Bosses

The glint colossus (above, in Glints) and the glass storm (in Hazards) also have phase breakdowns.

The Sallow Wyrm — sallow_wyrm (boss)

• Region: The Sallow (the Drowned Steps).
• Look (VEL-51 concept): A huge river serpent made of reflections, rising in a tall S-curve out of the slow Sallow beside the Drowned Steps, the stone stairs descending into clear water with faint glyphs carved on the drowned steps. Its thick body is translucent blue-green water, armoured in large overlapping plates of polished mirror-glass that each reflect a different piece of sky. It has a broad, blunt, eyeless head with a smooth mirror face and a short frill of glass fins. Silhouette: a tall S of water rising from the river into the upper middle, with the head as a bright disc at the top. The plates opening is the visual for "hit it now".
• Behaviour (phases):
  1. Rising (100–65%). A head-strike every 6 s for 14. Plated: its mirror plates make a 40-point shield. Repel's stagger opens the plates for 3.75 s (rule 1). Then Coil hits the water body. This is the Story Bible's "Repel to stagger it, Coil to hurt it". Tell: the head draws back and the fins flare, 1.5 s.
  2. Undertow (65–30%). It sinks and surges from one side every 8 s for 20. Repel can't hit it while it's under. Tell: ripples run toward the player from one side for 2 s, so Brace in time. After each surge it rises for a 3 s window with its plates open.
  3. The Drowned Hum (30–0%). The river goes mirror-flat, as it did after the first cast at the farm door. The Wyrm's face shows the player's own reflection, its plates close for good, and it strikes every 4 s for 12. Only stagger windows work now. Every perfect-quality Repel (90%+) staggers it for 5 s instead of 3.75 s, a nod to the first cast.
• Counters: Repel (tier 1) to open, Coil (tier 1) to hurt, Brace to take the surges, Mend between phases. Every answer is a mirrored spell, because Act 1 is the mirrored act. Later, when Act 3 warps bring the Wyrm back (optional), Bevel Lash ignores the plates.
• Rough stats: HP boss (600, 5x the golem). Damage mid, then high (14, 20, 12). Speed normal, slow, fast (6 s, 8 s, 4 s), first attack 8 s. maxHp 600, attackDamage 14, attackIntervalSeconds 6, firstAttackDelaySeconds 8, shield 40 open on stagger (new), phases (new), color "#5FA8A0"
• Drops: wyrm_plate (a key item, granted once: a mirror plate that shows a different sky; Sister Orla, the Tender healer at Halfway, says it's still wet, and in Act 1 Harl can set it into a still_water_locket for 25 copper), still_water x3. The Drowned Steps' lower glyphs can be seen again once the water calms (a hook for a later fragment).
• Where it appears: Act 1, the Drowned Steps (set piece, encounter sallow_wyrm, scene 5.3). Act 1 now uses this design: 600 HP, the plated 40 shield opened by stagger in place of Act 1's guard 0.25 rule, three phases, 120 XP. (Idea) It could come back, optionally, in Act 3, when the warps reach the Sallow.
• Model notes for Meshy: static, animated in code. A serpent needs a spline or chain rig, not Meshy's (VEL-51): the body as 6–8 segments moved along a curve in code, with the plates as parts. References: sallow-wyrm-ref-a.png, sallow-wyrm-ref-side-a.png. The water body comes out of Meshy opaque, so translucency is a Unity shader job.

Ondine's mirrored chorus — mirrored_chorus (finale, phase one)

• Region: The Heart Pane.

• Look (VEL-51 concept, Act 4 cast): Evane casters in a half-ring of standing stones on the Heart Pane, a vast flat mirror with the sky above and below. The concept shows five mages under one enormous mirrored seal. In Act 4 the chorus is four voices, each a faction head with a glyph band glowing in their colour: Tamsin for the Wardens (pale blue), Mother Bramble for the Tenders (violet), Keeper Hale for the Keepers, and Choirmistress Wen for the Still Choir. Dace refuses to sing, so the Waymakers have no voice. Prelate Ondine Ash, a stern grey-haired woman in a tall white and pale blue high-collared robe, conducts from behind them and can't be targeted in this phase. Silhouette: a half-ring of four figures under one huge glowing seal, with a fifth behind. The seal filling in is the clock.

• Behaviour: One enemy with four voices (new). The chorus beat: every 6 s, a ring of pale light rolls across the Pane, hitting the player for 10 and pushing the Pane gauge 8 towards Still. Each voice adds its faction's answer:

  • Wardens (Tamsin): every third beat, a 15 shield on the chorus. (Idea) At tamsin.trust ≥ 3 she steps out on her own when her voice drops below half, and the voice ends there.
  • Tenders (Bramble): heals the chorus 10 a beat.
  • Keepers (Hale): every other beat, the player's breath window is 20% shorter for 8 s.
  • Still Choir (Wen): every fourth beat, the player is silenced for 3 s.

  Breaking a voice (350 HP each) removes its ability, and that faction head steps out of the ring and kneels. A head who sits the finale out is replaced by a Warden mender with the same ability at half strength. Sung over: a mirrored cast at 85% or better on a voice cancels that voice's next ability, so the chorus can be beaten at its own game. The Pane rule (Act 4): mirrored casts at 80% or better get +25% power and push the gauge 4 towards Still, and under 60% they do half; parallel casts do normal power and push one hazard off the Pane; asymmetric casts get +25% power and push the gauge 6 towards Shattered, which makes the chorus cast harder to compensate; a cross-side thread moves the gauge 10 back towards 0. At −100 the Pane freezes, and asymmetric casts fizzle until the gauge is back above −80. Tell: the voice about to act brightens in its colour for 1 s before the beat.

• Counters: Precise mirrored drawing sings over the voices. Bevel Lash (tier 3) ignores the Wardens' shield. Hush (tier 1) on Bramble stops her heals for 8 s: break her first. Hasten (tier 1) cancels Hale's short breath, and precise short spells still fit. Calm (tier 1) clears Wen's silence, and Drift (tier 2) avoids the beat that carries it. Cross-side threads keep the gauge in the middle. They are human, so Glass rule 3 doesn't apply.

• Rough stats: HP boss in total (four voices at 350 each: 1,400). Damage low (10 a beat). Speed normal (6 s), first beat 6 s. voices: chorus_wardens, chorus_tenders, chorus_keepers, chorus_choir maxHp 350 each (1,400 total), attackDamage 10, attackIntervalSeconds 6, firstAttackDelaySeconds 6, group of voices (new), voice abilities (new), gauge 8 towards Still a beat (new), color "#7FD4FF"

• Drops: none. It's the finale. Story outcomes (reputation, the ending) follow the Act 4 walkthrough.

• Where it appears: Act 4, the Pane arena (pane_chorus_break, scene 4.14), on the Help Iver and Stop both paths. On the Help Ondine path the same chorus is the ally the player guards (mirrored_chorus_ally).

• Model notes for Meshy: humanoid (Meshy rig): the four faction heads' character models in a ring (Tamsin, Bramble, Hale, Wen), each with a glowing glyph band, and Ondine behind in silver (from VEL-50's character sheets). A Warden mender stand-in reuses warden_menders. There is only a battle concept (mirrored-chorus-a.png). It is Act 4, so VEL-66 can skip it.

Iver Kest, the Cutter — iver_kest (finale, phase two)

• Region: The Heart Pane.
• Look (VEL-51 concept): Iver Kest, "the Cutter", a lean, wild-haired Facet radical in a ragged asymmetric dark slate coat. One arm is bare and scarred, and the other is sheathed in jagged mirror-glass plates. He drives a long blade of amber crystal down into the Heart Pane, and the mirror surface cracks outward around him in jagged lines while huge shards break loose and rise into the sky. The Culet cut works the cut line behind him with glass picks. Amber light, with teal and violet edges. Silhouette: a single lean figure with a long bright blade, the cracks running out from him across the floor. The cracks reaching the player are the threat.
• Behaviour: The cut: every 5 s a cut pushes the Pane gauge 12 towards Shattered and opens a crack under the player, which does 3 damage a second until it is cleared (new). Bevel Lash: every 6 s, 18 that ignores shields. Crown Surge: every third attack he draws it, paying in his own HP, and his next cut lands for 40. At half HP he pulls his sleeves back, and the player sees his sealed palms in close-up (a short cut-in: he was un-taught as a boy). His casting speeds up: a cut every 4 s. Tell: the blade rises and the crack's path glows; his sigil (a circle and a broken line) flares before a Surge. Held asymmetry (rule 4). He yields at 0 HP.
• Counters: Mirrored casts at 70% or better seal a crack, because they make world and reflection agree again (rule 4). Parallel casts push a crack off the Pane. Brace and Facet Seal don't stop his Bevel Lash, but Drift (tier 2) dodges it. Hush (tier 1) silences him through a Surge, or Prism Snare (tier 3) stops it. Repel staggers him for 5 s (rule 4). If both companions stepped out in the interlude, Tamsin's Brace opens the fight and Rook's Facet Seal comes once at half HP (Act 4 scene 4.15).
• Rough stats: HP boss (700). Damage high (18 a Lash; cracks 3 a second; the Surged cut 40). Speed normal, then fast (5 s, then 4 s), first attack 5 s. maxHp 700, attackDamage 18, attackIntervalSeconds 5, firstAttackDelaySeconds 5, cut every 5 s: crack 3/s and gauge 12 towards Shattered (new), Bevel Lash every 6 s, pierce (new), Surged cut 40 every third attack (new), faster below 50% (new), stagger x2 from mirrored (new), color "#FFC66B"
• Drops: none. It's the finale.
• Where it appears: Act 4, the Pane arena (pane_shatter_stop, scene 4.16), on the Help Ondine and Stop both paths. On the Help Iver path he is on the player's side: his cuts work beside them against prelate_ondine.
• Model notes for Meshy: humanoid (Meshy rig), with the glass-plated arm and the amber blade as separate props, and a sleeve-pull animation for the half-HP cut-in. There is only a battle concept (the-cutter-a.png). It is Act 4, so VEL-66 can skip it.

Prelate Ondine — prelate_ondine (finale, phase two)

• Region: The Heart Pane.
• Look: Prelate Ondine Ash, the centre figure of the chorus concept: stern, grey-haired, in a tall white and pale blue high-collared robe. With the chorus broken she stands alone at the Pane's centre and holds the last ward over it, a dome of pale blue measuring lines. Silhouette: one upright figure inside a ruled dome of light.
• Behaviour: The ward (new): it agrees with mirrored spells, so they do a quarter of their damage to her. Measure: she hits back with a third of the biggest hit she took in the last 6 s. A Repel-like stagger every 8 s: 10 damage, and the player's next cast starts 2.5 s late. Allied cuts: every 6 s Iver's cutters deal her 15 and push the gauge towards Shattered. She holds the ward until the gauge reaches +100: (Idea) until then she can't fall below 1 HP. Then the ward breaks and she yields. Tell: a pale blue L draws itself facing the player before the stagger.
• Counters: Parallel and asymmetric spells (tiers 2 and 3) are the way through. Asymmetric casts also push the gauge towards the break. Steady hits beat one big one, because Measure throws back a third of the biggest. Prism Snare (tier 3) stops her. Drift (tier 2) dodges the stagger.
• Rough stats: HP boss (600). Damage low (10; Measure throws back a third of her biggest hit). Speed slow (8 s), first attack 6 s. maxHp 600, attackDamage 10, attackIntervalSeconds 8, firstAttackDelaySeconds 6, stagger on player (new), ward: mirrored damage x0.25 (new), measure: a third of the biggest hit in 6 s (new), allied cuts 15 every 6 s (new), ward breaks at gauge +100 (new), color "#7FD4FF"
• Drops: none. It's the finale.
• Where it appears: Act 4, the Pane arena (pane_shatter_join, scene 4.16), on the Help Iver path only.
• Model notes for Meshy: humanoid (Meshy rig): Ondine's named-character model (VEL-50's character sheets), with the ward as a dome VFX of pale blue measuring lines. It is Act 4, so VEL-66 can skip it.

From Bestiary › Bosses