It was fortunate that Harris "saved" Tammy when he did.
- She would have been tithed if he had not stepped in. In folklore, the fairies tithe a mortal to Hell every seven years
. The comic references this on the very first (non-cover) page:"One will be protected. The other will be ours in tithe... Save one or save neither." - It is assumed that Aliana was the one tithed, however it is never stated as such in the comic. The best known example of fairy tithing is 'The Ballad of Tam Lin'. Much like Tam Lin, when he was going to be tithed:"I'll ride on the milk-white steed [in a procession of fairies]...Cocked up shall my bonnet be, And combed down shall be my hair." (Child Ballad)
- Their names are even similar: Tam Lin = 'Tammy' Llyn.
- Tammy was the one tithed. Aliana is the one preserved. Other than the fact that it's blatantly obvious (Aliana is preserved in a comatose state, Tammy was used in their ceremonies) neither Christians nor their hell appear to exist in the comic and the plain text clearly states that one was tithed to the spirits, not by the spirits.
The reason why magic is fading off
- Because of the lack of priests and priestesses to take care of the Blindsprings. After Tammy practically popped a magic champagne at the fountain, a lot of magic was released to the world, but was too much at once so it shocked the Orphic orphans and messed up with academic artefacts (not to mention the earth shaking). This would explain why the Torsteen spirits asked Tammy to find them a pristess to care for their own Blindsprings and were able to come to life again after Lodestones were alight. The Great Forest Blingspring is the only one with a lot of stable magic thanks to Tammy, being High Priestess, was constantly treating it for 300 years. The spirits might have know that with the academist's overthrown, their magic would be compromised and asked for the two sisters, one to serve them and one to keep the other at bay.
Harris is part Orphic.
- He was able to enter a Blindsprings, see a spirit, and is part of the 5% that can see weird stuff. Most likely a forgotten lineage.
- Confirmed in page 196.
Harris is related to the Torstenn family somehow.
- It's been a popular theory in the comments section for a while that Harris may have gotten Orphic blood from a link to the Torstenn lineage before his mom being a Khalan priestess was revealed, but it still can't entirely be ruled out. There may still be a possibility of him having a Torstenn relation on his father's side. Since it's been said how lots of Orphic and non Orphic families have intermarried in Aberwelle over the years, magic is spread to most of the population. Who's to say his father may or may not have a relation to the Torstenn family from this spreading over the magic gene pool? Plus, remember what Rajani said. Harris is a link "between Khalan and Aberwellian magics". If she just meant he could use both Khalan Orphic magic and Academist magic, why not just say that he is a link between both Khalan and Academic magics? Surely an Orphic of an old family like her wouldn't recognize Academist magic as the legitimate magic of a country. If he links the magics between two countries, then talking in context with her, it would make more sense if he has access to Orphic magic from two countries, even if his connection to his Aberwelle Orphic side is thin compared to his Khalan Orphic.
- Considering Academic magic and Orphic magic are basically the same (the former is just a scientific approach to Orphic magic) it would explain why Rajani said Harris is a link for both magics.
- Also rconsider that magic might not be the way of manifesting it (Academic and Orphic) but actually the main power source of magic itself. Magic differs from country to country (Rajani can't use Aberwelle's magic, needing to connect herself to Khala) so that could be the real meaning of her words. Thanks to his mixed blood, he can potentially use magic in Aberwelle and Khala, something that seems to never occured before.
There are two factions among the Spirits, and Tammy and Harris are each The Chosen One for a different faction.
- Harris was primed to betray Tammy and break her contract before completion. Was it part of a deeper game, or was one faction sabotaging the other;s Chosen One?
Tammy is a literal Red Headed Step Child, either through illegitimacy or adoption.
- She's the only redhead in the family
- Aliana implies that she was the high priestess until Tammy replaced her, and Tammy was a last-minute substitute.
- People mutter about "Bastards at Court" behind her back.
- She does not appear comfortable with the trappings of royalty and what deference she does receive appears to be condescending or sarcastic.
- Word of God via Alt Text says she was "hidden in a cloister".
- The Empresss also tells Aliana "I've done you a great favor, legitimizing your sister."
Tammy's mother planned on using her as Human Sacrifice
- There have been a couple of references to Orphics using human sacrifices, and Tammy specifically objects to the way the Spirit talks about the coming cataclysm by saying it makes it sound like they're sacrifices, to which the Spirit responds "Aren't you?" Then there's the whole matter of why Tammy's sister Aliana was replaced as the priestess, which this cryptic statement by her mother saying she should be grateful. Then there's Gregoire stating that "they will not have you." It's possible that Tammy was even conceived specifically for that purpose and why she was suddenly brought back to court, especially since the Llyn family had been said to be declining. The Empress might have been planning to use her as a last ditch attempt to reclaim power for themselves.
Tammy's mother "sacrificed" Tammy by binding her into the Spirit's service to preserve Aliana to become the next empress
- This might be another reason why their mother tells her she should be grateful she's not priestess.
Tammy and Aliana have a rapprochement before or during the Academist Revolution
- What else would explain Tammy's apparent concern for Aliana later, which seems to go beyond mere duty.
Tammy's biological father.
- Why else would Gregoire work so hard to protect her? Why would he care so much for a child of someone he hated? Gregoire was said to be very close with the Llyn family, The Empress especially.
Gregoire is the lover of the empress
- Think about it when hers betrays her, their body language shows them too close, even caressing her cheek and the empress seems shattered.
- Then in a memory of Tammy we see the empress furious at Gregoire's betrayal but also somewhat spiteful. Anger at being removed from power or being abandoned by her lover? Or both.
- Academic history also does not understand why the woman employed at her court a guy apparently without a drop of Orphic blood but that she is creating a type of magic that anyone could use to change the status quo. Hell, the document itself wonders if the empress brought Gregoire because perhaps she felt lonely or she liked his trinkets and illusions (That is perhaps they have known each other for a while and she likes him too much to the point of wanting his presence in her palace .) In Gregoire's part we see that in the first appearance of her he likes to invade her personal space too much even if he is on the verge of a coup against her. Then instead of executing her or something like that, it keeps her alive and even if we take the memory of Tammy it seems to visit her instead of sending someone else in a place that is not bad at all also because it kept her close to Tamaura if she only wanted to save to the latter or perhaps there is an attachment to this other woman that makes him take care of her despite being against her.
- In the prologue, their interaction is very short since it focuses on his and Tammy's relationship, but when he greets her and she leaves without even answering him, in fact he ignores him too well, he seems a bit depressed and tries forcibly to smile at Tamaura to cheer her up.
