You know whose arc gets me every time?
Dameon’s. Dameon Maurva’s arc is so beautiful and significant and affects not only himself but multiple other characters and also the entire heckin plot of the game and it moves me Every. Single. Time.
So I’m going to rant about it, welcome to the post I’ve been waiting to make for fourteen years.
First of all, this precious sun, this dear one, this absolute angel, was most likely raised mainly by an Ahriman sympathizer– like, c’mon, am I supposed to believe Talia kept a child in the dream realm? Even without the nightmares it’s dangerous, and very isolated. If something were to happen there would be nowhere she could send Dameon while she dealt with it. It’s one thing in fanfiction, but when I actually consider the logistics, either she was a truly terrible, irresponsible parent, or Dameon lived in Aveyond with his father. I’ve played Ahriman’s Prophecy; responsibility is Talia’s middle name. Dameon was raised in Aveyond.
He has to have been a lonely child. He most likely had no human friends, and definitely none his age. Maybe the binis or fairies or sometimes Vata babysat him when Mr. Maurva was unavailable. Maybe not. Either way, such contact couldn’t replace his need for love and validation from his incredibly busy and important parents.
He probably constantly sought his parents’ approval and was constantly falling short because how do you impress an immortal sun priest, millenia old and the last of his kind? Especially one who is apparently becoming disenchanted with the ideals he once fought for, the ideals his fellow priests died for. How do you impress a half-fairy who saved the world at the tender age of 17, who then became the Guardian of Dreams and is responsible for the safety and well being of every mortal creature? Especially! When! You only see them when they’re not busy keeping the universe running smoothly!
Furthermore.
Please understand that I love Talia and do not wish to vilify her in any way. I point out her flaws because I love her, because her shortcomings are so human and tragic and are part of what make the story as impactful as it is. And Talia… does not easily express affection. She is not likely to have cuddled Dameon during the times his father took him to the Dreamworld– which just can’t have been often, I just can’t imagine a parent who even kind of cared about their child taking them to such a place frequently. She is not likely to have praised him or spent any notable amount of time showing interest in his interests. I do not say this to condemn her. She had a lot of responsibilities. She had never been a mother before– and yes, she had a great example of motherhood in her Grandmama, but her own mother also left her in the care of others, abandoned her to pursue a louder call. Is it any wonder that she ultimately did the same to her own child?
She has no real relationship with Dameon. Even without all the evidence I have already laid out, this much is obvious in the way they speak to and about each other. Talia doesn’t even mention Dameon is her son when she first tells Rhen about him. She gives him no more than an epithet, “Dameon, the sun priest.” She does not express particular concern over his safety, even though she knows the druids are in danger and she herself was almost killed.
And Dameon calls her “mother,” and it is not because of the dialogue style of the game. Talia calls her parental figure “Grandmama.” Rhen calls Tailor “Pa” and “Daddy,” and Ma is known only as “Ma.” But Dameon calls Talia “Mother,” and his father “Father,” because that is the level of familiarity between them. The Maurvas live a strict, solitary life. Is it any wonder that Dameon is stiff and formal at the beginning? Is it any wonder he struggles to connect with others beyond a thoughtful compliment or an antiquated form of greeting? He doesn’t like himself, let alone trust himself. No one has ever taught him how to. He is so isolated, and lonely, and touch-starved, and unloved, and if that was the end of his character it would still move me. But there is more.
Talia literally killed his father, her own husband. It had to have happened when Dameon was still very young. If you take into account Devin’s apparent age, and the fact that a barely-aged Jack in av2 remembers Alicia as queen of Thais when we know that you can only ascend to the throne of Thais if you are married, and a few other details which I would be happy to pull up if anyone is interested, you will realize that Dameon can’t possibly be more than a year older than Rhen. More likely, he is younger, and this would be in line with the other canon ships we see throughout the Aveyond series.
And we found out in Rhen’s Quest that his father was murdered “many years ago.” MANY! YEARS! He was still a child, maybe 11 years old, at my best guess. He most likely hadn’t even attended a magic school yet. It’s possible he wasn’t even thinking about it. And then he had to take the position as Druid of Light. When he was a child, still mourning the death of the person most precious to him, at the hands of the only other person he could have had any semblance of a relationship with in all of Aia.
The people who were supposed to be teaching Dameon how to be gentle, loyal, and upright instead taught him how to hurt, and betray, and murder those closest to him. Even without Ahriman’s influence, how is a child raised in that environment supposed to turn out healthy and good?
And yet he is still good! He is gentle and thoughtful towards not just Rhen but everyone he meets on the quest. That includes heckin MAD MARGE if you forgot. That includes an actual ogre. That includes people who are spiteful and dismissive towards him. He treats Rhen like she outranks him, the Guardian of the Sun, when she is still a peasant with a practice sword. He is kind to literally everyone except Talia, and he is at least respectful even to her. He never raises his voice at her. He never calls her anything except Mother. Never traitor, never murderer, never any of the curses we know Amanda had no qualms about using because she used them plenty in AP. Just Mother.
In fact he appears to be the reason Ahriman decided against killing Talia. Yes, Dameon wants justice for his murdered father. I think anyone who is being honest with themselves can admit they would, too. But he doesn’t want to kill her. He doesn’t want her to die. He just wants her to understand what she did, to understand the hurt she caused. He is apparently so against killing her that Ahriman has to change his carefully laid plans before he can convince Dameon to change sides.
And consider. During all of this, Dameon is literally possessed by Ahriman, or under his demonic influence, or however you want to phrase it. This influence likely began even before the game, but even if you ignore that, it is no small thing. Remember how quickly Mel became corrupted under this influence? Remember how quickly Galahad, who resisted the urge to drink blood for actual centuries, became corrupted? The fact that Dameon has any shred of goodness at all, after years of exposure to such darkness, even if you ONLY take into account the actual duration of the game, is evidence that Rhen is right; Dameon has a genuinely good, incredibly strong heart.
And speaking of that conversation. Please allow me to share some of my favorite screenshots in the entirety of the series.
My precious sun really went from this:
To having this very level-headed and respectful conversation, of which I have shared only two tiny snippets:
To THIS:
This. Is tangible, real difference, at a rate which makes sense, and I am so proud of him. I have seen people try to dismiss it, and his other development, by saying he is just pretending in order to make Rhen trust him. That literally. Does not make any sense. First of all, if this was part of his efforts to persuade Rhen to join Ahriman he would have done absolutely anything except agree that perhaps Talia was right. He would have tried to convince Rhen that Ahriman was right, not admitted he may have been wrong. And second, even if you ignore that incredibly obvious discrepancy, he either would have forgotten about the conversation with Rhen by the time they returned to the sun shrine and his mother asked him the question again, or he would have pretended to have forgiven her completely. Instead, he acts as though he is uncertain, because he is uncertain.
And his actions in the dream realm, confronting and fighting Agas for attacking his mother and desecrating her shrine, prove that he is sincere. Of course it takes him some time. Of course he hesitates. Forgiving someone for taking your parent from you is an enormous act. Forgiving someone you trusted for causing you that much pain is unfathomable. His progress is profound and inspiring and does not deserve to be treated like any less.
And he makes this progress while still under Ahriman’s influence! Can you even imagine! Aasgakadgjlkjklj. He tries to do what he believes is right even at the cost of those things most precious to him, his beliefs and ideals and the sacred memory of the person who raised him. ONE conversation prompts him to question everything. While Ahriman still has possession of him. I cannot even begin to comprehend being that brave. And this is just one small example.
I have seen many negative, unfair evaluations of the fairy dust scene. It is deeply tragic to me that such an important, eloquent, beautiful symbol could be so widely misunderstood. I have tried to explain it before. Allow me to indulge myself once again.
Fairy dust always reveals the truth. This effect is well established, not just in Rhen’s Quest but even in Ahriman’s Prophecy. It heals physical wounds (aka HP) and reveals the truth, and that’s all. There is never any indication that it can change hearts or magically “goodify” anyone or anything. It is not a deus ex machina. It was included specifically to exclude the possibility of that interpretation. It only reveals the truth, and if Dameon had already been aware of the truth, or if he truly honestly wanted the same things Ahriman wanted, it would have changed exactly nothing. That’s why Rhen’s choice to use it is so significant. It shows that she trusts him, as he is. She knows that he has a good heart and will do what is right when he knows what that is; she has been saying so for the whole game. In the final battle she gets the chance to prove she believes that.
And she does.
And she’s right.
When the truth is revealed to Dameon, he follows it, at the cost of his chance for justice, at the cost of living forever, safely, with the one person who has ever shown him any significant amount of affection, at the cost of everything he ever dared to want in his short, lonely, miserable life. While still under Ahriman’s demonic influence! Ahriman is still in his head! And he chooses to resist even though it means he will lose everything.
Now, this whole plot could have worked without the fairy dust. Previous cutscenes in the game have already proven that Dameon listens to Rhen. The screenshots I included are just a few examples of this; trust me, I could go on for a while. Dameon believes her and believes in her and trusts her, where he doesn’t trust himself. Amanda could have had Rhen just tell him what to do. Rhen could have had another conversation, told Dameon to switch back, and that would be that. It would be consistent and believable with what had happened in the game thus far.
Except then Dameon still wouldn’t trust himself, or like himself. He would still be lonely and self-loathing and miserable, or even if he wasn’t, there would be plenty of room for that interpretation.
But instead Rhen gives him a choice. Instead Amanda makes it clear that his redemption is not Rhen’s responsibility, or her decision, or her doing at all. All Rhen does is throw the fairy dust, and then lets Dameon realize what is right, and choose for himself what action he will take. She gives him the opportunity to trust himself, to believe in himself, for perhaps the first time in his life. She makes it clear that she believes in him. She gives him the support he’s been starving for his entire existence, and then she steps back, and let’s him choose.
This part is so significant for her arc, too. I have ranted about it elsewhere but allow me to sum up: Rhen has spent the game feeling like she doesn’t have a choice, and questioning her own judgement and her own significance. Dameon is the first to give her a choice, one which she seriously considers. She realizes she’s always had a choice. And she finally acts on her own judgement, without prompting from anyone else (in fact, without prompting even from the player, because as you might recall the choice the player is offered has always been “fight Dameon,” and yet Rhen never lifts a finger against him). She trusts her own heart and invites Dameon to trust his. She has always been a hero but this is the moment she really steps fully into the role. She saves herself. And then she gives Dameon the choice to do the same.
And they fight Ahriman, at staggering personal costs. Dameon fights while, again, still under Ahriman’s influence. He has to fight Ahriman physically and mentally, or spiritually, or all of them, most likely. He is not free until Rhen plunges the Sword of Shadows through Ahriman’s heart.
This part. I cry every time and I am crying thinking about it. Dameon has been a prisoner for likely as long as he can remember. His father supported Ahriman. He likely let that influence into the sun shrine. He let it affect Dameon. Dameon has likely never known a life without that darkness. Or if he did, he was too young to remember it. And now, finally, he is free. There is light for the first time. And because Rhen gave him a choice, he has the confidence and experience to stay free, to make himself and be proud of himself and not be just what he thought his parents wanted.
His gratitude to Rhen is profound. He has always been respectful and supportive of her, he has always listened to her and trusted her, as demonstrated during their first conversation when she meets him in Aveyond, and their conversations in the manor in Sedona, and every other tiny interaction they have. He looks up to her immensely.
And I think that is part of why he is so resolute about continuing in his role as the Druid of Light. Rhen has spent the game shouldering responsibilities that no one else could or would. Being the Guardian of the Sun is his responsibility, and he is determined to follow her example.
It is also the only thing he has ever known.
In the midst of his own uncertainty, still reeling from his own losses, resigned to a lonely eternity in his childhood prison, he still offers Rhen his support and devotion. This is before she ever makes her choice. He listens to her, sympathizes with her, and encourages her. He loves her, explicitly, out loud in canon dialogue, in literally. Every ending. No matter what she chooses. Nobody ever taught him how to love and yet he does it so scrupulously.
And in the canon ending, the True Ending as many of us like to call it, he finally, finally gets a chance to grow beyond his family’s legacy. To love someone and be there for her. To be adored by her. To be happy. To make a difference. To live a good life and die of old age and be buried beside his best friend and true love, and to face the shadowy unknowns of the afterlife together. And he accepts it, in an instant.
This is redemption not only for himself but for Talia, and Nino. All the Maurvas with their good intentions, who never got to see their happy ending because another call was too strong. Talia gets a second chance to watch her son grow, this time in a kinder world. And she gets a second chance with one of her dearest friends. Nino’s legacy of absence and broken trust is finally set right. They all get a second chance to become who they intended to be, before they heard the calls they could not ignore. All because Dameon chose truth and love over every other voice, at every cost.
It was a very fairy-like thing to do. In overcoming his families’ legacy, he steps into their true heritage. Aian Fairies value truth and love most of all.
There is an inscription on the statue that guards the fairies in AP. It has always resonated with me and I think it will help describe what I mean here:
Heart of gold thy secret guards
Love, felicity, light
Gaia’s precious children
I am moved. I do not know a better way to say it. Dameon Maurva inspires me, and comforts me. His example has made me a better person. He has made me a happier person. I am so grateful to Amanda for being brave enough to tell the story she did, and being brave enough to stick by it. Her story changed my life and I honestly, truly do not believe I would be here without it. Her story saved my life, and I can never praise it enough.
Now please enjoy this Dameon fanart I’ve made over the years
I actually had a really, really hard time choosing a favorite character. I love alll of them. But then I realized I have never drawn just Dameon by himself, and also, how could I pass up this opportunity to explain to the world why I love him so much? So here we go.
Dameon lost a lot. He lost his father, who he clearly looked up to and loved, and he lost his relationship with his mother, who he had trusted and respected. That’s not a small thing and I think his anger is understandable, and even a necessary part of processing what he went through. His example of emotional honesty helped me to get through my own losses.
I also think Dameon is incredibly brave. Loss like that is not an easy thing to face or to try to work through, especially when it means perhaps you will find that you have been in the wrong, but he does face it and try to work through it, without even an apology from his mother, with only a little encouragement from Rhen.
Also, before the final battle, when those feelings of hurt and anger are still very strong, when Rhen throws the fairy dust at him and shows him that he really has been wrong, he has to choose between those feelings of anger and hurt, which have been the only guide he had for a long time, and between the truth, which is still unfamiliar and strange to him. (Side note in case anyone doesn’t remember, all fairy dust does is reveal the truth, no weird magical mind-control stuff, guys, I promise. See dream guardian fairies in AP, and cave fairies, time temple fairy, and Rhen in Aveyond.) And still Dameon chooses to put aside those feelings and do as the truth requires. Even though that means losing everything he has worked for– revenge which he thinks will bring peace, and a secure place in the world, and life forever with Rhen, who he loves and trusts and I think needs at this point. Can you imagine making that choice? Either you can have everything you ever wanted doing what apparently is the wrong thing, or you can lose everything for the sake of what you have just learned is right.
I think choosing the truth when he knew it was incredibly courageous and showed that despite everything, he had a good and gentle heart (like Rhen has been saying this whole time, eh?). And if Dameon can be good and gentle, I think there’s some hope for the rest of us.”
There is a cat because cats fix everything, and also because Dameon is definitely a cat person and he was definitely friends with all of the binis. This bini is Morsel. Because for whatever reason I headcanon Morsel is the cuddliest. Have I thought about this too much? Yes. Yes I have.”
First and most obvious, I guess, is that Ahriman used Dameon as bait for Rhen. Less obvious is that the Oracle used him– to bait Ahriman, or Rhen, or who knows, she doesn’t explain but since she could tell that Rhen was the chosen one from 1 apparition meeting, she had to have some inkling that Dameon was too from literally living under the same roof, so she clearly had something sneaky going on to not have acted on that information. Then we come in to more headcanon-y stuff: if Mr. Maurva was anything like Talia says he was, it’s easy to see him using Dameon against her in arguments, especially since he would have had a closer relationship with their son than Talia, since Talia could only see him when he visited the Dreamworld (and he could only visit if his father brought him. So.). Building on that, it’s easy to see Talia doing the same sort of thing back out of desperation. And Dameon would always be stuck between, used as a weapon or a goad or a lure instead being allowed to be a child. Which makes me sad:c
Some of the hands are based on one of the above ideas and some are just there because I like to make myself heartbroken. The most important conceptually are his father’s hand clenched over his heart, Talia’s hand not quite reaching him, and Ahriman’s hand on its way to cover his eyes.
Idk why I hate myself.
Rhen please come rescue your boo we are both distressed”
Made this for a cute and kind person who deserves a hug right now. Hopefully you know who you are:)”
![Custom heart [Golden Yellow]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/b5e2f191-8afc-460f-bf42-cb1bcfc43d36/d73c79u-b07b35c4-4385-4f6e-810f-a1ddcc167598.png)
Memory Caverns 