About Caylen's location... (Spoilers)

So I just finished the main story of the new update. The part at the end in the Nameless Pass was fantastic, the devs did a great job building tension through the level with the battering ram making the earth shake in the nameless pass, and the boss fight was solid. The cutscene with the watcher was straight up chilling. It kinda felt like the end of the world.

That said, what’s up with Caylen?

I always assumed the city was underground, with the giant gate being the only entrance, and that’s why no one could go in and out, and also why all those things come flying out of it at the end. But then we follow the Madrigal through the tunnel, and we find the city right out in the open, sitting cozy atop the mountain, with the clouds and the sun in the background. So what exactly was preventing the monsters and the plague from just going over the mountain? I mean, they can fly.

I have the same question. It’s supposed to be a “Mountain’s Gate”. I was also confused to why Madrigal speaks as if she knew the city, didn’t was the city a very ancient one? Because the events of Caylen happened many years ago.

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Just spitballing here but if it’s an actual mountain, the issue is not the height but the freezing temperatures. Even if they tried to fly over it they would get iced.

Just because a creature can fly it doesn’t mean it gain infinite altitude.

It’s not that high, the city is clearly at a much lower elevation than the gate itself, and if you can see the horizon it means there are no barriers surrounding the city. Only thing I can think of is maybe that’s not the sun and the clouds, but some artificial light source inside the cavern? someone would have to confirm.

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She said she grew up there, and the city was just a normal city until the gate closed a year before the events of the game, when the pestilence first re-appeared.

Ohhhh, that explains everything. How I miss that. Who closed the city?

the gate shut autonomously when the pestilence came. the ancients built it to do so, as they knew shit would hit the fan

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I suppose the city was in the open before, but judging by the lighting and the effects by now, I assume the red light is not the sun, but rather lava or other demonic forces(red whispers maybe?), and the bright light coming from behind is some sort of “hole” in the mountains that let some sun light in.

idk maybe the city was not build in a mountain, but the mountain grow around it? Or its bases suddenly melt into magma, sinking the city into the volcano pit? During the endgame, as the watcher said, “the city answers”, and what used to be quiet lava pit suddenly turn bubbly and steamy, eruption everywhere. I suppose it’s gotta tell more story than just a jumping puzzle?

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Yeah I hope we get more context with this… I guess it’s possible that it’s an artificial light source but… it follows the in game day/night cycle and isn’t a fixed red glow (picture below for ref). So I’d guess it is indeed the sun/moon we observe in the background?
Worth noting, upon leaving the cave the sun/moon has the same angle to the payer in the outside world.

It could be that Caylen is in a valley and is trapped with geographical features, hence the tunnel we pass through on arrival. But as you’ve noted, they can fly haha. I’m very curious.

Maybe there is something keeping them there like moths to a flame similar to the behavior of the villagers in the woods to the North. Moon has already shown the pestilence has an impact on the will of those it possesses.

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