SPOILER Theory: The Truth About Amadel

Initially this theory was going to be about Olmic structures. In the middle of writing it, however, something struck me. I really want to make a theory about this, so here it is.

Amadel is the closest thing we have to the main antagonist of the Wynn province so far (other than Bak'al and the Dern beast, but they are more of a global threat). He used the 4 elemental crystals to wield unimaginable power, but was stopped. However, what if he was actually good-intentioned at one point? Or what if.. he was ALWAYS good-intentioned, until he got all 4 crystals?

Yeah, sounds ridiculous, but hear me out.

We know now from 1.20 that Amadel was the head of Gavelexcavation, who studied meteors around the province, with Yahya, Nohno, Mehme and Sohso. The yahya brothers departed the company after going absolutely insane (maybe apart from Sohso who potentially went to fruma to research the memory wiping stuff and save his brothers but I already made that theory). Gavelexcavation then heard about some similar crystals in the Wynn province, so they sailed to Wynn to research them.

We know from 1.19 that the 4 crystals were actually found in the Abandoned Mines first, and may have been documented as such. So it would make sense if that was the first place the excavators looked. Further evidence for this is the Wynnexcavation crates at the mines. What if Amadel and his crew accidentally rediscovered the Silent Expanse while they were seeking the crystals? I theorize that maybe the crew went to explore the area, eventually reaching the Eldritch Outlook.

Now here's where my original theory that this thread was GOING to be kicks in. Look at these structures from the Dernel Olmic City

Spoiler: towers

Now unfortunately I didn't get a screenshot of this because I was focused on the buildings and not the symbolism, but the Olm seem to have built something like 12-16 towers with eyes on top, representing the Eldritch Outlook. Just look at the tops of those towers, they are very clearly eye-shaped. They form a ring around a strange structure in the middle of the room, comprised of 4 crystals that resemble the Crystal Shards. What if the Olm made these buildings in an attempt to tell people who find their temple ''Do not seek the crystals and give them to the Eye''? The Olm didn't place the Leaf Crystal in that temple, but they could have built this as a deterrence still. I think the ring of eye towers is supposed to be symbolic of the Dern Beast's desperate search for the 4 crystals, which may have been its motivation to wipe out the Olm.

So here's my idea: What if, when Amadel reached the tower, he gained a sort of telepathic message from the eye, which told him that it was some sort of god and manipulated him into collecting the crystals for it, threatening that if he didn't, the province/world would be destroyed. Amadel believed it, and that's why they worship the Eye. This would also line up with what Amadel's assistant says after you defeat him:
''I, I can't believe you beat him... Amadel was a god... He was going to save the province...''
''He was going to save the province'' is the key line here. After witnessing such a being of senseless destruction, his assistant still believed that Amadel was going to save everyone, blissfully unaware that his own boss was probably going to kill him if he had succeeded against the player. Somehow he didn't hear Amadel yelling ''I WILL EXTERMINATE ALL LIFE'' from the other side of the room, I guess..

If this theory is true, then I feel kind of bad for Amadel. He absolutely destroyed himself by falling for the Dern Beast's trick, and we had to put him out of his misery. But there's one final question: What was the Dern Beast intending to happen with the trick? Did the beast know that Amadel would turn into that and destroy the world for him, or did it legitimately believe that he could bring it the crystals? Personally, I believe that the former is true because the beast was supposedly sealed into Dern by Bob and needed someone other than Bak'al to do the work for it.

So if you couldn't keep up with this thread, here's my full story without interruptions:

Amadel was the head of Gavelexcavation, who studied meteors. After their 4 best scientists left the company, he decided to set his sights on something similar, in Wynn. The first place he looked was the original place where the 4 crystals were found; the abandoned mines. Instead he found the Silent Expanse, where he was telepathically told to gather the 4 crystals by the Eye, which claimed to be a ''god'' and that ''it would destroy everything if he didn't do its bidding''. He went to gather the crystals as a sort of antihero, manipulating the player into helping him. When exposed to the 4 crystals, he went insane like many who study cosmic magic. The player stopped him, but the members of Wynnexcavation continued to believe that Amadel was trying to save everyone, which was technically true. The king of Ragni carefully destroyed the 4 crystals without exposing himself to their immense power.

 

Good theory, but two things:

1. Why would the Dern Beast seek the crystals in the first place? Yes, they can grant immense power, but I don't think the embodiment of Darkness has any need for power, he probably already has enough. Plus, there's always the possibility that by harnessing them he may go insane as well (this wouldn't be too far-fetched considering how even gods don't seem to be immune to many things, for example, Orphion being infected by the Parasite and becoming decayed). Also, Amadel says that he used the player because he needed someone that's "pure of heart" to fetch the crystal shards, which can apparently only be held by people with a pure heart. The Dern Beast is not pure of heart. There is also the theory that cosmic crystals can deter both Light and Darkness, but I don't want to disprove a theory with a theory.

2. You said that the Dern Beast may have exterminated the Olm to obtain the crystals, yet another explanation can easily be given. The Olm were very well-versed in magic, possessing rune magic and (to a lesser degree) cosmic magic itself. Not to mention that the Dern Beast broke into our realm in the Silent Expanse, which is where the Olm lived, so it's only natural that he'd want to get rid of anybody that might oppose him. And the Olm's magic could've posed a threat to him, since rune magic is possibly the most powerful type of magic we've ever seen. It's able to open holes in time and space, and can be used to seal extremely powerful beasts like the CoW away. He could've feared that something like that would happen to him, hence his decision to wipe them all out.

3. Amadel's assistant could've said "He was going to save the province..." because they were brainwashed by him or legitimately believed that Amadel was going to use the crystals for good, and not for evil, since almost nobody knows Amadel's true intentions. Amadel saying "I WILL DESTROY ALL LIFE." is clearly a result of him being twisted beyond saving by the crystals, as this line goes against everything else he's ever said and done. So I wouldn't doubt that the person most close to Amadel also believes he's a hero of the people or something.

 

• Many incomprehensible powers exist in this world. Forces such as Light, Darkness, or even the stars themselves...
  
• Light, and Darkness. Two unfathomably powerful forces. Two sides of the same coin. Though they grew close, they very rarely touched...
  
• At least, not on a conceptual level. They use this world as a battleground for their senseless, eternal squabble, in an attempt to claim dominance over the other.
  
• When the two do clash due to this violent exchange, it is not twilight that is formed, but a violent, aggressive pestilence. A force known to many as the Corruption...
  
• In order to escape the grasp of the Darkness itself in this eternal battle, the Olm harnessed the power of the stars themselves, in the form of multiple crystals. It is said that whoever may reunite these crystals will have the power to reshape the world.

I mean, it said he could "reshape the world". If he mentioned this, he probably was seeking to, well, "reshape the world". Not so much of Dern Beast telling him to fetch the crystals or unleash hell. Sure, he may have been well intentioned, perhaps intending to create more fertile farmlands or wiping out the decay himself, even, but not under the threat of the destruction of the province.

 

“We needed you, an unaware human with some form of pure intent to bring empowered shards here. Anyone else would have ran off with the shards, and turned against us. It's just how it all works. I don't expect you to understand...”

They don’t need a pure heart to wield them. Amadel just needed someone with some amount of pure intent that he could manipulate into bringing everything to him, since he was paranoid that anyone else would have just ran off and turned against him, which would have ruined all of his plans.

 

Huh. I could've sworn the dialogue was different, unless it was changed recently. In that case, nevermind, but still, I don't think the Dern Beast would have an use for the crystals.

 

I agree with most, but I beg that instead of threatening him, the eye showed him a version of the wynn and gavel provinces prosperous and full of life if the eye had the crystals.

 

I've been wondering who Amadel was, I always thought he was a cow for some reason

 

Probably gonna get whooshed but have you never done WynnExcavation

 

So I found this book in death's manor that could disprove the whole theory, but Beyond the Grave is ambiguously canon since it's a meta joke, and this is from a time where Amadel was probably written as a total bad guy


EDIT: For example, the same library has a now-inaccurate portrayal of Dullahan

 

This book's title reads...
⠀⠀Terrorism, Public Image, and Psychological Warfare: Capturing the Hearts of Your Political Enemies
⠀⠀⠀⠀by Ava

 

they're going to add this, aren't they...