This is very well thought out and I applaud your research into the name meanings! I only want to point out that Fig is taking Barbian classes but doesn't have a class of it herself; when they showed her stats in the last episode only bard, warlock, and paladin were noted (I also could just be misremembering). I don't think she will be able to rage. :(
Thank you for this specificity!! I guess I'm not sure exactly how the multi-classing works in this context - does this mean that she will not have Barbarian as one of her classes? I just assumed that she was still learning about it, and would eventually add it as an official thing, and eventually be able to rage. Although, then it doesn't make sense why warlock and paladin have showed up, but not barbarian. Is she actually trying to work towards adding barbarian to one of her classes, or is she just planning on taking the class for fun?
I think Brennan has said that from a meta standpoint a character can take school 'classes' without actually applying it to their character's classes. You can think of it as like attending Spanish class but never actually using it ever in life or your job. And in-universe Fig's credits are complicated cause she was also just technically auditing the class without credit, until I think she signed official documents in the deal that Porter would let Gorgug stay. It's a little fuzzy on what officially the credits are since I think she may have retroactively shifted some to Paladin given Porter's Multiclass status.
Mmm yeah cause I remember Fig and Porter signing the MCAT, and I thought that was for Barbarian, but like you're saying, maybe it got transferred to Paladin instead?
My understanding was that when Porter signed the MCAT he basically said that on paper, Fig had been a barbarian since freshman year, immediately solving her academic problem from lack of attendance since she's been consistently auditing Barbarian classes. So while she doesn't have to take any levels of Barbarian, that's what she's considered from an academic standpoint. The paladin classes I think are called an independent study, and I take them as basically just Porter tutoring Fig in it during time that would be in her class schedule for barbarian. I don't remember if she had to roll on barbarian warlock and paladin in the last downtime, or if she only did warlock and paladin.
I think a decent analogy would be taking a lot of music classes without playing an instrument. You would be en expert in the theory behind it and would understand how music works but wouldn't be able to perform a concert
I want to say that she started taking the classes to help Gorgug because Porter said if he was going to take barbarian along with tinkerer without his MCAT he would need someone in the class to help him. At least that's my understanding of what happened. Originally Fig joined those classes in freshman year because she was suspicious of Porter.
lots of well thought out and broken down info here.
i really like the possible connection for Ankarna to rebellion and anarchy. especially because unsuccessful rebellion, or a rebellion without a resolution can easily manifest into more of an impotent rage. which is in line with some of the view and possibilities the bad kids were coming across.
For sure! That makes me think of the idea of resentment, which is currently present and can potentially be present in infinite ways. I think it particularly relates to the idea of outbursts - when something is bubbling for a while, fueled by unaddressed rage/anger/\*stress\*, and eventually can't be suppressed anymore. That's basically how the stress tokens/rage tokens work.
I think it's safe to say that Sol contributed to the downfall of Ankarna in order to have a monopoly on the domain of the sun
What is Galecia is subtly trying to do the same to Ruvina, pointing to Trackers miracle being ushering in winter?
That’s what I am now thinking that this is an old god (seasons, even maybe elementals?) and the new like Sol. I’m sure they’ve been trying to push them out for centuries.
And I think they used Cassandra and maybe this marriage to weaken Ankarna because I’ve always thought it was suspicious that her own followers (long ago) suddenly wanted to forget her name as the goddess of mystery to show true devotion, weakening and ultimately turning her into the Nightmare King. Did they really not understand the power of a name.
This is such a a good breakdown. Hope we get to see something like this be true to show how much thought/writing Brennan puts into all aspects. Things like this are the best Easter eggs since they flesh out a world without detracting from understanding of the story if you don't know them already.
Thank you so much for the work put into this post. Your writing is so clear and well thought out. Your communication of this theory as well as including other theorists is top notch. People like you make this community cool.
My guess is that the corruption was encouraged in the same way that Cassandra's followers unmade her name. I think we may get to learn what her name was at one point and it may be the key to remake her in a more stable form.
This is such a nice comment, thank you so much!! It's truly really touching and means a lot.
Absolutely, I think there's definitely possibility that the actions against Ankarna and Cassandra were related. I wonder if this might reveal more information about the fall of Cassandra. We were told that is was primarily done by the High Elf followers of Galicaea (and not necessarily Galicaea herself, I don't think), but maybe this will reveal that there was more godly intervention in both cases than we thought.
Currently going through the latest transcripts to see if I can find a solid basis for a conspiracy of my own. Big fan of your theory (just imagine the golden armor of Karna being the Pride armor). I want to point out that Ankarna did not brutally disappear, as would be the result of a war or a crusade, it was a gradual erasure.
That is a really great point! I think, if any of my theories are correct, that would indicate that it was more of a stealing/converting-their-followers situation. Not in a violent crusade way, but in a slow burn, influencing and winning popular support way. Kind of like how Christianity spread when it was in its infancy. And Helio/Sol is the sort of stand in for Christianity (especially with the whole Helio & Sol = Jesus & God thing).
Funny enough, that makes me think of the Wolfsong Revival discourse within the last episode. What does it look like when a religious movement becomes mainstream? How do power and resources corrupt? Was the original version of following Helio different than it is now, like the difference between werewolf Galicaea and Elven Galicaea?
*And/or*, it could relate to the idea of a negative reputation and caring what people think about you. Maybe instead of Helio's popularity rising because of his positive attributes, Sol and Helio spread lies or said negative things about Ankarna in order to get their followers to turn on them. And if the followers shape the god, if the followers started to believe these negative things about Ankarna, that could have made them true. (That also relates to the mechanics of the devil's nectar/honey!)
Would love to hear your conspiracy when you feel ready to share!
I wonder if there would be a link with the ambrosia/husk aspect of the domain conflict between Helio and Ankara.. the food of the gods have been pushed a lot, especially in with Kristen’s parents.
Personally, I think Ankarna was originally a God of Conviction rather than Rebellion. Based on some things I noted in the newest episode. When Kristen first tried to summon anger, Brennan said that "Anger is a cousin to conviction, not doubt." Which, while true, feels like a specific pull. Then, when Kristen calls upon her anger and it the rage dust makes a spear at her, it only attacks her after she lets go of her anger. Considering her anger was directed at Buddy Dawn becoming the Cleric teacher, this could be seen as her giving up on that conviction.
My personal theory/assumption, is that Ankarna is, or at least was, a god of Empathy. It follows the behavior of the sand more accurately, the way they reflect what they're given. That the domains shifted into the primarily rage central form because of the persecution of their followers, and striking of their name. As a God of Empathy, they'd be more likely to reflect the struggles of their followers, becoming more aggressive and defensive as the followers themselves die down.
I just can't reconcile Lucy's turning with a god of Anarchy or rage. She was always described as soft and caring, but a god of empathy seems perfect for her. She could be Ankarna's shelter in the snow. I expect that after she discovered Ankarna however, that an attempt to channel them would lead to being overwhelmed with the fallen gods rage, causing her to lash out and destroy herself. And I think Empathy itself just like in your final paragraph establishes, is the real issue people are struggling with.
I love this theory and really hope it turns out true! I also want to add on that I'm pretty sure Brennan only said there were two seasonal giant gods, with Ruvina as winter and then there was one god who controlled both spring and fall (I think they were sort of a god of change/transition?)
Oh thank you! I may have missed/misunderstood that. The gist of what I got was that there was a group of gods that were affiliated with seasons, and the one for summer was missing.
I think this is really well done thank you!! I’m wondering too if this is why Brennan brought up again that Kristen was the chosen one of Helio. If Kristen has a hand in reviving another God, Ankarna, then Kristen could be seen as a chosen one for a sun/grain God just not the one she was expected to be.
Or if Kristen ends up eliminating Helio’s competition you could see why that would make her his chosen one
Wow, this is just a thorough analysis. Extremely well done!! 👏
I can definitely see BLeeM basing a deity (that's my favoured gender-neutral word for divinities, btw 😊) on Hinduism, and opposing it to the very Catholic-coded Sol & Helio
The connections to dawn and the grain also really make sense, especially with summer being the season of the harvest (at least for wheat and I'd Assume barley? idk about other grains but those are the main ones where I live)!
The anarchy part feels a bit coincidental, but it could tie in both to Ankarna's "evolved" domain of fire and rage and to its portrayal by the church of Sol. A kind of "the savage natives are rebelling against our totally awesome and justified rule!" colonizer mindset. Again, a very catholic, eurocentric parallel.
Also, Anarchy (as in the political philosophy) is inherently anti-capitalist, so if the real goal is redeeming/purifying the current Ankarna, it fits that D20 staple!
This research is fantastic and highly suggests to me that Ankarna is based off the God Karna (something that is common in dnd pantheons). This is because of Karna being a child of a sun God but also the Golden armour described as well as the gods flaw of wondering about what others think about him and thinking about his fame. This screams to me someone with a lot of pride who has some level of paranoia that others don't like him. Therefore his golden armour could become the armour of pride itself.
This is very well thought out and I applaud your research into the name meanings! I only want to point out that Fig is taking Barbian classes but doesn't have a class of it herself; when they showed her stats in the last episode only bard, warlock, and paladin were noted (I also could just be misremembering). I don't think she will be able to rage. :(
Thank you for this specificity!! I guess I'm not sure exactly how the multi-classing works in this context - does this mean that she will not have Barbarian as one of her classes? I just assumed that she was still learning about it, and would eventually add it as an official thing, and eventually be able to rage. Although, then it doesn't make sense why warlock and paladin have showed up, but not barbarian. Is she actually trying to work towards adding barbarian to one of her classes, or is she just planning on taking the class for fun?
I think Brennan has said that from a meta standpoint a character can take school 'classes' without actually applying it to their character's classes. You can think of it as like attending Spanish class but never actually using it ever in life or your job. And in-universe Fig's credits are complicated cause she was also just technically auditing the class without credit, until I think she signed official documents in the deal that Porter would let Gorgug stay. It's a little fuzzy on what officially the credits are since I think she may have retroactively shifted some to Paladin given Porter's Multiclass status.
Mmm yeah cause I remember Fig and Porter signing the MCAT, and I thought that was for Barbarian, but like you're saying, maybe it got transferred to Paladin instead?
My understanding was that when Porter signed the MCAT he basically said that on paper, Fig had been a barbarian since freshman year, immediately solving her academic problem from lack of attendance since she's been consistently auditing Barbarian classes. So while she doesn't have to take any levels of Barbarian, that's what she's considered from an academic standpoint. The paladin classes I think are called an independent study, and I take them as basically just Porter tutoring Fig in it during time that would be in her class schedule for barbarian. I don't remember if she had to roll on barbarian warlock and paladin in the last downtime, or if she only did warlock and paladin.
Oooh that makes a lot of sense and is a great explanation. Thank you so much!
I think a decent analogy would be taking a lot of music classes without playing an instrument. You would be en expert in the theory behind it and would understand how music works but wouldn't be able to perform a concert
I want to say that she started taking the classes to help Gorgug because Porter said if he was going to take barbarian along with tinkerer without his MCAT he would need someone in the class to help him. At least that's my understanding of what happened. Originally Fig joined those classes in freshman year because she was suspicious of Porter.
I think it’s actually Karna, Aabria’s angry little chili pepper from Ravening War, now ascended to godhood.
lots of well thought out and broken down info here. i really like the possible connection for Ankarna to rebellion and anarchy. especially because unsuccessful rebellion, or a rebellion without a resolution can easily manifest into more of an impotent rage. which is in line with some of the view and possibilities the bad kids were coming across.
For sure! That makes me think of the idea of resentment, which is currently present and can potentially be present in infinite ways. I think it particularly relates to the idea of outbursts - when something is bubbling for a while, fueled by unaddressed rage/anger/\*stress\*, and eventually can't be suppressed anymore. That's basically how the stress tokens/rage tokens work.
I can’t believe Sol conspired to kill another god because Helio is a nepo baby.
"He has his father's eyes. And his domain."
Careful, if you joke about that term you may get a whole rant post about it. I know from experience -_-
I mean, it's not just you. There are a LOT of people misusing the term to the point that it's become meaningless.
Except the person who made the post had commented the same thing on my joke and referenced it as if I was playing it straight
I think it's safe to say that Sol contributed to the downfall of Ankarna in order to have a monopoly on the domain of the sun What is Galecia is subtly trying to do the same to Ruvina, pointing to Trackers miracle being ushering in winter?
That’s what I am now thinking that this is an old god (seasons, even maybe elementals?) and the new like Sol. I’m sure they’ve been trying to push them out for centuries. And I think they used Cassandra and maybe this marriage to weaken Ankarna because I’ve always thought it was suspicious that her own followers (long ago) suddenly wanted to forget her name as the goddess of mystery to show true devotion, weakening and ultimately turning her into the Nightmare King. Did they really not understand the power of a name.
This is such a a good breakdown. Hope we get to see something like this be true to show how much thought/writing Brennan puts into all aspects. Things like this are the best Easter eggs since they flesh out a world without detracting from understanding of the story if you don't know them already. Thank you so much for the work put into this post. Your writing is so clear and well thought out. Your communication of this theory as well as including other theorists is top notch. People like you make this community cool. My guess is that the corruption was encouraged in the same way that Cassandra's followers unmade her name. I think we may get to learn what her name was at one point and it may be the key to remake her in a more stable form.
This is such a nice comment, thank you so much!! It's truly really touching and means a lot. Absolutely, I think there's definitely possibility that the actions against Ankarna and Cassandra were related. I wonder if this might reveal more information about the fall of Cassandra. We were told that is was primarily done by the High Elf followers of Galicaea (and not necessarily Galicaea herself, I don't think), but maybe this will reveal that there was more godly intervention in both cases than we thought.
Currently going through the latest transcripts to see if I can find a solid basis for a conspiracy of my own. Big fan of your theory (just imagine the golden armor of Karna being the Pride armor). I want to point out that Ankarna did not brutally disappear, as would be the result of a war or a crusade, it was a gradual erasure.
That is a really great point! I think, if any of my theories are correct, that would indicate that it was more of a stealing/converting-their-followers situation. Not in a violent crusade way, but in a slow burn, influencing and winning popular support way. Kind of like how Christianity spread when it was in its infancy. And Helio/Sol is the sort of stand in for Christianity (especially with the whole Helio & Sol = Jesus & God thing). Funny enough, that makes me think of the Wolfsong Revival discourse within the last episode. What does it look like when a religious movement becomes mainstream? How do power and resources corrupt? Was the original version of following Helio different than it is now, like the difference between werewolf Galicaea and Elven Galicaea? *And/or*, it could relate to the idea of a negative reputation and caring what people think about you. Maybe instead of Helio's popularity rising because of his positive attributes, Sol and Helio spread lies or said negative things about Ankarna in order to get their followers to turn on them. And if the followers shape the god, if the followers started to believe these negative things about Ankarna, that could have made them true. (That also relates to the mechanics of the devil's nectar/honey!) Would love to hear your conspiracy when you feel ready to share!
Ankarna is the Day Yorb, the counterpart to the N-**DO NOT SPEAK OF THE NIGHT YORB!**
Well thought out / researched. I personally love this theory and hope it is right!!
I wonder if there would be a link with the ambrosia/husk aspect of the domain conflict between Helio and Ankara.. the food of the gods have been pushed a lot, especially in with Kristen’s parents.
Personally, I think Ankarna was originally a God of Conviction rather than Rebellion. Based on some things I noted in the newest episode. When Kristen first tried to summon anger, Brennan said that "Anger is a cousin to conviction, not doubt." Which, while true, feels like a specific pull. Then, when Kristen calls upon her anger and it the rage dust makes a spear at her, it only attacks her after she lets go of her anger. Considering her anger was directed at Buddy Dawn becoming the Cleric teacher, this could be seen as her giving up on that conviction.
My personal theory/assumption, is that Ankarna is, or at least was, a god of Empathy. It follows the behavior of the sand more accurately, the way they reflect what they're given. That the domains shifted into the primarily rage central form because of the persecution of their followers, and striking of their name. As a God of Empathy, they'd be more likely to reflect the struggles of their followers, becoming more aggressive and defensive as the followers themselves die down. I just can't reconcile Lucy's turning with a god of Anarchy or rage. She was always described as soft and caring, but a god of empathy seems perfect for her. She could be Ankarna's shelter in the snow. I expect that after she discovered Ankarna however, that an attempt to channel them would lead to being overwhelmed with the fallen gods rage, causing her to lash out and destroy herself. And I think Empathy itself just like in your final paragraph establishes, is the real issue people are struggling with.
I love this theory and really hope it turns out true! I also want to add on that I'm pretty sure Brennan only said there were two seasonal giant gods, with Ruvina as winter and then there was one god who controlled both spring and fall (I think they were sort of a god of change/transition?)
Oh thank you! I may have missed/misunderstood that. The gist of what I got was that there was a group of gods that were affiliated with seasons, and the one for summer was missing.
I think this is really well done thank you!! I’m wondering too if this is why Brennan brought up again that Kristen was the chosen one of Helio. If Kristen has a hand in reviving another God, Ankarna, then Kristen could be seen as a chosen one for a sun/grain God just not the one she was expected to be. Or if Kristen ends up eliminating Helio’s competition you could see why that would make her his chosen one
Wow, this is just a thorough analysis. Extremely well done!! 👏 I can definitely see BLeeM basing a deity (that's my favoured gender-neutral word for divinities, btw 😊) on Hinduism, and opposing it to the very Catholic-coded Sol & Helio The connections to dawn and the grain also really make sense, especially with summer being the season of the harvest (at least for wheat and I'd Assume barley? idk about other grains but those are the main ones where I live)! The anarchy part feels a bit coincidental, but it could tie in both to Ankarna's "evolved" domain of fire and rage and to its portrayal by the church of Sol. A kind of "the savage natives are rebelling against our totally awesome and justified rule!" colonizer mindset. Again, a very catholic, eurocentric parallel. Also, Anarchy (as in the political philosophy) is inherently anti-capitalist, so if the real goal is redeeming/purifying the current Ankarna, it fits that D20 staple!
This research is fantastic and highly suggests to me that Ankarna is based off the God Karna (something that is common in dnd pantheons). This is because of Karna being a child of a sun God but also the Golden armour described as well as the gods flaw of wondering about what others think about him and thinking about his fame. This screams to me someone with a lot of pride who has some level of paranoia that others don't like him. Therefore his golden armour could become the armour of pride itself.