So. The Archmage is a bastard.
Looking at
page 236, it's apparent that some things are coming to a head. However, before that, let's review what we already know:
1) The Archmage is an extremely powerful and enigmatic
sorceror who can see
the future,
shapeshift, and travel through time at will. He ruled Kethenecia as its leader and ordered its
army destroyed shortly before the city was attacked by the Vulii invaders.
2) The Archmage and Richard
share a connection of some sort. If we assume that Felbunny was always the Archmage, one could speculate that the connection is a
strong one, considering that you don't often see men--or bunnies--of great power and wisdom shed tears over homicidal maniacs that have been heretofore
fucking your plans up.
3) Cale is
destined to be King. Pella has been assigned as
his guardian by the Archmage. She also seems to be there as a sort of
spy for the First Ones.
4) The First Ones--despite getting
betrayed by one of their own at the Battle of Kethenecia--are apparently still alive and well in the present, but unable to interfere with current events.
5) The current events, including the
Battle of Bloodrage, was
prophecised to be the turning tide of the
Northern War. However,
this was not the case. According to the omniscient Archmage, the loss
"was not supposed to happen".
Richard is a spellcasting juggernaut; renowned among the
demonic plane for his sheer power and cruelty. He's so powerful, in fact, that despite Hctib having an
army of demons at his beck and call, he still chose to take Richard
out of the fight immediately to prevent him from
single-handedly tipping the scales in Cale's favor. Seeing the
extent of Richard's power, it does make strategic sense to get him out of the way quickly. However, the hardest part about dealing with Richard isn't getting him
to fight; it's getting him to
cooperate and be
properly motivated.
That's where the Archmage comes in. Here's my theory time-line...thing. Points and assertations are below.
The Archmage knows, from his past dealings with Richard, that he's too chaotic and dangerous to be relied upon. So, after setting up the whole Kethenecia dealio to end the way it "should"
(or, more accurately, the way he wanted it to), he gives Hctib a means of
sealing Richard's abilities, and then tags along as Felbunny to ensure it all goes off without a hitch. (1)
As desired, the plan works. He morphs Cale's sense of guilt into that of determination. The townspeople, in turn, now make up the new citizens of Kethenecia, which Cale is pseudo-leading in his own uniquely clueless way. (2) They travel, happily frolicking along to the Bloodrage camp, where they find that the Northern tribes have been provoked into feuds by
Daddy Bloodrage. A battle ensues, and to everyone's shock
(including the Archmage*), Richard unwittingly sacrifices himself to save everyone else from banishment. (3)
During Richard's banishment, a
Northern Alliance forms to save their homeland from Legara's impending march. During this time, we see that the Sisters worship a
rabbit God. (4) Time passes, and eventually Richard returns to the world a slightly different warlock
(though he'll never admit it). Though they don't know it at the time, they travel to Legara itself in order to release the Sons for much-needed reinforcements in the
upcoming battle. However, things again go wrong. Cale is
nearly killed, thus forcing a more
"direct approach", but the damage has already been done. (5) The Archmage's plan spirals out of his control from
Richard's shenanigans, and instead of a
glorious win marking a new era for justice and peace, the would-be heroes are welcomed by
death.
And here the Archmage is, fuming with rage that his carefully tendered plan was so effortlessly destroyed by a Warlock with a comic book.
Now, cue what happens in the current page. First, Cale ponders how everyone who needs to find them does, in fact, find them at the right moment. Then, Richard learns that his town has been attacked from an unknown source.
(Note that Felbunny/Archmage is sitting directly next to him, more than likely listening in.) At the exact same moment, Cale gets an urgent message, also from an unknown source.
I smell a set-up.
Perhaps the Archmage sees the need to take another more "direct approach" to get Richard involved. Or perhaps he sees the need to keep Richard out of the way and chasing his own tail while Cale goes ahead and achieves his destiny.
Or, perhaps he's trying to
awaken the human he once knew--
Lord Ashendale--by threatening the one thing he might possibly give a damn about.
Either way, Archmage is a Machiavellian son of a bitch, and if he isn't a "bad guy", he's not a whole hell of a lot better.
Points and Assertations:(1) Two problems with this theory. It might be giving the Archmage too much credit; furthermore, how could he have known that Richard would do something self-sacrificing at the correct time? My rebuttals are that the Archmage weaved the outcome of the Ketten War to end in something resembling his favor, and seems to either divine the future, or travel through it. He also certainly knew how to pluck Cale's strings, and it appears that he's known Richard for far longer. If he can manipulate thousands of years worth of events, he could probably find the one chink in Richard's armor.
(2) The Archmage forced Cale to murder the image of a young boy in order to steel him for the horrors of war to come, and to ready him for other, even more terrible decisions. Following that, he tells Pella that she's to protect him from his friends. Perhaps one of those impossible decisions he'll have to make in the future is to turn on one, just as Pella's father had to cull his own army.
(3) That's the second time Richard has done something self-sacrificing, though it was entirely accidental.
* Random WTF: A powerful mage cries over the loss of a powerful warlock. Hmm.
(4) Archmage disguises himself as the Felbunny. Archmage is also an apparently clairvoyant time-traveler. I wonder who gave them their prophecies?
(5) Reading into this, one can speculate that the Archmage doesn't actually "see the future" as an absolute, but instead only sees the potential for a certain
future to happen, and has devoted centuries into cultivating this outcome.wow this has been estremely and well thought out .. good going
Some of that seems right on and others are just plausiable however all of it was well... brillaintly deducted
