New Essay (Guide) on "How to understand the secret ending"

[Hybrid]

I was suddenly inspired to write this, so I did. It may be long, but only because I wanted to be as in-depth as possible.

Obviously, this assumes that you have actually seen the secret ending.

If anyone has thoughtful comments about anything I might have misinterpreted or overlooked, I might like to add them to the guide -- along with your name, of course.

Enjoy.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973420055

[Melia]

The fireflies in chapter 1 also have very interesting text relating to the Secret Ending.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1974633969

You have gotten all the others that I am aware of and even a few I missed or forgot about. Thanks for putting them all in spot!

[Hybrid]

I agree it's worth a mention, and I overlooked that completely. May I add that to the guide with your name for having pointed it out?

[Melia]

Sure and thank you!

[Jedi-J2]

This might be missing the point a bit, but part of this breakdown made me consider an old paradox of games. Namely, that the player is necessarily both one person and a multitude. When a game says "you," it has to, on some level, include both the individual reading the text and the various other people who've come to it for different reasons and walked away holding different experiences, even down to how different players will advance at different rates. I know of at least one person who rushed through like lightning, barely skimming the content and rejecting it completely, while I personally came through at a crawl, pondering and lingering in each new exploration of an idea.
And yet each player has inhabited the Spiritkeeper and lived its life according to their own beliefs and curiosities. I like the idea that one aspect of the theme that you had walked this path before and would walk it again is an acknowledgement of the players and developers who had factually walked it before you, presumably since that world existed in a very different state, one now irrevocably swallowed up by words and music and beauty. In some sense, when you might declare a holy war to free the earth of an invasive race of conquerors, there is still some echo of the times I chose to love those same orphans so much that it cost me that incarnation of myself, and in a very literal sense, when I step away from that cave that kept my egg safe, I'm treading a path you've already walked in entirety.

I don't know if that's too slight an observation or very much on the far side of pretentious, but its one of those thoughts that just sort of bounce around in my head until I can place it down into words.
It's also late, which never contributes positively to my coherency.

[Hybrid]

From a game perspective, I don't know that there's any way to reconcile the infinite number of paths and possible player decisions in any RPG, but I do think the narrative points it out. From the Secret Ending:

And so at last ends the tale of the Kin who inherited the Heart of the World. Many tales were told of that Draak's exploits and many are the endings appended to it.

But this ending is the one spoken of by the Wind and the Water, and by the Flames close to Earth's heart and by the high Mountains.

Every time we start a New Life, we are telling another "tale of the Spiritkeeper's exploits". It is that player's tale. And as it reminds us in the other endings, all are true and important.

[Kipolina Oak I]

Thank you for this very detailed and thoughtful analysis. There's quite a few things there that I hadn't spotted yet myself.

One small thing I'd like to add: the very first action you can take after hatching foreshadows the "layers of reality" nature of the Onesong.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975246154

[Hybrid]

Excellent find! Mind if I add that to the guide with your name attached?

[Hybrid]

In absence of a reply, I've added a new section without naming a name.

I've been making some tweaks to this over the past couple of days, particularly in the new sections "Hatching", "Many and One", and some revision of the final section.

At this point, I will probably not be making any further additions or changes without outside input. I'm still open to other opinions or alternative interpretations, and of course I'll evaluate the Time of Creation DLC when available.

[Kipolina Oak I]

Go right ahead :)

[Hybrid]

I have updated the "Hatching" section accordingly.

[Mystes]

For understanding what the Greatest Treasure is, I'd like to quote a philosophy passage:

Originally posted by Ancient Arrow Chamber 21 Philosophy:

First Source is the ancestor of all beings and life forms, and in this truth, is the ground of unity upon which we all stand. The journey of unification—of creature finding its creator—is the very heart of the human soul, and in this journey, the unalterable feeling of wholeness is the reward. Every impulse of every electron is correlated to the whole of the universe in its eternal ascent Godward. There is no other direction we can go.

As such, I'd posit that the Greatest Treasure is the embodiment of the Fundamental Unity itself. It is the culmination of the seeking of wholeness.

[Hybrid]

Regarding that, I have two thoughts:

1. Many religious and spiritual practices echo each other in that sense, while just having different names for it. Liberating oneself from self-destructive pitfalls, in general.

2. I put a few different ideas in the guide, but if I had to commit to one at this moment, I'd go with "Nirvana", not necessarily in the strict Buddhist sense, but in an ecumenical sense. Based on Ludwig's comments in the gallery, he drew from a number of religions and mythologies, but Buddhism came up a little more prominently than usual, especially in regard to the Great Green Spirit (which our Draak ends up becoming). I think that's fairly similar to the passage you quoted.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1977745573

[Commodore Goodheart]

A very nice essay. It will be certainly helpful to people who like things spelled out for them plainly, or for those who aren't well-versed enough with the more spiritual or high-concept philosophical aspects of reality.

My only objection is to the thesis that one "cannot be part of multiple layers of reality". Indeed, if one reaches true understanding of the Onesong and ascends to the height of Its all-encompassing singularity, one can be said to be existing from that point on on all layers of reality.

Otherwise, it is only a partial form of Awakening, is it not? :3

[Hybrid]

In a purely philosophical sense, I don't necessarily disagree.

However, I wrote that for two reasons:

1. Ludwig uses the egg-cracking animation as a transition between layers of reality, the intent of which is made clear upon entering Part 1 and we are told, "The Chamber of your Creation seems so small now; moments ago, it was your entire reality. Perhaps there is another reality beyond this one you now see into which you will one day hatch." We get an egg-crack animation, ergo we are exiting the reality of "being a Draak-Kin" and entering the reality of being something greater.

2. Ascending to the singularity of the Onesong requires complete surrender of the previous layer. The Ego makes this quite clear: "If I discover... if we discover... what lies beyond [the Dreaming Door], then we can never again see ourselves as special. We cannot continue to gather Treasures, nor can we influence the destiny of our people if we cross over." It is simply impossible -- just as much as a Draak trying to cram itself back into its egg.

[Commodore Goodheart]

Originally posted by Hybrid:

However, I wrote that for two reasons:

1. (snip)

2. (snip)

1. Ah, I can get behind that reasoning. As in, the Journey itself continues, only on an entirely new plane.

2. I think that is an implication that once one chooses to recognize reality's great Illusion as such, one cannot anymore interact with it in the old way - but it is still accessible, in way. To use a very limited metaphor, it is kinda like wrestling - I once believed it was real, and today I know differently; but that doesn't mean I can't watch it anymore - I simply see it in another light.


Ugh. My cognitive abilities are getting below the optimal threshold; it's almost 2AM here. I'll try to express myself more clearly once my mind is fresher.



EDIT: I think I get it what you are saying (and by extension, the game's narrative), and the point I wanted to express was more of a lateral nature, however I'm still grasping for words as how to present it exactly. Anyway, operating on such scale(s) always involves a fair quality of paradoxes, so I'll say that your points are valid and at leave it that.