|
>>
|
de913c.jpg
Mystery Prancer
de913c
>>314274
Alright. I was driving home from Uni and had a bit of a mini-epiphany concerning the events thus far. I just hope this isn't mindless delusion, so here goes:
I was thinking about the myriad of connections that Shadran and Goshen have had over the course of this quest. Let's start with the beginning. She attacks us. Tries to kill us. We barely manage to defend ourselves, disarm her, and take up a fairly decent guard. Judging from her reactions, she could have probably easily taken us out, defensive stance or not. We were weak, wounded, and weary, and we certainly weren't going to survive a sustained assault against the girl. Which begs the question - Why did she stop? We now know the reason. She recognized us from the night her parents were murdered. We were the only one to notice her, so we think. So what does she do? A life for a life. It's almost as if saying 'I'll spare yours since you spared mine.' We don't see her for a bit after that. Instead, we come to the ruins, crashed out and near the point of deadly dehydration. Aphek only barely manages to stave off the two humans long enough for us to learn the Goshen is with Rain's Guard - The elite unit that Rain herself was said to have used when she was around. From there, we see Goshen commune with the Beast. The Basic Need takes over - Food. Water. Bloodlust. Victory. These traits are infused into Goshen and give him a bit of a boost, enough for him to take down two humans with little to no effort. Aphek later finds him passed out in the little hide away the humans were preparing. Preparing for who? Shadran, of course. Goshen figures that it was a human outpost, and burns it to the ground, taking as much water and whiskey with them as they can. And there is the second thing that really stands out as an oddity for me.
Why would Shadran need whiskey?
The answer might seem obvious - Aphek as bait while the whiskey burned and created smoke. But I can't help but wonder why it was of such fine quality? I'm no expert on alcohol, but I know the higher the proof the more it burns (I think). But does it smoke more? And why so much? One barrel would probably last for up to a week if it were set to drip at a steady, slow rate. So I guess that begs the question. Who was the whiskey for?
On top of that, why not follow Goshen and Aphek? Goshen catches a glimpse of her, and the two sergals just leg it. Instead of using her superior speed, she sits, and watches the fire snuff out. I thought this was odd behaviour to begin with, but with the recent revelation of her being connected to Goshen when they were both children makes me ponder it further. Perhaps she was reliving the memory of the fire at her home?
Let's move on. The Agunder Village. Goshen's dreams in particular struck a cord with me. I did forget to mention the first one, so I'll start with that one. In that one, we see Shadran with fire for hair, a winding body, and unblinking eyes. This connection burns deeper than the encounter he'd had with her the previous day. It was the beginning of a memory. The mind's way of saying 'Yoohoo, idiot, you overlooked something.' The Second one in particular was odd. When I first saw the image, I couldn't help but think "Why is it dull like that?" We saw two Talyxians fighting about seven or eight sergals, but nothing else. Goshen woke up not remembering much else. Again, the mind was trying to warn him of something important.
And let's get to the bathhouse. I'll skip the awkward gay meeting between Aphek and point to Goshen's impromptu meeting with creepy neck. That whole conversation bothered me. The fact that she didn't attempt to run or try to attack us also made me pause. Sure, it would have kicked her out of the inn, but she'd been trying to kill us! Now, Goshen's a bit of an idiot at times (It's part of his charm, I'm sure), but one thing that surprises me is the fact that Test goes for some of the wiser decisions, but rewords them. Someone can write up a suggestion or two involving an interrogation, and he'll condense it down to short, swift queries, all of which successfully answer just about everything we need. It was around here that I wanted to know a bit more about Goshen's past.
Moving on to the following day. The first thing I noticed when Test had Shadran come around from the side of the building was how calm she was. Blame it on the baths, but the way she was pictured illustrated a sense of peace around her, despite the nerves of the sergals (Especially Aphek, who is absolutely terrified of her). Even when the addition of "Sword for Sword" came into the deal, she merely nodded, and exchanged the blades without question or complaint.
Then there's the road. I figured it would be the perfect time to rapidfire questions off at her, but she stonewalled most and responded only casually to others. Something really started going off in my head by this point. 'She's leading us into a trap!' was the universal consensus, but I wanted to know. Why? She'd had several opportunities to gut us. Why now? Was something different?
And the Elves. They were a pop fly out of right field. If you recall, I think Goshen said something along the lines of "Talyxian's and Elves were allies during the war." And what surprises me most? Two things. Goshen's smarts, and Shadran's willingness to kill a former ally. Goshen's fairly humble for a sergal - He's adequate with most weaponry, he's a prick at times, and he shoots his mouth off whenever he feels confident enough to do so. But I can't help but look at him as any older than 17 or so. He's young. He's seen a hell of a lot of war. And he's a bit naive. And what about Shadran? Her field-craft is good. She probably could have quickly and quietly silenced those Elves if Goshen hadn't stopped her.
There was a reason I had wanted Goshen to think of any ritual he could. I had a plan for preforming one near Shadran (Just far enough away to seem to stay private, but to allow her to observe should she care). Just to gauge her reaction when we woke the next morning. And what happened instead? We promised to exchange stories.
And then we bed down for the night. We tell of her of the Goddess. The Beast. Rain Herself talked to you. Guided you in your killing spree. One more thing I found odd was Shadran basically telling us "You first." She obviously didn't want to spoil her great reveal, but I think she was waiting for more. Another thing that bothered us. As we got closer, she opened up a little more. When we asked for a normal conversation, she said "Maybe." When we tried to have one earlier, we were stonewalled with silence. Test also has some excellent foreshadowing to the whole deal with these particular lines:
"So where'd you learn to move like you do?" Goshen asks.
Shadran turns her head, though not very far.
"My kind has many ways to learn," she says. "They are not for you."
Goshen considers this.
"Are all talyxians as, ah, intense as you?" he asks.
"I bear a shape the world gave me," she replies. "As do you."
And the way she was pictured before the exchange of the stories. In the previous entry, you could tell she was angry. Her eyebrow was tilted down, and staring at your from that angle made it seem like she was trying to threaten you. In the next panel, she's relaxed again. No threat. No intensity directed at you. She just 'is' for a moment before speaking. And when she does offer to tell her story tomorrow, it's almost an allusion to the whole "I'll let you go first if you let me go afterwards."
Goshen's confession also brings up another little tidbit. They both know about the human heads. Goshen probably set them up in a flurry of madness to his goddess. Shadran, thinking that it was a taunt, replied in kind.
Which leaves me to think. She couldn't be carrying any bones with her, could she? Not during your encounters, anyway. And not while she was traveling with you. They would have stood out in her supplies.
As for the last bit. The realization. The horror of discovering just what she'd done. I can't help but look a few panels previous to that. How subdued she looked. How she actually pleaded with Goshen to trust her. If anything, we figure she's insane. Creepy bitch built a pyramid of Sergal Skulls and now she's going to kill us as a show of petty, pointless revenge.
But I can't help but wonder why she asked for that trust? She appears to be relatively stable so far as not killing Goshen outright. And judging by the bones, we don't know how old those are. Not only that, but look at the surroundings. Foundations of old houses. I see no apparent gravestones. Perhaps this monument is to her parents?
I still think there's a lot we're missing. Goshen's past is slowly being thrown at him. It's a memory he didn't want to remember. He repressed it. He pushed it away. He forgot about it. You don't do that unless it's something traumatic. We know so little about Goshen. We know his mother may or may not be alive. His father, and the rest of his family is a mystery to us. We know he was part of a minor ruling family. How did this affect his life? Was he given other training? Just how wise is he?
I've a lot of questions and theories, Test. But I really can't see them being answered all at once. Keep up the amazing work, and I hope to god my curiousity gets sated.
|