[Spoiler Alert]Trust the process - a theory on how Lari did nothing wrong

Hi all! Just wanted to share some thoughts and revelations, of a somewhat newbie guy when it comes to lore.

I love the Wynncraft for it's gameplay, but mostly for it's world. The explorations, secrets and story, are what makes me want to run around and take joy from doing random stuff, that isn't necessarily the progress (which is why, I might have finished the NoL raid just recently).

You most probably know the Nexus questline and how the community likes to trash on Lari for being a useless hero :P I've seen some criticism about the writing, but for me, this was a really nice and believable story. The characters had many flaws, maybe too much, and some actions didn't make sense, but that's what makes a proper, idealistic and emotional tragic hero. And I dare say, that it's not only a story to excuse that we have bad stuff corrupting a Gavel continent so we have content to play through, but also a valid reasoning and story for why it HAD to happen.

After this intro I will now get to the actual point, I really hope that it'll have at least some nuance, as I don't recall to have seen similar approach to the story, though I also don't use forums like these too often ^^'

1. Why Lari?
I mean, I feel like it's just assumed that Lari was picked for the job, or she wanted the job. She got light powers, can turn into avata-... uh.. angelic state. She's the gal that works for Orphion for about 1000 years. But the choice didn't come from Lari alone. Orphion is the big boss. He has enlisted her - and what's most important - he did not change his mind until we come around.

2. A gift that keeps on giving.
So, through the entire questline we are shown how incompetent Lari seems to be. She couldn't save Grootslangs, as she was too invested into her experiments that lead nowhere. She didn't delete the parasite when it was still weak. She failed Dullahan, her only friend. Led to the corruption of his body and his soul. To live the eternal torment in the undeath, not willing to face the consequences of her actions, she just trapped him and left, for all the sacrifices he made, and all sufferings he endured. She then fails and fails again, gets replaced by us, who get the job done. The actual moment when she decides she is willing to alt-f4 someone is out of jelousy, that we're the new favourite pet of Orphions, and not her - not the death of her partner, not the decay of the realm.
She. Is. Terrible.
And while I liked Lari as a character, in the storytelling sense, she gets quite unlikable later on. I am not surprised to see so many people meme about Lari and hate on her for funsies.

3. Well, ahkshylly
If you give it more thought, you might discover a bigger picture here. After all, the whole point of Orphion's plan is to see the bigger picture, and act for the ultimate good.
When you look at the failings of Lari, she obviously is to blame to make all these decisions. She is the one that made them. But she was put in these situations by Orphion himself. The second we appear with Lari when she gets frustrated that she's not getting any progress, Orphion makes himself present. For the first time since a millenium, if I'm not mistaken.And this is when he's deeply weakened, realm is quite devastated, and Realm of Light is endangered.
We are not approached by Orphion when we're alone. There's no situation akin to "wow, a competent guy, I'll get him to help me instead of Lari". Orphion taunts Lari, and he has a purpose in this.
In the second quest, we are shown the gate to the... not the realm itself, but a Taproot, that's connected to it in some way. Orphion's presence is stronger there and he shows us some visions, tests us, and welcomes to see more, to understand. And to be the tool to break Lari.

Because, you see, we're designated as Lari's companion. or actually, we're the main guy now, while she's getting demoted (demoted? Yet still she possesses the power of Orphion, and we do not). Shortly after we're being shown that we're not her first companion on her quest. there was Dullahan. And the third quest shows us in detail how bad of a friend and partner Lari is. And how bad of a champion she is. Because Dullahan, he was her support. He was a voice of reason, that told her what will happen if she won't commit 0hp on the parasite.. But he was not a replacement. He begged her to change her ways, he barged into the battles, he held his own quite well! Imagine what he would be able to do with Orphion's powers... but he was not offered those. And remember, we were the ones to be offered a choice. To be tested, if we're fit for the job. And if not, (for the gameplay reasons or maybe not necessarily) we are made to understand the morality that's required to succeed. We made the right choice. We were presented to Lari, as a successful "chosen one", unlike her. But this is now, this is quite late, the damage was done, and it was being done for 1000 years! If only, a different heroic person was available at the time, with a mettle to face off dangers, to take over the role of the champion, and deal the final blow... Dullahan was not chosen. Dullahan was, same as Lari, filled with emotions. He was impatient, and while impatience would definitely be a nice trait, compared to 1000 years of stubborn pacifist approach, he was not the great and ideal person. He doesn't have to be, for the purpose of the grand scheme, but he did put himself into situations, with the person he known well, and he threw himself into the fate knowingly. Lari is not fully to blame, they two were really out of sync, more than they knew. But out of those who were present at 0AP, Lari has been presented with the test. And most importantly, Lari has succeeded the test.

4. Ey yo, back to the point please.
So, summarizing it all, few points are left to be addressed. After the Nexus of Light raid, we speak with Orphion. He is not mad when talking about Lari, although he showed his discontent with her before. He also speaks of other dangers. The war, the other Beast and the Queen of Fruma. Lari is MIA, fighting Ba'kal, but we don't have any reasons to believe her fate has ended. If we look at all the evidence, and put the emotions aside, it just looks like Mayor vs Doctor dillema again, but on a continental (literally) scale. The parasite dug in. It corrupted the land, spawned a lot of beasts and corruption spawns. The villages, cities, burned. Families, perished. Dullahan, broken and tortured on so many levels. Lari. Disgraced, taunted, broken as well. And quite frankly - forged.Why now? Whatever future Oprhion have foreseen, he didn't need to destroy mere parasite, to save 1 zone out of dozen in the Gavel continent (like literally, if you think about it, Lari did contain the corruption, and while those inside suffered greatly, the continent has not been consumed). He prepares for the conflict that will resolve quite soon. And he needs Lari - and us, tested and battle ready. To know the enemy. To know the reality of how ugly the task is, but that it needs to be done. To be able to rely on each other (mostly Lari I quess, we like to follow orders after all), and to face whatever circumstance that the Devs will throw at us at (possibly?) the Dernic expansion. With the key role for fueling the war - sustaining the status quo of the corruption running rampant if I'm not mistaken? And the Devs suggesting the Realm of Light, The Silent Expanse and upcoming Fruma storylines are connected. With a lot of hero tier characters that lose their lives or disappear into nothingness (I am looking at you Aledar!!) I think that Lari's story will play a pivotal role in the most important plot of Wynncraft.

But heyy, that's just some rambling!
Probably too much of rambling!
Thanks for reading!

But to actually close this ;p What are your thoughts? Is it something that you had on mind already, and I'm just late to the party? Does it make sense for you as well? And do you think Lari will come back in Fruma, maybe for a cameo at least? I'm quite curious on the community's opinion on that!

 

This is really cool! I agree with a lot of your theories and I don’t personally think of lari as bad, just put in a bad situation

one note- the evil in gavel is the Decay, not the Corruption