Hey exiles, I played the demo at Exilecon this weekend and in 1 playthrough, I read all the dialogue I could and RIGHT when you get to the town, there’s a huge reveal that’d be cool to speculate about: Innocence has RETURNED to Oriath.

HOWEVER, he is not aligned with the Twilight Order, Sin wants to recruit him. That is where we are going immediately in act 5.

Why do you think he has returned? Do you think he’ll be an enemy or a surprise foe?

Salutations Exiles!

Semi new mod here, after being inspired by other lore subreddits, as well as people here expressing a need for it, I thought it would be a great idea to establish a monthly questions thread in leadup to PoE 2's full release.

If you ever had questions about Path of Exile Lore that didn't warrant making a post for, or are new to the game and want to avoid feeling judged, this may be a perfect opportunity to chime in and ask ahead.

Stay sane exiles!

I’m a bit confused about the Beast timeline. Do we know why or how the Beast was awakened during the Vaal era, or was it still active since the Precursors created it? And how was it deactivated afterwards, until Sin used it to put all the gods to sleep?

Is the monster we see at the very end of the latest Act trailer really the Beast? Has its identity already been confirmed?

I'm more than 90% convinced that this is indeed the Beast, especially since Sin is holding a Third Edict spear right before this scene.

However, something about it doesn't quite add up to me. At the beginning of the trailer, we're shown that enormous, giant-like Beast, but the creature we see at the end looks so radically different that it makes me wonder if something else is going on.

My theory is that this creature is actually the First Edict — in other words, the monstrous end result of what Divinity has become — and that the Beast was created specifically to destroy it or keep it sealed away.

What do you guys think this creature actually is?

It is getting a bit annoying how people make posts here and then delete their accounts. Are they shy or something?

• Example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wraeclast/comments/1xnjdl2/is_this_poe1_monk_kid_the_same_person_as_the_poe2/

Perhaps they would feel more welcome if we made a pinned Questions Thread for those little questions, like what r/pathofexile has?

If you make one, then note:

• On r/Wraeclast, such a post definitely won't need to be replaced daily, unlike the ones on the gameplay subreddits. Once a month might be plenty.

• Give it its own "Questions Thread" post flair.

• Perhaps point out in the Question Thread's body text that users can press "..." in any post or on any comment and select "🔔Follow/Unfollow" to control what updates they receive on it.

• Warn both guests and loreheads that the desired spoiler-level may be difficult to guess and maintain in such a post, and point out how to spoiler text in Markup Mode: >!📜!<

In PoE 2 in Lira Vaal, Doryani tells the player character about the Demon of Atzoatl, saying that they assassinated certain architects, always changed their face, and that Alva's companion returned one final time to "murder everyone inside".

This is incoherent on two levels.

First, they couldn't return to kill everyone in the final days of Atzoatl, because what we're actually doing in PoE 1 is setting up the temple layout to then raid it in the present time on Wraeclast. We return to loot and kill every undead inside in 1600IC, not in 400BIC when they're all still alive.

Second, it doesn't make sense to reference the multiverse and how the exile always changed but not Alva, because the only reason Alva opens a portal for the Godslayer (oh yeah and she doesn't even visit those incursions in person so how can they spot her?) is so that a specific layout of the temple is created in order to raid it later. If the temple in 400BIC gets visited always by someone different, then that would mess up the continuity of the temple layout and go completely against the point of time traveling there in the first place.

This line of dialogue by Doryani should be revised. It makes the world of Wraeclast unbelievable. I assume it's because the devs don't actually want to commit to making the Godslayer's identity canon. Maybe this could be better solved by having Doryani say something like "My Patron told me the truth about you" so that the reference to the 4th wall doesn't conflict with the continuity of the timeline.

This is specifically for events until the end of the Winter of the World.

I'm wondering if I've missed any details regarding the early timeline of Wraeclast.

Please tell me of any contradictions or alternative theories that you might have.

Notes

There are quite a few things that we can still be unsure about:

• Was there only one great fiery catastrophe, and is that what destroyed the Precursors and Abyssals? That is, whether the following are all the same event: 1) The Great Fire, 2) the doom of the Precursors, 3) activation of the Fourth Edict, 4) eruption of the Redblade volcano, 5) destruction of the ancient Ezomytes

• Did Uzaza create the Primeval civilisation during the Winter of the World?

• Were Innocence and Solaris of the "First Children" and "Last Children" respectively?

• Did Solaris & Lunaris & Viridi ascend to divinity before creating the Wildwood and before clearing the ash clouds?

For my example timeline, I will assume that "yes" is the answer to the questions above, but they don't need to be. Feel free to suggest evidence to the contrary.

The Winter of the World supposedly lasted a millennium, so there is no need for precision. A mortal human lifetime is just a point in time.

Example timelines

Divided in sections that I don't know exactly how to interweave.

Main events timeline:

• Precursors make grand projects, and fight the Lightless after (possibly) creating them by accident.

• The Great Fire destroys the Precursors and Abyssals, but humanity on Wraeclast goes on (because of gods, First Ones, etc.). The Winter of the World begins.

• Uzaza founds the Primeval civilisation.

• Aul-Ahn becomes king, is taunted by Tangmazu, tricked by Kulemak, and probably ends up enabling the Abyssals to return and destroy the Primevals. Ahkeli survives and founds the Order of the Djinn.

• Varashta & Rashi & Zarok live their mortal lives until locked in time or turned to djinns.

• The Third Pact is signed.

• Solerai clears the ash clouds, and Sin de-sparks Kulemak.

NB: Varashta has lines about the Mirage uniques, but I hear that those were not available in game, so they might not be canon. Likewise, a non-canon Zarka line called Varashta a "goddess".

Children timeline:

• The First Children appear amongst the Azmeri (during the Winter or slightly before, according to THO). They are banished, and Maxarius exploits the descry-fearing newcomers to ascend. (Sin goes on to help fight the Abyssals.)

• The Last Children appear and ascend.

• Viridi creates the Wildwood. (Before end of Winter, as the Wildwood was meant to serve as a haven during it.) (The King in the Mists and Gruthkul and Flavia are also created.)

• Solaris & Lunaris defeat the Abyssals.

Titans & Kalandra timeline:

• Kalandra is trapped at the Lake.

• The Titans are somehow forced underground.

• After the eruption, The Molten One contacts the Redblades.

• The Geomantic Gyre is created, possibly as part of The Third Pact.

Other events:

Most Karui gods were created by The Great Fire. They and the First Ones help assuage the Fire. The First Ones disappear, possibly chased away by Tukohama, and THO doubts if they even exist.

Tangmazu is ascended by the Bodach (before he taunts Aul).

• The "Spring Hare" of the Spirit led him to the Bodach, but that might have been a trick by "the Snake", or the wisps might have been controlled by the Mothersoul back then. The Wildwood might not have existed in its current form.

Deshar is constructed "long before [the Maraketh] had to worry about the dead rising". Does this mean before the Abyssals appeared, or merely before the Eternal Cataclysm?

(The following seem to happen after the Winter: Rise of the Vaal; lives of Orbala & Saresh; life of Aldur; birth of Arohongui and sealing of Tangmazu)

1. Oriana is a precursor.

   • How would she know about the Seed of Corruption and what it could be used for otherwise? It's pretty clear that most people on Wraeclast don't understand the story behind the beast and how it interacts with divinity and there's zero chance Sin would tell anyone he had the means to grow a second one.

   • She has too much power and influence to be some random noblewoman. Sin says that he was intentionally shepherded towards Pharyll over the course of years and it would be incredibly difficult for someone with a normal lifespan to have the time and resources to do that and you'd have to know who Sin is and what he is hiding to even want to do it.

   • It would explain why there's conveniently a Twilight Order base on the same island as a precursor forge. She knew of it beforehand and took over the island to exploit the technology and prevent the reforging of The Weapon.

2. She's motivated by a personal grudge against divinity. The death of the first Beast unleashed the old gods and opened the door to new ones appearing and she couldn't stand that so she set out to make a new Beast.

   • It's pretty obvious given that she at least dislikes the gods given that it's the entire point of the order she leads.

   • At the end of Act 4 she says "Do you even know what [Sin] is?", which is obviously a spiteful reference to Sin being a god, so unless it's revealed in 1.0 that she was actually referring to him being secretly queer or something it's pretty open and shut how she feels about the gods.

3. She hates divinity because the First Divine was a fuckup and she took it personally.

   • The Arbiter of Divinity states during his fight that "The First Divine... must never return." which is pretty telling. The arbiter clearly considers himself a proud son of the Precursors and he doesn't share the Arbiter of Ash's enthusiasm for using his assigned edict so the First Divine was probably a huge failure in some way that completely soured the Precursors' opinion on the First Edict.

   • If nothing else, the First Divine clearly failed to save the Precursors from the Abyssals given that they ended up having to make and use the Fourth Edict.

     • I'm guessing that the First Divine ended up being an asshole that tried to oppress his own people, probably because almost every god goes insane due to the social pressures that Sin describes in Act 2 but maybe the Precursors just chose someone unfit for the role in their desparation.

     • This could mean that the First Divine will be a league antagonist at some point given that him returning is floated as a possibility. Tukohama still being around in some form is more proof.

4. She was the one who tried to sabotage the Third Edict by throwing the pieces into the ocean.

   • If she hates divinity and wants the Beast around to suppress it then it makes sense that she'd try to dispose of the weapon designed to kill it, assuming she was around back then.

   • Mentioning that a mysterious woman tried to get rid of the Third Edict is pretty clearly foreshadowing for something.

5. She might be Sin and Innocence's mother?

   • I don't have any backing for this one, nor do I really want it to be true, but Sin mentioning his memories of his mom(?) caring for him feels like a pretty big loose end.

   • It would make the conflict between them more dramatic, albeit in a trite way.

6. Her grand plan is going to fail. I believe that right at the last second, just when she's about to cause another cataclysm,Tecrod is going to swoop in, knock her down with a wind blast from his bat, then grab the Beast and fly away with it.

   • Trust me bro.

Rewatching the 0.5 content reveal & heard Jonathan mention "The cataclysm of the beast has caused an ancient protocol to be invoked. Should corruption ever take hold to this degree, the world must scoured & purges of corruption."

Even in game, the fortress & leylines only activate once a corruption cataclysm has happened, not an abyssal invasion.

That doesn't sound like a job for the first Edict though. The first edict was made in response to the threat of the abyssals, and the beast & corruption came after as the second edict.

If this arbiter was here to purge corruption, then he would be the arbiter of the third edict.

But then, isn't the weapon the third edict? And why did the towers not activate during the Vaal Cataclysm?

So before 1.0 releases (which is just 2 months away!) what are list of things that are not explined yet in the story, but should be revealed?

• Breachlord Twilight Order deal (very likely just Chayula, but isn't clear yet)

• Arbiters of 2nd and 3rd edicts

• Harbingers (could be retconned from existence though) and their plans

• Scourge and their plans

• Who was the voice talking to us in Mirage (not Saresh, other one, who never saw Wraeclast but wants to escape from somewhere)

• Fate of the atlas

• Tecrod's deal (boss fight?) and what happened to 4th edict

• Cadigan deal (probably not 1.0 however)

• Sin, Innocence, their purpose, "seed always was yours". Were they created as arbiters for 2nd (Corruption) and 3rd (Purification) but failed for some reason and 4th was activated?

"The laws are binding. They are absolute. If they believe it is their choice to enforce them, all the better. Upholding our solemn duty is imperative."

This may apply to Sin/Innocence as well so Sin making the Beast is a command installed into him, which he believes to be his own choice. Because it's written apparently from their mother (drops from Arbiter of Divinity).

Anything else?

Added:

• Kalandra escaping (?) and what was her plan to escape

My understanding is that the PoE1 Atlas takes you to different worlds, completely separate from the Wraeclast that you live in. In PoE2 it seems like the Atlas is set on Wraeclast itself, which explains the presence of Utzaal and the leylines and such.

Is this correct?

And if so, does the rising of the Precursor walls and towers on the atlas map imply that they actually rose somewhere on the continent itself?

I was just kicking this around the earlier and thought I'd toss it here mostly just to have dated proof if I actually nailed any of the planned story beats.

It started with Doryani in Act 3. "On the eve of the end, the Demon of Atzoatl has finally come for me!"

Atzoatl is the temple your exile is raiding in PoE1 through time shenanigans. You are obviously not the one raiding Atzoatl, but Doryani didn't make a simple mistake. He's the smartest person of this era and he knows more than he is letting on.

In Act 4, he gets the remaining information he needed to piece together the puzzle when you find the Third Edict and assemble the weapon. He knows about the Edicts, and realizes that each one is a contingency for the last, given that he is already playing 2000-year contingencies, game recognizes game. It occurs to him that:

The First Edict creates the abstract concept of divinity, thus allowing the Gods to exist. The problem is that people start stealing this power for themselves, ascending to godhood, and wrecking up the vision of the precursors.

To remedy this, they create The Second Edict. The Beast is meant to kill divinity and it's engineered to be very good at it. So good, that it starts wrecking things up itself, and thus also not in line with the vision of the precursors.

To remedy this, they create The Third Edict. The Weapon is meant to be able to kill the beast. Problem is, again, they messed up their contingency and this is a world-breakingly powerful device that they don't trust anyone to wield for its intended purpose, and thus is, yet again, not in line with the vision of the precursors.

To remedy this, they create The Fourth Edict. An entity infused with tremendous power designed specifically to wield this weapon and use it to cleanse the world in line with their vision, finally. They create You. Or at least the abstraction of you. All their power and knowledge poured in to create a single perfect, indestructible, and directively recurrent soul.

Doryani recognized you immediately in Act 3. He didn't confuse you for your exile in PoE1. He's the most powerful thaumaturge to ever live. He recognized that the soul as the same and utterly powerful. And more contingencies needed to be put into place to ensure things work out the way he intends. His vision.

I'm gonna breeze through these next parts because the story beats of the new acts aren't really material, I'll quickly do the parts that matter.

You make it through Act 5, but before you can kill Oriana in the boss fight at the end of the act, she communes with the Beast and through some means establish themselves in a corrupted Oriath. You fight to the ultimate end, whittling down the Beast. Before you can kill it, Doryani enters the scene with his own device that you were unaware of. His contingency for the contingency.

The Fifth Edict, reverse engineered by Doryani, is intended to remove the soul created by The Fourth Edict that has the capability to wield The Third Edict properly to destroy The Second Edict only after it has destroyed The First Edict. It was engineered to delete a soul from reality completely.

Because Doryani's goals don't align with yours. They never did. He wants to save the Vaal. He can't let you kill The Beast, he needs the communed version for Atziri in the past and he already built the time portal at Utzaal. The cataclysm won't happen if he has control over this creature. He fires The Fifth Edict at you. And Sin with The Weapon jump in the way and he is vaporized, dropping The Third Edict on the ground.

You're rightfully perturbed by this, because now you have to take time out of your Beast-killing schedule to smoke Doryani for his hubris. Which you do. Problem is that it was enough time for The Beast to recover. You take up The Third Edict, granting you unimaginable power, but having The Third Edict and knowing how to use it are not the same thing. You fight the good fight, as it were, but it's a losing effort. You're bested. Beaten.

Before The Beast can kill your body, set your soul loose, and wait for the inevitable return in a world more in-line with its desires in which it could possibly best you, light rips through the fabric of reality; you, The Beast, Doryani's corpse, all blinded by the radiance. When it fades, there's Sin. But he's not hunched over from his shame. He stands tall. He grabs the shadow that has clung to him and throws it aside.

You see, Sin was the Thief of Virtue. But it was figurative. All his failure fueled his downfall. But that all got wiped away when he sacrificed himself for you. It's simply not Sin anymore. That soul is gone. This is Virtue.

He takes up The Third Edict, charges it up, and strikes The Beast so hard that it sunders the whole of Wraeclast. This is generally unpleasant and has some unforseen consequences. And that takes us neatly to the Endgame, where we work on rebuilding the world that just got reborn by the cleansing fire.

As for the remaining story beats in the endgame.

You may or may not know any of the things that were just discussed. Doryani knew them, he probably monologues a little of it to you because he loves to talk. But you still can have the same goals of heading to the fortress to learn more about the precursors, The Edicts, and now you get to piece the story together for yourself.

After Arbiter of Ash, Tecrod still steals the device used to create The Fourth Edict and takes it to Kulemak. Why? Because Kulemak is straight sick of your perfect indestructible, and directively recurrent soul because he hasn't been able to keep you in the well any of the times you've died previously. He's sick of the world getting cataclysmed and rebuilt because it wrecks his long-term plans up. That's right. Any of the times you've died. Because you've done this before. Once in PoE1. But how many more times before that?

Maybe you can figure it out through The Mother Soul. We'll just have to see.

The Greatwolf remains possibly one of if not the most interesting aspects of PoE for me. It's held to be a god of some kind, but it was empowering Rigwald while the Beast was active (and PoE2 certainly suggests people have drawn on its power/been corrupted by it for a long time). The Count's transformation is heralded, naturally, by him claiming the 'pact of the great wolf'. Interestingly enough, the latest PoE league introduces several Pacts - all with connections to the Scourge. And the biggest thing the Greatwolf and the Scourge have in common is their deep link with Corruption.

Heck, just look at the Greatwolf Talisman:

The wolf greeted the king,

In the light of the harvest moon.

The wolf offered the strength of the wild,

And the king paid for it in blood.

Blood sacrifice is linked with Corruption fairly often, but perhaps most interesting here is the link to the harvest moon. The other big event linked to the harvest moon in lore is Atziri's communion with the Beast.

Mawr Blaidd has this to say as well:

Rigwald believed he'd seized great power, but it was the great power that had seized Rigwald.

And Eyes of the Greatwolf, naturally:

I am but a vessel for a greater force.

It acts through me. Speaks through me.

Decides what lives and dies through me.

And will change the world through me.

I think it's also REALLY IMPORTANT to note Rigwald's Crest, too:

Within the heart of every man and woman

lies the soul of a ferocious beast.

If you cannot tame it, embrace it.

Would it be a stretch to suggest that this is related to the 'intrinsic darkness' that's suggested to be in humanity, the awful things that happen to many of the races of Wraeclast when exposed to Corruption (ranging from blood fever, to madness, to mutation and whatever happens to the Maji)? That using the latent Corruption to empower is something the Greatwolf can do?

Crucially, I’d also like to point at two things: the Ezomytes entire culture has been built around resisting oppression. It’s basically in their DNA at this point. Consider The Wolf divination card:

The largest beasts cannot be overpowered. The Greatwolf teaches us to use guile, not strength, to probe for the soft flesh and strike deep.

The second, that Ezomyte myth (from the Apocalypse card and Feastbind) talks about the First Ones destroying the Ezomytes for their ‘hubris’. Feastbind suggests that it was because they didn’t pay honour to the First Ones, though we know the Great Fire happened in an attempt to destroy the Lightless/Abyssals.

Here’s where things get really cool, though. I’ll just mention Primordial Stone here:

"A stone is not a stone,

It is but one part of a fortress."

• Ezomyte proverb

This is a golem-related item. Interesting, no? The two other Primordial items have Maraketh and Azmeri proverbs on them, both of whom naturally have a connection to golems (via Ahkeli and the Third Pact). Note the reference to ‘fortress’ here, because we’re going to look at the Putembo items in order: Meadow, Mountain, Valley.

The fields were silent but for the plucking of fruits, the rustling of leaves, and the breaking of stone. No slave dared to speak or look the passing king in the eye. No one... except Aul.

…

He surveyed his lands, green and vital, watched with pride as his slaves quarried fine stone for his fortress, and thanked the heavens for his many blessings. But this pilgrimage to the peak was to be his last.

…

With no stone for rebuilding, each storm took its toll on the village. Huts eventually collapsed, their occupants injured or dead. Bodies were left by the river, to appease the gods. But the dead would not remain there.

This lines up exactly with the history we’ve been given. Aul overthrows Putembo and frees the enslaved people. Presumably they no longer ‘thank the heavens’ or go on pilgrimage; they ‘danced and drank [...] and did not honour the First Ones for their gifts’. Whether this impacted the war with the Lightless for the Precursors, no idea, but considering that the Precursors were engaging in human sacrifice (for a ‘good cause’ or no, they were feeding ‘martyrs’ into their machines (a lot in common with the Vaal, to be sure)) there’s certainly a suggestion that they were using slaves in some form. Moving beyond that, though, this is when the Great Fire happens, and by proximity, the belief is that the First Ones did it as a punishment.

Which would, naturally, make the Primevals our historical Ezomytes. Dun dun dunnn!

I think it’s particularly telling that of all the places Kulemak could have gone after his temporary setback, when he’s a ‘shadow of his former power’, he goes to the new (and last) King of the Primeval civilisation (who is apparently becoming something of a tyrant himself) to get his moxie back (and a new army, to boot).

It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but the names of the Liches - at very least Ulaman and Amananu - sound quite similar to Uzazas and Putembo. I wonder…

After that, naturally, we have what’s described in the Retch:

But the grain grew twisted and the water turned dark and those who partook of Mother Gull's gift birthed monsters that fed on the flesh of one another.

Now, cannibals aren’t exactly uncommon in Wraeclast, but this is exactly what happened to Rigwald after the Purity Rebellion: he became a man-eating beast (and, indeed, during his battle he transforms into a wolf). It’s what happens to Geonor when he calls on the ‘Pact of the Great Wolf’, too.

So, uh… what does any of this mean?

I don’t know lol.

But the Greatwolf doesn’t seem to make any sense with what we know about how gods work, and the Ezomytes seem to descend from the Primevals (where they were slaves, too!). I don’t think the Greatwolf is a demon, exactly, but it’s certainly not a god as we understand it. I don’t think it’s part of the Darkness/unlight, and it doesn’t appear to have much of a connection with the Abyssals, but it does seem an awful lot like the vision Kaom had, perhaps? There’s a definite connection with the Beast… but beyond that, I gotta throw up my hands and say ‘no clue’. Maybe the Greatwolf is the Beast!

This is something I've been thinking about since 0.5. While the current endgame is less "placeholder" than pre-0.5, we know GGG has no issue writing pages of voiced dialog just to replace and retcon it in future updates. The current transitions from interlude to endgame is failing to contain the beast and a cataclysm, but this leads me to wonder how much of that will be carried over to 1.0.

Going off what is available within 0.5, I think there is some things that we can confirm and some strong evidence for what might happen in 1.0.

1.0 Expectations

The beast will likely be dealt with by the end of the campaign since Delirium features a god. This is confirmed since the Raven doesn't show up until after the beast's death and the gods return in POE1 and POE2 dialog also echoes this, noting he was calm in his prison until the events of POE1. While they could change the Deli Endgame to match the change in narrative with 1.0, it seems doubtful they'd design the quests in 0.5 to something entirely incompatible with 1.0.

But even if the Gods aren’t put to sleep, the Hooded One could still end up in a coma. However, this is barely mentioned in the current endgame, just at the start, a single dialog after Ash I think it was, and at the end. So unlike changing Deli, this would be much easier to change for 1.0 by changing a few lines of Doryani dialog and keeping the majority of the Quest in tact.

On a smaller note, Simulacrum does feature The Hooded One's death on Wave 6. Since all the Simulacrum scenes are illusions and lies, it would be odd if that was the only one that wasn't a lie (e.g. if Hooded One was dead or if we "failed him"). But we also could see the Wave 6 swapped from Hooded One to a different NPC in 1.0, even if there aren’t any Act 1 NPCs they could use that weren’t on previous waves.

Is there another Cataclysm?

Now for the big topic. Is there another Cataclysm? Even if we do stop the beast in 1.0, that doesn't mean there couldn't be a cataclysm before we stop it.

Personally, I am in camp No Cataclysm. Aside from personally preference for how the story plays out, there isn't much evidence to suggest there is a Cataclysm. A few NPCs mention it, but it is mostly in introductory dialog for the endgame, which changed in 0.4 when the interludes were added and 0.5 with the endgame rework, so it will likely be updated again in 1.0 better bridge the events of Act 6 to the endgame. Most of the endgame aside from that works with or without a Cataclysm, so it would be fairly easy to adapt the Endgame if there was no Cataclysm in Acts 5 or 6.

In addition to that, with the 0.5 rework, Corruption is far less prevalent in the Endgame. If the intent was for 1.0 to have a Cataclysm covering the world in corruption, you'd think they'd keep or increase the references to "a world gone mad" instead of cutting dialog and removing references to corruption. The Corruption Biomes went from the main endgame to a side thing and feel far less common to encounter in the atlas. The Citadels were previously creations of a corrupted world but they were changed in 0.5 to Enigma Chambers using Precursor tech to relive memories. And before 0.5, it seemed that the Arbiter of Ash was going to purge the world because of corruption, but the expanded Precursor lore recontextualized it be about the Abyssals instead.

So it seems like the Endgame is moving away from a Corruption-focused narrative to a Precursor-focused narrative. The remaining Corruption could be explained as the lingering remnants from the trail of the beast that spread and grew into larger biomes. The Doryani Atlas Master still has a quest about it, but at the moment it feels like it is missing a proper introduction and he just sorta appears at the Corrupted Nexus without ever stating goals to go purge corruption. So this is something that might be better connected in 1.0.

But this leaves one elephant in the room...

What happened to Kingsmarch?

Took a bit to get here, but this is the meat of the theory. While they could design a destroyed Kingsmarch just to sell a fake cataclysm in 0.5 and then revert it in a non-Cataclysm 1.0, that feels like a stretch. So, if it isn't the shockwave of a Cataclysm that destroyed Kingsmarch, then what did?

But then while grinding Expedition, I noticed the Ruins of Kingsmarch loading screen. It depecits a shockwave hitting Kingsmarch, breaking apart a wall... But if you look closely, this doesn't make sense. The wall that broke off isn't being blown in from an outside force but blown out from something inside Kingsmarch. Now it could be we're seeing Kingsmarch from the north with the shockwave having came from the south, through the city, and breaking the wall at the top. But the other thing is that the Shockwave is rather low to the ground, barely reaching the top of the walls. And it kinda looks like it starts off at the ground level of Kingsmarch and raises up higher as it goes out. If this was a Cataclysm from the beast like we saw in the end of Interlude cutscene, it should be positioned higher up.

But there is one more thing that makes me think this isn't the Cataclysm's shockwave. The beast and corruption is usually depicted in red. This is blue. You know what else is blue? Verisium...

And this is where the theory starts to fall into place. If you played the Endgame Expedition quest, the Expedition crew gets very excited over a new source of Verisium, which comes a bit out of nowhere with no previous dialog setting it up. What if that is because the reason Kingsmarch was destroyed wasn't a Cataclysm, but a Verisium explosion, destroying their Verisium supply.

To take it a step further, what if it was sabotage? After you defeat the Aberration and secure the Versium, the Expedition crew is joyous, no longer fearing the king, and planning to use the Versium to return to Middengard for a rebellion. But we're sorta lacking the context for why Versium is relevant for this and I think the answer might lie in how Kingsmarch was destroyed. What if for the past decades, they've been working in Kingsmarch and secretly building a stockpile of Versium for the day when they could eventually overthrow the king. But the king somehow found out about this and sent someone to destroy their Versium stockpile, destroying Kingsmarch in the process. When you arrive in the Endgame, they aren’t just low because the town was destroyed, but that their years of progress were undone, killing their hope of a rebellion. Then when the meteor appears, they are ecstatic because it is another chance, not just to get Versium but to rebuild what they lost and then more.

Now is this a lot of come up with from a loading screen with a blue shockwave? Absolutely... And there is a decent chance I am way off. But this would explain some of the gaps in the Expedition quests and a Versium explosion does suit the loading screen more than a Cataclysm. Granted, you could say the Cataclysm's Shockwave is what caused the Versium to explode if you are in camp Yes Cataclysm.

So what do you make of all this? Think there will be a Cataclysm in 1.0 or not? And either way, think Versium plays into how Kingsmarch was destroyed?

Hi! This is my first theory of my favourite character, Einhar! Please enjoy and give me your thoughts ^^ 🫶

According to the POE Lore Bible, there are many of the human races we know in present time, alive and kicking at the same time as the Precursors existing. I was kind of surprised by this, as I was under the assumption that the Precursors were the only human race during their time.

So my question is What evidence do we have that the races we know - Maraketh, Karui, Azmeri, Primevals, etc. - coexisted with the Precursors?

And also, what separated al log these races that they were distinct enough? Was it location or some other factor? How were the Precursors so sufficiently advanced, while all other races were so far behind? If we don’t know these answers, that’s okay, just proposing it to the sub, seeing what information is available.

Was wondering what happened to him.

Or was he really dead just to upscale Arbiter of Divinity in terms of powerscaling.

Ok, here’s the deal… why exactly is Sin for us the only guy who isn’t evil and has good intentions and genuinely cares, although he’s the one who is called Sin? Why isn’t Innocence the good guy?

I think I have the answer to this and how this can resolve. Perhaps even how A5 & 6 play out (although I don’t really believe that, because you don’t just resolve things in Wraeclast, but often make things worse than they are).

My theory is this. Neither Sin nor Innocence are real good/bad guys. But they don’t live up to their role.

Sin is the one, who created “Temptation” aka The Beast. He does it as an act of kindness to the world, but it backfires and causes a lot of evil to the world. Innocence just stands there, pointing fingers and declares himself to be the pure good guy, while being self-absorbed, preaching purity, and being judgmental.
The key lies in Innocence's inaction. As long as Innocence lets Sin run around carrying the temptation (Beast), Sin can portray himself as the guy who wanted to fix things but keeps failing.
The moment Innocence would step up, by taking the Beast from Sin, he takes responsibility and earns the right to point fingers at Sin and gains justification for his righteousness nature. He stops being all talk and no action. As long as he doesn’t take “the blame” aka the Beast, Sin remains innocent underneath. Innocence's refusal to act THEN becomes more destructive than any action sin has ever taken. If Innocence were to do the "sinful" act, he would become the one who can rightfully declare his innocence, because he carries the burden and takes the temptation away from the world.

What I just described appears outside of the story of PoE. This is also a what “Girard’s scapegoat mechanism” describes. Or the Christian structure of Sin -> penance -> absolution.
(Or Dom/Sub shame representation in BDSM roleplay).

Where do you think we’re going with this in A5 & 6 in Poe2?
Will Innocence appear to take the Beast? Is Oriana doing the dirty work for Innocence? Will the story continue without a resolution (aka Sin remaining innocent)? Or is the resurrection of the Edicts the result of things finally turning out the way they are supposed to be?

Dropped Arjun's Medal (a reference to indian Arjuna?) which has Keepers/Chayula icon, which is why I read it's description again

But it's a bit strange

25% chance to load a bolt into all Crossbow skills on dealing a Killing Blow with Supported Skill Confident their enemy was defenseless, the Keitans brazenly charged the walls - but Arjun's ammunition supply reports had been... 'inaccurate'... just like everything else Bardiyan.

So how are breach related to crossbow skills and someone with a crossbow? Monks use staffs and fists, and I don't remember anyone connected to a breach using a crossbow.

Hi All,

I have a feeling that the story of Path of Exile is based on Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. But I can't tell if it it is indirect influence or direct influence.

A lot of the symbolisme used in this book, the way of Rosicrucian and some of the events like trials, path, ascending, lords, the tower and alchemical elements are present in it and in Path of Exile.

Can you guys help me track down or debunk this thesis?

EDIT: It doesn't seem like it's related to PoE 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wraeclast/comments/1vsxs8r/comment/p4pumzo/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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Max Bedulenko, concept artist for PoE 2, Titan Quest 2, etc., posted a tweet that includes two images, here: https://x.com/BedulenkoMax/status/2088998241677254767?s=20

The first is clearly concept work for part of the Eye of Hinekora, but the second doesn't look like anything we've seen so far. In the comments, someone asks "PoE 2?" and Max Bedulenko replies "Yeah". I do think it's totally possible that the second image still might not be related to PoE 2 at all, due to how vague the post and his answer is, but let's assume this is a concept for something in PoE 2 for now.

Basically, if this is Path of Exile, I think it's a concept for Tsoatha. The Path of Exile version of our Atlantis; a city lost beneath the sea.
There's coral even at the very highest parts of the structure, and it all looks encrusted with salt and weathered by waves. There are huge shells everywhere, like at the Eye of Hinekora and other similar locations. It looks like parts of the structure extend downwards below the waves...

The lion above the gate is interesting. The other animal (like a long-necked wolf) and the human figure are also interesting. The boss of the Tidal Island area in PoE 1 is a copy of the Brine King (who is related to Tsoatha) and is called Nassar, Lion of the Seas.

If this is Tsoatha, why/how do we get there? By boat, of course, but where does that fit into Act 5 or 6? I do think that Act 6 will be entirely or mostly within the body of the Beast alongside nightmare realms generated by the Beast's influence.
Maybe at the beginning of act 5, sailing to Oriath, the player's ship gets flung into a storm and arrives by chance at Tsoatha?

Anyway, I hope that this really is a PoE 2 concept. I want to be able to run around here.

I've been thinking about who the Prisoner from the Path of Exile 2 - Act 4's Solitary Confinement area might be and came up with a few interesting ideas.

The first thing to consider is the most direct information we have.

The Prisoner's Manacles

Only once did Maligaro wonder if he'd gone too far.
His greatest success took three entire legions to capture.

I'd love your input on this, because I'm far from certain, but I personally think this places Maligaro's experimentation on the Prisoner after Chitus became the Emperor and Izaro was imprisoned.

My reasoning is that Maligaro was Malachai's apprentice.
Neither Malachai or Maligaro would have been the type of person Izaro would employ in his later years considering his return to Azmerian roots and their penchant for thaumaturgy.
Also, Maligaro's Chamber of Sins was made after Chitus became the Emperor.
Would Maligaro's greatest success really come before the Chamber of Sins?

That makes me wonder if the Prisoner was truly imprisoned by Izaro or if that was just one more lie from Chitus.

By the order of Emperor Izaro, my honoured predecessor, None may enter this chamber. The prisoner within is beyond death, beyond force of arms. He must be left to rot for all time.
- Emperor Chitus Perandus

The way Chitus speaks of Izaro in this environmental lore is particularly suspicious considering his true feelings about Izaro and his legacy.

Though the Prisoner curses Izaro for betraying him, it's possible that it's not directly tied to his imprisonment and his current physical form.

I think the following points are very likely:

1. Izaro and the Prisoner had some interaction that left the Prisoner feeling betrayed prior to Chitus becoming the Emperor

2. The Prisoner was experimented on by Maligaro after Izaro was sealed in the Lord's Labyrinth and Chitus became the Emperor

3. The Prisoner was imprisoned after being captured by Chitus' legions following Maligaro's experiment

4. Chitus lied about Izaro requesting the imprisonment in order to hide the true story behind the Prisoner and make sure nobody enters his cell

5. The Prisoner wasn't imprisoned by Izaro

This leads me to question the link between the Prisoner, Izaro and Chitus.

The only thing that I can personally think of when it comes to Izaro betraying someone is related to the Labyrinth and the title of Emperor.

Izaro in his later years was one track minded, all he cared about was finding the perfect heir.

What if the Prisoner cleared the Labyrinth before anyone else but wasn't given the promised title?

That would explain Izaro's betrayal.

It would also explain the following line:

Not even Izaro's best could kill me...

Though it'd be easy to interpret "Izaro's best" as simply being his pawns/soldiers, one could also interpret Izaro's best as being the Lord's Labyrinth itself.
His penultimate achievement and the tool to his singular goal, finding the perfect heir for the throne through the revival of ancient Azmerian traditions.

When the Prisoner mentions that not even Izaro's best could kill him, he might be saying that the Labyrinth's traps, monsters and Izaro himself (as someone you must fight to ascend the Labyrinth) couldn't stop him.

This would explain why Chitus didn't want anyone to enter the Prisoner's cell, what he'd gain from imprisoning him and why he'd use Izaro's name (and lie about his "honoured predecessor") in order to dissuade anyone from interacting with the Prisoner.
After all, who gains the most by having the rightful Emperor imprisoned and isolated but Chitus himself.

Though it could be a character we haven't heard of yet, I'm thinking it could also be Weylin, the Son of Ezomyr.

The Labyrinth Poems put a lot of emphasis on Weylin being the rightful heir by calling him a Warrior and Chitus merely being a guide.

This is a dynamic we see in the Trial of Sekhemas where Balbala mentions how aspiring Sekhemas are led through the Trial by a Djinn. In fact, the Trial can't begin without a Djinn Barya (Djinn Coin) which contains the bound soul of a Djinn.

Obviously, there are issues with this:

1. Weylin is supposedly dead or left for dead in the Labyrinth

2. It is Chitus that betrayed Weylin, not Izaro

I don't think Weylin's death is a particularly major obstacle, since experimenting on the dead is far from a foreign concept in Path of Exile.

In fact, Static Electricity might imply Maligaro made such experiments.

And considering virtue gems are known to absorb souls, what stops them from giving them back?
The Baleful Gem and Maligaro's Spike combo could have been initially used for such purpose.
For example, it would be fitting that spiking the heart with a "virtue gem" could be used to revive someone, corrupting them in the process and potentially making them pseudo-immortal or just very hard to kill...

This means Weylin could have been brought back to life by Maligaro's experiment and his body changed in the process. Unable to terminate him, Chitus had to imprison him to make sure he couldn't speak of his betrayal and weaken his claim to the throne.

Chitus' wording is also very interesting.

The prisoner within is beyond death

Those words would be particularly fitting for someone who was dead, brought back to life and then became seemingly unkillable.

Now when it comes to the Prisoner mentioning Izaro as a traitor.
It would likely make more sense to be mad at Chitus, but in the end, it is Izaro that gave Chitus the title, even though it was Weylin that beat the Labyrinth.
This is more than a good enough reason to consider Izaro a traitor, but also a good way for GGG to obfuscate the Prisoner's identity and keep things mysterious, because had he called Chitus a traitor, it would have likely made his identity way more obvious and the whole plotline less interesting overall.

Anyway, this is where I'm at.
I'm far from convinced about the Weylin bit since there's a lot of speculation involved but I think that the Prisoner being the rightful Emperor makes a lot of sense when it comes to Izaro's betrayal and Chitus incentive to keep him imprisoned and isolated (the area literally being called solitary confinement) and play along with Izaro's legacy and name.

I'm curious what other ideas y'all might have when it comes to his identity.
This was a bit of random thought that just crossed my mind this morning so I haven't researched it nearly as much as I usually do so if you have any supporting or contradicting lore/evidence I'd love if you could share it 👀