So... why are we back to talking about Xavier again? There have been two major developments since the past entries about him were published here, and it has completely upended much of what we thought we knew! This new information was such a bombshell that it seemed necessary to return for a Part Three.
If you want to refresh your memory about past coverage, check out Part One and Part Two. For the purposes of this third post, I'm assuming that the reader is starting with a basic knowledge of who Xavier is, so if that is not the case please do take a minute to click back and reread.
Without further ado, on to the news! I will then follow up with some in-depth commentary with my own musings of what it all means.
First of all, sinkillerj has been kind enough to recreate the Xavier encounter that was made for the game but never implemented as playable at any realms location.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MagiQuest/comments/9be26s/xavier/
The encounter is playable, or if you prefer you can simply watch the video segments.
Needless to say, this was huge news! But the news wasn't finished rolling in. Jeff Pickett of Pickett Productions was kind enough to do an AMA, and for obvious reasons Xavier was a major source of interest among fans. Jeff more than delivered on that, providing fans with enough information to serve as discussion fodder for years to come.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MagiQuest/comments/bckja5/ama_with_jeff_pickett_former_owner_of_pickett/
I would encourage you to take the time to read through Jeff's explanation in its entirety. There's a lot there.
Here on the blog, though, I want to break it down and provide my thoughts on it a few lines at a time. Jeff's text will be in italics, and my thoughts will be in plain text.
"With the Great Compromise in place as the law of the land, the Kingdom of MagiQuest experienced a period of growth and enlightenment unlike any could possibly imagine."
We don't know everything about the Great Compromise yet, but basically it appears to have been a way to get the magi to settle down and stop their infighting. When I adventured at Downers Grove, I learned that with the Compromise each clan gave something up and gained something. Woodsy gave up weapon-making and gained intelligence. Warrior gave up invading other lands and gained understanding. Trixter gave up deception and gained humor. Shadow gave up night vision and gained insight. Majestic gave up their ability to rule and gained compassion.
"During this time a new Quest Master assumed the responsibility of upholding the Compromise between the Clans, however, Xavier, the Quest Master’s little brother and the next in line to rule the Kingdom, disagreed of the contents of the Compromise. He felt that in order to bring true peace a single person or group should control the Runes, thus control the Kingdom of MagiQuest."
For the record, I don't necessarily agree with Xavier about this, but I can see why he would hold that opinion. If you read the elements of the Great Compromise I mentioned above, it appears to have come at a very chaotic and probably very violent time. At least two of the clans (Woodsy and Warrior) and possibly all of them had to give up activities that were harming other magi. I can sympathize with why Xavier might have taken a "we need an adult" point of view about the situation, rather just assuming a few broad limits would restore sanity to the whole mess.
I would also point out that what this boils down to is that Xavier simply held an unpopular political opinion. There is no indication he was harming anyone or behaving in an otherwise villainous way.
"Tensions grew throughout the Kingdom as Xavier boldly and publicly rebelled against his older brother’s authority and the rest of the Magi Council. This brought a firm division throughout the Kingdom between those that agreed with Xavier and those that agreed with the Compromise. Xavier even out right challenged his older brother to a Duel. The Quest Master declined the challenge because he could not bring himself to Duel his own brother. Tensions began to boil over throughout the Kingdom until the Quest Master had no choice but to accept the challenge. As means of assuming uncontested control over the Kingdom, Xavier placed a stipulation onto the Duel…who ever looses the Duel must be exiled from the Kingdom for 200 years. Despite his efforts to make Xavier change the stipulation, Xavier was stern in his ways. Everyone throughout the Kingdom attended the much anticipated Duel of brothers which lived up to its hype. In the end the Quest Master defeated Xavier. The Quest Master pleaded with this brother not to leave, and convinced him to stay."
I don't really have a whole lot to say about this part other than that it's unfortunate but unsurprising that tensions escalated so far. It seems like all sides were being pretty unyielding and set in their ways.
"Months pass and there becomes a noticeable change in Xavier’s attitude toward the Realm of MagiQuest as well as toward the Quest Master and members of the Council. Growing more and more paranoid and concerned of Xavier’s obvious disdain for the Compromise which governed the Kingdom of MagiQuest, members of the Magi Council conducted a secret investigation of Xavier and discovered his intentions of bringing about change in the Realm. The Magi Council immediately brought him in to face charges of treason."
I repeat: this started with a difference of political opinion. It escalated to treason charges.
That is a really, really bad sign. Healthy systems of government aren't so eager to vilify and stomp out dissent. Very worrying...
"But because they only had mere speculation of his actions to hold against him, certain members of the Council planted evidence, thus sealing his guilty judgment."
Aaaaand there it is.
I will admit that this actually surprised me.
Those of you who have been following my writing may have been surprised by my surprise, since I haven't exactly been the most positive or optimistic about the powers that be in the realms. I also think that enough hints have been dropped that we should already have been a bit concerned about the council. (This disclaimer should be obvious, but for the purposes of this discussion, when I speak about "the council" I am referring only to the character group by that name, not the decision-making team at the Creative Kingdoms company who use the same title for themselves.) Even so, I really expected this to turn out to be a misunderstanding, or at worst a situation where there was fault on both sides.
No. This was outright, deliberate, cynical corruption on the council's part.
Is it any wonder that Xavier became so angry with them?
"The Quest Master was forced to exile Xavier to the Panchaean Desert. But much to the dismay of the Council, the Quest Master only exiled his brother from the Realm for 400 years, thus keeping the door open for his return. Even though those that conspired against Xavier were enraged by the Quest Master’s decision to allow Xavier to return, they were ultimately pleased with him being removed from the Kingdom."
Whether or not you like/care about/agree with Xavier, the council's actions here are a huge problem.
This means that no magi is truly safe. Say the wrong thing - or just think the wrong thing, hold the wrong opinion - and you get removed.
Not good, friends. Not good.
"Xavier’s time in exile within the Panchaean Desert was not without some serious unforeseen consequences. During his travels came across a wild, uncivilized child Magi named Carren and raised her as if she were his own daughter."
And here, the story took another turn I did not expect.
Xavier, angered and embittered by the actions of the council, goes to the desert and... adopts an abandoned child? And appears to have taken excellent care of her?
This man is not a villain.
Call me biased if you wish, but I see undeniable goodness here. Not perfection by any means, but a caring heart and a desire to do the right thing.
"Even though Xavier was able to find some means of distraction away from his thoughts through Carren, this could not overshadow or hinder his growing lust for revenge against the Council for his unfair judgment and unlawful banishment. As time passed this voice grew and grew to the point that it began speaking to Carren, thus planting the seed of mistrust in her for the Council."
This actually strikes me as a good idea. Carren is able to work with the council if she needs to - we learn this through her dialog - but should she trust them? I would argue that she really shouldn't. They ruined her father's life over a difference of opinion, and as Jeff said above, some of them were still bitter that Xavier wasn't treated even more harshly. I can't imagine Carren is particularly safe with them. I think it would have been irresponsible of her father not to warn her to be wary.
"As the two continued their travels through the Panchaean Desert, Carren became extremely ill."
This makes me sad for both Carren and Xavier.
It also raises some questions.
First of all, what exactly happened? What is out there that could have made her so sick?
Secondly... where is the family here? Do they just not know what's going on? Carren is the Quest Master's niece. She's also related to Candice, apparently the best healer in the realms. Were they unable to help? I realize this took place during the exile period and the timeline is a bit fuzzy, but Carren is around for rune quests and Ice Dragon, so she can't be that off the radar or unreachable from the realms.
"Xavier tried everything he could to save Carren, but his efforts were futile. As a last effort to save Carren, Xavier acted on legend he heard as a child of powerful creatures similar to morphs called Wisps that before the Compromise was created resided in the Kingdom. As powerful as these creatures were, there was a consequence for their companionship. Wisps not only increased a Magi abilities and power, but they would take possession of a Magi and would feed their strongest emotion or thought to the point of insanity. During the time Wisps roamed freely through the Kingdom, it was known as the Age of Paranoia."
Not a villain. So very much not a villain.
He was willing to give up everything - his life, and worse, his sanity - to save his daughter. That kind of sacrifice shows tremendous goodness, not evil.
"Carren’s health was at its lowest and Xavier’s hope to find a Wisp to save her adopted daughter had all but vanished when he luckily stumbled upon what he was looking for. Ignoring what the legend had told of the Wisps abilities, he pleaded with the fairy like creature to heal Carren. The Wisp played upon his weakened emotional state and not only healed Carren but took possession of his mind. His growing desire for revenge against the Council sprung up into a tidal wave as his emotions joined with the unrelenting hatred that dwelled deep within the heart of the Wisp. As a possessed Xavier made his way back towards the Kingdom of MagiQuest, more and more Wisps came out of hiding providing Xavier with an army of his own that had one goal in mind assume control of the Kingdom of MagiQuest at any cost."
And there you have it, friends. The real story of Xavier.
I would argue that he is the most selfless and caring person in this tale. Despite all he has been through, ultimately it was his love for his daughter that led to his downfall.
In my opinion, Xavier is not the villain at all. He is the true tragic hero of MagiQuest. And he deserves a happy ending!
~Annacat
ReplyDeleteشركة تنظيف فلل بالقصيم
شركة تنظيف فلل بالرس
شركة تنظيف فلل بعنيزة