I gotta say, this was truly the perfect finale to one of the best seasons Dimension 20 has ever done
On par with only The Unsleeping Cities
we got real stakes, we got real closures, we got Brennan desperately rooting for the pcs to succeed
this was a story of sky eyed people to whom adventure has meant everything at one point and a story of them learning that there is so much more and how to deal with the aftermath of the high, that crash that comes when things are no longer perfect and you can no longer look the other way
all of the character had so much to learn and unlearn and they were able to win in the end by caring for each other, by putting others first, by pooling resources and taking leaps into the unknown
i loved it so so much and I will miss these weeks of pure joy I felt watching Cloudward Ho
(huge huge thank you to the art team for the amazing beautiful illustrations and terrains and the whole table setup, this was really next level and I am waiting for that Art Book *khm khm* Sam said he wants our money if we are willing to spend it and I would buy that art book in a second)
CloHo musings / attempt to organize thoughts under the cut (all from memory so the timeline might not be right)
What we know:
- Comfrey has been no-contact for the last 2-3 months which is confirmed by Lord Kensington
- The crew has known each other for at least 20 years but has been separated for about 8yrs already
- The doors at the station on the South Pole seem to be ancient and so does the Straka / Light ceramic mechanism
- The recording available in MechLeod was done once Comfrey reached Zood, post her disappearance
- The Biangle calculations, the sextant, the cypher and the snacks were on the Zephyr which has not been in use for a while since before Comfrey's disappearance ~ the cypher already mentions Ramansu despite it coming from before disappearance and the time when Comfrey left a message mentioning the Power Statiom
This makes me think that either Zood originally was a part of Gath more closely and sort of Atlantis style disappeared of the map or what Emily mentioned is true that Zood is sending things into the world where our adventurers are from ~ so Straka and the artifacts which were found originated in Zood, were found by Comfrey and then helped her find a way to get there
I really love the idea Emily mentioned of Zood being the place where lost things go to but there could be truly some principle of exchange between it and the world of Gath. But I also would super love it being a sort of land that used to be a part of the world which got basically edited out of it for either safekeeping or to keep the rest of the world safe from it.
Continuing this to just collect my notes and lore as if I am also playing with the IH
Vim / Vex - absolutes but not fixed points unlike the N/S poles, likely a line
Nox / Nef - directional and neverending, like E/W
Hence I agree with ppl theorizing that Zood is basically a donut or maybe like a tube
Olethra's checking of the planar energy by MechLeod:
- everybody as a person seems to fit in and does not register as an external force
- the "Clay Tile" mechanism from the South Pole ~ the side of the tube which is not Light (possibly Darkness) registers
- same energy registered on Marya's Straka bullets which she created (Van tested, not the same effect if she writes it)
- gauge on Van's arm registers with different energy ~ created by Comfrey, as per her explanation if it is lit up red for more than 1 min something bad could happen
- Marya's photograph of the Protege registers with "dead" energy / absence of energy
BLeeM said that the gauge has not lit up in the past 5 years, which makes it a bit hazy whether it has happened before or if Van got the prosthetic 5 yrs ago made by Comfrey as a thank you for something she has done for the professor
Olethra hasn't seen her grandma in about 8 yrs which makes it possible that the crew stayed with Comfrey for different amounts of time
Biangle goes through areas and teleports people as a disastrous event to Zood
Gathian lost cities of Hawk and Luin were transported in such a manner
Date in Zood ~ 15th of Amravi
There are 4 months corresponding to 4 seasons:
- Tahal ~ winter
- spring
- Amravi ~ fall
- Nuha ~ summer
Natural phenomena noted by Van and Marya:
- horizon is not the same as in Gath, "wobbly"
- gravity works differently, is lighter
Locations and terms heard about / within Zood:
- cities of Oda and Tabira
- House of Fehujar (elicited strong reaction when mentioned)
- Ramansu Power Station / Temple of Ramansu (warned against going there)
- Order of the Eyeless Hand (symbol in blood on the wall, after psychic attack)
- Legio Rex / Raptors ~ legend from Gath of a military legion which went missing on the continent of Gastonet during the times of Treshian Empire (mentioned in connection with Ramansu)
This episode was so much fun and also we learned so many new things 💕
Questions I still have:
- does time in Zood work somewhat differently?
- does the Biangle spit things out into Gath from Zood when it picks stuff up from Gath?
- is Zood a donut?
Locations:
• Tabira city moves within the same 200 mile radius of the Biazi Desert- does not use money, instead trades for goods and services
• Past that are the Arenth Mountains - Arenthian Coast is presumably in the area as well
• On the other side of the mountains is Saltu jungle where Ramansu Temple is in the general area of
• Oda city is in Nox direction, same as Ramansu Temple
• Umanzi Fighting Pit located in Tabira City
• Zumara- Crystal city, nox by nox vim direction, it is on vim itselt, 3-4 days of travel
• Tabira City -> Pulgali Alley -> Thumb and Bottom Booksellers
Other things:
• Ancient llanga Empire which is no more was in Saltu - Legio Rex Raptors live here
• Myconimus Mensamagna, Cordyceps family of the fungi - capable of transferring the mind of a creature into a different body ~ the "Zood Switcharoo"
• Kingdom of Animalia was formed through a "Zood Switcharoo"
• Legio Rex raptors were also created through the "Switcharoo" - they now seek the Temple of Ramansu, on this quest for the past 7-8 yrs
• Zu(h)marans - here in Zood for at least 10 generations, use frequencies to communicate
• The ships in Zood use scrap parts from Gath and run on coal but there are other ways as well: Sycamore Flyers of Oda and Crafts of Zumhara
• The Zephyr is a legend in Zood ~ "The Nef Wind"
Characters:
• Baboon guy (lchabod) ~ used to be a doctor, zapped into this body
• Gorim - guy who owns the food stall
• Divan - the guy who helped sync up languages
• Safiyah - mechanic feeding Paglioli monkeys
• Haunch - og member of Comfrey's crew, now dead by hands of Lord Kensington who apparently works with Eyeless Hand (is he the person Comfrey said to be cautious of?), had the wind riders tattoo blocked out
• Alanso - one of the windriders of Zood
• Calhoun Thumb- -nar of the bookstore
Investigation checks at the bookstore:
Zephyr (25)
• etching in an old periodical paper of a ship arriving
• ship very similar to Zephyr but is not it, however manned by travelers from Gath
• likely is Zephyr Mark II ~ Comfrey had plans for it
• drawing of the og Zephyr by Comfrey herself also in this etching ~ if Zephyr is a legend and the paper is ancient but Comfrey only went missing couple of months ago, what exactly is the comparative time flow between Zood and Gath? does time move that much faster in Zood that years would equal months?
Ramansu (n20)
• explorer's book with the prophecy that made Legio Rex go mad
• the prophecy is the cypher that was solved about the price of the power of Ramansu
• high priests of the Empire controlled lightning itself and had to pay the price
• there is a true moon of Zood and "1000 moons"
Straka (23)
• ballad written in an ancient codex about the Furnace Crow
• sailor who sailed the horizon who is being followed by the crow and recounts their regrets
Mushrooms (23)
• mushrooms are not sentient, incredibly rare
• equal exchange, Legio Rex into raptors and raptors into Legio Rex
• activated through release of spores as a defense mechanism
Continuing this madness, I am more confused than ever but also having so so so much fun!
I agree with everybody who says that CloHo has STODY energy, peak performance and leak chaos
- there seems to be something off with Lord Worcestershire ~ his gait is "weaker" so he might be in a different phase of his life potentially? with the Twins reuniting and being the same the theory of the time flow being different seems silly now. Although maybe traveling through Biangle many times / incorrectly affects the physical body?
- Ramansu is on the 7th sub-vim parallel in Saltu jungles ~ seems to be a grouping of quartz obelisks and ruins of a temple overtaken by nature
- as the moon is full the pylons (quartzes) seem to be interacting with this energy generating a push and pull -> Olethra's mech picked up a frequency to it which unlocked more of Comfrey's message
- based on the message the Eyeless Hand has been to Ramansu and found the "True Temple" ~ the one found by the IH is the "Power Station" used potentially to power something related to the mushrooms and the crystals and lunar energy within the actual temple? Van's arm interacts with the lunar energy as well
- Legio Rex is trying to channel the energy of Ramansu to keep their Emperor alive ~ meaning they have either tried this before / have something to prove that this would work despite the new vessel being of the same species
As per usual ~ more questions than answers:
- why was Comfrey working with the Empire?
- how many times has she been to Zood?
- what is the relation between Gath and Zood beyond the Biangle drops? is there a pathway between them? is Zood in some way a reflection?
Cannot wait for the adventuring party to learn more!
I will need to sit down and come up with some actual theories because I just keep collecting bits and pieces which are not helping me to see the bigger picture
Solar energy-yellow
Lunar energy - blue
Infernal / Furnace/ Machine energy - pink - similar to that of Straka,
- vision Maxwell has affects his mind turning it clockwork like
- aligned with the energy of Marya's Straka bullets
(Van's energy does not correspond to any of the three)
Guests of researchers have clearance to enter the Ramansu Power Station - Comfrey is one of them -> literal Power Station which has customers who pay their bills -> part of the Ramansu Power Station Company infrastructure built by Ramansu the Builder
Stone guards last activated - 2mo, 1w, 3d, 7h, 22mi
-> initially reactivated after centuries by Comfrey who renewed the contract
Deeper into the mountain below the obelisks providing moonlight -> hangar with vehicles toppled over and signs of a major vehicle having left the place (similar to the South Pole station) - House of Fehujar caused the damages, dragon symbol, dragon ship in Tabira (?) ~ members dressed as if they are from a different time period and had to adjust -> part of "Bank of Fehujar" with sword symbols
Message is stored deep within the station, cannot be reached by the guards - keys, found initially on the Zephyr, which had the key to the door with the battery at South Pole -> react to the location, door can be opened made of Gathie stone:
• several dead bodies
• radio playing a message on a loop
• clockwork man radiating with "pink" energy
• spherical golden motor with 3 points coming out of it ~ battery of the clockwork creature
Clockwork figure speaks to Marya - "you are so close, come. only you can repair what you have ruined"
Thoughts:
Straka and Clockwork machine have the same type of energy and both are somehow connected to Marya ~ Comfrey appeared there when Marya's crew was attacked -> was Comfrey the one to bring Straka to Gath this time, stumbled upon Marya and her crew and Marya was the only one who did not get whiscked away so she somehow affected some balance?
Continuing this absolute beast of post, not even done yet with the episode but I have too many notes and not enough braincells to understand everything
(edits added post finishing the episode, my longest post, and please, if anybody sees it, come theorize)
Timeline:
• 1369 - Comfrey and Daisuke get a divorce
• 1373 - Maxwell's grandpa dies
• 1374 - Olethra saw Comfrey for the last time, Comfrey and Monty have their feud
• 1377 - Van's last flight with Comfrey
• 1382 - the year of the current adventure
If we are looking for dates within Zood tho, it must be 17th of Amravi
Comfrey disembarked from Ramansu Power Station on 44th of Tahal ~ it is indeed 2 month in Zood time but we do not know how it translates to Gathie time as here months are full seasons
(alt text added for the image with names of seasons)
List of energies:
- Zood ~ lunar / solar
- Zern ~ pink / Straka / Cast Iron heart
- Van ~ energy of the deep
(earlier list with examples on the picture below, alt text added)
House of Fehujar is located in the asteroids above Zood ~ 7 asteroids chained up
Arath Mountains - location of Ramansu Power Station (discoveries)
• Constructs were active during the reign of the Empire of Illanga when the powers were equal - after awakening the empire was no more and there was less of the pink energy
• the ceramic decorations at the station are similar to the battery that was found at the South Pole
• the "Light" energy does not march the Lunar and the Solar energy
• the "Dark" energy is still very much same as Straka / Pink
• there are several offices within the station:
• library / crew area with a mechanism underneath which a machine can be found with several disks with different phases of the moon ~ one of the disks has the letter Z on it which is supposed to open up a mechanism ~ unclear if that was done, might have missed it
• office of Onion St Clay is also here from og Zephyr crew
• Comfrey's office, pretty barren
• events of Zephyr Mark 2 disembarking:
• Comfrey was doing research, sponsored by House of Fehujar who were looking for new gold - research into creating a submersible craft
• Eyeless Hand arrived ~ mention of Ectic Research Station
• Zephyr 2 with Comfrey rushes away
• House of Fehujar is at a loss, tries to grab some of the research but loses the combat with clockwork mechanism due to lack of clearance, collects the resources and the maps which were stored there
• Comfrey's office (items found):
• timepiece with weirdly moving hands ~ potentially a compass to a clockwork world
• note with a cypher ~ quick brown fox
• correspondence between Cadswitch and Comfrey ~ he was also a seventh son like Maxwell
• correspondence topics from Onion's office:
• Van Chapman file with schematics of the gauntlet and mention of the inner tower -> this was not followed up on!!!
• personal missive from Comfrey about Van "... there is no world where she could have come here. i feel regret and guilt over what happened ... she is the last piece of their puzzle"
• photo of Comfrey and Marya from which a person was cut on Marya's side - from around the time Marya got her own ship and became independent ~ cut person is Ludmila
• several financial ledgers
• message about Zumhara being onto Comfrey
• letter from Comfrey on Monty - "I'll thank you not to bring up that name around me again. He's not a real adventurer. He never was. He wanted to tag along so that he could write a book, and now he can eat his canapes and drink his wine and stop pretending like he was ever one of us." -> interesting, because she did mention Monty in the message based on what was heard from the MechLeod's transmission
• "finishing the radio is of utmost importance"
• final thing: Map of Zood which is basically two linked pretzels - the light one is Zood and the dark one is whatever the "Dark" part of the battery is - like two interconnected planes (learned to be Zern)
• Rooms within the inner tower:
• the room with the radio + clockwork mechanism / hearts
• a work room with images of Straka and an "eyeful hand" + ancient tomes with occult symbols (like the Eyeless Hand)
• mention of a place called Zern
• Eyeless Hand are trying to bring back to life a nameless god ~ but there is a name, it just cannot be known
• Temple of Katur - "the true temple"
• correspondence to become members of the Eyeless Hand - the person answering on-behalf of the cult is Mordecestershire
• warning about the pterosaur Archie as the "eyes"
• Comfrey's work on Extraplanar Biangles:
• Effulgent Biangle - produces light
• Calefactory Biangle - produces heat (demi-plane of Straka)
• "dimming the beacons"
appears a lot in the correspondence ~ maybe affecting the light could make it so that the darkness is more potent due to the dual symbolism we have seen so far ~ channeling less Lunar / Solar energy
• book on history of Zood ~ flying Temple of Katur was created during the war between Zood and Zern ~ when beast Corvus Exitium nearly destroyed Zumhara (Monty found details that the temple is below the ocean)
• tome with cast iron binding for which Maxwell has the keys ~ text in Weirian from Queen of Zero to Eyeless Hands with instructions on how to destroy Zood technology ~ book has the red energy and a cog mechanism spider which was in it ~ Van's energy counters the energy of Straka
Map of Zood / Zern:
• two interlaced ribbons which are similar to a mobius-strip (?) due to the interchanging of Vim and Vex which are supposed to be the absolutes
~ vim is connecting every point furthest away from Zern and vex is connecting every point closest to Zern and due to the movement of these "ribbons" the line is always changing and shifting
• the moon is in-between the two ribbons
• the world is a braid with both Zood and Zern being tubes ~ visible from sky of Zood when sailing vex innermost point of Zood
Name of Clockwork Mechanism - Torse (created by Comfrey / her associate)
Two "batteries" / clockwork mechanisms:
• Cast Iron - pink light - Straka - an older heart
• Gold - Zood - "So beats a worthy heart"
About Torse:
• recognizes the adventurers and Olethrs but not Max (knows of Cadswitch)
• of Aganti Zernai, from Zern, land of clockwork beings
• rebel warrior of Zern against Queen of Naught (naughtomata) (whoever said that it would be devastating if Ludmilla was the Queen, yes, that would be diabolical, but also, I think there is a potential that Marya's crew is in Zern)
• switches between two hearts depending on whether combat is needed
The mechanism could be heard by Kocka as well who also survived Straka.
What happened with Marya:
• organized her own crew
• took in Ludmilla and Kocka as protegee
• allowed Ludmilla to be the captain too soon because of seeing herself in her / living vicariously through her
• got attacked by Straka and was saved by Comfrey
• unsure how many years ago it happened however...
Straka prophecy / superstition - divine retribution that comes for those who abandon what they were meant to do, retribution for abandoning things in general. When only bad things happen to you - "The thought of a curse hurts less than unlucky"
Comfrey's message:
"... broadcasting from the seventh sub-vim parallel, having left this recording at the Ramansu Power Station. We've just received word that Langosta Five is losing oxygen rapidly 40 knots vex nef from the Ectic Research Station. The true temple has experienced a breach, and is gaining methane an krill at an unsustainable rate. This broadcast is intended for any who can come to our aid. Our expedition disembarked from the Ramansu Power Station on the 44th of Tahal with assistance from the House of Fehujar. We were discovered by the Eyeless Hand and had to launch prematurely. If you can hear this, Olethra, it's real. Zood is real. It's glorious and dangerous, and if we're not careful, it's going to be too late to discover its true power. If you receive this message, please find your way to Daisuke. I know he's been looking after you in Gulch Canyon. He'll know what to do. He always did. Make your way to the Effulgent Biangle. All the coordinates I ended up piercing together are in the captains log in the Zephyr Mark 1. If you can decipher them, you'd need a crack mechanic to figure it out. But it's too dangerous. I don't know. I don't know if I was right or wrong, Olethra. Maybe you'll succeed where I failed."
Questions caused by this message:
• is the real temple in the air or in the water? ~ hence methane and krill -> apparently both
• did Comfrey have a change of heart and 8 months ago decided to turn things around / break up with Eisengeist due to which she was being followed? OR was she tricking them the whole time in order to get sponsorships? she does mention regretting something that can be hopefully fixed by Olethra
Comfrey connections / tidbits:
• knew of Van's curse, helped contain it in the Gauntlet when it was about to take her like the rest of Chapman's -> the last voyage 5 years ago
• was there when Marya's ship went down in the combat with Straka
• tensions with Monty bc of associating with Eisengeist aristocrats / changing her approach and becoming more reckless / putting ppl in danger
• it does not look like Comfrey was at Ramansu for just 6 months due to the extensive amount of research present (arrived 8 months ago, left 2 months ago) - this research was being protected from the Eyeless Hand which has connections to Eisengeist and has had many years in which they could be established
• either there is timey-wimey stuff happening / the time flows differently
• OR Comfrey has been to Zood and then back to Gath somehow before although that should not be possible
according to Torse but maybe the deep sea is a passage between Zood and Zern?
• Comfrey's research was being sponsored by the House of Fehujar, however, they did not have clearance to it due to which Torse killed them
• wore out her welcome with ppl in Oda and Zumhara
• found Katur underwater
• found a way to traverse between Zood and Zern making her the target of the Queen
Thoughts and questions on the Comfrey / Marya things (I cannot help but obsess over Marya so any possible theories I have all go back to her):
• has Comfrey been trying to channel the power of Straka / Calefactory Biangle? Straka's rhythm / Calefactory Biangle's rhythm matches the Effulgent Biangle, so maybe it is a plane in-between Gath and Zood or is the key to the path between them ~ thinking about it later it is likely a portal to Zern the way Effulgent Biangle is portal to Zood. if so, maybe Comfrey was working on ways to more effectively travel between Gath and Zood, somehow bringing Straka into Gath at the time when Marya and her crew were in the sky? or because of learning it closely had a way to predict where it would appear similar to the Effulgent Biangle?
• was Marya's crew sacrificed in order to save Marya as Comfrey would not have stood for her dying bc of old feelings / nostalgia? this is why only Marya was pushed to safety?
• did the encounter and surviving Straka infused Marya with that energy of the demi-plane? does that mean that she actually is not the cursed one / did not besmirch the prophecy?
Tried to collect some thoughts based on everything we have learned so far + notes from the most recent episode
Also, gotta say, I thought Ectic was an actual word which I just didn't know
Correction for before: "Obtenebrant Biangle (from time to time spelling in the captions /in the way Brennan says terms changes)
The Biangles:
• Effulgent - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zood
• Calefactory - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zern (?) ~ is this where Marya's crew went / from what Comfrey saved her? and by giving in to the Queen of Naught's call they also changed in their nature?
• Obtenebrant-reflectory / miror biangle / water and ilusion / reflection of other Biangles-> possibly used to traverse between Zern and Zood OR to traverse from Zood / Zem to Gath (alternatively, travel from Zood to Zern and back through underwater pathways / True Temple which was originally in the sky, built to protect Zood citizens from Straka)
Timeline / Eyeless Hand / Energies:
• Comfrey seems to have been in Zood far longer than the known 8 months - based on the research available at the Ramansu Power Station
• Mordecestershire's correspondence can be found in Zood, he was the one to invite Comfrey into Eyeless Hand -> Eyeless Hand operates in Zood, has members from Gath and is working on bringing back a "Nameless" God with the help of Queen of Zern/ Queen of Naught
• Zern - originally land of clockwork beings similar to Torse and Straka -> the Queen took their souls and changed their energy to nothingness but there is a resistance
• How does the time flow work comparatively between Zood and Gath / some questions and weirdnesses:
• Comfrey has been here much longer than initially imagined
• Several items of Comfrey's related to her current predicament have been in Gath for years (MechLeod, mention of the frequency on which to listen to the broadcast, the Light / Dark battery thing found on the South Pole)
• There certainly was deeper knowledge of what to expect even before Comfrey rushed away with Zephvr Mark 2 (which we still don't know why they had to make a hot exit from the South Pole Research Station)
• The Eyeless Hand has been researching and corresponding for a long time, although at the time when the adventure started Mordecestershire did not know how to get to Zood but he is also the one who killed Haunch
• However, the twins from the OG Zephyr were the same age when reunited in Zood suggesting that they grew at the same tempo
• Style of House of Fehujar, here for 1000 years but styling wise is very mixed + the banker who changed their ways could have been potentially quangled from a different time period
• Goldbeard feels like it's been about 30 years since he is there, he does not look 80 - time passes weird here in Zood
Energies wise:
• Zood - Light energy ~ Solar and Lunar energies in Ramansu, Golden Heart
• Clockwork energy of Zern - Straka, Cast Iron hearts, Torse, Dark Energy
• Naught energy - Queen of Zern, photo of Ludmilla
• Van's energy - the energy of the deep curse + Eye-full hand
House of Fehujar:
• begins 10-12 generations ago in Gath, 1000 years ago
• Voyage of Rote Halvorson from Houck, got teleported into Zood
• Buxby Folger, a man who looks a lot like Bert, the first Banker who saved House of Fehujar
• Rolifgar Halvorson, current bank president
• enemies of Fehujar -> sea between Saltu and Oda, Clockwork Pirates
Van's Gauntiet/ Eye-full Hand:
• the Eye-full (left) hand reacts to the gauntlet, all eyes close - salubrious / aquatic creature's eyes
• the gauntlet is a bandage and not a weapon, supressing fear
• the hand in the jar matches Van's gauntlet energy - first time match - water / Obtenebrate
• "column of eyes " - almost like the eyes are stretching out just around the corer of the reality as a part of tendrils of a creature suffusing everyting ~ Cosmic Kraken
Pirates of Zood / Automaton stuff:
• homing beacon found in the clouds belonging to the pirates
• Golbeard's crew - Gullfaxi
• Goldbeard and Comfrey used to be a thing, dated in Zood last Tahal - he stole a letter written by Comfrey at that time
• the watch found in Comfrey's office is "special" as it has a solar crystal and thus potential to become an automaton, it "hears time"/ "knows time"
• Alma/bosun- weapon storage
• Fierro / first mate - junkyard -> barnacles covered cilinder with powerful Zood energy that matches what previously caused the eyes to recoil
I am back with my precious lore collection and some thoughts and questions that arose with it
Some stuff and thoughts:
• black ooze that came out of Van - defensive reaction, powerfully obtenebrate energy, same as eyefull hand, extraplanar ~ at this point we can be sure that the Cosmic Horror contained in Van's arm is her patron and is also connected to one of the Biangles ~ could that be their plane? could the Obtenebrant biangle lead to it?
• Van and Comfrey were flying into the storm - could this storm be the Biangle? did Comfrey try to prove its existence through Van?
• battery mechanism when checked by Torse - older looking technology which
somehow intertwines both zood and zern enegies, looks to be created by Comfrey ~ could this have been used to somehow channel the power of Effulgent and Calefactory biangles in order to open them?
Ectic Research Station ~ Maxwell's keys react to it, very similar to the research station on the South Pole
• the two places are in some way entangled with each other, have similar stone towers (the big non-fitting door on the South Pole, room with gunshots on Ectic Station, place with all the research in Ramansu)
• Murdershir has been to this station together with agents of the Eyeless Hand
• Van: "You'll remember the name" ~ are all Chapmans warlocks of this All-Seeing Horror? was the first Chapman fully aware of what was the deal they got into and for a contract you need to know the name
• In one of the side rooms gunpowder smell is lingering ~ likely from last couple of weeks, submersibles were made non-functioning on purpose but navigational equipment still works
Moving into the stone tower of the station ~ research and correspondence found:
• Comfrey's office - letter from Haunch saying that Van could have fixed it (either the situation on the ship as the Bosun or possibly whatever the research was about before the horror was contained), Monty was right about Comfrey, that the old crew of Onion and others was left behind and that Comfrey does not want to tell Marya the truth about what happened (Straka attack / losing of Ludmilla possibly was a premeditated action)
• Unlike the research in Ramansu focusing on Straka, research in Ectic Station is focused on a creature with tentacles which name has been mistranslated over the course of centuries based on derivative translations - "beasts of the old worlds" -> "elder beasts" -> "spirits"-> "gods" /"nameless beasts of destruction"/ "beasts of different worlds " is the most original translation referring to creatures that have a very different ecosystem, mentions of gold as a substance that can repel them
• "super gold" mention in reference to Straka in zernian ~ "golden bullet" / heart of flesh ~ could it be that Straka is not fully automaton or possibly the hearts Queen of Zern takes from the beings are fed into Straka and maybe she needed a heart of a human of flesh and blood and Ludmila was sacrificed for that?
• Beacons of Zumhadi are referenced along with mentions of Katur and how it was built, references to the war between Zood and Zern as well as attacks by Straka and a "nameless beast" that can withstand Straka are also here ~ beacons were built after Katur to maintain whatever the force is that keeps Straka away
• the beacons must remain standing (Zumhadi ~ Zumhara??)
• the temple prevents travel from Zern to Zood
• Katur at some point crashed into the sea
• "Prime disruption" can be found in Katur
• illustrations of disfigured automatons - "Corrodi Primarchs" ancient council of malevolent beings who brought destruction, advisors of Queen of Zern who lifted her up to that position and who believed they would have control over her but she tamed Straka and that made her most powerful
• a drawing is found which when overlayed with the motto of the windriders reads out TAZGW ' AGWA ~ likely the name of the Eldritch Horror which can withstand Straka
• Maxwell Galaxy Brain: Gath to Zood, Zood to Zern, Zern to Gath
In Oda ~ Harvest festival / return of the Sun Lion to the sky - Lamaone ~ possibly another Old Beast
No thoughts here, just notes from the most recent two episodes in Zern and Zumhara
Locations in Zern:
Castle Odpadku- the home of the queen Amphereon - dam with invisible water
Energies:
Lunar energy - Tazg`agwa / Obtenebrate
Before lIlangan empire- the energies were intertwined and working side by side It can be assumed that life originated on Gath and through Biangles was spread to Zood and Zem
Prime Disruption - something occurred in the distant past that disrupted the hammony of the energies
Potentially the disruption also affected the movement of Biangles making thern unreliable
Other info:
Queen can only control Zernians who do not have a heart anymore (Sandy's heart is brass)
The keys were given to Comfrey by Cadswitch:
• opened a doorway to a hall in Zern
• previously used at the arctic research station on Gath and underwater in Katur
• keys were from an order of monks who had access to one of the stone towers
• "the seventh will know to ring the bell" about the bell on the key chain
The triangular hallway / temple / Amphereon:
• undisrupted for centuries, ancestrai hall of power of the Corrodi Primarchs
• traces of widow's breath can be found, aiso the gas Murdershir was breathing - potentially came from the far future of Gath to the far past of Zern
• doorway with a zoodian crystal atop - used to channel energies - the door opens with Gathie energy channeled into it
• control room overlooking a hangar that had some piece of machinery that used to be a doorway that could trap a biangle Straka was created here
• a stone tower akin to the one on the South Pole in Gath and in Ramansu
Corrodi:
• as per primarchs nothing is more beautiful than subservience
• minds of the corrodi were melded into a machine at the center that stores memories
• in Amphereon: the walls have traces of the mythology of destiny - copied humanity
• image -> sun moon trapped inside a ciockwork mechanism in hangs of the Corrodi - control of time?
• secret to mastering time - patience
• truth about what has happened to Ludmilla -> she was nourished back to heaith by Corrodi who asked to be made like her, and once she bullt Straka they tore her heart out to make her their Queen
Workshop:
• Zoodian automaton - powered on crystals, not metal hearts
• Delegation of automatons from Zumhara from 1200 years ago, betrayed by Primarchs
• Torus and Taran sent the delegation - opportunity to reset the life forces of Zood and Zemlrn (the lion and the crow), the cycle of life and death
• Zumharans wished to keep the source of life in Zood as they believed it is theirs
About the deal between Zern and Zumhara -> they wanted to separate the energies of life and destruction, but it is not clear whether the deal was really made because of the state Buzz was in
This seems to be related to / is itself the Prime Disruption researched by Comfrey - when the energies separated
Tazg-Agwa
• the dam seems to have visible Obtenebrant energy being supressed as well as flickers of green gathie energy
• riverbed in Amphereon goes from the dam all the way to the castle
• Tazg-Agwa is capable of defrumpling time (swims in the ocean of time)
• upon meeting Comfrey in its desire to help it collected al the Chapmans at once through time to build Katur, it is the curse itself
• calling the name of Tazg'agwa whilst looking into the obsidian mirror summons water into the riverbed
• Tazg'Agwa could not grab Van - she was the key to Comfrey arriving to Zern
Locations in Zunhara:
• Crystalary Knowleteria - library
• Conflagrant Luxaeterium- place where leaders meet
• Third location with an engine separating energies - Prime Disruption
Events in Zumhara:
• Maxwell's keys reacting - area with imagery of healers and enlightened people + two hooded crystalline figures kneeling over a small red crystal
• The heart of Zood is located underneath the Luxaeterium
• built like a miror that reflects energy throughout Zood
• the engine of the Prime Disruption built by Torus and Tarun
• there seems to be an exact replica of this engine in the Castle Odpadku in Zern
• Van finds Obtenebrant energy around the corner which transports her into Tazgw'agwa's domain - the squid is fom Shahar
• Collected from the Library
• Mordecestershire took the core of one of the crystals which were utlized by Zumaharans to recond the history, specifically the one about Torus and Tarun
• Lion and Crow were the early descriptors for Zoodian and Zernian energies (growth and change vs comosion and errosion)
• Military treatises from the pre-Katur time were also attempted to be tampered with - Straka is powered by Heart of Flesh (taken from Mila) and Queen is powered by a Heart of Coal + mentions of Zoodian gold to which Straka is vulnerable and that there is vulnerability to Zernian energy as well
• Straka has a chamber Iike the one where Ludmilla is stored in where enemies are taken - their blood is what powers the beast + mentions of the Green glow of a portal (Gath)
• Comfrey's notes
• the Biangles are directional but they exist on both planes meaning tiey at all times have 4 sides
• by going through the back of Effulgent in Zood they were able to travel back to Gath but right frequency could not be found for the front of the Biangle here
could it be that Straka is not fully automaton and requires something different to function (based on the "heart of flesh" mention) could it be that the hearts Queen of Zern takes from the beings are fed into Straka and maybe she needed a heart of a human of flesh and blood and Ludmila was sacrificed for that?
could it be why she appears with "null" energy like the naughtomata? could it be this is why professor can never look Marya in the eyes?
and here is my full collection of lore and thoughts up till now
This picture was taken by Heidi Levine. She works for The Washington Post and Associated Press, as well as others. The Washington Post has published this picture, as well as some videos and more images taken from the aid plane in an interactive slideshow article. From the article:
Both Mulder and Scully are complex, multidimensional characters who have flaws, which is a good thing. It's good that they are far from perfect, that they are at times unpleasant, that they can be mean and that they can be wrong. Painting either one of them as pure evil whilst infantilizing the other is inherently wrong and shows a deep misunderstanding of who these characters are. Especially with Scully also getting more layers to her than initially, us getting to see and know more about her.
The "flaws" in these characters also make absolute sense to me and the challenges / pain thrown at them oftentimes expands on these, challenges them.
Mulder is someone who lives with grief and guilt always at the forefront of his mind. He suffered through severe emotional trauma all alone, without the necessary support, so it makes sense for him to rely mostly on himself, to be distrustful and to also have a bit of a martyr syndrome. And we can see how a lot of times when he is emotionally challenged by cases it is about situations similar to that of Samantha, which make him too involved to his own detriment or mytharc stories which affect his psyche and its stability (like in Demons).
For Scully we see her struggle with being taken seriously, as someone who has always tried very hard to appear stronger and more independent and more invincible than she actually is. This comes both from her family background and from just being a woman in male dominated field. So she is harsh and judgemental and mean because these are all things which are the opposite of soft. The challenges thrown at her oftentimes focus on autonomy and the loss of it (Irresistible, Unruhe).
So it makes sense for both of them to sometimes just simply not see where the other is coming from because beyond the whole believer / sceptic situation, we are also just dealing with two very damaged people who went through a lot together but also put each other through a lot. They would take a bullet for each other without even batting an eye, but when asked to see from a different perspective they are unbudging in their stance.
What I personally have an issue with is the fluctuations in their characterization. Sometimes we see growth and understanding in one episode which is gone in the next. We see Scully make huge discoveries through her scientific methods which work alongside the explanations provided by Mulder only to walk back on them in the most crucial moments (her reactions in Je Souhaite, denying what she herself discovered and documented, questioning even herself - which is also interesting later in S8 when she is the believer and how she struggles with it, a much much better characterization). We see Mulder lose his endless empathy when he takes on the role of the sceptic, because he doesn't just challenge / question, he disregards and ridicules (it just feels wrong coming from him, the man who builds deep connections with people, who trusts, who is always so gentle). It just feels like they are being forced from time to time into their roles from season 1 as if tho they haven't learned and grown from their experiences. (another thing with Mulder is I think sometimes he is less smart than he is supposed to be? he is an Oxford graduate, a psychologist, a genius profiler and yet it does not always feel like that ~ this is why I love Grotesque so much)
All this to say, both Mulder and Scully are incredible multifaceted characters who have gone through a lot and who came out of it all slightly damaged but still good at heart. There is just a certain fluctuation in how they are described to the viewers depending on who wrote and directed the episode. Sometimes it truly feels like Chris Carter is the one who knows these characters the least.
CloHo musings / attempt to organize thoughts under the cut (all from memory so the timeline might not be right)
What we know:
- Comfrey has been no-contact for the last 2-3 months which is confirmed by Lord Kensington
- The crew has known each other for at least 20 years but has been separated for about 8yrs already
- The doors at the station on the South Pole seem to be ancient and so does the Straka / Light ceramic mechanism
- The recording available in MechLeod was done once Comfrey reached Zood, post her disappearance
- The Biangle calculations, the sextant, the cypher and the snacks were on the Zephyr which has not been in use for a while since before Comfrey's disappearance ~ the cypher already mentions Ramansu despite it coming from before disappearance and the time when Comfrey left a message mentioning the Power Statiom
This makes me think that either Zood originally was a part of Gath more closely and sort of Atlantis style disappeared of the map or what Emily mentioned is true that Zood is sending things into the world where our adventurers are from ~ so Straka and the artifacts which were found originated in Zood, were found by Comfrey and then helped her find a way to get there
I really love the idea Emily mentioned of Zood being the place where lost things go to but there could be truly some principle of exchange between it and the world of Gath. But I also would super love it being a sort of land that used to be a part of the world which got basically edited out of it for either safekeeping or to keep the rest of the world safe from it.
Continuing this to just collect my notes and lore as if I am also playing with the IH
Vim / Vex - absolutes but not fixed points unlike the N/S poles, likely a line
Nox / Nef - directional and neverending, like E/W
Hence I agree with ppl theorizing that Zood is basically a donut or maybe like a tube
Olethra's checking of the planar energy by MechLeod:
- everybody as a person seems to fit in and does not register as an external force
- the "Clay Tile" mechanism from the South Pole ~ the side of the tube which is not Light (possibly Darkness) registers
- same energy registered on Marya's Straka bullets which she created (Van tested, not the same effect if she writes it)
- gauge on Van's arm registers with different energy ~ created by Comfrey, as per her explanation if it is lit up red for more than 1 min something bad could happen
- Marya's photograph of the Protege registers with "dead" energy / absence of energy
BLeeM said that the gauge has not lit up in the past 5 years, which makes it a bit hazy whether it has happened before or if Van got the prosthetic 5 yrs ago made by Comfrey as a thank you for something she has done for the professor
Olethra hasn't seen her grandma in about 8 yrs which makes it possible that the crew stayed with Comfrey for different amounts of time
Biangle goes through areas and teleports people as a disastrous event to Zood
Gathian lost cities of Hawk and Luin were transported in such a manner
Date in Zood ~ 15th of Amravi
There are 4 months corresponding to 4 seasons:
- Tahal ~ winter
- spring
- Amravi ~ fall
- Nuha ~ summer
Natural phenomena noted by Van and Marya:
- horizon is not the same as in Gath, "wobbly"
- gravity works differently, is lighter
Locations and terms heard about / within Zood:
- cities of Oda and Tabira
- House of Fehujar (elicited strong reaction when mentioned)
- Ramansu Power Station / Temple of Ramansu (warned against going there)
- Order of the Eyeless Hand (symbol in blood on the wall, after psychic attack)
- Legio Rex / Raptors ~ legend from Gath of a military legion which went missing on the continent of Gastonet during the times of Treshian Empire (mentioned in connection with Ramansu)
This episode was so much fun and also we learned so many new things 💕
Questions I still have:
- does time in Zood work somewhat differently?
- does the Biangle spit things out into Gath from Zood when it picks stuff up from Gath?
- is Zood a donut?
Locations:
• Tabira city moves within the same 200 mile radius of the Biazi Desert- does not use money, instead trades for goods and services
• Past that are the Arenth Mountains - Arenthian Coast is presumably in the area as well
• On the other side of the mountains is Saltu jungle where Ramansu Temple is in the general area of
• Oda city is in Nox direction, same as Ramansu Temple
• Umanzi Fighting Pit located in Tabira City
• Zumara- Crystal city, nox by nox vim direction, it is on vim itselt, 3-4 days of travel
• Tabira City -> Pulgali Alley -> Thumb and Bottom Booksellers
Other things:
• Ancient llanga Empire which is no more was in Saltu - Legio Rex Raptors live here
• Myconimus Mensamagna, Cordyceps family of the fungi - capable of transferring the mind of a creature into a different body ~ the "Zood Switcharoo"
• Kingdom of Animalia was formed through a "Zood Switcharoo"
• Legio Rex raptors were also created through the "Switcharoo" - they now seek the Temple of Ramansu, on this quest for the past 7-8 yrs
• Zu(h)marans - here in Zood for at least 10 generations, use frequencies to communicate
• The ships in Zood use scrap parts from Gath and run on coal but there are other ways as well: Sycamore Flyers of Oda and Crafts of Zumhara
• The Zephyr is a legend in Zood ~ "The Nef Wind"
Characters:
• Baboon guy (lchabod) ~ used to be a doctor, zapped into this body
• Gorim - guy who owns the food stall
• Divan - the guy who helped sync up languages
• Safiyah - mechanic feeding Paglioli monkeys
• Haunch - og member of Comfrey's crew, now dead by hands of Lord Kensington who apparently works with Eyeless Hand (is he the person Comfrey said to be cautious of?), had the wind riders tattoo blocked out
• Alanso - one of the windriders of Zood
• Calhoun Thumb- -nar of the bookstore
Investigation checks at the bookstore:
Zephyr (25)
• etching in an old periodical paper of a ship arriving
• ship very similar to Zephyr but is not it, however manned by travelers from Gath
• likely is Zephyr Mark II ~ Comfrey had plans for it
• drawing of the og Zephyr by Comfrey herself also in this etching ~ if Zephyr is a legend and the paper is ancient but Comfrey only went missing couple of months ago, what exactly is the comparative time flow between Zood and Gath? does time move that much faster in Zood that years would equal months?
Ramansu (n20)
• explorer's book with the prophecy that made Legio Rex go mad
• the prophecy is the cypher that was solved about the price of the power of Ramansu
• high priests of the Empire controlled lightning itself and had to pay the price
• there is a true moon of Zood and "1000 moons"
Straka (23)
• ballad written in an ancient codex about the Furnace Crow
• sailor who sailed the horizon who is being followed by the crow and recounts their regrets
Mushrooms (23)
• mushrooms are not sentient, incredibly rare
• equal exchange, Legio Rex into raptors and raptors into Legio Rex
• activated through release of spores as a defense mechanism
Continuing this madness, I am more confused than ever but also having so so so much fun!
I agree with everybody who says that CloHo has STODY energy, peak performance and leak chaos
- there seems to be something off with Lord Worcestershire ~ his gait is "weaker" so he might be in a different phase of his life potentially? with the Twins reuniting and being the same the theory of the time flow being different seems silly now. Although maybe traveling through Biangle many times / incorrectly affects the physical body?
- Ramansu is on the 7th sub-vim parallel in Saltu jungles ~ seems to be a grouping of quartz obelisks and ruins of a temple overtaken by nature
- as the moon is full the pylons (quartzes) seem to be interacting with this energy generating a push and pull -> Olethra's mech picked up a frequency to it which unlocked more of Comfrey's message
- based on the message the Eyeless Hand has been to Ramansu and found the "True Temple" ~ the one found by the IH is the "Power Station" used potentially to power something related to the mushrooms and the crystals and lunar energy within the actual temple? Van's arm interacts with the lunar energy as well
- Legio Rex is trying to channel the energy of Ramansu to keep their Emperor alive ~ meaning they have either tried this before / have something to prove that this would work despite the new vessel being of the same species
As per usual ~ more questions than answers:
- why was Comfrey working with the Empire?
- how many times has she been to Zood?
- what is the relation between Gath and Zood beyond the Biangle drops? is there a pathway between them? is Zood in some way a reflection?
Cannot wait for the adventuring party to learn more!
I will need to sit down and come up with some actual theories because I just keep collecting bits and pieces which are not helping me to see the bigger picture
Solar energy-yellow
Lunar energy - blue
Infernal / Furnace/ Machine energy - pink - similar to that of Straka,
- vision Maxwell has affects his mind turning it clockwork like
- aligned with the energy of Marya's Straka bullets
(Van's energy does not correspond to any of the three)
Guests of researchers have clearance to enter the Ramansu Power Station - Comfrey is one of them -> literal Power Station which has customers who pay their bills -> part of the Ramansu Power Station Company infrastructure built by Ramansu the Builder
Stone guards last activated - 2mo, 1w, 3d, 7h, 22mi
-> initially reactivated after centuries by Comfrey who renewed the contract
Deeper into the mountain below the obelisks providing moonlight -> hangar with vehicles toppled over and signs of a major vehicle having left the place (similar to the South Pole station) - House of Fehujar caused the damages, dragon symbol, dragon ship in Tabira (?) ~ members dressed as if they are from a different time period and had to adjust -> part of "Bank of Fehujar" with sword symbols
Message is stored deep within the station, cannot be reached by the guards - keys, found initially on the Zephyr, which had the key to the door with the battery at South Pole -> react to the location, door can be opened made of Gathie stone:
• several dead bodies
• radio playing a message on a loop
• clockwork man radiating with "pink" energy
• spherical golden motor with 3 points coming out of it ~ battery of the clockwork creature
Clockwork figure speaks to Marya - "you are so close, come. only you can repair what you have ruined"
Thoughts:
Straka and Clockwork machine have the same type of energy and both are somehow connected to Marya ~ Comfrey appeared there when Marya's crew was attacked -> was Comfrey the one to bring Straka to Gath this time, stumbled upon Marya and her crew and Marya was the only one who did not get whiscked away so she somehow affected some balance?
Continuing this absolute beast of post, not even done yet with the episode but I have too many notes and not enough braincells to understand everything
(edits added post finishing the episode, my longest post, and please, if anybody sees it, come theorize)
Timeline:
• 1369 - Comfrey and Daisuke get a divorce
• 1373 - Maxwell's grandpa dies
• 1374 - Olethra saw Comfrey for the last time, Comfrey and Monty have their feud
• 1377 - Van's last flight with Comfrey
• 1382 - the year of the current adventure
If we are looking for dates within Zood tho, it must be 17th of Amravi
Comfrey disembarked from Ramansu Power Station on 44th of Tahal ~ it is indeed 2 month in Zood time but we do not know how it translates to Gathie time as here months are full seasons
(alt text added for the image with names of seasons)
List of energies:
- Zood ~ lunar / solar
- Zern ~ pink / Straka / Cast Iron heart
- Van ~ energy of the deep
(earlier list with examples on the picture below, alt text added)
House of Fehujar is located in the asteroids above Zood ~ 7 asteroids chained up
Arath Mountains - location of Ramansu Power Station (discoveries)
• Constructs were active during the reign of the Empire of Illanga when the powers were equal - after awakening the empire was no more and there was less of the pink energy
• the ceramic decorations at the station are similar to the battery that was found at the South Pole
• the "Light" energy does not march the Lunar and the Solar energy
• the "Dark" energy is still very much same as Straka / Pink
• there are several offices within the station:
• library / crew area with a mechanism underneath which a machine can be found with several disks with different phases of the moon ~ one of the disks has the letter Z on it which is supposed to open up a mechanism ~ unclear if that was done, might have missed it
• office of Onion St Clay is also here from og Zephyr crew
• Comfrey's office, pretty barren
• events of Zephyr Mark 2 disembarking:
• Comfrey was doing research, sponsored by House of Fehujar who were looking for new gold - research into creating a submersible craft
• Eyeless Hand arrived ~ mention of Ectic Research Station
• Zephyr 2 with Comfrey rushes away
• House of Fehujar is at a loss, tries to grab some of the research but loses the combat with clockwork mechanism due to lack of clearance, collects the resources and the maps which were stored there
• Comfrey's office (items found):
• timepiece with weirdly moving hands ~ potentially a compass to a clockwork world
• note with a cypher ~ quick brown fox
• correspondence between Cadswitch and Comfrey ~ he was also a seventh son like Maxwell
• correspondence topics from Onion's office:
• Van Chapman file with schematics of the gauntlet and mention of the inner tower -> this was not followed up on!!!
• personal missive from Comfrey about Van "... there is no world where she could have come here. i feel regret and guilt over what happened ... she is the last piece of their puzzle"
• photo of Comfrey and Marya from which a person was cut on Marya's side - from around the time Marya got her own ship and became independent ~ cut person is Ludmila
• several financial ledgers
• message about Zumhara being onto Comfrey
• letter from Comfrey on Monty - "I'll thank you not to bring up that name around me again. He's not a real adventurer. He never was. He wanted to tag along so that he could write a book, and now he can eat his canapes and drink his wine and stop pretending like he was ever one of us." -> interesting, because she did mention Monty in the message based on what was heard from the MechLeod's transmission
• "finishing the radio is of utmost importance"
• final thing: Map of Zood which is basically two linked pretzels - the light one is Zood and the dark one is whatever the "Dark" part of the battery is - like two interconnected planes (learned to be Zern)
• Rooms within the inner tower:
• the room with the radio + clockwork mechanism / hearts
• a work room with images of Straka and an "eyeful hand" + ancient tomes with occult symbols (like the Eyeless Hand)
• mention of a place called Zern
• Eyeless Hand are trying to bring back to life a nameless god ~ but there is a name, it just cannot be known
• Temple of Katur - "the true temple"
• correspondence to become members of the Eyeless Hand - the person answering on-behalf of the cult is Mordecestershire
• warning about the pterosaur Archie as the "eyes"
• Comfrey's work on Extraplanar Biangles:
• Effulgent Biangle - produces light
• Calefactory Biangle - produces heat (demi-plane of Straka)
• "dimming the beacons"
appears a lot in the correspondence ~ maybe affecting the light could make it so that the darkness is more potent due to the dual symbolism we have seen so far ~ channeling less Lunar / Solar energy
• book on history of Zood ~ flying Temple of Katur was created during the war between Zood and Zern ~ when beast Corvus Exitium nearly destroyed Zumhara (Monty found details that the temple is below the ocean)
• tome with cast iron binding for which Maxwell has the keys ~ text in Weirian from Queen of Zero to Eyeless Hands with instructions on how to destroy Zood technology ~ book has the red energy and a cog mechanism spider which was in it ~ Van's energy counters the energy of Straka
Map of Zood / Zern:
• two interlaced ribbons which are similar to a mobius-strip (?) due to the interchanging of Vim and Vex which are supposed to be the absolutes
~ vim is connecting every point furthest away from Zern and vex is connecting every point closest to Zern and due to the movement of these "ribbons" the line is always changing and shifting
• the moon is in-between the two ribbons
• the world is a braid with both Zood and Zern being tubes ~ visible from sky of Zood when sailing vex innermost point of Zood
Name of Clockwork Mechanism - Torse (created by Comfrey / her associate)
Two "batteries" / clockwork mechanisms:
• Cast Iron - pink light - Straka - an older heart
• Gold - Zood - "So beats a worthy heart"
About Torse:
• recognizes the adventurers and Olethrs but not Max (knows of Cadswitch)
• of Aganti Zernai, from Zern, land of clockwork beings
• rebel warrior of Zern against Queen of Naught (naughtomata) (whoever said that it would be devastating if Ludmilla was the Queen, yes, that would be diabolical, but also, I think there is a potential that Marya's crew is in Zern)
• switches between two hearts depending on whether combat is needed
The mechanism could be heard by Kocka as well who also survived Straka.
What happened with Marya:
• organized her own crew
• took in Ludmilla and Kocka as protegee
• allowed Ludmilla to be the captain too soon because of seeing herself in her / living vicariously through her
• got attacked by Straka and was saved by Comfrey
• unsure how many years ago it happened however...
Straka prophecy / superstition - divine retribution that comes for those who abandon what they were meant to do, retribution for abandoning things in general. When only bad things happen to you - "The thought of a curse hurts less than unlucky"
Comfrey's message:
"... broadcasting from the seventh sub-vim parallel, having left this recording at the Ramansu Power Station. We've just received word that Langosta Five is losing oxygen rapidly 40 knots vex nef from the Ectic Research Station. The true temple has experienced a breach, and is gaining methane an krill at an unsustainable rate. This broadcast is intended for any who can come to our aid. Our expedition disembarked from the Ramansu Power Station on the 44th of Tahal with assistance from the House of Fehujar. We were discovered by the Eyeless Hand and had to launch prematurely. If you can hear this, Olethra, it's real. Zood is real. It's glorious and dangerous, and if we're not careful, it's going to be too late to discover its true power. If you receive this message, please find your way to Daisuke. I know he's been looking after you in Gulch Canyon. He'll know what to do. He always did. Make your way to the Effulgent Biangle. All the coordinates I ended up piercing together are in the captains log in the Zephyr Mark 1. If you can decipher them, you'd need a crack mechanic to figure it out. But it's too dangerous. I don't know. I don't know if I was right or wrong, Olethra. Maybe you'll succeed where I failed."
Questions caused by this message:
• is the real temple in the air or in the water? ~ hence methane and krill -> apparently both
• did Comfrey have a change of heart and 8 months ago decided to turn things around / break up with Eisengeist due to which she was being followed? OR was she tricking them the whole time in order to get sponsorships? she does mention regretting something that can be hopefully fixed by Olethra
Comfrey connections / tidbits:
• knew of Van's curse, helped contain it in the Gauntlet when it was about to take her like the rest of Chapman's -> the last voyage 5 years ago
• was there when Marya's ship went down in the combat with Straka
• tensions with Monty bc of associating with Eisengeist aristocrats / changing her approach and becoming more reckless / putting ppl in danger
• it does not look like Comfrey was at Ramansu for just 6 months due to the extensive amount of research present (arrived 8 months ago, left 2 months ago) - this research was being protected from the Eyeless Hand which has connections to Eisengeist and has had many years in which they could be established
• either there is timey-wimey stuff happening / the time flows differently
• OR Comfrey has been to Zood and then back to Gath somehow before although that should not be possible
according to Torse but maybe the deep sea is a passage between Zood and Zern?
• Comfrey's research was being sponsored by the House of Fehujar, however, they did not have clearance to it due to which Torse killed them
• wore out her welcome with ppl in Oda and Zumhara
• found Katur underwater
• found a way to traverse between Zood and Zern making her the target of the Queen
Thoughts and questions on the Comfrey / Marya things (I cannot help but obsess over Marya so any possible theories I have all go back to her):
• has Comfrey been trying to channel the power of Straka / Calefactory Biangle? Straka's rhythm / Calefactory Biangle's rhythm matches the Effulgent Biangle, so maybe it is a plane in-between Gath and Zood or is the key to the path between them ~ thinking about it later it is likely a portal to Zern the way Effulgent Biangle is portal to Zood. if so, maybe Comfrey was working on ways to more effectively travel between Gath and Zood, somehow bringing Straka into Gath at the time when Marya and her crew were in the sky? or because of learning it closely had a way to predict where it would appear similar to the Effulgent Biangle?
• was Marya's crew sacrificed in order to save Marya as Comfrey would not have stood for her dying bc of old feelings / nostalgia? this is why only Marya was pushed to safety?
• did the encounter and surviving Straka infused Marya with that energy of the demi-plane? does that mean that she actually is not the cursed one / did not besmirch the prophecy?
Tried to collect some thoughts based on everything we have learned so far + notes from the most recent episode
Also, gotta say, I thought Ectic was an actual word which I just didn't know
Correction for before: "Obtenebrant Biangle (from time to time spelling in the captions /in the way Brennan says terms changes)
The Biangles:
• Effulgent - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zood
• Calefactory - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zern (?) ~ is this where Marya's crew went / from what Comfrey saved her? and by giving in to the Queen of Naught's call they also changed in their nature?
• Obtenebrant-reflectory / miror biangle / water and ilusion / reflection of other Biangles-> possibly used to traverse between Zern and Zood OR to traverse from Zood / Zem to Gath (alternatively, travel from Zood to Zern and back through underwater pathways / True Temple which was originally in the sky, built to protect Zood citizens from Straka)
Timeline / Eyeless Hand / Energies:
• Comfrey seems to have been in Zood far longer than the known 8 months - based on the research available at the Ramansu Power Station
• Mordecestershire's correspondence can be found in Zood, he was the one to invite Comfrey into Eyeless Hand -> Eyeless Hand operates in Zood, has members from Gath and is working on bringing back a "Nameless" God with the help of Queen of Zern/ Queen of Naught
• Zern - originally land of clockwork beings similar to Torse and Straka -> the Queen took their souls and changed their energy to nothingness but there is a resistance
• How does the time flow work comparatively between Zood and Gath / some questions and weirdnesses:
• Comfrey has been here much longer than initially imagined
• Several items of Comfrey's related to her current predicament have been in Gath for years (MechLeod, mention of the frequency on which to listen to the broadcast, the Light / Dark battery thing found on the South Pole)
• There certainly was deeper knowledge of what to expect even before Comfrey rushed away with Zephvr Mark 2 (which we still don't know why they had to make a hot exit from the South Pole Research Station)
• The Eyeless Hand has been researching and corresponding for a long time, although at the time when the adventure started Mordecestershire did not know how to get to Zood but he is also the one who killed Haunch
• However, the twins from the OG Zephyr were the same age when reunited in Zood suggesting that they grew at the same tempo
• Style of House of Fehujar, here for 1000 years but styling wise is very mixed + the banker who changed their ways could have been potentially quangled from a different time period
• Goldbeard feels like it's been about 30 years since he is there, he does not look 80 - time passes weird here in Zood
Energies wise:
• Zood - Light energy ~ Solar and Lunar energies in Ramansu, Golden Heart
• Clockwork energy of Zern - Straka, Cast Iron hearts, Torse, Dark Energy
• Naught energy - Queen of Zern, photo of Ludmilla
• Van's energy - the energy of the deep curse + Eye-full hand
House of Fehujar:
• begins 10-12 generations ago in Gath, 1000 years ago
• Voyage of Rote Halvorson from Houck, got teleported into Zood
• Buxby Folger, a man who looks a lot like Bert, the first Banker who saved House of Fehujar
• Rolifgar Halvorson, current bank president
• enemies of Fehujar -> sea between Saltu and Oda, Clockwork Pirates
Van's Gauntiet/ Eye-full Hand:
• the Eye-full (left) hand reacts to the gauntlet, all eyes close - salubrious / aquatic creature's eyes
• the gauntlet is a bandage and not a weapon, supressing fear
• the hand in the jar matches Van's gauntlet energy - first time match - water / Obtenebrate
• "column of eyes " - almost like the eyes are stretching out just around the corer of the reality as a part of tendrils of a creature suffusing everyting ~ Cosmic Kraken
Pirates of Zood / Automaton stuff:
• homing beacon found in the clouds belonging to the pirates
• Golbeard's crew - Gullfaxi
• Goldbeard and Comfrey used to be a thing, dated in Zood last Tahal - he stole a letter written by Comfrey at that time
• the watch found in Comfrey's office is "special" as it has a solar crystal and thus potential to become an automaton, it "hears time"/ "knows time"
• Alma/bosun- weapon storage
• Fierro / first mate - junkyard -> barnacles covered cilinder with powerful Zood energy that matches what previously caused the eyes to recoil
I am back with my precious lore collection and some thoughts and questions that arose with it
Some stuff and thoughts:
• black ooze that came out of Van - defensive reaction, powerfully obtenebrate energy, same as eyefull hand, extraplanar ~ at this point we can be sure that the Cosmic Horror contained in Van's arm is her patron and is also connected to one of the Biangles ~ could that be their plane? could the Obtenebrant biangle lead to it?
• Van and Comfrey were flying into the storm - could this storm be the Biangle? did Comfrey try to prove its existence through Van?
• battery mechanism when checked by Torse - older looking technology which
somehow intertwines both zood and zern enegies, looks to be created by Comfrey ~ could this have been used to somehow channel the power of Effulgent and Calefactory biangles in order to open them?
Ectic Research Station ~ Maxwell's keys react to it, very similar to the research station on the South Pole
• the two places are in some way entangled with each other, have similar stone towers (the big non-fitting door on the South Pole, room with gunshots on Ectic Station, place with all the research in Ramansu)
• Murdershir has been to this station together with agents of the Eyeless Hand
• Van: "You'll remember the name" ~ are all Chapmans warlocks of this All-Seeing Horror? was the first Chapman fully aware of what was the deal they got into and for a contract you need to know the name
• In one of the side rooms gunpowder smell is lingering ~ likely from last couple of weeks, submersibles were made non-functioning on purpose but navigational equipment still works
Moving into the stone tower of the station ~ research and correspondence found:
• Comfrey's office - letter from Haunch saying that Van could have fixed it (either the situation on the ship as the Bosun or possibly whatever the research was about before the horror was contained), Monty was right about Comfrey, that the old crew of Onion and others was left behind and that Comfrey does not want to tell Marya the truth about what happened (Straka attack / losing of Ludmilla possibly was a premeditated action)
• Unlike the research in Ramansu focusing on Straka, research in Ectic Station is focused on a creature with tentacles which name has been mistranslated over the course of centuries based on derivative translations - "beasts of the old worlds" -> "elder beasts" -> "spirits"-> "gods" /"nameless beasts of destruction"/ "beasts of different worlds " is the most original translation referring to creatures that have a very different ecosystem, mentions of gold as a substance that can repel them
• "super gold" mention in reference to Straka in zernian ~ "golden bullet" / heart of flesh ~ could it be that Straka is not fully automaton or possibly the hearts Queen of Zern takes from the beings are fed into Straka and maybe she needed a heart of a human of flesh and blood and Ludmila was sacrificed for that?
• Beacons of Zumhadi are referenced along with mentions of Katur and how it was built, references to the war between Zood and Zern as well as attacks by Straka and a "nameless beast" that can withstand Straka are also here ~ beacons were built after Katur to maintain whatever the force is that keeps Straka away
• the beacons must remain standing (Zumhadi ~ Zumhara??)
• the temple prevents travel from Zern to Zood
• Katur at some point crashed into the sea
• "Prime disruption" can be found in Katur
• illustrations of disfigured automatons - "Corrodi Primarchs" ancient council of malevolent beings who brought destruction, advisors of Queen of Zern who lifted her up to that position and who believed they would have control over her but she tamed Straka and that made her most powerful
• a drawing is found which when overlayed with the motto of the windriders reads out TAZGW ' AGWA ~ likely the name of the Eldritch Horror which can withstand Straka
• Maxwell Galaxy Brain: Gath to Zood, Zood to Zern, Zern to Gath
In Oda ~ Harvest festival / return of the Sun Lion to the sky - Lamaone ~ possibly another Old Beast
Welp, in my heart of heart I knew that the theories people had about Ludmilla are likely to be true, but I was still hoping just as Emily that it is just her heart that was taken ...
Gathie historical notes:
• Old Frumbian armor from medieval times
• Gastonic Church
• Reina Aracamani - dead for about 600 years, vassal queen
• Dames Zaporano and Diamante biangled to Zood recently
People on Oda City:
• Senor Rufus Radish - navigator, engineer
• Totama Baldo - elder of Oda
• Threadgill
About Oda City and history of biangle travel:
• Center of Oda - lost city of Calipan from Gath
• Looks like in Gathie time in more ancient times Biangles were bigger
• The arrivals of full cities from Gath to Zood predate the war between Zood and Zern - limitations of travel between Zood and Zern by Katur seem to have limited travel between Zood and Gath as well
• Oda city was formed by the ppl who arrived from Gath and found remedies to their plagues in the forests
• Odans are cultivating the plants and trying to come up with natural solution to problems
• As per Rufus, they do not like some of the more modern Gathie technology such as Widow's Breath powered engines
On Eyeless Hand:
• The old man from Tabira with Archie is actually Mordecestershire but very very aged -> he was here years before the crew
• Zernians don't seem to consider the "Nameless God" as a deity,
• Zoodians (Eyeless Hand) seem to be in a pyramid scheme, being led on by Zern
• 4 beacons at the heart of the tempie of Katur are what is keeping the barrier up and what Eyeless Hand wants unlit
• Thousands years old statues at the bottom of the sea can be found of Comfrey / other guardians / Chapmans
Portal of Katur -> Zoodian energy surrounding Obtenebrant power of the portal itself -> portal possibly closing off / trapping the Obtenebrant Biangle
The great lobster guarded the area on behalf of the guardians of Katur
Non-linear movement of time caused by the biangles and how travel between Gath Zood Zern is setup -> true time watch cannot be tuned but could be used to identify where the person is in time
Underwater research station in Katur:
• bas-relief of Comfrey leading the Champan family for some meeting
• Murdershir has been here, seeping through the doors
• thousand-years-old book which is dated 3 yrs ago in Gath reports of devastation / pollution / destruction from about 800yrs ago when Zern was attacking Zood and Katur was being created
• stolen ledger book mentioning debt of Longspot Gotch to Murdershir - debt started around the time when Cadswitch got suddenly very sick -> "continuing where Cadswitch left off" after cutting off the funding to Comfrey
• at the heart of the reactor an obsidian scrying mirror to the true Obtenebrant Biangle
• Mount Charuk, nox of Zumhadi - Observatory
Near the Observatory -> Zephyr Mark 2 -> Comfrey, Sylvio, Onion
• 5 times back to Zood, total of about 10 years
• time is quangled but Biangles move in a straight line through it regardless of time
• it is possible to find approximate timing for landing in Gath through biangles but the same cannot be calculated precisely for Zood
• chronometer helps with identifying the "location" in time
Prime Disruption ~ current focus of research
• During Comfrey's third voyage to Zood - the deal with Katur and ending the war
• Tazg'agwa's body was used as the barrier to severe the connection between Zood and Zern
• Straka started appearing in Gath because of Katur blocking its entry to Zood and energies overfiowing
• Ludmilla becoming the Queen of Zem is a part of a loop in time
But the way they are written / characterized changes from episode to episode... Sometimes I barely recognize them, esp Mulder. (they love doing disservice to that beautiful empathetic man) One day he is all gentle eyes and big declarations, the next he is incapable of trust and understanding....
could it be that Straka is not fully automaton and requires something different to function (based on the "heart of flesh" mention) could it be that the hearts Queen of Zern takes from the beings are fed into Straka and maybe she needed a heart of a human of flesh and blood and Ludmila was sacrificed for that?
could it be why she appears with "null" energy like the naughtomata? could it be this is why professor can never look Marya in the eyes?
and here is my full collection of lore and thoughts up till now
CloHo musings / attempt to organize thoughts under the cut (all from memory so the timeline might not be right)
What we know:
- Comfrey has been no-contact for the last 2-3 months which is confirmed by Lord Kensington
- The crew has known each other for at least 20 years but has been separated for about 8yrs already
- The doors at the station on the South Pole seem to be ancient and so does the Straka / Light ceramic mechanism
- The recording available in MechLeod was done once Comfrey reached Zood, post her disappearance
- The Biangle calculations, the sextant, the cypher and the snacks were on the Zephyr which has not been in use for a while since before Comfrey's disappearance ~ the cypher already mentions Ramansu despite it coming from before disappearance and the time when Comfrey left a message mentioning the Power Statiom
This makes me think that either Zood originally was a part of Gath more closely and sort of Atlantis style disappeared of the map or what Emily mentioned is true that Zood is sending things into the world where our adventurers are from ~ so Straka and the artifacts which were found originated in Zood, were found by Comfrey and then helped her find a way to get there
I really love the idea Emily mentioned of Zood being the place where lost things go to but there could be truly some principle of exchange between it and the world of Gath. But I also would super love it being a sort of land that used to be a part of the world which got basically edited out of it for either safekeeping or to keep the rest of the world safe from it.
Continuing this to just collect my notes and lore as if I am also playing with the IH
Vim / Vex - absolutes but not fixed points unlike the N/S poles, likely a line
Nox / Nef - directional and neverending, like E/W
Hence I agree with ppl theorizing that Zood is basically a donut or maybe like a tube
Olethra's checking of the planar energy by MechLeod:
- everybody as a person seems to fit in and does not register as an external force
- the "Clay Tile" mechanism from the South Pole ~ the side of the tube which is not Light (possibly Darkness) registers
- same energy registered on Marya's Straka bullets which she created (Van tested, not the same effect if she writes it)
- gauge on Van's arm registers with different energy ~ created by Comfrey, as per her explanation if it is lit up red for more than 1 min something bad could happen
- Marya's photograph of the Protege registers with "dead" energy / absence of energy
BLeeM said that the gauge has not lit up in the past 5 years, which makes it a bit hazy whether it has happened before or if Van got the prosthetic 5 yrs ago made by Comfrey as a thank you for something she has done for the professor
Olethra hasn't seen her grandma in about 8 yrs which makes it possible that the crew stayed with Comfrey for different amounts of time
Biangle goes through areas and teleports people as a disastrous event to Zood
Gathian lost cities of Hawk and Luin were transported in such a manner
Date in Zood ~ 15th of Amravi
There are 4 months corresponding to 4 seasons:
- Tahal ~ winter
- spring
- Amravi ~ fall
- Nuha ~ summer
Natural phenomena noted by Van and Marya:
- horizon is not the same as in Gath, "wobbly"
- gravity works differently, is lighter
Locations and terms heard about / within Zood:
- cities of Oda and Tabira
- House of Fehujar (elicited strong reaction when mentioned)
- Ramansu Power Station / Temple of Ramansu (warned against going there)
- Order of the Eyeless Hand (symbol in blood on the wall, after psychic attack)
- Legio Rex / Raptors ~ legend from Gath of a military legion which went missing on the continent of Gastonet during the times of Treshian Empire (mentioned in connection with Ramansu)
This episode was so much fun and also we learned so many new things 💕
Questions I still have:
- does time in Zood work somewhat differently?
- does the Biangle spit things out into Gath from Zood when it picks stuff up from Gath?
- is Zood a donut?
Locations:
• Tabira city moves within the same 200 mile radius of the Biazi Desert- does not use money, instead trades for goods and services
• Past that are the Arenth Mountains - Arenthian Coast is presumably in the area as well
• On the other side of the mountains is Saltu jungle where Ramansu Temple is in the general area of
• Oda city is in Nox direction, same as Ramansu Temple
• Umanzi Fighting Pit located in Tabira City
• Zumara- Crystal city, nox by nox vim direction, it is on vim itselt, 3-4 days of travel
• Tabira City -> Pulgali Alley -> Thumb and Bottom Booksellers
Other things:
• Ancient llanga Empire which is no more was in Saltu - Legio Rex Raptors live here
• Myconimus Mensamagna, Cordyceps family of the fungi - capable of transferring the mind of a creature into a different body ~ the "Zood Switcharoo"
• Kingdom of Animalia was formed through a "Zood Switcharoo"
• Legio Rex raptors were also created through the "Switcharoo" - they now seek the Temple of Ramansu, on this quest for the past 7-8 yrs
• Zu(h)marans - here in Zood for at least 10 generations, use frequencies to communicate
• The ships in Zood use scrap parts from Gath and run on coal but there are other ways as well: Sycamore Flyers of Oda and Crafts of Zumhara
• The Zephyr is a legend in Zood ~ "The Nef Wind"
Characters:
• Baboon guy (lchabod) ~ used to be a doctor, zapped into this body
• Gorim - guy who owns the food stall
• Divan - the guy who helped sync up languages
• Safiyah - mechanic feeding Paglioli monkeys
• Haunch - og member of Comfrey's crew, now dead by hands of Lord Kensington who apparently works with Eyeless Hand (is he the person Comfrey said to be cautious of?), had the wind riders tattoo blocked out
• Alanso - one of the windriders of Zood
• Calhoun Thumb- -nar of the bookstore
Investigation checks at the bookstore:
Zephyr (25)
• etching in an old periodical paper of a ship arriving
• ship very similar to Zephyr but is not it, however manned by travelers from Gath
• likely is Zephyr Mark II ~ Comfrey had plans for it
• drawing of the og Zephyr by Comfrey herself also in this etching ~ if Zephyr is a legend and the paper is ancient but Comfrey only went missing couple of months ago, what exactly is the comparative time flow between Zood and Gath? does time move that much faster in Zood that years would equal months?
Ramansu (n20)
• explorer's book with the prophecy that made Legio Rex go mad
• the prophecy is the cypher that was solved about the price of the power of Ramansu
• high priests of the Empire controlled lightning itself and had to pay the price
• there is a true moon of Zood and "1000 moons"
Straka (23)
• ballad written in an ancient codex about the Furnace Crow
• sailor who sailed the horizon who is being followed by the crow and recounts their regrets
Mushrooms (23)
• mushrooms are not sentient, incredibly rare
• equal exchange, Legio Rex into raptors and raptors into Legio Rex
• activated through release of spores as a defense mechanism
Continuing this madness, I am more confused than ever but also having so so so much fun!
I agree with everybody who says that CloHo has STODY energy, peak performance and leak chaos
- there seems to be something off with Lord Worcestershire ~ his gait is "weaker" so he might be in a different phase of his life potentially? with the Twins reuniting and being the same the theory of the time flow being different seems silly now. Although maybe traveling through Biangle many times / incorrectly affects the physical body?
- Ramansu is on the 7th sub-vim parallel in Saltu jungles ~ seems to be a grouping of quartz obelisks and ruins of a temple overtaken by nature
- as the moon is full the pylons (quartzes) seem to be interacting with this energy generating a push and pull -> Olethra's mech picked up a frequency to it which unlocked more of Comfrey's message
- based on the message the Eyeless Hand has been to Ramansu and found the "True Temple" ~ the one found by the IH is the "Power Station" used potentially to power something related to the mushrooms and the crystals and lunar energy within the actual temple? Van's arm interacts with the lunar energy as well
- Legio Rex is trying to channel the energy of Ramansu to keep their Emperor alive ~ meaning they have either tried this before / have something to prove that this would work despite the new vessel being of the same species
As per usual ~ more questions than answers:
- why was Comfrey working with the Empire?
- how many times has she been to Zood?
- what is the relation between Gath and Zood beyond the Biangle drops? is there a pathway between them? is Zood in some way a reflection?
Cannot wait for the adventuring party to learn more!
I will need to sit down and come up with some actual theories because I just keep collecting bits and pieces which are not helping me to see the bigger picture
Solar energy-yellow
Lunar energy - blue
Infernal / Furnace/ Machine energy - pink - similar to that of Straka,
- vision Maxwell has affects his mind turning it clockwork like
- aligned with the energy of Marya's Straka bullets
(Van's energy does not correspond to any of the three)
Guests of researchers have clearance to enter the Ramansu Power Station - Comfrey is one of them -> literal Power Station which has customers who pay their bills -> part of the Ramansu Power Station Company infrastructure built by Ramansu the Builder
Stone guards last activated - 2mo, 1w, 3d, 7h, 22mi
-> initially reactivated after centuries by Comfrey who renewed the contract
Deeper into the mountain below the obelisks providing moonlight -> hangar with vehicles toppled over and signs of a major vehicle having left the place (similar to the South Pole station) - House of Fehujar caused the damages, dragon symbol, dragon ship in Tabira (?) ~ members dressed as if they are from a different time period and had to adjust -> part of "Bank of Fehujar" with sword symbols
Message is stored deep within the station, cannot be reached by the guards - keys, found initially on the Zephyr, which had the key to the door with the battery at South Pole -> react to the location, door can be opened made of Gathie stone:
• several dead bodies
• radio playing a message on a loop
• clockwork man radiating with "pink" energy
• spherical golden motor with 3 points coming out of it ~ battery of the clockwork creature
Clockwork figure speaks to Marya - "you are so close, come. only you can repair what you have ruined"
Thoughts:
Straka and Clockwork machine have the same type of energy and both are somehow connected to Marya ~ Comfrey appeared there when Marya's crew was attacked -> was Comfrey the one to bring Straka to Gath this time, stumbled upon Marya and her crew and Marya was the only one who did not get whiscked away so she somehow affected some balance?
Continuing this absolute beast of post, not even done yet with the episode but I have too many notes and not enough braincells to understand everything
(edits added post finishing the episode, my longest post, and please, if anybody sees it, come theorize)
Timeline:
• 1369 - Comfrey and Daisuke get a divorce
• 1373 - Maxwell's grandpa dies
• 1374 - Olethra saw Comfrey for the last time, Comfrey and Monty have their feud
• 1377 - Van's last flight with Comfrey
• 1382 - the year of the current adventure
If we are looking for dates within Zood tho, it must be 17th of Amravi
Comfrey disembarked from Ramansu Power Station on 44th of Tahal ~ it is indeed 2 month in Zood time but we do not know how it translates to Gathie time as here months are full seasons
(alt text added for the image with names of seasons)
List of energies:
- Zood ~ lunar / solar
- Zern ~ pink / Straka / Cast Iron heart
- Van ~ energy of the deep
(earlier list with examples on the picture below, alt text added)
House of Fehujar is located in the asteroids above Zood ~ 7 asteroids chained up
Arath Mountains - location of Ramansu Power Station (discoveries)
• Constructs were active during the reign of the Empire of Illanga when the powers were equal - after awakening the empire was no more and there was less of the pink energy
• the ceramic decorations at the station are similar to the battery that was found at the South Pole
• the "Light" energy does not march the Lunar and the Solar energy
• the "Dark" energy is still very much same as Straka / Pink
• there are several offices within the station:
• library / crew area with a mechanism underneath which a machine can be found with several disks with different phases of the moon ~ one of the disks has the letter Z on it which is supposed to open up a mechanism ~ unclear if that was done, might have missed it
• office of Onion St Clay is also here from og Zephyr crew
• Comfrey's office, pretty barren
• events of Zephyr Mark 2 disembarking:
• Comfrey was doing research, sponsored by House of Fehujar who were looking for new gold - research into creating a submersible craft
• Eyeless Hand arrived ~ mention of Ectic Research Station
• Zephyr 2 with Comfrey rushes away
• House of Fehujar is at a loss, tries to grab some of the research but loses the combat with clockwork mechanism due to lack of clearance, collects the resources and the maps which were stored there
• Comfrey's office (items found):
• timepiece with weirdly moving hands ~ potentially a compass to a clockwork world
• note with a cypher ~ quick brown fox
• correspondence between Cadswitch and Comfrey ~ he was also a seventh son like Maxwell
• correspondence topics from Onion's office:
• Van Chapman file with schematics of the gauntlet and mention of the inner tower -> this was not followed up on!!!
• personal missive from Comfrey about Van "... there is no world where she could have come here. i feel regret and guilt over what happened ... she is the last piece of their puzzle"
• photo of Comfrey and Marya from which a person was cut on Marya's side - from around the time Marya got her own ship and became independent ~ cut person is Ludmila
• several financial ledgers
• message about Zumhara being onto Comfrey
• letter from Comfrey on Monty - "I'll thank you not to bring up that name around me again. He's not a real adventurer. He never was. He wanted to tag along so that he could write a book, and now he can eat his canapes and drink his wine and stop pretending like he was ever one of us." -> interesting, because she did mention Monty in the message based on what was heard from the MechLeod's transmission
• "finishing the radio is of utmost importance"
• final thing: Map of Zood which is basically two linked pretzels - the light one is Zood and the dark one is whatever the "Dark" part of the battery is - like two interconnected planes (learned to be Zern)
• Rooms within the inner tower:
• the room with the radio + clockwork mechanism / hearts
• a work room with images of Straka and an "eyeful hand" + ancient tomes with occult symbols (like the Eyeless Hand)
• mention of a place called Zern
• Eyeless Hand are trying to bring back to life a nameless god ~ but there is a name, it just cannot be known
• Temple of Katur - "the true temple"
• correspondence to become members of the Eyeless Hand - the person answering on-behalf of the cult is Mordecestershire
• warning about the pterosaur Archie as the "eyes"
• Comfrey's work on Extraplanar Biangles:
• Effulgent Biangle - produces light
• Calefactory Biangle - produces heat (demi-plane of Straka)
• "dimming the beacons"
appears a lot in the correspondence ~ maybe affecting the light could make it so that the darkness is more potent due to the dual symbolism we have seen so far ~ channeling less Lunar / Solar energy
• book on history of Zood ~ flying Temple of Katur was created during the war between Zood and Zern ~ when beast Corvus Exitium nearly destroyed Zumhara (Monty found details that the temple is below the ocean)
• tome with cast iron binding for which Maxwell has the keys ~ text in Weirian from Queen of Zero to Eyeless Hands with instructions on how to destroy Zood technology ~ book has the red energy and a cog mechanism spider which was in it ~ Van's energy counters the energy of Straka
Map of Zood / Zern:
• two interlaced ribbons which are similar to a mobius-strip (?) due to the interchanging of Vim and Vex which are supposed to be the absolutes
~ vim is connecting every point furthest away from Zern and vex is connecting every point closest to Zern and due to the movement of these "ribbons" the line is always changing and shifting
• the moon is in-between the two ribbons
• the world is a braid with both Zood and Zern being tubes ~ visible from sky of Zood when sailing vex innermost point of Zood
Name of Clockwork Mechanism - Torse (created by Comfrey / her associate)
Two "batteries" / clockwork mechanisms:
• Cast Iron - pink light - Straka - an older heart
• Gold - Zood - "So beats a worthy heart"
About Torse:
• recognizes the adventurers and Olethrs but not Max (knows of Cadswitch)
• of Aganti Zernai, from Zern, land of clockwork beings
• rebel warrior of Zern against Queen of Naught (naughtomata) (whoever said that it would be devastating if Ludmilla was the Queen, yes, that would be diabolical, but also, I think there is a potential that Marya's crew is in Zern)
• switches between two hearts depending on whether combat is needed
The mechanism could be heard by Kocka as well who also survived Straka.
What happened with Marya:
• organized her own crew
• took in Ludmilla and Kocka as protegee
• allowed Ludmilla to be the captain too soon because of seeing herself in her / living vicariously through her
• got attacked by Straka and was saved by Comfrey
• unsure how many years ago it happened however...
Straka prophecy / superstition - divine retribution that comes for those who abandon what they were meant to do, retribution for abandoning things in general. When only bad things happen to you - "The thought of a curse hurts less than unlucky"
Comfrey's message:
"... broadcasting from the seventh sub-vim parallel, having left this recording at the Ramansu Power Station. We've just received word that Langosta Five is losing oxygen rapidly 40 knots vex nef from the Ectic Research Station. The true temple has experienced a breach, and is gaining methane an krill at an unsustainable rate. This broadcast is intended for any who can come to our aid. Our expedition disembarked from the Ramansu Power Station on the 44th of Tahal with assistance from the House of Fehujar. We were discovered by the Eyeless Hand and had to launch prematurely. If you can hear this, Olethra, it's real. Zood is real. It's glorious and dangerous, and if we're not careful, it's going to be too late to discover its true power. If you receive this message, please find your way to Daisuke. I know he's been looking after you in Gulch Canyon. He'll know what to do. He always did. Make your way to the Effulgent Biangle. All the coordinates I ended up piercing together are in the captains log in the Zephyr Mark 1. If you can decipher them, you'd need a crack mechanic to figure it out. But it's too dangerous. I don't know. I don't know if I was right or wrong, Olethra. Maybe you'll succeed where I failed."
Questions caused by this message:
• is the real temple in the air or in the water? ~ hence methane and krill -> apparently both
• did Comfrey have a change of heart and 8 months ago decided to turn things around / break up with Eisengeist due to which she was being followed? OR was she tricking them the whole time in order to get sponsorships? she does mention regretting something that can be hopefully fixed by Olethra
Comfrey connections / tidbits:
• knew of Van's curse, helped contain it in the Gauntlet when it was about to take her like the rest of Chapman's -> the last voyage 5 years ago
• was there when Marya's ship went down in the combat with Straka
• tensions with Monty bc of associating with Eisengeist aristocrats / changing her approach and becoming more reckless / putting ppl in danger
• it does not look like Comfrey was at Ramansu for just 6 months due to the extensive amount of research present (arrived 8 months ago, left 2 months ago) - this research was being protected from the Eyeless Hand which has connections to Eisengeist and has had many years in which they could be established
• either there is timey-wimey stuff happening / the time flows differently
• OR Comfrey has been to Zood and then back to Gath somehow before although that should not be possible
according to Torse but maybe the deep sea is a passage between Zood and Zern?
• Comfrey's research was being sponsored by the House of Fehujar, however, they did not have clearance to it due to which Torse killed them
• wore out her welcome with ppl in Oda and Zumhara
• found Katur underwater
• found a way to traverse between Zood and Zern making her the target of the Queen
Thoughts and questions on the Comfrey / Marya things (I cannot help but obsess over Marya so any possible theories I have all go back to her):
• has Comfrey been trying to channel the power of Straka / Calefactory Biangle? Straka's rhythm / Calefactory Biangle's rhythm matches the Effulgent Biangle, so maybe it is a plane in-between Gath and Zood or is the key to the path between them ~ thinking about it later it is likely a portal to Zern the way Effulgent Biangle is portal to Zood. if so, maybe Comfrey was working on ways to more effectively travel between Gath and Zood, somehow bringing Straka into Gath at the time when Marya and her crew were in the sky? or because of learning it closely had a way to predict where it would appear similar to the Effulgent Biangle?
• was Marya's crew sacrificed in order to save Marya as Comfrey would not have stood for her dying bc of old feelings / nostalgia? this is why only Marya was pushed to safety?
• did the encounter and surviving Straka infused Marya with that energy of the demi-plane? does that mean that she actually is not the cursed one / did not besmirch the prophecy?
Tried to collect some thoughts based on everything we have learned so far + notes from the most recent episode
Also, gotta say, I thought Ectic was an actual word which I just didn't know
Correction for before: "Obtenebrant Biangle (from time to time spelling in the captions /in the way Brennan says terms changes)
The Biangles:
• Effulgent - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zood
• Calefactory - appears in Gath, sucks things in from it to Zern (?) ~ is this where Marya's crew went / from what Comfrey saved her? and by giving in to the Queen of Naught's call they also changed in their nature?
• Obtenebrant-reflectory / miror biangle / water and ilusion / reflection of other Biangles-> possibly used to traverse between Zern and Zood OR to traverse from Zood / Zem to Gath (alternatively, travel from Zood to Zern and back through underwater pathways / True Temple which was originally in the sky, built to protect Zood citizens from Straka)
Timeline / Eyeless Hand / Energies:
• Comfrey seems to have been in Zood far longer than the known 8 months - based on the research available at the Ramansu Power Station
• Mordecestershire's correspondence can be found in Zood, he was the one to invite Comfrey into Eyeless Hand -> Eyeless Hand operates in Zood, has members from Gath and is working on bringing back a "Nameless" God with the help of Queen of Zern/ Queen of Naught
• Zern - originally land of clockwork beings similar to Torse and Straka -> the Queen took their souls and changed their energy to nothingness but there is a resistance
• How does the time flow work comparatively between Zood and Gath / some questions and weirdnesses:
• Comfrey has been here much longer than initially imagined
• Several items of Comfrey's related to her current predicament have been in Gath for years (MechLeod, mention of the frequency on which to listen to the broadcast, the Light / Dark battery thing found on the South Pole)
• There certainly was deeper knowledge of what to expect even before Comfrey rushed away with Zephvr Mark 2 (which we still don't know why they had to make a hot exit from the South Pole Research Station)
• The Eyeless Hand has been researching and corresponding for a long time, although at the time when the adventure started Mordecestershire did not know how to get to Zood but he is also the one who killed Haunch
• However, the twins from the OG Zephyr were the same age when reunited in Zood suggesting that they grew at the same tempo
• Style of House of Fehujar, here for 1000 years but styling wise is very mixed + the banker who changed their ways could have been potentially quangled from a different time period
• Goldbeard feels like it's been about 30 years since he is there, he does not look 80 - time passes weird here in Zood
Energies wise:
• Zood - Light energy ~ Solar and Lunar energies in Ramansu, Golden Heart
• Clockwork energy of Zern - Straka, Cast Iron hearts, Torse, Dark Energy
• Naught energy - Queen of Zern, photo of Ludmilla
• Van's energy - the energy of the deep curse + Eye-full hand
House of Fehujar:
• begins 10-12 generations ago in Gath, 1000 years ago
• Voyage of Rote Halvorson from Houck, got teleported into Zood
• Buxby Folger, a man who looks a lot like Bert, the first Banker who saved House of Fehujar
• Rolifgar Halvorson, current bank president
• enemies of Fehujar -> sea between Saltu and Oda, Clockwork Pirates
Van's Gauntiet/ Eye-full Hand:
• the Eye-full (left) hand reacts to the gauntlet, all eyes close - salubrious / aquatic creature's eyes
• the gauntlet is a bandage and not a weapon, supressing fear
• the hand in the jar matches Van's gauntlet energy - first time match - water / Obtenebrate
• "column of eyes " - almost like the eyes are stretching out just around the corer of the reality as a part of tendrils of a creature suffusing everyting ~ Cosmic Kraken
Pirates of Zood / Automaton stuff:
• homing beacon found in the clouds belonging to the pirates
• Golbeard's crew - Gullfaxi
• Goldbeard and Comfrey used to be a thing, dated in Zood last Tahal - he stole a letter written by Comfrey at that time
• the watch found in Comfrey's office is "special" as it has a solar crystal and thus potential to become an automaton, it "hears time"/ "knows time"
• Alma/bosun- weapon storage
• Fierro / first mate - junkyard -> barnacles covered cilinder with powerful Zood energy that matches what previously caused the eyes to recoil
I am back with my precious lore collection and some thoughts and questions that arose with it
Some stuff and thoughts:
• black ooze that came out of Van - defensive reaction, powerfully obtenebrate energy, same as eyefull hand, extraplanar ~ at this point we can be sure that the Cosmic Horror contained in Van's arm is her patron and is also connected to one of the Biangles ~ could that be their plane? could the Obtenebrant biangle lead to it?
• Van and Comfrey were flying into the storm - could this storm be the Biangle? did Comfrey try to prove its existence through Van?
• battery mechanism when checked by Torse - older looking technology which
somehow intertwines both zood and zern enegies, looks to be created by Comfrey ~ could this have been used to somehow channel the power of Effulgent and Calefactory biangles in order to open them?
Ectic Research Station ~ Maxwell's keys react to it, very similar to the research station on the South Pole
• the two places are in some way entangled with each other, have similar stone towers (the big non-fitting door on the South Pole, room with gunshots on Ectic Station, place with all the research in Ramansu)
• Murdershir has been to this station together with agents of the Eyeless Hand
• Van: "You'll remember the name" ~ are all Chapmans warlocks of this All-Seeing Horror? was the first Chapman fully aware of what was the deal they got into and for a contract you need to know the name
• In one of the side rooms gunpowder smell is lingering ~ likely from last couple of weeks, submersibles were made non-functioning on purpose but navigational equipment still works
Moving into the stone tower of the station ~ research and correspondence found:
• Comfrey's office - letter from Haunch saying that Van could have fixed it (either the situation on the ship as the Bosun or possibly whatever the research was about before the horror was contained), Monty was right about Comfrey, that the old crew of Onion and others was left behind and that Comfrey does not want to tell Marya the truth about what happened (Straka attack / losing of Ludmilla possibly was a premeditated action)
• Unlike the research in Ramansu focusing on Straka, research in Ectic Station is focused on a creature with tentacles which name has been mistranslated over the course of centuries based on derivative translations - "beasts of the old worlds" -> "elder beasts" -> "spirits"-> "gods" /"nameless beasts of destruction"/ "beasts of different worlds " is the most original translation referring to creatures that have a very different ecosystem, mentions of gold as a substance that can repel them
• "super gold" mention in reference to Straka in zernian ~ "golden bullet" / heart of flesh ~ could it be that Straka is not fully automaton or possibly the hearts Queen of Zern takes from the beings are fed into Straka and maybe she needed a heart of a human of flesh and blood and Ludmila was sacrificed for that?
• Beacons of Zumhadi are referenced along with mentions of Katur and how it was built, references to the war between Zood and Zern as well as attacks by Straka and a "nameless beast" that can withstand Straka are also here ~ beacons were built after Katur to maintain whatever the force is that keeps Straka away
• the beacons must remain standing (Zumhadi ~ Zumhara??)
• the temple prevents travel from Zern to Zood
• Katur at some point crashed into the sea
• "Prime disruption" can be found in Katur
• illustrations of disfigured automatons - "Corrodi Primarchs" ancient council of malevolent beings who brought destruction, advisors of Queen of Zern who lifted her up to that position and who believed they would have control over her but she tamed Straka and that made her most powerful
• a drawing is found which when overlayed with the motto of the windriders reads out TAZGW ' AGWA ~ likely the name of the Eldritch Horror which can withstand Straka
• Maxwell Galaxy Brain: Gath to Zood, Zood to Zern, Zern to Gath
In Oda ~ Harvest festival / return of the Sun Lion to the sky - Lamaone ~ possibly another Old Beast
But the way they are written / characterized changes from episode to episode... Sometimes I barely recognize them, esp Mulder. (they love doing disservice to that beautiful empathetic man) One day he is all gentle eyes and big declarations, the next he is incapable of trust and understanding....
I am also re-watching just to realize that Lou ate his, Siobhan's, Murph's, Zac's AND Emily's aioli only to try and also grab Ally's for the bit in the end
