#kim'dael is released so that can factor in

[raayllum]

been weighing the mid-season Starscraper placement + confirmation that we only learn more about Kpp'Ar's arm in S7 and...

I feel like the second fact is our biggest clue that Kpp'Ar is only being released from the coin late s6 / early s7. Which means that if depending on where his coin is (the castle or the Starscraper) there's a couple of options.

If he is at the castle, it means if Viren is alive his plans (?) to free Kpp'Ar are derailed until S7 / he more likely doesn't make it back because he runs into Soren or something, and then plot and Claudia kicks in.

If he's at the Starscraper... it could just be that there's so much craziness going on post-release, especially if Callum gets possessed, that there's no time / no one with the wherewithal to ask for more details about his arm. Which would make sense!

However if I had go with my gut for this (+ more reasons)... I think it's looking likelier and likelier, maybe, that at the very least there's an Attempt to free the Moon fam this season, and it's unsuccessful, because it's Mostly There to be the Risk that Callum takes to get possessed and subsequently free Aaravos

[kradogsrats]

Corruption and Primal Magic

So previously I've written two big posts that cover dark magic corruption: one on corruption as functionally a stand-in for Aaravos's influence, and one specifically analyzing the visibility of Viren's corruption in s1-s4.

Pictured: it turns out you can zoom WAY in on the pictures in the Tales of Xadia PDF, and these dudes have little black eye-veins!

I've long headcanoned theorized that "corruption," in the physical symptoms of dark magic sense, is lingering buildup of magic in conduits (humans) not designed to channel it. Now, it's a little more complicated than that with regard to how it's linked to Aaravos and other factors covered in those more extensive posts, but I'm still hanging on to that theory.

What we're seeing now is further exploration of corrupted primal magic. Because it's not inherently corruption of the mage, it's corruption of the magic.

Like, maybe it's kind of stupid to spell this out, but: dark magic consumes and converts primal magic to work. That's the corruption, that change to the primal magic's nature. (I.e. being Aaravos-ified.) What we're seeing in the characteristic physical symptoms expressed by dark mages is then the buildup of that corrupted magic.

And now, in After Darkness, we've seen the other side of that. Humans don't actually have magic in them to be corrupted. Elves do. Corrupted magic slowly builds up in humans because it's stuck. In elves... well, we see with Osato that the effect is a) rapid, b) intense, and c) complete. Because elves naturally have primal magic channeling through their bodies from their arcanum. The corruption seizes on the magic, consumes it to grow stronger, and spreads.

Everything in Xadia is inherently magical. Kim'dael drinks the blood of other elves to increase her own power. Osato is infected with corruption through a minor physical wound.

Just to dig a bit deeper into this, the other place we've gotten fairly in-depth about the corruption of the Sunforge, i.e. the Sun nexus, is in The Tale of the Corrupted Core, which is the starter adventure included in the Tales of Xadia rulebook.

In Corrupted Core, it's only days after the battle at the Storm Spire, Lux Aurea is still being evacuated, and the corrupted Sunforge's power is escalating. The people remaining in the city, including the PCs when they enter, are explicitly suffering various degrees of ill effects from the Sunforge's radiating magical energy (now corrupted). It's believed that the Sunforge will soon release its power explosively, which would have severe consequences for an unknown area surrounding the city, the heartland of Xadia.

Pictured: corruption of the Sun nexus, or possibly the miracle of conception.

The PCs are tasked with mitigating this world-altering event by bringing a container of magical serum into contact with the Sunforge itself, which will suppress its imminent explosion to (hopefully) not reach beyond the confines of the city. The serum can also be used at various points throughout the adventure to suppress the effects of corruption on other characters—Orta, for one, a fire dragon who made physical contact with the Sunforge and was left thrashing in mindless, rage-filled torment. Using the serum on her leaves her exhausted and weakened, but her mind clear.

Where did this serum come from? Interestingly, it was developed by Vaake, a Sunfire elf mage, for personal use. Vaake's arcanum is out of control—when she is under emotional stress, it shunts out a large amount of magic and leaves her exhausted and in pain. It's not clear if this is a condition she was born with, or if it's the result of some kind of trauma, but she developed the serum to essentially suppress her own arcanum. The serum works similarly on the corrupted energy, suppressing its effects rather than cleansing it.

It's not clear whether the serum works on all magic or if it specific to Sun magic, and therefore corrupted Sun magic. The point, though, is that something designed to suppress primal magic also works on this corruption. This is because corruption is not a separate entity from primal magic, it is primal magic, just with its nature having been twisted. By Aaravos.

What we are now seeing in After Darkness is a later stage of Lux Aurea, after the events of Corrupted Core. If the PCs are successful, they deliver the serum to the Sunforge and escape, along with an unspecified number of refugees (the guide specifically says not to dwell on that, because it will bum the players out lmao), before the explosion that floods the city with corrupted energy. There are no nightmare shadow-creatures in Corrupted Core—that's all a result of the massive spike of corrupted energy released from the Sunforge affecting anyone left behind, plus presumably anything/anyone that unwittingly entered the city after the fact and got bit.

Pictured: not ominous at all.

A few interesting things to consider, here:

It's at least strongly implied that Aaravos personally corrupts the Sunforge, which again, is in fact the Sun nexus. As in, he's the originator of the corruption. Viren is his vessel, a container that brought Aaravos to where he needed to be.

Additionally, it kind of(?) feels like Aaravos really goes out of his way specifically to corrupt the Sunforge and taking the Sunfire elves out of the "conquer Xadia" equation is secondary. Is his goal to corrupt all of the primal nexuses? But he was also like... right there at the Sky nexus (a.k.a. the Storm Spire) and didn't do anything. Maybe it was next on his to-do list after Viren helpfully feeds him Zym? Or maybe the other nexuses aren't as easily corruptible, being more naturally occurring and not... channeled into some kind of industrialized concentrated orb?

Are??? Humans????? Perhaps?????? Actually MORE???? Resistant?????? To Corruption????????? 🤔 🤔 🤔

Though on that note, who has an arcanum? Oh right, Callum. Callum has an arcanum.

Anyway, there are also still a few questions that boil down to whether there's a distinction between corrupted Sun magic vs. corrupted magic of other primals. Would someone not a Sunfire elf be affected as dramatically as Osato, since it's already a corruption of his natural magic? We do know that corrupted primal magic is essentially a thing in its own right, adjacent but not the same as dark magic—Claudia's spells with the corrupted Sunforge staff are corrupted Sun magic that Aaravos has presumably taught her. Would the staff, containing as it does a now-corrupted Sun primal stone, release a similar, smaller burst of corruption if smashed?

Pictured: a corrupted Sun magic spell then used to amplify a dark magic spell. Huh.

Fun side note: in Corrupted Core, it specifies that the PCs can clear the "Corrupted" stress (otherwise part of the dark mage player mechanics) they receive from magical objects (such as the Sunforge) using Sun magic. Stress received from casting dark magic spells still has to be cleared with dark magic. Now, this is probably mostly to preserve a way for groups of PCs who don't have a dark mage among them to clear that stress, which otherwise does not naturally clear and can quickly become a problem. But it's still interesting—is the specification due to the presumed purifying properties of Sun magic itself, or because the corruption received from the Sunforge is corrupted Sun magic, specifically?

As usual, do I have answers? No. Have I thought about this possibly too extensively? Yes. Is it all coming together?

[raayllum]

What are some of your biggest predictions for season 5?

Predictions tag here (and I also have some specific post-S4 predictions on my Meta Directory page, listed/organized accordingly). I also made a post of S5 predictions shortly after S4 came out, some of which that have already come true (like the dragang briefly regrouping in Katolis in S5!)

Some of these carry over from S4 and some may carry over into S6 from S5 depending on pacing / plot progression, but my biggest ones are probably

Rough season outline estimate

On the note of regrouping in Katolis, perhaps an Ezran and Aanya encounter or some political dealings - I could see Ez not necessarily going to the Sunfire elves with Callum and Rayla and maybe staying to look after the kingdom / plan with Zym and Zubeia

Viren will break away from Aaravos, while Claudia will be taken in deeper

Rayla will help Callum break free from possession and it still won't be enough to wholly save him from playing into Aaaravos' hands

On that note: Rayla will save Callum from Aaravos mentally/emotionally, and Callum will save her physically/emotionally (mutual salvation theory as a branch off of cube hostage exchange theory)

Rayla will become more like Runaan this season in particular to her detriment + parallels between Callum and Terry and what they're willing to do (or not do) to support their girlfriends this season

Rayllum gets to have their Big Talk(s)

Still leaning toward Aaravos being released by the end of this season so that the kids can try (and fail) to defeat him outright in S6, but I could also see him getting out early in S6 instead

Possible moon arcanum connection?

The Staff of Ziard is specifically needed to free the Moon fam and mystery person from the coins, so they may be released this season, but I lean more toward it for S6

Callum doing dark magic to free the moon fam options

Aaravos gets released on the full moon and Claudia's hair goes (close to or) full white

Kpp'Ar is a descendant of the Jailor who helped the Orphan Queen imprison Aaravos

The Key of Aaravos is Aaravos' chest piece and/or a quasar diamond and/or both

Karim will enlist Kim'Dael into hunting down Amaya as an intimidation factor and causing unrest; by the end of S5, Janai and Amaya will have possibly lost their kingdom and been forced to flee

Importance of sun (Claudia) and moon (Rayla) perhaps, but now also seems tethered to Kim'Dael and Aditi

Callum is the one destroying the boat in the S5 promo poster, rather than Zym (more of a wish/hope but still! I think it'd fit well)

Callum is the one who "has answers" per Aaravos' instructions

The pirates are primarily Tidebound elves (or at least, Tina is and a captain) and they take Rayla's coins from her at first, not realizing what they are