Blind Mew on Mar 3, 2014 wrote:

@The Doctor
in Achaea where those centaurs run free if you went left passed Pholus and keep going until you reach the ruins of a greek home and a cave to your right there is a girl standing there she has no name, has dark grey hair and is wearing white and blue clothes that are like the ones where you create your pirate. Why is she there?
I'm pretty sure she's not there by design - likely a placeholder that didn't get cleaned up. I'll look into it.

@Kai Alcott
Did Mooshu have a civil war a hundred years ago?
If they did in Wizard they did here. I'm not really sure how the Emperor came to power - that's the Wizard lore guys' domain.

@Merciless Morgrin
"I have confirmed your theory - the random perturbations of El Dorado's Stormgate are no accident - they occur by design."
The wording here reminds me of Kane's Grand Design. Coincidence? Or is this related to Kane's ultimate plan?
That would be telling. The secrets of the Grand design and El Dorado will be revealed. All in good time.

@The Vagabond
Blind Mew, I gotta ask: The Armada already have their fingers in Mooshu, Marleybone, a teensy bit of Cool Ranch, Valencia, and who knows how many other Realms of the Spiral. My question is, since both Morganthe from Wizard101 and Kane have been going at it for a while now, since I know they will never ally themselves together, will one eventually seek to destroy the other, due to both desiring complete dominion over the spiral? Furthermore, the Council of Light from Wizard 101: will they ever have to face the clockwork menace?
That's a good question. If Kane plans to take the whole Spiral, he'll have to deal with them eventually. I hope to go into some depth on that in the future. As for Morganthe, hopefully some wizard will take her out for him.

They did?! YAY! My back story doesn't go against the lore!

I'M BACK!

At least for a little bit here... Sorry to have gone silent for such a stretch, but I'm also quite pleased to see discussions flaring up in this thread, and long-time posters chiming in to answer questions that have been covered before. So here goes!

@ItsAMemari04
Hey Blind Mew, have you ever thought about making a Game World involving Prehistoric times such as the Ice Age and a mixture of other times of prehistoric like the Stone Age? It'd probably be a good idea, but Skull Island is probably part of this theme a little.
The Troggies do have a bit of a prehistoric vibe, but in terms of a true, striaght up ice agey/cave man type world? It hadn't occurred to me. I bet it'd be a cool place to visit, though...

@Kelsey Fireheart
I know this is such a strange question, but.. I see faces everywhere in-game. I see doors, wall fountains, decoration top of doorways as faces. Is this intentional or not?
A few of them are intentional - especially anything in Aztecosaur Ruins. The real world Mesoamerican cultures had a habit of putting huge monster faces on the temples, and making you enter through their gaping mouth. As for the others, i expect a few are artists having fun, and the rest are our human capacity for pattern recognition running wild. There's a book called Understanding Comics that has a long discussion about how our brains like to find faces in ordinary objects - it's an awesome read!

@EricStormbringer
I have a question about the lore behind ships horns and the powers they manifest
1)Who maufactures ships horns?
They're made on several different worlds.

2)How are ships horns able to call forth creatures?
It's magic, something similar to the Cards Wizards use. Pirates can't cast spells, but Horns are a sort of derivative technology - as soon as the technique was perfected, they were quick to adopt it.

3)Are the ships horns magical or mechanical in nature?
Magical, though the Armada uses new machines invented by Bishop that generate storm-like effects with magnetic fields.

I also have a few questions about the spiral in general
1)Is the spiral more like a solar system with one central sun and all the realms orbiting around the sun or is it more like a galaxy with the different worlds we encounter in their own star systems?
The Spiral does not have a definitive center - in theory, all the worlds share the same sun, but that sun doesn't sit int he center of the Spiral. In fact, making an accurate Map of the Spiral is next to impossible - this is why Valencia and Marleybone have both produced maps that are equally useful for navigation, but with different layouts - Valencian maps put Valencia at the center of the Spiral, while in Marleybonean maps the center is empty.

2)Are the distances between worlds comparable to the distances between planets in real life? If not are the distances longer or shorter?
Much shorter. Much much shorter.

3)In one of your other threads you state pirates hold their breath while traversing through stormgates yet in another you state that windstones protect ships from the stresses of the stormgate. Wouldn't it make more sense for the windstones to generate an artificial atmosphere?
That was said more than half in jest. Having the Windstone generate an atmosphere is a perfect solution. I like it!

@AwesomePirate540
I have some more questions for the Blind Mew. Here they are

1.Will all of the Companions from Marleybone (L.t. Springer, Private Mills, Bagha Khan, and Kzinti Singh) (I know that the Crockagator also incorporated, but he can't really promote), anyways, will those companions promote? I've seen their perfect promotion.
If by "promote" you mean upgrade so that their appearance changes and they become more powerful, absolutely - they all will. Very few Companions don't promote at all - they're the exception, not the rule. If by "promote" you mean have a quest that promotes them, then no - Gracie's the only one who'll get quests.

2.What World in the Spiral are you most contented with?
So far, Marleybone's the world I'm proudest of. I hope we can top it, but the bar's very high.

3.And last, will Gracie Conrad Promote? I've seen her perfect promotion
Yes, she will.

@Elemutation
1. Ratbeard's eye: In our new rouge's gallery it was explained how Ratbeard lost his leg, and you explained in an earlier question of mine about his hook hand, but what happened to his eye? that patch has been there since the beginning. And a side note, how old is he? He looks older, mostly because of the beard, but he seems pretty agile for an older guy, especially one with half his limbs and only one eye.
Ratbeard is pretty old. As to how he lost his eye, that has yet to be revealed, and I'm loath to define it until we need to.

2. Are there certain worlds with no stormgates? This one's pretty basic, but are there any really isolated worlds that only wizard doors can reach?
I expect so - likewise, I'm sure there are some worlds without Spiral doors...

3.How do Pirates teleport? this is one I just realized, but seems quite strange. Wizards have magic, and i guess witchdoctors do, but how does, say a swashbuckler teleport? also, with skull island to anywhere in the spiral teleportation, home to anywhere teleportation, Transportalators, AND the new mark and recall, is smuggling even relevant in a piracy career if you can just flash anywhere?
There's quite a lot at play here, actually. As committed as we are to our story and narrative, I will be the first to admit that we are a game first and foremost - if the gameplay becomes a barrier to fun, it doesn't matter how good our story is. Teleporting to home, Skull Island, Life Fountain, etc. and Mark and recall can all be justified in story terms by simply saying "okay, you go there" - there's no need for the movie to show every second of people driving.

Mark and recall, in particular, is a point we've conceded since launch - originally we thought "they're not wizards: they should have to travel." But when we realized the lack of mark and recall was preventing players from going to help their friends, that was unacceptable. Community trumps story logic. Besides, we have talking Dogs - logic has limits.

Serpent10611 on May 4, 2014 wrote:

There's no persuading you is there? Come on, work with me here. 'long sigh'
Alright, try thinking of it this way. Kane is only claimed to be greater than any living being. It even said in the puppet show "They say Kane is stronger, smarter, and faster..."; but who other than the inventor and King Casimir have seen him long enough for him to prove it, and/or live to tell about it? The rest of the armada would obviously bolster about their so-called "greatness", as we've seen with Bishop, so they don't count. For all anyone knows, Kane's "greatness" is just exaggerated and bragged about. Besides, if the armada is controlled by a central control system, anyone who gains control compels their obedience no matter what. And like I said, anyone else closely involved would have been imprisoned and/or silenced one way or another.
Now, I also said that Beaksmark was using the armada to build a better Spiral, so destroying historical records and landmarks are his way of removing any trace of the "ancient regime" (old order). Phule's "independent thoughts" is just a case of good-cop/bad-cop, but he's still loyal. His 'bad-cop' side wants the PC terminated immediately to remove the threat. His 'good-cop' side wants the PC to live only long enough so we can recover the rest of the map and then have us terminated. He knows full well that our actions are a threat to the elites, but it only encourages them to improve their defenses, strategies, and perhaps forces them to play a waiting game.

OK, so let's assume that Kane is a buffoon, a prototype, a broken puppet who spends all day asking the same question, over and over, to Bishop: "Are you my Mommy?", even though this can be disproved in the marleybone puppet show.
What of it? The rest of the Elite are still functioning individuals who can think for themselves, with no 'central computer' mentioned in the entire game. Knowing the Spiral's technological advancement, I doubt that anyone has yet developed a method to manipulate people without them even realizing it, for that is an extremely complicated mental procedure, which requires knowledge about psychology. Maybe Beaksmark has developed such a technique, but why would he? He's a general, not a doctor.
Also, about Phule: I, personally, don't think that he is just a 'bad-cop/good-cop'. I believe that he an individual with what the Armada calls a glitch, while we call 'a split personality'. In fact, perhaps this is why the Armada keeps him around: he's an amazing judge and jury. he is both the prosecutor and the defender, the barrister and solicitor, a man who can see a situation from multiple sides and analyze it better than anyone else. THAT is why he treats the pirate so weirdly: he both see's us as a danger, and as an ally, or, at least, a tool, a tool with which he will be able to seize more power in the Elite Court.
Think about it: Once Kane is disposed of in the end of the arch, someone will have to lead the Armada, or any other Valencian military institution. So why not Phule?

MarleybonePatriot on May 7, 2014 wrote:

Valencia isn't under siege. Most of Valencia is doing quite fine, both enjoying their decadent lifestyle and winning a war against the only nation which could compete with it.

Actually, you don't know. Niether do I. However, I can make logical assumptions, and Fernando becoming an ally of the Armada's and starting another conflict for the Monquistan Crown isn't very probable.

Sure it is... if you call much of the living Valencians cowering under the Armada's eyes as they witness their mechanical creations tear their world's numerous floating islands apart, steal their precious works of art and literature, pleading for hope, and trying to make a living while trying to not to get them sent to Cadiz that will get Kane's attention and being confined there quite fine, then by all means, Valencia should be doing quite fine. I was joking, by the way. Remember, Blind Mew said that we've only seen a part of what the Armada's doing to Valencia when we visited that world for the first time, and by the time we make another trip to Valencia to find the Toymaker... well, you'll find that the situation in Valencia is willing to be much... much worse than what we thought, and it's willing to be beyond what we saw in the Aragon Skyway. Believe me. I know.

I'm just thinking of possible plot twists to spice up the game's main storyline, you know? You can't oust that happening. Don't deny it.

MarleybonePatriot on May 7, 2014 wrote:

OK, so let's assume that Kane is a buffoon, a prototype, a broken puppet who spends all day asking the same question, over and over, to Bishop: "Are you my Mommy?", even though this can be disproved in the marleybone puppet show.
What of it? The rest of the Elite are still functioning individuals who can think for themselves, with no 'central computer' mentioned in the entire game. Knowing the Spiral's technological advancement, I doubt that anyone has yet developed a method to manipulate people without them even realizing it, for that is an extremely complicated mental procedure, which requires knowledge about psychology. Maybe Beaksmark has developed such a technique, but why would he? He's a general, not a doctor.
Also, about Phule: I, personally, don't think that he is just a 'bad-cop/good-cop'. I believe that he an individual with what the Armada calls a glitch, while we call 'a split personality'. In fact, perhaps this is why the Armada keeps him around: he's an amazing judge and jury. he is both the prosecutor and the defender, the barrister and solicitor, a man who can see a situation from multiple sides and analyze it better than anyone else. THAT is why he treats the pirate so weirdly: he both see's us as a danger, and as an ally, or, at least, a tool, a tool with which he will be able to seize more power in the Elite Court.
Think about it: Once Kane is disposed of in the end of the arch, someone will have to lead the Armada, or any other Valencian military institution. So why not Phule?

So I guess that's a no, there's no persuading you. 'another long sigh'
As far as I can tell right now, you're the only one who seems to have a major problem with my plot idea no matter how many revisions and clarifications made; and declining it a little arrogantly from my perspective. I'm fully aware that not everyone is keen on having a clockwork companion and I understand why, but it's like the old criticism for the new update, give it a chance first. Anything can and will happen in the Spiral and there's still PLENTY of room in this first arch for any sort of plot twist.
Basically the only things we know about the armada is:
1. they want us dead
2. they want to reach El Dorodo just as we do
3. they want to rebuild the Spiral
4. they have a strong, but still destroyable, military apparatus
5. they are building this "Grand Design"
We still don't know what's really within the armada's inner workings and wouldn't yet know if there is or is not a "central control" at the point we are in the story. The elites are all programmed with the same goal, to reach El Dorodo and terminate any obstacle, but their "independent thinking" is only a slightly different programming of how to achieve that goal so one can succeed where another might fail. It's hardly that big of stretch anyway to find out that there's a bigger threat behind the armada. The fact that no one else knows about Beaksmark is merely a case of censorship of the press. And the clockworks are puppets, not people, so no psychiatric knowledge would even be needed to reprogram them; just a few adjustments and the removal or replacement of a memory chip. Please, just ease up on the criticism; I'm trying my best to make this idea work.

Serpent10611 on May 8, 2014 wrote:

So I guess that's a no, there's no persuading you. 'another long sigh'
As far as I can tell right now, you're the only one who seems to have a major problem with my plot idea no matter how many revisions and clarifications made; and declining it a little arrogantly from my perspective. I'm fully aware that not everyone is keen on having a clockwork companion and I understand why, but it's like the old criticism for the new update, give it a chance first. Anything can and will happen in the Spiral and there's still PLENTY of room in this first arch for any sort of plot twist.
Basically the only things we know about the armada is:
1. they want us dead
2. they want to reach El Dorodo just as we do
3. they want to rebuild the Spiral
4. they have a strong, but still destroyable, military apparatus
5. they are building this "Grand Design"
We still don't know what's really within the armada's inner workings and wouldn't yet know if there is or is not a "central control" at the point we are in the story. The elites are all programmed with the same goal, to reach El Dorodo and terminate any obstacle, but their "independent thinking" is only a slightly different programming of how to achieve that goal so one can succeed where another might fail. It's hardly that big of stretch anyway to find out that there's a bigger threat behind the armada. The fact that no one else knows about Beaksmark is merely a case of censorship of the press. And the clockworks are puppets, not people, so no psychiatric knowledge would even be needed to reprogram them; just a few adjustments and the removal or replacement of a memory chip. Please, just ease up on the criticism; I'm trying my best to make this idea work.

I am sorry if I have offended you or done you misconduct. I thought my criticism was necessary, the same way must bash a hot iron to make a beautiful sword, and what better way to improve an idea than to illuminate it's flaws? However, I can stop, if you so desire, and we can simply agree to disagree.

MarleybonePatriot on May 8, 2014 wrote:

I am sorry if I have offended you or done you misconduct. I thought my criticism was necessary, the same way must bash a hot iron to make a beautiful sword, and what better way to improve an idea than to illuminate it's flaws? However, I can stop, if you so desire, and we can simply agree to disagree.

These posts remind me of the seven blind men who are trying to describe an elephant by latching on to one aspect amd insisting their opinion is 'right'. We know very little about the inner dynamics of Kane's Court, how they were made, who made them etc. Anything that hasn't yet been revealed is just speculation - and should be treated as such,

Instead of debating about Polaris, I'll ask questions. It's a miracle, I know.
1. Why didn't you reference Brother Bear as one of the totem spirits?
2. Will we ever meet Zeus? We kind of meet Ares in a way.
3. What map pieces do the Armada have and what ones do we have? I got really confused with Cool Ranch's piece.
4. Is there any chance that Phule escaped Fort Elena like the Brass Monkey?
5. Speaking of him, does the Brass Monkey still want revenge? If so, will we fight him again?

genericpirate786 on May 10, 2014 wrote:

Instead of debating about Polaris, I'll ask questions. It's a miracle, I know.
1. Why didn't you reference Brother Bear as one of the totem spirits?
2. Will we ever meet Zeus? We kind of meet Ares in a way.
3. What map pieces do the Armada have and what ones do we have? I got really confused with Cool Ranch's piece.
4. Is there any chance that Phule escaped Fort Elena like the Brass Monkey?
5. Speaking of him, does the Brass Monkey still want revenge? If so, will we fight him again?

I can answer 3. and 4.
The map pieces the Armada has are two: the one from Marco Pollo's tomb and Egg Fu Yung's piece. We have three pieces now the piece from Captain Gunn's treasure, Christopher Clark's piece ( Cool Ranch ) and later in Aquila we gain a piece ( I don't want to say more, in case its a spoiler for you.)

Yes Phule escaped from Fort Elena.