~ The Shadow Compendium ~

 ~ A Discussion on Shadow Magic, Olde Cob ~ 

~ And The Grand Prophecy ~

Warning, this post DOES contain SPOILERS; read at your own risk. 

~ In November KingsIsle released the final world of the Morganthe arc. onto the Test Realm. And the news quickly spread. And many wizards were especially interested in the new form of magic mentioned on the Test Realm Update Notes. This new form of magic is called Shadow magic and it's extremely powerful. It's so powerful that Lady Nightstar and old Bartleby didn't allow Merle to teach it at Ravenwood...or at least that's what we were told... ~

~ Umbra’s Extended Post Note ~

 

 ~ ‘Allo readers of young and old. Upon clicking the “Read More” icon you were transfered here to another page so that you could view one of our Extend Posts. So read on and I hope you enjoy what you read! ~

 ~ Introduction ~

Backlash Wisp

 ~ As many of us are aware Shadow magic is first introduced in Khrysalis around the end of the first half. It's an ancient form of magic that touches the heart of the Spiral. What it can do is unbelievable and the damage it can cause if placed in the wrong hands is a terrifying thought. Shadow magic like all magic has some form of negative effect. In this case the negative effect would be a little something known as Backlash. 

 The Backlash lasts until all Shadow spells casted by the player have met the 3 round turn requirement or until the player is defeated while a Shadow spell is active. 

 Backlash is a simple thing to master. You just need to cast a spell that's relative to the Shadow spell that's active to please it. And if you cast something the active Shadow spell doesn't like than the Backlash will grow. And at the end of the 3 round turn you will take damage regardless if you've pleased it, angered it, or did nothing with the Shadow spell. The only time you wont take damage is if you have around 100 health or less. So basically, in the end; it all comes down to your cards at hand. ~

~ What Else Shadow Magic Can Do ~

 ~ All though we ourselves can't perform such tasks we've seen what Shadow magic can do. In the Eclipse Tower we become aware that Shadow magic can corrupt other kinds of magic to create new forms of Shadow magic.  As well, when were in the Eclipse Tower we come across a boss called The Shadow of the Land. Now what makes him so interesting is that based on appearance and the dialogue that was written. It appears the Shadow magic somehow created him as a living life form from our memories by a mage we've never met. And yes, there is the new Shadow Creature spells but those aren't exactly similar to The Shadow of the Land. 

 Why? Well compared to the Shadow Creatures The Shadow of the Land can freely think and as well he can use Shadow magic even though he appears to already be a being formed from Shadow magic.

 And finally, in Sardonyx there's an important pierce of dialogue mentioned by  Zarozina. And that is the following:

 As you can see she mentions something about a Shadow. I believe she's referring to some force or essence of Shadow magic. And if I'm correct than the fact that Shadow magic can cause a whole market full of mantis to suffocate is pretty incredible. 

 Finally, in the second half of Khrysalis, when we reach the Solar Arc we meet a mage who seems to be corrupted and changed into some sort of Shadow Creature. The only details we know of how this may have happened is when Morganthe opened the entrance to the Chamber of the Sun's Shadow. Other than that we seem to be left in the dark as to how or what she became. ~

~ Olde Cob ~

 ~ Olde Cob is a very interesting character that we meet in the second half of Khrysalis. He is very knowledgeable about the Spiral despite being locked away for so long in the Black Hole of the Hive. And he also seems to be very feared by the Arachna. Throughout the whole of the Hive and the Shadow Palace he assists us in place of the Council of Light. And it isn't until the end of Khrysalis that we learn what his true intentions were for assisting us. 

  It appears that Morganthe wasn't the chosen one of the prophecy, it was actually us. And the prophecy Morganthe recited since Celestia isn't actually the whole Prophecy. Now, if I may direct your attention to the video on the bottom you may gain some insight as to whom Olde Cob actually is and as well you'll hear the whole Grand Prophecy.



 After watching that video it seems clear that this Spider character is Olde Cob. And that Lady Nightstar and Bartleby tried to keep him a secret. But why? What makes him so dangerous? 

 It seems clear that while he was sleeping he created Shadow magic and that somehow the Arachna got a hold of it. But other than that we're pretty much left in the dark as to what other other damage he's done or what damage he will do with Shadow magic. However! There is one thing that does seem clear, the Shadow spells we obtained in Khrysalis were not created by Old Cob, instead they were created by Morganthe using the magic Olde Cob created.

 I'd also like to make a note that Old Cob mentions that he's in a weakened state when we rescue him from the Black Hole. And because of that I believe this may explain why he doesn't look like the giant spider we saw in the video. The reason I believe this is because of what happened in Wintertusk with Lady Nightstar. She was trapped and weakened by the Coven and because of that she had become more humanoid. Here's a video of Lady Nightstar transforming into her true form. ~

 



~ The Grand Prophecy ~

 ~ Now, what makes me so sure that we're the chosen one in the prophecy is the dialogue between Olde Cob and Archmagus Lorcan. Here's two images showing the two important pieces of dialogue between the two. 

  It is visible to see that Old Cob has a disliking for the Arachna, even though they seem to be his children. And as well, the Archmagus claims that we've been marked by both Raven and Spider which seems to be a reference to Grandmother Raven and Grandfather Spider. The beings of Light and Shadow.

 

 Finally, I'd like to showcase one more video from Heather ShadowSlinger based showcasing Olde Cob at the end of Khrysalis. Here it is and please go to 17:35 in the video.

 To conclude, if you'd like to learn more about the video with the quest that featured Old Cob speaking the prophecy click here. ~

 ~ Until then, farewell. And if you have any comments regarding this post feel free to post them. ~