ALL SPOILERS UNMARKED
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E=O
- Eithan is Ozriel.
- Eithan has a mysterious past, already had all three of his Lord revelations, and from how Suriel described him their attitudes line up fairly well.
- Confirmed in Reaper.
- (This was only added here after Reaper came out, though it was a common WMG among the fanbase.)
Dross told Northstrider about Suriel
- When Northstrider encounters Dross for the first time, he shows every indication of being about to simply take him away, without regard for the fact that this could destroy Lindon's soul; he shows no indication he even cares that Lindon exists. He takes Dross through a portal and the two of them are offscreen for a matter of seconds before Northstrider returns, suddenly showing a lasting interest in Lindon. The only thing Dross could have done or said in such a short timeframe to change Northstrider's mind is tell him that Lindon had attracted the attention of a powerful immortal.
- Lindon himself opened the portal, potentially with Akura Malice's aid, this was foreshadowing for him becoming a Sage later in the book. It's possible that Dross told him about Suriel, but it wasn't Northstrider who re-opened the portal.
Akura Malice knew that Lindon was going to become a Sage and that Yerin would become a Herald
- When Lindon arrives with Northstrider at the meeting of the Monarch's Malice is staring directly at him with a grin on her face. When she notices him look over she gives him a wink and when he salutes her, as due her station, she smiles wider. She knew he was the one that pried open the portal that Northstrider left behind and potentially helped him do it. She saw that he was a budding Sage.
- When Malice met with Yerin after her bout with Yan Shoumei the advice she gave her wasn't anything like what the Winter Sage or her daughter Charity had given Yerin. Rather than telling her that she needed to embody the Sword Icon she instead told her that she needed to find herself. It's this advice that not only allows her to advance to Overlord but directly results in Yerin becoming a Herald.
Icons effect the mind of the Sage or Monarch that use them and it gets worse if they don't ascend
- When Akura Malice loses connection to The Way and her Icons she suddenly becomes much more concerned with her family on an emotional level. She despairs at how she treated Fury, hugs a sobbing Mercy, and hopes that Pride knows how much she loves him. The second that her connection to The Way and her Icons is restored she returns to being the schemer we've known so far.
The Eight-Man Empire ( 8 ME) was created as a solution to the "Monarch Problem" but failed.
- It's outright spelled out in Wintersteel chapter 13 that it's suspected that there was Abidan involvement in the creation of the armor that allows for 4 Heralds and 4 Sages to combine their power to match up against a Monarch without generating Hunger Madra. This can only be seen as an attempt by them to have been trying to find a way to stop Monarch's from becoming a thing. The 8ME would have forced any Sages or Heralds that would rise to the rank of Monarch to either ascend or face their combined might, and with no Monarchs on Cradle there would be no Dreadgods to contend with. Unfortunately there had to have already been multiple Monarchs on Cradle when the 8ME was created thus preventing them from establishing themselves at the top of the food chain.
- This is why they're supporting Lindon and Emriss now, they see it as their only opportunity to finally fulfill the purpose they were created for, as well as allowing them to cast off the yoke of the Monarch system. If Lindon and Emriss succeed in killing the Dreadgods then forcing the other Monarchs to ascend they will then themselves ascend leaving the 8ME as the most powerful force on the Iteration thus forstalling the consequences that Northstrider warned Lindon of.
Everyone has a Hunger core
- Lindon slips up and says he will drain Sha Reliar's cores, even though Reliar knows he only has one. Lindon may have discovered that everyone has a Hunger core that stays dormant unless advancing to Monarch or being touched by a Dreadgod. (This could also just be an author reference to the frequent cores typo.) So Lindon really has triplet stars.
