Thank you. I actually thought about buying it when I last stumbled upon, but I didn't know something of that importance was in there. Naturally I didn't search for a translation either.JuriDawn wrote: Silent Hill Official Guidebook Complete Edition
But this does shed some "new" light on the events, doesn't it? And it again highlights how many things were already being reinterpreted by the time of SH3.
Actually it is made pretty clear at one point that the use of fire was an integral part of the ritual in which the being that was revered by the cult would enter the womb of the chosen woman:I take it as a given that simply being chosen to be a vessel for the cult's god would elevate one to the highest status, thus making immolation perfectly appropriate in the minds of the Order members.
"And so seven years ago, Dahlia performed the technique to bring about the descent of the cult's god using Alessa in the cellar of her own house. [...]The ritual process involved a great deal of fire, which consequently escalated into a conflagration."
So Alessa was only impregnated with "God", the evil deity, when the ritual took place and otherwise she would have succeeded her mother as a priestess of the cult.
But we have to question how much this is still canon as Origins portrays quite different rituals and sequences of events. Like how the Flauros has a completely different function from what was originally described in 1999 as such:
"It is said that powerful magic abilities lie dormant within the Flauros, which was excavated from ancient ruins. Dahlia prepared the Flauros in secret as a trump card that was hers alone. It is unclear whether she saw the current situation on the horizon..."
While in Origins it seems to be a magical item brought forth by Alessa to trap the evil deity inside and use it's remaining magic to create a body for a part of her soul. The soul splitting is also described as different, being simply:
"The method Dahlia used to bring about the descent of the cult's god had nearly succeeded with Alessa as the surrogate mother, but Alessa quickly let part of her soul escape and the technique was not completely successful."
It is also interesting how back then Dahlias and by extension the cults goal was described already as:
"Simply put, bringing about the advent of the malevolent god and unleashing limitless destruction-- this is the long-cherished wish of the religious organization to which Dahlia belongs, because "all sins will be washed
away," "everyone will be freed from all suffering," and they will "take back the true paradise.""
So the basic intention why to birth God already existed in the doctrine back then, only it was slightly different in execution and implication from what the Order believes at the time Claudia is a priestess.
Interesting though that originally it was planned that Alessa actually didn't have any special powers beyond maybe the ability of foresight and some gifts that could be considered preternatural and it was only by combining with Cheryl and having the full power of the growing deity within her that she could actually use supernatural powers to her advantage.
SH3 at least made it appear like Heather believed Alessa had possessed all those powers before, though killing someone by wishing it to happen could also be just constructed incidents and Dahlia using Alessas supposed powers as justification. Well by Origins we basically have to accept that Alessa could always do those things.
This is turning out to be an even harder continuity problem than trying to get a steady continuity into a DC comic.