Greetings, Internet. I hope that you are coping reasonably with the existential horror that is the Covid-19 panic.
Today's post is a fan theory about the hugely popular country-life RPG, Stardew Valley. In my opinion, it is the best game in all humanity ever and I will take no arguments. If you do not play it, why not? It is charming, beautiful, relaxing and fun, and has been ranked one of the best games to play during quarantine. It has consumed my soul along with the souls of many people all around the world and is available on most devices. Now to the theory.
In Stardew Valley, if you go to the desert, you can find the skull cavern. It is unlocked by finding the Skull Key at the bottom of the mines and using it to open the strange door found in a cave above the pond in Calico Desert. It consists of seemingly endless levels (actually, there are 214,748,364,007. I wonder if that number is linked to something), containing materials, ores and vicious monsters that the player must battle their way through and that only the best swords will slay. Many players struggle with the Skull Cavern as it is very difficult to gain any progress, but the materials one can gather are some of the best in the game, including Iridium, a purple metal that is considered to be the best in the game and that the characters imply is highly sought-after.
However, also in the skull cavern lies a cryptic secret that has been partially decoded (https://community.playstarbound.com/threads/the-tiny-glyphs-in-the-skull-cavern-have-been-deciphered-spoilers.111545/). On the walls of certain levels in the cavern, you sometimes find plaques that appear to have some kind of writing on them, however most people considered it to be jibberish until the glyphs were translated by a Reddit user. One plaque reads, "We are cursed. Too much Iridium." and the other reads "Wizard sealed us in this prison until the day a hero puts us to rest.". This is where my fan theory begins.
The monsters one can find in the Skull Cavern are extremely powerful and much unlike the monsters one encounters in the mines. These beasts include- but are not limited to- Iridium Bat, Purple Slime, Carbon Ghost and Pepper Rex. There are different types of floors, including the Prehistoric, Mummy and Infested levels, inhabited by different enemies. My theory is that the wizard, Rasmodius, created these beasts. I think that he was experimenting in alchemy when a mistake meant that he added too much Iridium to the cauldron, creating super-powerful and dangerous versions of the beasts he was creating. Perhaps Iridium has magical properties, and too much means that the monsters are forever cursed, hence the first plaque.
But it doesn't end there. Perhaps the Wizard could't slay these mutants but could not unleash them on the world due to their dangerous powers. Therefore, he used his advanced magical ability to create a secret, multi-layered dungeon for them in the desert, hiding the key at the bottom of the mines where only someone worthy to slay his beasts would find it. The beasts bred and lived in the mines for years, writing the plaques and forming new levels. When the farmer reached the bottom of the mine and found the Skull Key, Rasmodius knew that they were the one who could exterminate the demons he created.
However, this theory has many layers that could be linked to other unsolved mysteries of the valley. For example, the Wizard has a daughter. We do not know exactly who it is, but snippets of dialogue and heaps of evidence heavily imply that it is Abigail, who lives with Pierre and Caroline and does not know of her relation to the wizard. Perhaps, after he had conjured the mutant creatures, they tried to attack his child and he decided that it was not safe for her, so gave her to Pierre and put him under a spell that made him think she was his daughter.
Also, Rasmodius used to be married. His ex-wife is the Witch, and he tells the player in a cut scene that he made a big mistake that drove her away, causing her to turn green and fly around the countryside cursing people. Perhaps his big mistake was conjuring the dangerous monsters and endangering the life of their daughter.
Another link could be found at the mysterious Mr Qi. This strange NPC is the owner of the secret casino found behind Sandy's shop in the desert. A cut scene involving him is triggered by the player reaching level 25 in the cavern, under orders of a letter they receive from the mysterious stranger telling them that he has a prize for them if they do so. Another -more interesting- cut scene ensues when the player reaches level 100, again after Qi sending the player a letter instructing them to. When the player reaches level 100, Mr Qi congratulates them and gives them Iridium Snake Milk, which permanently increases their energy. My theory is that Mr Qi is working with Rasmodius, who instructed him to encourage the player into the Cavern. If he told you, people might find out about the whole situation with Abigail
Another potential link that my theory has to other mysteries is Abigail's 14-heart event. The player is walking in the Backwoods when a mummy-like creature, similar to the ones found in the Skull Cavern, emerges from a bush and attacks you. Abigail comes and slays it, saving your life. Maybe the creature escaped from the Skull Cavern to get revenge on the Wizard. Also, Abigail is known for exploring the mines a lot, being skilled with a sword and being obsessed with the occult. Perhaps these come from a suspicion over who her real father is and a desire to find out about his past.
(Side-note- Iridium is an element that exists in real life. It is used to harden platinum, and also for crucibles and other applications that require a high temperature. It has a melting point of 2863 degrees Kelvin and a boiling point of 4403 degrees Kelvin. Its atomic number is 77 and its symbol on the Periodic Table is Ir. It is minutely possible that these statistics can be used to decode some kind of unfound clue in the game.)
I am thinking of investigating this a little more by exploring the Wizard's tower and Skull Cavern to try to find clues. I also think that it would make for a magnificent piece of fan fiction. Stay tuned for potential updates on both of those things, plus other types of post which you can be notified about by subscribing. Also, share this blog with your peers. There may be a film review coming soon, because our English closure work is to analyse a film and write a review- I might as well post it on here too. I will be reviewing either Dr Strange Love, Arsenic and Old Lace or To Kill a Mockingbird. Tell me which one you recommend. Stay safe and have a good day.