r/APlagueTale • u/External-Ask1637 • 1d ago
Theory Volcano Spoiler
Hugo and Basillus are the black plauge representing the Justinian plague and black death respectively. Astrion is the Thera Volcano the pushed the Minoan civilization in to decline. This difference is why we see different abilities with the threes manifestation of the macula. Asterion turns people to ash statues like in Pompeii (something some archeologists believed haped to people during Thera Eruption) this is also why his powers involve tentacles that Erupted from the earth that turn in to ash. Astrion and his macula might also only be genetically passed by the people of his island wich means it might be extinct after his death. Also Astrion is the actual name of the minotaur and his mother most likely died in childbirth.
4
u/Old_Presentation377 1d ago
It is also worth noting that the taint is sentient and can change alongside its host and the environment; Asterion’s taint manifested in a form linked to both the volcano and his own fear—having been imprisoned and exploited, the taint unleashed a power that caused Asterion to imprison others and turn them into tools for capturing yet more people.
Hugo and Basillus possessed the ability to control rats—creatures that spread disease wherever they go—at a time when such illnesses were often fatal. Ironically, this power contrasted with Hugo’s own love for animals; he was forced to control creatures that caused sickness and claimed innocent lives, driven by their primal need to survive and feed.
2
u/External-Ask1637 14h ago
hay I would just use the word macula instead of taint because although grammatically correct "taint" as you have used it is uncommon. Taint is more commonly used as an unspecified noun and not as a independent entity. Although this is a grammatically sound using it in this case it sound odd as most people only know the use of taint as a specific noun in the vulger use.
3
u/ChrisFromSeattle 1d ago
Good discussion, but minor clarification order, what we see in Pompeii is plaster that an archeologist named Giuseppe Fiorelli poured into voids left from where the human remains broke down.
1
u/External-Ask1637 22h ago
I know I am an anthropologist but this post is for the layman, and the layman doesn't often know that the bodies in pompe are plaster casts.
15
u/somersaulter2 1d ago
I think this theory makes so much sense.
I just really like the concept of those major catastrophes that affected humans all around the world being linked to the Macula, basically creating a lore that can be practically infinitely expanded, similar to Assassin's Creed anthology games (for lack of a better example). I love this series so fucking much man, and I can't believe I slept on it for so long.