IridianShadowweaver

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

Third Arc:

• Origins of the Great Spiral
• A New Villain with an entirely new tale
• A new Aquila adventure and a journey deeper into Greek Mythology
• A new Story in Grizzleheim/Wintertusk/Valhalla????? (This would be awesome!)

Setting:

My leading theory is that we will find a world of the Spiral that roughly corresponds to the pre-colonial civilizations of the African Caribbean diaspora, probably befor Portuguese exploration and slave trade in the mid-1400s (I say before the slave trade because slavery would be a difficult topic to interpret in the W101 style of storytelling.). However, if the world makes a cross-over connection with Pirate101, it is possible we will find ourselves in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition and expansion to South America and then North America. Regardless of time period, the stories of West African tribes, the pre-slavery South American coastal tribes, and the Caribbean tribes seem to fit with the
clues we’ve received from Old Cob and Morganthe in previous chapters of the game. Significant gods of those mythologies share the spider form and symbolism of weaving a web.

Other potential settings:

Possibly Norse, Greek, or Celtic mythos, maybe extension from West Africa to the Americas via Anansi/Trickster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi

Additionally, the thread points toward N. Eastern Mythology : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_East -- If so, my bet is that we will travel to ancient Sumer and learn of the primordial gods. (I like this idea quite well.)


Characters:

Grandmother Raven -- Reference to Norse mythology and Native American folklore

Bartleby --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tree
Old Cob
Possibly: Anansi, Arachne, Kachinas, Neith

Possible origins: Egypt,S. America/Caribbean, Greece, West Africa

Possible Connections: Celtic -- Morrigan -- Spider , W. African -- Anansi the Spider; Norse -- Raven, Tree of Life; Native American -- Grandmother Raven, Spider as Trickster (South American connections with Anansi)

Literary Connections:

Lord of the Rings-- Shelob the giant spider, guards the entrance to Mordor (I would LOVE LOVE LOVE for the next world to be LOTR based!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelob

Dante Alighieri’s Inferno and Paradisio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri


Norse, West African, Caribbean, South American, Native American mythology


Symbolism:

Spiders, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultura...ons_of_spiders

Webs, Spider Webs

Hindu Web of Jewels

Weaving is central to all of these myths and connections among the raven, spider, tree; also, weaving is symbolic of fate, represented as the 3 Fates:

Greek:
Clotho, the spinner, who spins the thread of life. Lachesis, the measurer, who choses the lot in life one will have and measures off how long it is to be. Atropos, she who cannot be turned, who at death with her shears cuts the thread of life

Germanic Pagan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaving_(mythology)


Raven, Tree, Spider = Trinity; symbol central to many religious traditions

New Worlds: Polaris, Empyrea

Polaris:
http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Polaris.htmlThe Finns know Polaris as Taehti, the Star at the Top of the Heavenly Mountain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris = also referenced in Dante’s “Paradisio”, Pole Star, North Star, Guide Stare. Lode Star (nautically significant)

Empyrea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyrean = posible Dante’s “Inferno” reference (New content in Aquila?)

Both words are rooted in ancient Greece, connected to astronomy, metaphysical connections in celestial orbs/spheres/rising to the highest heaven/ fire...The possibility is that we might continue to learn Astral, Star, Moon magic out in the Spiral, maybe the skyways as a segue to connect worlds in Pirate and Wizard 101.