#lionhead

Alright, the Isabel and Humphrey trailers are definitely referencing one another and their prior relationship. Humphrey is a retired hero who appears to live in Fairfax/Bowerstone castle. He talks about a female hero, who was in a "bad" situation, that he helped and trained in the ways of being a hero; however, she seemed to have her own ideas on how to be a hero. Isabel, who is introduced as the hero of Wraithmarsh, talks about her last moments with her sister. They were in a disaster, where earth, wind, and water destroyed their homes and tore them from each others grip. Isabel also doesn't think these "other heroes" know what to do with their powers, but she definitely has a plan for her powers, and I think it has to do with Wraithmarsh.

Wraithmarsh is a location in Fable 2, gloomy fucking marsh with banshees, balverines, and trolls. If we go back to Lionhead's cannon for their Fable universe, Wraithmarsh became one of the least populated locations in Albion because of one bastard, Reaver.

Reaver is the Hero of Skill from Oakvale in Fable 2 & 3 and a selfish bastard who is only concerned with himself and his interests. He tries to trick and persuade your characters across these games to do things for him and his company, such as giving your "youth" to extend his life, evicting orphans for a brothel he will own, destroying waterways and mines to expand his production lines, etc. etc. He is also an "immortal" hero because, early in his life, he made a deal with the Shadow Court to extend his natural life, as long as he provides an annual sacrafice. He struck this deal with the Shadow Court sometime before Fable 2, at least 200 years prior. The Shadow Court needed a sacrafice in order to seal the deal with the young man and he agreed, without knowing the exact sacrafice they would take. The Shadow Court destroyed his home town of Oakvale and its citizens. Reaver doesnt think of himself as the same man who made the deal with the Shadow Court, when he recalls these events in his diaries in Fable 2, but he does remember the screams of a young woman he loved, dying in the disaster. While the actual disaster wasnt identified, we know Oakvale was a port town based on the first Fable game, which would have been roughly 250 years prior to Reaver being a young man. The terrain could have changed but if the water was next to Oakvale, a flood would have been pretty easy for the Shadow Court to create with their magic.

Assuming the Lionhead lore through Fable 2 is cannon for the new Fable game, heres my theory. Wraithmarsh is the remains of the town of Oakvale. Isabel was trained by Humphrey after surviving the disaster of Oakvale. Isabel's sister died in flood (portside town, disaster had earth, wind, & water) which destroyed Oakvale. This disaster/flood was caused by the Shadow Court in order to grant young Reaver his "immortality", but he also lost someone he loved. What if Isabel's sister and Reaver's lover were the same person?

This might be a bit of a stretch, and some of the lore may be changing, but I do think Isabel is connected to Oakvale and the disaster that Reaver caused. Where the hell is Stephen Fry, Playground?! I know you're hiding him back there, I can smell it in the wraithmarsh fog and subjective morality.

But they showed Jack of Blades with all 3 masks! What about Jack?!

Last we saw Jack of Blades in Lionhead's Fable was the end of the first game/dlc. The Hero of Oakvale, your character in Fable 1, defeats Jack and the "soul" within the mask flees. It's rumored that Jack's mask has been passed down from hero to hero, slowly corrupting each of them to do Jack's will through the "soul" in the mask. This has allowed the tales of Jack of Blades immortality to be greatly exaggerated. The Hero of Oakvale has the choice whether or not to put on the mask, but once they do, they can't ever take it off. If the Hero puts on Jack's mask, they assume the mantle of Jack of Blades and the "soul" of Jacks mask will slowly return to corrupt the Hero, as it has before. Assuming the Lionhead lore through Fable 2 is cannon and has happened prior to the events of the new Fable game, the Hero of Oakvale should be very dead and the Jack of Blades mask up for grabs, reguardless if the Hero put it on. Isabel could be looking to claim the mask for herself, in hopes of avenging or "bringing back" her sister with its power. Maybe she discovers the Shadow Court caused the flood and seeks vengence on them or Reaver. Or she could be working with the current Jack of Blades to get the King or Queen of Blades mask that Jack promenantly had on him in the Isabel trailer. These 3 mask encase the "souls" of the King, Queen, and Jack of Blades who want to be worshipped as gods in Albion and have tried to destroy the kingdom to be seen as such. The "souls" corrupt the wearer to continue the Blades mission. We havnt seen the King or Queen in action in the games, but the Queen is said to have held out the longest in the Blades mission/war against Albion. Isabel definately does not see herself as a villian, as she has some reasoning behind her actions but how far is she willing to go? Does she just want to avenge her sister, bring down the destroyers of Oakvale, or watch all of Albion burn from behind a mask?