Predictions after finishing Traitors Knot

[thedashdude]

Sorry if this is the wrong place, but I wanted to document some predictions I’ve made of the story on the off chance anyone is interested.

I have just finished Traitors Knot, (1 chapter into Stormed Fortress now) and with one book remaining in Alliance of Light, and 65% of the way through the series, I thought it would be interesting to start documenting my predictions for the rest of the series. I wish I started writing stuff down earlier, wish a checkpoint after each book, but no such luck.

In general, I found that the balance of portrayals of characters, coupled with the central conflicts all involved with the maintenance of some uneasy balance of the status quo, made predicting the end of the series extremely hard.

For starters, my predictions on what happens in Stormed Fortress:

Per the prophecy at the start of Fugitive Prince, Fionn Areth dies, on land, in the defense of Alestron. Jeynsa comes around to Arithon, but only after great tragedy at Alestron. No basis on that, just feels right.

(Or! Fionn and Jeynsa hit it off and ruin everything by turning on Arithon. But I have faith in Jeynsa. )

Some reverse engineering: if Lysaer and Arithon both have free control of their actions, they will be in escalating conflict until one wins. But that’s the story, so the gap between Stormed Fortress and Ininitiate’s Trial can’t have that. (To reach the promised 500 years of conflict, the next series has to be quite a bit further in the future.) So for some reason one of them must not have freedom (in some manner) at the end of Stormed Fortress.
For general explanations, I can imagine Arithon getting trapped in Rockfell after the next Misteraith incursion, or maybe getting stuck in a grimward. Lysaer, whose enemies all insist on respecting free will, is unlikely to be the one whose actions are constrained.

Further, if we insist on some sort of conclusive ending for the Alliance of Light arc, instead of just announcing the world devolves into total clan/town war, (and given the lengths Arithon seems willing to go to avoid killing) then Arithon is going to strike a deal to achieve that stability. The Fellowship is too constrained to intervene, the Paravians are out of the equation right now, the non-aligned towns have nothing they want from Arithon. So, if Arithon is going to make a deal, it has to be with the Koriathain. They have great interest in him, and don’t want him dead. I’m not clear if they also want his child, or if that ploy was exclusively an effort to bring him in. Arithon wouldnt agree to have a child and give it to them, but he enjoys suffering enough that I bet he’d give himself away in the bargain. (in some way, unclear what the bargain would look like. I wonder if the wizards of Dascen Elur have knowledge he could offer to teach… Can he repair the great waystone? Or just get out of their way.)

So, I predict Arithon will strike a deal with the Koriathain to settle the Alestron war that in some way keeps him away from Lysaer long enough we get a big time skip to Sword of the Canon.
Jeynsa will agree to be his Caithdein in the aftermath.

It is weird that Tysan has two Caithdeins. Sulfin Evend is a real wildcard for me right now. I can see him going anywhere. Most likely he dies tragically betrayed by Lysaer in the action that finally drives Lysaer into “complete villain” territory. (Although I might be too forgiving of him that he isn’t there already)
I can also see a very sad path forward where he becomes the Caithdein of Rathain after Jeynsa fully turns on Arithon. Again, I have faith in Jeynsa, but unfortunately all the most interesting story outcomes are ones where she does not meekly accept her fate…

So, in summary, if I was forced to be precise:

Arithon strikes a deal with the Koriathain via his link with Elaira, sacrifices his freedom to save the world from escalating war. This probably happens right before the fall of Alestron, after Fionn Areth dies by being an idiot (love the man, but that’s who he is). Jeynsa assumes defacto leadership in Arithon’s absence, moved by the lengths he goes to spare people.

[thedashdude]

Next, my predictions for Sword of the Canon:

These are naturally more vague, and Song of the Mysteries even more so.

Earlier I thought this would happen a long time after Alliance of Light (on the order of centuries) and investigate the long term impact of Lysaer’s religion. However, Sulfin Evend is undergoing a lot of character development and he’d die in the interim (part of why I think he’ll die in SF) So, maybe it isn’t a long gap? I did initially assume Alliance of Light would be set much further in the future too. I don’t have much idea what these books will cover, and the book titles don’t give much away. I suspect they end with the return of the Paravians, and the last book deals with the fallout, but that’s just on a gut feeling of the pacing.

If my guess at Arithon being constrained in some way holds out, perhaps they open with an event coming to pass that finally requires his freedom. Perhaps the Mistwraiths finally break through the Fellowship’s wards and all of them are on their way to Athera.

Also, predictions for Song of the Mysteries:

Arithon and Lysaer haven’t interacted at all since book 1, and I think them talking is too interesting an opportunity to pass up. Originally I imagined it happening in Dascen Elur, but the interaction in Kewar where it was revealed that Arithon’s inherited kingdom was doing okay removes the last plotline for that to have big payoff. After 500 years, they will have little connection to their homeland.
I don’t think Lysaer gets “cured” of the curse. Arithon manages it with mage training that Lysaer doesn’t have, the Fellowship can’t do anything about it, and Paravians dont seem likely to have any better ideas. Lysaer was in the presence of a Paravian on Daon Ramon in Perils Gate, and the Paravian didn’t suggest that the Paravians could do anything about it. Instead, I wonder if at the 500 year mark, or some other condition of guaranteed death, Lysaer and Arithon won’t be compelled to kill to each other. So we get one last conversation before they die.
I also believe that Lysaer’s religion will outgrow him in a lot of ways, do things he doesn’t like, and by the end of the series he will be much more open to introspection and forgiveness, and won’t be quite so driven to blind hate. This may be too optimistic.

In general, I’m largely in the dark as to what the ending could be. Do the Paravians come back? I think they will, but I don’t know if they stay. The Prologue of the series suggests Lysaer’s religion will persist, and be a major record for historians in the far future. I do not think the religion can persist in the face of extended contact with the Paravians. But the Paravians are missing for a reason, and that reason will be revealed, and is tied too close to the story to go unsolved the whole time. So I want to say they come back then leave again for some other reason.

My most firmly held prediction is that the Mistwraiths will be defeated, if only because they are the closest thing to an overarching villain. Unfortunately, they don’t seem overly tied to the story of any other faction, so I can’t base other predictions off of that.

I think the Paravians leaving for good, with humanity finally in control of Athera, would be a good bittersweet ending. Humanity clearly once roamed the stars, and I’m cheering for them to do it again, no matter the cost.

The Fellowship of Seven becomes absurdly powerful if they don’t have to follow the compact. It seems like if they stick around, nothing changes on Athera and we don’t get an ending, but if they change what they’re doing we get deus ex machina and they fix everything. (Exaggerating, but they aren’t much into compromises and wield more power than anyone by a wide margin) Perhaps they leave with the Paravians in a Grey Havens style ending.

[auricle (Brian Uri!)]

I love where your brain is going, and can’t wait for you to see what happens next!

[jaffray (Jeff N)]

I’m appreciative of your self-restraint to avoid spoilers. Best wishes as you continue your journey.