Just been re-reading AGIT because I am trying to look into the lore aspects given in it and thinking more about how it works.
So when we first have Vlad arrive at Fentonworks he explains to Danny that the best way to defeat Dark Danny (I’m going to refer to him as ‘Dan’ from this point on) is to find the ‘source’ of all ecto-energy in the Ghost Zone. Danny then points out two things.
Vlad had the Infi-Map and Vlad couldn’t get there with it, but then when Danny had it the map never took him there either, the only reason why they wind up in Pariah’s Keep is because they translate the ancient texts that Vlad had discovered which states this:
This is almost certainly an excerpt from the Nuclear Waste warning message:
“This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!
Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.
What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.”
This could hint towards Nuclear Waste being the reason the Ghost Zone exists, but I truly believe this is the most lame and mundane way to explain the Ghost Zone’s existence. We have a lot of sci-fi fantasy elements in the show, so I really hope that this message is more just used to say ‘something as powerful as a nuclear bomb is around’. Only because in a show where we have literal reality warping gem stones, to make the reason another dimension exists is because of Nuclear war would he so average for such an interesting show. You know it’s bad if I’m calling a Nuclear fallout boring and mundane.
Anyway, back to the “Source”. Vlad takes note of The Seven being mentioned in the message and suggest that they could be the seven ancient ghosts that trapped Pariah Dark.
So there being seven ghosts that stopped Pariah appears to be canon now… but…
There are only 6 ghosts shown in every shot showing the Ancient ghosts, the only shot showing 7 was an animation error
So there’s 2 ways to take this, either A) the animation error is now canon and not a mistake, or B) the 7th member went missing after the fall of Pariah.
I feel like the fact there’s no actual source of the ghost’s energy outside of their own emotional purpose/drive whatever you want to call the explanation given when they reach the garden.
That does still bring up a few questions:
1. What was the initial warning message for?
It can’t be for Pariah, he’s left out in the open in the next room.
2. Why would they seal away a magical garden with it’s own living eco-system if a blatant danger was left out in the open?
It can’t be about the garden, there’s nothing actively dangerous within the garden, unless the stones explaining the ghost’s source of power is the supposed danger, but that wouldn’t make sense. The ghosts already know what makes themselves stronger, that’s why they do what they do in the show, but the hidden room is sealed away so that ghosts can’t gain access to the garden. Only humans can, they can’t be hiding that information from humans either. So at best those stones are just decorative pieces.
2. Why would Pariah have a garden hidden away down under the Keep?
Clearly this garden is important for whatever reason, the fact this garden has its own living eco-system is worth mentioning. The only places in the Ghost Zone that have any life on their isles are usually ghost lairs, so my guess is that the ghosts have to tend to their lairs in order for plants to grow. I really don’t think Pariah or Fright Knight would take up gardening as a hobby.
My theory is that this garden is what is left of the world before it was split in two, Pariah’s a tyrant who would definitely claim something no other ghost could have in their new home, a trophy of the old world.
3. What’s up with this mural?
Murals in places of power (temples, pyramids, castles) either have a message attached to them or tell a story.
There are 7 figures here with one figure in the middle with the exact same pose as the figure explaining what had happened during the war eons ago.
I can’t help but think this member of the Seven is very important and is possibly another half-ghost like Danny and Vlad, only because of the fact this page depicts everything being split in 2 and this figure appears to be someone either being split in 2 or that they were directly effected by the thing that caused the divide (note: the pieces of the broken world are falling onto the figure, could be symbolic of grief, regret or a mistake).
So back to my main point of this post, given how the novel frames the “source”, it simply does not exist, at least the one that Vlad thought had existed. The Infi-Map didn’t take anyone to it and it is a known thing to a vast majority of, if not all, ghosts. Vlad was just desperate for power and really built up this thing to a degree where he thought it was on par with a super weapon.
The thing that does appear to be glossed over here though is the actual message that was left by the Seven after Pariah was sealed away, what were they talking about if not the King? What is the purpose of the mural? Why did they not want anyone to enter or disturb the garden?
What happened down there?
