Ingame lore and speculation

[Razzagor]

I decided to make this thread to be able to discuss and share some details related to the lore in Gem of Wars kingdoms and troops. To begin this i’m transporting a recent discussion on a thread me, @Eika and @Sheba slightly derailed…

@Ivar

Well, Pharos is a Divine Undead, which i assume is related to how egyptians myths are perceived and translated into fantasy settings such as our dear game.

For all matters he is indeed an undead, but not a profane parody of life. I think the creative team went with a combination of many myths to create a strong egyptian identity but still mantaining a unique approach to their own creation.

So, we have a figure that resembles the depictions of Horus, a god with human body and a falcon’s head that strangely vanished ages ago according to: A New Mythic Approaches - Pharos-Ra which also gives a little more details of his divine powers as bringer of life and death. But right now he doesn’t bring much life anymore…

I believe he was slayed by other god(s), but for such beings death is just a momentary setback sometimes. And his return might be due intervention from other god (or goddess just like Isis ressurrected her husband Osiris killed by Seth, again borrowing some details from egyptian myths) that might appear in the future, and maybe as a side effect he lost his powers over life which explains why he’s not Yellow (largely related to life, divine and sacred powers he once had) but mastering death, after experiencing it on first hand, could be just what he needs to pursue retribution. But still, he keeps his Divinestatus because he is a god and because it was divine intervention that brought him back i believe.

So, don’t worry Sheba, you both would probably be the proudest parents of the cutest Bunny/Falcon hybrids of all time. If you give him a chance…

Also, as i realised that Bastite, Settite and Anubite have the same sufix “ite” i wonder if it was meant to sound just like “ypt” in “Egypt” due some variation of Australia’s accent. As far as i know “ite” and “ypt” sounds different…

Anything to share about my theories @Sirrian and/or @Nimhain?

@Sheba

Horus and Ra are different gods, even though they look similiar to someone not knowing Egyptian myths. (I was really a fan of those as a child, but have forgotten a lot of it these days.)

@Ivar

I know, but i just have a hunch the devs made a combination of myths. Otherwise we wouldn’t have space for so many gods just on Khetar…

@Eika

If I remember correctly the Devs changed the name from Horus to Pharos-Ra in the last days before its release. If we ever gonna see another Egyptian throne troop again, let it be a Queen, we need a female too… Bastite Priestess is not good enough.

@Sheba

I still feel like he’s really just Ra, though - the skill alone kind of points to it. The “Pharos”-part might indicate that he is based on Ra-Horakhty, but I’m still having doubts. Horus was more associated with the sky and kingship while Ra was associated with the sun.

A female egyptian queen/goddess-mix would be nice, though. Hoping for Isis, who has always been my favourite female egyptian goddess.

@Eika

With Pharos in his name it makes him also a little unique in the Krystara universe. Like its a different type of Ra/God.

@Sheba

Well, the egyptian gods sometimes had a million different versions to them as well, so I suppose you’re likely completely right there.

[Sheba]

Oooooh lore thread is best thread! Shall we stay on this topic for a bit now or just post any lore/more stuff?

[Razzagor]

I believe it’s fine if it’s keeps related to any subject we perceive within the art and small bit of history the devs share with us with any release.

For example, one of my theories, but that one is just really vague, is that the Stryx as a race could be the “children” of Pharos-Ra and used to live in Khetar until their god was (betrayed and) killed.

They left their home kingdom and took with them the “blessings of the sun”, maybe that’s why Khetar become overwhelmed by undead, with Pharos-Ra’s temples empty the Sun now is just a scorching tyrant over the land.

Meanwhile, the stryx found a good isolated place to start their new empire still praising the sun and kept most of their traditions intact… If you take a look again at Suncrest’s quest you can see that Garuda is know to claim himself as “Lord of the Skies” and the “All-Knowing King” “God-King” which are usually related to “Solar Gods” in general and just as well could be titles that Pharos-Ra had before probably.

So, it does makes some connection with the general architeture of pyramids from Mayan or Aztec and Egyptian cultures represented in the game by Khetar and Suncrest.

[turintuor]

Not sure how accurate devs want to be with their Lore. PR has wings whereas no egyptian god has wing (aside Isis apparently)… Mistake or it’s done on purpose? I believe the 1st option.
Moreover, there is a huge difference between Stryx and PR:

• PR is an human with a bird-head (and wings but 50% of Mythics has wings so…)
• Stryx are birdy humanoids

So for me, no link between PR and Stryx.

[Sheba]

I also really wonder who Azquila’s mother is. There was never any mention of a queen or Garuda being married/having a mate, so I’m curious.

Azquila also seems to be quite a bit more approachable/less worshipped than his father, seeing how he interacts more normally with other Stryx.

@Sirrian

Before the wars ruined Khetar, before the Keeper of Souls made his home there, before even the Settites, Anubites, and Bastites had built their first temples… Pharos-Ra walked the lands , raising life from the dust.

While few cults remain to worship him today, they all fervently believe that he was the source of all living beings in Krystara… and the source of all death too. Pharos-Ra was keeper of the door to the mortal realm… and when he left, as the Settites & Anubites went to war, chaos descended.

He’s back now though… so who knows WHAT that means for Khetar, where his old temple lies in ruins.

He seems absolutely Khetar-based (life and death even before things went bonkers).

[Razzagor]

I considered Pharos’s body as well… (<- This piece out of context brings a lot of trouble ) … when i was thinking about this theory, but i assumed if a Bastite would be related to Bastet, if we ever get the cat goddess at all, then what was related to Pharos-Ra?

Maybe, just maybe, the Stryx became less human-like over the centuries? But again it’s just a vague theory on my part.

@Sheba

He seems absolutely Khetar-based (life and death even before things went bonkers).

Yes, and as it’s unclear how and why the war started i can imagine some sort of rebellion among the gods.

[Sheba]

It’s really weird, given how in Egypt the gods worked. Anubis was much closer related to death there, given his tasks, than Ra or Horus were, so I find it difficult to say what role Anubis would have had in Krystara. Why Bastet’s followers would go to war against Anubis’ guys is also difficult to explain in a mythological context (no mentioning of Sekhmet, even).

We also don’t know how old Suncrest is; I checked the post where it was released, but it doesn’t say. The thing is also that we have a lot of different birds going on when it comes to Stryx, and given how the Anubites and Bastites look very close to their corresponding animals/gods, it’s hard to imagine how this could have happened to the Stryx if originally, they all looked more like Pharos-Ra. I cannot see a Stryx mating with some common owl to get a Strygik-offspring. So while it would make sense that they might have started to look less human-like over the years, the diversity is something that’s hard to explain. If there would be more looking like an Ibis (resembling Thoth), then yeah, but we don’t have such a Stryx yet and instead that rather random assortment.

[Macawi]

@Sheba

We also don’t know how old Suncrest is; I checked the post where it was released, but it doesn’t say.

It was back in the Spring of last year, April iirc.

[Sheba]

Yeah, I found the post, but it’s just short:
https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/new-kingdom-suncrest/22583

[Razzagor]

All good points.

@Sheba

Why Bastet’s followers would go to war against Anubis’ guys is also difficult to explain in a mythological context (no mentioning of Sekhmet, even).

Ah, but there is some resemblance in the name and blood-red-war-like theme (commonly associated with Sekhmet) when you think about Sekhma. Making a stretch of my vague theory of Pharos-Ra being related to all Stryxes i wouldn’t be surprised if Bastet and Sekhmet would be related to the Rakshas on Pridelands. Both kingdoms being very close and all…

I mean, unless @Sirrian says he believes that Earth is flat and therefore so is Krystara…

But well, Bastite, Anubite and Settite all have Monster as type so again it’s a speculation that Rakshas and Bastites/Bastet or Sekhmet are related…

(Also i have a notion, maybe it was something that i read before, that Sekhmet was just another “face” of Bastet and not a different goddess…)

[Sheba]

Yeah, but…wait, Sekhma is a lioness? Because I’m pretty sure she isn’t. She has spots and all. I agree about the name similiarities, though.

@Ivar

(Also i have a notion, maybe it was something that i read before, that Sekhmet was just another “face” of Bastet and not a different goddess…)

Yeah, there was something like that. At least it’s a common theme in modern things like games and books, but I absolutely cannot recall if it was like that in the actual mythological context as well. But I suppose there’s something to it since it seems to be a common theme.

[turintuor]

@Ivar

then what was related to Pharos-Ra?

Ra.

Egyptian mythology is just an inspiration, devs are not going to reproduce everything in details and they may be not so much knowledgeable about that (example PR with wings).

I’m not a big fan of the sudden “egyptiamancy” of Khetar whereas the older troops have nothing to do with this theme (KoS, Skeleton, BD, etc.)…

[Razzagor]

I think all Rakshas, Stryxes, as well as the other “furry variants” we have in the game with different fur/feather patterns or other features still belong to the same race (Like a Falcon Stryx and an Owl Stryx are still the same) but with “divergent ancestors” or “cosmetic evolution” due some reason like regions, weather…

Pretty much as humans are a single race but with some variations depending of the region.

@turintuor

Egyptian mythology is just an inspiration, devs are not going to reproduce everything in details and they may be not so much knowledgeable about that (example PR with wings).

Yes, that’s why i assumed they just took some portions of some myths and made their own out of it, hence why i think Pharos-Ra ws killed and brought back.

@turintuor

I’m not a big fan of the sudden “egyptiamancy” of Khetar whereas the older troops have nothing to do with this theme (KoS, Skeleton, BD, etc.)…

I also would like a proper Egyptian Kingdom too, with more stuff connected and all, but then, i still have my own share of fun wondering about the stories i don’t know about and weaving my own ideas and theories. It’s like a puzzle to imagine the creative process behind the scenes. And even if i guess it wrongly at least i (and maybe others) enjoyed it in my own way when i share these thoughts here.

[Sheba]

@turintuor

I’m not a big fan of the sudden “egyptiamancy” of Khetar whereas the older troops have nothing to do with this theme (KoS, Skeleton, BD, etc.)…

I do understand where you are coming from. I love the original lore in the game a lot - like how Leonis has the Manticores as holy animals and all that. That’s, to me, way better than some copied mythology. Sure, we have our stereotypes as well (dwarves with awesome armor who live underground), but I feel like they were always designed in a way that they didn’t just seem too stereotypical.
I also wish we wouldn’t have such a weird mix. I like the lore of the Old Gods and them coming back and the other, original gods like Anu and Yasmine… and then we have, in between, Kerberos and Orpheus and existing gods. That’s sad. If they had at least given Kerb another name and Orpheus, too, that would have been so much better, in my opinion.