Ambrosia Software Web Board: Mage Machaon - Ambrosia Software Web Board

This was really Sely's idea, but I guess he's too lazy busy to post it himself.

<Selax> Ok: discuss Machaon. Why does he have the prophecy? Who was he? What happened to him?
Why did he build hidden workshops and take the prophecy? How did he create his ring?

I quick search of the webboard didn't reveal any discussions about him besides how to find his shield-ring and where to read the second prophecy of Neleneus. A spotlight search of my HD showed Anisa as the only dialogue even mentioning Machaon. Here's what Anisa says:
"Mage Machaon use to live here in Cademia some 200 years ago.
He use to have a number of secret workrooms and libraries. Nobody in the city really knew where he lived.
There are probably still hidden chambers of his undiscovered to this day."

Also, in her Sapphire rant:
"Anyway, the Sapphire Book of Power was in the possession of Mage @Machaon, who lived here in Cademia.
That, however, was some 200 years ago, and it is unclear where he lived, but is probably in the northwest corner of the Maze."


So here's what we know about him (anything to add?):
-He was a mage
-He lived in Cademia some 200 years before the game (so, early 700s)
-He was a mad scientist
-He was perhaps interested in divination
-He likely "borrowed" the Sapphire Book of Power from the Magisterium.
-He had a pet golem, even though they were outlawed by 720 and were causing problems for decades before that
-He had (probably invented) a really cool ring that's more effective than any shield even 200 years later; but he kept it hidden in his dresser.
-He practiced alchemy.

With all his cool stuff, it seems like Gandreas would have given us more info about him, but nope. I suppose the guesswork could make for good chronicles! ^_~

I hadn't realized it, but it's true that the only reference to Machaon in the game is Anisa. That's kind of odd, in my opinion. I would think that one of the other mages would have something to say about him, or maybe one of the residents of Cademia would be aware of the legend.

Also, I hadn't realized until recently when I was going through the dialogues, but Anisa suggests that the area where Semius died is likely one of Machaon's workrooms. I suppose the reason he emptied it out then was because it had been discovered? This would lead to the theory that he would indeed have many secret places all around Cademia, most not featured in the game, all probably guarded by golems.

That may be common knowledge for everyone else...

Machaon is quite an interesting character. He is one of the only people mentioned by name who lived during the reign of Alaric, a period about which little is known. He seems to have had some degree of power and an interest in future events (suggested by his having taken the Nelenus' second Prophecy). The fact that he had hidden workshops might also indicate that he was performing experiments that his fellow mages might not have approved of. It is interesting that he seems to have cleaned out one of his workshops but did not remove the fur cloak, perhaps due to a lack of interest in warrior's gear despite its magical properties.

One also wonders what happened to Machaon. Only one set of bones—almost certainly belonging to Semius—is found in either of his workshops, which suggests that he did not die in them. There is another skeleton with a magical staff near the entrance to one of his workshops, if memory serves, but I doubt this is Machaon since the text suggests that this person had died recently enough for there still be a smell of decay in the air.


The ring that he possesses is also of interest. Did he create it himself or discover it? It has similar properties to Omen's Ring which might suggest it is of Undine origin or that Machaon himself was somehow connected to the Undine, although there is no hard evidence of this.

I think it's very likely that the fur cloak room was once used by Machaon, if only because the lyre that unlocks it is found in his dresser. That's another interesting note though - Bryaxis implies that he invented the music-key thing, do you think Bryaxis is 200 years old? Or do you think Machaon invented it first?

Sely- I also wondered about Machaon's body. I hadn't considered the skeleton with the magical staff. Though as you say, it still smells of decay, we don't know when Machaon died. Possibly it was much more recent than Anisa assumed? Anyway, if it is his body, that would answer two mysteries at once.

I did not think the shield-ring had anything to do with Undine. But now that I think about it, there's only three magical rings in the game, and the other two are definitely associated with Undine. That's suspicious. If Machaon was involved with the Undine, that may explain his lack of obvious death.

THe mushrooms are obviously of a kind that smells like a corpse in order to attract flies to disseminate its spores.

Oops. Right guy, wrong thread.

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 18 June 2011 - 06:32 PM

Maybe better off in this thread anyway... I wasn't sure I should separate the two topics and I think I made the wrong choice.

It also might be worth mentioning that the only other magical staff in the game (albeit with different effects) is used to make kesh out of harpy eggs, which further suggests a connection between Machaon and the Undine.

There is also a second purple staff found on Idomeneus' corpse... You know, the freemage who was studying Sea-based magic.

BreadWorldMercy453, on 19 June 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

I forgot about that dude, though that would further suggest a correlation between the staffs and the undine, considering he was studying sea-based magic and timeflux and is surrounded by hydra.

BreadWorldMercy453, on 14 June 2011 - 06:47 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure that it's just a coincidence. I mean, Thersites' Ring shares the same graphic as Omen's Ring, but it is obviously not related in any way. I don't see why Machaon's ring automatically has to be of Undine origin just because it's magic or it shares a graphic with Atreus' Ring. For all we know, it was a heirloom brought along on the journey from Thera or he enchanted it himself in the course of his research.

Buzzzzy, on 19 June 2011 - 12:40 AM, said:

BreadWorldMercy453, on 19 June 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

Buzzzzy, on 20 June 2011 - 08:32 AM, said:

I don't think that the magic staves are necessarily Undine relics either. They seem to have more in common with the glowing purple crystal lights the Mages use to illuminate Pnyx and their private studies. Besides which, the color purple would seem to be associated with the earthen-based magics which both the mages and the Seldane use, further placing the theory that the staves are Undine artifacts in doubt. Yes, there was the other staff in the Kosha Grotto, which obviously was an Undine artifact, but it was rather different, no?

Personally, I think that the mages made them. They're obviously somewhat rare, but not unique and not so rare that a Freemage like Idomeneus couldn't get ahold of one.

I don't think it's likely that the staffs are of Undine origin either, but I do think it's possible:
1) They're so useful that you think they'd be more common (particularly among freemages) if they're made by regular Earth-magic.
2) They're a combination of the biggest wieldable light source, a blunt weapon, and a magical weapon that (if I remember correctly?) does random things like confuse, paralyze, or put victim to sleep. They're unlike any other weapon in the game.
3) They a little bit remind me of the crystal balls, in how they run out of uses, turn grey, and are impossible to "refill." It seems like there could be a spell to refill them if they were earth-magic objects.

~vIsitor~, on 20 June 2011 - 11:21 AM, said:

True, I didn't really think it likely that they were connected the undine either, but it was an interesting theory. I had also forgotten that the staff in the Grotto had a different graphic.

~vIsitor~, on 20 June 2011 - 11:21 AM, said:

It occurs to me that the relative rarity of the staffs would make it somewhat strange that the corpse outside Machaon's dungeon would belong to some random guy who is never mentioned, and if it isn't Machaon it would be interesting that a mage died (apparently recently) in such close proximity to the workshop.

Regarding the rarity of the staffs, it is possible that there manufacture requires rare elements or has dangerous consequences (similar to the use of a golem) and so is not officially allowed. Alternatively, they may be a product of earlier days when mages were still experimenting with and developing their powers.



I don't think that Machaon was necessarily involved directly with the Undine, even if the Ring is intended to be an Undine artifact (which is only a possibility). He does seem to have had an interest in future affairs and to have been more knowledgeable than the average mage, but there is nothing to suggest that he knew of the elementals and their conflict.