Grandmother Raven: The Third Arc Dilemma

Grandmother Raven has been established as the sort of arch-nemesis to Old Cob. And with Cob's predicted return in Wizard101's third arc, her role has become more important than ever... But will she have any role at all?

Lady Nightstar: A Biography

Grandmother Raven has many names, and Lady Nightstar is just one. Merle notes that she is not just a Grandmother in the sense of being an ancient being, but is also the "Grandmother of all Ravens," which she herself later confirms in Wintertusk.

Ancient Spiral Beings

Lady Nightstar was a sister to Grandfather Bartleby, and was the one who gave him the Eyes of Time, one of which showed the past, and the other the future. The Eye of the Past was stolen by Malistaire and is still missing today, causing Bartleby to forget much of the Spiral's history.

Grandfather Bartleby and Grandmother Raven are both ancient beings of the Spiral. When they're described as having been around "before the Spiral," some wizards don't understand what that means. The Spiral itself is not the universe in which we are contained, but rather, the broken fragments of a former First World in which everything was bound together.

When the Fire, Ice, and Storm titans went to war, the Lords of Night watched as Bartleby sang the Song of Creation to put them to sleep and bind the broken worlds together in the Spiral. It is this song that Morganthe attempted to steal.

Locking Away Old Cob

It wasn't until two arcs into the game with the introduction of Old Cob that we learn that Grandfather Bartleby and Grandmother Raven were not the only First-World beings. Besides the Lords of Night, we now know that each race in the Spiral seems to have some form of ancient representation.

At the end of Khrysalis Part 2, Old Cob reveals himself to be a spider, opening all eight eyes and releasing a sort of spider-looking energy, sending his "children" out into the Spiral before disappearing. The Orb Quest (learn more HERE) in Khrysalis reveals that Grandmother Raven locked away Old Cob, and Atlach-Leng (learn more HERE), at the end of Khrysalis Part 1, reveals that she also locked away all of the shadows. It is these shadows that the Duck of Death accesses in Pirate and that he sells his soul to.

How do we know that Old Cob was an ancient being? Besides the fact that he interacted with Grandmother Raven in the First World, he also loads as Grandfather Spider. Old Cob is likely just another name, like Lady Nightstar for Grandmother Raven.

Release in Wintertusk

Wintertusk is a side world that comes after Grizzleheim, following the deeds of "The Coven." a seemingly rogue group of ravens with an intent to impose an Everwinter on the Spiral by waking the Ice Titan from the depths of Nastrond. (Another day in the Spiral, right?) Should Wizards choose to accept the quest, they venture there to learn that Grandmother Raven is the narrator. She has been narrating your whole journey, with you every step of the way.

After a series of quests in Wintertusk, you get to see an awesome cutscene of Grandmother Raven taking on her full form.

Spider and Raven

With a story in place for an epic showdown between ancient beings, Wizards are left wondering how exactly Grandmother Raven can come into play in the third arc. There's a problem that prevents her from showing up. For some wizards, she's still locked in a cage in Wintertusk.

Old Cob's Assumed Third Arc Role

Most people believe that Old Cob will come back in the Third Arc as the new villain for the game. It's already confirmed that he's not Death, which not only makes sense, but will be refreshing after Malistaire and Morganthe. He's likely Shadow, or some type of magic we've not seen yet.

Old Cob is thought to be evil and an antagonistic counterpart to Grandfather Bartleby and Grandmother Raven. What we do know is that he probably wasn't thrilled about being "locked away by Raven's hand" for so long. But then, I suppose Grandmother Raven also got her fair share in the binding cage in Wintertusk for "centuries and centuries."

My Theory on His True Intentions

When Old Cob released his spider children into the Spiral, he didn't say "make war," or... at least not by itself. He says "marry and make war." He intends now to see what he's missed in the Spiral after all his years of being locked away.

Another hint we get is the first line of the orb quest, narrated by Old Cob:

Sky and land once danced as one, round the tree of magic's shade,
A thousand years, a thousand more, memories of love and fury fade.

I would like to think that this applies also to being locked away. Old Cob tells your wizard to say hello to Bartleby for him. I don't know that Old Cob is necessarily as bitter as some believe. I think he's more about balance in the Spiral. Without evil, good cannot exist.

My thoughts are that we'll be dealing with a complete unrelated enemy in arc three. Something totally new. But, in the process, we'll stumble upon one or more of Old Cob's spiders and at the end of the arc, Old Cob himself. Of course, we could never defeat an ancient Spiral being (at least not realistically or without special circumstances), so it will be only an encounter. Whether or not it's good or bad has yet to be revealed.

Revenge?

I don't personally think Old Cob is out for revenge, but it's certainly a possibility. What happens in the third arc is entirely at the discretion of Jesse Scoble, a.k.a. King Artorius on the forums, who likely hasn't written more than one or two of the third-arc worlds.

One thing to remember is that Grandmother Raven is the narrator. While no "showdown" can happen, we might be able to have some interaction since she can see everything everywhere.

A Message Unclear

Old Cob's intentions are entirely unknown at this point. They're not even hinted at. This is a mystery we'll not likely soon solve, especially given that we're between arcs right now. It's at these times that KingsIsle likes to throw in side worlds and side content, but it would be my guess that the first of arc three is not too far beyond this year. If not 2015, I think we'd see it in 2016.

What do you think is coming in the third arc?

Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral! Credits: Thank you Deathshard for the video of Grandmother Raven's cutscene.