#athane

The Awakened heroes so far didn’t really have any MAJOR changes to their design. Sure, ATalene tied her hair back and got an extra pair of fluffier wings, and AEzizh got buffer and more blue and pink than red and purple but it wasn’t anything huge. There really wasn’t much going on in terms of theme or symbolism that wouldn’t already be there in their original form. Yes, ATalene looks more angelic than the old version and yes, AEzizh now ascends from a ball of demonic purple energy but these changes only emphasize what was already there, meanwhile AThane’s design completely flips the script on his previous aesthetics and feel.

Since his introduction to the game, Thane stood out as being one of the few Lightbearers with a darker theme to his design. Sure, he wasn’t the only one but it was still somewhat of a staple of his. His outfits consists mostly of dark blues, grays, and browns, a lot of them a little faded, and though he’s on his guard, his expression is somber. This goes double for his in-game model. And unlike the other darker-themed characters, he doesn’t really have much to lighten the overall feel up. Estrilda has her flag which has brighter colors and a nice rim of light (and her insane amount of revealed skin which also brightens the pic), Hendrik’s colors are overall lighter and he has more gold on his outfit, his hair being white also adds to a more positive mood, and we could go on. Standing out from the lineup would be Morrow and Scarlet but those are fairly late additions and their palettes are more purposely contrasting than the somber darkness we see in Thane.

In a way, this is tied to Thane’s mental state at that point of his story. After losing Baden, and blaming himself for it, Thane fell into fairly deep depression, one he only somewhat got out of after he started training Estrilda. But going off of the Solemn Vow storyline, even that didn’t exactly get him out of that state much and while he did come to genuinely care for her, how much of his teaching was because he cared and how much was because of his self-assumed debt to the Rayne family is still unclear. I think it’s safe to say that with Baden, a part of Thane died as well. And while Baden wasn’t exactly dead, there is no canon confirmation that Thane would know about that. This is one of the things I really wish they would’ve made into a webcomic since we are apparently getting some comics for some awakened heroes and it would allow for more emotional connection compared to the Voyage of Wonders and plain text description.

Furthermore, and the picture above is inverted since I can’t find the correctly-facing one, Thane lost his right arm at the same time he lost Baden. This isn’t enough to end his swordsmanship even if it was his dominant hand but no doubt was this a major blow for both his sense of self-worth and his everyday life. Again, this is already very symbolic of what happened to him because of the loss of Baden – he didn’t die but it would forever be in the back of his mind like a haunting reminder of his failure. For all means and purposes, Thane’s story could’ve ended there, leaving him agonizing over that one moment where he lost his... ehm “best friend” and his arm, the moment of his ultimate failure.

And then came his awakening.

Immediately, the first thing you notice is how much brighter this design is compared to the original. AThane is still wearing the same black suit but now with more gold, and his cloak has brighter colors. Even his hair – and a new goatee – changed from gray to blue. The addition of lighter shades, whites, and the overall light-feeling aesthetic also marks a big step for his mental state and character development. AThane moved to a brighter place. It is very fitting that Thane’s design choices are affected by him losing Baden, while AThane’s are directly tied to finding Baden again, and being able to prove himself worthy of him.

The motif for AThane’s outfit appears to be the peacock, both based on the colors and on the shape his outfit took. Peacocks are, among other things, universally considered the symbol of pride and confidence but various cultures assign them other meanings as well. In Native American cultures, peacocks could be used self-esteem, refinement, beauty, or even sexuality. Hinduism associates peacocks with prosperity, good luck, and protection. And finally, in Chinese history, peacocks were used to symbolize power, beauty, and even divinity.

It is therefore fitting for AThane’s theme to be so heavily leaning into the peacock motif for several reasons. Not only has he gained new power – and it was the power to protect – but he gained a connection to the divine by merging with the elemental wind mark. This was most certainly a tough choice, Thane avoided it for as long as he could, knowing how much of a strain it was sure to put on him. It was no sooner than he saw Baden ready to sacrifice himself for him AGAIN that he made his choice, thus ultimately making this choice about love. Now, whether you see Thaden as platonic or romantic, there is no doubt that some kind of deep love runs between the two. Last time, Baden was the one to act on it and take a tremendous risk. This time, Thane is the one to take the risk, not willing to fail Baden again, even if it costs his life. And finally, we get to the final point of AThane’s design.

Notice how the right side of his cloak is so heavily decorated with the feathers while the left side is relatively plain, the feather design instead appearing on his sleeve. This is the part I newly realized and that really knocked the air out of me once it clicked. By his self-sacrifice, AThane not only made up for his previous mistake, but he gained wings. His arm won’t ever come back, much like Baden will never be human again, but there is now something to substitute it. Now, I’m sure I don’t have to get into the common associations when it comes to wings, but let me just bring up a few most common – and most interesting – ones.

Wings symbolize protection. In multiple official arts of AThane, he seems to be using his missing arm as a way to deflect blows, the shoulder piece serving as a bright shield. This also tracks with how he even gained this new power – in an attempt to protect Baden, on a mission to protect Estrilda, and ending up giving him the determination to try and protect the world.

Wings symbolize freedom. In AThane’s case, it’s the freedom from his haunting past, and the ability to overcome it. It’s a freedom of his weakness and of the fear that he would end up losing everyone again. I wouldn’t be surprised if after this, we saw the character developing deep relationships and let himself get close to people again. He might even feel free to express himself some more. One thing I certainly hope to see once we finally get to the culmination of this arc is Thane, completely exhausted after the battle, perhaps hurt, but looking over the people who helped him get there, and smiling, or perhaps even laughing, letting all the stress and responsibility wash off of him.

And finally, wings symbolize purity and divinity. I touched upon the divinity before but I want to mention it briefly once more because angels as we know them are often intimately tied to both of the previous ties. But furthermore, they are gentle, often self-sacrificing creatures who serve as protectors, soldiers, messengers, and more. This role is fitting for a character like Thane who was a soldier, a castellan, a detective, an arrand boy, and now finally also a protector. It also symbolizes a rebith of sorts. With his rise from the dark depths his mind was in before, he can now fully embrace a new calling.

AFK Arena (luckily) doesn’t have a habit of killing off playable characters but if it did, I believe it to possibly be the perfect culmination for AThane’s arc. This is just my opinion so absolutely feel free to yell at me. I simply think that AThane gaining wings and then possibly falling in the final battle, possibly shielding his allies instead of going in for a reckless offensive, would be the most fitting end to his character development, showing us just how far he’s gone. From someone who needed others to die for him, to someone willing to protect others with his life. But even if this is not going to happen any time soon, simply the fact that he was willing to risk it for the mere chance of being able to save others is already an incredible step forward.

Well, that would be it for this analysis. I plan on going more in-depth about why the characters were picked for their particular elements too but since we only have two so far, that might have to wait. Speaking of which, we’re left down to fire and water, and Wilders and Graveborn. I wonder who will take which element? Wilders already have a character associated with fire, and Graveborn have multiple water-related characters so seeing a switch would certainly be interesting. There’s also the Daimon song video that has the grave symbolized by a large body of water so that could also be a hint... Well, we’ll see in two months. Until then, let me know what you think.