Question about Sorshen and the Eye of Desire

[genericname12345]

So, been reading up more on Return of the Runelords and whatnot, since I'm currently going through Shattered Star at the moment and I want to see what may or may not be relevant. I got a bit burned on continuity because an NPC got killed in Crimson Throne that was supposed to show up again in Carrion Crown - the PC's weren't super-fussed about killing him and would have let him live, but I thought writing him off was no issue. Not making that mistake again.

Anyway, on topic, question about Sorshen and the Eye of Desire is this: So far, I know that she retreated into a private demiplane to ride out Earthfall, and she only became active on Golarion again around the beginning of Rise of the Runelords when Karzoug started making a mess. She watched, schemed, and decided not to be completely evil this time around.

Question was; was she actually conscious and aware of all those ten thousand years while in her demiplane? Or did she put herself into stasis inside of that demiplane so that all those millennia passed by in the blink of an eye? Even if she kept it well-furnished with plenty of things to do, eventually all that gets old - and she'd already have been at least 1,100 years old by that point.

I know that she's done self-reflection to try and become a better person out of self-preservation instinct, but wondering if that was done over like, 18-ish years (from 4702) or over like 10,000.

[Askar Avari]

As far as I've seen in reviewing all the official materials about Sorshen (I haven't combed through statements from James Jacobs or anything about this), we don't have an official answer on this. However, the two other Runelords who used runewells to survive Earthfall specifically did not experience the passage of the past 10,000 years, as their runewells sort of ... phased them out of existence? The specifics aren't clear, but they certainly weren't conscious.

That said, I personally ran it that Sorshen was conscious, intent on not awakening disoriented or otherwise on the back foot against her rivals. Sure, she'd have to survive 100, maybe 200 years like that, but she'd already lived for 1,100 years, she'd be able to survive.

And then 10,000 years passed. And there was no chance she left that runewell the same person she was.

My take on Sorshen is someone who has become so detached from her desires that she'd be unrecognizable as who she was, but there are core parts of her identity that remain intact: she wants to live, and she wants to rule. Thus the plan for New Thassilon went from her once-upon-a-time strategy to conquer the region, to establishing a nation of those who would willingly choose her as their immortal Lord.

I think she works either way you rule it, and the stasis version is more likely when compared to the other Runelords. I just like the horror implied by my version, that's all.