In the lead-up to the 2023 entry in this series, subtitled Fires of Rubicon, a cataclysm destroys all deposits of the energy source Coral. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this mecha combat video game series developed by FromSoftware. The antagonists of its third entry and its sequel Silent Line are AIs keeping the remnants of humanity trapped in underground cities called “Layered.”
ANSWER: Armored Core [accept Armored Core 3; accept Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]
[10m] In this 2022 FromSoftware game, the Tarnished returns to the Lands Between after Queen Marika causes a war called the Shattering.
ANSWER: Elden Ring
[10e] In Armored Core, mercenaries are referred to with the name of these birds. George R. R. Martin, who helped write Elden Ring, included a “three-eyed” metaphorical example of these dark-feathered birds in Game of Thrones.
ANSWER: ravens [or Corvus corax; accept three-eyed raven; prompt on corvidae; reject “crows” or “magpies”]
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