his purpose, no wonder he looks back.
Uther is informed that, as a Aspirant, he now has a new purpose and that he has to accept that.
Uther tries to tell Devos that the Evil is loose. She tells him it was sealed in the Maw long ago. “You’re wrong,” he tells the infallible, pure, selfless, above all being. Uther knows what he knows and he will challenge authority.
As his mentor/student relationship develops with Devos (a similar relationship to that he had with Arthas, incidentally), a bit of Uther seems to rub off, and now Devos will become the one willing to challenge authority.

Devos, why are you training this soul? It’s beneath your station as a Paragon.

Lets unpack that.
The question implies that Devos has a choice. Did she pick Uther, or is the choice that she could fail him and kick him out?
Could she have someone else do the job? Does she have a cohort of minion Aspirant trainers.
And now we learn about ranks in Bastion: Ascended, Aspirant, Paragon. Aspirant is the lowest rank, straight out of the sorting hat. Ascended is what Aspirants would like to become, to do the work of soul ferrying. Paragons are above that. And then there is this helmeted chap. So there are other jobs too.
Why was Uther picked to be a ferryman? If you score the greatest paladin of all time, what job would you pick for him? Ferryman? Seems unlikely.
Something is going on here.

Devos questions Bastion. She is willing to have the heretical thought that maybe Uther’s worthiness was a mistake. Helmet cautions her about voicing such thoughts.
Bastion thrives on forgetting, unquestioning loyalty, and trust in the ways and the path.
Perhaps not so perfect after all…
Or perhaps too perfect.

Finally Devos notices that Uther clutches his chest. She pulls back his shirt to see the wound. This shot is great. The warm colors of the past rise up as the memory is viewed. Despite Bastion being all blue, the frost blue glows in contrast.

Uther’s purpose

Uther’s soul is wounded. This is a surprise. She was not told, or this was not known.
Once again, how could he have been weighed and judged without this being noticed?
“He was my student” – as I am yours. “He betrayed us all” – as what I am showing you will betray your dedication to your cause.
“He betrayed us all.” All. His friends and family, his people, his world, this world. What he did affects all of existence.
And that word, betray. It rings throughout both Bastion and Maldraxxus. It gives us the Burning Legion in Maldraxxus, and now again in Bastion by way of Arthas.

Uther’s soul, like so many others, was sucked up by Frostmourne with the frosty runes. And Devos knows those runes.
Frostmourne was made by the Runecarver who is in The Maw. How could it have made its way to Arthas?
Arthas, the Dark Agent, has the power of The Maw. Someone planned this. Maybe someone who bound the Runecarver and took his sword and his memories. And who is all about forgetting? Ah yes, that would be Bastion.
So who is the Jailer? And who is the true adversary?

Chosen

Both Uther and Draka are Chosen.
Uther is Chosen to shed his “mortal burdens and join the ranks of the Ascended.”
Draka is Baroness of the House of the Chosen
Maybe Uther was also Chosen to disrupt things in the Covenant of perfect…
Devos finally has the courage and the knowledge to confront the Archon with this truth. One does not question the Archon, one does not question the path. Devos is told to drop it. Ordered to drop it.
But Devos truly believes that the realm, the Shadowlands is imperiled.
The order of the Shadowlands depends on each Covenant doing its job. Without deviating. Devos-iating. Being Devos-iant.
So, is the Archon oblivious? Or complicit? Or does the Archon know what’s what and gave Uther to Devos knowing that this betrayal was the only hope for the Shadowlands?

A blue foot and a yellow foot, a cold foot and a warm foot.
We read from left to right – cold to warm, her present to Uther’s past.
She has a foot in two worlds, divided loyalty, questioning, doubt.

And that there is a screw you face if I’ve ever seen one.

So Devos turns Uther into an angel. Look how warm her wings are now that his past is also her purpose.
Also notice that she is blocking the light…or should I say, the Light. The light right behind her is yellow.

And there he is, a nice, warm, dwelling in the past angel who is still in a predominately blue palette. Visually this shot is genius.

But check this out. His eyes are white, almost like he is…blind?

When you can’t see things, you get infiltrated, and when you get infiltrated, you get betrayed.
Sometimes ideas are what infiltrate you. Like maybe when you desperately want Justice, not Vengeance, and then you are asked about Punishment.

Ooh, look at her eyes. Blue and glowey. Huh.

And Devos and Uther make sure that they are the Ascended who pick up Arthas when we kill him.

Arthas, my son. The sad, sad music, the sad, sad corpse. The poor kid who was manipulated and betrayed (!) into becoming the second greatest evil our world has ever known.
Speaking of blind, Arthas couldn’t see the Lich King coming, couldn’t see the evil of the Burning Legion, never saw the evil that he became.
The light on his face is blue/white, the colors of Bastion. We read left to right, there is a warm glow coming for him.
He is reaped by a pro, Devos the Paragon takes him personally, no sorting hat for you, Arthas (is that Justice?). No doubt as to her purpose now.
A cool palette for the sad corpse. Darkness for the hand that takes him. And then, in contrast, the Maw. Once again, the warm palette is the future, and danger.

So, Devos knew that the Maw was compromised, yet she still thought it would be a great idea to send Arthas there? Hmm.
“I see only darkness before me.” “Return him to the Darkness he served.” Eep!
But also, he sees only darkness, Devos is that darkness, Devos covers his eyes, makes him blind.

Well hello, green. Her hand blocks out the blue, and what is left in the depths? The Burning Legion, that’s what.

“His eternal suffering awaits,” says Devos. Uther looks at Arthas. Just a boy, really. Someone who was dear to him. Someone who is at rest in a completely cool blue palette. No sword, no helm. No corruption.
The warmest colors in the shot are Uther’s arm and the light where Devos hovers. Even the light on Arthas’ face is again blue/white.
Uther falters, but Devos plays on Uther’s anger, and demands he takes Vengeance.
And the die, or rather Arthas, is cast from the cool blue into the orange and red of an ominous future in the name of Justice.

And it ends with an act, an act of Vengeance or Justice? Either way, I predict this is going to come back and bite us.
Uther is above us, a warm palette against the cold blue of Bastion. In this shot, we are Arthas, and were he conscious to see it, this would be his last sight.
Devos’ wings now have green in them.
And ooh, Uther has glowey blue eyes! Y’know who else has glowey blue eyes? Yeah ya do, just sayin’

This piece is beautiful but in the end it asks more questions than it answers. And that is ok.

Uther’s soul was wounded by Frostmourne. What does this mean for Sylvanas? She was also killed with Frostmourne.
Sylvanas has been to the land of the dead before, as have we. We both met Helya there. Sylvanas worked a deal with Helya and we still don’t know what that was.
Could Sylvanas be searching for the origin, the mind that gave Arthas Frostmourne, the mind that is behind all of this?
Will this lead her to the Burning Legion by way of the Jailer?
The Burning Legion doesn’t seem ultimately competent enough for this long a game (so to speak). Is someone behind them? Who do they truly serve.
And then there is the Light, and the Void, how do they fit in?
And what about the Valkyr? And, and… So many questions….

TL;DR: With apologies to Mr Shakespeare, something is rotten in this state of Bastion.