Varlamore is Oldschool Runescape's Newest Addition. In this video I deep dive the lore of the new area and try to make connections to other bizarre established Runescape 3 and OSRS lore.
THE RETURN OF THE KING!!! I found your channel somewhat recently and have been hooked on your lore content!! I've always deeply loved the lore of RS3, frequenting the old Lore Forum back in 2013. I remember when the 6th Age started and the World Events were live, how the community thrived. It's so nice seeing you touch on both RS3's phenomenal lore, as well as OSRS up and coming worldbuilding. I love seeing how the games diverge from one another, but take from each other too Keep up the amazing work man, no one else is like you on this platform :)
Hey man , welcome back. Really have enjoyed your lore vids , (zaros ones especially ) can understand they are time consuming to make but your content is pretty original, Maybe worth considering a patreon because I would defo like to see more it :) wouldn't want the channel to fade out , you defo deserve more views !
i appreciate that. i have thought about stuff like that but there have been times when I havent been able to commit to making videos for periods of time so I would have to manage peoples subs to a patreon on and off. rs lore is very niche though so it might be a good idea still.
I quit RS3 shortly before arch was teased, so that and the lot of the eGWD lore, I only have surface knowledge of. Love the fact you are pooling the LORE of both gamers
Great vid. I noticed the similarity of Ximoua to the great revision and essentially theorized that the old ones were Aughra dragonkin. The connection between the moksha device and the varlamore sun imagery further cements this in my mind. Do you think the blackstone monolith in the perilous moons dungeon is an elder artifact? Mod Ed has stressed that something connected to the dark altar is an elder artifact, though it itself isn't one (so something else on Zeah/Varlamore?) I'm pretty sure we're looking at the Codex. edit: also, if the old ones are Aughra dragonkin, the old ones concept art may not be a psyop. Many Aughra dragonkin attempted to escape Jas's curse by inhabiting the mind of abyssal creatures (though its uncertain if this worked according to wiki). Couldn't they do the same to the green tree people?
the blackstone monolith seems like some kind of intelligent device, like a computer. If it isnt an elder artifact, it might be in communication with one. Also i didn't know that about the Aughra that is wild lol.
@@Avrah The dark altar is also described as an intelligent device, as if it possesses the trait of malevolence and has a low-form of sentience (sapience). The wiki documents this in Arcceus library books. I wonder if there's a connection between the 2. Additionally, the aughra dragonkin Kalger and his followers temporarily become the rulers of Infernus by stealing the demon's bodies, which is a similar concept to Xeric assuming king shayzian's identity to rule zeah. Also, check this out. Here's an extremely rough outline/timeline of my overall Zeah theory: 0. Aughra dragonkin escape the curse of Jas by inhabiting the old ones (or inhabiting some green tree people race and became the old ones. semantics.) 1. Zaros is defeated by Zamorak and enters and incorporeal form 2. Instead of rejuvenating in Frenskae for hundreds of years as in rs3, Zaros searches the world for a means to return to a corporeal form in osrs 3. Zaros learns a lesser form of soul transference from Zeah (Tasikaal?) 4. Zaros assumes the identity of Xeric in order to hide from the other gods 5. The edicts of Guthix expel all gods (beings of lesser power are allowed to remain. So if zaros is weak and inhabiting the Xeric identity, he could remain on Gilenor, like Seren did) 6. Xeric/zaros continues to amass power and searches for the old ones in order to master soul transference (note: in rs3 you need to make a simulacrum body for zaros to inhabit. similar theme?) 7. A Kindom Divided: possessed Veos (Xeric) and Xamphur discuss that "soon none will stand in xerics way", "meet again in the south" (varlamore), and xeric has found "other means to harness the dark altar" 8. The dark altar is connected to dragon slayer 2 (the dark altar originates from the Kharzi jungle temple via skotizo mutany) 9. Mod Ed explicitly hinted that the dark altar is connected to an elder artifact (7/4/22 Q&A livestram) 10. Via point 7,8,9, varlamore is connected to dragonkin (DS2), dark altar (elder artifact adjacency, Xamphur transcript), and Xeric's goals 11. What candidate explanation can link the dragonkin, the dark altar, and xerics goals? The blackstone monolith in perilous moons dungeon being the Codex! (not sure if made of actual blackstone) 12. Entities can ascend to godhood to subvert Guthix's edicts. (rs3) in ritual of the mahajrratt, Lucien does this. He's killed shortly afterward by dragonkin, but he did it, so its possible. 13. Conclusion: Zaros assumed different identities in zeah while searching for a way to return to his corporeal form. Now, he plans to learn high-tier soul transference with the Codex + old ones knowledge and ascend to godhood, thereby circumventing the edicts of Guthix!
@@Jimbothegreat53 wow. is this just what you've together? i haven't heard of this theory at all lol and it's quite compelling. i like the idea of zaros being xeric. i always wanted to say that he was but i never really had the proof.
@@Avrah My friend and I workshopped it upon Varlamore's release, but I've had the rough idea floating in the back of my mind since 2016. I also think sliske is expediting zaros' ascension to elder god status ( as we know this is zaro's goal in rs3. perhaps sliske was investigating soul transference on behalf of zaros in dt2 ), but we'll have to see what his "alternative plan" is in osrs's equivalent to RoTM. I was never satisfied with sliske's arc in rs3 so I really hope they do something different. bonus meme: my friend observed that the "stone chest" in the stranglewood mine teleports you around zeah with the same animation as the ring of shadows when you activate its trap --- thus connecting old ones society (assuming its their chests and not planted by sliske) to ancient magic.
@@Jimbothegreat53 if you have a document outlining everything along with a few pieces of source material i would love to look at it lol. if you would be okay with me even making a vid about it. i wanted to do a xeric video, a sliske video etc. if you wanted to send me anything you can at avrah69@gmail.com
I'm so glad to finally find a good RS lore channel. I've looked what seems to be everywhere and the only other channel I've found is hard to listen to cause of their squeaky voice and damn near incoherent accent. Not trying to be mean, just literally can't understand/stand it. Awesome work, amazing channel, you.. you gem.
A masterful conclusion and ending with a Kierkegaard quote. Very nice. What are your thoughts on Varlamore being a sun symbol and it's similarity with Asgarnia? (and half the gnome stronghold standards). I feel intentional or not there's a story to tell there.
I have not looked into it. I am kind of diving back into a bunch of different things atm in the game such as: who is Xeric? what are the implications of DT2, what is the weird device in the moons of peril etc etc. i have lots of weird conspiracy type ideas in the works. but i always welcome people sharing their theories by emailing me.
Great one. Glad to see something from you. I'm not a super huge lore hound, but I do care about it. And it kind of bothers me that Kourend/Varlamore seem to know nothing about the original RS gods. Like there's no way all of the events leading up to, and including the God Wars just went under their radar. Also, what about the Edicts of Guthix? I would be curious to know what's the deal with Xeric/Ranula/Ralos regarding this.
there is a lot to talk about with Xeric, Sliske, the edicts and how they might be circumvented, the identity of ralos and ranul and the what naguanil and the nagua are.
I think that its quite likely that jagex just changed the story as well Since they said they wanted to part ways with the rs3 questline/lore when it comes to dragonkin, the elder gods, while githix sleeps questline etc
I don't think I said anywhere they were going to follow the rs3 story. I agree the story has been changed. It's a different story but its still the same world just in the 5th age still. Mod Ed explicitly said no elder god stuff or gods returning to the world. Though he even had a caveat to that when he talked about what they did with Seren in SOTE.
This is great, but what about the jewel of the sun. It must have come from Varlamore, and it’s included in the Varlamore name logo multiple times by Jagex. How did it end up in the tombs of amascut and why doesn’t it have any use in Varlamore?
Xaimoua reminds of The Great Revision. The Great Revision is Elder God stuff; when Jas ,Bik ,Wen ,Ful and Mah touch their eggs and then are reborn eating all life and remaking the universe. The Old Ones Soul Transference reminds me of the Agura Dragonkins discovery of how to Transfer your Mind and Soul into another being, The Moksha Device. Which is intresting because the dragonkin were bound to serve the Elder God Jas. Which is also interesting considering the parallels of Xiomoua, Lost dragonkin, the old ones and the great revision. Poisoned water land is interesting, that could mean Xautaks underwater worlds of death, or even a Death Garden. It could also be a swamp but that could be what they want you to think. Death Poison needed, Death create life. Could be talking about Shadow Anima not sure poison creating life. Maybe dying and being brought back to life?? Plant create dark death, could be Biks creation of the Croesus. Another sentient plant in rs is the Jade Vine. Theyre trying to recreate the Moksha Device on Varlamore. Or its already there. Maybe thats what Xamphur is doing!
Interesting we came up with nearly identical theories. We must be onto something if 2 completely unrelated people who have never interacted, come to the same conclusions. Great work 👍
FWIW moksha isn't about merging with the universal soul / the divinity. It is more about escaping the illusory cycle of rebirth (samskara). Realization that all that exists is one interconnected consciousness is an important step towards moksha, but moksha itself is more about waking up from the dream that the said consciousness is projecting as what we consider the "real" world. Various schools will portray this differently of course, but the word itself literally means "freedom". It is freedom from the illusion of the physical plane once and for all to escape the cycle of rebirth and destruction over and over.
@@Avrah Yep. It still applies to the dragonkins' situation (even more so you could say). Freedom from the elder gods' cycle. No longer just a pawn in someone else's creation but free from it all.
I clicked on this thinking I'd laugh, but I am _also_ 120 archeology. Actually widened my eyes when you showed the same pointed symbol in the archeology digsite as the Varlamore sigil. Same number of points. Same concept of soul transference.... Hey, didn't Xeric create his lizardmen by conducting experiments on a bunch of *small lizards* he found near Varlamore? *What did he think was so special about them?* Then I thought "well, okay, but those specific experiments were on Fossil Island on the other side of the planet. But also, isn't there a *dragonkin lab* on *Mount Karaluum?*
yes there are dragonkin on Zeah. or have been at least. My theory that was explored with my friend is that perhaps the Old ones are actually dragonkin who have inhabited the bodies of a different race and perhaps the origin of soul transference comes from dragonkin looking to escape the pain of their existence tied to the stone of jas.
I realized varlamore has "removal" left over letters "ra" which was the sun good of Egypt. Removal of the Sun? Also Varlamore backwards is Ero.Mal.Rav. and in Latin is; Ero; I will be. Mal; evil Rav; to take by force; seize. I will be evil by force? Or something along those lines?
I do kinda hope osrs steps away from original lore concepts native to rs3. Theres def some really cool concepts in it, and no matter what there will be echos of the lore since they share a direct timeline up to a point; but if i wanted rs3's lore a decade after it came out in rs3 id just go play/read up on rs3. I wanna see more of what the os team can come up with on their own; instead of doing elder gods destroying the universe as a life cycle & shadow anima & elder artifacts again. Super cool stuff conceptually, but we've been doing that for at least a decade in rs3 since like HoS, and i dont want that to be sneak previews at os' story
I agree. I think if anything it will be the same pieces on the board but moving in different ways. I personally dont think RS3 did the elder gods very well and I hope osrs stays away from them too.
there is no reason to believe the blackstone monolith in the perilous moons is anything close to the stone of jas. The stone of jas is in guthix's temple which you will visit in while guthix sleeps. If anything, the blackstone monolith is alluding to xau'tak
then you're gonna REALLY hate the future of OSRS lol because they're is definitely going to be more like we've seen in DT2 etc. well tbh all osrs lore is just rehashed rs3 lore. osrs has very little stand alone lore that has been elaborated on much at all.
Rehydrate the masses for there is a new video.
Glad you're finally back. Please don't leave again. You're the best lore guy! 😎👉🏻👉🏻
THE RETURN OF THE KING!!! I found your channel somewhat recently and have been hooked on your lore content!! I've always deeply loved the lore of RS3, frequenting the old Lore Forum back in 2013. I remember when the 6th Age started and the World Events were live, how the community thrived. It's so nice seeing you touch on both RS3's phenomenal lore, as well as OSRS up and coming worldbuilding. I love seeing how the games diverge from one another, but take from each other too
Keep up the amazing work man, no one else is like you on this platform :)
thanks!
Hey man , welcome back. Really have enjoyed your lore vids , (zaros ones especially ) can understand they are time consuming to make but your content is pretty original, Maybe worth considering a patreon because I would defo like to see more it :) wouldn't want the channel to fade out , you defo deserve more views !
i appreciate that. i have thought about stuff like that but there have been times when I havent been able to commit to making videos for periods of time so I would have to manage peoples subs to a patreon on and off. rs lore is very niche though so it might be a good idea still.
an amazing lore channel. Glad to see you back in action for Varlomore!
thanks for saying that!
No way. I love this welcome back ❤
damn what a throwback. the original glenn moore.
@@Avrah missed the uploads man glad to see you creating again.
My king! You honor us with your return.
I quit RS3 shortly before arch was teased, so that and the lot of the eGWD lore, I only have surface knowledge of. Love the fact you are pooling the LORE of both gamers
Seen your newest video and that got me keen on your channel, great lore videos man id love to see more ❤
awesome! yea i started uploading more recently. hopefully i can get some more stuff out.
at 11:00, with a little stretch, the symbols also kinda look like the never released RSC life rune
your April fools video had me dying. also yea i have more to talk about with all this stuff.
@@Avrah Looking forward to it
Love your lore videos
This was really well done
Great vid. I noticed the similarity of Ximoua to the great revision and essentially theorized that the old ones were Aughra dragonkin. The connection between the moksha device and the varlamore sun imagery further cements this in my mind.
Do you think the blackstone monolith in the perilous moons dungeon is an elder artifact? Mod Ed has stressed that something connected to the dark altar is an elder artifact, though it itself isn't one (so something else on Zeah/Varlamore?) I'm pretty sure we're looking at the Codex.
edit: also, if the old ones are Aughra dragonkin, the old ones concept art may not be a psyop. Many Aughra dragonkin attempted to escape Jas's curse by inhabiting the mind of abyssal creatures (though its uncertain if this worked according to wiki). Couldn't they do the same to the green tree people?
the blackstone monolith seems like some kind of intelligent device, like a computer. If it isnt an elder artifact, it might be in communication with one. Also i didn't know that about the Aughra that is wild lol.
@@Avrah The dark altar is also described as an intelligent device, as if it possesses the trait of malevolence and has a low-form of sentience (sapience). The wiki documents this in Arcceus library books. I wonder if there's a connection between the 2. Additionally, the aughra dragonkin Kalger and his followers temporarily become the rulers of Infernus by stealing the demon's bodies, which is a similar concept to Xeric assuming king shayzian's identity to rule zeah.
Also, check this out.
Here's an extremely rough outline/timeline of my overall Zeah theory:
0. Aughra dragonkin escape the curse of Jas by inhabiting the old ones (or inhabiting some green tree people race and became the old ones. semantics.)
1. Zaros is defeated by Zamorak and enters and incorporeal form
2. Instead of rejuvenating in Frenskae for hundreds of years as in rs3, Zaros searches the world for a means to return to a corporeal form in osrs
3. Zaros learns a lesser form of soul transference from Zeah (Tasikaal?)
4. Zaros assumes the identity of Xeric in order to hide from the other gods
5. The edicts of Guthix expel all gods (beings of lesser power are allowed to remain. So if zaros is weak and inhabiting the Xeric identity, he could remain on Gilenor, like Seren did)
6. Xeric/zaros continues to amass power and searches for the old ones in order to master soul transference (note: in rs3 you need to make a simulacrum body for zaros to inhabit. similar theme?)
7. A Kindom Divided: possessed Veos (Xeric) and Xamphur discuss that "soon none will stand in xerics way", "meet again in the south" (varlamore), and xeric has found "other means to harness the dark altar"
8. The dark altar is connected to dragon slayer 2 (the dark altar originates from the Kharzi jungle temple via skotizo mutany)
9. Mod Ed explicitly hinted that the dark altar is connected to an elder artifact (7/4/22 Q&A livestram)
10. Via point 7,8,9, varlamore is connected to dragonkin (DS2), dark altar (elder artifact adjacency, Xamphur transcript), and Xeric's goals
11. What candidate explanation can link the dragonkin, the dark altar, and xerics goals? The blackstone monolith in perilous moons dungeon being the Codex! (not sure if made of actual blackstone)
12. Entities can ascend to godhood to subvert Guthix's edicts. (rs3) in ritual of the mahajrratt, Lucien does this. He's killed shortly afterward by dragonkin, but he did it, so its possible.
13. Conclusion: Zaros assumed different identities in zeah while searching for a way to return to his corporeal form. Now, he plans to learn high-tier soul transference with the Codex + old ones knowledge and ascend to godhood, thereby circumventing the edicts of Guthix!
@@Jimbothegreat53 wow. is this just what you've together? i haven't heard of this theory at all lol and it's quite compelling. i like the idea of zaros being xeric. i always wanted to say that he was but i never really had the proof.
@@Avrah My friend and I workshopped it upon Varlamore's release, but I've had the rough idea floating in the back of my mind since 2016. I also think sliske is expediting zaros' ascension to elder god status ( as we know this is zaro's goal in rs3. perhaps sliske was investigating soul transference on behalf of zaros in dt2 ), but we'll have to see what his "alternative plan" is in osrs's equivalent to RoTM. I was never satisfied with sliske's arc in rs3 so I really hope they do something different.
bonus meme: my friend observed that the "stone chest" in the stranglewood mine teleports you around zeah with the same animation as the ring of shadows when you activate its trap --- thus connecting old ones society (assuming its their chests and not planted by sliske) to ancient magic.
@@Jimbothegreat53 if you have a document outlining everything along with a few pieces of source material i would love to look at it lol. if you would be okay with me even making a vid about it. i wanted to do a xeric video, a sliske video etc.
if you wanted to send me anything you can at avrah69@gmail.com
I'm so glad to finally find a good RS lore channel. I've looked what seems to be everywhere and the only other channel I've found is hard to listen to cause of their squeaky voice and damn near incoherent accent. Not trying to be mean, just literally can't understand/stand it. Awesome work, amazing channel, you.. you gem.
thanks! and welcome.
A masterful conclusion and ending with a Kierkegaard quote. Very nice. What are your thoughts on Varlamore being a sun symbol and it's similarity with Asgarnia? (and half the gnome stronghold standards). I feel intentional or not there's a story to tell there.
I have not looked into it. I am kind of diving back into a bunch of different things atm in the game such as: who is Xeric? what are the implications of DT2, what is the weird device in the moons of peril etc etc. i have lots of weird conspiracy type ideas in the works. but i always welcome people sharing their theories by emailing me.
4:20 wait doesn't this sound like the great revision
Oh dang, does this make so much sense. Both wheels look similar, it should be obvious!
Avrah have you thought about making a video about what Sliske is planning? I reckon its kinda interesting
Oh how I have missed your buttery voice!
Great one. Glad to see something from you.
I'm not a super huge lore hound, but I do care about it. And it kind of bothers me that Kourend/Varlamore seem to know nothing about the original RS gods. Like there's no way all of the events leading up to, and including the God Wars just went under their radar.
Also, what about the Edicts of Guthix? I would be curious to know what's the deal with Xeric/Ranula/Ralos regarding this.
there is a lot to talk about with Xeric, Sliske, the edicts and how they might be circumvented, the identity of ralos and ranul and the what naguanil and the nagua are.
Omg omg omg! He is back!
I think that its quite likely that jagex just changed the story as well
Since they said they wanted to part ways with the rs3 questline/lore when it comes to dragonkin, the elder gods, while githix sleeps questline etc
I don't think I said anywhere they were going to follow the rs3 story. I agree the story has been changed. It's a different story but its still the same world just in the 5th age still. Mod Ed explicitly said no elder god stuff or gods returning to the world. Though he even had a caveat to that when he talked about what they did with Seren in SOTE.
I see Aliens in thumbnail, I click
good! stay educated.
@@Avrah aliens aside, I enjoyed the video! Thanks
Avrah video 😍
This is great, but what about the jewel of the sun. It must have come from Varlamore, and it’s included in the Varlamore name logo multiple times by Jagex. How did it end up in the tombs of amascut and why doesn’t it have any use in Varlamore?
hmmm. i would have to know more about ToA.
Xaimoua reminds of The Great Revision.
The Great Revision is Elder God stuff; when Jas ,Bik ,Wen ,Ful and Mah touch their eggs and then are reborn eating all life and remaking the universe.
The Old Ones Soul Transference reminds me of the Agura Dragonkins discovery of how to Transfer your Mind and Soul into another being, The Moksha Device.
Which is intresting because the dragonkin were bound to serve the Elder God Jas.
Which is also interesting considering the parallels of Xiomoua, Lost dragonkin, the old ones and the great revision.
Poisoned water land is interesting, that could mean Xautaks underwater worlds of death, or even a Death Garden. It could also be a swamp but that could be what they want you to think.
Death Poison needed, Death create life. Could be talking about Shadow Anima not sure poison creating life. Maybe dying and being brought back to life??
Plant create dark death, could be Biks creation of the Croesus. Another sentient plant in rs is the Jade Vine.
Theyre trying to recreate the Moksha Device on Varlamore. Or its already there.
Maybe thats what Xamphur is doing!
Interesting we came up with nearly identical theories.
We must be onto something if 2 completely unrelated people who have never interacted, come to the same conclusions.
Great work 👍
FWIW moksha isn't about merging with the universal soul / the divinity. It is more about escaping the illusory cycle of rebirth (samskara). Realization that all that exists is one interconnected consciousness is an important step towards moksha, but moksha itself is more about waking up from the dream that the said consciousness is projecting as what we consider the "real" world. Various schools will portray this differently of course, but the word itself literally means "freedom". It is freedom from the illusion of the physical plane once and for all to escape the cycle of rebirth and destruction over and over.
awesome! thanks for clarifying. freedom from the cycle.
@@Avrah Yep. It still applies to the dragonkins' situation (even more so you could say). Freedom from the elder gods' cycle. No longer just a pawn in someone else's creation but free from it all.
Citation needed my guy
LORE! LOOOORE!
Ouuuuuuuu, the man, the myth, the legend, avarh, has returned from the void! Wildy mom season 2 when? Lol
she haunts my dreams to this day.
I clicked on this thinking I'd laugh, but I am _also_ 120 archeology.
Actually widened my eyes when you showed the same pointed symbol in the archeology digsite as the Varlamore sigil. Same number of points. Same concept of soul transference....
Hey, didn't Xeric create his lizardmen by conducting experiments on a bunch of *small lizards* he found near Varlamore?
*What did he think was so special about them?*
Then I thought "well, okay, but those specific experiments were on Fossil Island on the other side of the planet. But also, isn't there a *dragonkin lab* on *Mount Karaluum?*
yes there are dragonkin on Zeah. or have been at least. My theory that was explored with my friend is that perhaps the Old ones are actually dragonkin who have inhabited the bodies of a different race and perhaps the origin of soul transference comes from dragonkin looking to escape the pain of their existence tied to the stone of jas.
What a vid :O
I realized varlamore has "removal" left over letters "ra" which was the sun good of Egypt. Removal of the Sun? Also Varlamore backwards is Ero.Mal.Rav. and in Latin is;
Ero; I will be.
Mal; evil
Rav; to take by force; seize.
I will be evil by force? Or something along those lines?
wow. that is a really interesting connection. has to be deliberate right?
is it possible that varlamore and anachronia are the same place?
fossil island is technically Anachronia. In rs3 Anachronia is like...fossil island but dragged from the past using an elder artifact.
I do kinda hope osrs steps away from original lore concepts native to rs3. Theres def some really cool concepts in it, and no matter what there will be echos of the lore since they share a direct timeline up to a point; but if i wanted rs3's lore a decade after it came out in rs3 id just go play/read up on rs3. I wanna see more of what the os team can come up with on their own; instead of doing elder gods destroying the universe as a life cycle & shadow anima & elder artifacts again. Super cool stuff conceptually, but we've been doing that for at least a decade in rs3 since like HoS, and i dont want that to be sneak previews at os' story
I agree. I think if anything it will be the same pieces on the board but moving in different ways. I personally dont think RS3 did the elder gods very well and I hope osrs stays away from them too.
Yo pog
Lezgoooo
I'm going with its the stone of jas
if you have any morre thoughts on that I would like to hear them. I am trying to formulate stuff for the next few vids.
there is no reason to believe the blackstone monolith in the perilous moons is anything close to the stone of jas. The stone of jas is in guthix's temple which you will visit in while guthix sleeps. If anything, the blackstone monolith is alluding to xau'tak
is this an AI Voice?
bahaha no! check my old vids you can see it's really me :3
Holy fuck, RS3 lore sucks ass. I truly hope Jagex doesn't elaborate on this dogshit.
then you're gonna REALLY hate the future of OSRS lol because they're is definitely going to be more like we've seen in DT2 etc. well tbh all osrs lore is just rehashed rs3 lore. osrs has very little stand alone lore that has been elaborated on much at all.
Hopefully they keep Varla/xeric lore it’s own thing