Theory Time I
“Evergray used Catherine for his own benefit”
Disclaimer: This theory is based on Catherine’s Memories quests with Linda! If you haven’t done them and do not want to be spoiled, don’t read this!
I’ve finished Catherine’s story just yesterday, and it left me with a lot of questions I will talk about in another post, but also a huge certitude.
Evergray messed up big time lol.
We saw that Evergray, Catherine and Nemo went to Guardians Valley, secretly followed by Elizabeth, who, I suppose, had a feeling that Evergray was acting weird, especially around Catherine. He proceeded to try to make the Aideen light inside Catherine and Nemo appear, and as we witnessed during the memory, he failed and killed Nemo in the process.
How did it get there though?
According to Catherine’s diary, at this moment of her life, she doesn’t have much faith in the Guardians of Aideen anymore. This generation of the Soulrider Sorority is destroyed, has been, most likely, ever since the incident with Eva in Dino Valley. And Catherine, I guess, hasn’t really kept in touch with them. On the other side, I’m pretty sure she kept a contact of some sort with Avalon, because they always appeared to be very good friends, such good friends that he was the only one that knew and was at Catherine’s wedding later in her story. But keeping in touch with Avalon probably means that Evergray was still around since they’re brothers, but not only. Evergray had an interest in Catherine, not romantically or even friendly, but because of her powers. Remember that, just like us, Catherine has the powers of the four circles. And since she wasn’t in touch with the sorority nor Fripp and other druids anymore, these powers were going to waste. And that’s precisely what he cared about.
Evergray, even in his young version, is introduced as a character unlike any other member of the Guardians we’ve met. Instead of telling the girls he trains they have to be in control when they use their powers, he encourages them to unleash their full potential when they’re not necessarily ready, much in opposition to the way we are trained by the druids, one step at a time, slowly, with them always saying we’re not ready (oh hello Rhiannon). He’s said to be too curious and dangerous by Fripp, Avalon and Elizabeth. When we talk with him directly, he comes off as intensely interested, almost obsessed with magic and Pandoria, which is also the description Catherines gives him in her diary. I think his obsessions were already there when he was young. In Catherine’s era, Evergray hasn’t traveled yet to Pandoria but it’s likely he’s already seriously planning it. As we know, travelling to the pink dimension is not only dangerous, but also reserved to the most strong and powerful of mortal beings, for exemple, I’m not convinced Ricky Winterwell or Thomas Moorland would make it to Pandoria. So Evergray needs power if he wants to get there, a lot of power. And Catherine’s there, with incredible abilities she doesn’t want to use anymore. And she trusts him, because he’s her mentor. And theorically, nothing will harm them.
Evergray tried to transfer the light of Aideen inside Catherine and Nemo onto himself so he could become more powerful and finally explore Pandoria. But he failed somewhere in the process, which must be a very complicated one, and it led to Nemo’s death. If it hadn’t been for Elizabeth’s last minute intervention, pushing Evergray out of the way, Catherine would’ve died too in Guardians Valley. Maybe this is what destroyed the fifth horse statue there, maybe it was already gone when the catastrophe happened.
I believe this even is the reason behind Evergray’s exile. The guardians would never tolerate this kind of action, especially towards the supposed reincarnation of Aideen, who isn’t even anymore since she’s lost her horse. But with or without them, Evergray had enough strenght to set foot on Pandoria without immediately collapsing.
i almost had linda in the second column as well. linda says bruh but only in the soul rider discord gc
how’s everyone doin tonight i just broke tumblr
HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED IN A HORSE RACE?
FALLEN OFF THE CLIFF AT THE OBSERVATORY?
ASKED TO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION BEYOND YOUR SKILL LEVEL IN VINEYARD BASEMENTS?
REFUSED PASSAGE ON A BRIDGE UNTIL YOU WERE FORCED TO FIX IT?
HAVE YOU BEEN HARASSED BY AN INN OWNER?
FORCED TO TAKE PART IN EQUINE THEFT?
CONNED INTO SAILING A QUESTIONABLE BOAT IN AN AREA THAT HAS WRECKED EVERY VESSEL E’ER TO SAIL IT?
ASKED TO CATCH A THIEF YOURSELF RATHER THAN CALLING THE AUTHORITIES ONLY TO BE KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS AND LEFT FOR DEAD?
MANIPULATED INTO MENIAL TASKS AND ONLY GIVEN PALTRY ARTICLES OF CLOTHING AS PAYMENT?
and mostly…
BEEN THE VICTIM OF JORVIKS LAX AND OUTDATED CHILD LABOR LAWS?
At KEMBELL LEGAL we won’t rest until we’ve sued the pants off of every person in Jorvick your adversaries- literally, we’ll take their pants (and everything else!) Jorvik is a dangerous dangerous place for young ladies whose parents have the income to send their little brats to horsey camp for a whoooole summer, and we at KEMBELL LEGAL will make sure to bankrupt keep the citizens of Jorvik in check. No case is too big, no FEE is too big- anything for your little princess right? If you don’t win- you don’t pay (legal fees and mandatory consultations not included) !
,,,, wh,,,where are Alex and Anne,,,,, you cant leave me like that,,,,
Is this a foreshadowing?
underneath the stars we came alive
fjords are just big friends, change my mind (you can’t)
HI GUYS
spoilers below the cut for catherine’s memories
so i was both happy and a little underwhelmed by the ending. I did like that justin came along for the last memory, because it added a nice touch into the narrative. i’m probably going to make a full length post soon elaborating, but I thought the conclusion of this story was beautiful, with some story elements a touch out of left field.
however, I do have an issue with one thing. i didn’t like the whole “everyone’s special and can conduct Aideen” angle they went for. The message is great out of game, but game-wise, it seems odd. @writingonjorvik made a good point, in that this reveal takes away the mc’s uniqueness amongst NPCs. there isn’t really a reason why we are the mc, since NPC’s can also accomplish what we can. like, i think this angle would work in a medium(movie, TV) that wasn’t so interactive, but i digress.
i do think that catherine has a limited understanding of Aideen, however. in the southern harvest counties memory, we see Evergray perform magic to draw out Aideen. this doesn’t work, and we see Catherine’s horse Nemo disappear into the light of Aideen, breaking their bond. It seems to be implied that Catherine also went too close, as she disappeared briefly. since Aideen had the bond between horse and rider, and Catherine lost that, I think her understanding of Aideen shattered. Since she got too close to both light and darkness, she only sees the parts of Aideen, not herself as Aideen. this is also sort of based on @writingonjorvik‘s post about Aideen’s gift, as I liked Amelia’s thoughts on catherine’s incomplete understanding of Aideen. I highly recommend you read the post, which I will link at the end.
overall, I thought the ending was great. I did like the implication at the end that the previous incarnations of Aideen are all in the light of Aideen, along with catherine. I still have some questions, but overall, I thought the ending fit.
WOJ’s post: https://writingonjorvik.tumblr.com/post/617462048371179520/can-we-discuss-aideens-gift