Secrets and Links
Mantoroks Involvement:-Mantorok, wanting the ancients destroyed, called pious to be a servant to one of them. If you listen closely, you can actually hear the growl of Mantorok just before Pious gets transported to the temple.
-Karim's level: Not only was Mantorok the cause of the dreams that both Chandra and Karim were having, he was the cause of Karim becoming the protector. In his level, when you finally take the Ram 'Dao, you will notice that you are "tested" by taking it. At first it seems like a trap, but if you noticed, the magick used is of purple alignment. Basically Mantorok was testing those who enter to see if they were worthy to guard the artifact. Once Karim proved himself, the Ram 'Dao was his, and he could open the special door towards the artifact's lair. Here he had the final test, where he defeated a horde of monsters.
-Ellia: One of Mantorok's servants must have given the Tome to her. She is one of the few women in Cambodia who can read at the time. Also, it is Mantorok who closes the door behind her, and forces her to go through the temple.
-Edwin Lindsey: Mantorok had cast away pious and his servants so that the heart could be taken to the Gathering of Light. Once again Mantorok has full control.
-The hall of the tome. This is another thing that Mantorok has control over. He is the corpse god, and has the power to let others walk in his dimension of chaos and pain. The dead souls from his consumption and the rotted hand point to this.
-Mantorok allowed Roberto to be a chosen one. By choosing the most unlikely hero, Mantorok thwarted Pious' attempts to retrieve the artifact.
-Mantorok caused the explosion that left Michael stranded underground. Magickally, he was unharmed from the fall. Listen carefully and you can hear Mantorok growl just as the explosives begin to turn unstable. On another note, Mantorok also saved Edwin Lindsey from the dysentry that their party felt during their exploration for the hidden temple. If not Mantorok helping Edwin, it would have been Pious instead.
-Whenever you hear a whispering voice calling a character in a level it's Mantorok, including "destroy...this" for Michael's level. When you listen to a spell cast with the Mantorok alignment, it's actually the same voice.
-The paintings in the mansion: They show ancestors of the Roivas family with a dark lining. You can actually see a slight bit of Mantorok's coils, and if you think about it, they were most probably servants of Mantorok as well. Mantorok needed someone at that house specifically to realize that the ruins of En'gha were directly below, and to stop the hordes. Most were hung for witchcraft or heresy, but Edward happened to make it.
-When you start a new game after completing it at least once, an artifact is missing in the doom-decision room. Just before this, Alex will say something at the end of the game, and even have visions. Mantorok caused these visions, and partially reset time. Effectively, every time you replay the game, Mantorok keeps the ancient you destroyed sealed in another dimension. This is the part that is confusing. Basically you were coaxed by Mantorok to destroy the three ancients, in three separate dimensions all at the same time. This is hinted at in the epilogue, when Alex speaks of others exactly like her, fighting to destroy the ancients. Later, you hear Edward say that all of these dimensions are perfectly synchronous. Basically you actually destroy all three ancients at the exact same moment. This one is very open to speculation, though that is our take on it.
-Maximillian has a vision of fighting a horror for a rune. It magickally appears in his pocket after the vision. Who would have helped him out? All clues point to one direction. Mantorok, I'm looking your way.
Other points of interest:
-Roivas is 'savior' backwards.
-The time on the clocks in the game was 3:33, which happens to be half of 666. This may symbolize being halfway between earth and hell.
-A subtle hint is the time of day which Alex begins her search. The sun is going down, which could possibly be a symbol of the peril which awaits humanity. Setting sun was also shown in Ellias temple and depicted as the end of humanity.
-Paintings can be read in different ways (just as all true paintings can be). The paintings in the mansion show a very foggy area in some, which could possibly depict the Roivas history which is shrouded in mystery.
-The painting behind the desk in the hidden room is a picture of the outside of oublie cathedral.
-Some of the paintings in the second floor hallway are actually directly from the Forbidden City.
-Not only was every clock in Edward's house set to 3:33, but so was Alex's when she got the phone call, even though she lives in a different part of the country entirely.
-The destroyed statue of Pious in the hallway of the Tome, is identical to the one you destroy at the beginning of the game. This means when you "destroy yourself" you are now a "broken hero", and will be "Judas" to mankind.
-Mantorok's ruin lies on top of the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and thus signifies that he created it.
-Another painting in the secret study is the outside of the infamous Cambodian temple.
-The sacrificial knife given to Paul from the custodian was coincidentally the exact one needed to enter the hidden room. Did Mantorok place this knife on the Custodian's pillow? If it was so important, why would "the cult" put it there as just a threat.
-While Pious has a conference with the god of your alignment, the god speaks of visions they have had. They speak of how they see themselves destroying the god that is weaker than them. This vision seems ridiculous at first because you know you will "beat" the game and destroy them. However, things were not what they seemed once again. Their visions were in fact "true". In a separate dimension they would indeed destroy that god. What we thought would never happen, really did!
-The pillars outside of the desert temple are in the shape of a five-point circle of power, and also have the runes engraved on them.
-Pious' emperor is searching for the artifacts. He must be suffering the same dreams as Chandra.
Future story possibilities/explanations:
-What happens with Michael's story is actually probably going to be in the next game. He gives the package to Edward, and tells him he needs to do something before the Guardians get to him. Somehow though, the package is in someone else's possession after Edward is killed. Did Michael know of the Guardian's plot to kill Edward, and arrived too late to save him? We assume Michael retrieved the package, which is probably true. This will probably be in the next game.
-The story behind the strange man who gives Ellia the essence of Mantorok.
-The story behind the tower of flesh and bone.
- All the events that led to Mantorok imprisoning the Ancients. This would basically be the entire game in the sequel.
-The Roivas family history. Who were the witches?
-Who was the gifted man who could see Pious in his true form?
-Mantoroks opposite: If he is the god of chaos, then there may be a god that has the opposite qualities to keep things in balance. This was hinted at by Denis Dyack.
Jason Nuyens