Analyzing "Stormbound" (From an Aether perspective)

[RadZakpak]

"Stormbound" by Kevin Sherwood is a song that released with the Chaos map "Ancient Evil", and for that reason it has been viewed as being intrinsically tied to the Chaos story along with "Drowning" and "Mystery", but I think there's another way to look at the song. Kevin is no stranger to double meanings in his songs, with some meanings sometimes only becoming apparent when looking back years later. I think it is worth re-examining these songs through the lens of the Aether story as well, especially considering that this very song is referenced in "Alone" which follows the Aether story. "Stormbound" in particular has many elements that can tie it to Aether very nicely, and I want to examine them here.

 

Let's begin:

 

Fear and fire await you

content on the shore and more

(The song seems to allude to the River of Styx. In summary, in Greek Myth Styx was the river you pass through to reach the underworld. You would pay the boatman, Charon, to guide you across the river into the afterlife. If you could not afford the fee, you would join the wraiths in the river, suffering eternal pain. On one hand this is a great setup for a song related to Chaos, with its ties to mythology. On another, this allegory can work for the Aether story as well. If we view the underworld as the place beneath creation, The Dark Aether, it would make sense to be content on the shoreline, never ready to venture further down. Fear and fire only begin to describe that fate.)

still ride through calming water

just to end up stranded by the

 

Stormbound

(Here is where I can make a strong case in favor of this song having an Aether-related meaning. While some are content on the shore of Styx, others ride through the water, only ending up stranded back on the shore by the "Stormbound." This could have a few interpretations, however, I think it excellently mirror's Pablo's situation inside the Tag pocket dimension. He explicitly says he has tried to leave the shores of Siberia, only to drift back. This is a microcosm for the cycle as a whole, as no matter what anyone seems to do, the outcome is the same, beginning it all over again. They are all stranded by Richtofen, the "Stormbound". Storms in many contexts throughout Aether signify influence from other dimensions, something I explore in this thread.

 

After Forsaken, it is clear now that "Alone" is about Zykov's banishment to the Dark Aether and rise to power as the "Forsaken". "In river he drowns", "By storm he is bound". Zykov is trapped and bound to the corrupting force of the Dark Aether, the "Storm". Richtofen in Aether is similar, constantly in and out of the MPD and bound by the forces of the Apothicons and Keepers to repeat his mistakes again and again. In turn, he strands everyone else who tries to ride the river Styx into the afterlife, out of self-preservation. He would rather keep everyone at the shore eternally awaiting death than accept his fate and join the river.)

 

days locked in night

confined in time the night brings

(There is no "day", only the eternal night that is the Dark Aether. The first map of Aether beginning with "Night" and the last beginning with "Day" is not just a coincidence. Only through breaking the cycle can a new day truly begin, but by locking everyone in this cycle Richtofen that day will not happen. They are confined in the same stretch of time until he steps away.)

white wings

come shimmering down

a thundering crown

of lightning sound

(shimmering crown)

 

(thundering down)

 

Grin of a fallen angel

dissolve through the floor

(Here we have imagery of a "fallen angel" and white wings. I'm mixed on who the fallen angel is. The "grin" would certainly fit Richtofen as we hear of his "evil grin" in "Shockwave." The Shadowman may also be similarly described as a fallen angel much like the devil in Paradise Lost. Regardless, these two figures bring with them the storm via their white wings.)

and more still try to

 

to cross this river

flowing while not

knowing that there's

 

no way out

and no way in

no day or night

(More continue to try and break free of the cycle. It seems implied that it has been done before, but in the end something failed, reverting back to the beginning again. It's also interesting that "knowing" is brought up as that is a major motif in "I Am The Well". Primis Richtofen followed the flow of the river, believing he could bring himself and the others he cared about to the other side, into the new day. But the truth is, there is no way out for them.)

the white wings will

 

bring us home

in shimmering down

and wondering how

we might be

found

(how might we be found)

(Richtofen can bring them "home" to Agartha in the form of their eternal souls. Wondering "how they might be found" could mean that he still cannot figure out how they call all be saved when the cycle is broken. He initially believes his blood insurance plan will work, only for that to be a failure, wondering if there is any way out for them.

 

"I Am The Well" describes "golden pins" falling into the dark, and the singer wonders who will want them when their muddy and who will find them. I believe this as well as Stormbound describes Richtofen's fear that when their souls are cast into the Dark Aether, that they will never be found again, that they will forever be tainted and lost.)

 

under the ground

no light or sound

in river drown

by storm be

bound

be bound

by river and the storm

be bound

(Their inevitable fate is to be banished along with everything else into the Dark Aether as the universe is reset and a new day dawns. It is literally dark, and as we have seen in Cold War, it is akin to an endless body of water. We see similar language to "Alone", and it's clear this is the fate for everyone in the old multiverse. To be bound to the "river" and "storm" that is the ancient realm below creation.)

 

(wintering and the) 

(withering of the fall)

(within everything) 

(is the tethering) 

(of us all)

(In multiple songs the restarting of the cycle is described as an endless fall or descent. Here it describes it as a corrosive one, as you wither away in your descent. "Within everything is the tethering of us all" describes the Aether, the entity tying Primis and Ultimis together and connecting the vast multiverse. Only through the destruction of it all can freedom come.)

 

(whether weathering)

(of the bettering)

(of the better ring)

(is a fettering)

 

(and surrendering)

(to the severing and the)

(call from white wings)

("Fettering" means to restrict or restrain. In this instance, the white wings could be referring to the "angels" which showed their influence in Black Ops 4 as beings that tipped the scales towards the breaking of the cycle in some way, influencing Jeb Brown to build a component for the Agarthan Device. If this is the case, the "call" from the white wings to break the cycle would be severing the "tethering" mentioned previously, the Aether connecting Primis and Ultimis. It would be surrendering as well. It is better to be "fettered" to this fate than to wither away slowly in the endless cycle.)

 

(Fall)

Fear in the morning

is a nightfall and a warning

and the lure of adorning

means forever as a

statue of who

 

tried to see

endless odyssey

shadow progeny

poison prophecy concealed

(This set of lyrics is really interesting. At the beginning it was stated that "fear" awaits all who pass over the river. It is stated that the fear that seems to be the morning, or "a new day", is actually nightfall, the beginning of the cycle again, and it is warning. It is the lure keeping Richtofen from doing the right thing.

 

Other songs have described being "blinded" to the truth, which describes Richtofen perfectly. "A statue of who tried to see, endless odyssey, shadow progeny" would describe his quest to find that truth in the endless odyssey that is the cycle. A progeny is a descendant or child, and I believe that could also describe Richtofen as the metaphorical "son" of the Shadowman, suffering a similar fate as him and becoming his apprentice.

 

And of course, the poison prophecy that was concealed from Richtofen's eyes was the fate at the end of Tag, the deaths of Primis and Ultimis.)

 

Fear and fire await all

all hoping to see an

open doorway

into the daylight

our fate is a boatman after

all the roads before us

lead to a way that ends up

away from

where we become

the way we were

before it had us

Stormbound

(Again, the thesis of the song is described. The fear and fire of end is not preferable, and so Richtofen hopes to find that "open doorway" into the daylight, into the new universe (I guess that kind of worked out with Eddie huh). But their fate is with the boatman Charon into the afterlife, into the Dark Aether, after every road ends up in the same place: the beginning of the cycle.)

days locked in the night

within our minds will time bring

white wings

when crumbling down

in a thundering sound

we'll cry out

If we fall

with no one around

will we still make a sound

or just die

(As I stated before, I believe Richtofen is terrified that when they are all dead, no one will remember them and everything he ever did will be for nothing. It's a very human fear. Also this alludes to the phrase, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it really fall?" which has a similar meaning that their struggles will not be known by anyone in the new universe. It is also fitting to describe them like trees falling in a forest, just as they all fell in the frozen forest.

 

"Our golden pins are falling into the dark

Who will want them when they're muddy

Or find them when they fall

What was the lasting meaning

If we're dead and gone")

 

worn down and

stormbound and

wondering how we'll

ever be found

its thundering down

with deafening sound

with the darkness surrounding let

bright wings of lightning

rain

 

Down in to the ground

no light is found

in river drown

by storm be bound

be bound

by river and the storm

be bound

 

Thanks for reading my analysis! This was a lot of fun to do! Let me know what you think.

[anonymous]

Grandieuze post Rad! Consulting google translate, "stormbound" means cut off by a storm, right? Like you said this sounds very much alike Pablo's situation, but it could also apply on Richtofen's case, either in Alcatraz or in the Cycle in general.

On 11/2/2021 at 1:56 AM, RadZakpak said:

(As I stated before, I believe Richtofen is terrified that when they are all dead, no one will remember them and everything he ever did will be for nothing. It's a very human fear. Also this alludes to the phrase, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it really fall?" which has a similar meaning that their struggles will not be known by anyone in the new universe. It is also fitting to describe them like trees falling in a forest, just as they all fell in the frozen forest.

This argument is strengthened by a quote of Richtofen, I think in the BotD end cutscene, where he says that "no one will remember me", referring to his fear of not getting his deserved rememberance. That has nothing to do with his ego, but I can actually feel that for him. All his suffering all for the greater good, but no one there that will acknowledge his effort.