By Liam Ferguson
There is a lot of history to dig into for Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, and much of it comes to a head in the game’s three endings.
In a year with a few big metroidvanias, Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights gave many fans something to chew on before Metroid Dread. Ender Lilies is a beautiful 2D action-platformer, serving as a sort of counterpart to Hollow Knight. Players take control of Lily, a young amnesiac girl who sets out into the destroyed kingdom of Land’s End. The kingdom was devastated by a Blight in the form of never-ending rain, turning the inhabitants into undead monstrosities. As Lily purifies more inhabitants, their spirits will sometimes stay to assist in attacking and movement.
The setup for Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a simple one, even if there are some wrinkles thrown in regarding the protagonist as a non-combatant. However, much like the Dark Souls games that inspired it, Land’s End holds a great many secrets. Lily has a reason for being there, even if she doesn't remember it. The player can learn much of what has befallen the once-grand nation, and they can use what they’ve uncovered to choose one of three endings.
RELATED: ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights is a Dark Souls Checklist
Escaping Ender Lilies’ Horrors
The first ending is an escape. The player first needs to make their way to the Land’s Edge area on the far right edge of the map, deep into the game. After that, they need to continue going right until they find an area where red and white lilies grow, and purify the gigantic white lily at the edge. Lily collapses after taking in so much Blight, compounding what she's been absorbing throughout the game.
The spirit of the White Priestess of the Fount appears and absorbs all of the Blight within Lily. With the Blight gone, Lily is relieved from her duties as a Priestess and the Umbral Knight spirit encourages her to go beyond the kingdom's borders. Due to their Deathless Pact, they cannot leave the broken land, which Lily accepts after giving the Umbral Knight a farewell hug. While Lily is able to escape the horrors of Land’s End, many of its secrets remain undiscovered. This ending is reminiscent of many horror game endings where the protagonist simply leaves before their fate is sealed.
Finding the Core of Ender Lilies' Problems
The other two endings are dependent on whether the player has completed a major sidequest and is wearing an important item. After much exploring, the player can come across the Subterranean Lab that makes up the Verboten Domain. It is here that many of the game’s mysteries are revealed, such as the lineage of the White Priestesses dating back to the Ancient civilization that once controlled the land. Due to inferior efforts in purifying the Blight, the problem grew worse over time. The court sorcerer Faden tried to help, but his experiments made things worse.
The White Priestess Fretia and her allies realized the kingdom simply could not hold out against the Blight, and attempted to strike at the Blight Lord. The effort was a success, but it turned out to be too much Blight for even the strongest White Priestess. The Sorcerers’ Coven decided that the clones of Fretia made by Faden could be sacrificed to siphon off Blight, but something went wrong (possibly due to Fretia’s maternal love for her clones) and the Rain of Death began. The entire kingdom was infected, the clones scattered and died, and the duty to solve everything was left to the Umbral Knight (who was secretly an undead Ancient) and Lily, the final clone created. It's the perfect apocalyptic setup for a Souls-like.
Purifying the Blight Once and For All
This information, found only by exploring, is vital to understanding what is really going on in all the endings. The “escape” ending turns out to be a sacrifice performed by all those who care for Lily, including her biological mother Fretia and her best friend Ferin. The second ending is earned by simply defeating the final boss, Fretia, who is the new Blight Lord. Lily merges with her to help ease her suffering and purify the Blight. It’s unclear if their resulting form will be able to purify or contain the Blight, but at least the two are finally together.
A more unambiguously happy ending comes if the player doubles back right before the final boss’ chambers. After subduing the corrupted spirit Faden, the sorcerer reveals that he had scattered stone tablets across Land’s End that could be merged to reconstruct the Aegis Curio. This Ancient relic was designed to lessen the impact of Blight on White Priestesses, and equipping it allows Lily to purify the Blight Lord by herself. Fretia is set free from her entrapment, and her spirit thanks Lily before passing on. As the Rain of Death ceases, it appears Lily succeeds in purifying the Blight in a lasting way, though whether she leaves the kingdom or not afterwards is up to interpretation. Seeing as this is the “true” ending, it would make sense for Ender Lilies to end on a happy note.
Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Knights is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
MORE: 10 Best Indie Games of 2021
