God of War Faye spinoff could answer a major mystery

Months after a leak that claimed a new God of War game was coming, and as Summer Game Fest looms, God of War fans are speculating about what the new entry in the series' Norse saga might entail. One of the more popular theories being bandied about by PlayStation fans is what the new game's rumored protagonist, Faye, might bring to the story — and whether it will finally answer a long-standing God of War mystery: Who blew the horn?

As God of War fans know, Faye is the deceased wife of Kratos and mother to Atreus (aka Loki). Also known as Laufey, Faye was a Giant (Jötunn) warrior of Midgard, an identity that she withheld from some of those closest to her. She's also the character that God of War game director Cory Barlog said that he "identified with the most" in 2018's God of War.

One common theory about Faye is that she might be the mysterious character who sounded the horn to call forth Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, in 2018's God of War. Fans have debated who was responsible for that incident, when Kratos was escorting an injured Atreus back to Freya. Barlog and other God of War developers have been reluctant to reveal details about the hornblower's identity. But fans have no shortage of theories, ranging from Æsir like Baldur and Odin, to Faye, and even a version of Atreus/Loki from the future. Barlog has previously stated outright that it was not Kratos who blew the horn, and has pledged to answer the question someday.

Over the weekend, God of War fans debated the "Faye blew the horn" theory, which one Reddit user speculated could be explained by Faye time-traveling as a result of her battle with Thor in Vanaheim, as depicted in God of War Ragnarök. Just as Faye helped guide Kratos and Atreus through the events of God of War by leaving them hints in the afterlife, she may also be intervening in their journey physically, in a time-traveling capacity — she'd be simultaneously alive and dead in the same time-space, the theory says.

Reddit user felix_semicolon's theory is, by their own admission, "not watertight." ("How she would get back to her time is something I'm not totally sure on," felix_semicolon said.) But they're not the only one to believe that Faye may be more directly involved in Kratos and Atreus' adventures than previously thought.

If the rumors are true that the next God of War game will star Faye, it will realize a long-standing desire by Barlog to tell her story — and reveal just how instrumental she is in Kratos and Atreus' journey. In a 2020 interview with PlayStation Access, Barlog said of Faye and her widowed husband, "They’re both warriors who have reached a point in their life where they don’t want to fight anymore because they both see through the reasons why they’ve been fighting. Meeting at that time, at that exact moment when both of them are willing to set their weapons down changes, fundamentally, both of them."

He added, "Faye has way more power than all of them. She is actually the controller of so much within this universe. [...] I don’t know how we’re going to tell this or when we’re going to tell this, but I really want to tell that story of Kratos and Faye meeting."

We'll probably know within the next few weeks whether the rumors of Faye's God of War spinoff are true. Whether any of that will also play out in the upcoming God of War television series remains to be seen. But it sounds like pretty good season 3 material when adapting the God of War Norse trilogy.

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