We were wrong about the gremlins...

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Theskyblade's picture
Theskyblade

So i did a shadow lair today, and learned the truth about the gremlins.
They are trying to protect us from the swarm. They only work in the clockworks because they are commaned by the crimson order, who apparently get their orders from king tinkinzar. After doing the shadow lair, me and my friend questioned if King Tinkinzar really exists. common gremlins never see him, perhaps thats because King tinkinzar is accually the swarm, and the crimson order are just gremlins possessed by it? furthur proof is the santuary.
It talks about the santuary being where "its many eyes and arms cannot reach you" (further proof of the swarm being the REAL enemy.) I belive my friend recorded the run, I'll see if I can get the link (given there is one)

@OOO The shadow lairs are fun! Thanks or adding them!

@Xylka thanks for inviting me on the run! :D

@Chris thanks for the help with the lair!

DISCLAIMER:
I made this while VERY tired. I will correct any errors and complete anything i left out later.

The-Rawrcake's picture
The-Rawrcake
ER maybe them gremlins r just

ER maybe them gremlins r just angry little fellers.

Khamsin's picture
Khamsin
This world was created to

This world was created to protect me.

Vulnerable in slumber, worlds were drawn to shield me from the darkness.

This world has become my prison.
In his madness, the architect betrayed the pact. Twisting his creation into a game of death, it now devours all who enter its iron embrace.

The-Rawrcake's picture
The-Rawrcake
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sure that

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sure that too

Softhead's picture
Softhead
Here is my suggestion: The

Here is my suggestion:

The Swarm was some kind of symbote that landed on Cradle, injured, when it was hollow and destroying itself. The Swarm made a deal with Tinkinzar to fix the planet and protect the swarm. The swarm gave Tinkinzar the tools to create the clockworks via taking chuncks of different planets, dividing them and placing them in a gear world so the swarm can be protected from the other species of his kind who pesecute him/her(the darkness) and live.

he went into a sleep state to heal so Tinkinzar broke the pact and trapped the swarm in the core to power the clockworks. When the Swarm awakened, he was trapped in the core and the Depths surrounding it. This was his/her Prison. The Swarm slowly broke part of it out and created these distortions (swarm seeds, the big ,black pixels,the turrent and the spawners), it was invicible to anything and had the ability to control, copy and create void versions of creatures in the clockworks. These void creatures if infused with the Swarm, they become invinvible. The swarm also infuenced the clockwork creatures to be hostile to strangers(gremlins and Knights) ,speading lies about the enermies to cause chaos. Only a few became friendly to the hostiles.

The Swarm completly controled The Unknown Passage and created the Shadow Lairs based on the cratures and created newer vesions, more adapted, more stronger, more eviler than how they were before. Tinkinzar expected the Unknown Passage and created the Sanctuary to equip Gremlins with armour capable to defend themself from the swarm.

The Swarm senced the Skylark and all its desients there. it decided to cause the Tearium core to explode. The swarm did this to create more chaos to the clockworks, causing the current events of the game.

So tired!!

Obsidious's picture
Obsidious
Let's see now...

Just to point, but in one of the videos of the Unknown passage [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPm2p1pVZmo ] that was recorded after there was an update for that level, you can see Gremlin Corpses, and I'm pretty sure they weren't killed by the party. This does further solidify the fact that the Gremlins aren't the biggest, sole bad guy in this game. Even though I haven't played the Lairs myself, I give Kudos to OOO for making a good introduction of what appears to be the real threat, and foreshadowing just how much this might involve the knights.

To me I don't think King Tinkinzar IS actually the Swarm; even if we haven't seen him, I don't see the Gremlin King representing what is possibly the key, future threat on Cradle. It just doesn't fit in for me. At the most, King Tinkinzar is someone being manipulated, but not actually the Swarm itself.

Now, to me, what I think the Swarm is actually an essential essence of the clockworks itself, but a section of it that gone ROTTEN. This may seem like an odd theory, but take a look how energy physiclaly appears when used. And by 'used,' I mean when you revive, when you craft, when you open an energy gate, use an elevator, etc. Every time you do, you not only see blue mist but a light blue, transparent, blocky, rectangular shapes; it's almost like a program is being run.

Compare this to the purest, shadowy aspects of the Swarm, and you might see similarities; blocky-like mist form, thin, computerized-like lines, etc. Heck, open a gate map and scroll all the way to the bottom to where you see that same, blue, blocky mist rising from the core; very similar in aspect to the Swarm, only the Swarm is black. Hence this may be the darker, hidden aspect of the Clockworks, or rather the core itself (Hint: the Shadow lair pic for the update).

Now let me just point our attention momentarily back to the Unknown passage, or rather, the end of it, and the beginning of Sanctuary. You'll see that the bridge that the Knights had to cross in order to get to the sanctuary elevator is actually busted. Gone, kaput; but in place of the metal is instead white blocks that seemed to have almost seem to materialize out of no where as the knights move towards the bridge. Compare that to what you see in the Sanctuary itself, and it becomes kinda obvious that whatever 'created' the Sanctuary or this 'dream', it also had a hand in that 'bridge.' Even more, take a look at how the message within the Sanctuary is displayed.

if that is the case, then the core itself may very well have a soul of the sorts, but it's possible it's got a few corrupted 'programs' in it, running amok in the clockworks; that would be the swarm. Heck, for all I know, that little secret Nick mentioned that we see but never figure out may very well have something to do with the energy used, though let's not get directly into that.

Nechrome's picture
Nechrome
Swarm = evil energy

MY THEORY: (oops caps lock)

"This world was created to protect me."

Before the SK landed on Cradle, some kind of entity of pure energy (lets call him Bob, shall we?) landed on Cradle, apparently being chased by his corrupted brother, also made of energy, the Swarm. He seeked refuge from his destroying brother, who was out for his blood.

"This world was created to protect me.
Vulnerable in slumber, worlds were drawn to shield me from the darkness."

He made a pact with King Tinkinzar, having him create the Clockworks, drawing peices of other worlds into his creation.

"This world has become my prison.
In his madness, the architect betrayed the pact. Twisting his creation into a game of death, it now devours all who enter its iron embrace."

However, Tinkinzar was crazy, and betrayed Bob, gathering places and creatures from the most hostile places in infinity, turning the Clockworks into an unescapable prison/death trap. Technically, he didn't betray Bob, but Bob thinks he did.

The Swarm landed on Cradle, and immediately charged into the Clockworks seeking out Bob. He soon reached the Core, where he tried to break into his brother's prison. However, Tinkinzar realized that the Swarm was to evil, and locked, blocked, and removed the part of the Clockworks the Swarm was in, leaving hundreds of creatures stuck with the Swarm, who he eventually corrupted to become his soldiers. But when the SK arrived, they discovered the section of the Clockworks that had been sealed off, and ventured into it, thus discovering the Swarm.

The Sanctuary was a place where the Knights could be closest to Bob without entering the Core, a small park where Bob protected, where the Swarm couldn't enter.

My theory about those detities being pure energy sort of makes sense. When u craft a revive, those blue pixles appear, probably representing energy going away into the atmospere after being used. In the sanctuary, there are pure white energy pixels, representing the pure energy of Bob. In the Unknown Passageway, there are black pixels, representing the corrupted energy the Swarm has become.

On an unrelatedish note, I didn't know those Swarm Turretes were Swarm Turrets. I thought they were corrupted Polyps. =P

Starlinvf's picture
Starlinvf
http://wiki.spiralknights.com
Karamong's picture
Karamong
Cristal Energy

For me, the Core is just the Architect/The Lord/God or whatever and everything on the planet(Clockworks, enemies, levels, npc) represent his dream and, on the other side, the Swarm represent the nightmare, like a bypolar mind who have both dreams and nightmares at the same time trying to merge them only to have the coscience to block this from happening. The "nightmare"(The Swarm) possessed the minds of most of the Clockwork's creatures who don't use Cristal Energy(eg The Dream energy).

The Knights have been called by the Dream from some sort of another dimension(hence the crash of the spaceship) to aid in the fight against the Swarm. The Strangers are guides put by the Dream itself to aid the Knights in their to the Core.

Starlinvf's picture
Starlinvf
Plot twist?...... Body is not

Plot twist?...... Body is not ready.

Coldtart's picture
Coldtart
Good to get some story progress going

I always figured King Tinkinzar was working under The Swarm until i saw the dead gremlins all over the unknown passage. It's interesting to see that the gremlins weren't always bad and that Tinkinzar betrayed the entity that apparently opposes The Swarm. The thing is, we don't know why he did it or really what The Swarm is. Tinkinzar could still be serving it, feeding his unknowing minions to it as some sort of payment. Until we get to see the core and Tinkinzar himself though, I doubt we're going to find out.

One thing that bugs me though, how does Vog fit into all this? Before reading that The Swarm is what cursed Vanaduke I always thought it was Vog; it seemed to fit since Vog is apparently a godlike being that infuses the living with pieces of his power. Now I'm back at square one though. =S

Obsidious's picture
Obsidious
Must...not...touch

@Starlinvf: Must...not...read more spoilers (Not when I actually have 3 shadow keys on me now).

Xylka-Mkii's picture
Xylka-Mkii
Ok first off my stupid DS

Ok first off my stupid DS deleted my whole post D:<
I dont wanna repost it so heres a bit that ill just drop in for now

Swarm =/= Shadow Lair creatures
The Swarm/darkness influenced their new powers, but did not control them. If you read the update notes, and other info on it, it says Vanaduke found out how to control Darkfire/Curse, Roarmulus Twins were modified by Gremlins, Ice Queen overthrew Royal Jelly, and Snarby contracted rabies and went crazy. Yes there are remnants of the Swarm/darkness in the levels, but no actual Swarm which leads me to believe...

Swarm = manifestations of the darkness into forms of Cradle's creatures (Wolvers, Lumbers, Zombies, etc.)

And since Energy comes from the Core and allows us to survive the Clockworks (revive and delve deeper) and the Alpha Squad was took into the Core, Then the Sanctuary is the Manifestation of The Core's Energy and the essence of the Alpha Squad.
Think about it, it has a place that resembles a Spiral Alchemy Machine, only known to be created by Knights, and is a place that protects us. It also gives knowledge of what happened and why the Swarm is there.

Thats all im gonna say for now.

EDIT:
@ Theskyblade
Theres no link since there are 7 parts and each part cant compress itself down to 1GB. Instead it decides "trololol 4GB U mad"
I hate my recording software...
Anyway thanks for joining on the Shadow Lair run.

@ Chris
Thanks again for coming along to help. We'd lost a LOT more CE if you didnt come.

@ Everyone who has not done a Shadow Lair
Your first time will be like doing Vanaduke in 3* gear solo without Health Capsules, Remedy Capsules, and Vials. Good Luck

@ my non full 5* gear
I'm not gonna invite you to a Shadow Lair. Read the above

~ Xylka

Theskyblade's picture
Theskyblade
@Starlinvf

That link just ruined my life >:7 trololl
but that last echo stone is interesting..... perhaps.... I do not know. I do not think it is King Tinkinzar, because it is in a "slumber." This further reinforces my point that king tinkinzar does not exist.

@Xylka lol thats the perfect way to describe a shadow lair.

@all of u guys
Dead gremlins in the unknown passage. The Swarm killed them. "we fall here with purpose" that means that something (i suspect the gremlins) pulled us here as discribed in the alpha squads recon module. Something brought us here because it thought we could defeat The Swarm.

LOL i am such a nerd!

Theskyblade's picture
Theskyblade
YES! THE STRANGERS

They are construct. BUILT BY GREMLINS. they help us. The gremlins want help from us! to free them from the Swarm! (and King tinkinzar, if he exist, or is possesed by The Swarm.