Blades of Light and Shadow Theory Page

Welcome to the *Blades of Light and Shadow* series Theory Page. This is a place where you can discuss confirmed, debunked, and unconfirmed theories about the *Blades of Light and Shadow* series.

## Current & Unconfirmed Theories

* **Final Choice:** Due to the complexity of the three different endings we are given at the end of Book 2 and the difficulty of incorporating them all in the third Book, some players believe that our choice will be eventually undone by Nifara, as it seems that she doesn't approve of our choice, regardless of which of the three is. One way to do that, is for Nifara to somehow reverse time to a specific point before we made our final decision, and make the choice herself in order to have only one route for Book 3.
* **Nifara will be the Big Bad of Book 3:** Given that she is unhappy of your choice regarding the Light and Shadow Realms regardless of what you do and expresses disappointment with all the races, it is believed that she will be the Big Bad of Book 3.

## Confirmed Theories

* **Gender of Choice**: Many fans hoped and thought this book would break the series of locked books and would allow the player to choose their gender. This was confirmed with the title announcement of the book.
* **Skills**: It is believed the MC can choose skills like magic, archery, sword fighting, diplomacy and etc. This was confirmed in a sneak peek shown on January 9th, 2020, which features skill sets.
* **The Shadow Court will be the Big Bads**: Given that the blog post teasing this series mentioned that our MC will be fighting against the forces of the Shadow Court, it is believed that they will serve as this series' main antagonists. This is confirmed because a key plot point of the story revolves around collecting and purifying the Onyx Shards to prevent their army from escaping the Realm of Shadows.
* **Collectibles**: It is possible the MC will have the option to collect supernatural items or messages that can be used to help them during the fight against the forces of the Shadow Court. This is confirmed when you can go on side quests with members of your party to collect treasures and other relics. You can also collect six Lore Tablets to unlock a bonus scene.
* **Adoptable Pet**: It is believed the MC will have the option to adopt a supernatural creature as a pet. This gains more traction with the December 2019 newsletter which shows a sneak peek of Threep, a cat with bat wings. On January 23rd, 2020, a sneak peek was released showing three different creatures, two of which resembled an owl/bear hybrid and a dog. Some believe that one or both of those creatures may be adoptable pets. This is confirmed in Book 1, Chapter 3 when Threep joins the party for free.
* **Duchess Xenia is the Kaya Imposter:** It is believed that Duchess Xenia has been impersonating Kaya because she is the only female member of the Shadow Court that has been named. This is confirmed in Book 1, Chapter 12.
* **Aerin will be a villain:** Players believe that Aerin is a villain corrupted by the Shadow Court because he was bullied by his brother Baldur throughout his life, making him susceptible to the Shadow Court's corruption and promises of great power. This is confirmed in Book 1, Chapter 14 when it is revealed that he was corrupted and pledged his loyalty to the Dreadlord long before the events of the story.
* **Onyx Shards**: When combined together, the onyx shards form a sword hilt. This results in players believing that they'll form the Blade of Shadow when reforged. This is confirmed in Book 1, Chapter 14 when Aerin reassembles the shards to form a sword hilt and conjures the blade.
* **Skillset**: Players theorize that every skill can be learned, including the elite ones. This is attributed to the possibility of reaching Level 3 by Book 1, Chapter 2, through having the right skills and picking the right choices. This is confirmed, as you can learn all the skills by the end of the book.
* **Identity of the hooded figure**: At the end of Book 1, Chapter 16, the MC has a dream involving a hooded figure warning us that we have woken a bigger evil. Some players believe this figure is someone we has crossed paths with during his/her adventure. Another theory is that the hooded figure is The Watcher, the name mentioned in the final lore tablet. The second part of this theory is confirmed in Book 2, Chapter 1, where the hooded figure is revealed to be the Watcher.
* **Shadow Nia:** Another similar theory is that Nia can do Shadow magic along with Light magic, and/or that she still has some amount of corruption from when the Dreadlord possessed her. This is supported by some scenes that showcase her new powers. It is confirmed in Book 2, Chapter 6 that this is the result of lingering corruption within Nia.
* **Dwarves**: According to a lore tablet, dwarves live on the other side of the world. As a result, players believe that dwarves will appear in Book 2, and one of them will join the party whether as a love interest or not. This is strengthened with a sneak peek featuring dwarves, and eventually confirmed in Chapter 9, where we meet several dwarves, including Cherta who joins our party.
* **Aerin will become a Love Interest:** Given the revelation that Book 2 will have new love interests, similar to *Perfect Match, Book 2*, as well as the fact that Aerin is featured in a sneak peek for Book 2, many players believe he will redeem and become a love interest. This is confirmed when Aerin joins the party and you can gain romance points, as well as sleep with him.
* **Valax:** Given the revelation that Book 2 will have new love interests, similar to *Perfect Match, Book 2*, as well as the fact that Valax is featured in a sneak peek, some players believe we can redeem her, and she will become one of the new love interests. While she has not yet fully redeemed, she is confirmed to be a love interest in Book 2, Chapter 12, when she becomes part of our party and we are given romance choices with her.

## Debunked Theories

* **Baldur will be a villain**: Due to his arrogant and rude personality, and desire for more renown, players believe he will end up serving as an antagonist in the story, most likely as an agent of the Shadow Court. This is debunked in Book 1, Chapter 14, when it is revealed that Aerin was corrupted and kills Baldur as payback for years of bullying.
* **The Dreadlord's host**: After the third lore tablet in Book 1, Chapter 9, with a description of the Dreadlord probably seeking a new host, players started theorizing that the new host will be Kade, Aerin, or Baldur. Some believe that if the Dreadlord chooses Kade as his new host, it could serve as a cliffhanger for a second book in the series. All of them are debunked as the Dreadlord needs a powerful magic user as a host, which is Nia.
* **The Dreadlord and Aerin**: Some fans believe that the Dreadlord will not keep his promise to Aerin, and the Dreadlord was just using him from the very beginning so he would spread the Court's influence throughout the land. Once Aerin realizes or sees this he will come back to the light side and help defeat the Dreadlord.
* **Light Shards**: With the Blade of Shadow formed in Book 1, Chapter 14, this means Book 2 will have the party find the Blade of Light to balance it. This is debunked with the appearance of the Blade of Light in Book 1, Chapter 16.
* **Cancellation:** With the book's release date initially announced for 2022, then delayed to 2023 (three years after the first book), as well as BOLAS being a high production value series, a section of fans have considered the possibility that the second book will be cancelled, much like the sequels to *Most Wanted*, *Hero*, and *Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance* before it. This theory is much weaker with the Q&A and polls that Pixelberry has run since, along with the book appearing in the April 2023 Choices Insiders. This theory has since been debunked as the book is confirmed to premiere on September 1, 2023.
* **New main cast in Book 2:** Based on the summary of Book 1, Chapter 16, which is also a quote from King Xaius in the flashback in Chapter 1, it is believed the main cast will either win the final battle or die fighting. If the latter is true, then Book 2 will feature a new main cast. The fact that we win the final battle no matter what makes this theory less likely. This is eventually debunked with PB releasing sneak peeks featuring the main cast of Book 1.
* **Dream Essence:** It is possible the Dream Essence that can be acquired in Book 2, Chapter 1 is a Nerada Stone. The fact that both objects are capable of storing dark energy and are a similar color supports this. This is debunked in Book 2, Chapter 2 when the Watcher reveals that it contains nightmares, not corruption.
* **Watcher:** It is theorized that the Watcher is also the first realm-walker. This is supported by the fact that among the realm-walker abilities that are mentioned in the Lore Tablets, telepathy is one of them, which is exactly how the Watcher used to communicate with us in the Shadow Realm and help us escape.
	+ Additionally, due to his cryptic behaviour, players believe that the Watcher will either be the main villain of the story, or that he will serve as a secondary antagonist next to the Empire of Ash and the Empress.
	+ After meeting the Goblins in the Shadow Realm and finding out that not every member of the Shadow Court was pure evil, there are some who feel that the realms are meant to be traversed to maintain balance and that the Watcher wants to close the rifts for evil purposes.
	+ The summary for Book 2, Chapter 11 mentions that all isn't what it seems and the title for the chapter is "Healing and Hard Truths". A possible "Hard Truth" will be us figuring out that the Watcher has been using and manipulating us. All of these theories are eventually debunked, as the Watcher remains our ally and is killed by the Ash Empress in Book 2, Chapter 15.
* **Valax's mother:** There is a theory that Valax's mother, the Ash Empress, is Nifara, one of the Old Gods. This is strengthened in Book 2, Chapter 13, when it was revealed that Valax was created instead of birthed. In Book 2, Chapter 15, this theory is debunked.
* **Series will end at Book 2:** Since sequels due to be released from 2024 onwards will go through a VIP phase, some players believe Book 2 will be the last book, so as to avoid having a VIP sequel after one without a VIP phase. Another reason is that given the high cost of production, it is highly unlikely that this series will be renewed for yet another book. This is debunked when PB announced that Book 2, Chapter 18, will be the Book finale, meaning that there will be a third Book.
* **Kade**: Players theorize that Kade will be rescued from the Shadow Realm, but his condition upon rescue will be determined by the MC's level and the number of premium side quests the player picks, with the chances of him coming back intact and uncorrupted increased with every higher level and side quest picked. While his appearance and overall health is determined by our choices, this theory is debunked as Kade is still alive and recovers by the end of the story.
* **MC's health**: Since making wrong choices can result in the MC being hurt with the screen temporarily turning red, it is believed that such injuries will come into play during the final chapters when potentially fighting against the big bad, making it more difficult - or impossible - to win if the MC was injured too often. While injuries do make upcoming battles more difficult, we win the final battle no matter what, debunking this theory.
* **Aerin is a realm-walker:** Since the first Lore Tablet in Book 2 revealed that realm-walkers gain their abilities through bonding with artifacts that can channel both Light and Shadow magic, it is possible that Aerin could also be a realm-walker because he wielded the Blade of Shadow to kill Baldur in Book 1, Chapter 14. This is similar to how the MC used the Blade of Light to kill the Dreadlord, which is how he/she became one. This is eventually debunked due to the lack of evidence.
* **Mal is corrupted:** It is suspected that Mal is somehow corrupted, or under the Shadow Realm's influence. Players are basing this on the fact that he's on the dark side of the cover in Book 2, and by his nonchalant behaviour and comments towards us regarding our return from the Shadow Realm. This is debunked as Mal isn't revealed to be corrupted by the end of Book 2.
* **Death**: Due to the recent talk about death in Book 2, some players theorize that this is foreshadowing, and that either the main character or one or more love interests might die, similar to how Jax or Lily were killed in *Bloodbound, Book 3*. This is debunked as everyone survives by the end of Book 2.
* **MC will become corrupted**: Due to the amount of trauma that the MC has suffered over the course of Book 2 and the fact that they haven't been able to properly process it, combined with the theory about one of the love interests dying, some players have theorized that he/she will be overcome with trauma and become corrupted, with the final straw being after one of the love interests dies (similar to the *Bloodbound* MC at the end of Book 3, Chapter 15 after either Jax or Lily's death). However, despite everything, this doesn't happen.
* **Relationship with Aerin:** Since Aerin leaves a letter in Chapter 8 if we treat him nicely enough throughout his time with us, saying he'll come when we need him, some players theorize that if we antagonize him enough, he will rejoin the Big Bads, given that he just leaves without a word.
	+ If that's the case, it's believed that we'll either be able to redeem Aerin once and for all, imprison him, or execute him. Both of these theories are debunked however, as Aerin simply wonders around Morella alone if your relationship with him is low.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayChoices/status/1739352341655282170