The Gates of Rixis is a complicated, but plot critical, discovery to make.
Description[]
A huge stone face that stands quietly, buried deep in the forests of Ixa'taka. The stones have been fitted so tightly together that not even an insect could crawl between them. It is a remnant of an ancient civilization.
Location[]
The simplest way to reach the Gates of Rixis, once it is possible to do so (see below), is to follow the direction of The Great Bird's beak northeast between the two closest spire mountains. After passing between the mountains turn slightly to the west; this discovery is the boulder-like stone head located at the foot of one of the spire mountains, visible as a small square-ish shaped rock artifact.
Information[]
Although rather easy to spot once available, it can only be found once the player has satisfied the following three criteria:
- Discovery of The Great Bird completed and the resulting dialogue completed,
- Discovery of The Golden Man completed and the resulting dialogue completed,
- The storyline has advanced beyond the point where the player is directly instructed to look for the Gates of Rixies.
Until these requirements are satisfied the game treats the Gates of Rixis as if it does not exist: it is not rendered, it does not cause the compass to spin, it cannot be interacted with, and it otherwise CANNOT BE DISCOVERED EARLY. After the requirements are met the Gates of Rixis inexplicably becomes visible and appears as a large, boulder-like stone head at the foot of one of the spire mountains.
After making the discovery, the party moor the ship and enter the grounds of the gate. The player is presented with a silent puzzle in which they will be required to place the two stones, taken from the discoveries required to make the Gate accessible in the first place, into the empty eyes of two small statues flanking the gate. When done correctly the gate will open in a stupendous display of ancient engineering and the Lost City of Rixis will become accessible - within which the crescendo of the Ixa'taka plotline begins to unfold. Thus this discovery is mandatory in order to advance the storyline.
Trivia[]
The Gates or Rixis and it's various dependencies are notorious among the fanbase for being game-breaking when used in combination with certain cheat engines and/or mods. Most specifically, forcing an 'all discoveries made' cheat to count (either all or individually) The Great Bird, The Golden Man, and/or The Gates of Rixis as discovered without interacting with them in-game in a properly context sensitive way usually results in a softlock where the gates or Rixis either cannot be found or opened. As such, players predisposed to using modified software are advised NOT to use all-unlock style codes until AFTER this section of the game is completed.