SPOILER THEORY: Aster's Bereavement

It's been a while since I've last made a Wynncraft theory, but today I have a theory that has been brought on by the addition of two new pieces of content, these being the Isles of Fiction and the Festival of the Heroes 2023.

2022's Festival of the Heroes confused anyone who paid attention to the festival lore. It had been established by the Festival of the Spirits that The Bonfire Keeper, The Envoy, and The Traveller were brothers. So it'd be fair to assume that the fourth and final festival would have one last cryptic brother, similarly named, right? Wrong.

Meet Aster. The anomaly. Aster is similar to the brothers, but... different. Unlike them, he has an actual name, which is already a big difference to the other brothers who are referred to by their titles. He, too, hosts his festival, and his dialogue is written in purple, similarly to the other brothers who speak in yellow, grey and blue.

Who is he?

Well, today, I'm here to answer that question. Let's start by heading to a relevant location, this being the Isles of Fiction.



The Isles of Fiction are a small archipelago against the mountain border of Gavel, consisting of 1 main island with 4 festival themed branches. There's also 1 mysterious empty island a very short distance to the west of it, but it isn't really relevant to this theory at all. Obviously, the four branches representing each Festival already establish a link between all four festivals, but this island has more to it.



The island is populated by workers, who all dress similarly to Aster. Seem familiar?



They're the same workers from the Festival of the Heroes. This implies that the island is owned by Aster, which also implies that the three other festivals are known to Aster, and perhaps, even created by him.

But why?

I'd like to draw our attention to a very special landmark at the central island's pinnacle. A grave.



The grave is decorated with three separate candles, and has an inscribed tablet that reads as follows:




It's no mystery who "A" is here. It's Aster. And the three candles on the grave? Well, they represent his three brothers. His three deceased brothers. The Bonfire Keeper. The Envoy. The Traveller. But.. How? If they're dead, how do they appear in Detlas for their festivals, and what does Aster mean "I will weave this tale anew"?

Well, there's some hints scattered around.

If you take Seaskipper's boat to the Isles of Fiction, he has this to say.



The Isles of Fiction mysteriously appeared upon the ocean one day, and nobody knows how.

Here's another interesting detail.



Aster does actually have a title like his brothers, this title being "The Storyteller", meaning he's all about stories.

And one more piece of evidence:



The new minigame, The Claim to Heroism, features a material known as "Talespun Essence", and completing the minigame grants you some "Talespun Memories". To "spin" something can mean to create, for example a spider could spin a web. This suggests that the Talespun Memories are created from pure stories.

My theory is that Aster lost his brothers in a tragic accident at some point, and sought for a way to bring them back. In his search, he stumbled upon the power to manifest stories into reality, which he used to create the Isles of Fiction, and he now uses to create the Festivals. Every time you see one of his brothers at a festival? They're not real. They're simply a memory that Aster is manifesting into reality. Every single festival isn't even real. They're all stories that Aster is weaving into existence, for just a temporary chance to see his lost brothers again.

I personally feel quite confident that this theory is correct, but you may leave your thoughts on it in the replies.

This will likely be my last theory before Fruma releases, unless some crazy new lore comes out of nowhere, so I hope you enjoyed it.

 

this is actually super plausible and really cool!

nice nice so we all see a bunch of ghosts every year

 

banger as always

 

If I may add to this:

[1] There's a festival in Detlas.
???: ...
???: An end, in threes. Of passion, of regret, of self. A rebirth, long past.
???: Indeed, an end you soon approach...


An end, in threes - three dead brothers;
Of passion, of regret...
A rebirth, long past - Aster reviving stories of his brothers;

It does indeed fit.

 

But wait! There's more:

When talking to The Traveler, another confirmation of this can be read.

[8] [[[Alem]]]

• The Traveler: Who? Oh, you mean- Right, yes, I remember now.
• The Traveler: ...He unnerves me, to tell you the truth. As soon as he arrived, he took one look at me, and said something ominous. Just the word "memory," I think.
• The Traveler: I have a sense that he knows something about me that even I myself don't know. which isn't that surprising, considering who he...

(At first I thought the brothers had a connection to the Twain, but this makes more sense, but what does The Traveler know about Alem?)

 

Even if it doesn't turn out to be true, this is a really cool theory

I wonder how Aster would've gotten his powers if this were the case

 

Very cool theory

 

If Aster has the power to turn stories into reality, imagine the potential content that might come after Dern and Fruma.
He might be involved more into the main lore than just being a festival ongoer

 

The real endgame content was aster's fanfictions all along

 

Hello? Can I talk to A?
…
Oh it’s the wrong number!
The wrong number song!
We’re so very sorry that we got it wrong!

 

Makes sense with how Zuett was referring to the Bonfire Festival as a memorial too:

• Zuett: Less music here, no drumming- mostly talking. More...sad celebration? Like funeral, but different. There a word for this, but...mmh. Don't know.
• Zuett: Earthpit festival have much food, much alcohol. Sweets and meals- Human Bonfire Festival have that too!
• Zuett: But human festival food is...heavy. Very tasty, but sits in stomach for while.
• Zuett: Invite all orcs, all goblins... Humans invite all humans, all villagers. Reasons for festival different- oh!
• Zuett: Word is memorial! This a memorial festival. Hm. Maybe Zu- er. I can bring drums, start song for memorial?

 

I love this theory its cool

 

The door in Detlas has opened... this was quite a good theory indeed

 

it awaits your emblem