Sandrone? Is it really you? You're back. You didn't tell me. You avoided me. Why? I... Sandrone? Now we're even. I missed you so much. That makes one of us, idiot. I'm here, Columbina.
Stories That Must Be Told About the Boss of the Galaxy Rangers: An Analysis
Due to the newness of this blog, I didn't jump on the bandwagon when it came to examining this article on Ashveil, but reading it gave me inspiration to connect the stories within it to interesting and pertinent aspects of the lore. Without further ado, let's begin.
The first aspect of this passage that stands out is the fact that this is probably the version of events that is told across the cosmos, and the conclusions that it draws are fairly sound. One of them is the notion that "Bear" and "Owl" were very likely denizens of Kronstadt and friends of Ashveil's at the time. However, one aspect that's incredibly deceptive is the scope of Operation Zulo and the optics that paint it as a harrowing but small-time sortee.
In the finale of Amphoreus As Tomorrow Became Yesterday, in Traverse Stars and Stride Cosmos, when Himeko speaks to projections of their allies in a debrief before the final confrontation, Jade brings up an incredibly interesting tidbit: that the Battle of Amphoreus rivals the significance of Operation Zulo. Whether this means scope or devastation doesn't quite matter, but it does paint a clear picture that Operation Zulo was extremely pivotal to the fate of the cosmos; as anyone who played 3.7 can say, the cost and enormity of the Battle of Amphoreus was immense, and for Jade to say that it rivals Operation Zulo is something.
One thing that does throw doubt on the idea of Owl and Bear being from Kronstadt is this section of from Letters to the Detective that mentions how they are among those that frame Operation Zulo as a "private" vendetta, which could mean that while Rangers like Owl and Bear might not be from Kronstadt, but instead answered the call.
In addition, the identity of one of the Galaxy Rangers might already be known.
Again Letters to the Detective, we're told that the One-Eyed Owl is a woman. Coincidentally, alongside Ashveil and Tiernan, a female Ranger was one of the suvivors.
In one of the Assignments where you can receive the Trace Material Thief's Instinct, it mentions a Galaxy Ranger known as Loretta involved in Operation Zulo. Of course, as the people used in Assignments' quotes aren't always alive, this could be a non-sequitur. But, since we don't know if Loretta is dead, it's not unlikely that this could be her, too.
As for the "Bear", I'm admittedly not sure. As for him and Owl being survivors is new information after we were told that only Ashveil, Tiernan, and Loretta survived, this either means the survivor count was higher than initially believed, or that some (like Loretta) could be these pseudonymed Galaxy Rangers.
So, this one admittedly is a little harder to discern. The High-Cloud Squadron is obviously a reference to the High-Cloud Quintet, and Ashveil canonly befriended Yingxing, one of its members.
Otherwise, I don't think there's anything lore-wise going on with this story.
The Dovebrook Grand Hotel Conspiracy is extremely interesting because it actually precludes a series of events that interconnect. As Ashveil confirms that it indeed happened, what I believe this means is that it's the start of matter involving relics and artifacts of Dr. Primitive, one of the Galaxy Rangers' greatest foes.
In Letters to the Detective, it more or less confirms that Ashveil seized Dr. Primitive's effects during this black market auction, but what's more interesting is what became of them.
A DU curio known as The Doctor's Robe details what became of these requisitioned items, one of which was this robe. As the letter accuses Ashveil of selling Dr. Primitive's effects, what's even more impressive is that he managed to sell them on the Dark Web, an unseen network within the cosmos connected to Device IX, the faction founded by Polka Kakamond and one of the major players against the Theory of the Four Apocalyses. The fact that Ashveil was able to locate it raises interesting implications, especially as Dr. Primitive is implied to be connected to it for now.
This story is in reference to Gaius the Usurper, a successor to Emperor Rubert; based on Ashveil's commentary, he was the one who spearheaded this campaign and led to the Usurper's defeat.
This is also reiterated in the Seat of Divine Foresight's File Repository: Ally — Rangers, which details some of the greatest feats of the Galaxy Rangers, including Operation Zulo.
Interestingly, on the timeline, this campaign against Gaius occurred roughly between 2151-2153 AE, placing it 3-6 Amber Eras after Operation Zulo. As Rubert II had been active before then, and with Rubert II a confirmed resumption of Rubert I, this places Gaius as being active after Rubert II's death.
This one I don't think needs much commentary, but it appears to be an anecdote from Ashveil's days on Kronstadt, perhaps as a Ranger before it became a formal, cosmic group that saw its beginnings during Operation Zulo. Otherwise, it seems to just be fluff.
Based on the proximity of these two stories, they seem to be interconnected and relate to the time before Ashveil joined (founded?) the Galaxy Rangers, and how these beasts were former comrades of his that became bastardized by Zulo's dark workings. Based on the sticky note, one of the Rangers who partook notices that the beast he's hunting was a former comrade of Ashveil's hence the accusation of him being a kinslayer that began before embroiling the other Rangers in this war.
Once more in Letters to the Detective, based on the sender's words, Ashveil not only told them about his homeworld, but that this was a memory of his before Operation Zulo ever began. The descriptions parallel each other exactly.
The Mini Xiyan, holographic NPC located in Aurum Alley also details more of this story, including the epic scope of Zulo's cosmic pillaging that Jade (first section) said rivaled the devastation caused by Irontomb and the Battle of Amphoreus.
Ashveil bears many motifs that reference the moon, such as his hair clips and accessories that feature both a crimson crescent moon and a silver one, interlocked and facing away from each other. While this last story is more sentimental, it does seem to drive home the importance of the moon for Ashveil as a motif for his character, whether it's a full moon or the two crescents.
As Fenrir isn't specifically mentioned to be connected to the moon or devouring it (his kin, Skoll and Hati, are the ones who devour the moon and sun), Ashveil's persistent imagery with the moon (whether red, full, or a crescent of either color) may be a callback to Tiangou, China's version of Fenrir.
As a bad spirit, it is a black dog that eats the Moon. According to the legends, as an interpretation of a lunar eclipse, after Houyi shot down the nine Suns in the sky, he was awarded with an immortality-granting pill by the Queen Mother of the West. Before he could eat it, his wife Chang'e ate it, hoping she could maintain her youth. Chang'e felt her body getting lighter and flew away. Seeing this, a black dog that Hou Yi was rearing went inside her room and licked the remains of the pill. He then chased after Chang'e, getting bigger and bigger. Chang'e, terrified, hid on the Moon. The black dog then ate the Moon, along with Chang'e.
After being informed of this, the Queen Mother of the West captured the dog. Surprised to see that the dog was actually Hou Yi's, she assigned him to guard the gates of heavens and bestowed upon him the title of Tiangou. Tiangou spat the Moon and Chang'e back out, and Chang'e continued living on the Moon.
- Tiangou, Wikipedia
I previously wrote on Ashveil's imagery as Tiangou and how it connects to HSR's story (let alone how it informs his involvement in the Shuhu Upheaval Period and connection to Yingxing/Dan Feng), but this seems to be the likely reason why he has so much lunar symbolism and motifs in his design and other visuals, like trailer appearances and other official content.
Otherwise, that covers just about everything in this article, and the last page is simply rounding off the article.
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