Atziri

Lore & Background

The Vaal Empire was the greatest civilization to ever form on Wraeclast, and its queen, Atziri, ruled during its height. The Cataclysm was triggered by the Vaal's overuse of thaumaturgy and the Beast's awakening, not by Atziri merging with the Beast. The player does not time-travel to the eve of the fall to meet Doryani; time travel is instead linked to the Temple of Atzoatl and the Incursion league, where the player character (not a separate 'Exile from the first game') interferes with the temple's construction by killing its architects and workers. Doryani, a royal thaumaturge loyal to Atziri, died during the Cataclysm and did not join the player as an ally. Atziri's legacy is one of catastrophic hubris, as her civilization's actions directly led to the fall of her empire and the spread of corruption.

In Their Own Story

The source recounts that the player, guided by Sin, travels to the ruins of the Vaal civilization and finds an ancient time machine that allows them to travel back in time to just before the fall of the Vaal civilization, on the eve of the Vaal Queen Atziri's disastrous attempt to merge with the Beast. Upon arrival, the player is immediately met with violent opposition as the Vaal mistake them for a previous time traveler who kept interfering with the construction of the temple of Atzoatl. After fighting the guards, the player meets the royal thaumaturge Doryani, defeats him, and convinces him that the Vaal Empire would end that very day. Doryani then joins the player in the present time to pursue the Beast. The story of the early access version ends at this point, with the Cataclysm destroying the time travel machine and stranding the player in the past.

Reader's Guide

Atziri is a historical figure in Path of Exile 2, not a present-day antagonist. Her significance lies in her failed attempt to merge with the Beast, which triggered the Cataclysm that destroyed the Vaal Empire. The player encounters the consequences of her actions when they travel back in time to the eve of this event. The player must fight Vaal guards and defeat Doryani, the royal thaumaturge, before the Cataclysm occurs. Atziri herself does not appear as a boss in the early access content; her role is entirely backstory. Her story serves as a warning about the dangers of attempting to control the Beast, a theme that continues with Count Geonor and Oriana in the present-day narrative.

Did You Know?

• The Cataclysm that destroyed the Vaal civilization was caused by the Vaal's overuse of thaumaturgy and the Beast's awakening, not by Atziri merging with the Beast.
• The player does not time-travel to just before the fall of the Vaal civilization; time travel is associated with the Temple of Atzoatl and the Incursion league.
• The time traveler who interfered with the construction of the Temple of Atzoatl is the player character from the Incursion league, not a separate 'Exile from the first game'.
• Doryani was a royal thaumaturge loyal to Atziri who died during the Cataclysm; there is no canonical event where he joins the player as an ally in the past.
• The Cataclysm destroyed the Vaal civilization, but the player is not stranded in the past by a time travel machine in this context.