I just realised that the Three Temples were supposed to be done by the three 'stars' together
Which is why Marcy's temple's tasks involved other people
I suppose the flipwart one was supposed to have one of the girls on one side and the other girl on the other, and Marcy would have to choose to forfeit to protect both of them
The Stars Prophecy, the Three Temples and the Calamity Stones/Box.
Ok so... I think we need to talk about this properly:
First of all, yes I’ve read the post by @fermented-writers-block and co. A.K.A the “Unfated Friends Theory” (give it a read if you haven’t.) but I want to put my own thoughts into this.
Mainly I want to focus more on the propecy itself.
The Stars Prophecy.
We as a fandom, if we’re honest, haven’t actually pay proper attention to the prophecy.
Someone did the translation and that was it.
But if we start thinking about it...
There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense.
To start with, the prophecy itself is annoyingly vague, and while yes, that’s nothing new for prophecies this one stands out because it’s also oddly specific.
Look it’s like this:
“Three stars burning bright” = three people with great power.
“Come from beyond to expel the night” = from a far off place will defeat a threat.
“Should they fight or embrace the fall” = ???????
“Their choice will determine all” = the stars choices will define the end result.
Ok so see the part I put the question marks in?
I don’t know if you realize but that’s the vaguest part of the prophecy and arguably the most important too.
The general idea of the Stars of the Prophecy fighting or embracing something is understood, the problem is that what this “fall” is, is left completely unsaid.
The “Unfated Friends Theory” mentions it could refer to the friendship of the girls and whether they embrace the fact that it’s falling apart or fight for it.
And while that seems like a good posibility, in fact the most likely even, I feel it doesn’t really mesh well with the rest of the prophecy.
Obviously the girls friendship is important, but for it to be the thing that “determines all” seems a bit like a stretch, especially because of the “fight or embrace” thing.
If their friendship really is important enough to determine all then by all intents and porpuses they should fight for it, no?
The thing is that because of the way the prophecy is worded, it implies that either option is equally valid and have an equal chance of being the right one, but what kind of prophecy encourages embracing the end of a friendship?
As long as we don’t know what our “Fall” is the prophecy is a constant Sword of Damocles above all of Amphibia.
The other thing I want to mention is this:
The Three Temples.
Just like there are things about the prophecy that don’t make sense, there are also things about the temples that don’t make any sort of sense.
First of all lets mention the fact some of the trials are not possble to be done alone:
The first temple obviously was designed to be tackled by many people, with the second trail being impossible otherwise and the third losing it’s purpose.
The Second temple as a whole is simply weird, the pillar seems to be unaccesible unless you actually have the staff to get there and the trials would be impossible to fail unless you’re an actual Sociopath, in which case you wouldn’t even have the connection to the stone in the first place.
It’s a riddle you can’t solve unless you already have the answer.
There’s also the fact that it seems to be the only one that needs an actual guide (i.e. Valeriana)
instead of the “Boss” guardians of the other temples
And the third temple is ridiculously straight foward brah.
I mean, I understand testing Strenght is easier than testing Wit or Heart but c’mon, after everything in the first two temples, this is what comes next? thats weird.
Then there’s the issue of the trials of the temples.
Here we have great difficult trials that test the character, intelligence and physical prowess of whoever faces them, that can be and are life threatening, trials designed to see if you are worthy... of relinquishing the Calamity powers.
That doesn’t make sense!
Aren’t these kind of trials meant to teach to use the powers? meant to prove yourself worthy of keeping them?
Yet every temple ends with severing the connection to the stone.
Or is it severing? It looks more like they’re returning power to the stones than severing a connection.
Lastly let’s talk about:
The Calamity Stones and the Calamity Box.
Here I’m going to start speculating.
With the reveals of “True Colors” I think it’s safe to say the Box was created after the stones were found.
The box is a conduit for the power of the stones and, while ancient, its probably barely older than Newtopia.
Valeriana mentions her secret order has studied the stones and temples.
In other words the Stones must be as old as Amphibia itself and the temples are somewhat more recent.
There’s a good chance that throught the ages of Amphibia many people harnessed the power of the Stones in personal and collective ways.
That thing in Valeriana’s shop definitely looks like a shield and the open space is obviously for one of the stones.
So the people of Amphibia learned to use the stones, but their power wasn’t infinite. They could be drained.
So a method was developed to recharge them: the temples.
But the stones could not be recharged just like that, in fact they could not be used just like that, they responded to specific traits of people, their Wit, Heart and Strenght.
That would make sense of why the temples test these traits on whoever enters.
The problem with this is that it doesn’t explain Andrias comment about the “connection” as that implies the power comes from the stone itself.
Yet the evidence shows that the stones power came from the girls themselves.
or something like that at least.
What exactly caused the power to leave the stones and go into the girls is unkown, as is any information on our most likely previous calamity trio.
Andrias and his friends obviously also possessed the power of the stones, but if it was via the stones themselves or if it was them who had the powers personally we don’t know.
There’s more going on with the stones, the box, the temples and the prophecy.
And honestly, If the full details are kept undisclosed
I think I finally figured out what was wrong with the temples.
I think by now we all figured out that the Calamity Box was created to harness the power of the gems in whatever way the royal family of Newtopia to use as they saw fit, A.K.A conquering worlds.
And from Valeriana’s shop we saw an article that implies the stones were also used in other objects to give them power.
Now, the Calamity Box is obviously older than Newtopia and the Temples are just as old right?
Well... what if they weren’t?
Get ready, because I have no confidence of explaining this mad rambling coherently.
It is quite clear that the Calamity Gems are old, as in obviously older than what will probably ever be shown in the show.
And I’ve been thinking what could possibly be as old?
well...
Here’s what I believe.
At some point in Amphibias past there was great conflict centered around the gems, and this creature either is the being that gave the stones power in the first place or he is the one who managed to gather the power of all three for the first time.
This thing ruled with an iron fist until it was eventually brought down, but like Ganondorf it didn’t die, it was just sealed, or maybe it turned itself into that to try and live forever, either way it still had power over the people and it excercised it with the royal family, turning them into conquerors and its servants.
Unhappy with just Amphibia it ordered and guided the creation of the Calamity Box, as a way to access other worlds to conquer and maybe find a way to return to its previous shape.
But then a prophecy was told.
The Stars would face it, and defeat it.
But this thing was smart, it started developing a plan.
It knew the Stars would possess the power of the Calamity Gems, that their power would be drained and go into each star.
As such it ordered the construction of the temples.
It manipulated events so even the order that studied the Gems would fall prey to this plan, if it didn’t help create it in the first place.
And it made sure that each temple would work in a way that the stars would feel like they’re helping fullfil the prophecy, with perilous trials and a moral at the end, even including some casual dialogue.
But instead of strenghtening each star it would rob them of their power, ready to be used again with the Calamity Box and its pawns in the royal family.
That’s why the temples feel weird, they were never ment to help the girls they were a means of stopping the prophecy from happening.
Now this next part is related to @fermented-writers-block Unfated Friends Theory.
But first a little info on what happens to isekai protagonists.
I previously said that there’s generally three fates for otherworlders in these stories: Go back to their world, Stay in the new world, or die.
It isn’t rare for the otherworlder to face a choice between the first two.
But what I didn’t mention is that it is just as common, if not more, for them to not have a choice at all. And when they don’t have a choice they generally stay trapped in the new world. Especially if related to a prophecy.
So, the idea I have is this:
The prophecy said three stars would come from beyond, but there is no mention of them having a way back, especially because its the Calamity Box, powered by the Gems, that allows travel between worlds.
Even in other Isekai stories, the practice of summoning people from other worlds to fight your fights is seen with some level of controversy.
Imagine how Anne would feel, she and her friends ripped away from their home, against their will, to fight a fight that’s not theirs, that by then no one even knew needed to be fought, and if not for the temples (which may have been a ploy by The Night itself), with literally no way of ever returning home.
