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The Arx Secrets Thread
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@Rinel ACAB but we weren’t particularly evil by the end. Idle, maybe. Evil, nah.
Faye had the best named weapons on the game.
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As a secret member of the Inquisition, I can definitively say it was disappointingly not evil.
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Man. I got told by someone that there were geases being handed out left and right.
I am disappointed that this was not the case
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The Inquisition? What a show.
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How about the Iron Guard? Kenna was always PRETTY sure there was something hinky going on but she was super loyal to Silas so kept her mouth SHUT.
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@junipersky I know the Iron Guard STARTED corrupted with Everard and everything. But all the major institutions kind of had the same thing there.
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The only time I ever got to do anything as a member of the Iron Guard was when the Knights of Solace called one of us over to arrest someone, and I showed up, and that player RP’d resisting that which I was fine with, we had a bit of a slapstick. And then the KoS players were like you can’t RP struggling with a suspect here because there are guards. And I was like why the fuck did you call me here then. And then there were a bunch of MSB posts ragging on people rping about secrets behind a closed door, but I didn’t even see or get told about the secret thing?? Even though I was behind that door??
@junipersky other than that ^^ we did do a lot of cleaning up cells after someone was obliterated in a cell, which was shady af.
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@TNP said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
The Inquisition? What a show.
Fact: Inquisition meetings were the best meetings.
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Pretty sure every institution run by PCs was actively not evil. No matter how corrupt they were before, PCs taking over pretty much scraped a lot of that away. Even the Triarchy, when PCs were made Voice and the Eater was ousted, stopped being apocalyptic and actively fought against some of the big bads.
ETA: Though the Triarchy was still pretty evil in the grand scheme of things.
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Lie, the IG’s had people being eaten by a couch.
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@watno said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
@TNP said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
The Inquisition? What a show.
Fact: Inquisition meetings were the best meetings.
Everything’s better with a musical number.
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@Roz said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
And that’s why that PC type was so shitty and disruptive to the game. It constantly put other players in the position of having to clean up misconceptions and reinforce theme on overdrive, while people angrily insisted that the person was right.
I made stuff up constantly, but I really don’t think I mislead anyone because… obviously clueless and out of her depth himbo. If anyone took seriously Leta’s theories on cats detecting elves because they compete for the milk in saucers, they deserved it.
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I was wondering if I could keep asking about “secret” parts of lore. >.> There’s just so much I’ve been curious about, and staff did such a great job at creating story that was engaging in the amounts I was able to engage with. But there were some things I just couldn’t get to (like the above Dance of Skulls query) and some of it, as shown below, I didn’t really know much about IC so the topics never became a pursuit.
In short, I was hoping I could siren song (lower-case s siren) details about points of lore.
Destiny
- Was Destiny among the first creations, and was Aion the one who created them (presumably alongside the Kindly Voices)?
- What was the world even like when Destiny was alive? Were the inhabitants that existed then basically “puppets” subject to Destiny’s whims as to what would transpire? In other words, was the world like a theatre production with a rigid script that had to be followed?
- Did the Kindly Voices have to intervene in matters relating to Destiny? If so, how did that even work, if Destiny presumably had control of the Dream?
- What circumstances led to Destiny’s death? I don’t mean Skald’s concept of Choice entering the world, but more what caused Skald to even incarnate in the first place? Were the creations in the Dream becoming resistant to Destiny’s narrative and this led to irregularities that caused Skald and Choice to form, leading to Destiny’s death?
Zircon
- To my understanding, Zircon was basically the “Agent” of Destiny in the primeval world. His +finger quote is very suggestive of his motives, and becoming Herald of Stasis made a lot of sense to me if he was big on Order preservation. But what did he actually do in the primeval world while Destiny was alive? Was he the equivalent of Destiny’s Kindly Voice, which is to say, the director of the metaphorical play that Destiny was writing?
- Why did Zircon end up aligned with Stasis after Destiny’s death? Was it because Stasis best aligned with his ethos? I wasn’t really clear why Zircon aligned with anything elysian or abyssal when it’s my understanding he predated both…? Similarly, why was he desc’d as a Rex’alfar and took a Fractal name if he predated all that?
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I’m not staff, but I probably have at least some answers! Or at least ideas.
@dvoraen said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
Destiny
- Was Destiny among the first creations, and was Aion the one who created them (presumably alongside the Kindly Voices)?
I believe at one point a staffer said that Destiny was created by Aion and Tehom together (along with the First Children).
- What was the world even like when Destiny was alive? Were the inhabitants that existed then basically “puppets” subject to Destiny’s whims as to what would transpire? In other words, was the world like a theatre production with a rigid script that had to be followed?
This is my personal speculation, but I kind of imagine it seemed like a regular world on the surface? The same way as any fantasy world that has some sort of fate or destiny mechanic. Like, I don’t assume it necessarily felt to the beings alive like they were in a production. I don’t assume that they all knew what the Book of Fate said, so probably not following a script? More just like their actions were preordained without their knowledge.
- Did the Kindly Voices have to intervene in matters relating to Destiny? If so, how did that even work, if Destiny presumably had control of the Dream?
I don’t have the answer to this one, but Destiny also had Zircon (by his original name, I forget) as its servant to help enact stuff, so I’d imagine it’s just – part of an overall structure. Destiny as a force kind of guiding the overall story of the world, but sometimes you need additional agents to run things, you know? (ALSO PERSONAL SPECULATION.)
- What circumstances led to Destiny’s death? I don’t mean Skald’s concept of Choice entering the world, but more what caused Skald to even incarnate in the first place? Were the creations in the Dream becoming resistant to Destiny’s narrative and this led to irregularities that caused Skald and Choice to form, leading to Destiny’s death?
There’s a clue about this! It’s a great one. Basically the story-fied version of it has Aion going around asking creations if they wanna do their own thing, and Wolf said YEAH ACTUALLY I DO. And that’s probably the major reason why Skald’s sigil is a wolf.
[Sermon of the Wolf] (30 Rating) Tags: Death, demon, Abyss, Aion, Venandi, Faith of the Pantheon, Destiny
The tome is called ‘Heroes of the Reckoning’, and is primarily a collection of stories of the deeds of heroic figures during that fabled war. The tome was thought lost during the Great Fire centuries ago, but there are occasional fragments still found from surviving copies. One of the most obscure of passages is called ‘The Sermon of the Wolf’."On the eve of battle, one of the paladins approached the great Wolf Queen. ‘Mighty queen, I must ask you: You have come across half the world, across seas of demons and under skies of fire, to fight for a cause that was not yours, to die for a people not your own. Why?’
At this, the great queen smiled, and even a paladin can be forgiven for unease at the smile of the Wolf. ‘Brave paladin,’ she said, 'Let me tell you a story. In the beginning, there were two sisters - a maiden of Dreams, and a maiden of Nightmare. The Dreamer spoke to her sister, and said: Let us create spirits to shape the world. Let us send forth Mountain and Storm, Wind and Fire. And her sister agreed, sending forth the great Primal spirits, who are the bones of the world. Then the Dreamer said to her sister, let us make great beasts of scale and wing, who shall conquer the sky, who shall fly close to us, and look upon what we have made. And her sister agreed, and said, let us make sweet singers, those who live in the deep, who shall know our words and our mind, and spread our song. And the Dreamer agreed. And the two sisters then made a child, mighty Destiny, who would guide all on the Song they had crafted together, and his terrible servant, He Who Waits, who would punish those who transgressed against the song. But you see, brave paladin, the Dreamer was troubled in her heart. She spoke to many of the first children. ‘Mighty Mountain, do you not wish for your own song?’ But the Mountain did not answer. ‘Wind, do you not wish to go where you will?’ But wind spoke not a word. She spoke to the First Children of Now and Always, but they feared it was a test, and would not speak for fear of He Who Waits. Then the Dreamer spoke to my mother, to Wolf. ‘Wolf, do you wish to follow the song?’ ‘No,’ said my mother. ‘I am Wolf. And I would howl my own song.’ And that is how the Dreamer made her choice, paladin. The First Choice, which slew Destiny and cast down his servants. Death was born of his destruction, and her sister would rage and become the enemy of all the world, and the Children of Always would go mad. But we now could choose.
And I choose to fight."
Zircon
- To my understanding, Zircon was basically the “Agent” of Destiny in the primeval world. His +finger quote is very suggestive of his motives, and becoming Herald of Stasis made a lot of sense to me if he was big on Order preservation. But what did he actually do in the primeval world while Destiny was alive? Was he the equivalent of Destiny’s Kindly Voice, which is to say, the director of the metaphorical play that Destiny was writing?
Apparently he did enough for people to be scared of him, lol.
He was Destiny’s SERAPH, I feel like.
- Why did Zircon end up aligned with Stasis after Destiny’s death? Was it because Stasis best aligned with his ethos? I wasn’t really clear why Zircon aligned with anything elysian or abyssal when it’s my understanding he predated both…? Similarly, why was he desc’d as a Rex’alfar and took a Fractal name if he predated all that?
I can answer the last bit at least – Zircon was pretending to be a Rex’alfar. Because his true form would be TOO GLORIOUS FOR PEOPLE TO LOOK UPON.
[Songs of the Path] (30 Rating) Tags: True Songs, Goldenpyre, Lagoma, sirens, Zircon, Stasis, First Flame
The book is incredibly expensive, of course. A collector’s item that the Great Archive was thrilled to obtain, though records of how it came to be in their possession are quite vague.Bound in sharkskin and embroidered with seashells, it always seems to be damp. According to legend, it was written by the hand of a siren, and reading it can lead to madness. Which is ridiculous, of course. It’s pure coincidence that so many scholars who have read it have gone mad - it’s simply a risk inherent in staying indoors and reading all day.
The book has been called many things, but most often ‘Songs of the Path’. It’s written as a journal, describing life below the waves, as one of “those chosen to sing songs of the Path and hold dominion over all the Deep”. It speaks of “our winged cousins, granted dominion over the sky, closest to the gods”, and “He Who Waits, Unto Him was trusted guiding all mortals on the Path”. Abruptly, the journal descends into chaos, describing hundreds of contradictory events, and writing repeatedly “The First Choice was made. Destiny is dead, and He Who Waits will not forgive you.”
In one rambling passage, it mentions, “The First Flame discovered him, following the wisdom of his little god, little Lagoma. Discovered He Who Waits, living among mortals, living among elves. He hid himself, pretended to be one of them, for a mortal gazing upon his true form would go mad, as mad as we are now. He would guide them on the Path, though the Path was Shattered, broken to endless fractal patterns by the First Choice. He would guide them on the Path, though he had become twisted by his slave, the princess of Corruption, and the Path would only end in Stasis. The First Flame chose to challenge dragons, chose to die, before he could be made to Linger. He was wise. He made a Choice. He did not Linger. He could not possibly triumph, so he chose to die. Praise the wisdom of the first pyromancer. The Little Flame chose to be snuffed out! He has escaped to the Wheel, escaped the grip of He Who Waits! Sing of his wisdom!”
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Today on Arxception: Destiny was arguably fated to die.
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So this isn’t a secret but I do briefly want to state.
In my time playing Arx, my character (and myself) developed a theory that primum = potential and magic = story. Essentially beings had potential (primum) and through force of will they enacted their own desires on the dream to gain an outcome (magic). Assuming it was intentional I want to say it’s very clever to make a magical system written in a cooperative RP style game basically run on story. It’s something everyone should be able to understand and it’s just wishywashy enough that you’re not bound to any magical rules lawyering.
That is one of the reasons I thought songs got brought up so much besides being a potential nod to Tolkien with his whole song of creation thing for the genesis of Middle Earth. Songs are the oldest form of storytelling and a bunch of critical information was conveyed via songs or poems and a lot of cool magicky stuff was initiated by songs.
Anyway if it wasn’t intentional than I enjoyed it. If it was intentional than kudos to the staff team for taking that direction.
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@Arik you got it!
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This relates back to Destiny, even. Under Destiny, there was one song, which the Sirens sang. Future was predetermined, everyone had their role, and time more or less had no meaning because no one could change their role and all of the First Children were totally immortal, as Death didn’t exist. He Who Waits was basically there to be Destiny’s enforcer, and was scary enough that dragons were worried about crossing him. As an aside, another clue talks about him planning for time magic shenanigans to put everything back the way it was after Destiny died, but that power was stolen from him by Oracle before he actually got it. I’m not sure Oracle was ever an entity the playerbase really knew about, but that’s a different topic.
Aion and Tehom are the Dream and the Nightmare, basically reality, and the way you work magic is by effectively convincing reality to do what you want it to do, and you’re more persuasive if you’ve got higher potential (aka primum) because you’ve got a greater ability to influence the story. If you want to look at it that way, what Wolf did was basically convince reality to change a fundamental concept of the world and it broke everything, with the very incarnation of “fuck you, I do what I want” choke slamming Destiny out of existence and causing the domino effect of…basically everything else.
As far as I know the Kindly Voices weren’t really a thing during Destiny’s reign. They enforce the Unbreakable Laws of the Dream, which are only unbreakable in that you sure as shit shouldn’t break them, so that requires the choice to break them anyway. I could be wrong on that, though, but either way the Kindly Voices are a sort of…separate unto themselves thing that exist for that singular purpose.
Anyway, by all means, absolutely keep asking about lore secrets.
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As another aside, this is also why the Horned God basically went out of his way to be the Worst. He was a terrible dude to start with, but pissing off the entire world wasn’t accidental. The reason he kept having Daughters and sacrificing them was because it would make him more and more powerful, and the reason it made him more and more powerful is because it increased his importance in the story. By breaking the Unbreakable Laws over and over and over again, and not only that but setting it up so he could keep doing so, he kept building himself up to the Dream as a Big Deal. Making tons and tons of enemies, some of whom devoting their entire lives to destroying him? An even Bigger Deal. His gambit to become a god was more or less “I am actually the biggest deal, bam Destiny is alive again and does what I want”, which is insane, but is also how magic works.
On the other hand, however, righteous revenge is also a very tempting story. You’re a bigger deal to the Dream if your forever nemesis is the guy trying to make himself a god, rather than that asshole neighbor dumping leaves in your yard. So he was also empowering all of his worst enemies in the process, and taking a massive gamble that he would be able to ride that danger tsunami long enough and high enough to succeed.
Edit: Gonna also note that the final Bad that nearly destroyed all of reality itself was known as the Eater of Stories.
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@kalakh said in The Arx Secrets Thread:
… I’m not sure Oracle was ever an entity the playerbase really knew about, but that’s a different topic.
With respect to Orichalcum, how was he even able to try to resurrect Destiny in the first place? Was he really just that significant to the Dream and it’s as simple as that?
One thing about magic I’ve wondered is whether Writs had some relevance to Destiny, in that Writs “preordained”/enforced your actions; you weren’t able to do anything the Writ proscribed. That is to say, what type of magic is a Writ, exactly, since they seemed to be unaligned (i.e., could be elysian, primal and/or abyssal in nature)? Where I’m going with this is that I’ve been curious whether or not traces of “destiny magic” existed in the world in some form. The moon was Destiny’s skull, so Destiny was kind of still there, and He Who Waits presumably didn’t have a fundamental change in existence when Destiny died, much like Prism didn’t seem to over what happened with Skald, so I feel like there was more to the story about what Destiny dying really means if Destiny could be resurrected in the first place.
Needless to say, I find Destiny and now Zircon fascinating. >.>
Also, hypothetical food for thought, but imagine if Death or the Wheel somehow reincarnated Destiny as with Calithex killing Baalphrigor, per Apostate’s AMA. Zircon’s reaction would be priceless… and probably very Concerning
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