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What is Polaris inspired by?

AuthorMessage
Explorer
Jan 24, 2010
82
Hello,

Recently Polaris was released, and it kind of sounds like Poland. It looks a lot like it too. So that got me thinking: is Polaris inspired by Poland? Almost every other world in wizard 101 is inspired by a country/continent:

Wizard city- possibly North America (or just nothing)
Krokotopia-Egypt
Grizzleheim- it could be based on old europe (vikings were from europe and heim sounds German)
Marelybone-England
Mooshu-asia
celestia-probably just an ocean, although possibly hawaii
zafaria-africa
avalon-king arthur legend (so not real), but maybe a little bit of old Europe
Aquila-ancient greece

What do you think?

Squire
Jul 18, 2009
545
Nope.

It's based on the Russian and French revolutions.

Tons of threads have been made about this.

Survivor
Mar 23, 2013
41
Wizard City-The game's own world
Krokotopia-Egypt w/ crocodiles
Marleybone-London
Mooshu-East Asia
Dragonspyre-Rome maybe??
Celestia-Celestia means astral stuff, but it also has underwater stuff
Zafaria-Africa
Avalon-Fairytales
Azteca-Dinosaurs (and how it ended)
Khrysalis-Hadn't reach there yet/don't know it well
Polaris-Russia

Side worlds:
Grizzleheim-Bears and mighty warriors
Wysteria-???
Aquila-Greek Mythology

Mastermind
May 12, 2009
382
As Starblood653 said, Polaris is based on Russian Imperialism (at its end) and the French Revolution.
The term "Polaris" does not come from Poland either. Polaris is also known as the North Star, or Pole Star, the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor.

I hope that helps answer your question.

Best of luck!
S.S.

Explorer
Jan 24, 2010
82
But Poland was conquered by Russia in the Russian revolution. Kind of like what happened in Wizard 101

Mastermind
May 12, 2009
382
indyjunior on May 3, 2016 wrote:
But Poland was conquered by Russia in the Russian revolution. Kind of like what happened in Wizard 101
That is false. The Russian Revolution was internal, both the February and October ones.

As I said before, the term "Polaris" comes from the name of the North Star. It's also a play on words, as "polar" is synonymous with "cold" or "icy."

Best of luck!
S.S.

Survivor
Mar 03, 2013
20
Yes, in a sense that when Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates in 1917, Alexander Kerensky and the Mensheviks set up a provisional government following the collapse of tsarist authority, which was the February Revolution. The provisional gov't would be overthrown by the October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, who ordered the arrests of all members of the Provisional gov't and the Communist Revolution was in full swing, with a civil war following after between the Tsar supporters, or the white army led by Alexander Kolchak, and the red army, the bolsheviks, led by Leon Trotsky in the name of the revolution. The civil war will end in 1922 with the proclamation of the Soviet Union and Lenin as its first Chairman.

As for Poland, Poland had been partitioned three times long before World War 1 between Germany(Prussia at the time), Russia, and Austria,it didn't even exist until 1918 after the Paris Peace Conference and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after Poland had its own little independence movement, as well as other countries ruled by Imperial Russia at the time and even Germany.

Hoped this helped

PatrickNightShade Lvl 110
StephenFireBlade Lvl 64

Mastermind
May 12, 2009
382
PatrickNightShade1... on May 13, 2016 wrote:
Yes, in a sense that when Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates in 1917, Alexander Kerensky and the Mensheviks set up a provisional government following the collapse of tsarist authority, which was the February Revolution. The provisional gov't would be overthrown by the October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, who ordered the arrests of all members of the Provisional gov't and the Communist Revolution was in full swing, with a civil war following after between the Tsar supporters, or the white army led by Alexander Kolchak, and the red army, the bolsheviks, led by Leon Trotsky in the name of the revolution. The civil war will end in 1922 with the proclamation of the Soviet Union and Lenin as its first Chairman.

As for Poland, Poland had been partitioned three times long before World War 1 between Germany(Prussia at the time), Russia, and Austria,it didn't even exist until 1918 after the Paris Peace Conference and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after Poland had its own little independence movement, as well as other countries ruled by Imperial Russia at the time and even Germany.

Hoped this helped

PatrickNightShade Lvl 110
StephenFireBlade Lvl 64
Prussia and Germany, at that time, were two separate entities. There was no German Empire.

Anyways, Poland declared independence from Russia in 1918, after the revolutions of 1917. They lost their independence after the German invasion of Poland during WWII (1939), in which the USSR then retaliated and basically took the rest of what Germany did not get its hand on.

The Soviet Union also decided to invade and occupy the Baltic nations before annexing them. Poland, as far as I'm aware, never actually declared independence, while Lithuania (and the other Baltics) did. That is why Lithuania has two independence days, while Poland only has one.

A weird fact to go along with this: many countries (especially those in NATO) recognized the Baltic States and Poland as independent countries, but these nations were completely controlled by the USSR (puppet elections were common), and nothing was done.

Best of luck!
S.S.

Survivor
Mar 03, 2013
20
Shannon Skybreaker on May 13, 2016 wrote:
Prussia and Germany, at that time, were two separate entities. There was no German Empire.

Anyways, Poland declared independence from Russia in 1918, after the revolutions of 1917. They lost their independence after the German invasion of Poland during WWII (1939), in which the USSR then retaliated and basically took the rest of what Germany did not get its hand on.

The Soviet Union also decided to invade and occupy the Baltic nations before annexing them. Poland, as far as I'm aware, never actually declared independence, while Lithuania (and the other Baltics) did. That is why Lithuania has two independence days, while Poland only has one.

A weird fact to go along with this: many countries (especially those in NATO) recognized the Baltic States and Poland as independent countries, but these nations were completely controlled by the USSR (puppet elections were common), and nothing was done.

Best of luck!
S.S.
Prussia formed into the German Empire in 1871 with Kaiser Wilhelm I becoming "German Emperor" instead of "Emperor of Germany" because Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Prussia and Germany, believed that if the title said "Emperor of Germany", the other German States would not have agreed to unify under Prussia. Really Prussia and Germany were almost the same thing until after World War 1, because Versailles was responsible for dissolving the Empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Prussia then became a free state within the Weimar Republic that formed in the aftermath of World War 1.

Poland did declare its independence in 1918, and it was free until the German Invasion of Poland. Hitler, a month before the invasion signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin called the Nazi-Soviet Pact that said that the two would not attack each other, and they both agreed that they would both occupy Poland, Germany, West Poland, and the Soviet Union occupied East Poland, until Hitler goes back on his word. Poland after World War 2 was free again, however they fell under the Iron Curtain, basically meaning that Stalin sent aid to the Eastern European Countries in exchange that they have Socialist-Communist gov'ts put in place. The Brezhnev Doctrine later on affirmed the Soviet Unions authority by saying that they have a right to intervene in any satelite state to strengthen communism, prevent any NATO incursions. as well as supress revolts. The reason why nothing was done was because of a threat of nuclear warfare "heating up" the Cold War. SALT I and SALT II would try to disarm some of the nuclear warheads, but we all know both sides had plenty.

Also, nations under the Soviet Sphere wanted to join NATO but the USSR prevented that from happening by supressing any rebellions like the Hungarian and Czech Revolts.

Mastermind
May 12, 2009
382
PatrickNightShade1... on May 14, 2016 wrote:
Prussia formed into the German Empire in 1871 with Kaiser Wilhelm I becoming "German Emperor" instead of "Emperor of Germany" because Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Prussia and Germany, believed that if the title said "Emperor of Germany", the other German States would not have agreed to unify under Prussia. Really Prussia and Germany were almost the same thing until after World War 1, because Versailles was responsible for dissolving the Empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Prussia then became a free state within the Weimar Republic that formed in the aftermath of World War 1.

Poland did declare its independence in 1918, and it was free until the German Invasion of Poland. Hitler, a month before the invasion signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin called the Nazi-Soviet Pact that said that the two would not attack each other, and they both agreed that they would both occupy Poland, Germany, West Poland, and the Soviet Union occupied East Poland, until Hitler goes back on his word. Poland after World War 2 was free again, however they fell under the Iron Curtain, basically meaning that Stalin sent aid to the Eastern European Countries in exchange that they have Socialist-Communist gov'ts put in place. The Brezhnev Doctrine later on affirmed the Soviet Unions authority by saying that they have a right to intervene in any satelite state to strengthen communism, prevent any NATO incursions. as well as supress revolts. The reason why nothing was done was because of a threat of nuclear warfare "heating up" the Cold War. SALT I and SALT II would try to disarm some of the nuclear warheads, but we all know both sides had plenty.

Also, nations under the Soviet Sphere wanted to join NATO but the USSR prevented that from happening by supressing any rebellions like the Hungarian and Czech Revolts.
Oh, I love talking history.

Anyways, Prussia had a complex relationship with the other German states during the Holy Roman Empire, as they were similar, but apart at the same time.

Also, something interesting to add, upon creating the non-aggression pact (meant to last 10 years), Stalin all ready figured that Hitler would break it. Of course, he was rather paranoid, but his paranoia on this matter turned out to be correct.

Of course the satellites wanted to join NATO. Even today, many of them are big supporters of the alliance, due to some of the turmoil happening around Russia's western borders.

Best of luck!
S.S.

Explorer
Jan 24, 2010
82
indyjunior on May 3, 2016 wrote:
But Poland was conquered by Russia in the Russian revolution. Kind of like what happened in Wizard 101
Oops, I mean it was conquered by the soviet union. I got mixed up while writing this. Anyway, it was just a question I had after reading a book set in Poland and so now I got my answer (I actually should have paid attention to the buildings with the dome like top in polaris). I didn't mean to make this game into a social studies class. Thanks.

Survivor
Jun 02, 2014
49
Polaris might be a combination of different revolutions. The American revolution (pushing the fish off the boat and the Boston tea party) The French revolution (Antuskette and Antoinette) and a few others. ( Read StarBlood653,indyjunior, shannon, and patrick's post's.

Defender
Mar 08, 2011
132
Polaris seems to be inspired by the Russian, French, and a little bit of the American revolution. Notice the mission where you dump tea in the harbor. Polaris is in reference to the North/South Pole IMO. I think the worlds go like this

Wizard City: North America/ Pure creativity
Krokitopia: Egypt
Marelybone: London
Mooshu: Japan/ Asia in general
Dragonspyre: Rome, has Russian accents, just a mixed lava warzone
Celestia: Atlantis
Aquila: Greece
Avalon: King Arthur fairy tales/Europe/ so many Montey Python references
Azteca: Aztecs/dinosaurs
Khrysalis: creativity
Polaris: See top

Defender
Mar 08, 2011
132
A+ Student
Dec 24, 2009
1895
Bigboss1029 on Aug 19, 2016 wrote:
Polaris seems to be inspired by the Russian, French, and a little bit of the American revolution. Notice the mission where you dump tea in the harbor. Polaris is in reference to the North/South Pole IMO. I think the worlds go like this

Wizard City: North America/ Pure creativity
Krokitopia: Egypt
Marelybone: London
Mooshu: Japan/ Asia in general
Dragonspyre: Rome, has Russian accents, just a mixed lava warzone
Celestia: Atlantis
Aquila: Greece
Avalon: King Arthur fairy tales/Europe/ so many Montey Python references
Azteca: Aztecs/dinosaurs
Khrysalis: creativity
Polaris: See top
You're mostly right. Given my major in college involves studying the past, this is the way I've been seeing Wizrd101's worlds:

Wizard City: Medieval Europe/Magic
Krokotopia: Ancient Egypt/Archaeology/Jamestown, Plymouth in US history (the 'Kroks' were like English settlers, 'Manders' like Native Americans).
Marleybone: London, late 19th Century Science
Mooshu: Shogun Japan/Imperial China/Buddhism
Dragonspyre: Ancient Rome/Soviet Union militarism
Grizzleheim: Vikings/Norse mythology
Celestia: Atlantis/Archaeology/'Aliens'
Avalon: Medieval France/Camelot/King Arthur
Aquila: Ancient Greece/Greek Mythology
Azteca: Aztec & Mayan/Dinosaur extinction
Khrysalis: World War 2 France/Resistance and Fifth column movements
Darkmoor: Central Europe/Gypsy/Vampire folklore
Polaris: Russian Czars/French & American Revolutions/Polar exploration

Alia Misthaven, Balance wizard and archaeology student.

A+ Student
Dec 24, 2009
1895
Oops! I forgot a couple of worlds:

Wysteria: Renaissance Italy/Harry Potter
Celestia (floating lands): Fiji/Polynesia
Zafaria: Central African jungle/Savannah

Alia Misthaven again

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
Freshta on Aug 19, 2016 wrote:
You're mostly right. Given my major in college involves studying the past, this is the way I've been seeing Wizrd101's worlds:

Wizard City: Medieval Europe/Magic
Krokotopia: Ancient Egypt/Archaeology/Jamestown, Plymouth in US history (the 'Kroks' were like English settlers, 'Manders' like Native Americans).
Marleybone: London, late 19th Century Science
Mooshu: Shogun Japan/Imperial China/Buddhism
Dragonspyre: Ancient Rome/Soviet Union militarism
Grizzleheim: Vikings/Norse mythology
Celestia: Atlantis/Archaeology/'Aliens'
Avalon: Medieval France/Camelot/King Arthur
Aquila: Ancient Greece/Greek Mythology
Azteca: Aztec & Mayan/Dinosaur extinction
Khrysalis: World War 2 France/Resistance and Fifth column movements
Darkmoor: Central Europe/Gypsy/Vampire folklore
Polaris: Russian Czars/French & American Revolutions/Polar exploration

Alia Misthaven, Balance wizard and archaeology student.
Where did you get France for Avalon? While Le Morte d'Arthur was written in French, it was written by an English knight Sir Thomas Malory. French was the language of nobility in Britain for centuries after the Norman Conquest. There's quite a bit of Celtic lore in Avalon as well, with the fairies, druids and leprechauns.

Squire
Jul 18, 2009
545
Freshta on Aug 19, 2016 wrote:
You're mostly right. Given my major in college involves studying the past, this is the way I've been seeing Wizrd101's worlds:

Wizard City: Medieval Europe/Magic
Krokotopia: Ancient Egypt/Archaeology/Jamestown, Plymouth in US history (the 'Kroks' were like English settlers, 'Manders' like Native Americans).
Marleybone: London, late 19th Century Science
Mooshu: Shogun Japan/Imperial China/Buddhism
Dragonspyre: Ancient Rome/Soviet Union militarism
Grizzleheim: Vikings/Norse mythology
Celestia: Atlantis/Archaeology/'Aliens'
Avalon: Medieval France/Camelot/King Arthur
Aquila: Ancient Greece/Greek Mythology
Azteca: Aztec & Mayan/Dinosaur extinction
Khrysalis: World War 2 France/Resistance and Fifth column movements
Darkmoor: Central Europe/Gypsy/Vampire folklore
Polaris: Russian Czars/French & American Revolutions/Polar exploration

Alia Misthaven, Balance wizard and archaeology student.
The kroks/manders are not at all related to Plymouth. It's based on the prevalent stories of slavery in ancient Egypt, such as biblical stories, and Egypt's tendency to enslave large numbers of other populations after wars.

A+ Student
Dec 24, 2009
1895
Hi Seethe,
While the King Arthur legends are rooted from Anglo-Saxon England, the style of the architecture in Avalon more closely resembles medieval French than English. English castles typically had squared crenelated roof-lines, whereas French chateaus had multiple, conical towers. Also, the ideals of chivalry and courtly love derived from French culture and were imported into England via the Norman conquest, along with the French language that Malory used. Though Arthur himself was a Saxon, the romantic stories surrounding him are absolutely "French" in character. Authentically "Anglo-Saxon" stories are more like Beowulf (which was used in part to develop the Grendels of Grizzleheim).

Hi Starblood,
I respectfully disagree with you.

With the Krok vs Manders in Krokotopia, I don't see Biblical influence so much as colonial conquests. Look again at what story the Manders tell: one day some ragged Kroks floated in on rafts, after having been lost in the Spiral. The Manders took them in and cared for them, then the Kroks rose up and took over. That sounds very much like the Europeans struggling through their first years in the 'New World,' then taking over. It does not sound like Joseph sold into slavery, precisely because the enslaved Manders were there first.

Ancient Egypt certainly had a habit of using slaves, but I don't see the Manders being 'Hebrews.' Mander history was taken from a different story of conquest and slavery, then the two stories were blended together into a unique world, which is Krokotopia.

Most of the spiral worlds are mash-ups of several stories and places, which is what makes each one so delightfully unique.

Alia Misthaven

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
Freshta on Aug 27, 2016 wrote:
Hi Seethe,
While the King Arthur legends are rooted from Anglo-Saxon England, the style of the architecture in Avalon more closely resembles medieval French than English. English castles typically had squared crenelated roof-lines, whereas French chateaus had multiple, conical towers. Also, the ideals of chivalry and courtly love derived from French culture and were imported into England via the Norman conquest, along with the French language that Malory used. Though Arthur himself was a Saxon, the romantic stories surrounding him are absolutely "French" in character. Authentically "Anglo-Saxon" stories are more like Beowulf (which was used in part to develop the Grendels of Grizzleheim).

Hi Starblood,
I respectfully disagree with you.

With the Krok vs Manders in Krokotopia, I don't see Biblical influence so much as colonial conquests. Look again at what story the Manders tell: one day some ragged Kroks floated in on rafts, after having been lost in the Spiral. The Manders took them in and cared for them, then the Kroks rose up and took over. That sounds very much like the Europeans struggling through their first years in the 'New World,' then taking over. It does not sound like Joseph sold into slavery, precisely because the enslaved Manders were there first.

Ancient Egypt certainly had a habit of using slaves, but I don't see the Manders being 'Hebrews.' Mander history was taken from a different story of conquest and slavery, then the two stories were blended together into a unique world, which is Krokotopia.

Most of the spiral worlds are mash-ups of several stories and places, which is what makes each one so delightfully unique.

Alia Misthaven
I agree that much of the era was influenced by French culture via the Norman conquest, that doesn't make it French though. The stories surrounding Arthur are not Anglo-Saxon and I never said they were. They are most definitely Celtic in origin, Welsh specifically. You should also remember that France was Celtic before the Franks (Germans) drove the native Celtae to Britain.

A+ Student
Dec 24, 2009
1895
Hi Seethe,
Not going to disagree with you about King Arthur, which is why I originally listed the legends as a primary inspiration for the 'world' of Avalon. You asked why I also listed France as an influence and this was my answer:

"The style of the architecture in Avalon more closely resembles medieval French than English. English castles typically had squared crenelated roof-lines, whereas French chateaus had multiple, conical towers."

It is still my answer. The first thing we see when we arrive in Avalon is Caer Lyon in the distance ... with its rounded towers and conical roofs. The castle style is French, not English. In the same way that Dragonspyre is primarily Soviet-era Russia with Greco-Roman architecture, Avalon is primarily Arthurian England with French architecture.

Respectfully,

Alia Misthaven

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
Freshta on Sep 1, 2016 wrote:
Hi Seethe,
Not going to disagree with you about King Arthur, which is why I originally listed the legends as a primary inspiration for the 'world' of Avalon. You asked why I also listed France as an influence and this was my answer:

"The style of the architecture in Avalon more closely resembles medieval French than English. English castles typically had squared crenelated roof-lines, whereas French chateaus had multiple, conical towers."

It is still my answer. The first thing we see when we arrive in Avalon is Caer Lyon in the distance ... with its rounded towers and conical roofs. The castle style is French, not English. In the same way that Dragonspyre is primarily Soviet-era Russia with Greco-Roman architecture, Avalon is primarily Arthurian England with French architecture.

Respectfully,

Alia Misthaven
Ok, the look I see. I guess the story/history is more important to me than the scenery. I think more Soviet occupied East Germany than Soviet Russia for Dragonspyre also.

Survivor
Oct 11, 2009
23
Since people are posting their ideas on what each world is based off of, I guess I'll share my opinion on what they're based off of.
Wizard City is based off of a typical wizard world.
Krokotopia is based off of Egypt.
Marleybone is based off of (probably) the Regency Era of England.
Mooshu is based off of Japan.
Dragonspyre, like Lilayan said, is probably based off of Rome.
Celestia is based off of celestial things, but no clear location.
Zafaria is based off of Africa, probably South Africa.
Avalon is based off of the legends of King Arthur.
Azteca is based off of the land of the Aztec tribes.
Khrysalis is based off of bugs and mice or something.
Polaris is, according to most of us here, based off of Russia and France.
Mirage is more than likely based off of the Arabian Peninsula area.
Empyrea is probably going to be based off of China, India, or some other areas where empires were built.

Squire
Jul 18, 2009
545
Freshta on Aug 27, 2016 wrote:
Hi Seethe,
While the King Arthur legends are rooted from Anglo-Saxon England, the style of the architecture in Avalon more closely resembles medieval French than English. English castles typically had squared crenelated roof-lines, whereas French chateaus had multiple, conical towers. Also, the ideals of chivalry and courtly love derived from French culture and were imported into England via the Norman conquest, along with the French language that Malory used. Though Arthur himself was a Saxon, the romantic stories surrounding him are absolutely "French" in character. Authentically "Anglo-Saxon" stories are more like Beowulf (which was used in part to develop the Grendels of Grizzleheim).

Hi Starblood,
I respectfully disagree with you.

With the Krok vs Manders in Krokotopia, I don't see Biblical influence so much as colonial conquests. Look again at what story the Manders tell: one day some ragged Kroks floated in on rafts, after having been lost in the Spiral. The Manders took them in and cared for them, then the Kroks rose up and took over. That sounds very much like the Europeans struggling through their first years in the 'New World,' then taking over. It does not sound like Joseph sold into slavery, precisely because the enslaved Manders were there first.

Ancient Egypt certainly had a habit of using slaves, but I don't see the Manders being 'Hebrews.' Mander history was taken from a different story of conquest and slavery, then the two stories were blended together into a unique world, which is Krokotopia.

Most of the spiral worlds are mash-ups of several stories and places, which is what makes each one so delightfully unique.

Alia Misthaven
You should probably pay more attention in class.