I believe this entire thread is meant to be about spoilers so I won't bother hiding the text.... I guess just don't continue reading if you don't want spoilers? This will be about all my theories from my many many many games.

First, I am so happy to see this discussion. I just can't believe this is my first time seeing it. I have a strangely high affection for the work Woodchip has done and I've been playing your scenario since before the enhanced edition. I grew up with AOW2 and then got to experience shadowmagic and AOW1 in that order. I feel you paid homage to AOW1 lore, which I love.

1. Elves. I have often fantasized that Emrilia is a large scale region of the map and set in the near-distant future of AOW1-3. Racial Heritage mod especially drives that home. The pathfinders are the decendants of Julia's High elves while Meandor's dark elves are the underground elves and Stormpeak.

2. Baricalar is one of Merlin's students, the same Merlin from the wizard court and the shadow world. And that Merlin is the one in the center of the underworld. Make's sense he's BADASS AF! Same goes for Bariclar. (THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I SADLY JUST LEARNED AFTER PLAYING BEAR CLAW OVER 10 TIMES. Flowers of Solace block all negative morale effects. Everyone probably already knows this but let me repeat, Flowers of Solace block ALL negative morale effects. That includes -1000 gold per turn.

3. Sedna. I would love to hear more about your own intentions (I know it was intentionally left ambiguous, but to do that you must have had several theories that you carefully put together). I am so thickheaded that I never even associated the word reincarnation with Sedna until reading ^

4. Ogrus. The dwarves delved too deeply and too greedily. In the spirit of enterprise I always try to take the powerful units that show up, for the glory of the dwarves. All will bend to the Iron Gear, that means you Angus Stonebiter and you too flame giant with swords. I paid my undead brother all the blood he desired to enlist his services and he needs you to be an ABSOLUTE UNIT. Lets also snag the paragon titan on the way through to try to ghoulify a terror of the deep.

5. I've played arshack the least, but am in the middle of a good alignment playthrough with him.

6. Elizabeth. Ambitious humans be ambitious. A story older than AOW1.

7. Gryx is super fun and it is so refreshing to have a squishy goblin leader

8. Zarrish. The dragons and the giants. The Draconians and the Dwarves. Everyone has their own story as to how the world was created but Bariclair (and sad boi Merlin) know how it will END