Spiral Knights - The complete history of cradle as we know it.

The complete history of cradle as we know it.

24 replies [Last post]

Tue, 03/26/2013 - 22:52

Fropps

Okay! Finally, let's do this.

In this thread we will try to write down the complete history of cradle.
this means we need info, and if you can get it, the undeniable proof of SCREENSHOTTED info.

places we will find the most info,
Danger missions.
The NEW rescue camp.
Com-link missions.
The "relevant" text said by NPCs.
Bosses.
(Hopefully) The (Awesome and all-mighty) developers and Game MASTERS!
Tilesets, more importantly the backgrounds, like the backgrounds of the aurora isles.
Danger rooms.
And other places.

NOTE* I have not passed the 5* hall of heroes, so I have no information regarding the com-link missions that follow it.

Whoa... That's a LOT to get through.

So lets start.

We are from Isora

We crashed on cradle because the primary tearium core of our ship, the skylark, was ripped out, our bird has effectively lost it's wings.

We don't know exactly how cradle was formed, but we'll assume that the gremlins ride through space and snatch pieces of worlds to build the clockworks.

But before that, lets assume that cradle was once a legit planet, ignore the strangers, they probably come later, it's the time of Almire.

We know that Almire was once a great empire... an OLD empire, very vigilant on defending their kingdom, so either the planet WAS occupied by the gremlins at that point in time, some other civilization that we don't know about, or fiends or undead had arrived, which is quite possible, given the current undead state of the kingdom. We also know that the fall of Almire had something to do with Vog, a deity representing everything that is fire, given the text in the Almirian codex, the kingdom was burnt down by their Lord Vanaduke, who now sits on his throne of ashes.

Also, given what Vanaduke says before you battle him, "More Wolves hungry for the blood of Almire?" He was probably tricked by Vog and lives blind of the truth.

Anyway, Almire is a cursed, fiery heap. *Unlike other places in cradle, I'm going to assume Almire is a native biome to cradle because there are not one but many places where there are signs of Almire's rule.

We do NOT know where the gremlins come from. They are NOT native, the wiki description for them says that quite clearly. Outer space is quite likely, since they steal parts of other worlds (so why don't we steal their spaceships and fly off??) but we do know that gremlins are quite at home on cradle, having built this -quote Feron- "crazy deathtrap" and the swarm -which is now out of control- to stop beings, not just knights, (as it must be very old) from reaching the core. This next thing is a key piece of information, In the com-link mission, "Becoming a champion" Feron mentions that thinks the core it a prison of sorts designed to trap something and the clockworks are to stop things messing with the core, or to stop it getting out. This thing inside the core must be very powerful, and would probably destroy cradle if it was released, this is probably why the gremlins hate us so much, think of it this way, we crash land on their world and start messing with the lock on their prison which if opened will destroy us all, kind of like giving a curious baby a nuclear bomb. This also gives the developers a reason not to open the core for us, this reason... it's too perfect! Also, if you've played the new rescue camp, the artifact looks pretty important doesn't it... Kind of like THE KEY TO THE CORE! That my theory, anyway. The gremlins are the prison guards.

Constructs are made by gremlins and serve the same purposes as gremlins.

Beasts are just that... Beasts.

Jellies Seem to have rudimentary intelligence, but not enough to mean a big change in the history of the planet, they're just cute.

Undead might play a role, as they are described by someone (Biotech Hann?) as "beings that refuse to rest after death, little is known about them" They could play a role in Almire's history as the wiki description for them says, "These undead creatures seem to haunt only particular areas, hinting of a tragic past" yeah, with the exception of Kats, which we'll come to later, they seem tied to Almire.

Fiends are... They are hinted at in the shadow type mission description to not be of cradle, but the underworld, and that they're stuck here for now, maybe trying to move on, maybe trying to conquer us all! But anyway, they seem to dabble in spirits, necromancy and the occasional paperwork, but we assume that their presence here is the fault of the gremlins, who they don't seem interested in.

The Kats and Owlites were two warring tribes, we can gather, from varied sources, that were at war due to the Kats' jealousy of the Owlite's powerful magicks, so they launched an all out siege on the Owlite High Academy of Magicks, -and all other owlites, but we assume that they were all contained in that one area. The siege was mostly successful until Margrel, the unluckiest Kat alive (who was likely of a black colour) accidentally wiped both races off the face of their planet when he decided to read the wrong thing from a powerful magic book he read in the Owlite library. Why the Kats survived is a mystery, and why black Kats rise at certain parts of the year is even more mysterious.

That's all I'm doing for now, I'm still not really up to speed on the Kats and Owlites so I'll need help for that and I'll also need the details of the Com-link missions in a direct text quote, EXACTLY what you both say.

Other than that, we're good pretty much, tell me If I'm forgetting some small detail or lumbering contradiction.

NOTE* I'm planning to put this on the wiki, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

*Stay tuned folks! I'm gonna add some things that people might not normally notice too!*

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 00:18

Youwantcookies

'We'?

So where are 'we' from and what are 'we' doing in Cradle?

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 03:16

Hexzyle

The Kats and Owlites aren't related to Almire. They were at war due to the Kats' jelousy of the Owlite's powerful magics, so they launched an all out seige on the Owlites. The siege was mostly successful until Margrel, the unluckiest Kat alive (who was likely of a black colour :P) accidentally wiped both races off the face of their planet when he decided to read the wrong thing from a powerful magic book he read in the Owlite library.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 10:14

Thunder-The-Bright

ok.

some things I remember from missions:
Feron saying that gremlins could not build a thing such as the clockworks. also, he said that the structure is seems to be built to keep something in rather than to keep someone out.
your friend that speaks slowly that says that knight are actually bond to the planet, such as they belong there.
your friend that speaks fast that says that the devilites come from the undeworld (mentioned from an internal devilite memo)
SPOILER ALERT! assume eye protection!
other things I got from wiki:
trojans are fallen knights. see Arkus.
the echo stones state that: tinkinzar crated swarm, but now it is out of control; the core has sealing and protecting propouses, but the core is not evil; the swarm is a sentient being.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 12:17

Draciusen

Vog

The Vog is the only known deity so far, representing everything that is fire. Vog Cubs are most likely wolvers that have been blessed by Vog and transformed into fiery beasts.
Vog has nothing to do with Snarbolax.
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/9995#comment-55776

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 11:12

Tohru-Adachi

Vog is also not a beast.

....

Dude, imagine if those Bores who created/hid the swarm also had roots to the sealed sword.

Or vog is the swarm.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 11:40

Canine-Vladmir

@Tohru

See, the Swarm controls the Vog.
The Swarm used Vog to take down the Almirians because, you know, the Swarm is evil.
The Swarm has no teeth so where did the Fang of Vog come from?

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 11:59

Sir-Onox

Lichens

I just love talking about the story of Spiral Knight, specially about the monsters of Cradle.

Some official information that i posted in the Spiral Knight wiki today about Lichens in the Trivia section:

· According to the mission: Alien Ooze (Rank 3-1), Lichens are an alien species of the slime family thought to have come to the Clockworks via a meteor that crashed on to the surface of Cradle. A specific Scenario Room shows a meteor crashed into the Clockworks with some Lichens near.
· The mission: A Pinch of Salt states that Lichens hate rock salts, that stuff makes them dissolve.
· Toxoils and Giant Toxoils were created by Herex but it seems that they formed an intelligence well beyond the scope of a standard bio-toxin, Herex ordered to destroy the facility seeing that those experiments could endanger the Order.

It seems that the missions really give you a lot of information about the creatures if you read the objective of every mission.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 15:52

Zopyros-Il

Beep Worldbuilding, Boop WHOO!

I LOVE WORLDBUILDING AND STORY.
So here's my take on the history of Cradle.

At the beginning, there stood Almire and two other kingdoms on the small planet Cradle. Almire, while being the smallest of the three, guarded a great power at the center of their kingdom. It was a marvelous power. A pure white light of unfathomable power. Naturally, the other two kingdoms sought that power and attacked Almire. The king of Almire, the Lord Vanaduke, concerned for his people and the kingdom, left the kingdom with a legion of Almirian Crusaders in search of someone to help Almire from falling. It was a long and arduous journey, a journey that left only the doomed king of Almire alone at the foot of a mountain. There was a great power within that called to his broken body and soul. He scaled the mountain and entered a cave at the summit. A shrine surrounded by ash and cinders greeted him. He called out to the idol of the shrine, asking it to bestow upon him the power to save his kingdom, his people, his family! He shouted his family's names over and over and over, hoping the fiery god would hear his cry. His mad shouting became a chant, a prayer, and a curse. The ash gathered at Vanaduke's feet and slowly swallowed him whole...
Vog heard Vanaduke's plea.

Within a few days, Almire was nothing but ash and fire. The fires knew not friend from foe. It simply burned. A lord sat upon a burning throne of ashes, pleased that the enemies were vanquished but never realizing that his kingdom was ablaze. Thus began Lord Vanaduke's reign over the Firestorm Citadel.

The remaining two kingdoms, the Owlites scholars and the great Kat Tribes, were greatly weakened by Almire's sudden destruction. Neither of them gained the power of Almire, but they had managed to seal the power into the core of Cradle. It was a risky maneuver, but it was better than letting any other force wield that power. Both sides became desperate, summoning creatures from beyond their own planes. Demons, Fiends and the Undead began to flood Cradle. It was chaos. As time went on the Kats eventually overwhelmed the Owlites, but the Owlites in their dying breaths, cursed the Kats to undeath. They were bound to Cradle, cursed to forever wander this plane and never move on.

Cradle fell silent...

From this point, I don't know how the Clockworks were created. Whether they were a sort of bio-mechanical growth from the Core as it slept, or if the Gremlins really did make the Clockworks. Tinkinzar is referred to as the "Architect" in an Echo Stone after all.
What I do know is that after the Gremlins made it to Cradle and after they lost their way and started to become mad with power, the Core began calling out to other planets.
"Protect me," it cried.

It called the Strangers, who unfortunately were an easygoing race and could only hope live on the surface. They would never be powerful enough to overcome the threats to the Core.

It called the Lichens, a distant relative to Cradle's native Jellies. They crashed into the Clockworks from a meteor, but they had no intelligence beyond basic survival. All they did was ravage the landscape and mutate into even more horrible creatures to roam Clockworks.

Finally, it called the Spiral Knights of Isora. Falling from the stars in their Skylark, they were everything that the Core could want of a protector. Strong, valiant, resourceful, and all with an unbendable iron will. They were the Core's knights in shining armor. They would protect it from the encroaching darkness...

The Spiral Order sent their bravest Knights, the Alpha Squad, who were the first Knights that battled their way to the Core... only to face a threat that was much worse than anything else they had faced before. A living shadow, a true nightmare lashed out at them as they approached the Core. The Knights had found what the Core was afraid of.
All contact with the Alpha Squad was lost...

Now it is the shining Knights from the stars job to wake the Core from its long slumber and to slay the Swarm of nightmares that plague the sleeping child in its Cradle...

Basically we're all figments in a dream trying to save a sleeping child from its nightmares.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 17:52

Sir-Onox

Almire

I wonder if most of Zombies are undead members of the Almire Kingdom... It seems that Slag Guards, Almirian Crusader and Cursed Deadnaughts are undead Almirian citizens but is it the same for Slag Walkers?

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 17:58

#10

Klipik-Forum

Can anyone find that thing (I think it was an NPC talking about Feron) that had information about Isora, and other factions on the Knights' homeworld?

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 19:32

#11

Zopyros-Il

Beep Boop

@Sir-Onox
I think all the Slag Walkers were just the normal citizens of Almire while the Almirian Crusaders and Slag Guards were probably part of the actual military. The other Zoms walking about in the Graveyards and such are just other dead Almirians from before Vanaduke torched the whole place to the ground.
The various types probably tell how they died. The normal Dust Zombies died from old age, the Drouls from some kind of poisoning (probably a contaminated well or swamp), Frozen Shamblers died from the cold, and I'm guessing the Frankenzoms are kind of like Quicksilvers, where the Gremlins were messing around with electricity and living things. Don't know about the Carnavons, though. Necromancer curse maybe?

@Klip
Don't remember that particular dialogue. :/
I only remember one mention of Isora in the Rescue Camp and another by Kora, that's about it. Can you remember from what part of the game it was? Early-game, mid-game, late-game?

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 22:35

#12

Fropps

Okay, lemme clarify.

@Youwantcookies. Oops... Forgot to add that in, Isora!
@Hexzyle. You are both right, and wrong, I knew that the kats and owlites were NOT related to almire (, or so we think...). But the info that follows is probably correct. I say probably because if the kats still exist, but they're dead, obviously, then why are the owlites non-existent now, other than that small detail, which probably doesn't matter, the kat cowls all support your theory.
@Thunder-The-Bright Feron did say that it was to keep something in rather than out, he also said it WAS built like a crazy deathtrap, and the gremlins are out to get haven and the knights, Project R anyone? But given the deconstruction zones and the Gremlin description on the wiki, which reads, "The gremlins were brought to the Clockworks by an unknown means and serve as its builders and repairmen." note, BUILDERS. and yes, Kora does say that the knights -like herself- are starting to feel like cradle is more of their home then Isora." Fiends do come from the underworld, mission description, I think.
Also, thanks for the swarm bit, yes, the core is not evil, or science being used for evil purposes, but it could be, we just don't know what's in it.
@Draciusen. THANK YOOUUUUUU! That is so much of a help, I did Legion of Almire yesterday and combined with that developer info it ties it all together.
@Canine-Vladmir. Look, that's just confusing, cite your resource or resources, 'cause that is a big development and I have no idea what prompted you in that direction other than your imagination, explain how that is in another post.
@Sir-Onox Yep, you're right, all that's true, done it myself, read it myself, except the last part, Herex shut it down because it was just dangerous, NOT because he doesn't like the crimson order, in OCH Seerus asks if Herex sent you, confirming that the crimson order are not on friendly turf (Also see dark retribution.)
@Zopyros-Il don't believe this, but it's certainly possible.
@Noklip An exciting development, if only we could find the dialogue...
@Zopyros-Il I believe you, at least the first part, the codex of the high chancellor does suggest that Vanaduke torched the place down, quote "Our once great lord Vanaduke." The zombies status types? Not so much, but a valid theory.

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 23:57

#13

Zopyros-Il

Beep Boop

@Fropps
Well most of the Vanaduke stuff was from his own wiki page and from the Firestorm Citadel page. To the best of my knowledge, that stuff is canon.

I'm probably stretching for the other two kingdoms being the Owlites and the Kat Tribes, but they were the only other factions that were supposedly around at that time. Though the Owlites seem more to be recorders of history and scholars, the fact that they were at odds with the Kats and have their own battle gear (Grey Owlite armor and shield) leads me to believe that they were far more active than that. They are also the only other group to have their own banners aside from the Almirian banners you find in the Jelly Palace, Scarlet Fortress, and (obviously) Firestorm Citadel.
I'm curious about how big the Kat Tribes were if they were such a big threat to the Owlites and why there are absolutely no remnants of their society in the Clockworks.

Then there's all the other unresolved stuff as well (what are the Strangers, where did the Gremlins come from, is the Swarm natural or did Tinkinzar actually make that abomination, etc.). The thing I wonder most about is the purpose of Moorcroft Manor and the mysterious train tracks to the west. I mean the Kats are cursed to undeath, so maybe making a hotel of sorts isn't all that weird of an idea after a few millenia. Still, WHERE DO THOSE TRACKS GO AND WHAT RIDES THEM?
And what is the purpose of the Ancient Generator that we stole from Razwog? Why is it so important to the Gremlins and the Crimson Order?
And I just thought of this, but what if the Echo Stone talking about the "Architect" isn't referring to Tinkinzar? As Feron has said, the Clockworks are far too complex for the Gremlins to have made, so what if the "Architect" is something else entirely?

As for the whole Zombie thing, it at least makes sense... sort of. More sense than the Zombies being something mechanical or something like that.
The Zombies all have the same build, meaning they all came from the same species and considering how prevalent the Almirian Empire is throughout the rest of the Clockworks it only makes sense that they're the remains of the Almirians. Though why they're all vengeful spirits bent on eating us alive, I don't know. The Core's energy does some really weird stuff, so maybe it accidentally revived them all? We do use the same stuff to revive ourselves, so it kind of makes sense...

Oh and don't dismiss the idea that the Swarm and Vog may be one and the same. The Echo Stone for the Shadow Lair Firestorm Citadel mentions the Swarm as an entity that has grown and consumed the hearts of kings, which may be referring to Vanaduke who most certainly encountered Vog to gain those flames... The Stone also states that it has become more than beast or god, something beyond what it originally was.
Still, that's not enough evidence for the Vog=Swarm idea, but there's not enough to dismiss it either...

Thu, 03/28/2013 - 04:29

#14

Sir-Onox

@Fropps Mmh... I'm waiting when OOO will announce a new DLC with Herex, there are a lot of things that i don't understand so much (the rivalry with Seerus and why it looks that crimson order doesn't like him), i dont know that types of traps or monsters will find in his base but i'm pretty sure that Toxoils will return in there (yeah, i know that Herex shut down the facility of Compound 42 but cmon... Toxoils deserve appear in more places/depths, at this day they still give me many troubles to defeat them, that is why i love them)

@Zopyros-II Very Interesting! The way of how they died makes me think a lot.

What about Devilites? Why they worked for Maulos in Heart of Ice? I heard that they work directly for Gremlins...

Thu, 03/28/2013 - 22:12

#15

Zopyros-Il

Beep Boop

@Sir-Onox
Devilites are an odd bunch because they're not really of Cradle's world and don't really have a designated leader aside from the Pit Bosses. They are ridiculously busy all the time, though I get the feeling that it's all pointless paperwork to make them busy for all eternity. Honestly, they probably hire themselves out just to get away from the paperwork. King Krogmo is definitely taking advantage of their workforce, so maybe Tinkinzar and the rest of the Gremlins thought to do the same?

As for why they worked for Maulos, it seems like the Devilites do yield to the Trojans. They were trying to resurrect an entire ancient legion of Trojans in another mission, so working for a super ice powered Trojan isn't too far out of the question.
On the note of Trojans, there's no possible way for them to all be fallen Knights like Arkus. There's too many of them and we haven't been there for long enough for them to have such great numbers. They seem to be like the other Fiends and are not from Cradle. Rather they possess the forms of horse statues (and perhaps horse-themed Knights like Arkus), and use them to attack us.
And Arkus is too much of a special case to be the sole evidence of Trojans=Knights. He was horribly depressed and a becoming delirious when he found the Trojan Sanctuary where we fight him. His will was broken and he was probably easily possessed by the dark fiends that control the rest of the Trojans.

Thu, 03/28/2013 - 22:17

#16

Softhead

I have a theory.

They usually posses statues, or, materialize in that form of a statue.

Or in Arkus's case, mutated.

They may be souls who regret, or have emotional baggage and is created into the silent trojan, as their emotions drain away.

Zombies are created via magic from dead bodies.

Thu, 03/28/2013 - 22:33

#17

Zopyros-Il

Beep Boop

HAHN DENIES YOUR MAGIC. THERE IS ONLY SCIENCE.

I like that idea about the Trojans.
Though that makes the Devilites far more evil than we ever imagined. If they want to resurrect a legion of Trojans, they're going to need a lot of broken souls...
(Maybe that's why they're the most annoying enemy?)

Thu, 03/28/2013 - 22:38

#18

Softhead

Well,

Graverobbing could be easy in this universe.

Also makes you think about some of the trojans in FSC, and Maulos.

I'm guessing knight looking races(like the almarians, lived on different planet, or period) were turned into trojians before landing on cradle.

This also wonders the level of mutation/apperance.

T1,2 and 3 are affected by the core, but maulos may be a stronger soul and was more powerful, similar with nobodies in KH(weaker ones are the grunds, stronger ones are Org XIII)

Fri, 03/29/2013 - 03:39

#19

Infernoburner

Derpuraptor strikes back

The Scarlet Fortress is actually the main castle of the Kats, much like Hyrule Castle in Ocarina Of Time. Also, Margrel wasn't the unluckiest kat ever, he was the most heroic of all four Kat Tribe heroes. Opening the book of Grey Feathers, he accidentally triggered the Magicks to consume both the Owlite and Kat castles, and the species themselves. In the Owlite's last moments, one of them cursed the Kats to forever dwell trough the world known as Cradle.

Some moons later, after Moorcroft Manor was built in the Clockworks(?), Montague and the other Kat opened up Moorcroft Archives. Konjuring Kat wanted to use one of these books to summon (or resurrect him into an actual Kat) Margrel, who himself went lost, but the most evil, hating, and mean Kat souls, the Black Kats, who now were primitive due to lack of contact with anything, were summoned to the Clockworks by the ghosts of Owlites to mess up the Kat species after-life, and took the tomes and books and chomped them. Several of them weren't hungry for books and decided to keep 'em for later, thus resulting in the Book Of Dark Rituals drop.

During the Kataclymsic Confrontation, Konjuring Kat (who himself is a kid-kat, compare him to other mewkats in the town) received the book, but because of his age, he wasn't fully able to control the Magick, did summon (or resurrect) Margrel (to rescue the Kat tribe or something), but also turned him into a monster. The party after banishing Margrel from Moorcroft Manor, can talk to Konjuring. He says it didn't quite go as on his mind, so the players can keep on bringing him new books for an endless circle effect much like Minerals and the Core.

To prove Scarlet Fortress was a Kat World, listen closely to the music. You occasionally hear Kat cries from distances.

Fri, 03/29/2013 - 13:58

#20

Softhead

He is unlucky,

but since the Kats got Immortality, and the ability to use magic(their main reason for war), they hailed him as a hero.

I also thought that the pages somewhat corrupted the Kats from normal ones, to Black ones.

How does this also explain why the Almire flags are there? Or why the owlites documented the fall of Almire.

I'm guessing either almire abandoned it when they lost the battle, or simply Kats took residence after and had a different location.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 03:04

#21

Infernoburner

Derpuraptor strikes back

@Softhead Well, I've never seen any Almire banners there, just Castle icon ones.
Owlites could document the fall of Almire simply for history, like we do and did.

Also I believe Margrel and the others were simply war heroes from Owlite VS Kat, and Margrel was just jealous of the magick or something.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 08:29

#22

Boom-Owned

I think in one of the earlier

I think in one of the earlier missions, it says that the spiral knights were at war with the "Morai" (I think that's how you spell it). Maybe we lost the war to the Morai and our home planet, Isora, became inhabitable, so we had to leave the planet in the Skylark, then we crashlanded on Cradle.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 08:51

#23

Draciusen

Or maybe

We defeated the Morai and went all space-cop (Which is why absolutely everyone is military) to protect the galaxy, then crash-landed on Cradle.

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 07:46

#24

Softhead

Silkwings, greavers and constructs.

The former are cultivated and breeded for purposes.

They are bought by people such as Monarchs, Workplaces or just move there.

Or are surveilance systems or Security forces, Greavers. Silkings could be for medical uses.

Constructs are installed by handymen in a similar way, or sentient ones migrate there(Why would they go FSC?)

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The complete history of cradle as we know it.