^b^

I: Anaxa mirroring Lygus & Zandar

Anaxa and Lygus&(og)Zandar are very much mirrors of one another.

of course the fact that anaxa is named Anaxagoras after the real-world originator of the concept of nous wouldn't go nowhere. I have more to say about this but for now this is serves as a tie to zandar in regards to the creator of nous part

but before i go talking about ogZandar, here are some odd parallels with lygus

both of them make references to Thus Spoke Zarathustra ("Thus speaks Zandar One Kuwabara", Anaxa's CHRYSOS magazine being Did Anaxagoras Thus Spoke and the book in his CHRYSOS being Thus Spoke Anaxagoras)

"similar diction" on the whiteboard refers to this one specific set of lines that occurred in 3.5 that made me immediately jump at the realization bc they were mentioned very closely to one another (Lygus: "[...] one of those thousands", Anaxa: "ten thousand ways [to make an antikytheran suffer]")

the main reason why im so caught up on this one is because it happened. so near to each other when playing the quest that the similarity just stuck with me

Lygus: Listen: Irontomb is fated to be born. You may shackle me and put me in chains, but I have thousands of ways to ensure the Destruction's descent… Lygus: And what I just mentioned is only one out of those thousands.

Anaxa: I've got no idea how to outwit a reclusive genius... But making an Antikytheran suffer? The Demigod of Reason has ten thousand ways to do just that.

the next two one is not on the whiteboard and is something i only remembered after i erased the whiteboard's contents to study BUT Lygus' plan also reminded me of anaxa's ult line when i was playing through the quest. im not exactly sure Why, the two just feel connected

lygus' obsession with the allegory of the cave is known to all by now, enough said. he loves that cave. we've had mentions of the allegory before lygus in 3.5, with the ost albums for ampho, but anaxa also mentioned the allegory unprompted all the way back in 3.2 in a flashback with empedocles

the reason as to why this stands out compared to when other characters have mentioned The Cave is that he did so when he was still a student, umprompted, without any prior lygus influence. scholars and philosophers are drawn to the cave i guess, but im keeping note of it because it feels. so suspect after everything

Anaxa: Then they're just deluding themselves. People believe in Kephale's tale of genesis, accepting wholesale whatever the priests preach, but we're different. We've already walked out of the fire-lit cave of ignorance. Anaxa: We have already realized that we live in a world where Titans make the rules. Even when we look at the sky, we're only seeing what they allow us to see. Rather than gazing at this mockery of a night sky fabricated by them for the rest of my life, why shouldn't I be the one to take control of the projection device instead?

(heh. it's the one where he talks about taking the projection device)

now, for (og)Zandar, this is mostly coming from the recluse relic set

in the description of the body piece, Recluse's Camel-Colored Coat, zandar wakes up from a dream where his backstory and motivations (in regards to creating nous) are told to him outright in second person (the voice speaking is implied to be nous imo). this matches anaxa's first character story, where cerces does the exact same thing

(please click on the images to read the full text)

the two of them (and lygus) also do the little "hehe" laughs. other characters do this as well ofc (it's a common enough character trait with this general type of character ig) but im keeping note of it bc it's funny how they all do this

and lastly. that paper that i have pinned to the whiteboard. a case can be made that anaxa's outfit also matches the descriptors used for zandar's outfit

speaks for itself honestly

now, do i actually believe that anaxa could be a zandar?

no. not really.

the relic set itself says that the zandars are never to interact with one another. and also i think it's kind of...boring? if anaxa is another zandar that feels kind of boring now because the dynamics that the other possibilities propose are honestly much more interesting in comparison. and speaking of those other dynamics...

II: Anaxa & Nous

anaxa has a Lot of parallels with nous. this is something i am deeply familiar with. but do i think he could be nous themself? ehh, it's more likely than him being a zandar in my opinion, but thats for later let me discuss the relevant parallels first

Anaxa's similarities to Odin (one-eyed, sacrificed missing eye for knowledge of some kind, hanged man tarot card, etcetc) also tie him to nous (and the greater erudition as a whole arguably). it's known that one of nous' human incarnations is the blind old man in fu xuan's character stories, but i propose that the 'lost seeker' mentioned in the road of the mundanite item is a potential nous (or at least hes also related to nous) based on the little snippet we are given abt nous in the first fables trailer (and tidbit from the herta store erudition lc but i'll talk more abt that in a minute)

The celestial one guards their secrets, plotting out the roots that connect all things. But they are silent, like a shroud of mist at the center of the universe. Listen to the silence and you will know where the stars are resting

(there's also the one-eyed poet from the hero's trail item and while the one-eyed poet does have very anaxa-like tendencies ("what are you carving on the tombstone, one-eyed poet?""proof of our existence.") the one eyed poet is most likely referring to helioticus and helioticus is a whole nother bag of worms and is probably not a nous)

anaxa's visual similarities to nous are also something to take note of. there's a moment in the cutscene where he offers his coreflame that draws your eye towards the red crystal earring, very similar to how any art of nous will have you looking at the red eye at the side of THEIR head rather than THEIR actual face

a lot of anaxa-related stuff gives him the same sort of like. visual language of nous. i dont know if thats the right term but thats what im going with. that looking off to the side with something in the center of the head

theres also quite a few symbols that could be associated with nous on anaxa's clothes. notably the ones on his coat's lapel and on his collar

there's also the weird connection between nous, anaxa and trees if that counts as well? this one also kind of strengthens the odin stuff but like. remember the fables passage that was said when nous was revealed? the one i mentioned earlier?

(+ the grove of epiphany as a whole. of course)

lastly for now, there is a concept in semiotics known as signs, signifiers, and the signified. a signifier is like an observable symbol (word/object) associated with a sign, the signified is what the sign represents in the mind, and the sign itself is the pure meaning itself. please look at the image below instead for a better explanation

and i would like to mention that one of anaxa's traces is Roaming Signifier. it is part of his kit. he is the signifier.

it could also be that bc he's the chrysos heir of reason then yeah he is signifying Reason but no other heir has this sort of thing? and when you look at all the other Connections it feels reasonable to see it as the sign in this case being the erudition (which makes anaxa a nous)

(also yes there's his as i've written 2-4 but i'll talk about that later. you'll see.)

but do i think anaxa is nous/an avatar of nous? like i said. it's more likely than him being zandar. he displays characteristics similar to nous, and maybe THEY were hiding a part of THEMSELF with ampho for whatever reason and thats what anaxa is. my issue with this idea is that it conflicts too much with anaxa's whole "humans and gods are equals" themes and also there would have to be a Lot of explanation for nous leaving but technically still being there via anaxa so while this one is plausible, it still doesnt sit with me right.

but i still think anaxa is related to nous. theres too many threads that connect and intersect way too well for me to believe otherwise. but what else could he be if he is connected to nous, but not THEM nor THEIR creator?

III: Anaxa as a creation ("child") of Nous

(kind of similar to the pure children of anasrava i guess but not really bc it can be either like that (anaxa as a part of nous but not nous themself (so kinda like the scepter)) or he was created by THEM but im rambling now)

(this one is the most speculative part but i like the ideas i present here)

Lets start with that passage i glossed over, his as i've written.

The way he addresses himself comes from elsewhere, An imitation of a divine machine, with some flair.

within amphoreus there is no possible "divine machine" anaxa could be referencing, but if you look outside amphoreus the evidence points to this 'divine machine' being nous

why did i not include this in the anaxa as nous part? because of this one little word. imitation. an imitation of a divine machine. he is not The divine machine, he is an imitation (i guess it could be that he presents himself as an imitation but still. imitation implies not the original so either way)

you ever notice how many jesus references anaxa has? a teacher, ridiculed for his beliefs, was crucified, died and came back to life (not within any of the cycles but just in general he did do that), literally walked on water (AIW 3-3), etcetc. if you add him being the creation of nous that would also make him the son of god (hehe)

there's also the fact he's referred to as a child/childlike so often and that could be in relation to the whole "childlike wonder and curiosity" part of seeking knowledge and all that but like. the fact it happens so much it makes me hmm

Now consider: The Themes (some may consider this next bit closer to headcanon territory but listen. hear me out)

it would tie in with the creator&creation themes that have been previously established (and potentially in the future expand upon them). specifically the kind of creator and creation theming that comes up when lygus/zandar is involved ("I like stories where the creator and creation live in harmony" yeah right okay sure)

anaxa being the creation of nous doesn't conflict as much with anaxa's "humans and gods are equals" theme as him being a nous does. hes human through and through, and he will prove that the powers of humanity are capable of rivalling the gods even if he has access to that divine power (AIW 2-2: He wishes not to use the divine power that is his, refusing rightful custody.)

(and maybe, in creating anaxa, nous would be able to truly learn about humanity. the divine machine, an instrument of cold steel, made to seek knowledge of all things in the universe, creating a human child to experience all things humanity has to offer in THEIR stead...this one might be more of a headcanon but The Themes...)

(it also makes for a nice spin on his namesake. Anaxagoras. The real-world originator of the concept of nous being the name for the creation of the world-ordering divine machine. maybe thats why he has those parallels to zandar/lygus, he's named after them in a sense)