Yet another theory on the Phantom Slasher.

[Flibbo]

Perhaps it is Rhue's sword.Yeah the sword is so evil that it developed a dark mind and takes the form of Rhue's shadow or takes over Rhue when it want's to kill,or its Rhue's evil side of his mind reaching out through his sword and takeing the form of a shadow as it kills people.

thats a bit like one of my theories. I had thought that the sword and that sword might be able to manifest in some sort of shadow form (like the shadow thing you plunge with in the pits) but i never thought that rhue's sword was manifesting itself.

[A Wanderer]

I always thought the PS was created during the events on Rhue's home stretch (Landorin or something). Or mabye he is the reason why the events occourd.

In episode 5 we all see how the PS takes Rhue's sword from Slade's body and returns it the Rhue, so mabye the sword is the reason the PS exist. Rhue says in I dont know which episode that he got the sword from 2 men the night of the events on... um, Landorin. So mabye these 2 men are the cause of the event and had no need for the sword after that and gave it to Rhue. The sword needs to kill in order for the PS to exist so thats why the PS gave it back to Rhue. So I think the 2 men used the sword for the slaughter on Landorin and gave it to Rhue for what I do not know. Rhue is now hunted by the PS cause of the sword and the PS wants him to kill. Rhue kills more and more in each episode so I think that the PS is getting stronger and gets more control of Rhue.

[Culix]

So mabye these 2 men are the cause of the event and had no need for the sword after that and gave it to Rhue. The sword needs to kill in order for the PS to exist so thats why the PS gave it back to Rhue. So I think the 2 men used the sword for the slaughter on Landorin and gave it to Rhue for what I do not know. Rhue is now hunted by the PS cause of the sword and the PS wants him to kill.

Not a bad theory. I'm afraid it's got a large hole in it, though. According to everyone, the Landorin Massacre took place about 10 years before the events we see in the games. And, based on the fact that everyone seemed very surprised when Rosmar revealed that an entire fist (a middle-aged couple and a girl who was with them (incidentally, the first group we see Rhue with)) had been murdered, but nothing of value had been taken (the same style of kills that would later be attributed to the Phantom Slasher), I'm presuming that kills of that type hadn't happened in recent memory. So, since the Phantom Slasher is a very recently emerged entity, I'm afraid it can't be linked so directly to Rhue's sword. At least, not from the moment he recieved it.

[DSOK]

So, since the Phantom Slasher is a very recently emerged entity, I'm afraid it can't be linked so directly to Rhue's sword. At least, not from the moment he recieved it.

I think the consensus of opinion is that Rhue, as we know him, has not existed for very long. The (anti-?) hero we see probably did not come into existence until shortly before the beginning of episode 1. His ignorance of many things (most notably, the negative connotations associated with identifying Landorin as his home stretch) are a strong indication of this. Whatever is wrong with Rhue's mind is almost certainly related to the nature of his sword, and so he may have received that blade quite recently, at the same time his "present" personality took shape. (I place "present" in quotes, because it is clear that Rhue's personality continues to develop--quite probably as a result of unnatural influences--throughout the game. However, there was likely a much more abrupt change in the makeup of his mind shortly before the game began.)

However, I agree that you are quite correct that the Phantom Slasher could not have originated in the real Landorin massacre.

[A Wanderer]

So mabye these 2 men are the cause of the event and had no need for the sword after that and gave it to Rhue. The sword needs to kill in order for the PS to exist so thats why the PS gave it back to Rhue. So I think the 2 men used the sword for the slaughter on Landorin and gave it to Rhue for what I do not know. Rhue is now hunted by the PS cause of the sword and the PS wants him to kill.

Not a bad theory. I'm afraid it's got a large hole in it, though. According to everyone, the Landorin Massacre took place about 10 years before the events we see in the games. And, based on the fact that everyone seemed very surprised when Rosmar revealed that an entire fist (a middle-aged couple and a girl who was with them (incidentally, the first group we see Rhue with)) had been murdered, but nothing of value had been taken (the same style of kills that would later be attributed to the Phantom Slasher), I'm presuming that kills of that type hadn't happened in recent memory. So, since the Phantom Slasher is a very recently emerged entity, I'm afraid it can't be linked so directly to Rhue's sword. At least, not from the moment he recieved it.

I think that the PS emerged 10 years after the Landorin Massacre because Rhue did not kill people, or didn't kill much till now.

[Impossible]

One thing I didn't realise until probably the third or fourth time I played E1 was that the events at the beginning were significant. You wouldn't think so, but that could be assumed to be the very first strike of the Phantom Slasher. We don't know for a fact he never attacked until then, but no other deaths like that were mentioned that early. It also goes with the theory that Rhue as we know him hasn't been around for very long. What happened to him is connected to the PS, obviously.

By the way - take a look at those pictures in Rhue's head after receiving Jopaga's formula. At least one of them should look familiar.

[Sage Of The Wise]

Those pictures drivem me crazy whaen I try to figure out what they meen.

[Occurrence of Something]

I haven't given alot of thought to any of this personally, since we're gonna find out in the end anyway, but I found it a bit odd that two people turned up one sword when the gave it to Rhue. So I sometimes wonder if Rhue was originally Midian, but the sword changed him into two people: Rhue and the PS. Possibly what split him in two was USING the sword, we don't really know when he first used it. But thinking reasonably about it now, I feel that this theory is very shaky and flawed, at best.

But looking at some of these posts, I was reminded about what Gaius said, about killing someone with him before... maybe the sword has an aura that takes over anyone who wields it. Maybe Rhue, perhaps not the name but at least the character, is actually the sword. And when the wielder loses the sword, they only become an echo of the sword, an empty shell; a PS. If you'll recall the shadow man from the pits, I think he had the shape that resembled Midian, although I haven't played through the series in a long time so I can't be sure. So perhaps...wait, but that's impossible, what am I saying? Damnit, I'm confusing myself. Hold on, I have to go play through the series again so that I can form an actual theory...

[Impossible]

And who's the headhunter?! >_>

[Occurrence of Something]

The headhunter is actually Old Man Dirk! He was scaring kids away while he looked for the treasure. And he would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their rabbit.

[Rorschach]

The shadow man in the pits is Midian? Maybe. I personally doubt it.
There's much more evidence to suggest the shadow man is actually Traziun (despite the strange shape of his head). This is not a very strong theory (so feel free to take me to task), but we see Traziun about to enter the Pits at the end of ep2, apparently looking for Night Reaper after Rhue smacked it into the Pits. After Rhue exits the Pits in ep3, we find Traziun just outside the exit. Not very conclusive, but keep reading.
My guess is that the secret ingredient Scatha was looking for (for Jopaga's aura separation) was a Shadow Sword. We really don't know why she was in Lide, but I'm guessing that is the reason. It gets smacked into the Pits, she goes after it. Traz goes after it as well. In the moments when Scatha is offscreen just before the shadow man fight, we hear two people struggling over the sword. My guess is this is Traziun and Scatha. Traziun takes the sword and...turns into the shadow man? I'd love for someone to propose a theory about why this could happen, because i can't think of a reason.
However, Scatha still gets the ingredient (a shadow sword, I believe) and Jopaga makes his formula. My guess is she finds another shadow sword in the pits. Jopaga gets whacked (or whatever) and Scatha takes the sword back and gives it to...Lyrra (after the talk we see in...e4?). Hence Rhue's similar reaction to her sword.
Most of this is grade A speculation. hopefully i won't get flamed too badly.

[Lord_Ehrgeiz]

and Scatha takes the sword back and gives it to...Lyrra

all that things were great, but this...
Lyrra got shadow sword of Kalmar, i think. Traziun kills him, sword fly away, and then Lyrra, running from bloodlyn, gets it.

[Rorschach]

Yeah, i know it was a stretch. Kalmar's sword going to Lyrra makes much more sense.

Edit : Just noticed Impossible's post up there. Interesting because a number of weird things happen when Rhue loses his aura. The same sound effect for when the Blana Sera are present is played when Rhue is doing his trippy mind thing. Which might create an interesting theory about the Blana Sera, because they seem to be bodiless. Maybe they are auras that lack bodies?

[Impossible]

Is the Blana Sera just Kalmar, or is there still more about them we don't know?

[Berserker]

It seems they're more than one, but it could be just Kalmar playing with Lyn's minds.