Spies

Spoilers follow... Some time ago I expressed my surprise that Clyntahn hadn't put on a massive search for friends and family of Merlin Athrawes, especially after he engineered Daivyn's and Iris's escape from Delferahk. Of course, runsforcelery has chastised us a number of times that not everything that happens on Safehold can be written in books; we are encouraged to make deductions regarding intermediate events and necessary consequences. So, I can conclude that the inquisitors actually have executed such a search and found nothing. Rayno has reported that to Clyntahn, and been told to redouble his efforts.

That being said, however, I'm surprised again at the conversation between Clyntahn and Rayno regarding Diallyd Mab. Rayno reports that the inquisitors have found nothing about Mab, and that should have brought to Clyntahn's mind the other infuriating Charisian about whom they can find nothing. Mab, obviously has a reason to use a pseudonym. He's going to be killing soldiers, inquisitors and other clerics. But (in Rayno's mind) how did Athrawes come to use a pseudonym when all he was planning on doing was thwarting an assassination?

~Tonto

One suspects Tonto, that anyone with seijin-like abilities would hide them as early as possible. It is too easy to confuse a seijin with a demon,eh? Any place that trains seijin would be doubly encouraged to keep a very low profile. Considering how these seijin are all cooperating, they likely come from the same place.

Mab's letter pretty much admits the seijins are unified in their opposition to the CoGA. It also suggests that the seijins all come from the same place. The inference Rayno will take from the data is that all seijins will have the same weakness if he can find where they came from or they were trained. Good Lick, Willym.

Tonto Silerheels wrote:Spoilers follow... Some time ago I expressed my surprise that Clyntahn hadn't put on a massive search for friends and family of Merlin Athrawes, especially after he engineered Daivyn's and Iris's escape from Delferahk. Of course, runsforcelery has chastised us a number of times that not everything that happens on Safehold can be written in books; we are encouraged to make deductions regarding intermediate events and necessary consequences. So, I can conclude that the inquisitors actually have executed such a search and found nothing. Rayno has reported that to Clyntahn, and been told to redouble his efforts.

That being said, however, I'm surprised again at the conversation between Clyntahn and Rayno regarding Diallyd Mab. Rayno reports that the inquisitors have found nothing about Mab, and that should have brought to Clyntahn's mind the other infuriating Charisian about whom they can find nothing. Mab, obviously has a reason to use a pseudonym. He's going to be killing soldiers, inquisitors and other clerics. But (in Rayno's mind) how did Athrawes come to use a pseudonym when all he was planning on doing was thwarting an assassination?

~Tonto

Concerning the "Mountains of Light", in OAR it was specified that this somewhat large location includes the "Second Holiest" site on Safehold, Mount Olympus, where Archangel Langhorne first set foot on Safehold. Also in OAR it is specified that the peak of Mount Olympus is 1/3 higher than Earth's Mount Everest, which would make it and much of its upper ranges nicely in the 'death zone' of oxygen starvation. Good luck to any Inquisitors sent to find someone in these areas, pressure suits anybody?

Of course, Clyntahn's people would be very unlikely to go spelunking in order to find the really unknown lair of the 'living' Seijins which is Nimue's Cave buried under that very same mountain. Still, I have the remembering itch that the "Mountains of Light" were traditionally the training home of many of the earlier Seijins. When Merlin first met Cayleb, it did seem that the role and the origin was part of the tradition for these legendary folk.

Tonto Silerheels wrote:But (in Rayno's mind) how did Athrawes come to use a pseudonym when all he was planning on doing was thwarting an assassination?

~Tonto

I very much doubt that Rayno, in particular, any longer views that encounter as 'only' about thwarting an assassination. Exactly what he thinks about Merlin is not made clear, as you say, but I'm pretty sure that he thinks Merlin deliberately used it to get into Cayleb's confidence, after all that's what Rayno would have done. Evidence Merlin used a pseudonym right from the start would pretty much confirm that.