WMG / Dark Shores

The Corruptor's name is very literal - he corrupts the marks of the other gods.

• A point of speculation made in Dark Skies is that the Seventh may be able to give multiple marks due to differing effects. Corrupting different marks would explain the range. Hegeria's healers to the Corrupted. Yara's tenders to cause the blight. And the shifters of Yern the likely source of the deimos.

The Corrupted are Hegeria's Marked - and every healer is capable of performing every ability in the Corrupted toolbox

• Every power the Corrupted are seen using correlates to an ability of Hegeria's mark but supercharged.
  • The ability to drain life is a weaponization of the passive area drain that is the fuel source of Hegeria's marked not dying after their first few heals. The mists that Lydia sees as marking life are drawn to her, which is why taking a dying healer through the well and healthy is able to save them. There is just more life to sponge away.

  • "Too much life" is the visual indicator that Hegeria's mark consistingly use to describe the Corrupted to their sight. Life energy that is capable of being used as fuel - which is how Hegeria's marked work as they give away their own in normal usage to heal others.

  • The Wolverine-like healing the Corrupted have? The normal fast healing Hegeria's marked have super charged.
    • The Corrupted One that attempted to aid Killian at the wall only started healing when Killian got close. And Healers heal themselves by sponging in surrounding life.

  • Similarly the vampire like speed and strength, Hegeria's mark have increased physical abilities naturally. The sheer amount of stolen life pushes it into overdrive.

  • Why does the Corrupted have to touch someone to drain them? Because Hegeria's mark is only capable of effecting another's life energy at a touch - healing range.

  • Why are Corrupted if just Hegeria's Marked assumed to be the Corruptor's chosen? One, they can fall into a Corrupted or Corrupted like state by pulling instead of pushing life as the extra energy is described as extremely addictive. Two, they are extremely hard to kill which not only means notoriety but that the numbers just slowly build even if it's a rare occurrence. Three, they are simply the most common marked. More chances for one to turn.

  • Why does no one consider the above? Because how Hegeria's mark operates simply isn't well known. The visual component is simply never mentioned (and is the major indicator that healers naturally draw in life from those around them) and especially with Mutamora's ruler enforcing healers heal more than to just allow survival despite their own judgement not much is given to how a healer is capable of judging injuries and how close to death an individual is. Or how a healer survives and recovers from giving their life away.

  • Little Asha was probably Marked by Hegeria, too, only her mother Esme hid it because she did not want her daughter to be taken away. There is one piece of dialogue that strongly suggests this possibility.
    • Continuing from the above if Asha was a healer it's very likely that others in the palace knew it. Healers have poor control over their marks. And many of the servants are specifically noted in Killian's narration as unwilling to accept that Asha was marked by the 7th. The logic of Esme's knowledge of Asha being marked by one of the Six fueling her refusal that Ashe was marked by the 7th is just as applicable to the rest of the staff. Given that Asha grew up in the palace and the general implied hatred for the compulsory service others would have cause to turn a blind eye to a healer in the palace even before one considers the usefulness to the staff to have a healer on site.

  • That moment in the tunnels, when Killian almost kills his brother Hacken and Lydia cringes because there is something very wrong - it was the Seventh, trying to corrupt Killian.

Serrick's personal healer Cyntha is Rufina

• Serrick has a horrible time winning battles like he has an information leak, the Corruptor or at least Rufina implies that she was involved in the assassination of the last royal family, and Serrick's policies are both driving down the effectiveness of the Marked - which weakens them and the Six, but giving the impetus for the Corruptor to corrupt more Marked.

• Rufina as Cyntha killed Killian's father, disguising it as heart attack.

• Cyntha was in love with Derrek Falorn, the previous king, but they were estranged when he married another woman. This made her turn to the Corruptor.

Lydia is the daughter of the last Falorn king and Dareena Falorn's niece

• Everyone says that Lydia looks just like Dareena. When she gets a coin with a Falorn falcon, she seems to remember something. While the king's body was found, his wife and daughter simply disappeared - perhaps through the xenthier stem in the palace tunnels, which might just possibly lead to somewhere near the Hill in Celendrial.

• This would also explain the strange closeness that Killian and Lydia feel towards each other. It's not just physical attraction, Killian was supposed to become Lydia's sworn sword. And Tremon marked Killian the night before the ceremony. Gods themselves wanted them to be together and Madoria helped by bringing Lydia back.
  • Not only that - Killian was specifically marked by Tremon to protect the Falorn Princess - or so at least Malahi claims. Continuing the above there are three times in Dark Skies where Killian gets very notable calls.
    • The first is when Lydia is first returned to Mudamora or very shortly before - when he is struck with intense sensations. Partially aimed at the Empire across the sea but it drove him out into the city. Lydia at the time was in a bathrobe, lost her glasses and is wandering alone in an unknown land. If there is ever a time that Tremon's marked protector needs to get out and about to rescue his charge - then would be then. And Killian is essential to Lydia not dying that first night.

    • The second is the night after Asha's attack, when Killian wakes up in Malahi's bedroom feeling alarmed, cannot get back to sleep and finally goes to see Asha's body. At the same time Lydia is being robbed in the shelter.

    • The third is directly following Lydia jumping out the window to escape Malahi's plotting. Lydia's mark kept her from immediately dying but was not healing fast enough to not drown without help. Killian's aid at that moment would have likely been enough to save her given the combination of a fast horse and healers being incredibly difficult to kill.

• Another consideration is Magnius. The Guardian of the Quincense pauses after Lydia gave her name as Lydia Valerius. As Magnius tells Marcus he doesn't care for false names, and Marcus demonstrates that birth names are not necessarily true names. But a name given because all others are forgotten? Lydia was reportedly babbling when she was found outside the Valerius home. Babbling babies are typically old enough to know their own name (and Lydia could easily be older than that because foreign language from the other side of the world would be seen as babbling) so the price of names being complicated could easily explain the pause.
  • Magnius after this tells Teriana when she complains to him that they did essentially nothing to help Lydia: "[Lydia] found her way here [Celendor], with faith, she'll find her way back." One, the scion of Madoria is speaking with great certainty that Lydia was born somewhere besides Celandor. Two, he's a mind reader, so even if Lydia isn't fully aware of her past that doesn't preclude him from getting enough to figure things out, especially given that Lydia is reminded of something with the Falorn falcon which is much less relevant to a baby than their own name. And finally - Magnius does not give away the secrets of others.

  • Lydia herself says that she was about two when she was found by senator Valerius outside his villa.

• There is also Killian's thought of Lydia when they were disguising her to heal the orphan's: "As [Lydia] stepped into another pool of moonlight, looking for all the world like some mystical princess of the icy north." Lydia has powers, via a divine figure and the Falorn territory is called out to be in the northern parts of an already northern kingdom.

• And the trend in Reath for royalty to get their hands dirty would continue. Terriana being one of the heirs to her people and also 1st Mate/Captain of the Quinsence, the Gamdesh general being one of the princess' of the royal family... And if Lydia is the missing Falorn princess- a healer who will go into the sewers of the city to heal orphan children at risk of her own health and life.

Lydia is going to escape at least a third assassination attempt eventually

• If Lydia is the missing Falorn princess she's already survived two assassinations attempts already and, frankly, as a female, healer and general person Lydia is regularly underestimated.

Hegeria is up to something

• Not that that something is nefarious - but Hegeria is described as looking wrinkled and old. Hegeria's healers look older than their age when they have used their power. Hegeria is acting upon something - possibly the sheer number of healers she powers costing her. But possibly something other than just being the healing goddess.
  • Hegeria is the less obvious backup of Gespurn. The cause of the Windless Madness. See next WMG for more information.

Hegeria is behind the Windless Madness

• The Windless Madness is not natural - it acts like a horror movie curse/ghost/evil spirit in how it's lethalness spikes when escape is possible. Like say how a boat with enough people to row a rowing craft after a Maarin ship and into the current manage to not kill each other on the larger ship but will by the time the smaller craft reaches the Maarin despite rescue being in their grasp? And everyone on board logically not being in competition with each other due to already being on the boat?

• The Windless Madness also does not fit into Gespurn's powerset. It does however fit in with Hegeria's whose gifts, as Lydia shows, can be used to harm as well as heal.

• If the above case is correct, it also gives a reason for Hegeria's healers to be specifically funneled into high death rates by the manipulations of Cyntha/Rufinia of Serrick. The story of the Giants put Marked being direct indicator's of a god's strength. With the death of one of Gespurn's 24 leading to the Giants needing to stand watch until the number is again 24. Massive war with healers explicitly said to be dropping like flies to the point that their bodies aren't being sent back to the temple for rights... Sounds like an excellent way to grind through what is essentially a massive power well.
  • Also Hegeria backing Gespurn protects the West/East blockade in that Gespurn is a very obvious component whose power source allowing him to do so is obvious. 24 extremely powerful marked with an entire Island nation culturally bound to protect the West if something happens. Hegeria's thousands of marked are not individually as powerful, but are hard to kill due to their healing ability in general, and do not need to worry about general death rates because there are just so many of them. Also security through obscurity.

Quindor knew that Malahi was marked

• Quindor complained to Killian about healing Malahi after Asha's attempted abduction of Malahi - specifically that the wound was mortal. Mortal wounds of the marked take even more life from a healer to heal - and Quindor complained about a lesser healer dying to heal such a wound. The exact same warning if at a larger scale that Killian had given Lydia upon healing him. Throw in that Quindor is a skilled healer and knows exactly how much a wound takes to heal, he would have noticed.

Malahi is not dead

• To put it bluntly - if Rufina wanted Malahi dead she would have killed her not abducted her. It also fits the known pattern of behavior of Rufina doing her very best to dishearten.

1. Inciting Killian to shoot an arrow at her so as to catch it.

2. Allowing the wounded soldiers to return to the capital alive despite the monsters prowling the countryside preventing escape.

3. Leaving a note for Killian under Asha's corpse.

Malahi was/is popular with the people of Mudamora and her father is deeply unpopular after his decrees as to the Marked. Her returning as a Corrupted, especially if the 7th's Corrupted are simply the other gods Marked, would be a crippling blow to morale.

Rufina also has a habit of sinking into open wounds in the unity of an alliance/people. Ala her welcoming in the poor of the capital to Malahi's ball. Using Malahi would inflict both of the above, and would heavily shake her father's rule.

The Maarin's directive that "East must not meet West" is not entirely from Madoria

• Madoria was the only god of the six that retained access to the East - and the Maarin only retained access by sea currents cutting through the Doldrums. The Seas that she controls.

• Gespurn shows himself as fully capable and willing of intervening to prevent the Legions from travelling to the West.

• Ergo - the Maarin's directive is less from Madoria being fully behind keeping the two sides of the world seperate and more that Gespurn is - and Madoria either not willing or able to constantly fight Gespurn. Notably Lydia was brought to Mudamora in large part thanks to Madoria's intervention... through a Xenthier genesis that was far away from where Gespurn could intervene.

The 7th has been targeting the religious beliefs of the Six for a long time

• Multiple times there has been divergences from how the Gods purportedly act and how they actually do.
  • "The gods do not give second chances" - When Asha's corpse is offered up the storm and the seas instantly calm. Gespurn and Madoria - who mark the Maarin and the Giants. Those are the two with the absolute least possible connection with Asha but they are implied to have directly acted so as to accept Asha or allow their siblings to do so. While the known rites for a Corrupted would be entombment in the earth.

  • "The Gods act through those they mark" - Mostly correct - but Madoria shows multiple times that it is not an ironclad rule as she is implied to have acted as soon as Lydia called out for help in the baths in Celandor, and after with fighting with Gespurn.

• Also the general thread of how Mudamora demanding service of the marked up to enslavement of marked children is leading up to a pressure cooker ready to explode. Both as damaging faith and the power base of the Six, and readying possible causes for an internal war between the kingdoms of the West when the Empire rolls through.

Titus isn't in league with his father Cassius

• The description of the Traitor's behavior fits Felix's behavior to a T and Titus did voice support for saving Teriana. Add in that Marcus is assumed as a default to be in league with Cassius rather than blackmailed and there is more than one possible motive for Titus wanting Marcus dead.

Senator Valerius was aware that there was lands unknown to the Empire for awhile

• Lydia informs Killian that she was found in her mother’s arm when she was two. Two is old enough to speak in two/three word fragments.

• As a (former) Mudamorian Lydia would have been speaking the language known as Trader-tongue in Celendor - and she is very apparent to not be a Maarin lacking both their characteristic darker skin nor eyes. A language that by the time of the story proper the Senator is fluent in.
  • Even in the case that the Senator wasn’t fluent in Mudamorian at the time Lydia was found he does keep an implied extensive collection of linguistic texts which would be able to narrow what Lydia wasn’t speaking as a toddler.

• In the case that the above speculation is correct that Lydia is a Falorn her mother and her likely were wearing clothing or emblems that were emblematic of their social rank. Fine quality fabrics and styles not known to Celendor would catch Valerius’ attention.

At some point Teriana will save/support Lydia and so fulfill her promise of help.

• One of the ongoing threads of the plot is that religious fundamentalism (small f) is a bad thing. This is much more present in Dark Skies as opposed to Dark Shores but you have the High Priest in Mudamoria, Quindor outright purchasing slaves in the form of Hegeria marked children "to do their duty". Similarly King Serrick is being apparentlty manipulated by Rufina/his Healer Cynthia under the guise of religion.

• Meanwhile the entire cause of Lucius getting ahold of the information on the Dark Shores was due to the book given to Lydia being found as opposed to Lydia talking. Therefore - Teriana trusting Lydia is not the direct cause of the invasion by the Empire.

• Throw in that the plan that was ruined by Senator Valerius's actions being revealed to his nephew was to send Lydia out of Celendriel... If told in advance that Lydia was leaving his reaction quite probably would have been manageable versus the doom and gloom predicted by Teriana's mother. Beyond all else he wanted Lydia safe.

• Furthermore, given the events in Dark Skies the likely sequence of events if the Quinsence had taken Lydia to the other side of the world with Madoria being implied to have personally intervened to save Lydia is Hegeria waiting for the barest excuse to mark Lydia. One of the six specifically wanting one of theirs back and the other essentially doing the other a favor does not a damned to the underworld offense make.

• Ergo a whole lot of everything could have been at least stalled if Teriana could have kept her promise to Lydia. And one of the end points with Lydia's thoughts at the end of her book is that she doesn't belong everywhere.

• Add in the ongoing themes of the treatment of the Legionaires being seen as cruel, terrible and in some ways flat out evil... "Dying like flies" is the description given of Mudamoria's healers. Teriana not rectifying the original decision of leaving Lydia behind, of not rebelling against the strict religious doctrine interpretation (which has been shown multiple times by the actions of the six to not be exactly in line with their views) would be counter intuitive to the ongoing narrative arc and theme when it comes to both religion and vulnerable populations in need of help.

Cassius was the one to inform Vibius of Senator Valerius' plans with altering his will. Also supplying the poison/wine to Vibius.

• Cassius is behind all the blackmail material in Celandor. And will actively cultivate opportunities. And Valerius loving Lydia dearly is very obvious given the adoption even before he attempted to see if he could make sure that would not need to worry about her cousin without having to be married.