So after playing this map all too many times just to complete the Easter Egg w/ @Doppelgänger and @NaBrZHunter, I got to thinking - what exactly are we dealing with in this map? Specifically, story implications and what they lead beyond Zestubou No Shima. In order to get a better understanding for myself (and to hopefully see everyone's input) on certain questions that are still to be answered, here are the most common and intriguing questions regarding Der Eisendrache:
1) What became of Groph?
There is already a topic discussing this, but if you have completed the Easter Egg, you are well aware that the Moon becomes annihilated, and Griffin Station with it. We can assume that there are teleporters on the Moon, but then we gotta ask this: where do those teleporters lead to? And if we did figure out a location, would Groph be dead or did he manage to leave before the rockets hit the station? I'm really curious to see what everyone says about this.
2) Is Samantha in control of the zombies here?
It's a very iffy situation. I say yes; however, it's the Samantha of this universe controlling them rather than the Samantha we save in Origins/ Samantha that's supposedly in the House. Because this universe is shared by the Giant, we know that Maxis and Sam were betrayed and teleported by Richtofen 1.0. But we also know that the MPD on Moon, when teleported to the anti-gravity chamber of Der Eisendrache, only the Keeper resides in the Moon MPD. So what happened to Samantha? Her physical body should be inside the pyramid yet it isn't.
3) What is the history behind the castle?
This is such a little-commented portion of the map, but I always find it intriguing when I dig into it. Let me start off by explaining the backstory a bit: when doing the Wolf Bow steps, the first step requires you to activate four paintings in a random order before getting your arrow. Little do most people know that most of the steps correlate to the origins of the castle's last occupancy prior to Group 935.
Long ago, there was a knight who was part of the royal guard. The knight was a brave war solider, and eventually rose to the throne as king. He held the wolf insignia as his battle crest and was known throughout the lands as the Wolf King. Suddenly, a darkness swept the land and from a hole in the sky came an Apothicon monstrosity. The villages were set ablaze and an war was fought between the King's men and the dimensional creatures. The King won the war, and the Apothicons retreated back into the void, defeated. An unknown time after, the King was struck by a few arrows during battle and died alongside his faithful wolf companions. His corpse was laid to rest at the highest point of the chamber beneath Hall of the Ancients.
Now this is all told by the paintings, remainder of the Easter Egg, and some items found all the way from Samantha/Maxis' rooms to the anti-gravity chamber themselves. Clearly, the Apothicons have attempted to conquer the universe before but were defeated. Interestingly enough, the bones of the King's wolves sit next to the Wolf Bow chest, next to one of the Keeper statues. Did the King receive help from the Keepers to defeat the Apothicons during the great war, and commemorated the Keepers as great protectors of the castle? It would explain why the armor of a solider with the Vril Device slot produces a Keeper spirit.
4) What corrupted the Keeper when it came back from Griffin Station?
After much discussion, I'm inclined to believe that Groph attempted to trap the Keeper within the MPD. And whatever resided in the MPD (evil that also inhabited Samantha during Black Ops 1) corrupted the Keeper. Hence, why Richtofen mentions that Groph must've corrupted the creature. We know that Keepers - while powerful - aren't inherently evil. In fact, they are ancient guardians who will only attack when they feel threatened as seen in here and Shadows of Evil. When the Keeper returns to Earth, note how it floats above the Moon MPD - similar to the style of Samantha during the Moon easter egg. This leads me to a follow up question:
5) Is the Keeper boss battle set within the realm which the darkness lives inside the MPD?
I mean, it seems obvious. You teleport to an unknown area with the corrupted yet larger Keeper byt DG-4ing the anti-gravity panels around the pyramid. It seems like you teleport to the within the MPD on a dimensional level. If you happen to have your birghtness up while in that stage, note how there is no opening beyond the cold walls of the room. Additionally, the pillars circling around the center appear...ancient in architecture, definitely beyond human conception. Is this the throne of the MPD where the controller's spirit resides in?
6) Why does Maxis not keep contact with the crew?
In The Giant, we only talk to Maxis when activating the Fly Trap easter egg (the beacon becomes lit). However, in Der Eisendrache, he never speaks to us again. We know that he has a secret plan with Richtofen that the rest of the crew does not know about. But if they all know they must kill their 1.0 selves at the correct time and event, what is this hidden agenda that Maxis has entrusted in Richtofen? And where the hell is he to help us out? Maxis was helping the crew kill many Richtofen X.0s prior to them meeting up with Richtofen in The Giant.
Can't wait to hear the responses and insight!