A Cleansing of Gold

Patch: 3.0 · Chapter: Heroic Saga of Flame-Chase · Mission 07 of 10Previous: Kremnos, Cleanse Thy Rusted Blood (I) · Next: Kremnos, Cleanse Thy Rusted Blood (II)

Official summary

Aglaea begins a personal investigation after discovering that Okhema might have been infiltrated by Nikador. Beneath the woven golden threads, that which is filth has nowhere to hide. However, the Council of Elders responds to her with an unfriendly attitude, hinting at dark currents running beneath Okhema's peaceful surface.

Synopsis

This mission is a perspective interlude. While Phainon, Castorice, and the Trailblazer press into Kremnos, the game hands the player control of Aglaea through the Fate's Ensemble system, and the entire chapter unfolds from her point of view back in the "Eternal Holy City" Okhema. The subtitle of the perspective is "Aglaea: Effulgent Blindness."

The Garden of Life: Caenis's warning

The mission opens on the tail end of a confrontation in the Garden of Life. Elder Caenis of the Council of Elders is lecturing Aglaea, reminding her that authority — whether held by the Chrysos Heirs or the Council — is only ever entrusted by the people of Okhema. She warns Aglaea against overreaching, invoking the fate of the "heroes" of the Chrysos War as a cautionary tale, and tells her to have "her" refresh the history if Aglaea has forgotten it (a pointed reference to Tribbie/the Trinnity).

Aglaea answers with the prophecy's promise:

Aglaea: Do not be concerned, Elder Caenis. Following the prophecy's guidance, we shall cast down the gods — in the new world, no god will stand above humankind.

Caenis, unimpressed, notes that "the pampered little girl has grown up to be a shrewd politician," and departs with a barbed hope that at the next Council meeting Aglaea won't be "the one standing in the middle, facing the judgment."

With Caenis gone, Tribbie worries over Aglaea ("Agy"). Aglaea brushes off the elder's words as "an empty threat... a reflection of their inner fears." When Tribbie apologizes for being too immature to shoulder these burdens with her, Aglaea gently darkly offers to "slice their throats with golden threads" and dissolve the Council — then reveals she's teasing, cheering the flustered Tribbie up. She reflects: "We find humor in hardship because our humanity still endures."

Turning to business, they discuss the infiltration that "Snowy" (Castorice) had mentioned. Aglaea reveals she has already detected "hidden currents within the city" on her own and does not need the Chrysos Heirs' intel. She refuses to alert the city guards — doing so would panic Okhema's citizens if they learned that enemies could bypass the Chrysos Heirs and slip into the holy city. She tells Tribbie to stay focused on preparing for the Blade of Fury, and to leave the infiltration to her.

Gathering intel from the Garmentmaker

Aglaea's inner monologue reveals the depth of her worry. She reflects that Nikador, the Strife Titan, "would never resort to this if they were in their right mind," and wonders what caused the Titan's loss of divinity — an answer she hopes Castorice and "that outlander" (the Trailblazer) can uncover in Kremnos.

She collects the intel her nymphs have gathered from the Garmentmaker. The infiltration has spread through the lower city but has not yet reached the baths, so the risk remains manageable. Aglaea resolves that "the rift must be sewn shut with golden thread before disaster occurs."

Marmoreal Market: cleansing three anomalies

Aglaea travels to the Marmoreal Market to personally clear three corruption anomalies the nymphs have flagged, taking care to keep everything secret.

Anomaly 1 — the Cautious Guard. A young city guard has noticed the strange phenomenon and is debating whether to report it. Aglaea intercepts him, explains that "corruption and madness are lurking behind these anomalies," and secures his vow of silence. She notes privately that the guard "reads between the lines well" and would have a bright future "if the end weren't so near." She then draws hundreds of golden threads into the corrupted void, extracting hidden Titankin (spawn of Nikador) — she scorns them as soldiers "stripped of all glory, lurking in the margins like a parasite" — and destroys them (a wave of Furiae Warriors), erasing every trace.

Anomaly 2 — the Silent Girl. Aglaea finds a deaf child standing near the next anomaly. Unable to communicate by voice, Aglaea wraps a golden thread gently around the girl's palm to connect their hearts directly. The girl explains that her knucklebone talisman fell into "this really frightening place" and she's too afraid to reach in. Aglaea promises to retrieve it, asks the girl to turn around and count to thirty, then cleanses the corruption (Furiae Philosophers and Archers) and recovers the bracelet.

The reunion is a quiet character study. The girl calls her "big sis," which visibly affects Aglaea. Aglaea warns her never to play alone on the streets, even in Okhema, because "your vulnerabilities will make you a target for others' malice... it's easier to do wrong than to do good — believe me, I know from experience." When the child says she looks as beautiful as Goddess Mnestia (the Romance Titan) on the teleslate, and gifts Aglaea the knucklebone talisman for luck and protection, Aglaea is quietly moved and admits, "it seems I've forgotten how to talk to a child. Your innocence feels so distant to me now."

Anomaly 3 — Spirithief Bartholos. The final anomaly is hidden in an unassuming corner where infiltration could be catastrophic. When Aglaea's threads reach in, they snag not a Titankin but the thief "Spirithief" Bartholos. He flatters her clumsily — mangling the sky father Kephale's name as "Phakele" — and claims he was heroically destroying a "crazy stone monster" to protect Okhema. The corruption traces have indeed vanished, so his story half-checks-out, but Aglaea can tell he's nervous.

She uses the encounter to ask about Cipher, another thief. Bartholos insists they are rivals, not allies, and would never cross paths. Aglaea gives him a message to pass along:

Aglaea: As demigods, we can't avoid our duties forever.

She then correctly deduces Bartholos is hiding stolen goods in the filth and orders him to return what he stole. He invokes Zagreus (the Trickery Titan) for a burst of speed and flees. Aglaea catches him effortlessly (the Spirithief's Trickery mini-game), recovers his loot, and lets him go. Bartholos bitterly complains that no one in the city would care if he starved — to which Aglaea drily notes he doesn't actually need to eat at all. She dismisses him with a final reminder to deliver her message to Cipher.

Caenis's ambush: the Council's true stance

With the three anomalies cleansed, Aglaea senses she is being watched and calls the watcher out. It is Elder Caenis again — revealed here to have been, during the Chrysos War, "a top assassin with a lifetime of 'purging' experiences," i.e. an assassin who hunted Chrysos Heirs. Caenis admits Aglaea noticed her informants long ago and stayed silent to lull the Council into complacency while keeping everything technically within Council regulations.

Caenis lays out the Council's real position plainly:

Elder Caenis: ...the Chrysos Heirs' governance of the holy city is only temporary, a provisional transfer of authority during these extraordinary times.

Elder Caenis: While gods see and hear more extensively, mortals have their own means of dealing with things. When that so-called prophecy crumbles... the destiny of Okhema shall once again rest in the grasp of its people.

Aglaea sharply asks whether that means the people's grasp "or yours, Elder Caenis?" Caenis reveals that nearly half the elders voted against entrusting the holy city to Aglaea, and that she is only one voice among the dissenters. She warns that in Amphoreus, "even 'gods' are not above the law," and expresses curiosity about how long Aglaea can keep doing things by her own hands.

Aglaea's reply frames her resolve:

Aglaea: I will employ every means at my disposal to save Amphoreus, Elder Caenis. Whether it means wresting it from the grasp of the gods... Or yours.

Return to the Garden of Life: the Century Gates and the silent prophecy

Aglaea returns to the Garden of Life and finds Trinnon (one of the Trinnity's three aspects) making defensive arrangements for Okhema. She reports the city cleansed. Trinnon confirms all possible precautions against Nikador have been taken, but it cost them dearly — Trianne is near her limits.

Aglaea presses on their real resource: how many times can they still open the Century Gates?

Trinnon: Taking this time into account, she should still be able to open the Century Gates three... no, maybe just two more times.

After that, per their agreement, Tribbie will take over as the gatekeeper. Aglaea falls silent, then concludes that "waiting seems to be our only plan now." Trinnon agrees: they will wait in the garden.

In the mission's final beat, Aglaea asks Trinnon — whose perception encompasses the world — whether the prophecy remains as clear as when it first descended. Trinnon confirms it does: golden runes still shimmer against the azure sky, myriad word-fragments dancing around Kephale. But when Aglaea asks whether it foretells the triumph of Phainon and the others, Trinnon reports something unprecedented:

Trinnon: It... remains silent, seemingly cognizant of the outcome... though it's unwilling to let us in on the answer just yet.

Aglaea accepts that they will find no comfort in the prophecy this time. Her closing thought reframes her faith in Phainon over fate itself:

Aglaea: So be it. If indeed he is fate's chosen child... then the prophecy is nothing more than a footnote to his tale.

The perspective returns to the Trailblazer's POV with a closing line: "When you have a chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret."

Key characters

• Aglaea — Chrysos Heir and de facto governor of Okhema; the sole playable/POV character this mission. She personally cleanses the city's corruption in secret, spars politically with the Council, and reveals a weary, guarded interiority (the "big sis" encounter, her faith in Phainon over prophecy). Wields golden threads that extract and destroy corruption and connect hearts directly.
• Elder Caenis — Council of Elders member, and a former Chrysos War assassin who "purged" heroes. Serves as the mission's political antagonist, articulating the Council's belief that the Chrysos Heirs' rule is temporary and that mortals — not gods or prophecies — should hold Okhema's fate.
• Tribbie / Trinnon / (Trianne) — the three aspects of the Trinnity. Tribbie worries over Aglaea and is being groomed to become the next Century Gates gatekeeper; Trinnon manages Okhema's defense and reports on the prophecy's silence; Trianne (unseen) is exhausted from opening the gates.
• "Spirithief" Bartholos — a comedic thief hiding stolen loot inside the corruption; a construct who does not need to eat. Recaptured by Aglaea and tasked with relaying her message to Cipher.
• Silent Girl — a deaf child whose lost knucklebone talisman Aglaea recovers; her innocent kindness gives Aglaea a rare humanizing moment.
• Cautious Guard — a perceptive young city guard sworn to secrecy about the anomalies.
• Garmentmaker — Aglaea's intel contact who collects the nymphs' gathered information.

Lore notes

• Perspective interlude via Fate's Ensemble. This mission runs entirely from Aglaea's POV (subtitle "Effulgent Blindness"), parallel in time to the Trailblazer/Castorice/Phainon expedition into Kremnos.
• The infiltration of Okhema. Corruption/Titankin (spawn of Nikador, the Strife Titan) have infiltrated the lower city — bypassing the Chrysos Heirs — but not yet reached the baths. Aglaea suppresses the news to prevent panic. This is why she was cleansing the city rather than accompanying the Kremnos expedition.
• Titan epithets confirmed: Nikador = Strife Titan; Kephale = Worldbearing Titan (the "sky father" invoked in blessings); Mnestia = Romance Titan; Zagreus = Trickery Titan. Titankin are the corrupted spawn of a Titan.
• Nikador's lost divinity. Aglaea notes Nikador "would never resort to this if they were in their right mind" and wonders what caused the Titan's loss of divinity — flagging Kremnos (this chapter's main thread) as the place that answer lies. [?] The precise cause of Nikador's corruption is the open question the concurrent Kremnos missions are investigating.
• The Century Gates. A limited resource: Trianne can open them only two or three more times before her power is exhausted, after which Tribbie takes over as gatekeeper. This establishes a hard countdown on the Chrysos Heirs' strategic mobility. [?] What exactly the Century Gates connect to and how their use is being rationed.
• The prophecy's silence. The prophecy (golden runes around Kephale) remains clear but has gone conspicuously silent on whether Phainon and the others will succeed — the first time it withholds an outcome it seemingly knows. Major foreshadowing that events in Kremnos fall outside or beyond the prophecy's guaranteed script.
• Council of Elders vs. Chrysos Heirs. Establishes a live political fault line: the Council views Heir governance as a temporary wartime measure, nearly half the elders opposed entrusting Okhema to Aglaea, and "even 'gods' are not above the law." Caenis's assassin past ties this tension to the earlier Chrysos War.
• Cipher — an as-yet-unseen thief/demigod Aglaea is trying to reach through Bartholos, telling her "as demigods, we can't avoid our duties forever." [?] Cipher's identity, duties, and why Aglaea is summoning them.
• Bartholos is a construct who does not need to eat — a hint about the nature of some of Okhema's inhabitants.
• The Blade of Fury — the ongoing threat Tribbie is preparing against, connected to Nikador's forces in Kremnos.

Sources

• A Cleansing of Gold — HSR Wiki

Hindsight (full arc)

• Foreshadowing: Caenis, revealed here as a Chrysos-War assassin who "purged" heroes, pays off in 3.3 The Fall at Dawn's Rise — she leads the revived Cleaners and the Council coup as the "27th Caenis," cornering Aglaea in her bath.
• Foreshadowing: The Council's stance that Heir rule is only "temporary" builds to the citizens' assembly vote (3.2) and the outright coup (3.3).
• Reread with the reveal: The prophecy going silent on Phainon's success is the program registering an off-script outcome — his divinity trial fails (3.1); the "prophecy" is later exposed as the Scepter's code (3.4).
• [?] resolved: Cipher and Aglaea's relayed message resolve in 3.3 (Cifera, the Trickery demigod); Bartholos is Zagreus's diminished "Spirithief" / "Embers of Trickery" form (3.3).
• Foreshadowing: Trianne's exhausted Century Gates and the hand-off to Tribbie foreshadow the soul-splitting cost of Janus's divinity (3.1) — each Gate regresses the bearer toward infancy.