Seven Pointed Star

Looks like an eyeball in the center, representing the Oracle. The seven pointed star. Either big Game of Thrones fans or lore related as there are seven 'illuminated light rays' which is obviously on purpose. The number seven perhaps will play a significant role in some obscure aspect of the lore. Seven virtues instead of eight? No spoilers as there's nothing to spoil. Could just be random design choice.

 

If you check *any* obsidian center of power, the seven-star theme is recurring.

Take a look at the "altar" in the Hilt Chapel. Or the floor in the Chamber of Souls in Epitaph, or the stands where the colossi of the three titans stand on.

How many points are on those stars?

 

I'm sure the obsidians have a lot of lore to be discovered but one thing they certainly do not represent is the virtues.

 

Does it? I would've guessed it was the Obsidian Eye.

If it represents the Oracle, there's a huge gap between our knowledge of the Oracle and the Obsidians. I honestly do not think they are directly connected to one another.

 

Interesting

 

It would be the Obsidian Eye. The Oracle was not created until after the rise (and likely near the fall) of the Obsidian Empire. If you want the backstory, read Blade of the Avatar.

 

They represent the Seven Deadly Sins:

1) Control Points
2) Taxes
3) Skill Decay
4) Instancing
5) Regional Economies
6) Slow Travel
7) Pay to Win

 

Maybe the Obsidians have their own virtues? They used Magic to create the elves, satyrs, fauns - out of humans.

 

Ley -Lines. Got to have a place for all that magic to coalesce.

 

Not entirely unlike Mondain doing the same of orcs, goblins and minotaurs.. but I don't really see any connection there between magic and virtue.

 

I thought the DarkLords aka the Cabalists that will be sieging towns followed the anti-virtues represented in the constellations? (there's 8 of those Cabalists, I believe. According to the defunct Q1 schedule for 2016 where they are mentioned)

 

So in SotA, there are three Virtues (Truth, Love and Courage). However, seven still seems like a good possibility for importance, due to the Symbol of the Avatars, which features prominently in Blade of the Avatar.



Note the three interlinked blades, possibly representing the Virtues, and the seven gemstones. Based on the colors, I would assume these are amethyst (lunaism), sapphire (tempestry), ruby (sorcery), diamond (thaumaturgy), emerald (gaiasm), citrine (theurgy), and garnet (atenism).

Also note the missing stones are onyx (necromancy) and obsidian (chaos), both of which feature prominently in Obsidian magic. Seven might also be references, at least for Obsidians, to the seven deadly sins.

So, ironically, both Obsidian and Avatar numerology strongly identify with the number seven.

 

This is something I really should get round to doing.

 

Wow, I love all of that stuff!

 

I think we're projecting a lot from one passage in Blade of the Avatar.

I don't know if this lore is considered out of date now or not:

I think it's worth noting a few things about the lore we know.

1. It's in flux. It's literally changing or changed. To what degree we don't know.
2. The Sword of Midras is being published on June 21. That's what they're calling Blade of the Avatar now, and oh yeah it has 4 more chapters (over 100 pages) that none of us have read yet.
3. There are two more books being published in this trilogy and one book related to the Dark Elves of Underworld Ascendant that left New Britannia.

So I'm more comfortable thinking of the Oracle as a mystery, although I have a lot opinions about it based on what I've experienced in game.

 

When this art appeared and I compared it to Blade, it didn't make sense then. However, I have to think that this was just early concept, and has changed. Or, something that looked like the Oracle existed before the present day Oracle was created, and they stole her image. Or, the Oracle in Blade is not what we think it is.

 

A statue for 200 years in a swamp can certainly look like that, so a relatively recent traveler discovering this shouldn't shock anyone. However... I think when the Oracle was created, it probably did take over the appearance and motif of an earlier figure, one from before (or during) the Cataclysm. This would help her gain a foothold in the population.

We know the Oracle, at least as we know her, was not around during the Obsidian era. There are no mentions of watchers in any of the cities visited during the story, which there should have been if they were there at all. We'll see when Sword of Midras comes out, but I don't expect they were. What they were talking about creating at the end of the book seems very much like what becomes the Oracle. We might not know more until Shards of the Avatar come out, sometime next year most likely.

 

Not to mention the manual for Shroud of the Avatar, which will likely contain some background information, and the trilogy of adventures Richard and Tracy are supposed to write for Sojourner Tales.

 

Just picked up a copy, I enjoyed the first book.

 

~Look Closely and You Will See The Cube of Truth~


It is associated with the planet Saturn within astrology and now by NASA...



Known by many names, in many histories, in many religions, all pointing to the virtue of truth...



With magical properties to invoke truth and banish the false...



And in the spirit of truth, came into our Ultima's history...


Truth is always the first step that leads to all other virtues...
~Time Lord~