Wizard101's Mirage: Lore, History, & Theorycrafting Part 1

Wizard101 announced their new, upcoming world Mirage not long ago on KI Live. With it was shared a teaser image or two, and since then there have been at least one or two others. With Mirage on the way, I'll be refreshing your memory on what we know about this world, talk about what we're constantly learning, and present some theories for what we might find there in a two-part post series.

Familiar Faces

Nalia Dunestrider

The first NPC we encountered that really talked about Mirage was Nalia Dunstrider in Wysteria. Pigswick hosted its own sort of Tri-Wizard Tournament with multiple schools competing for the Spiral Cup. The player is the Ravenwood representative sent to take on the challengers from across the Spiral in Wysteria's Academy, but soon finds mischief has been running rampant across Pegasus Place and Tanglewood Way. Nalia Dunstrider is another student from Mirage competing in the tournament.

•  "I am unsurprised you have never heard of my world... it is a subtle place, an oasis in a desert of mystery."

• "My world of Mirage has few plants, and I wanted to see Tanglewood Way!" 

Elia Dunerunner

The only other NPC we meet from Mirage before we hit the third arc is Elia Dunerunner. Cousin to Nalia Dunestrider, Elia is a companion of Gemma Blackheather. Encountering this NPC isn't quite so easy as Nalia, however. Elia and Gemma (who is a fox from Avalon) are encountered during the Spiral Cup Gauntlet.

• "My cousin, Nalia Dunestrider, enticed me to come here with her stories of grand adventure. So far, I'm not so impressed compared to the splendor of my home, Mirage. Still, maybe you'll show me something new." 

New Sights to See

Catstantinople

Interestingly, when it comes to visualizing the places we'll be seeing, we've got... visuals. Two of our biggest sources of foresight for Mirage have been made available to look at. With Polaris, KingsIsle did a poster and photo teaser site. With Mirage, they're moving back to how they teased Khrysalis - slowly releasing concept art on social media sites.

Paintings

Wizard101 doesn't typically confirm that a painting in-game belongs to a particular world, but we can make some assumptions. There are two places in the Spiral I would guess we have paintings related to Mirage. First, one in Wysteria (appropriate given it's the first time Mirage was brought up in Wizard101). And then, a few in the Arcanum (more on those other paintings later).

The left-most picture is a Alligator-looking ruler that doesn't quite seem to fit in with Krokotopia. He seems more imperial, like a better fit for a Mirage-style world. The two fiery ones were part of the decorations when the Arcanum first came out. They changed its design multiple times and they no are no longer there, but the two purple and pink ones are very likely Mirage. They match the Zigazag sky, but during the day, and feel like they belong in a desert. The other two may be Yago, home of Helephants and Fire Dwarves.

Timeline

The Arabian Peninsula

The Sultan's Palace was the first indication we got of another desert-themed world. Just like the Aquila house in Wizard101 was a sign of Aquila there. There was, for some time, evidence that Mirage was a Pirate hub for Krokotopia, but now is established as a separate world. While Krokotopia focuses mainly on Egypt, Mirage clearly went further, but how far? With knowledge of classics like Aladdin, we were all thinking Arabian Nights.

The Arabian Peninsula includes parts of Jordan and Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and a few other countries. But, with the release of the Catstantinople teaser, we know that's not enough, because Constantinople was part of the Latin Empire in modern-day Turkey.

The Ottoman Empire

Sheldon of Adventures of the Spiral suggests that Mirage will cover most of the Ottoman Empire. This covers two bases. First, where the lore and history of the world comes from. Second, the general time period in which we're operating (especially knowing Constantinople has fallen - its ruins are in the teaser).

Returning a Gemstone

Qismah Shasa

The Death Scholar in the Arcanum is from Mirage, and we're getting a lot of reason to visit based on a few of the quests we completed. Qismah helps us recover the Desert Star, a uniting force for Mirage. This is the most extensively we've heard about the world.

• "The gemstone is from a bygone age, when Mirage was united in peace and purpose. Today, it is ruled by petty warlord who squabble over empty sands."

• "It seems the Desert Star was taken from Mirage many centuries ago by ancient Celestian researchers who promised to return it, but never followed through." 

The Desert Star

Qismah Shasa isn't the only one who knows about this sacred Mirage relic. Baba Yaga and Ignus Ferric do a little studying to learn more and connect the crystal shard to Polaris.

• "It's called the Desert Star, once the Crown Jewel of the Sand Sultans, but lost long ago."

• "Strongest gemstone I've ever seen! Unbreakable, but it's also clear that it was fractured from a larger piece."

• "Yes, I'd say it's definitely FirstWorld material, probably broken by the Titans themselves. Seems most of the shards are in Polaris, though."

• "I've promised to give the Desert Star to Qismah so she might see it restored to Mirage." 

Baba Yaga then confirms that these are all shards from a larger crystal from the First World. Perhaps we'll explore more of this topic in Mirage. It may be that our next quest begins with Qismah, and the task to restore the Desert Star to Mirage is ours together.

What are you most excited for in Mirage?

Stay tuned for Part 2! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral!