What did the ancients offer the ravenous shadow entity?

[Tim S.]

So I've been obsessed again with the murals, hoping to find out more about the gateways nature.

Has anyone of you stumbled upon an interpretation of these weird "plants" the ancients seemed to throw into the hungry being inside the ancient gateway?

 

 

Don't think those are carrots....  I think the ancients offered radishes to the eldritch god.

At least until the maw demanded gems in exchange for more power I reckon?

 

 

What's your take?

[minespatch]

That last screencap does imply the gnaw from the gorge.

[DaZoul]

33 minutes ago, minespatch said:

That last screencap does imply the gnaw from the gorge.

Yeah. What if They really are these ancient gods, and the Ancients, who were the Gatekeepers of their time, had to keep these beings from causing a ruckus. Perhaps after they were wiped out by failing their job, that's when poopoo hit the fan, and maybe that's when the Gnaw started infecting the folks of the Bog. 

[W0l0l0]

They look like simplified ancients curled up, I would have suggested that they could be sacrifices but the colour is different.

Definitely think it's a gem in the second one, either that or it's an earthquake. 

Love the gateway and the lore about it. 

[Maxposting]

carrots or fire?

[lakhnish]

Food, gems, technology (?) and ultimately, themselves (alongside the torch bearer).

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[HowlVoid]

1 hour ago, lakhnish said:

 

I think the first one is more them profiting from the nightmare fuel. They obtained more gems, food, etc. 

Second one to me is that the king and queen where worshipped more due to recent success. Although, one is respected more than the other.

Third one to me is the queen sacrificing herself to do something. Not sure if saving the king, sealing the entity or trying to save her people.

Fourth is that everyone is dead except the king who has to live forever knowing he doomed them all.

I don't think they ever offered themselves as a sacrifice.  Maybe the gems.

[ArubaroBeefalo]

35 minutes ago, HowlVoid said:

I think the first one is more them profiting from the nightmare fuel. They obtained more gems, food, etc. 

Second one to me is that the king and queen where worshipped more due to recent success. Although, one is respected more than the other.

Third one to me is the queen sacrificing herself to do something. Not sure if saving the king, sealing the entity or trying to save her people.

Fourth is that everyone is dead except the king who has to live forever knowing he doomed them all.

I don't think they ever offered themselves as a sacrifice.  Maybe the gems.

im with you. It looks like the profits, not the sacrifices

i see all this nightmere fuel lore as a representation of what we have made to the earth with the irl fuel. It bring a lot of progress but is consuming us and our home. Klei just made it magical

[Tim S.]

On 4/24/2021 at 6:12 PM, minespatch said:

That last screencap does imply the gnaw from the gorge.

Thats an excellent point you make right there!

I've been working on a post about the DST-Multiverse, when I stumbled across the "Queen Beast"-Statue inside the Gorge.

And boy if the design choices are intended and I'm not jumping to too many conclusions, I've got quite the news for you.

Starting with some interpretation right off the bat:
I think the queen was a historic entity, crowned for saving the cute victorian goat-people in times of starvation and famine.
First of all, because of the adequately named "Beast of Hunger"-Statues placed next to the Queen Beast statue, most likely representing the metaphorical demons that haunted the Goatfolk in the past, secondly because the Ancient King+Queen did the same for their people, so it fits the narrative.

 

So how'd she do it?
Just like the Ancient King+Queen, she used the power of the Ancient Gateway.
Obviously, she had control over the Ancient Gateway, judging by her Scepter literally being the Ancient Gorge Key.
We don't know wether she was a Gatekeeper herself, or if she met passing Gatekeepers, which gave her power and knowledge over the Ancient Gateway. We do know however, that Mumsy knows the term "Gatekeepers" and even knows how to recharge the Ancient Key, so Gatekeepers most likely played a key role in the Goatfolks history.

 

But here's the kicker!!!!!

She holds an orb!!! And that might just be incredibly relevant.

Just like the royal scepter, the orb (more precicely the "Globus cruciger"="Cross bearing orb") has been historically known to be an ancient/Christian symbol of authority.

I'll just quote the Wikipedia-Entries because I'm lazy, but my point will get across.
Wikipedia:

"The cross represents Christ's dominion over the orb of the world, literally held in the hand of an earthly ruler. 
[...] Holding the world in one's hand, or, more ominously, under one's foot, has been a symbol since antiquity. 
[...] With the growth of Christianity in the 5th century, the orb (in Latin works orbis terrarum, the 'world of the lands', whence "orb" derives) was surmounted with a cross, hence globus cruciger, symbolizing the Christian God's dominion of the world. The Emperor held the world in his hand to show that he ruled it on behalf of God."

Spoiler

 

Assuming that Klei cared about symbolism, the orb in the Queens hand represents her acting on behalf of the worlds ruler.
So since the cross was exchanged for what appears to me to be a gaping maw with teeth, I find it fair to assume that she was cooperating/serving the Gnaw, which now ravenously terrorizes the inhabitants of their realm. 

(IMO it could be a crown too on top of the orb, but its pretty pointy and pretty bland compared to the queens crown so I don't think it is)

What do you think??? 
Too much of a stretch or am I onto something?

Edit: I mean, ofc they're worshiping Gnaw, that's the whole point. But assuming that the Queen is/serves a Gatekeeper and Gatekeepers in turn get used by the Throne, a relation between Gnaw itself and the Throne is quite possible.

Best wishes!

 

 

PS:
Some fun details:
 

1. The "Gnaw_Worshipper_1" statue seems to offer a gem (to Gnaw?)

 

 

2. Battlemaster Pugna claims the Gatekeepers to be the "Throne's lapdogs".
(No! My Forge, felled by the Throne's lapdogs!")

He also implies "The Throne" has deserted his people and afterwards destroyed everything. The capital "T" in the last quotes implies "Them" to currently govern the Throne.
("... Do you understand the forces you serve?"
"We were severed from the Throne!"
"Trapped in a realm of stone and fire, with no scepter to provide."
"Why serve a power that deserted my people?"
"They destroy all They touch...")

Yet, whoever sits in the Throne seems to have power (maybe the power to command Gnaw/immense Gamemode 1 power like Maxwell had sitting on the Shadow Throne?)

("At last, our realm returns to glory!"
"Warriors, rekindle the Gateway..."
"Today we take the Throne!")

But more on that on the 8-Dimensions+1Hub Multiverse-Post if I can be bothered and the evidence is conclusive.

 

3. Have you ever seen the moon in the Gorge?

Neither have I. Of course it's just a gameplay mechanic, since there is no night in Gorge, but it's still funny to note how we don't know wether there is a moon or not. Most notably, no matter how many days you skip using console, the Moondial always indicates a New Moon... Almost as if there was no moon at all...anymore...?

 

4. Gnaws Favours, which he grants for appeasing him with sacrifices, are strangely reminiscent of Opals/Iridescent gems.

Also it's curious how you need three of them to power the Ancient Key, quite like the three Opals to power the Ancient Archive. 
Though this might just be unrelated, since three is just a great number.

So, is the gnaw the hatched moon of their realm? Would be pretty funny lmao good night

[minespatch]

7 hours ago, Tim S. said:

Have you ever seen the moon in the Gorge?

Perhaps the Gnaw is the moon? The queen offered a exchange for a cure of disease, hence no werepigs.