A History of Avalon: Tapestries Tell the Story

Wizard101 Avalon Tapestries

By now, I've learned that Wizard101 certainly has its share of interesting side quests. I recently picked up one in Azteca with Tzolk'in Stones, which I did an expanded article on HERE. I found an interesting one in Avalon as well that you can't miss.

Fantasy and Adventure

Avalon was definitely a twist in the Morganthe arc. It makes perfect sense that we'd go there - it was Merle and Morganthe's home for at least some time, and the combined theme and mechanics of the world make it my favorite in Wizard to date. Plus, we needed the Sword of Kings.

Unlike Azteca, there's very little chance that Avalon would ever to come to Pirate101 - everything about it clashes with the pirate theme. Blind Mew himself said it'd be difficult to execute, though I believe he did also note that nothing could be ruled out completely.

There's some interesting history behind Avalon. Francis Lux inside the Abbey Road Library will give you the quest From Whole Cloth. You'll be sent all across the world to collect various tapestry pieces. All are contained within sigils, but with several of them, you can sneak around the enemies, so never pass up that chance if it presents itself. There's a guide on Wizard101 Central to the locations HERE.

Past Days of Avalon

After collecting them all, you'll be sent to the Knight's Hall in Abbey Road to hang the pieces and hear the story. I have included all fifteen below with the dialogue, not narrated by anyone specific, unlike Azteca's. The story is read left to right, row by row.


The great wizard and trickster Merle Ambrose helped a young warrior prove himself and rise to rule over the land. Artorius was raised in humble surroundings, but he had royal blood in his veins.

The brave and noble Artorius was destined to draw the Sword of Kings and become the greatest warrior in Avalon.



Artorius used the Sword of King to exemplify the knightly virtues. He was unbeatable in battle...


...but he was also merciful and just. He always gave his foes a chance to turn from the shadow to join his cause.

Merle Ambrose guided Artorius to his role as King of Avalon, and the two of them crafted the knightly Order of the Silver Rose.



King Artorius met a young queen, Gwendolyn, and fell in love. King Artorius married Gwendolyn and made her Queen of Avalon. Together, they ruled over a golden age of peace and prosperity.

Despite King Artorius's attempts to promote the chivalric virtues, not all could live up to his ideals. Jealous of what King Artorius and Queen Gwendolyn had built, Sir Malory of Dun Dara worked to undo their good work in Avalon.

Sir Malory found dark allies in the ink-black depths of the Weirwood. He led the Froudlings against King Artorius.




King Artorius vanquished the Froudlings and killed Sir Malory, but not before the false knight mortally wounded the great king.

Merle Ambrose gave the Sword of Kings to Squire Perry to hold and protect - a new beginning for the Knights of the Silver Rose.

Merle Ambrose and his ally Gamma left Avalon to explore the Spiral. It was the next age in Avalon.




King Artorius prepared to cross to the Other Side, knowing Avalon was left in good hands. Unbeknownst to the good people of Avalon, a shadow crept into the Doleorous Tower to fall over King Artorius.

Morganthe, dark sister to Sir Malory, offered Artorius a way to stave off the cold mist of the Other Side. Artorius took up her offer, not realizing the gift was trapped. He accepted the Horned Crown, a sinister artifact from the Wyrd.

Artorius shed his skin and his 
virtues and rose as the dread Pendragon. The evil Pendragon led the Wild Hunt out of the Weirwood, at the head of the Froudling army. They burned and conquered all.


But hope still remains in the secret places of Avalon. One day, a hero will rise and the Silver Rose will bloom once more.

The Future of World Lore

I'm working backwards here, and I have one quest yet to do, and that's Zafaria's Art History. It's a little bit different, but uses a similar approach. Beyond that, I believe we have only the history books that we're sent around to read. These, however, never provide as clear or exciting of context for the world as these latest quests do in Zafaria, Avalon, and Azteca.

Based on the fact that we've seen these develop quite substantially over the Morganthe arc, I'd say we're not done yet. I don't believe we've yet seen one in Khrysalis, perhaps because we know the history of the world and learn it throughout the story pretty extensively... but I'd also love a side quest like this included in Part 2 to give us a better picture of the world. 

Pirate has always been stronger with the background lore, in my perfectly honest opinion, largely because of Blind Mew's answer thread that often raises more questions than it answers. However, I must admit - even without the developers directly answering questions, these quests have really had me reconsidering that comparison. Wizard101 has always been shrouded with the mystery of the titans and Bartleby and Grandmother Raven, but these history quests are providing a more specific look at things - and in the case of Azteca, the entire Spiral is involved.

Don't forget to pick up From Whole Cloth when you're in Abbey Road! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral!

5 comments:

  1. I believe the narrator of the Tapestries was Queen Gwendolyn as the voices of the unnamed speaker and Queen Gwendolyn sound exactly alike. But very good post.

    I do agree, I hope to seem some more lore in Khrysalis. I was disappointed Part 1 didn't include a lore quest, but when I did the quest "One Cheesy Book" by the mouse Moatkins Curdwright, he said the mice had given up their history to fight in the Hundred Year War. Nevertheless, I hope we'll see more history of Khrysalis.

    I'm glad to see you'll be back tracking the lore quests of the 2nd Arc worlds, but do you plan on looking in Celestia's? I did do that quest and I know it's full of more representations of various creatures, but maybe there is some latent meanings behind them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting!

      I'd love to do Celestia, but part of the excitement of these would be the images and stories. I'm sure there's some lore involved with Celestia, though. I may have already completed that history quest.

      Honestly, I've never given much thought to side quests. Most of them are, "Random mob X stole my item, X," and they get repetitive. These types of quests are refreshing. I'll definitely pay close attention to Celestia's, though. It'll be important to catch up on our Morganthe knowledge before the big showdown. For example, I didn't expect the Lords of Night to be present for the finale battle (though not necessarily participate), but the Azteca history quest confirms that they will.

      Delete
    2. I don't think you should always debunk side quests. I always do all side quests because 1.) I don't like leaving quests undone and 2.) a lot of times side quests can turn into side arcs and tell their own interesting story or give addition information on the story at hand.

      A good example is the Azteca, Avalon, and Zafaria history quests. I don't think KI makes side quests just extra tasks of repetitive boring-ness. Often, they include stories that don't make it to the main arc and give their own flavor. Try picking up Romo Nighteyes and Geordi Nighteyes' side quest and you'll find an interestingly sad story on how the Umbra Legion has broken the lives of 3 brothers (I nearly came to tears when I finisned the quest line).

      Also, Pirate101 has proven many times to include multiple side quest stories that can be very interesting and fun to do.

      So you don't have to do side quests to understand the story, but the can show a different side of a world story or give you more information on what's going on around you in the story, which I think helps emmerse a player into the world.

      Delete
  2. Ok, we all know Artorius is supposed to be King Arthur. And the first tapestry says Artorius has royal blood. Arthur's father was named "Uther". What do you think Artorius' father's name was?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also suggest doing Wintertusk's lore quests. After all Wintertusk might give some hints to Pirate101's plot since it's a port in Grizzlehiem. And it's also technically Wizard101's Second Arc. Ice World.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

HNS.to is a highly insecure way of browsing Handshake domains and should only be used for demo or educational purposes. Click to see preferable resolutions methods