Akriloth the Protector Akriloth the Destroyer Speculations...mostly ramblings
I have to say the recent Inn fight for Akriloth was somehow both an odd breath of fresh air and bewilderment. To see this dragon of fire, who has been antagonistic to the point that trait of theirs has transcended timelines, being not only visibly earnest towards the presence of other humans but also enraged towards the threat of cruelty and suffering was rather cathartic, to say the least.
Now of course within the context of Dragonfable’s current lore regarding the Great Elemental Dragons, the visage of Akriloth in the Inn does not come as a complete surprise. With the ability to reincarnate as many times as necessary to preserve the balance, it is only natural that there would be a version of Akriloth capable of displaying noble traits, such as empathy or compassion, especially at the very dawn of their creation after the Twins went missing. The result? An Akriloth who is duty-bound to protect the balance of Lore and the domain of Fire.
Though this begs a simple question? Why is the incarnation of Akriloth encountered in book 1 so destructive and arrogant? Why is it does he seem to care nothing of human life nor even maintaining the balance?
What drove them to utterly annihilate Maar? It is here I would like to speculate as to why this change in goals occurred by examining events that potentially pertain to the state of Akriloth’s place in Book 1.
First, I would like to examine when the iteration of the Akriloth we encountered in the Inn likely existed. Judging by the look of them, I’d say there’s a good chance that this is perhaps the very first one that was created by Fiamme, the avatar of fire, namely for one reason: the jewelry that adorns Akriloth’s head. The reason I believe this points to this one being the very first incarnation of them is that if we consider that the Avatars made each Great Dragon to essentially copy the role of the Drahr Twins after they had disappeared, it is possible they also tried to replicate some of the symbolism that came with their appearance, namely the jewels and gold the Aequilibria embellished the twins with.
Admittedly, however, this piece of evidence may fall flat if we take into account say Genokratos, for example, since if we assume that based on their size and knowledge that they truly have never died, and therefore never reincarnated, then it begs the question of why all the great dragons weren’t adorned with jewelry. Unless Genokratos did have some bling on them before outgrowing it.
Alternatively, I also believe that it is entirely possible that gold encrusted onto Akriloth’s face might be a human addition of all things. The reason I believe this to possibly be the case is because noticeably there are three orange feathers, possibly his own, affixed to his horn via golden studs. Now why might this be evidence that humans were responsible for this? Well, some of the obsidian castings that contain the remnants of those that lived on Maar, curiously, have feathers, seemingly in a pair of three, wrapped around their heads. It, of course, is entirely possible that inhabitants that occupied Maar simply wear the feathers to pay homage to Akriloth himself, but I like to think it’s entirely possible that when Akriloth started working more closely with the humans as their protector he grafted on his feathers to show respect to a preexisting cultural practice.
If the pierced feathers are in fact a result of human influence, I wonder at then the red gem, presumably the Heart of Maar itself, that hangs from Akriloth’s snout, if it too was perhaps a crystal that was sacred to the people of Pelekoa that they gave to Akriloth to symbolize their trust and pact with one another. Assuming of course, that the gem is not at all related to Akriloth ties to the Plane of Fire.
Questions about which version of Akriloth this is, before the one we fight in BK1, or why he’s stacked in golden drip aside, I think we can reasonably assess at least when the version we fight in the Inn was active and that time is likely a little while during or after the Shadowscythe made their move 1000 years ago.
The evidence that I suspect supports this belief is the dragonlord attendants that accompany Akriloth in their boss fight with namely the Fang of Akriloth attendant giving the most damning evidence as they hold a dragon amulet in their hands.
As many of you reading this know, the dragon amulets were made by the Avatars as a means to foster trust, and likely a modicum of respect, between humans and dragons so that they might stand a better chance at striking back at the forces of Doom. The threat of the Shadowscythe likely also explains why the dragons are noted to be “sworn or promised” to protect humans because after all who would they need protection from initially? Furthermore, I suspect the Shadowscythe likely are the beings that Akriloth possibly accuses of suffering and cruelty, in our fight with them, given inflicting such brutality is effectively their modus operandi. Additionally, as a being meant to impose destiny and protect the balance, it makes sense as to why their hatred of them specifically would be everlasting.
Whatever the case we can safely say that this Akriloth, along with their attendants, has been dead for some time. What exactly killed them I cannot quite say. It could have been the Shadowscythe or some other force, but I believe what is clear is that they all likely died together defending Maar in one final stand against their enemies. At least, that is what I infer from Scales’ and Fang’s popup dialogue when they are on their last legs in the trio fight anyways.
This brings us to the mystery surrounding the events that led to the tragic fate of Maar and those that inhabited Pelekoa. I truly wonder where the relationship between Akriloth and the rest of the world broke down. Clearly, the incarnation we are more familiar with had reached the adulthood stage of most dragons meaning they likely had to have at least two or three hundred years of experience alive before they were slumbering beneath Maar.
The reason why I say “before” their slumber is because Pelekoa seemed to have a vested interest in making sure Akriloth remained undisturbed for some reason, as outlined in the design notes designated: Jaania’s Thorns (which details Tipu and Ahimsa’s backstory), almost as if they knew exactly what would happen if he ever woke up again. Though I suppose its just as likely that something amiss while Akriloth was asleep as well.
Either way, this is where things become confusing. Akriloth was known as the fabled defender of Maar and yet the very fact that the Pelekoans wanted to keep Akriloth’s presence a secret would indicate that for some time they no longer saw the Great Dragon as their trusted protector. So, what went wrong? For all intents and purposes, it feels like nothing should have gone awry. It’s outlined in Jaania’s Thorns that Pelekoa was a place where its human occupants lived in peace with the dragons residing there, in addition, it was also the place where the Guardians of the Fire, the holders of the Fire Orb created by Fiamme, dwelt.
For some time, Maar seems like it should have been a stronghold for order and stability of the Balance. So, why in one dark moment did its most legendary defender destroy it all?
Clearly, something went wrong, but when and why? I’d say whatever steered Akriloth toward the path of destruction likely occurred before he took his molten nap. Though the question is what could it have been? Well, I think there might be three potential candidates here. The first is quite possibly the Shadowscythe itself. We know that the adventurer responsible for waking Akriloth up was fooled into finding them in the first place which likely means whoever tricked them wanted Akriloth to be disturbed in the first place. We know that members of the Shadowscythe often have far reaching plans when it comes to obtaining their ultimate goal to the point, they will slowly nudge events along in the hopes it will lead to enough chaos in the future to gain the upper hand. If we consider this line of thought, then perhaps an agent of Doom, quite possibly the Mysterious Stranger, infiltrated the city of Pelekoa and discovered that Akriloth was sleeping beneath the earth. Knowing full well that Akriloth was in a delicate state while under Maar, this agent leads an unassuming adventurer, foreign to Pelekoa, to wake Akriltoh up so that they would destroy the island and its defenders. All the while getting the benefit of Akriloth making a beeline for the Land of Dragons and subsequently throwing the region into further chaos.
The second canidate, though perhaps not as likely, is the Magesterium. The reason why I peg them as a candidate behind Akriloth’s lack of care is primarily two sources, or rather the existence of at least one of them.
We know, according to Voyna, that the dragons present on Azaveyr betrayed their oaths to protect the humans there.
Now for what reason the Azayveran dragons turned their backs on the humans cannot be said but what I find curious is that this relationship between them and humanity was characterized as an alliance of all things.
An alliance of all things implies that both sides had to have some mutually beneficial incentive in mind to want to enter it in the first place, so what could it have been?
Well, again it was likely the threat of the Shadowscythe as who else would humanity need protecting from?
Circling back to the conflict with the dragons, Voyna’s journal entry mentions that their people’s highest-ranking mages, likely early Magesters, were sent out across the sea, to the Land of Dragons, to find something, anything, that could help turn the tide against the dragons in their favor. Now with the recent quest of Project Casca being released, we know this was the Fissure, and by extension the piece of the mana core that was previously in their custody. Before Roirr basically ate the damn thing.
With these details in mind, I’d say there’s a good chance they crossed through Maar either on their way to the location of the Fissure or on their way back from it when they acquired the fragment of the Mana Core.
So, what if, while Akriloth was relatively still young, the collective mages and forces they brought with them fought their way through Maar, fighting its inhabitants, and in the ensuing battle managed to either significantly wound Akriloth enough to the point where they were forced to sleep and recover beneath Maar for centuries or the Mages used their magic, which I can imagine was the refined type if they were going back to Azaveyr, to trap Akriloth beneath Maar keeping them from escaping until this magic lost its hold when that unknown adventurer was fooled into finding Akirloth’s lair. In either scenario, I’d imagine Akriloth would be pretty pissed off that they were attacked and confined in this manner and possibly would have condemned all of humanity for suffering such a fate, even blaming their allies for not being able to properly protect them.
Alternatively, this could have also taken place long after the conflict with Voyna/the Whisper had concluded and the Shapeless Empire had been established, though likely still in its infancy as an empire. It may be possible that scenario I described took place on Maar just some time after the humans were able to push the dragons out of Azaveyr though I imagine this time around such an event involving the Magesterium’s interference would have been way more covert.
The third, and perhaps oddest of all candidates, is that the culprits of Akriloth’s ire and madness were the Pelekoans themselves. If we consider once again the details outlined in Jaania’s Thorns, the Pelekoans kept Akriloth's presence as their most well-hidden secret. Potentially, this would mean they quite possibly never wanted Akriloth to be disturbed from their slumber. So, what if the reason for this course of action is because those generations before Tipu and Ahisma were responsible for keeping or forcing Akriloth beneath Maar to sleep. It would explain why Akriloth made sure to kill everyone and everything on the island. Imagine that for years, and past lives, you protected the lives of these humans that were supposed to have your back only for them to turn on you and imprison you for Avatars knows how long. You would probably want to wipe them off the face of the Lore as well.
Now I do find this theory to be somewhat unlikely for two key reasons. Namely, my skepticism comes from what Tipu and Ahisma tell us as when we question them about their background at the base of Jaania’s tower they tell us that they were meant to be heroes amongst their people. Now that might not seem like it means anything at first until you glance at the breastplate that is present on both twins’ armor. It shares striking similarities o the Fang of Akriloth attendant’s breastplate on their armor.
This resemblance leads me to believe one of two things: that Tipu and Ahisma were being trained as dragonlords and had dragons that are now very much dead if Tipu’s words are anything to judge by or they may have quite possibly been trained to be the new attendants of Akriloth in their generation. Combine that possibility with the fact that both the dragons and humans on Maar were still living in harmony before Akriloth woke up and it begins to become confusing as to why they specifically would trap Akriloth below the island destroying that bond in the process.
The fourth possibility, although the least interesting one among them, is that this version of Akriloth was just an asshole with a bad temperament from the get-go this time around and the Pelekoans knew if anyone woke them up early, they’d all be screwed regardless of anyone having done anything to Akriloth personally. Heck this scenario doesn’t even necessarily require Shadowscythe interference just some mischievous goober that thought sending someone to get eaten by Akriloth would be funny .Jokes aside, it is certainly possible that this Akriloth was just never raised correctly given that even after destroying Maar, Akriloth takes actions that specifically threaten the Balance. Care towards human life aside, you would think the one thing they were born to uphold and not threaten would be Akriloth’s next step but nope, he just wanted to burn everything to the ground after waking up from his lava nap. Which does seem feasible given it is mention in Book 1 that they needed to be raised properly to do their job. Which tragically might mean that whoever was responsible for caring for Akriloth this time around simply failed to instill in them the proper values to uphold their responsibilities
Unless, of course, Akriloth was always just predestined to be evil this time around if we consider that their actions were required of them when the prophecy of the Twins went into motion again. Although that seems like a stretch.
With my speculations regarding the truth of why the tragedy of Maar occurred concluded, I think we need to look towards where Akriloth could go from here. The reason I say this is because by the end of the finale of the orb saga, Akriloth has already reincarnated.
Furthermore, despite previously being within Sepulchure’s custody when his new fortress was destroyed by Drakath, the baby version of Akriloth managed to escape the catastrophe and is now somewhere on Lore doing who knows what.
I firmly believe that this new incarnation of Akriloth being found will make all the difference between them being the Protector they once were and the monster we’ve come to remember them as.
Ah, but that concludes my thoughts on Akriloth for the moment. Man, this ended up being way longer than I intended. Oh and here’s a link to the Jaania’s Thorns DN: https://www.dragonfable.com/gamedesignnotes/Inquisithorns-5641
Ya know in case anyone was interested in reading that source.
