SPOILER Mael And Martyn - A Wynncraft Theory

Hello everyone! My last theory was pretty awful, but to counter it I have made a theory that I think is the best I have ever produced. Remember that this is not canon.

To give you an aspect of scale, I calculated that this theory came out at about 25 hours in total (I worked 2 hours a day for about 3 weeks). That’s a lot of work, the most I’ve ever done for a theory. Below is a spoiler summary of the theory. It tells you what to expect.

Spoiler: Summary

Old Man Martyn and Mael are the same person. We can find this out from the quests WynnExcavation Site C, A Grave Mistake, and Déjà vu.

Spoiler: A Grave Mistake

So how did I happen upon this theory? Well, I was having a look through some quest dialogue and found something interesting on the wiki page for WynnExcavation Site C. I had completely forgotten this line existed. Here it is:

Traitor Amadel: They seek the ultimate power, a power hidden by four individuals who inhabited a mansion a long time ago.


Now this interested me right off the bat. It sets up a connection between the Twains and the Crystals. Of course, that connection has been around for ages, but a further analysis of this quote shows something interesting.

“A power hidden by four individuals who inhabited a mansion…” Notice the use of the word hidden. Now this jogged my memory, and I remembered the case of the signs in the Ancient City. For those of you who do not know, there is a city located deep within the Dernel Jungle which used to belong to the Ancients. Within it are various signs, some of more interest than others. There are some which merit theories themselves, but there is one I want to focus on in particular.

“We must seal way the power [of the crystals], hide it across the globe. It should never be used. We should never have used it. If only we had more time.”

Again, the use of the word “hide” is interesting. There was definitely a connection here, and after a bit of thinking I came to the conclusion: if the Twains hid the power [the crystals], and it was the Ancients’ wish to hide the power, then it makes logical sense that one of the Twains was an Ancient. Interesting, but not too much proof yet. Well, unlike many of my other theories, I have a lot of it this time. Here goes!

1) Marius Twain was said to tell stories hundreds of years old. We also know he lived to a very old age. Due to the Ancients’ increased lifespan, he could be one himself.


2) Outside the Twain Mansion are some corruption spikes with a very powerful miniboss, the “Demon Eye”, which hovers over the spikes. It is possible that it is a servant of the Eye, watching over the area because of the crystals being known about there. This also serves as evidence that corruption and darkness are allied, though of course we know that for certain now.


3) The fact that a crystal was put under Twain Lake makes perfect sense. If you want to hide four crystals and aren’t sure where to put them, putting one basically in your back garden makes sense.


That’s proof in and of itself. But before we really dive into the theory, there is one character I want to talk about – Mael Twain. The problem with Marius being an Ancient and distributing the crystals is that he would not fulfil the criteria of “four people who inhabited a mansion”. Mael, however… that works. I don’t know about his siblings, but let’s focus on him for a second.

The idea of Mael being an Ancient made sense. I decided to consult the quest “A Grave Mistake” to see what I could find. I found a lot.


In the quest, a ghostly message is told across four cutscenes. Let’s go through the cutscenes one by one and piece together the message.

The first cutscene shows a group of hooded figures bowing down to what is seemingly a wraith, with a head made out of multiple eyes. The message here is “Once there was a man.” Now the detail with the eyes is interesting, but I really don’t know what to make of it. Let us move on.

The second cutscene is just a jumpscare of a ghost, nothing too special. The message here is “who helped the spirits pass on.”

The third cutscene is of skeletal figures encircling you, and the message is “however he was still”. This cutscene, like the second, doesn’t tell us much.

The fourth cutscene… oh boy. The fourth is of a wither head awakening, perhaps presenting the process of undeath. “mortal.” The bold text is there ingame too.


When we put this message together, we get “Once there was a man who helped the spirits pass on, however he was still mortal.” It is the reference to mortality here that interests me. Here’s the thing. If Mael was an Ancient, he would be mortal, but would live far longer than a human. To me at least, the word “mortal” wouldn’t need to be emphasised unless you couldn’t tell he was mortal. This is more proof for the Mael-is-an-Ancient theory. However, it’s time to travel to the other side of the province, where an old friend is waiting.

Spoiler: Picking Up the Pieces

Old Man Martyn lives in Time Valley and it is widely believed he is an Olm. All the signs are there – strange skin colour, mastery of time magic etc. All the evidence is there, so I believe he is indeed an Olm. But there is one thing people have not paid enough attention to over the years.

Asher, a dimwitted resident of the valley, says in the quest Déjà Vu that Martyn has letters from Bob in his house. A search of the house won’t reveal said letters, but it is a very interesting detail. Until recently, I thought that Martyn was Nilrem, Bob’s friend. I addressed that in my theory “Pirate Exiles”. And while I think it was maybe just about plausible, when making this theory a new idea sprung to mind.

Mael was Bob’s archery mentor. He maybe knew some ice magic from his brother Theorick. And according to the previous part of this theory, he was potentially an Ancient as well. Well NEWS FLASH, HE ISN’T an Ancient. Or at least I don’t think so. I think he’s an Olm.

Olm are very closely related to the Ancients, while not the same thing. I don’t have time to go into the differences now, but trust me that they are different things. As I said however, they are closely related (long age etc.). It occurred to me then, that… maybe the impossible was true. Maybe Old Man Martyn and Mael were one and the same. Let’s go through the evidence:

1) They both knew Bob, it would make sense for Bob to write to his old teacher.


2) If Mael was tasked with hiding the crystals, then setting himself up in a valley inhabited by Olm would make sense if he wanted to study them.


3) If Mael did know ice magic off Theorick, it links perfectly to time magic. Ice magic SLOWS things down. Time magic can do that as well, and it would add up to why Old Man Martyn is so powerful with it and why Mael might be an Olm and Martyn at the same time.


4) The last part of the sign we discussed from the Ancient City “if only we had more time” presents another link between Time Valley and the crystals, and by extension the Twains.

The Elephant in the Room
By this point, I really need to address the “elephant in the room”: Alem. In a Grave Mistake, it is HEAVILY (and I mean heavily) implied that he is the ghost of Mael, supported by his very name, which is an anagram for Mael. So… if Martyn and Mael are the same… that’s completely disproved by the fact Martyn is alive but Mael is dead.

However, I think there might be more to Alem than meets the eye. It would make sense to me that Mael, being a master of spirit magics, would be able to have Alem exist while his spirit was not inside Alem. It would certainly explain why Alem never says he is Mael’s spirit, when it seems so obvious.

As to why the creepy message refers to Mael in the past… I don’t know. It takes a lot of bravery for a theorist to say that. But it’s a valid, genuine flaw with the theory. However, there is a lot more evidence for this theory than this one piece against it, so I’m willing to put it down to CT inconsistency. That’s a tip for good theories: if in doubt, blame the CT.

So what are the ramifications of this? Well, Mael is fulfilling his job twice. Since we are basically a second Bob, he has taught both Bob and us in our quest to aid the province.

This has been a pleasure to research. Please, let’s have some good discussion in the comments. Thanks to everyone on the lore discord, if you want a link just message me!


Happy Theorising (also WynnTheory will be back shortly)!

 

Ah yes k n o w l e d g e.

 

I guess I will play the bad guy here.

Are you sure it isn't just meant to be scary? The whole valley is in the theme os "scary".

Also, they are not allied, Bak'al serves Dern. Those are 2 different things!

Why do you think Ancients have increased lifespan?

WynnExcavation Site A - crystal found in Desert tomb. Does it mean that the Ancients were connected to the Desert empire? I think the Ancients buried the crystals and other found them.

Details please. Then how they are related?

Yes, but does it prove they are related? Also there is no proof he learned something from him (Theorick learned from Mael though)

Yes, directly to the Olm. Also this seems like long extension...

You seen Lutho citizens, right? Human without sould is nothing, just "...". Alem seemed perfectly "fine".

Actually there is more proof that the Olm are being the Ancients. (Will come soon(tm)).

Btw it is funny how one of our building blocks is 1 thing that hasn't changed for 5 years...

 

First off, thanks for the reply! I'll try to answer each of your questions in order.

1) Yes, I am sure. Just because something manages to be scary doesn't mean that's it's only purpose. Unlike something like, say, the Mask Salesman quest, this had actual lore impact.

2) Because we know Olm do, and I think they are closely related (more on your query about that in a minute).

3) No. We are specifically told that the four individuals (who can't really be any other than the Twains), hid the power. Not found it or uncovered it. Hid it.

4) So this is pretty confusing, but here's what I think is true. The ancients were the users of the crystals, and they came from Dern. They were under the beast's dominion and escaped using their crystalline powers to the Dernel Jungle. The Olm, on the other hand, come from the Silent Expanse. They were invaded by the beast and some escaped, fleeing to Time Valley.

5) No, it doesn't prove anything. You deal very much with facts, @TrapinchO, but if a theory or part of a theory is proven to be right it isn't a theory anymore, it's a fact. As for the brothers, you answer your own question. If Theorick learned from Mael, it shows that the brothers took at least a partial interest in what the others were doing. Living in the same house means they would definitely know something of what the others did. It is not improbable that Mael picked up some ice magic basics from Theorick.

6) I wouldn't say it's too long. Crystals were the means one race used to escape from their homeland. Time Valley was the place another race from roughly the same area set up after they had escaped.

7) Mael has been referred to as a "master" of spirit magics. If he can control other people's spirits, why not his own?

Lol yes. But that thing is still relevant because it hasn't been changed. Only when they are gone can we discount those signs.

 

But there is no proof except the name. Good theory, imo not even close to fact.

Find it -> learn what it is -> be worried to death -> hide it

When did they escape? Where did they escape? If it was through SE, they have met the Olm, but it doesn't mean they are related. If they escaped through unknown place, I don't think there is any proof.
Note that the Olm had access to crystals too (A Wynnic Excavation (appearanc and The final moments (curse word) discoveries)

Also, in the Ancient city there are many references to the Eye, meaning they had to flee after the portal opened. And through SE so they even know about it.

Fate of the Fallen, Stage 7
"Theorick: If I have learned anything from that insufferable f- ...from Mael...deaths without reason lets spirits to linger. I would...prefer against giving him a harder time." - this is what I was referencing to. No magic learning, just this.
Again, no proof. Either on Mael learning ice magic or ice and time magic being related.

So he transfers him soul acros a long distance quite often just to be able to pose as Alem and Martyn?

Or they could just overlook it. Or they are reworking it.

 

The messages and the cutscenes are not connected. You can do the cutscenes in any order you want.

 

Wasn't A Grave Mistake quest supposed to be mainly "spooky and scary" quest?

 

Yes. It was supposed to be a spooky quest. But it ALSO has lore significance. @Blastbasher agrees, he said it on his 67-page google doc on Wynncraft lore.

You raise some genuinely good points Trap, but I stick by what I say.

________________________________

Yes. But it only makes sense in the order and they are numbered specifically.

 

I am not saying it hasn't. It has. But the "cult around the weird Eye thing" falls under the "spooky scary" part

 

Yes, but that's only one link. There are dozens more in my theory. Just because one link is wrong doesn't mean the other 10 are.

 

Where exactly does the order come from? It's never said ingame, I just suspect that the wiki editors listed them in an easy-to-do order.

All I'm saying is that the order of the cutscenes is a very unreliable source of information, since there is no order.

 

There is an order.

When the part of the message pops up, it says below: [1/4] or whatever number it is.

 

I believe that happens whatever order you take. Iirc I haven't done the quest on my shaman, so if that is the case, I will go test it now.

 

as it seems, this was indeed the case and here is proof. The cutscenes can be done in any order.

@MagmaMelon
(excuse my slow gameplay with me getting stuck on doors and stuff)

 

Fair enough, my bad.

 

I did the cutscenes in a different order, ghost jumpscare first, skeletal encircling next, wither head awakening, and then wraith head thing. It marked them 1-4 in the order I did them. I have also watched other people do the quest in a different order, and it did it 1-4 in the order they did them. As far as I can tell, there isn't a generalized order that they should be completed in.

edit: great I'm four minutes late rip

 

No, it doesn't.

Btw you still didn't reply on my other points