Are you befuddled by the tasks in The Cycle of Love in The Blood of Dawnwalker? This quest, which is the conclusion of your battles against Xanthe, takes place in a keep. Along the way, you have to illuminate your surroundings to access new pathways. Oh, and you also have to consider Xanthe’s offer at the end. Our guide has all the info that you need, but be ready for some minor spoilers, too.
Xanthe’s demise – The Cycle of Love
The Blood of Dawnwalker Cycle of Love quest appears in your journal once you’ve maxed out Xanthe’s anger toward you. As such, you have to spend some time in the campaign taking out her blood guards and disrupting her research into ancient ruins.
Down the line, one of Brencis’ soldiers, Leonard, will show up and ask you to eliminate Xanthe. He’ll give you a lantern that grants access to her lair, a foreboding castle called Howling Keep. Be ready because you’re about to venture into one of the creepiest areas in the game.
Note 1: Howling Keep is west of Tantari Woods. Once the quest is active, track the “Get to the mansion” objective to make the marker appear on your map.
Note 2: Xanthe also appears in the Svartrau City cathedral at night, and only once fairly early in the game. With a bit of luck and skill, you might just be able to finish her off there.
Howling Keep puzzle – Xanthe’s Lanterns
The key mechanic in The Blood of Dawnwalker Howling Keep puzzle involves Xanthe’s Lanterns. The fortress itself has numerous statues of desiccated humanoids, and placing a lantern in their hand removes the corrupted growths that block your path.
Once you’re inside the main hall, take a look at your surroundings. There’s one statue on the ground floor and two on top of the stairs.
Iasmina and the Painted Door
Let’s start off by heading up the staircase at the back of the main hall:
- Open the door to the second-floor hallway. You’ll see a statue with a lantern but you don’t need to grab it yet.
- Enter the room to your right to meet a woman named Iasmina. It seems that she’s terrified of the Painted Door.
- This painted door is at the end of the hallway, but the path is barred since there are two statues and you need two lanterns.
- In any case, take the lantern in Iasmina’s room and go back to the staircase overlooking the main hall. Place the lantern in the statue there to prevent the door from being barred.
- Return to the second-floor hallway outside Iasmina’s room and take the lantern. Then head back to the staircase and grab the lantern that you just placed.
Legendaries and manuals
All right, now you have a couple of lanterns. Here’s what you need to do next in The Blood of Dawnwalker Cycle of Love quest:
- As you’re walking down the staircase, enter the room to your right and place a lantern in the statue’s hand.
- In the adjacent room, you’ll find a Cycle of Ruin Manual and a letter from a certain “L.” Looks like there’s another vrakhiri in Svartrau City, and you can meet her in a quest called A Friend Like This. Pick up the lantern when you leave the room.
- Next, go to the staircase at the opposite side of the main hall. Place the lantern here.
- The two rooms off to the side should become accessible. You’ll find the Recipe for Venom Claws Ampoule (epic consumable) and Recipe for Potent Aetheric Attunement (legendary consumable).
- The Relic of St. Dassius is also on a bench. It’s a legendary amulet with witchcraft ability damage, witchcraft health cost, AC restoration (actions), and AC restoration (passive).
The yard and the kennels
After our little looting detour, it’s time to proceed deeper into the keep:
- Make sure you still have both lanterns with you. Place one of them in the hand of the statue on the ground floor.
- Enter the yard and defeat the spectral enemies. Then, check the small building just beyond. You’ll find a Recipe for Supernatural’s Blood Infusion (epic consumable) next to the cadaver of a woman.
- Take the lantern from the statue in this room. This will cause the corrupted growths to disappear, revealing a trapdoor.
- Drop down and defeat more zombie-like enemies and loot the Key to the Kennels. It unlocks the door that leads you back to the main hall.
- Take the lantern from the statue on the ground floor and eliminate all the hostiles that spawn.
The Painted Door: Chariklea and Xanthe boss fight
You’ve got three lanterns with you now, so it’s time to conclude The Cycle of Love quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker:
- Return to the second-floor hallway and go to the end. You’ll be able to place lanterns in the hands of both statues.
- Pass through the Painted Door and talk to the mysterious girl named Chariklea. (It’s eventually revealed that she’s Xanthe’s daughter.)
- Suddenly, Xanthe will attack Coen, tossing him back to the yard.
The Xanthe boss fight in The Blood of Dawnwalker can be somewhat tricky due to her mastery of witchcraft and demonic spells:
- Wicked Tendrils – Lashes out with tendrils/tentacles.
- Boiling Blood – Creates glyphs on the ground that explode after a short delay.
- Life Leech – Seeps your health to restore her own.
- Life Orbs – After depleting each health segment, she’ll spawn several orbs that gradually restore her health.
- Blood Rush – When she’s low HP, she’ll keep rushing toward you before triggering an explosion.
Xanthe’s Boiling Blood and Blood Rush abilities can be dodged, so no worries there. As for her Wicked Tendrils, you can hold down the block button and press the directional input where each tentacle is coming from. If you can block these in quick succession, she’ll be staggered briefly. As for her Life Orbs, just destroy them quickly to prevent her from regenerating too much health.
Attempting to talk to Chariklea (left) leads to a fight against Xanthe (right).
The Cycle of Love: Xanthe’s deal and Chariklea’s fate
Unlike Ambrus and Bakir, Xanthe doesn’t actually want to die. In fact, she’ll make a deal:
- If you spare her life, she’ll help you during the finale when you storm Greifberg Castle.
- Of course, you could still drain her blood. Then, when you end up in Anachora, you can invite her soul or leave her to rot in vrakhiri limbo.
In any case, once you defeat Xanthe in The Blood of Dawnwalker, you’ll receive the following rewards:
- Blood Surge (only if you drank Xanthe’s blood) – This ability causes your target to explode, but it costs 3x Activation Charges (AC).
- Corrupted Pendant (legendary amulet) – It has maximum vampiric health, vampiric health segment regeneration, vampiric ability cooldown, and damage against mortals.
- Potent Aetheric Attunement (legendary consumable) – Grants +15% witchcraft ability damage.
Lastly, as for Chariklea, you have the option to end her suffering or spare her life. The choice is entirely up to you.
That does it for our guide on how to complete The Cycle of Love in The Blood of Dawnwalker. If you’re curious about a court activity related to Xanthe, you can check our Home Sweet Home guide. We also have guides for the other major bosses, namely Ambrus: The Gilded Gauntlet and Bakir: The Lunar Game.
