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Speculations on the Spiral

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Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
Well, I've been inspired by Anecorbie's Speculations on the Armada thread. So, I'd like to start this Speculations on the Spiral. A thread, to discuss ideas that work towards understanding how the Spiral works. A place to discuss how; ships and islands float, where Spiral in habitants come from, why are some horses rideable and others talkable. Why do Unicorne Fencers not wear pants? How do ship anchors actually work? Along with any other questions that come to our collective piratical minds. So please, bring your questions, your minds, thinking caps and yum recipes, and perhaps together we pirates can better understand the Spiral we love to plunder.

To start, I'd like to discuss a topic that I've been pondering for awhile.
Why, in Cool Ranch are there horses that act as simple mounts, and other horses that walk, talk, and eat pancakes?

To answer this, I think we can use the Earthly concept of convergent evolution. This is the idea that two distinct species can evolve to resemble one another based on occupying a similar habitat.

In the Spiral, Blind Mew has said that the sentient horses of Cool Ranch are distant cousins of the Valencian Unicornes. But where then do the non-sentient horses come from?

Well, while questing in Aquila, we pirates come across an Aquilan scholar who wishes to restore the great Pegusi to the skies of Aquila. Through this adventure, we learn that in the past, the Aquilan skies were filled with Pegusi. But, then denizens of other Spiral worlds came and captured the Pegusi and sold them as pets and pack animals throughout the Spiral (Pigswick?).

Perhaps, then some of these stolen Pegusi found their way to Cool Ranch, and there used as pack animals to transport goods across the rocky deserts. The great Pegusi grew smaller and stockier, in order to better carry the heavy loads. And due to a lack of flying, lost their wings as well.

So, perhaps, the non-sentient horses of Cool Ranch are not related at all to the Spanish Horses of Cool Ranch, nor to the equine raiders of Mooshu, but are instead derived from the captured Pegusi of Aquila, and the two species only resemble each other due to sharing the harsh environment of Cool Ranch?
First Mate
Dec 13, 2009
431
What you say about the horses seems to, at least slightly, apply to the unicorns. In Wizard, I believe a quest, either side or main, has you talking to a unicorn... that walks on four legs. It has coloring different from any unicorn I have seen in Valencia, and is the size of a pet. Using the Unicorn spell summons a mount-sized one which is seen practicing life magic with its horn, linking it to wizards and wands. A wizard can not practice magic very well with no wand, so we can guess that the unicorn can not do this without its horn. Unicorns evolved the capability to use magic, and then some must have migrated to Valencia somehow. The climate changed their fur color (I believe Valencia is warmer.), much like some rabbits change color with the winter. Those ones eventually evolved to become bipedal, and somewhere along the way lost the ability to use magic, rendering the horn nothing but a convenient weapon and a distinction between them and normal horses. Thus, a Valencian, or a normal Unicorn, could have their horn cut off, and it would work as a wand, possibly explaining the appearance of several Death wands. So some people, possibly wizards, possibly even some of the teachers, or Ambrose himself, are cutting off a piece of a living, sentient creature, and in the case of the original Unicorns, rendering them completely defenseless to predators.
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Kai Alcott on Jul 19, 2014 wrote:
What you say about the horses seems to, at least slightly, apply to the unicorns. In Wizard, I believe a quest, either side or main, has you talking to a unicorn... that walks on four legs. It has coloring different from any unicorn I have seen in Valencia, and is the size of a pet. Using the Unicorn spell summons a mount-sized one which is seen practicing life magic with its horn, linking it to wizards and wands. A wizard can not practice magic very well with no wand, so we can guess that the unicorn can not do this without its horn. Unicorns evolved the capability to use magic, and then some must have migrated to Valencia somehow. The climate changed their fur color (I believe Valencia is warmer.), much like some rabbits change color with the winter. Those ones eventually evolved to become bipedal, and somewhere along the way lost the ability to use magic, rendering the horn nothing but a convenient weapon and a distinction between them and normal horses. Thus, a Valencian, or a normal Unicorn, could have their horn cut off, and it would work as a wand, possibly explaining the appearance of several Death wands. So some people, possibly wizards, possibly even some of the teachers, or Ambrose himself, are cutting off a piece of a living, sentient creature, and in the case of the original Unicorns, rendering them completely defenseless to predators.
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
I believe the answer is horribly simple; if you cut off a piece of a living creature, it becomes dead ( ugh ), therefore rendering it usable for Death spells.
I like this post CDeWinter, and I will come back with more speculations for you. But first I really want to mull over your questions.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
Hmmm, thought provoking.
I see the horses thing perhaps using the same logic as used in Narnia. Aslan just chose certain members of each species and made them sentient, the other animals just wandered off and became wild. Perhaps Bartleby did the same type of thing?

The floating islands I like to think work like they do on Pandora in the film Avatar. A huge magnetic flux causes the land masses to float. The Spiral uses Aether for such things too so maybe a mix?
First Mate
Dec 13, 2009
431
Kai Alcott on Jul 19, 2014 wrote:
What you say about the horses seems to, at least slightly, apply to the unicorns. In Wizard, I believe a quest, either side or main, has you talking to a unicorn... that walks on four legs. It has coloring different from any unicorn I have seen in Valencia, and is the size of a pet. Using the Unicorn spell summons a mount-sized one which is seen practicing life magic with its horn, linking it to wizards and wands. A wizard can not practice magic very well with no wand, so we can guess that the unicorn can not do this without its horn. Unicorns evolved the capability to use magic, and then some must have migrated to Valencia somehow. The climate changed their fur color (I believe Valencia is warmer.), much like some rabbits change color with the winter. Those ones eventually evolved to become bipedal, and somewhere along the way lost the ability to use magic, rendering the horn nothing but a convenient weapon and a distinction between them and normal horses. Thus, a Valencian, or a normal Unicorn, could have their horn cut off, and it would work as a wand, possibly explaining the appearance of several Death wands. So some people, possibly wizards, possibly even some of the teachers, or Ambrose himself, are cutting off a piece of a living, sentient creature, and in the case of the original Unicorns, rendering them completely defenseless to predators.
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
Also, if what I said here is true, the Unicorns of Wizard101 are somehow related to the horses of Cool Ranch.
First Mate
Dec 13, 2009
431
So, if the Unicorns are an earlier evolution of Valencian Unicorns, that means that the Wizard101 Unicorns are related to the Cool Ranch Horses. I'm also willing to bet that they are related to the Pegusi.
I need to know something: Which species is older, Pegusi or Unicorn? And which world is older, Wizard City or Aquila?
I'm going to say Pegusi and Aquila as the answers. If Wizard City is actually a city, it couldn't have been around since the dawn of time. The settlers who founded it must have had animals to move their things. Pegusi. They must have been used by the settlers as pack animals. Like CdeWinter said about Cool Ranch and Pegusi, a lack of flying caused their wings to disappear over time. How did they turn into Unicorns?
Bartelby. I don't think Bartelby was planted and raised by human farmers. He's a magic tree. So he must have done something to the Unicorns. Their horns grew, and they gained sentience. If that's true, then the Valencian Unicorns are descendants of the unicorns of Wizard City, which descend from the Pegusi. If Blind Mew said that Valencian Unicorns are distant relatives of the Cool Ranch horses, then the Pegusi are distantly related to the Cool Ranch horses, meaning that the non-sentient horses in Cool Ranch are related to the bipedal sentient ones.
Though the entire thing I just typed uses 'magic' as an answer, which makes me seem lazy.
Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
anecorbie on Jul 20, 2014 wrote:
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
I believe the answer is horribly simple; if you cut off a piece of a living creature, it becomes dead ( ugh ), therefore rendering it usable for Death spells.
I like this post CDeWinter, and I will come back with more speculations for you. But first I really want to mull over your questions.
Well, to be honest, Anne Radcliff has already answered the question about how ships float very nicely. Now if she would be willing to retype her answer in this thread, that would be awesome.
Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
Kai Alcott on Jul 19, 2014 wrote:
What you say about the horses seems to, at least slightly, apply to the unicorns. In Wizard, I believe a quest, either side or main, has you talking to a unicorn... that walks on four legs. It has coloring different from any unicorn I have seen in Valencia, and is the size of a pet. Using the Unicorn spell summons a mount-sized one which is seen practicing life magic with its horn, linking it to wizards and wands. A wizard can not practice magic very well with no wand, so we can guess that the unicorn can not do this without its horn. Unicorns evolved the capability to use magic, and then some must have migrated to Valencia somehow. The climate changed their fur color (I believe Valencia is warmer.), much like some rabbits change color with the winter. Those ones eventually evolved to become bipedal, and somewhere along the way lost the ability to use magic, rendering the horn nothing but a convenient weapon and a distinction between them and normal horses. Thus, a Valencian, or a normal Unicorn, could have their horn cut off, and it would work as a wand, possibly explaining the appearance of several Death wands. So some people, possibly wizards, possibly even some of the teachers, or Ambrose himself, are cutting off a piece of a living, sentient creature, and in the case of the original Unicorns, rendering them completely defenseless to predators.
But how is a Life creature's horn used for Death magic?
Well, Kai. I'd say that we have to consider the natures of death and life magic. In the spiral, both are spiritual magics, and are generally considered to be opposites. But, life magic and death magic are also related. In a way, we can consider death magic to be a corrupt version of life magic in that death magic brings a near life state (undeath) to the dead creating the undead. In this way, death magic is a poor imitation of life magic.

And, just like life magic, death magic is capable of healing, though at the expense of another. For, where theurgy and truly heal, necromancy can only transfer life force from one source to another.

So, if a live healthy pure unicorn horn may be used for life magics, then why shouldn't a "dead" or corrupted unicorn horn be used for death magic? While, literature and myths, mostly describe unicorns as being the purest and most innocent of magical creatures, they have also been linked to necromancy and the Dark Arts. Consider Voldemort's use of unicorns in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

So, it makes sense then that if necromancy is a corrupted version of theurgy, that a powerful theurgic tool such as a unicorn horn could become a slightly less powerful necromantic tool if somehow corrupted.
Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
Kai Alcott on Jul 21, 2014 wrote:
So, if the Unicorns are an earlier evolution of Valencian Unicorns, that means that the Wizard101 Unicorns are related to the Cool Ranch Horses. I'm also willing to bet that they are related to the Pegusi.
I need to know something: Which species is older, Pegusi or Unicorn? And which world is older, Wizard City or Aquila?
I'm going to say Pegusi and Aquila as the answers. If Wizard City is actually a city, it couldn't have been around since the dawn of time. The settlers who founded it must have had animals to move their things. Pegusi. They must have been used by the settlers as pack animals. Like CdeWinter said about Cool Ranch and Pegusi, a lack of flying caused their wings to disappear over time. How did they turn into Unicorns?
Bartelby. I don't think Bartelby was planted and raised by human farmers. He's a magic tree. So he must have done something to the Unicorns. Their horns grew, and they gained sentience. If that's true, then the Valencian Unicorns are descendants of the unicorns of Wizard City, which descend from the Pegusi. If Blind Mew said that Valencian Unicorns are distant relatives of the Cool Ranch horses, then the Pegusi are distantly related to the Cool Ranch horses, meaning that the non-sentient horses in Cool Ranch are related to the bipedal sentient ones.
Though the entire thing I just typed uses 'magic' as an answer, which makes me seem lazy.
That is a very good though process Kai, but I do see one problem with it.

We are told in Aquila that the first pegusi were created by the Aquilan gods. Therefore, the pegusi have a definite creation point in Spiral Lore. So, logically then, the pegusi cannot of evolved from the non-sentient unicorns.
Remember, evolution does not equal the creation of life, it only refers to how life changes over time.

And I would say that Wizard City is older. We know that Bartelby, with the help of Grandmother Raven sang the first world into being, and then created the spiral when the Titans tore the first world apart. So, since Bartleby must have existed since the dawn of time, then the world that Wizard City is built on, must also have existed for the same amount of time. Now, how was Bartleby created? That, I don't really feel like answering.
Gunner's Mate
Feb 22, 2011
281
My speculation is this:

Queen is the toymaker's special secret weapon. After the Armada came to power and began taking over, the toymaker became their sort of... puppet. So you hear Bishop say, "you were right; the clockwork birds were indeed made by the toymaker." He didn't say it with anger, or surprise, and while that may simply be because they're the armada, he didn't seem to say it like it was big information. Not to mention Kane had already guessed it was him. So he's not really a refugee or anything, plus the fact that he knows many, many languages (Aquilan Linear B, which it would appear nobody knows), so he's travelled. A lot. Perhaps it was to teach his newest weapon, disguised as an Armada Elite?

Enter Queen. Kane's supposed wife and second-in-command, she's most likely one of the more recent clockworks. So my theory is that Kane solely built her so that she could spy on the armada for him, as well as act an envoy for him. What if the mysterious G is an Armada soldier built by Queen in order to act as her sort of traveling informant. Maybe she even has her own Armada creations?
Gunner's Mate
Feb 22, 2011
281
CdeWinter on Jul 21, 2014 wrote:
Well, to be honest, Anne Radcliff has already answered the question about how ships float very nicely. Now if she would be willing to retype her answer in this thread, that would be awesome.
Hey, CdeWinter and Anne Radcliffe! I know you people from central ! Just thought I might mention that for no good reason.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
I would like to address some speculations regarding Unicorns in the Spiral. It is in the Quest "Not so Welcome to Myth" That Cyrus sends the myth student to summon a creature of myth on Unicorn Way. A Unicorn appears and speaks to the student, giving them "words of power". I did notice that the form of the Unicorn is radically different than the sapient Unicorns found in Valencia.
I believe this is because the summoned Unicorn is an abstract ideal of Myth Magic and has no bearing on 'real' Unicorns. The coloration, even the proportions of this spirit form is so very different from Diego the Duel master as to make me think that this is deliberate on the part of the game's developers.
In Greek Myth Pegasus sprang from the body of Medusa. In Aquila, we are told that the Pegasi are gifts to the Mortals so that they might share in the ability to fly But that the greed of mortals caused the gift to be withdrawn. ( In Wysteria we see Pegasi living in a stable and being cared for by a Rabbit. ) I don't believe that the Pegasi evolved or de-volved into Horses or quadrapedal equines. I like the idea of Bartlby and Grandmother Raven choosing who becomes sapient or not. Alternatively I would not discount a Wizard making magical experiments, either.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Aether is a good hypothesis, but I believe doesn't explain everything, and the catch-all phrase "because it's magic!", leaves no room for investigation. Consider this: pumice is a stone which is created during volcanic eruptions; this stone is light and can actually float on water. It does this by air pockets trapped in the rock. There are many woods that have differing densities as well. I point out that the cork tree was so well known for its buoyant properties that it was used until modern times in life jackets.
The point I'm making is that as well as aether causing islands to float, perhaps the lands of the Spiral are made of a porous, buoyant rock like pumice, and our ships constructed from a less dense wood.
Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
Gah, this topic is giving me a headache. Let's put it all down to 'Spiral Logic', shall we?

Anyway, I'll try not to embarrass myself by posting this:

When we were debating the ages of Aquila and Wizard City, I'd like to point out from my experience in W101 that Merle Ambrose discovered Bartleby and built Ravenwood and Wizard City around him. I don't know a lot about Aquila, but it could be possible that since Bartleby and Grandmother Raven sang the Spiral into existence, the Immortals were created along with Aquila.

And on the subject of Unicorns, the Valencian Unicorns are different from Summoned Unicorns. The Summoned Unicorns (as seen in the Myth School quest and the Life School spell) are more like spirits and the essence of Life. They have the power to heal, and are associated with the School of Life and magic. Valencian Unicorns came from the Pirate part of the Spiral, and I remember reading somewhere that Diego the Duelmaster came from Valencia. These Unicorns, as we know, stand on their hind legs and are scholars and fencers. They don't have that fairy-princess feel to them, and are more intelligent than wise. Summoned Unicorns seem to be much older than Valencian Unicorns, and obviously have a deep knowledge of the magical arts seeing as they know words of power.

For Unicorn horns, are we speaking of the Death School starter wand? It appears to be an Alicorn, and could have been cut from a Unicorn. The last book of the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull features a character who is in fact a unicorn. His horn was taken from him, so he could only do limited magic. This could prove the link between a Unicorn's horn and its magic even though it has nothing to do with W101 or P101.
Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
anecorbie on Jul 22, 2014 wrote:
I would like to address some speculations regarding Unicorns in the Spiral. It is in the Quest "Not so Welcome to Myth" That Cyrus sends the myth student to summon a creature of myth on Unicorn Way. A Unicorn appears and speaks to the student, giving them "words of power". I did notice that the form of the Unicorn is radically different than the sapient Unicorns found in Valencia.
I believe this is because the summoned Unicorn is an abstract ideal of Myth Magic and has no bearing on 'real' Unicorns. The coloration, even the proportions of this spirit form is so very different from Diego the Duel master as to make me think that this is deliberate on the part of the game's developers.
In Greek Myth Pegasus sprang from the body of Medusa. In Aquila, we are told that the Pegasi are gifts to the Mortals so that they might share in the ability to fly But that the greed of mortals caused the gift to be withdrawn. ( In Wysteria we see Pegasi living in a stable and being cared for by a Rabbit. ) I don't believe that the Pegasi evolved or de-volved into Horses or quadrapedal equines. I like the idea of Bartlby and Grandmother Raven choosing who becomes sapient or not. Alternatively I would not discount a Wizard making magical experiments, either.
I do also like the idea of Bartleby and Grandmother Raven choosing what becomes sentient. In a very Narnian/ Lord of the Rings way, it fits with the whole singing a world into creation. But, if you don't mind I will continue to consider this as a very plausible alterantive hypothesis.

And as for the floating ships and islands, I do like the idea of Aether simply because it does explain many points. But, with science, when a more complete explanation arised, then we should follow that newer hypothesis or theory.
Aether not only explains the floating ships and islands, but also explains the beach at the Isle of Fetch that is clearly set up to allow sky swimming.

However, I remember Blind Mew stating in one of his threads that it could be due to a certain material that the ships are constructed of. I will have to go through Mew's earlier posts and try to find that exact post again.
First Mate
Dec 13, 2009
431
CdeWinter on Jul 21, 2014 wrote:
That is a very good though process Kai, but I do see one problem with it.

We are told in Aquila that the first pegusi were created by the Aquilan gods. Therefore, the pegusi have a definite creation point in Spiral Lore. So, logically then, the pegusi cannot of evolved from the non-sentient unicorns.
Remember, evolution does not equal the creation of life, it only refers to how life changes over time.

And I would say that Wizard City is older. We know that Bartelby, with the help of Grandmother Raven sang the first world into being, and then created the spiral when the Titans tore the first world apart. So, since Bartleby must have existed since the dawn of time, then the world that Wizard City is built on, must also have existed for the same amount of time. Now, how was Bartleby created? That, I don't really feel like answering.
The city itself did not exist that long, though. And the Pegusi evolved into Unicorns, not the other way around.
Bartelby was planted by a magic potato god.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Here is something that disturbed me ever since I began playing W101. The question of how we are able to function and survive underwater! In W101 when you do the side quest that takes you to Crab Alley, you are apparently given a potion that allows you to breathe underwater, and this potion is so powerful, it lasts the rest of your wizard's life! You can go underwater anywhere and suffer no ill effects!
So what's the concept behind P101 and our pirates going underwater and surviving? Sure, there's one quest at Gold Creek where El Toro tells you "swim like the salmon, or you will drown." but that's the only mention of drowning in this game! Would anyone like to address this conundrum?
Admiral
Jul 27, 2012
1196
CdeWinter on Jul 21, 2014 wrote:
Well, to be honest, Anne Radcliff has already answered the question about how ships float very nicely. Now if she would be willing to retype her answer in this thread, that would be awesome.
I thank you for your invitation, my lady de Winter (notice I don't call you 'Mi'lady de Winter ). Before I go off and hypothesize about aether and the skies of Pirate101, I should say why I invoke 'aether' as an explanation in the first place. The philosophers of Aquila would happily tell you all about it, so I will attempt to pass on their wisdom.

Plato, one of the greatest of philosophers, considered the idea of Democritus, that all things were made up of invisible particles that could not be divided; Democritus called them atoms. Plato, belonging to the world view that all elements were made up of fire/earth/water/air, applied the principles of geometry, and came up with the beautiful idea that the fundamental particles of the 4 elements had the regular forms of 3-dimensional solids (which are now called Platonic Solids). Thus, Plato envisioned these fundamental forms:

Earth: cube (the ultimate sense of solidity)
Water: icosohedron (a shape almost round, so thus not terribly unlike a water droplet)
Fire: tetrahedron (it's all spiky in shape. Fire hurts!)
Air: octahedron

Plato got very excited when he realized that the 'triangle' could be used to make the geometric shape on the faces of all of these solids. He argued eloquently that thus the equilateral triangle is the ultimate fundamental particle, able to give shape to all the elements.

But, there was one geometric solid that didn't fit nicely into this scheme: the dodecahedron. Worse, its face, the pentagon, can not be made out of equilateral triangles. What to do!?

Happily, Aristotle, Plato's brilliant student, came up with a reasonable explanation. The dodecahedron, he explained, makes up another element that mortal beings can not discern through our senses -- aether. This element belongs to the realm of the Immortals, and therefore does not follow the rules (triangles, in this case) of earthly things. Since the understanding of the Immortals is beyond the understanding of mortals, thus the nature of aether is beyond our understanding.

How convenient! Since we don't know exactly what aether is, our imaginations can run wild. And that's exactly what those classically educated early science fiction writers of the 18th-19th C. did to explain interplanetary travel and what not. And since it fits nicely within the world view of Pirate101, it makes a lovely explanation to play with here too.
First Mate
Dec 13, 2009
431
MistyDragon13 on Jul 22, 2014 wrote:
Gah, this topic is giving me a headache. Let's put it all down to 'Spiral Logic', shall we?

Anyway, I'll try not to embarrass myself by posting this:

When we were debating the ages of Aquila and Wizard City, I'd like to point out from my experience in W101 that Merle Ambrose discovered Bartleby and built Ravenwood and Wizard City around him. I don't know a lot about Aquila, but it could be possible that since Bartleby and Grandmother Raven sang the Spiral into existence, the Immortals were created along with Aquila.

And on the subject of Unicorns, the Valencian Unicorns are different from Summoned Unicorns. The Summoned Unicorns (as seen in the Myth School quest and the Life School spell) are more like spirits and the essence of Life. They have the power to heal, and are associated with the School of Life and magic. Valencian Unicorns came from the Pirate part of the Spiral, and I remember reading somewhere that Diego the Duelmaster came from Valencia. These Unicorns, as we know, stand on their hind legs and are scholars and fencers. They don't have that fairy-princess feel to them, and are more intelligent than wise. Summoned Unicorns seem to be much older than Valencian Unicorns, and obviously have a deep knowledge of the magical arts seeing as they know words of power.

For Unicorn horns, are we speaking of the Death School starter wand? It appears to be an Alicorn, and could have been cut from a Unicorn. The last book of the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull features a character who is in fact a unicorn. His horn was taken from him, so he could only do limited magic. This could prove the link between a Unicorn's horn and its magic even though it has nothing to do with W101 or P101.
What about the pet unicorns you can buy?
Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
anecorbie on Jul 22, 2014 wrote:
Here is something that disturbed me ever since I began playing W101. The question of how we are able to function and survive underwater! In W101 when you do the side quest that takes you to Crab Alley, you are apparently given a potion that allows you to breathe underwater, and this potion is so powerful, it lasts the rest of your wizard's life! You can go underwater anywhere and suffer no ill effects!
So what's the concept behind P101 and our pirates going underwater and surviving? Sure, there's one quest at Gold Creek where El Toro tells you "swim like the salmon, or you will drown." but that's the only mention of drowning in this game! Would anyone like to address this conundrum?
I think that it's some sort of magic. For the Crab Alley quest in Wizard, Sohomer Sunblade says something along the lines of "Here's an underwater breathing spell for you." I found it odd that you could breathe underwater in Pirate101, since you can't really use magic. I assume that someone on your crew that knows magic, maybe Old Scratch since he's a universal grant, was able to cast some sort of air charm that lets you breathe underwater.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
anecorbie on Jul 22, 2014 wrote:
Here is something that disturbed me ever since I began playing W101. The question of how we are able to function and survive underwater! In W101 when you do the side quest that takes you to Crab Alley, you are apparently given a potion that allows you to breathe underwater, and this potion is so powerful, it lasts the rest of your wizard's life! You can go underwater anywhere and suffer no ill effects!
So what's the concept behind P101 and our pirates going underwater and surviving? Sure, there's one quest at Gold Creek where El Toro tells you "swim like the salmon, or you will drown." but that's the only mention of drowning in this game! Would anyone like to address this conundrum?
I remember a post from Blind Mew where he said that Pirates practiced the art of holding their breath from sailing through stormgates and are thus able to hold their breaths for a VERY long time. I suspect the magic that is imbued in their ships is absorbed and assists in this amazing skill.
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Call me an oddball, but I don't think there really is a deep meaning or scientific explanation as to why the Spiral's land masses and the ships float. I chalk it up to all of the hot air that Hawkules and El Toro bellow out! A simple explanation that somehow makes perfect sense.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Kai Alcott on Jul 23, 2014 wrote:
What about the pet unicorns you can buy?
Obviously summoned and given permanent shape in the mortal world, this could also apply to the mount available in the W101 crown shop. And what about Ki-rins in P101? They're vaguely horse shaped, yet seem more a type of dragon.
Lieutenant
Jun 16, 2009
133
anecorbie on Jul 22, 2014 wrote:
Here is something that disturbed me ever since I began playing W101. The question of how we are able to function and survive underwater! In W101 when you do the side quest that takes you to Crab Alley, you are apparently given a potion that allows you to breathe underwater, and this potion is so powerful, it lasts the rest of your wizard's life! You can go underwater anywhere and suffer no ill effects!
So what's the concept behind P101 and our pirates going underwater and surviving? Sure, there's one quest at Gold Creek where El Toro tells you "swim like the salmon, or you will drown." but that's the only mention of drowning in this game! Would anyone like to address this conundrum?
Blind Mew addressed this question at one point. He said pirates have to learn to hold their breath for long periods of time to travel through storm gates, as there is no air between worlds. However, there was also a discussion on the boards that talked about windstones generating an atmosphere around a ship. There are devices within the spiral that allow people to breath under water, our wizards run across one in Celestia. However, as far as we know, our pirate does not have one. I think that until new information comes to light, we should stick with Blind Mew's hypothesis, and practice holding our breath.
Captain
Dec 01, 2012
607
anecorbie on Jul 23, 2014 wrote:
Obviously summoned and given permanent shape in the mortal world, this could also apply to the mount available in the W101 crown shop. And what about Ki-rins in P101? They're vaguely horse shaped, yet seem more a type of dragon.
It also just so happens the Ki-Rin are wind spirits,so obviously they are summoned,bound,and then given full physical materialization.And then a bunch of little pirates get to jump on their backs!

On the subject of Aquila and Wizard City,the first thing that I'm gonna point out is a word from my favorite kitty-cat.
''The Manticores are an ancient scourge of all Aquila: legend has it that ages ago, the Immortals and the Cthonic Powers fought a terrible war that shattered the islands, raising all the mountains and creating all the chasms. During this war, the Cthonic Powers unleashed hideous creatures to ravage the mortal world: Harpies and Manticores are the most common. In the early days of Ophidian civilization, hunting these monsters was considered a prime rite of passage - any warrior who could slay a Cthonic beast in single combat was deemed worthy in the eyes of They Who Slither Below.

This myth doesn't sort very well with what scholars have deduced about the prehistory of the Spiral, which makes it very curious.''

This was at first meant to explain why Ophidan art has a lot of manticores,but it also happens to tell us a bit more on the prehistory of the Spiral,and the historical bias of it.

This also explains why the Ophidians and the Eagles aren't so...friendly to each other.

Now,this sparks another question:What else did the Cthonic Powers unleash,except Harpies and Manticores?

Okay,this sparks a lot of questions,but this is the one I am currently thinking about.Which story is true?Probably Bartleby's because everyone from Azteca to Khrysalis agrees on it.

I do need to catch up on this thread,and I will do it sometime this week.And Scarlet,I think you confused the terms 'sentient' and 'sapient' somewhere here.

I'll find more time to talk and talk later.Scarlet,next time you make a thread like this you are to tell me IMMEDIATLY!!!
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