Hello, I’m Fable Finder! Join me as we ponder the depths of a conspiracy. We’ll gaze into the shadows, exposing the hidden secrets. The secrets that ripple throughout the Spiral, leaving only questions in their wake. I present to you, Wizard101 Theory: The Coven Conspiracy.
Our wizard is first sent to Grizzleheim at Level 20. Merle Ambrose wishes to establish an alliance with their King. When we arrive, we must prove our worth by helping Bjorn Ironclaws. He sends us to his friend, Hagen Shieldbreaker, who gives us many quests towards this end. We learn about a mysterious group, the Coven, who seek to unleash the Everwinter. Later on in Wintertusk, the Coven works to unleash the Everwinter by awakening Ymir. When you think about it, this effort doesn’t make sense. Why would the Coven want to unleash the Everwinter?
In the quest “A Wolf Among Bears”, Osric Grimbold tells us about Wulfric Foesbane. Wulfric is a wolf who has allied themselves with the bears. When we go to speak with Wulfric, this is what he tells us:
Notice how Wulfric remarked that it is foolish to trust a raven. This remark is important in revealing cultural distrust to the Ravens. This also suggests that Ravens have a history of trickery in this world. Why else would a lack of trust exist? Wulfric’s skepticism proves to be correct in the quest “All is Revealed”. Munin, a member of the Ravens, confesses the following when the Dust of Discovery is cast upon him:
Yet, in Wintertusk, it is none other than a raven, Grandmother Raven, who is helping us put a stop to the Coven. Could Grandmother Raven be the one who is behind the Coven? In the quest, “Fishes & Loaves”, Grandmother Raven directs us to Henrek Graincutter. Henrek’s role in the story is to help our wizard find Vestri’s Golden Seal. When we go to speak with Henrek, this is what he tells us:
This may not seem like much, but remember that all lines of dialogue in the game are important to the story. KingsIsle added that dialog for a reason: it is a hint. Why would Grandmother Raven be behind the Coven though? Even if she was, how would this explain why the Coven wanted to unleash the Everwinter? To answer these questions, we must examine the nature of Grandmother Raven’s powers. In the quest “A Potion for Bartleby”, Merle Ambrose explains the following:
This tells us that Grandmother Raven has the power to create objects that can show the past and future. If she has this power, why would she only give Bartleby this ability? We can assume that she gave herself this ability as well. Grandfather Spider, equal in power to Grandmother Raven, most likely did the same. But, how exactly do the past-viewing and future-revealing powers work?
The power to see into the past does not appear to have any constraints in the game. This is not the case for the power to reveal the future; it has its vagueness. Let’s assume for a moment that the power to reveal the future has no constraints whatsoever. Bartleby would foresee the fight between Raven and Spider that takes place in the Third Arc. Why didn’t he try to stop it? In the First Arc, Bartleby could stop Malistare Drake from awakening the Dragon Titan. Why didn’t he try to stop that, either?
If we assume the power to reveal the future has no constraints, there would be no story. Thus, logic dictates that the power to reveal the future has a constraint. First, the future is indeterminate. This power does not reveal one defined future, but only possible futures. Second, this power cannot see endlessly into the future. It must have some sort of time-frame. Thus, the farther into the future, the vaguer the outcome becomes. This would also explain why prophecies are as vague as they are.
So how is this relevant to Grandmother Raven and the Coven? Well, the first time we meet Grandmother Raven in person, in the quest “That’s So Raven”, we find her trapped in a cage.
When Grandmother Raven is finally freed in the quest “Root of the Loom”, she remarks about her time spent in the cage.
In the quest “Norn Time”, the Norns explain that only an outsider can free Grandmother Raven.
Grandmother Raven would not sit dormant through free will. Most people, when imprisoned, would search for ways to escape. So, what escape attempt did Grandmother Raven make?
Grandmother Raven used her future-revealing power to assess all her possible futures. Her best chance relied on an outsider to free her from imprisonment. She pondered about how to actualize this possible future. In the quest “That’s So Raven”, Grandmother Raven tells us this:
So, Grandmother Raven knew about us and our heroism. By creating a world crisis in Grizzleheim, she could attract an outsider to come and free her. With this in mind, Grandmother Raven created the Ravens of the Coven to act in her stead. She made the Ravens seek to unleash the Everwinter, as well as made them hate her to throw the trail off. I doubt the Coven is aware that they are being used by Grandmother Raven. When we defeated the Coven the first time, we did not end up freeing Grandmother Raven. So later on, she let loose the Coven on Wintertusk, so we would end up freeing her. Then, with her main goal achieved, she helped us put a stop to the threat she created.
There is one hole in this theory, and you may have noticed it. As I showed earlier in this post, when we meet Grandmother Raven in person for the first time, she is in a cage. Yet, she claims that the Coven trapped her in the cage. If this is true, it would contradict the theory. But this story is implausible. How could the Coven, a group of ordinary sorcerers, trap Grandmother Raven, who is a divine being, in a cage? It’s likely that Grandfather Spider, the Rat, or the Scorpion trapped Grandmother Raven. It’s more likely that she lied about who trapped her to make us doubt the possibility that she created the Coven. The Rat and the Scorpion are candidates because they are the offspring of deity. We’ve also learned, through the story, that lower-divine beings can challenge greater ones.
In conclusion, the Coven is a false flag operation perpetrated by Grandmother Raven. Her motivation for it was to free her from imprisonment. Now that is a scheme within a scheme, as Henrek Graincutter put it.
More Theories
Have you ever wondered if Sylvia Drake actually died of a cold? Why did the Coven want to unleash the Everwinter on Grizzleheim? Does being the Scion of Bartleby actually mean anything, or is it just a replay of the Chosen One trope?…
In the middle of Empyrea, the game reveals that the main hero of our story is the Scion of Bartleby. What does this mean? On the surface, it appears that this is simply a replay of the Chosen One trope. This is true, but it’s not the entire story. When you critically examine all the facts that we have been given, we are left with more questions than answers….
The Third Arc is about a conflict between Grandmother Raven and Grandfather Spider. Both of them posed a threat to the Spiral during this time. They are finally reconciled at the end of Empyrea, and lock themselves in the Primordial Forest. After this, our Wizard returns to the Arcanum to bring everyone up to speed. When we arrive, we receive a cryptic prophecy from Sybil, the Tree of Knowledge in the Arcanum….
So there are my thoughts on the Conspiracy of the Cabal, and links to my other theories. I hope you enjoyed our walk into the shadows. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are!