Avowed Ancient Soil quest: Should you pick Thirdborn or Paradis?

At the end of the Ancient Soil quest in Avowed, you will be asked to make one of the game's tough choices: advise the survivors to relocate to Thirdborn or Paradis. While it's not among the more nail-biting decisions the title imposes upon you (at least in terms of the immediate stakes), your choice here still impacts the fate of the Fior Mes Iverno settlers.

Those who have not reached the end of the Ancient Soil quest yet, look away. This Avowed article is going to discuss some spoilers regarding the ending of this quest. However, to explain the future ramifications of the two choices, we will keep things as vague and spoiler-free as possible.

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Avowed: Should you send the people of Fior Mes Iverno to Paradis or Thirdborn?

Quilicci drives a hard bargain (Image via Sportskeeda || Xbox Game Studios)

To summarize, at the end of the Ancient Soil quest, the town of Fior Mes Iverno will no longer be a livable (or breathable) place.

It's possible to save Fior Mes Iverno from burning if you deal with the Steel Garrote detachment hiding in Waterfall Cave beforehand. Even in this scenario, Vidarro realizes the impending threat of a Steel Garrote invasion and realizes that Fior Mes Iverno is not going to stand for long.

Thereby, regardless of what precautions you take, Avowed will dangle the same choices in the no-longer-burning city at the end of Ancient Soil:

• Send the survivors to hide in Paradis
• Send the survivors to seek resettlement in Thirdborn, Shatterscarp

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Sending the survivors to Paradis

Sending the displaced people of Fior to Paradis is similar to running into a hornet's nest. Yet, Governor Vidarro will side with this decision, saying that it's better to hide in plain sight, as the Steel Garrote will eventually comb all of Living Lands. This would mean that no independent settlement is safe from the eventual invasion.

Consequences (Spoiler): Vidarro's Gambit actually pays off — at least for the time being. Depending on what ending you pick to resolve the Aedyrian imposition crisis at the end, the Fior Mes Iverno Citizens settle down in Paradis just fine.

That said, there's a more imperial-leaning ending you can pick that can jeopardize their future and freedom. Aedyrians and ethnic Vailians have never got along very well in Pillars of Eternity history, so it's unlikely they will meet a pleasant fate if the Aedyr's expansionism is not stopped.

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Sending the survivors to Thirdborn

Sending the refugees to Thirdborn is the most immediately common-sensical choice in Avowed. Rauatai and Vaillians are not the best of friends, but in Thirdborn, they complement each other's needs very nicely.

This is the exact logic that Pere Quilicci gives you, so most players will likely be slightly oriented towards this choice.

Consequences (Spoiler): By the time the credits roll, the people of Fior and the Aumuan population of Thirdborn get along quite well. Yet, depending on what choices you make in the main questline through Shatterscarp, there is some more tragedy to be had.

Without spoiling what exact choice is offered, we can say this: the people of Fior may potentially lose even more loved ones if you send them to Thirdborn. On the other hand, not sending them to Thirdborn will redirect some of that death toll to the people of Thirdborn themselves.

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Ultimately, the short-term good ending for most of the Fior Mes Iverno survivors will be achieved if you elect to send them to Paradis. However, what is a good ending for one group of people may not avoid a tragedy for another.

Check out our other guides on the game:

• Avowed weapons tier list
• All Unique Grimoires in Avowed, and how to get them
• All Unique Arquebus in Avowed, and how to get them
• All Unique Daggers in Avowed, and how to get them