Analysing the Festival of the Heroes and the Citadel

My previous post analysing minutiae that the writers probably put less thought into than me got positive response. However, I don't have any particular interest in any other area's economy right now. Part of the reason why the Decay's economy was interesting was because it was apparent in subtle details; somewhere like Thesead has a fairly explicit economy (coal mined from the Canyon that's sent by air to Cinfras), and somewhere like Troms has very little economic development at all. I suppose I could dissect the Wynn economy more generally, but then you run into problems like Nemract being poor when by all counts except the Corrupt presence it should be fantastically wealthy. (Detlas is rich and the Roots are right there... what... even if Gavellian colonialism is responsible for most of Wynn's economy at this point why wouldn't they want to economically develop the only major port... that dinky lake by Detlas can't be where all trade to Wynn disembarks...) But there's a bit of Wynncraft that's disproportionately fascinated me for a long time: the Festival of the Heroes. Specifically, the setting of its minigame.

What exactly is the Citadel? Is it somewhere? It doesn’t fit neatly anywhere. Time Valley, Gylia... maybe Fruma. There’s a compelling narrative for the Citadel being an ancient Fruman civilisation which falls, and the Queen claims it and founds what we know as Fruma now. Aster’s 2023 dialogue behind the Great Door sees him describing how he created the place (it is pretty archetypal), but he’s clearly confused about its exact state of realness nowadays. He claims that the altar (where you ascend to heroism) ‘latched’ to him and created it, but its history is now real, which is... very bizarre, especially since the altar is at the highest accessible point of the Citadel’s central structure. Did it raise itself there when the Citadel was created? The eerie power of the altar and the strange pseudo-real-retroactivity of the Citadel implies that it might indeed be related to the Olm in Time Valley, but... who knows.

In any case, the Citadel’s real now - but it’s real only as long as Aster thinks it should be real. Presumably, he’s also the one who made the Isles of Fiction appear, and the trappings of the rest of the Festivals are also his doing. (Although the Festival of the Spirits seems less connected to Aster.) This makes him concerningly strong and very unique, and he’s only made more unnerving by the fact that what the altar is is never explained. All that’s said about it is that one of Aster’s brothers tried to use it to ascend, Aster chased after them and accidentally screwed up their ritual, they got erased from reality, and the power latched to Aster and now he’s a storytelling god. I can’t think of anyone who’s got similar powers to Aster, other than the Realm Beasts.

All that being said, Aster doesn’t have full control over his abilities. Something always ‘goes wrong’ when he tries to resurrect his brothers, most majorly. The Bonfire Keeper is “the parts of [the brother who sought the altar] that are left” after his ambition backfired, but the Traveller and Envoy seem to be legitimate resurrections of the other two dead brothers - although the Traveller has lost his memories and the Envoy is a ghost. (Some ambiguity is introduced over whether what’s happened to them can be considered part of the changes inherent and natural to life.) The Citadel can react to Aster’s emotional state over what he rationally wants to happen - that is, it locks down when he consciously wants to visit but subconsciously is avoiding it. (He also apparently has a ‘role’, which involves writing ‘his story’, alluded to in the 2024 Bonfire. So... his Festival powers aren’t entirely voluntary?) Ultimately, the storyline’s incomplete. And it’s a digression. What I’m interested in is the story Aster told.

The Claim to Heroism is set in a miniaturised map of the Citadel and its surrounding Outlands. Gameplay consists of constructing a personal legend by killing monsters and incorporating parts of the older legends of the Citadel and Outlands into your own. Every player is based in an Outlandish castle, so we can assume that they are warlords attempting to claim the Citadel’s civilisational myths in a path to legitimacy as a conqueror of the ruins and the Outlands - because that is, ultimately, what the Hero (the victor of the Resource Phase) is pursuing. They embody, or are, an ancient hero - the options in the current build of CtH being Tisaun Sodeta, Lari, and Siegfried, a fairly random selection - and methodically crush the other five players’ castles, who fight to stop them. Whatever the outcome, a story is made; either the Hero is a noble and virtuous conquering king, establishing a successor to the Citadel (presumably that’s the goal, the Hero ascends using the Citadel’s altar), or the Five Heroes are a five-man band who successfully repel a conqueror and protect the Outlands.

What can we determine about the Citadel and Outlands from overreading the minigame? Are we to assume that what is outside the walls of the arena also counts? (This would put the Outlands as being a relatively flat valley surrounded by mountains and canyons.) Let’s ignore that for now. The Outlands as portrayed in the game seem to be a tribal environment, judging from the Totems. Per the Trinkets, the Outlands’ magic remains after the Citadel’s fall to ruin, so they seem to have come out unscathed from its collapse. But as I mentioned, the players could well be Outlandish warlords. Their castles are on the Outlands’ edge, after all. The Citadel, meanwhile, is fairly advanced; it used to be walled off from the Outlands, with complex battle structures (implying a history of hostility between the two regions), but these walls have since crumbled. The central structure is a vast, tiered tower, with smaller towers for Ruinous Defenders and high pillars for Voices of the Citadel.

Every enemy type feasibly represents a specific kind of story the warlords are collecting. The basic enemies - Outlandish Fables, Little Myths, Graphomaniacs, and Bookworms - spawn everywhere and move around, representing basic folklore. Although, the Graphomaniacs and Bookworms indicate a surviving, strong written tradition, even after the Citadel’s fall - the Outlands do have castles, so seemingly they have libraries too. These are also the enemy types that follow the players, implying that the literate storytellers have some interest in following the warlords’ forming legends, unlike the blithe and uncaring Fables and Myths. (These enemies have rare, upgraded versions that drop boss resources instead - per this, the Little Myths are linked to the Citadel while the Outlandish Fables are linked to the Outlands, the Graphomaniacs are sorcerous, and the Bookworms... well, I can’t make much sense of Ruptured Time.)

Totems of the Outlands would represent more specifically Outlandish culture and religion - it’s useful to note that the Totems are the first boss that needs to be killed to get stronger powers, implying a narrative of building up support among the more spiritual and influential shaman-storytellers of the Outlands first before progressing to the Citadel’s remnants. Ruinous Defenders would represent the Citadel’s military myths, and Voices of the Citadel its religious ones (given their general angelic form.) The Timeworn Remnants yield Ruptured Time, so I’ll chalk that one up to regular old ‘well boys we may have broken reality’.

These resources are, of course, spent. Passive buffs are acquired through the Songs - musical poetry is a classic way of spreading heroic tales. Resources are also spent on acquiring the unique weapons, which rapidly grow more expensive to get, disincentivising collecting all four. Each is named for a facet of Greek theatre, and the item lore seemingly speaks from the perspective of the ambitious brother who was destroyed and partially reformed as the Bonfire Keeper. I can’t analyse this too deep, ultimately, it’s just the four classes again. Fairly standard setup in Wynn lore, Bob was a hero themed on the classes, Tisaun was a Warrior, etc. (Although the Twains seem to have not used weapons, and they’re one of the more notable heroic tales in Wynn. As a matter of fact, oddly, I don’t think the Festival ever mentions them...)

The obvious question - what smashed the Citadel? This is never explained. The Citadel is ruined, but it also stands eternal - either metaphorically through its towering legend, fitting the themes of the Festival, or literally because time’s borked. I’d like to think that a dragon ripped it apart. (Suggesting that is actually why I wrote this post, so I really shouldn’t have had the thought, this has eaten like six hours to make.) The Citadel dawns, but the Citadel is always setting; the Citadel is ruined, but the Citadel stands eternal. (It is probable that this means that you probably shouldn’t try rebuilding it.)

Ultimately, in conclusion... the Festivals are wack, Aster’s fantasy world is one where everyone knows how to read, they probably found the altar in Time Valley because it sure ain’t flowing good out there, and if you’re looking for a god to worship who’s not a malevolent manifestation of raw Influence there’s only one game in town, and he’s a sad, morbid author. Classic.

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Link to my dissection of the items.

 

OH MY GOD YES I LOVE FESTIVAL LORE I LOVE FESTIVAL LORE

How do you think the poem quoted in the Token of Remembrance ties in? Is it the brothers talking to aster, or his conscience?

 

I do not have any thoughts about the poem. It's kind of weird. The only thought rattling in my head is gratuitous allusion to the powers of the unspeaking dead who rule the world in the thin white days of winter. Which, isn't relevant analysis.

The vibe is of sort of ephemerality; the speaker, whoever they are (presumably the Traveller), is likening themselves to winter wind and glinting light, both immaterial things (especially the glint) that are everywhere but insubstantial.

 

because zombie attacks from Charon is the reasoning

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very weird that the port town is poor when water trade was one of the most lucrative kinds and yeah

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though then again wynn has blimps so maybe that's why Nemract is poor

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you'd think that it would have gotten rich and made investments and stuff before air travel, but no

 

Again. Like I said. Detlas is immediately adjacent to the Roots of Corruption. Charon cannot possibly be a good reason for Nemract's poverty, he can't be a bigger threat than The Actual Goddamn Roots At A Similar Distance From A Worse-Positioned City.

 

never said it was GOOD reasoning

 

I mean... Nermract doesn't have any walls... Which is weird in and off itself tbh

 

They are too expensive maybe?

 

I think the main issue is how could they not afford shit if they're the province's main port, like they canonically make money from the same trade that made Llevigar filthy rich I love nemract but something doesn't add up lol.

Also this is getting way off track lmao.

 

Generally, I think the citadel could be a confluence of other civilizations

 

The Citadel is a confluence of other civilisations in that the Citadel is, basically, the fundamental trope of The Civilisation. Aster is a storyteller and his Festival overwhelming runs on, and refers to, narrative logic. The Citadel is not anywhere in particular because the Citadel is a story, and, more to the point, it's a story stripped down of all the bits and bobs. Names, trivia, specificity; all of that is gone. The Citadel is a monomyth, like the Hero's Journey, and now that I've said that I realise that I should have probably put that in the main post. But I'll edit the thread title.

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...Okay, I don't think I can update the thread title...

"Monomyth" is definitely the word I was circling but not quite able to reach.

 

:?

 

cmon that was a good joke

 

I haven't played Hollow Knight Silksong but I did scrutinise the image and go "the left side kinda looks like HK artstyle if you squint"