Good fantasy stories need to strike a very careful balance with their lore. They need to have enough world-building to feel like an expansive, living, breathing location that an array of colorful characters could inhabit, but they also need to ensure that the main story doesn’t get too bogged down inoverly complex lorethat isn’t totally necessary for the core narrative.Avowedmanages to strike this balance fairly well.
ImplementingAvowed’s lore was likely both a blessing and curse for developer Obsidian. The world of Eora had already been well fleshed out by thePillars of Eternityduology, which meant thatAvowed’s world was already set in stone. ButAvowedwas marketing itself as a standalone adventure, and thus needed to condense all of that lore down into accessible, easy-to-digest chunks, all while not pairing things back too much for long-timePillars of Eternityfans. As such,Avowedgives a good overview of the franchise’s core lore concepts, but there’s often more information hiding beneath the surface, such as with “Berath’s Wheel”.
The Lore of Avowed’s Berath’s Wheel Explained
What is Berath’s Wheel?
InAvowed’s world of Eora, when someone dies, their soul leaves their physical body. That soul travels to the nearest pillar of Adra, a crystal-like structure which acts as a sort of living vessel. Veins of Adra then take that soul to The Beyond, the ethereal plane where the gods reside. The soul then waits in The Beyond until a new physical body is ready in the realm of the living. Once brought back into the world, most reincarnated people and creatures do not remember their past lives.
When that new body dies, the process begins again. This cycle is believed to be a natural process of the world, and is thus named “The Wheel,” and it’s believed thatthe god of death and life, Berath, is the one who controls the process, hence “Berath’s Wheel”.
Watchers are able to view other people’s past lives.
There’s More to Berath’s Wheel Than Meets The Eye
Though The Wheel was originally a completely natural process (as the people of Eora still believe it to be), it hasn’t been that way for quite some time. Around 2,000 yearsbefore the events ofAvowedandPillars of Eternity, the ancient beings known as Engwithans learned how to manually manipulate soul energy, commonly referred to as Essence.
With soul plagues becoming more frequent due to issues with The Wheel’s natural process, the Engwithans decided to use their newly learned skill to aid the process of reincarnation. Alongside the Huana tribes, the Engwithans created a powerful machine in the city of Ukaizo that could direct the flow of souls.
In creating this device,the Engwithans became gods. Eothas became the god of renewal and light, and was tasked with guiding souls to and from The Beyond, while Berath became the god of death, life, and cycles, charged with maintaining this new hybrid Wheel process. The gods also found that the movement of souls through The Wheel left behind Essence, which they used to sustain their lives.
Berath’s Wheel is Broken in Pillars of Eternity 2
Atthe end ofPillars of Eternity 2, players discover that Berath’s Wheel is not a completely natural process. There are several ways the game can end, but the one considered canon sees Eothas destroying the Engwithan machine, restoring The Wheel to its natural state. It’s unclear how the machine’s destruction will affect the reincarnation process, but it’s believed that any possible ramifications won’t be seen for a few generations yet.
