Lore question about Luminous Adra (spoilers)

[Justin_760]

Not sure if I understood it correctly, but Luminous Adra is what souls need to pass to the in-between, to return to the wheel and thus the cycle of rebirth? If thats true, why is it only found in the Deadfire Archipelago, and what about souls who die in the White that Wends, or other far flung areas across the world?

Would that mean that the Valian Trading Companies continued exploitation would eventually destroy the cycle of life, if they mined all the Luminous so there was none left for souls to reach? I feel like theres a hole or three in the lore on this front, either intentional and yet to be explained, or simply accidental plot holes. Its also frustrating that once if/when it becomes common knowledge that Luminous is needed for reincarnation, nobody confronts or even talks about it to the Valians.

Also makes me wonder if Luminous is a natural anomaly, or some invention from the Engwithans, but some of it seems buried deep within the earth which would suggest it is natural.

[wwolf69]

Colossal net of adra goes everywhere, and due to its magic it goes even for Other Side, Beyond and other Capital Letter No-Places. It is needed for Wheel to go. I doubt that kith can actually dig enough adra to actually harm it in whole.

Luminous one is just the part of net fulled of souls for some reason. Those ancient creators have done it by sacrificing amautau to it, and Deadfire was a main site for such things. You can learn that in some main quest dungeon, Poko Kohara IIRC.

[Kai Heilos]

I would assume it's because it's right next to ukaizo and would have the highest concentration of souls just before they reach the wheel. I don't think it has to be luminous to travel through, just that's where the souls are waiting around

[UR|wRÅR]

PoE1 (and I think PoE2 intro) clearly says that the eponymous pillars which are also on the logo are things that store souls, they surely don't need to be luminous.

[wendigo211]

I seem to recall that PoE went into more detail about it. IIRC, adra was a living thing that grew or died over time and in the Dyrwood a lot of it was dying (possibly due to Thaos' machines). It seems to be something natural that the Engwithans manipulated to create the Wheel and the Gods, not something the Engwithans invented.

The luminous adra is adra that is charged with souls. The Statue of Od Nua was possibly luminous at one time, but the Beetles, Famypyrs and Dragon drawing essence from it made it dull and brittle. I seem to recall either the Fampyrs or Od Nua talking about, "how the adra has lost its sheen," when you spoke to them in the Endless Paths.

Anyway, OEI hasn't been completely consistent with their writing. IIRC before the White Marches, the gods didn't have physical forms. They did afterwards (well Abydon did). In PoE 2 we learned that they all had physical forms and gave them up after Abydon. Which is also kind of inconsistent, since the Amanua worship different forms to the other races, so were the gods shapeshifters? Did they have multiple bodies? Etc.

In PoE, people existed before the Engwithan and didn't need the Wheel. In PoE2 we learn that destroying the Wheel will destroy the cycle of rebirth. While it isn't necessarily inconsistent (if you modify a system and then remove that modification, the system doesn't always reset itself), it does require more elucidation than the game provided.

[The Badman]

https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/174058952291/so-is-the-idea-that-before-the-wheel#_

[Lokiel]

Originally posted by wendigo211:

I seem to recall that PoE went into more detail about it. IIRC, adra was a living thing that grew or died over time and in the Dyrwood a lot of it was dying (possibly due to Thaos' machines). It seems to be something natural that the Engwithans manipulated to create the Wheel and the Gods, not something the Engwithans invented.

The luminous adra is adra that is charged with souls. The Statue of Od Nua was possibly luminous at one time, but the Beetles, Famypyrs and Dragon drawing essence from it made it dull and brittle. I seem to recall either the Fampyrs or Od Nua talking about, "how the adra has lost its sheen," when you spoke to them in the Endless Paths.

Anyway, OEI hasn't been completely consistent with their writing. IIRC before the White Marches, the gods didn't have physical forms. They did afterwards (well Abydon did). In PoE 2 we learned that they all had physical forms and gave them up after Abydon. Which is also kind of inconsistent, since the Amanua worship different forms to the other races, so were the gods shapeshifters? Did they have multiple bodies? Etc.

In PoE, people existed before the Engwithan and didn't need the Wheel. In PoE2 we learn that destroying the Wheel will destroy the cycle of rebirth. While it isn't necessarily inconsistent (if you modify a system and then remove that modification, the system doesn't always reset itself), it does require more elucidation than the game provided.

In PoE Ondra implied that the gods all had a physical form but at some point let go of it for reasons.

[Justin_760]

Originally posted by wwolf69:

Colossal net of adra goes everywhere, and due to its magic it goes even for Other Side, Beyond and other Capital Letter No-Places. It is needed for Wheel to go. I doubt that kith can actually dig enough adra to actually harm it in whole.

Luminous one is just the part of net fulled of souls for some reason. Those ancient creators have done it by sacrificing amautau to it, and Deadfire was a main site for such things. You can learn that in some main quest dungeon, Poko Kohara IIRC.

But numerous characters in the game explicitly state that the Deadfire is the ONLY place Luminous is found. I think if there was a huge network of it underground, it would be mined for elsewhere in the world, no? Also, even if it was deep underground, how the heck would souls get there then?

They wouldnt be able to see it let alone reach it, especially considering how overwhelming it is in the in-between, souls consistently describe it as pure darkness, with no light and no sense of direction. Nearby Adra pillars or the watcher being the only thing they can see in the pitch black. But that still begs the question, what about the souls on the other side of the world? There is no lore evidence to suggest there are vast networks in other places, and the canon so far is that its only in Deadfire.

Originally posted by UR|wRÅR:

PoE1 (and I think PoE2 intro) clearly says that the eponymous pillars which are also on the logo are things that store souls, they surely don't need to be luminous.

Actually they do, in Port Maje, when you restore the pillar it specifically says that the souls can now reach the beyond, once its restored they can see it and find it and pass through. The souls even ask what happens if it goes out again and they wont be able to reach the wheel.

[Lokiel]

Originally posted by Justin_760:

Originally posted by wwolf69:

Colossal net of adra goes everywhere, and due to its magic it goes even for Other Side, Beyond and other Capital Letter No-Places. It is needed for Wheel to go. I doubt that kith can actually dig enough adra to actually harm it in whole.

Luminous one is just the part of net fulled of souls for some reason. Those ancient creators have done it by sacrificing amautau to it, and Deadfire was a main site for such things. You can learn that in some main quest dungeon, Poko Kohara IIRC.

But numerous characters in the game explicitly state that the Deadfire is the ONLY place Luminous is found. I think if there was a huge network of it underground, it would be mined for elsewhere in the world, no? Also, even if it was deep underground, how the heck would souls get there then?

They wouldnt be able to see it let alone reach it, especially considering how overwhelming it is in the in-between, souls consistently describe it as pure darkness, with no light and no sense of direction. Nearby Adra pillars or the watcher being the only thing they can see in the pitch black. But that still begs the question, what about the souls on the other side of the world? There is no lore evidence to suggest there are vast networks in other places, and the canon so far is that its only in Deadfire.

Originally posted by UR|wRÅR:

PoE1 (and I think PoE2 intro) clearly says that the eponymous pillars which are also on the logo are things that store souls, they surely don't need to be luminous.

Actually they do, in Port Maje, when you restore the pillar it specifically says that the souls can now reach the beyond, once its restored they can see it and find it and pass through. The souls even ask what happens if it goes out again and they wont be able to reach the wheel.

There is adra everywhere. It grows underground and pierce the surface in some places. Luminous adra is adra with more souls in it because it is closer to Ukaizo or things that draws a lot of souls or nodes in the adra or stuffs. Whatever Eothas did to the Adra isn't just making it not luminous anymore, it kinda kills it.