The Quest To Find Raxxla

[Rochester]

Milton says the devil stood above the canopy:
"from Eastern Point
Of Libra to the fleecie Starr that bears
Andromeda farr off Atlantic Seas (west)
Beyond th' Horizon; then from Pole to Pole"

Before he goes to the Sun:
"Through the calm Firmament; but up or downe
By center, or eccentric, hard to tell,
Or Longitude..."

Could this mean that he entered from East / West (Red line) between Libra and Andromeda, but the North / South (Green line) is uncertain?

This one is in galactic view. Horizontal center line is the Milkyway band.

The red and green lines are straight lines on a globe so they aren't accurate, but we get an idea.

The crossing point is at least near what we see as the Magpie bridge.

Thanks for jogging my memory, I recall that too now…agree yes that’s how I interpreted it too.

I understood he stood upon the first step of the staircase to heavens gate and looked backdown and saw the entire universe below, as his vantage enabled him to see as far between Libra and Aries...

It’s an area of investigation I’ve considered previously, I think it’s highly relevant but not entirely sure how.

Theres a bone of contention where the globe may have hung. Satan was instructed it was ’not Too far off’ from where he first fell, which was from the North wall. Where-as other interpretations imply its elsewhere because it was linked to heavens gate via the stairs, which fell on East wall.

Satan is noted also to have travelled at an oblique angle once inside the globe, passing through Ophiuchus.

Note in game if you draw a line of sight between Fall and Pandemonium (or any of the Greek Underworld systems) it does intersect Ophiuchus!

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10213527

Below is a very old map of Libra and Aries I drew in context to Pandemonium (at the bottom centre) it would seem relative, but the point of view could still be anywhere far above it - but logically not any further than the system Fall?

 

[Emperor]

"Raxxla" is an unusual word. Does the X imply a wild character? It certainly sounds alien....

I'm no mathematician nor Cryptographer, but over the years I've made a few attempts at putting "Raxxla" through the cypher toolbox ( https://www.hanginghyena.com/solvers_a/substitution-cipher-workbench), and once again last week. The latest reason being I revisited the Tourist Beacon in Gateway (as part of @Rochester 's Paradise Lost theory) where it explicitly says the system used to be named OLITQU (another very strange name, and 6 letters just like Raxxla) and was used as a staging post in Fed war against Alioth...I've previously posted that the DW unused station might be a forgotten military base leftover from a war. As keys I attempted "Princess", "Astrophel", "Princess Astrophel", "PASS", "PAATSS", "HOPE" (planet 1, and 'Shinrarta Dehzra' derivation from 'in life she saw hope'), and with various Caesar rotations. But nothing decyphered "Olitqu" into "Raxxla" or anything else that provided illumination.

OLITQU was imported from FFE I believe...so probably procedurally generated I would imagine

 

[CMDRCorrMorningstarFelian]

OLITQU was imported from FFE I believe...so probably procedurally generated I would imagine

It is Oltiqu. Ol' Curie station (reference to Marie Curie) is presently named New Chernobyl. The planet Hope is the first body in the system. Overall, it's a beautiful system. One of the stations is in the system - Wicca Town. The planet Wicca's World orbits Alioth 5. Wicca Ware Race was from Ol' Curie to Alioth.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

OLITQU was imported from FFE I believe...so probably procedurally generated I would imagine

Yes, that sounds about right from what I remember of Elite 1.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Oltiqu/Gateway:
- wasn't in Elite 1 ("OL" isn't a valid digram in an Elite 1 system name, though as "TI" and "QU" are, it does sound similar to a lot of the Elite 1 names; "Sotiqu" did exist, for example)
- was in FE2 as the largely unremarkable "Oltiqu"
- was in FFE as the renamed "Gateway" Alliance system (which was used as the player starting system)

 

[Emperor]

It is Oltiqu. Ol' Curie station (reference to Marie Curie) is presently named New Chernobyl. The planet Hope is the first body in the system. Overall, it's a beautiful system. One of the stations is in the system - Wicca Town. The planet Wicca's World orbits Alioth 5. Wicca Ware Race was from Ol' Curie to Alioth.

View attachment 389576

Frontier: First Encounters (FFE)

Gateway explained in a bit more detail from FFE game

 

[CMDRCorrMorningstarFelian]

Frontier: First Encounters (FFE)

Gateway explained in a bit more detail from FFE game

Is it just me or does this sound like it lines up nicely with what we know of the Guardians?

Life is believed to have emerged on Hope some time after the star became a red giant. Research on the planet reveals it was far too hot when the star was on its main sequence. Life forms are quite different to the ones that gave way to human evolution, having evolved under a quite different spectrum. Hope is still a hot planet by human standards - the equatorial regions regularly attain daytime temperatures in excess of 60 deg. Celcius, which is intolerable to human life. The humidity is also exceptionally high planetwide, usually exceeding 80% r.h.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Was trying to find a Lagrange point yesterday, but the primary/secondary distances disagreed a little with the online Lagrange point calculator I used. Could be an error in ED or, more likely, in my understanding. When you face a planet and target it you get the distance shown-is that to the centre of the body or the surface?
edit
ah, it shows the distance to the centre of the body!!

 

[Han_Zen]

Thanks for jogging my memory, I recall that too now…agree yes that’s how I interpreted it too.

I understood he stood upon the first step of the staircase to heavens gate and looked backdown and saw the entire universe below, as his vantage enabled him to see as far between Libra and Aries...

It’s an area of investigation I’ve considered previously, I think it’s highly relevant but not entirely sure how.

Theres a bone of contention where the globe may have hung. Satan was instructed it was ’not Too far off’ from where he first fell, which was from the North wall. Where-as other interpretations imply its elsewhere because it was linked to heavens gate via the stairs, which fell on East wall.

Satan is noted also to have travelled at an oblique angle once inside the globe, passing through Ophiuchus.

Note in game if you draw a line of sight between Fall and Pandemonium (or any of the Greek Underworld systems) it does intersect Ophiuchus!

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10213527

Below is a very old map of Libra and Aries I drew in context to Pandemonium (at the bottom centre) it would seem relative, but the point of view could still be anywhere far above it - but logically not any further than the system Fall?

View attachment 389551

Interesting.

Aries and Andromeda is the same direction, so there is at least some consistency.

I also a bit intrigued that the devil so clearly enters 'our realm' via the Sun:
"There lands the Fiend (the devil), a spot like which perhaps
Astronomer in the Sun's lucent Orbe
Through his glaz'd Optic Tube yet never saw"

I'm starting to wonder about that asteroid field without clusters, in the middle of the Sun again.

 

[Rochester]

He did not enter into the sun. he travelled first to it. To get directions.

 

[Han_Zen]

He did not enter into the sun. he travelled first to it. To get directions.

He landed on the surface. Must have been quite hot, even for him.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

It's how tap dancing originated!

 

[Han_Zen]

It's how tap dancing originated!

Hooves are good for tap dancing, I guess.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

That's why they're called "hoofers"!

 

[CMDRCorrMorningstarFelian]

Several things I want to highlight:

• Wall of heaven is very nearly unscalable.
• There are systems similar to Esau: Esautama and Esautas
• Similarly, for Padan-Aram there are similarly named systems that exist but nothing exactly for "Padan" or "Aram".
• Saw another passage to the effect that the grove where Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge exist is very nearly inaccessible except by one path. I will have to find this.
• We are looking for the narrow gate. There's one way in and all others lead to destruction. Citing the Bible here only because Matthew puts it succinctly. The idea is reiterated by other belief systems in similar fashion.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

- Matthew 7:13-14

And fluttered into rags; then reliques, beads, Indulgences, dispenses, pardons, bulls, The sport of winds: All these, upwhirled aloft, Fly o’er the backside of the world far off Into a Limbo large and broad, since called The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown Long after; now unpeopled, and untrod. All this dark globe the Fiend found as he passed, And long he wandered, till at last a gleam Of dawning light turned thither-ward in haste His travelled steps: far distant he descries Ascending by degrees magnificent Up to the wall of Heaven a structure high; At top whereof, but far more rich, appeared The work as of a kingly palace-gate, With frontispiece of diamond and gold
Embellished; thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone, inimitable on earth By model, or by shading pencil, drawn. These stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw Angels ascending and descending, bands Of guardians bright, when he from Esau fled To Padan-Aram, in the field of Luz Dreaming by night under the open sky And waking cried, This is the gate of Heaven. Each stair mysteriously was meant, nor stood There always, but drawn up to Heaven sometimes

 

[Rochester]

I think the Epic of Gilgamesh may be somehow linked, especially the concept for travelling to the cedar forest, which was also a mountain, and could only be accessed via a secret passage guarded by Scorpions, it led to a paradise type Otherworld too…

The general area we all seem to be focusing upon has a number of systems named after mysterious lands!, much like the lost realms…

 

[El Saico]

I think the Epic of Gilgamesh may be somehow linked, especially the concept for travelling to the cedar forest, which was also a mountain, and could only be accessed via a secret passage guarded by Scorpions, it led to a paradise type Otherworld too…

There area we all seem to be focusing upon has a number of systems named after mysterious lands!, much like the lost realms…

It's a classical epic poem with a long journey at the center of the plot, much like Paradise Lost, the Odyssey or the Aeneid.

...a journey everyone has to travel by themselves?

The memorial tour points to Milton; I still believe the Codex points to Virgil (with perhaps some Homer thrown into the mix); what if these allusions are not in conflict, but were all borrowed by Brookes for the construction of his own epic?

 

[Rochester]

There very likely is some common theme which acts as inspiration. I wonder however, that it might not be so very deep, as eventually everything becomes inter-connected.

I suspect whatever theme it is, maybe its more inspired by the works of Robert Holdstock, I think that might be the primary basis; m Milton too obviously and some where Lovecraft.

It’s been mentioned vaguely by Allen Stroud that DB possibly was not as interested in Holdstock than was MB, and likewise evidently from his academic writings so too was AS, who also mentioned how much MB particularly loved Lovecraft and how there were similarities.

DB had mentioned a few times how he was interested in Roman history; that’s evident I suspect in the implementation of Power Play, which I suspect was his pet-project given that he described it as being based upon Roman military politics.

Overall I get the impression Raxxla was probably more a MB thing, and therefore has more a Holdstock origin theme, as it was his original concept, developed well before the first game…and never appeared in any game thereafter.

I don’t discount a Roman influence, evidently, it like other pantheons has been used to name certain systems so likewise, placed intentionally, so I accept it will have relevance and likely equal meaning alongside all the others.

But the Roman influence as a primary source over others… I’m doubtful.

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-9997046

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10042417

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-9617507

 

[Emperor]

I think the Epic of Gilgamesh may be somehow linked, especially the concept for travelling to the cedar forest, which was also a mountain, and could only be accessed via a secret passage guarded by Scorpions, it led to a paradise type Otherworld too…

The general area we all seem to be focusing upon has a number of systems named after mysterious lands!, much like the lost realms…

Where do the mysterious lands on the galactic map sit in your model? I've been exploring them and surrounding systems (slowly) for anything interesting based on the logic they may have been named as part of the search by the DW....

 

[Rochester]

Many of the systems I’ve so-far found myself with a link to some mythical land. Either appear (to my knowledge) in the area that could be associated with the Underworld, denoted around Axis Mudi as I outlined with my Lost Realms theory.

Which I believe is what the Codex directly relates to.

But there also seems to be a smaller zone higher up around Sheela na gig, which I feel is in the Empyrean or heavens zone… these all are close to my hypothetical outer rim of the Chaos zone (denoted by wind/storm god names).

To my eye there seems to be some kind of mirroring in there placements ‘as above / so below’ … unless this is all just pattern bias.

It’s interesting, and I’m still mapping these…

The Lost Realms of Robert Holstock
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10214625

Those system I’m seeing in the upper region on their own are innocuous, but all so far might be attributable to living within a mythical island or paradise?

I suspect I am probably over thinking it to be honest.

Jotnar - land of giants.
Albina - exiled to a mysterious uninhabited island.
Aeolus - lives on an island paradise

Rough image below for context…

Post in thread 'The Quest To Find Raxxla'
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10343060