Variations of The Soul v1.0

Claim.

There are two parties who are working in tandem to create or empower the "Elder Beast" using Soul Crystals to fuel their directive.

Explanation.
Any &/or all souls that Xan sensed in the Automatons came from Soul Crystals. Soul Crystals are opulent gemstones that host a trapped soul. The quality of a crystal is based on the power of the host within them; arcane powers, strength, pacts, etc. From what we know, the main people who are trapped in these crystals are those who are in the D'Noth Fir Tribe. This implies a culprit, the "Wizard Tallamand" from Mal'Eth's past.

When we received The Red Crystal from Martin, he said that he snagged it off a "sorcerer of some kind" from a trading town in CataMys. I do not suspect that this sorcerer is the same "Wizard Tallamand" from Mal'Eth's past; rather, I suspect that they are actually collaborators. The "Wizard Tallamand" is the supplier of the crystals, passing on weak &/or redundant crystals for The Sorcerer to sell and redistribute.

When we had our conversation with The Dealmaker, he mentioned a "priest trying to syphon the power of the Gods into an Elder Beast". I suspect that the true identity of the priest is, in fact, the "Wizard Tallamand" from Mal'Eth's past, and that the "Elder Beast" is an Artificial God. For Godly entities to possess power, they need to garner a following. This following ensures that they have a grasp of this realm which thus grants them their powers and abilities. I suspect that the "Wizard Tallamand" made a cult to worship the Elder Beast and grant it a slow and steady source of power. However, when that supply proved either inefficient or insufficient, the "Wizard Tallamand" aimed to grant it power directly from a powerful source, the statue of the Gods.

On a separate path, there is a God-Like creation called "She" who had taken Xan and Creede and tried to syphon away Xan's soul. This attempt on Xan's life was stopped by The Puppet Master. According to The Dealmaker, She is a creation, which implies that she is an Automaton. I suspect that She is working under the directive to empower the Elder Beast with souls. However, instead of targeting specific groups of people, I believe that She is taking souls indiscriminately. She is taking souls from every source that is immediately available to her, disregarding quality and power for quantity and efficiency.

Issues.

• We lack a substantial amount of information about this "Elder Beast".
• The priest and "Evil Wizard" being the same person is pure speculation.
• Although it would make sense for them to syphon Xan's soul, it wouldn't make sense for them to syphon Creede's.
  • Creede was also taken by She and his soul was seemingly also taken.
  • Creede does not possess any arcane talent nor was he part of a pact. (to the best of our knowledge)
• It has yet to be confirmed that the host in the red crystal is from the D'Noth Fir Tribe.
• This theory does not explain why Automatons can gain power from the Soul Crystals.
• It has yet to be confirmed that She and the "Elder Beast" are two separate entities.

Exhibit A. Soul-Trapped Crystals.

• Contains energy that can power Automatons.
• There are currently three confirmed examples of this occurrence:
  • Mal'Eth's Crystal
    • A crystal that is currently losing a lot of sheen and light.
      • Presumably because it no longer has a host within it.
    • For Mal'Eth's case, the "Evil Wizard" was the person who trapped him there.
  • Sadree's Crystal
    • A purple crystal that was found in Col'Grotto when Mal'Eth and Elora The Plague Spreader were investigating.
  • The Red Crystal
    • Provided by Martin and confirmed to have a soul by Xan.
    • Martin snagged it off of a man in the ravine trading town in CataMys.
      Quote: "A sorcerer of some kind."
      • Could be the "Evil Wizard" in Mal'Eth's past.

Exhibit B. Xan's Account.

• When Xan and Creede were separated from the group in Col'Grotto, Xan felt his soul being siphoned away from his body. The only reason why he remained was because The Puppet Master saved him by lifting his soul back into his body.
• During this, Xan felt the gaze of something else. For brevity, we will refer to her as "She".

Exhibit C. The Automaton in Col'Grotto.

• Was the only one to possess a soul that Xan could attune to.
• Xan could not recognize whose soul it was.

Exhibit D. The Dealmaker's Account.

• She is not mortal nor a God, but is as close to "God-Like" as a creation get.
• Mentioned a priest was stealing the power from the Gods to syphon into an "Elder Beast".
• Mal'Eth does not possess a fully completed soul.
  • This is backed up by Sadree's earlier remark of how,
    "Mal'Eth never truly left his crystal."
• Mal'Eth is protected by a mortal spirit.
  • No further information was provided.
• A God's power is directly tied to the people's belief in them.
  • The more people believe in a God, the more grasp they have in this realm.
  • There have been instances where Gods have merged.
  • Gods never truly "die" when people lose faith in them. Rather they seemingly remain dormant.
  • A God's power in this realm is not an accurate gauge for how powerful they truly are. It is only a gauge for how powerful they are in THIS realm.

This theory was compiled on 01.21.26.