Here’s my theory. Every written out Myrddin story is about the thing inside S.’s head. The shield spell, the fae trip (the creature is the princess), the mirror story, Carnagore, ect. Each of these stories is a clue that Myrddin had control over either the same, or a similar, abberant/darkness familiar/mental construct that made his most amazing feats possible.
And so, we have some options:
Grandfather figured out what Myrddin did, and experimented on S. to give her the same sort of creature in her mind. Maybe he got it when it escaped the Hermitage when the warding stone cracked.
Or: Grandfather was Myrddin and the Blood Emperor; living for centuries trying to find a combination of elements so that he could seal the evil away forever in a human body that could channel magic directly into the seal without stopping. He finally had a suitable candidate—Siobhan—and he failed. S. may be a human artifact, designed to keep the thing locked away forever.
You already know that I completely agree. . . but I’ve got to say it again. I agree. Azalea never has throwaways in her books, it seems like every detail is crafted to be a hint for the next plot point, or the next book, or a few books later in the series.
I’m leaning towards the idea that Grandfather was Myrddin, and maybe was distantly related to Siobhan somehow. Perhaps she is a human artifact of some sort, or perhaps she’s an innocent victim he was trying to help. Or, maybe, whatever was stuck in his head escaped somehow?
Alternatively, the thing in her head is Myrddin. That’s why she passes the identity checks. That could be why she was able to release the amulet in the first place.
I don’t have any solid reasons for why I think this is a possibility. It fits with my “Myrddin is an Aberrant” theory, I guess? It could fit with everyone’s idea that Myrddin was multiple people over time - instead of multiple people in on the joke, Myrddin might have possessed many people over the course of history.
It loosely fits with my assumption that whatever is in her head gets more powerful the more that people think of it.
I was thinking possibly something simular starting with Miakoda Siobhans Mom… she was powerful but “Something happened in her head” during the battle where her familiar died. Grand father wouldn’t let anyone see the body after she died… possibly because she became an aberrant (the blight type covering the magic mirror) OR maybe she was also carrying the Sealed Being in her head (Mryddin?)… and grandfather had to move it to Siobhan bacause Mom was dying.
Another hint i noticed ,… as you say Azalea never wastes anything… both Myrddins huge conduit and Siobhans Mothers conduit ring both were perfectly clear except for a very small pepper corn sized spot deep inside…Myrddin was doing celeium transformation with beast cores… maybe the peppercorn is the “Seed” he used to start growing the pure celerium crystal ! And the naughts are somehow related to Myrddin. And he made both his huge conduit and Moms ring.
Sorry for the trip down the rabbit hole
Wow, you guys think so highly of my planning skills!
While I love reading all the discussion, a lot of times I can’t comment because obviously I know the spoilers, and even if I try to avoid spoilers what I choose to pick out as relevant could still end up giving something away.
But I just wanted to say, only 85% of the things are actually planned to pay off. I don’t always know exactly how, but I usually have a vague idea of how some bit of information could come into play later, with the right opportunity, even if that’s multiple books down the line. Usually there are several different ways in which things could come to fruition. (I worry that I won’t be able to fit all of these ideas together at some point, but I’ll do my best.)
And then 5% of the things that were initially random later give me an idea and it ends up seeming like I planned it when I actually didn’t.
The other 10% of things…optimistically we can say they’re red herrings. Or will end up as loose threads and bits of unnecessary worldbuilding. Or fodder for fanfiction!
Also, thinking about this stuff in advance is part of why it takes me so long to write. It’s so easy to make a mistake that causes cascading failure and plotholes.
You are obviously allowed mistakes and flaws. Honestly, the way the series is written I bet it could be played off as a misunderstanding. The author not being the goddess of the universe, but closer to a “watcher” who is suppose to document everything happening, and therefore isn’t perfect and [very rarely] misses something.
I hope you that I love your world building skills, I adore how naturally inclusive you are with everything. You’re not afraid to have things be layers of complexity while also stupidly simple.
Yeah, yeah the top of the royal pecking order seems to be selfish and evil and possibly one dimensional, however, he has a daughter who is young enough to be in a crib. This throw away comment gives a hint at something more
Everybody has flaws, and most know and address it
Your world feels so very real. And I have zero doubt that it decides that some of your plans aren’t going to work
And the amount of platonic love I have for you for allowing that is above and beyond
We can make guesses and try to predict all day long, I do so because your world feels so real, and I relate and or understand
Take as long as you need to pen the best story. We might whine a little bit, but I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say “we are willing to wait, because it will be worth it”
