I'm tired of using spoiler tags in wordpress--it's a pain on mobile--so I made this topic.
So Calvard Stuff:
Possible Worlds is a logic concept (google it) about what could be true or what could happen if X happens or happened. It doesn't mean parallel universes. If anything, it supports my idea about the Wind Sept being able to link the Cognitive and Physical Worlds.
A is (probably) Nadia and Swin's former organization which I'm guessing is the Calvard illuminati (Aluminumati). They seem to operate based on fear and have possible have divisions named after the minor arcana. If I had to guess what each is,
Swords = Military = Assassins => Spread fear by force
Cups = Clergy =? Politicians => Spread the message of fear
Coins = Merchants =? PMCs or Big Corporations => Sell fear or sell based on fear
Wands = Artisans =? Media => Manufacture fear
I could probably swap a few around tbh.
My first (crazy) guess for A's name is Aleph--the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet--which represents oneness with God in Jewish Mysticism. Copying Wikipedia, "Jewish mysticism relates aleph to the element of air, the Magician (Key 0, value 1) of the major arcana of the tarot deck, and the Scintillating Intelligence (#11) of the path between Kether and Chokmah in the Tree of the Sephiroth"
For the other majors players, we have:
The Order of the Moonlight Horse (Defunct) - The 4th Anguis is a big wild card but everything seems to point to him being Calvard's primary Anguis. All we know about the Order is that it has been around since the middle ages. I'm not quite sure what its relationship to A was.
MTSC - The guys that let Gramhart talkie with Grandmaster. Maybe one of thirteen factories, maybe Calvard's magicians, maybe something else entirely. They're a big wildcard (Hell, everyone is a wildcard).
Gramhart and the CID - The impression I get is that CID will be our allies in Calvard 1 and then turn on us in Calvard 2. Kilika's dialog in Zero and Ao gives the impression that she is NOT our ally and would be a willing co-conspirator to Gramhart's plan. Gramhart I feel is connected to at least one of the other factions, but his goals may be independent. This series likes villains with noble intentions.
Heiyue - They are getting screwed by the growth of Calvard's economy. My guess is that this is letting the even bigger bad guys gain a larger presence. Who's ready for Cao to pretend to turn on us and then help us for the 1849583rd time.
Ikaruga - They are probably the biggest wildcard so far. They are Eastern though so they probably have nothing to do with Calvard's Sept-Terrion or the collapse. Though they probably played a big role in the revolution 100 years ago.
We have some interesting details like Verne becoming Apple and Hamilton going missing. There is still the mystery of Arc en Ciel play. The scene of Rean walking into the forest in the first VN episode was actually a concept art from yeaaarsss ago. Along with it, there were two other artworks that have yet to be seen in game.
One looks like some weird machine and the other looks like a ruined palace or factory of some kind.
Apologies for the digression: Not to detract from your point or your theory, but the Tarot is not actually recognized in or validated by Jewish mysticism (it's a medieval European invention). The source Wikipedia references on this issue quotes Christian occultists such as Éliphas Levi, not Judaism. Aleph does have the value of one when used numerically and I did find a Hebrew-language site say it symbolizes unity (and other things). But I don't know enough about Kabbalah to really comment on this.
This is not to say that Falcom isn't referencing these or other Jewish concepts (they out and out use what looks to me like scans of symbolic diagrams with the Name of God in both Ys IX and Hajimari as background art.) I just wanted to clarify this specific point about the Tarot.
...
Anyway on the topic of the game. MTSC is said to be based in Ored so I don't think they're a specifically Calvard faction. Given that Gramhart stresses their emphasis on money I think the C may stand for Corporation. Gramhart himself I think may be from a mystical faction given his aristocratic name, considerable resources and willingness to challenge Grandmaster on her own turf.
For some reason the link isn't working for me right now so I can't check those other images. One point to raise is that while 'A' sounds like it might be Swin and Nadia's former organization based on the final segment of 'Beyond the Beginning' there's also a comment that was made by Ishmelga-Rean about how the two of them were ones who escaped 'the Garden'. On the assumption that these are referring to the same organization and not two criminal groups who just happen to be extremely good at the ol' ultraviolence, I'd suggest that a good candidate for the name would be Alamut.
Also, while the group that Swin and Naida are part of is named after the Swords suit, there's an implied reference to another group called the 'Thorns' in the Rixia Episode. That didn't make much sense until the reference to a garden in the endgame, but it suggests that there's either more to the organization than just dividing them into four clusters based on the minor arcana, or the suits have some complex subdivisions themselves. Maybe the Thorns are the low-level enforcers of loyalty while the major arcana-themed members like Emperor are the ones calling the shots for that part of the organization as a whole?
Also, I am totally stealing 'Aluminumati' for discussions of the Cosmere. xD
Thought I’d post an interesting theory that’s been posted in Falcord within the last week (by Florac if I remember correctly).
I’ve already argued that the four lower elemental beasts are/will be based on the four beasts of Daniel.
The three higher elemental beasts could be based off the 3 children of Loki. Jormungandr is Ragnard, Fenrir is Zeit, leaving Hel to be the Beast of Time. This would make the Holy Beast of Time a humanoid, possibly demonic.
Why do I think of cool connections to my theories after they get published? My theory on Calvard's BBEG is literally just Queen Isabella from Moonlight Witch.
This is less a theory and more an observation, but
This is less a theory and more an observation, but
SpoilerSeries spoilersI was thinking about the Dominions' titles and their meaning. Most are fairly self explanatory (Kevin and Thomas particularly), but I couldn't help but wonder why Gaius chose Phoenix as part of his. Given the theory about Barkhorn secretly being alive and kicking, it makes me think if the Phoenix might be a hint to his eventual/potential rise from the ashes. I'll admit it'd be a bit weird that Gaius would choose that as a title for himself if it's referencing someone else. Or perhaps I'm overthinking it and it was meant as more an homage to his old master the Roaring Lion.
Why not both? xD
But yeah, I'm very much behind the theory that Barkhorn is alive and there are far too many questions brought up by the whole story we're fed and the circumstances under which it comes out. Whether Gaius' title is a reference to this or it's just a coincidence is another question. For funsies, the 鳳翼 part that gets rendered as Phoenix in English is literally 'Phoenix Wing(s)', the same as the hot springs at Ymir.
I have to wonder when we get to Calvard, with all the Eastern influence and stuff, how nightmarish getting around all the potentially archaic or obscure Japanese may end up becoming. I mean Rean's final S-Craft alone sounded pretty tough lol
SpoilerThe sameInteresting! It's a shame that there's not really a good way to always reflect the little ways that Japanese characters can be used in that manner. Something else that occurs to me - if we take Gaius's story at face value, I guess you could view the phoenix reference as his master living on through him by passing on his stigma.I have to wonder when we get to Calvard, with all the Eastern influence and stuff, how nightmarish getting around all the potentially archaic or obscure Japanese may end up becoming. I mean Rean's final S-Craft alone sounded pretty tough lol
How is Renne's line translated in the official localization? 'She moves like lighting.' And if I remember correctly, the spreadsheet translation didn't do much better (Not that I fault them).
That had me at the title image. xD And yeah, there's a lot to think about in that one.
It warms my heart to see somebody else adress the Septium Veins in a Crack Theory. And hermeticism. Considering the pervasiveness of the topic, I've thought for some time that they might end up more important than the Septerrions.
And the hypothesis of the Septium Veins being the Soul of the world inspires another idea: it has already been stated that Kondo and Brandon Sanderson tend to think alike, so perhaps Kondo took another notion from the Mistborn series - namely that Aidios' body equals the entirety of all Septium in Zemuria (Septium Veins included). I mean, the name Septian Church is most likely a reference to Septium itself and that might be the original reason they named their religion this way.
There's also the fact that orbments are basically perpetuum mobiles. One theory is that in truth, energy doesn't replenish itself from nothing but is instead drawn from somewhere yet unknown, leading to an environmental message. But if each piece of Septium is a small part of Aidios herself, a small chunk of divinity so to speak, then why shouldn't it be possible to violate the first law of thermodynamics?
it has already been stated that Kondo and Brandon Sanderson tend to think alike, so perhaps Kondo took another notion from the Mistborn series - namely that Aidios' body equals the entirety of all Septium in Zemuria (Septium Veins included).
So... septium is atium then? I like this idea. xD
Actually, given the number of references to western fantasy literature in Falcom's games and the fact that some of Brandon's works do have Japanese translations, I wouldn't be completely shocked if at some point in the future we see a nod to the Cosmere slipped in, like there are already references to Tolkien, Le Guin and others.
I'm not sure whether nods to Sanderson are even necessary at this point. I found this Crack Theory on Falcom/reddit some time ago.
While I don't understand everything explained there because I'm far from an expert about the Cosmere, the fact that a worldbuilding crossover like this can even be formulated is already pretty astounding.
Seeing that exists just made my day. xD
