The Turned Throne and the Burnt Tree

The story of the Turned Throne and the Burnt Tree refers to a significant event in the history of Cvstodia and has a direct impact on the game's story.

Escribar sitting in the Turned Throne.

It begins with His Holiness Escribar, who turned his holy throne away from his congregation, possibly due to the fact that he felt powerless at the hands of The Miracle. He sat in his throne and would not face his congregation, thus this period of time is referred to as Age of the Turned Throne. Some stretch of time later, he began to grow branches from his arms and body; his skin turned to bark, his blood turned to sap. He was transformed into a massive, enormous tree that towered far above the cathedral.

The Burnt Tree.

This great tree that was Escribar either caught fire or was set on fire by the other bishops, and proceeded to burn for ninety days despite the presence of heavy storms. The tree was so large that when it finally stopped burning it left behind a mountain of ash, with the Turned Throne sitting at the top, empty. When the wind blew, it covered the Mother of Mothers in a thick, gray cloud of ash. The Miracle drove priests and parishioners alike to attempt to climb the mountain and reach the throne, but all of them were swallowed by the ash.

People attempting to climb the mountain of ash.

When the dust settled, everyone who was trapped in the mountain of ash began to remerge as the Hordes of the Miracle or The Punished. They had been transformed into beasts of faith and rage, only concerned with carrying out the will of The Miracle. Among them was Escribar, reborn as the Last Son of the Miracle.

These events took place long before The Penitent One appeared, possibly centuries according to dialogue from Desamparados in the comic. Cutscenes throughout the game feature dialogue from Escribar referring to this event.

At the end of the game and after defeating the Last Son of the Miracle, The Penitent One will climb the mountain of ash in an attempt to reach the Turned Throne.

Relevant Item Descriptions

Smoking Heart of Incense The Works and Graces of the Sorrowful Miracle. First Verse. The great dry tree into which His Holiness was transformed by work and grace of the Miracle burned in a night of heavy storms. It burned for ninety days, and as it was consumed, it left an enormous pile of ashes that covered the cathedral’s main ambulatory tower, leaving His Holiness’ Turned Throne on the top. All those who were present, and those who arrived and tried to climb to the summit, were swallowed by the ashes. And the cathedral fell silent.

Heart of Virtuous Pain The Works and Graces of the Sorrowful Miracle. Second Verse. The wind blew strongly through the fractures of the cathedral that the Great Tree had originated, lifting the ash creating dense gray clouds, hiding the whole Mother Church and drowning her in a deep darkness of lead. The ground began to tremble. Then a terrible cry was heard from the depths of the mountain of ash. And that cry was joined by more and more. Guttural screams, animal roars, monsters, and one which was heard above all: the scream of all old man, which resounded gravely, as out of the throat of a giant.

Heart of Cerulean Incense The Works and Graces of the Sorrowful Miracle. Third Verse. All those who were once swallowed by the ashes emerged from it in great hordes: the Hordes of the Miracle, the Punished. With only faith in their minds and only rage in their guts. Willing to punish all those who had escaped from such a holy fate, from the will of the Miracle itself.

Heart of the Single Tone Watch them. Watch as they climb up the burning ash. Watch how they crawl like hungry beasts. The ash swallows them up one by one, insatiable. Such is the faith that the Miracle stirs in them. It makes them climb towards the Turned Throne by promising them a communion that will, indeed, happen, but not in the way they expect. Soon, when all of them have been swallowed up, they will be reborn, filled with faith that neither you nor I will ever get to comprehend.

Relevant Dialogue
Escribar	There is no answer to our plea, the Miracle has forsaken us, and my ornate throne turns its back on those who await here.
Escribar	I feel my blood turning into black sap, and my aged skin into reddish bark.
Escribar	I see everything from the highest point of the dried tree in which the Miracle has reincarnated me.
Escribar	I burn from the inside out, and my smoke is a fog that conceals everything.
Escribar	I awake now, from the silver ash that had been my cradle. The Miracle calls me.
Deogracias	...That first relic is here, at the top of the ashen mountain next to the Turned Throne where His Holiness was kissed by our Miraculous Pain...