Seeker Archives

The Seeker Archives are a collection of texts and information gathered by the Seekers, likely gathered in their pursuit of uncovering the past as mentioned by Omen.

As of recently, a series of small Discord messages containing lore snippets and gifs have been posted by the Airship Syndicate Community Managers SOLIDAge and Sir_Snarf aka A.J. and Alex. These messages are written from the perspective of an unknown in-setting narrator who mentions various entries from the Seeker Archives, generally lamenting at their inadequacy. Although whoever the perspective is from and whether it's the same person who is narrating each time is currently unknown, if we treat them as a single entity responsible for each message, some assumptions can be made about them. Namely, this person appears to be a caretaker or librarian of the Seekers Archive as they are tasked in restoring the Seeker Archives after an event known as 'the Battle for Skylight'. Additionally, they appear to be relatively new to the Seekers organization, as they are unfamiliar with everything the Seekers Archive had before this event, and they do directly address the Wayfinders implying this has taken place post-Gloomfall.

The following are the messages sent by the Communities Managers in chronological order. After each message is a small summary of what new information can be gleaned from each message. NOTE: These summaries do contain a fair amount of speculation as to how this information can fit into the context of what is already known, be aware that unless something has an official source, its claim is speculative until proven true.

Message 1: February 14, 2023

"The Geartooth Goblins have been a pestilence on the Kragan Highlands longer than the Imperium’s presence in the frontier region. Credible sources an early skirmish between Imperial Expeditionary Forces and the Geartooth Clan [Archival Entry BG-02257], have led me to believe no stones were cast by the Imperium’s first settlers to enter the region. While much of the Seeker Archives remain damaged since the Battle for Skylight, my restoration of our records in this area are sufficient enough for me to conclude that the Geartooth of the Westreach have always been hostile to non-goblins on sight."

A GIF of a Goblin Seer, sped up due to file size limitations, see the original with reference.

This message reffering to the Geartooth Goblins gives a look at the in-game enemy 'Goblin Seer', who are native to the Highlands. Given the Wayfinders encounter them as an in-game enemy it would make sense that players would be traveling to the Highland. We see an 'Archival Entry' log here, maybe to be used as a reference for anyone reading this entry who would have access to the Archives, perhaps implying that this is some kind of journal or study notes the narrator was writing for others during the course of their job. The initials 'BG' in the Archival Entry identifier may perhaps stand for "Before Gloom", as the entry that was written after the Gloomfall is the only Archival Entry thus far with a different set of initials.

This is the first (and so far only) reference to the event known as the 'Battle of Skylight'. Although little information is given, it could be speculated the Battle for Skylight was relatively recent given other context clues, and perhaps is the reason why Skylight exists as a last bastion against the Gloom after the apocalyptic events of the Gloomfall.

Message 2: February 16, 2023

"...When the heart of a Lost Zone, an Anchor, is threatened, it may summon more than Husks and Heralds. It may summon an Emissary. Powerful manifestations of the Gloom, these armored terrors have only been witnessed by Wayfinders which found themselves in the deepest parts of the void [Archival Entry: GD-00046]. I am disappointed to say the Seeker Archives possess a scarcity of information on their tactics, thus I will provide any fledgling Wayfinder who might be referencing this entry the following advice only...."

This message included no image.

This message doesn't give us too much new information, other than the existence of an objective in Lost Zones known as an 'Anchor', and that Archive entries have been written after the Gloomfall, since this entry is on Gloom specific things like Lost Zones and Gloom creatures. The initials here in the Archival Entry are 'GD' as opposed to the other entries using 'BG', and given that this is the only entry we have currently to be written after the Gloomfall, we can assume that the initials are as an identifier between before and after the Gloomfall, similar to how humans use B.C. and A.D. to distinguish years before and during the Common Era. The number following the initials is very small compared to the rest, which would make sense if they're to denote before and after the Gloomfall, as Wayfinder likely takes place not long after Gloomfall, so not many entries will have been written at this point. Additionally, it may make sense that the Seeker Archives don't contain much information on these Gloom creatures, not because the information was lost, but because not a lot of information was able to be gathered on such dangerous entities.

Message 3: March 23, 2023 (initially February 20, 2023)

ARCHIVAL ENTRY: LANCER
Entry ID: X2-00226
Entry Author: Corbin

"There are some mysteries which even the Dominion’s greatest arcanists were unable to unravel, nor the arcanic engineers of the Avar Imperium. Powers which have existed since the Celestial Architects themselves walked among us. The commonly accepted truth among the Avar dictates: the Architects imposed order on the Primal Chaos and thus shaped the world as we now know it. But then what do we make of elemental constructs, such as Lancers, that unwittingly remain?

Towering constructs, Lancers may appear to be a lumbering threat to the uninitiated, but their advanced chassis is capable of blinding speed when required. Armed with ruinous lances, impenetrable shields, and the primordial elements themselves, these constructs are a dire threat to any soul unfortunate enough to stumble into their domain. Yet the question remains. What is their origin? Their purpose?

While restoring the portion of the Archives dedicated to writings from the Dominion, I happened upon an entry which referenced a series of experiments conducted by a school of arcanists some two centuries ago [Archival Entry BG-00987]. They concluded that if not for the technological armor which surrounds commonly found Lancers and Guardians, the energy within would erupt. In the correct circumstances, these eruptions resulted in the forming of conscious elementals not unlike those found rampaging in certain regions of the world. This, combined with Lord Halar’s confirmation that a Lancer’s chassis showcases similar details to archaeological sites with known connection to the Arcs, supports the generally accepted theory that constructs such as these were creations of the Architects themselves.

This leaves us with a singular mystery—their purpose. In fact, it raises a perplexing if not concerning question; if the Celestial Architects themselves were the engineers of these constructs’ creation… why did they, our gods, have need for machines of war?

For further postulation on this subject, please reference: Archival Entry PC-00003."

A GIF of a Lancer, sped up due to file size limitations, see the original with reference.

While this message does give us insight into elemental and Lancers, there are few other small things to glean from the entry. Lancers and Guardians are the first thing we know to be created by the Architects other than humans and Precursors. Their name 'Guardian' may suggest their purpose; created by the Architects to guard the world of Evenor, though from what exactly is unclear. Additionally, we learn the name of a character known as Lord Halar. Although it's questionable if he will be present in Wayfinder, his title of Lord and scholarly activities seem to suggest they are at least important in the setting post-Gloomfall.

Message 4: March 20, 2023

ARCHIVAL ENTRY: STORMSHRIKE Entry ID: H1-00791 Entry Author: Corbin “Heroes no more.” This was the maxim touted by Skylight’s citizenry in the wake of the Shrike Syndicate’s betrayal. The wound was still fresh then. During the course of the Imperium and the Maze’s long conflict in the Westreach, the Shrikes fleeced both nations alike in favor of what they deemed Evenor’s common peoples. Pre-Gloomfall accounts [Archival Entries BG-00342—BG-00434] suggest the Trade Road was used by the Syndicate to distribute goods raided from the great powers to struggling hamlets and villages within the Westreach. Yet that maxim, “Heroes no more,” has been quickly forgotten, and I surmise few remember that the Shrikes were anything more than looters or murderers any longer. Today the Syndicate subsists as little more than carrion crows picking at civilization’s corpse. The Stormshrikes are their vicious elite. The Seeker Archives possess frighteningly few records of these fearsome fighters in comparison to the typical refuse of cutthroats which plague Lower Skylight. Indeed, what entries I have been able to author have been made possible only because of an “underground contact” brought to my attention by Warden Hass. The integrity of this informant’s information, and even her name, remain frustratingly in question; therefore, my following summations are yet to be verified. These Stormshrikes are assigned to the Shrike Syndicate’s most critical operations. Namely, the Godsblood mines. [CHRONICLER’S NOTE: This would explain the Seeker’s lack of intelligence on the Stormshrikes, given the mines in the Highlands having been pulled into the Gloom. The Archives will need to acquisition a Wayfinder for verification.]... Transmission lost

This entry is the most complete and intelligible archival entry we have so far, and gives a clear picture of the time frame in which the entry was written. The Entry ID is different from the previous abbreviations, instead of 'BG' and 'GD' for pre- and post-Gloomfall, we have 'H1'. What this means exactly is unknown, but it's confirmed in this entry that BG likely is for pre-Gloomfall archival entries that were recovered from the Battle of Skylight. Corbin is the only known author thus far, though whether they're the same person(s) who wrote the previous archival entries is unknown.

This archival entry gives us a lot of information as to the Shrike Syndicate pre- and post-Gloomfall, and lines up significantly with Silo's backstory. While the Shrike Syndicate played both sides of the ware between the Avar Imperium and the Maze, many people benefited from their network of thievery, as they gave back to the common people who suffered unnecessarily as a result of the war between these two powers. Finally though we get updated as to what the Shrike Syndicate has been up to after the Gloomfall, and while they did survive the apocalypse, they're no longer the Robin Hood-type gang they seemed to be in the past. Instead they have returned to the average thuggery and highway robbery without a cause, picking away at whatever they can get their hands on in a broken world such as Evenor.