Keep in mind this is a setting where Fate is a tangible thing and has a spellcasting school around it.
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You know, I wonder if Wanda might happen to show up at her old home while Jillian is there.
Comic Update
SpoilerSo Parson will step through, but not until the Carnymancers have made their move, it seems.
Hmm, raises an interesting point about:
SpoilerThe limits of Predictamancy. If Marie has forseen Parson being in peril in Spacerock, she hasn't said anything. Either she hasn't predicted the trap, Charlie can somehow manipulate Predictamancy to conceal his plans, or maybe she sees that he'll pull through fine.
Or maybe she wants him croaked there. :smalleek:
SpoilerWhat we've seen of Predictamancy doesn't suggest a large amount of detail, outside of "This WILL happen, one way or another", and Fate being what it is, such Predictions probably aren't overly common, because what fun is a world if every last detail is predetermined.
It was Predicted that Wanda would join Haffaton. It was Predicted that she would one day attune with an Arkentool.
Faq was Predicted to fall, quite possibly by Wanda's actions specifically, if I remember my text updates properly.
Parson's passing through the portal has been Predicted. Janis helping him in this has been Predicted.
Spoiler
Seems to me Marie is happy with what will happen once Parson passes through the portal, or she wouldn't be so pleased about all this. Whether Parson will be pleased I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he'll survive this--all this stuff about him being so important to Erfworld would be pointless otherwise.
My read is that JoJo has received new orders from Charlie to
A) Let the Fat Man through (we know Charlie wants this)
B) Go through with him.
He will probably ustify this switch by saying that he's going along to represent the interests of those faction of MK that he's been stirring up. His real reason though will be to carry out Charlie's further wishes, which are likely not in the MK's best interests.
The question is,
C) Will this attempted subterfuge reveal his secret connection to Charlie, turning the rest of the MK against him?
D) What will happen if/when he goes through and meets up with Sylvia? After all, we have reason to think that he's just working for Charlie in payment for whatever fate-twisting the latter did for her.
E) Given that he seems to be (and apparently have been for some time) working with Charlie, how does that figure into his relationship with Queen Bea, and was he gaming the system against her?
Yeah, but where most people seem to think Charlie's plan is to get Hampster killed, (because that's what he told Slately), I'm not convinced. Oh, sure, that's Plan B - Charlie always has backup plans - but Job One is always "what's best for Charlie" and Charlie's been pretty plain about wanting Parson working for him.
Just my WAG and until now, I couldn't see how he'd do it, but I suspect that's where JoJo comes in. Parson still has the scroll, and JoJo's job will be to convince him to use it as his last escape when everything goes bad to go "back where he once belonged." But, JoJo is a conman, it's Charlie's scroll, and where Charlie thinks he belongs is TADA working for Charlie.
At the very least, JoJo's job is to retrieve and convey the Mathamancy Bracer to Charlescomm, since I seriously doubt Charlie would have let anything about that slip to Slately, nor would he be willing to allow such a valuable device to fall into anyone else's hands.
It's also "instant and effortless." Sizemore anyway seems to be impressed: "very powerful item. Or maybe artifact." Charlie found the offer "intriging" and flat out states "I'd also like the smart warlord who comes with it, but I'll pry it from his remains if I must." I've seen nothing in his conversations with Slately to indicate hie's changed his mind about either of those desires.
Don't forget that he made a deal with Jetstone once before, with a live Parson as his price. I can easily see him making another deal with Slately, with the same price in mind but not explicitly stated. AND, given that Ansom did in fact accept the previous deal and Charlie kept his end of it, I can also see where in his view he's already owed that payment, and thus that's "where [he] once belonged."
Anything that gives Charlie the same basic capabilities as his largest business rival without actually having to utilize their services has to be of the utmost importance. Charlescomm is basically the Magic Kingdom using technology and specialized units instead of magic and -mancers.
Peace through Superior Firepower Update.
SpoilerWow, Delphie thought ahead. :smallsmile:
SpoilerShe was a Predictamancer. Thinking ahead is Job One. Unfortunately as Cassandra learned, that doesn't entail being believed.
hmm... something here sounds familiar...
SpoilerUnexpected air units and hidden/suborned wild or natural ally units? Yeah, who's been caught and/or suspected of using those tactics before?
I still think:
Spoiler
Jillian will actually succeed in taking Haffaton out. The backstory she told way back in volume 1 clearly stated that Wanda was a Faq caster, as I recall, and the only way that could presumably happen is if Faq destroys Haffaton.
One does have to wonder how fate would play out if Jillian actually followed the instructions on the note, though...unfortunately we're never likely to find out!
Not really. Destruction is likely, but not needed by any stretch; all that need happen is a snatch-and-grab, which given we've seen megalogwiffs do just that, isn't off the table.
I just had a pretty scary thought. We've all seen how Wanda can be...
SpoilerUnless being part of an existing side negates that, she's an heir like Jillian was, if she gets a hold of a loose capital site, she could break away and continue her creepy decrypted Fate cult thing without Stanley to (vaguely) keep her in check.
I'd say there's a better then fair chance Jillian can pull it off if Banhammer lets her orders stand. She's seen the capitol and it defenses, scouted the way, and while a bit over-confident should be experienced enough to know what she is and is not conceivably capable of.
*spoiler for WAG speculation*
SpoilerRemember too that she's called for six turns of accelerated Predictamancy, presumably to tell her where to stay away from, and for all warlords and casters to accompany the attack. Even if most of them are reluctant to fight that's a lot of casters with a lot of leadership, including a master class foolamancer who can help veil the approach. Jill herself said in Bk 1 how much she'd have liked to take him on some raids and that "he would have loved it."
Once the capitol falls, the side falls (that's the whole point) leaving a lot of barbarian towns and an enormous power vacuum into which GK can expand to the major force it once was. (Stanley won "a lot of battles" under Saline IV, and he had to win them against someone.) Capturing Wanda of course brings her to FAQ and it's eventual fall to him, and thus fulfills Marie's prophecy that Haffaton will cause the fall of FAQ - not by conquering it, but by being conquered by it, since it's probable that once that happens and Banhammer decides there's no more danger, he'll call off the dumb "evacuation" idea and go back to running a bubble kingdom.
He will argue that when a city falls, the side that lost it knows what side it fell to, though not much more - we saw that when Jillian took Diceroll. But if the whole side falls, then no one is left to remember even the name, and the very existence of FAQ once again becomes a secret, so let's keep it that way.
If memory serves, it was mentioned at one point that Turnamancers could help turn enemy units into friendlies with the aid of a dungeon.
As far as I can tell, Wanda and Ossomer are the only ones that have turned without needing to be captured and forced to turn first. Duncan Scone (Jillain's Chief Warlord) and Jack Snipe are people that were turned after being captured.
Well, I suppose we don't know for sure if Jack was captured first or if he turned for the same reasons Wanda did.
The awkward thing about this note's prediction is that there aren't very many things Jillian can lose.
We know her father survives, because she's not Overlord when her side falls.
We know Jack survives, because he's still alive.
We know Wanda and Jillian both survive, of course.
We know FAQ survives up until Stanley smashes it later.
There's not really anyone else she cares about! Everyone who went out on missions with her is already dead. She loathes the other casters at FAQ. She could suffer a bit (and so could everyone else), but at this point we more-or-less know that she wins, so the note's warning of all the loss and suffering she'll get for not listening to it seems a bit odd.
Losing her father and her kingdom aren't enough of a loss? No matter how annoyed she gets with her father's decisions, Faq is still her home and Banhammer is still her father, and we know that the sequence of events she's just set in motion end up with her losing both!