#the twelve
All behind a cut due to spoilers.
All behind a cut due to spoilers.
Having played through the first part of Aglaia and related quests, I have many many thoughts, a lot of it is speculation however:
1. Omphalos. A name which, in itself, means a sort of hub or nexus and has its roots in Greek.
2. A lot of the Ancients names, be it individuals or locations, were rooted in Greek.
3. It has been said that a small “hole” was left for the Unsundered to escape through. This would also help to explain how Hades knew the “true identities” of the Twelve.
4. Venat had her own group of supporters, which we saw in flashback scenes during ShB. Although it’s never clear what became of them, it’s reasonable to speculate that they fulfilled a similar role to the Conclave as far as summoning Hydaelyn.
5. Primals typically require followers in order to sustain them. Hydaelyn and Zodiark were both Primals, but due to their inception and level of power it may not have been necessary. It still certainly couldn’t have hurt.
6. The Ancients had more powerful forms (Hades, Hermes, for example) which were considered “vulgar” to put on display as it was akin to being naked. (Omphalos would, therefore, be the last Ancient nudist colony lol)
7. The Aglaia coin is stamped with the likeness of an Okyupete, a creature which existed in Elpis long before it showed up in Ilsabard, lending weight to the notion that we’re dealing with more Ancients.
8. Omphalos exists over Mor Dhona, particularly over Silvertear Lake. You can see the Crystal Tower from within that space.
9. The Twelve, as we see them currently, enter the mortal plain by taking on the forms of lesser creatures; Byergot as a Spriggan, Rhalgr as a hawk, and so forth. After finishing the first raids, you can see a few others wandering about the area.
10. Deryk keeps company with an unnamed baby opo-opo. He has somehow managed to go “in and out” of Omphalos numerous times without being disturbed by those who dwell there. In fact he, by his own admission, calls it by that name. He’s also a habitual wanderer and explorer, something which he talks about constantly. Deryk dresses in green, the elemental color of the wind, and therefore a color related to Oschon. He may be the “lesser creature” form of Oschon. If he isn’t, then the opo likely is him, or another of the Twelve staying mum for the time being.
11. Midgardsormr made a pact with Hydaelyn to guard Silvertear Lake, supposedly, due to the “confluence” of aether there, a small price to pay in exchange for sanctuary. Perhaps there was such a confluence, and it helped to keep Omphalos connected to the Source. Or perhaps Omphalos is the confluence in question, however, where it resides in the “Phantom realm”, it might not have been directly affected by the Battle of Silvertear Skies. It is therefore just as likely that Midgardsormr was unaware of the entrance to the Phantom Realm as it was that he might have been. We can’t exactly ask him, or expect a straight answer if we did, but in all likely hood, he was to Omphalos what Cerberus was to the Inferno, a very large gate guard.
