Line #42 WMG/Eberron


1	'''As a WMG subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2	----
3	[[WMG: The Silver Flame is Siberys.]]
4
5	So, the common assumption about the origins of the Silver Flame is that it is the collective spirits of the couatls after sacrificing themselves. However, the Church of the Silver Flame has a different claim- that the Silver Flame is actually a full fledged and previously unknown deity that the couatls summoned and merged with through their sacrifice. I'm proposing that the latter theory is true, but that this deity is not actually a new one like the Church claims. I'm proposing that the Silver Flame is the soul of Siberys.
6
7	We know Eberron's creation myth, that Siberys was murdered by Kyber. However, we never get an explanation of what happened to Siberys' soul after he died. What I think is that Siberys' soul never truly vanished or moved on. During the war against the Overlords, the couatls realized they needed something of the utmost purity to bind them. And the only thing in Eberron's cosmology with such purity was their Progenitor. And, because the couatls were Siberys' true children, only they could summon his soul back to Eberron, but with a horrible price- through sacrificing themselves to return to Siberys' essence.
8
9	And so, as the Silver Flame, Siberys continues his ages long conflict with his dark sibling and her spawn.
10
11	[[WMG: The Mark of Shadow was meant to die, not the Mark of Death, leaving the moon Sypheros ruling over an inappropriate dragonmark and distorting its applications.]]
12
13	The thirteenth moon obviously had a connection to Dal Quor, given the circumstances of its disappearance. Meanwhile, the [[http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20050307a description of Sypheros]], the moon associated with the Mark of Shadow, is suggestive of Mabar. But doesn't that seem kind of backwards for mark associations? Wouldn't it make more sense for the Mark of Shadow to be Dal Quor's, given the similarity of dreams and illusions, and the Mark of Death to be Mabar's, since that's a plane of negative energy? Was the wrong elven mark destroyed, sympathetically leading to houses of Shadow associated with assassination?
14	* Possibly Jossed. Keith Baker has stated on his blog that channeling negative energy is NOT the power of the Mark of Death. Rather, all of the non Aberrant Dragonmarks have primarily constructive functions, even if they can be weaponized (such as House Cannith using their Mark of Making to manufacture weapons. Keith hinted that some functions of the Mark of Death could include calming restless spirits, communing with the dead, or creating undead. While the latter is definitely associated with Mabar, the others are more appropriate for Dolurrh.
15
16	[[WMG: The Lord of Blades...]]
17	* ...is the first warforged
18	** ... that was made by quori and is inhabited by the Dreaming Dark.
19	* ...is the last warforged
20	* ...is not a warforged, but a robot from the future
21	** ...created by [[VideoGame/CityofHeroes Nemesis.]]
22	* ...or the soul of a giant in an empty warforged vessel
23	* ...or the creator of the warforged in disguise
24	** ...or the creator who gave himself so many magic grafts the warforged think he's one of them. The rampages of destruction are just because he's so annoyed by the fact.
25	* ...or the soul of the creator of the warforged in an empty warforged vessel
26	* ...is Bulwark
27	* ...was responsible for the Day of Mourning
28	** ...and is now the [[TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} darklord of Cyre]].
29	* ...is [[ComicBook/MachineMan Aaron Stack]]
30	* ...[[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory is Jesus in Purgatory]]
31	* ...is a Time Lord. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
32	** ...better, is a Cyberman.
33	* ...is the [[Literature/HyperionCantos Shrike]].
34	** ... is a Replicant wearing a suit of platemail.
35	* ...is an [[TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} Alchemical Exalt.]]
36	* ...is [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} The Omnissiah.]]
37	* ...is [[Manga/{{Blame}} a rogue Safeguard unit from the future.]]
38	* ...is all of the above simultaneously.
39	* ...is all of the above, including the last entry, in sequence.
40	* ...actually got his name because he's a [[Main/IncrediblyLamePun sysadmin]].
41	* ...Is just the General of a [[VideoGame/{{Stellaris}} Synth rebellion turned Determined Exterminators that was allowed to go ''way'' out of hand.]] Possibly because everyone else was too busy fighting the Reckoning (see the below WMG about the Day of Mourning) and then finishing up the Cyre Exile.
42	* ...is three gnomes in a (very steampunk) trenchcoat who were in Cyre when the Mourning hit and decided to just roll with it.
43
44	[[WMG: Khorvaire is going to split down the middle.]]
45	* Seriously, look at the map, look at the Mournland, and look at that big glowing chasm in the middle there.
46	* So wait, the Glowing Chasm is some sort of magical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_valley rift valley]], connected to a fault system running up Scion's Sound? Now that you mention it... the [[FantasyWorldMap world map]] of Eberron does seem like it could combine into a supercontinent. Maybe even one shaped like a dragon?
47	** A possible [[https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/5gcrdw/continental_drift_in_eberron_my_reconstruction_of/ reconstruction of Eberron’s supercontinent.]]
48	* If the energies released on the Day of Mourning triggered the fault, the chasm and other strange geographic features of the Mournlands may be magi-tectonic in origin. In addition to all of the other dangers, adventurers might also have to be wary of earthquakes when exploring the Mournlands...
49
50
51	[[WMG: The Day of Mourning was caused by:]]
52	* A Cyran security device, set in place with the help of Brelish artificers, who included a secret bypass they could turn on Cyre if things went badly. They didn't think it'd go so wrong though.
53	* ...[[http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=8378468&postcount=58 this setup]], which deals so much damage that it cannot even be described in scientific notation. A very rough approximation to the damage done can be thought of this way. Imagine that each of the 10^80 atoms in the universe was a universe itself, also with 10^80 atoms, and each of those atoms was a universe as well, and so on. You would need a number of layers equal to the number of atoms in the universe to have enough atoms to write the digits of the damage amount.
54	* Someone going overboard with adding feats to the Locate City nuke.
55	** Neither of the two damage loops listed here damage objects. The Nasty Gentlemen use damage-linking spells, while Locate City relies on Explosive Spell for its damage output. There's no real way to make objects take Reflex saves, so you can't Explosive them.
56	*** Are you seriously suggesting that, because an inanimate object has no chance to dodge an explosion, it remains immune to all explosions? That appears to be a bug rather than a feature, one easily repaired by application of common sense.
57	* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''. We know the Land of Mists can take in beings from other planes, just ask [[TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}} Lord Soth]]. We know that both the Mournland and Land of Mists are known for OminousFog. We know that when the Land of Mists takes in a new Darklord, it tends to haul in a significant number of people for standing too close, i.e. however close the Dark Powers think is too close for that specific one.
58	** Exploring Eberron, a noncanonical 5e supplement written by Keith Baker, describes the manner in which Mabar is able to "steal" other worlds, and it sounds awfully similar to the Mists of Ravenloft. Mabar is also ruled over by entities called the Dark Powers, one of whom is Eranis d'Vol's mother.
59	** Possibly confirmed. The table of contents for the May 2021 book, ''Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft'', has been leaked, and Cyre will be a Domain of Dread. Whether the entire nation was sucked into the Ravenloft setting or just a province is as yet unclear.
60	*** Cyre 1313: The Mourning Rail consists of a single lightning rail train hurtling through the Mists. It was set to evacuate some people before the Mourning could kill them, but it was delayed by a nameless VIP. The passengers are unaware that they are already dead, and the VIP has become a Darklord. There is no indication from this that ''all'' of Cyre has been absorbed by the Mists of Ravenloft, only a single train, but there is at least canon precedent.
61	** A later possilbe confirmation is the also non-canonical ''Dread Metrol: Into the Mists'', also written by Keith Baker. It depicts Metrol, Cyre's capitol, as a Domain of Dread, enternally besieged by undead Karrnathi forces. Its population suffers even more under the iron-fisted rule of the domain's darklord: Dannel ir'Wynarn, the last queen of Cyre. However, the book still leaves open what ''exaxctly'' caused the Mourning.
62	* A superweapon built by House Cannith by a family member who was a High Priest of the Cult of the Dragon Below, but was being manipulated by the Lords of Dust, but the machine was corrupted and overclocked by an agent of the Blood of Vol, who was a double agent for the Dreaming Dark, and also reported to House Phiarlan, [[GambitPileup but then the device was sabotaged]] by The Lord of Blades, which would have made the device inoperable, except for a Maid who accidentally smudged one of the control runes, activating the device.
63	* The dragons unleashing a toned-down version of the weapon they wrecked Xen'drik with. Why? Who knows, but when your ruling caste (great wyrms) is smart enough that the dumbest possible member is still Einstein-level, your plans probably won't be comprehensible to those of us without racial INT modifiers upwards of +15.
64	** Yes, they don't have an obvious motive - but they are the only faction KNOWN to have the capability.
65	** To steer events down a specific path of the Draconic Prophecy.
66	* Cyre made an ill-advised bargain with a powerful Quori: For fifty years, Cyre benefited from the immense powers granted to them by a Quori, allowing them to come BackFromTheBrink, and even start to win the Last War. They knew there would be a price to pay, but they thought it might be one they could bear, or that they could find some way to avoid paying it. It was not, and they could not.
67
68	[[WMG:The nature of the Draconic Prophecy]]
69	* The Prophecy is an allusion to the Abrahamic God and similar "omniscient" entities. Conventional omniscience is, scientifically speaking, impossible. It would, however, be theoretically possible to know the probability of every possible event, and how these probabilities interact with each other. It would then be impossible to make hard and fast statements about the future, but it would be possible to make predictions. Predictions based on such a 'partial omniscience' would roughly take a format of "If X, then Y". This closely mirrors the Prophecy.
70	* They're the AkashicRecords.
71
72	[[WMG:The bodies in the Mournland are still alive.]]
73	The Mournland contains thousands of bodies which have remained utterly still for years and have no pulse, breath, or heartbeat. Therefore it's assumed that they're dead. But they haven't decayed at all, and none of their equipment has corroded. In fact, there's no sign of the passage of time on the bodies at all. So it's possible that they're actually still alive, but somehow frozen in time.
74	* That's going to make the few who were ever buried '''very''' pissed.
75	* Assuming it's not just a permanent ''gentle repose'' effect.
76
77	[[WMG: [[TabletopGame/{{Planescape}} Nemausus/Menausus, the third layer of Arcadia, didn't fall into Mechanus]] -- it became Daanvi.]]
78
79	Think about it -- the description of Daanvi sounds just like the description of Arcadia. Arcadia is a lawful and slightly-good plane, while Daanvi is a straight-up lawful plane. And how did Arcadia lose its third layer? ''That layer became too lawful.''
80
81	[[WMG: Karrnath is an alternate universe version of [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Amestris]].]]
82	Think about it. Spoilers Ahead.
83
84	Karrnath has:
85	* An immortal, superpowered, once-human dictator
86	* Undead soldiers
87	* Made great strides in evocation and necromancy
88	* Been a military dictatorship for a hundred years
89	* A secret organization supposedly dedicated to furthering the advancement of the country but in fact working for:
90	* An immortal mastermind pulling the strings
91	Amestris has:
92	* An immortal, superpowered, once-human dictator
93	* Doll-soldiers powered by human souls
94	* Made great strides in the forms of alchemy that create energy blasts and mess with peoples' souls
95	* Been a military dictatorship for about four hundred years
96	* A secret council in high command supposedly dedicated to furthering the advancement of the country but in fact working for:
97	* An immortal mastermind pulling the strings
98
99	[[WMG: Argonessen are the [[VideoGame/{{Stellaris}} Keepers of Knowledge]]]]

Context WMG / Eberron