(Holy crap a new IP thread from Cortana... again!) Gentlemen (and ladies), Last month, [url=http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/11/bungie-seven-seraphs-osiris-new-monarchy-dead-orbit/]new copyrights/trademarks[/url] under Bungie's name were found after Bungie Aerospace showed up ([url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77950813]whatever it is[/url]). The purpose of this thread is to take a look at the new phrases that Bungie recently copyrighted, define/analyze them, connect them to each other, the Bungie universe, and a possible new IP. Before I go any further, the vast majority of any "findings" I reveal in here is from [url=http://forums.bungie.org/story/?read=58398]the Marathon Story forums[/url]. The research, insightful and witty statements, and any viable conclusions are from the good people at MBO. I'm just compiling ideas and putting them here. [u]NOBODY FREAK OUT, MKAY?[/u] >>>[u]Osiris[/u] Courtesy of poenadare: Enter, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatures_of_Light_and_Darkness]Creatures of Light and Darkness[/url]. [quote]Ah, here's a tried-and-true method for getting a feel for Bungie plots - find a sci-fi or fantasy book that covers those terms.[/quote] If history is to repeat itself here, it would be safe to say that [i]Creatures of Light and Darkness[/i] (or at least a novel like it) could be to the new IP as [i]Consider Phlebas[/i] and [i]Ender's Game[/i] were to Halo. But let's get back into vocabulary, here. The Wikipedia page threw around several names: A name familiar to this subject... Osiris- Ruler of the underworld ~and~ Anubis- Mummification and afterlife ~Dead things, yaaay? [b]While we have:[/b] Thoth- Knowledge, intelligence, the heart (thought to be the seat of the mind's intelligence) Set- Desert, storms, and foreigners Anyone remember Thoth? If you don't, go to the Marathon Story page... NOW! [quote][i]Beware. The mythical Thoth was concerned with maintaining the balance between creation and destruction, yes and no, light and darkness, not the triumph of one over the other. Do you remember the days when computers were simple, unreasoning things you could turn off and on like flashlights? Is memory what we perceived or what we want? What does Thoth think? He concerns himself with the states of off and on, good and evil. Isn't his perception simple? Doesn't it have to be? I will return.[/i][/quote] >>>[u]Seven Seraphs[/u] Seraph literally means "[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph]burning ones[/url]." A seraph is a fiery six-winged being attending on God. Four of these wings cover the being's body. Isaiah 6:7: "[i]With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.[/i]" So we've gone from a Sci-Fi book, to ancient Egypt, to the prophet Isaiah (and the book of Revelation. They're in there.). Never fear! Poenadare is here! [quote]Some authorities hold that the seraphim had their origin in the Egyptian "seref," a composite, winged creature, half lion and half eagle, which guarded graves, carried dead kings up to heaven, and transmitted prayers thither. [/quote] More dead things, yaaaaaaaaaaaay. Several of our search queries sent us back to Zelzany references (author of Creatures of Light and Darkness. Pay attention). But, I eventually stumbled upon [url=http://kimbasangels.com/egypt.html]this[/url]. Basically, a well-known Egyptian "angel" is Isis, the angel of death. [u]More dead things[/u]. >>>[u]New Monarchy[/u] This is on of the two tougher ones. Do a simple search of the term and you get sent back to [url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=New%20Monarchy&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=2p_ctW8uQHfnuBBjV0AKGajQp&SEQ=20110212031630&SID=1]a copyright catalog concerning Bungie[/url]. [quote]Unrelated note: [url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?SC=Author&SA=Bungie%20LLC&PID=lIBaOBitG9Tqu7f4KbboAid2C&BROWSE=1&HC=23&SID=2]Find #7 on this page[/url]. Yeah, that's right. [i][No title on deposit] [/i][/quote] Anyways, I really don't have much to to on for this one. If anything, it reminds me of Charlemagne. [quote][url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=40929715]Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[/url][/quote] Buuuut, that's completely biased on my part. Back to the MBO forums: By Poenadare, [quote]I don't recall Zelazny doing anything Arthurian or Carolingian. The closest he came was The Chronicles of Amber series, which makes me envy you because you haven't read it yet. Ah memories. Anyway, one notable thing about the multi-dimensional Amber is that you can have situations where a particularly awesome sword is Excalibur in one universe, Cortana in another, Durandal in another, and Joyeuse in another. They are all reflections of one really bad ass sword that's stuck in a closet somewhere in the "prime" reality called Amber. Er, ah, do I need to mention Michael Moorcock: "... Moorcock's books are generally linked into a super-cycle by the device of the Eternal Champion. This has all of the heroes being linked by the possession of the same spirit, a kind of meta-hero, whether they know it or not. ..."[/quote] We're still stuck in the realm of making vague connections, but it's something to [i]think about[/i]. Where else has this concept been used (don't say Bungie)? >>>[u]Dead Orbit[/u] Like "New Monarchy," I ended up in the [url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=Dead+Orbit&Search_Code=TALL&PID=wwg0g9HrPwOQSqJi_m1NLb7WHypk&SEQ=20110111081952&CNT=25&HIST=1]same situation[/url]. The only "connection" I can make is the word "dead." The first two terms are died to death and the afterlife. Coincidence? Or are these terms wearing matching suits? ***--->[U]LET ME REMIND YOU...[/U]<---*** Definitions and connections for these terms might as well still be up in the air, [b]ESPECIALLY[/b] for New Monarchy and Dead Orbit. Take this with a pinch of salt and don't just take this thread's word for it. So, what can we infer from these new terms? Are we looking right at the key players in the new IP? Are we looking at the name for this new universe? Tell me what you think! Tell me what you know! Again, I'd like to thank Poenadare for helping me out here. I'm not very cultured in good literature, and he knows his stuff. [Edited on 02.12.2011 11:11 AM PST]