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@flaakalaa
wait so I was looking up names for writing reasons and
I just learned Thain or Thane is an occupational surname? and in old Scottish as well
Meaning a name given to lords, so it'd actually be a great alias for an inconspicuous lord at a party with bigwigs to blend into the background and stay lowkey, why are we ripping Mercer and essek to shreds for this
wizard boyfriends flirt by reading dense spellbooks together, peak romance
i am an essek high int low wis believer
it's a cute joke but I literally could not believe this less. not in the least because there's wisdom saves he made that are mathematically impossible without high wisdom, even with his proficiency but also, have to say another point, even if he wasn't self-made and scary good at deceiving and hiding and working people? don't forget the most sheltered and naive characters we have are the ones with the highest wisdom. but even thinking street smarts, he's a spymaster canonically respected and feared for his cunning which pretty much says high wis and knows how to play people
got to c2e17 on my rewatch and, righteous brand entry recruit soldiers get a base pay of a gold a day? and that's on top of covered housing and food and equipment
Caleb, I love you and I know you like dramatic flair, but your father was a righteous brand soldier. you're stretching a lil bit with that "MY parents never made 50 gold in their lives" Granted it'd be like a month's wages and the moment was warranted, but still
Imagine Caleb pulling that around intelligence networkers Beau or Essek (though granted Essek has called 25 gold of spell components expensive) and them like "??? I thought your dad was a soldier? isn't the salary higher than that?" pedantic factcheckers Essek and Beau feels like a great dynamic for those two, they can bond over infodropping and theorizing
do you think Essek taking up knitting and baking is not only for presents for caleb, but to give Caleb homemade gifts in the way he used to get and misses from his family
imagine Caleb's first birthday post-nein, without his mother's apple tart, him quietly and sadly telling Essek. Essek immediately taking it on himself to learn to bake and give him something. It can never be the same but he can remind Caleb he is loved.
you know, shame we didn't get Essek in reunited not just for more wizard moments, *relationship edition*, but to see his dynamic with KIngsley
cause easy money it'd be along the lines of Kingsley trying so hard to piss Essek off and Essek just "you want to fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid"
i dont know what to put into the discription other then take it lmao Reference used
oh that'snot good, dead tealeaf incoming
Jesus, that is a LOT of Kryn soldiers in Eiselcross, compared to what the Outpost was like six years ago. What the fuck is up with that?
Essek found evidence of Aeor using dunamancy, even a Luxon beacon at one point ("Primal Artifact"), makes a lot of sense for me for the Dynasty to want to investigate that further.
I agree, but honestly that makes it even weirder to me—even Travis remarked in the moment that was a very complicated discovery for their theocracy, and it feels like the type of thing they'd send a few highly-trained, trusted agents to look into, particularly after a suspected traitor went missing after being in command at the Outpost.
They're probably just hunting for the beacon up there.
And they're arrogant in the religion, but already have defenses in place. We know any religious dissent is considered sacrilege and their law enforcement is the military and so it's the watch that enforces the Luxon founded laws.
The soldiers and the priests already up in Eiselcross proselytizing and recruiting and colonizing the natives for the dynasty would be the most likely candidates to be sent to guard the discovery of a new beacon.
Since the Dynasty doesn't care about magic
The Kryn Dynasty believes that the wildfolk of Eiselcross are a better find and more reliable than most Aeorian objects, especially since the items tend to interfere with the Kryn's divine magic.
Any other discoveries would probably be treated as blasphemy and destroyed.
So what are the chances that Essek has been spending time with Reani in Uthodurn, and helping her explore the ruins of Molaesmyr and the Savalirwood?
If they run into him here it'll be wonderful, he can help them get info on Ludinus's history and Molaesmyr's fall, and maybe even teleport them if it's still possible
i love all the interpretations of essek's role in the kryn court but i think the truth is that he's a court astrologer. he gets royal patronage to say appropriately mysterious things and do """experiments.""" sometimes he gets babysitting duty for the visitors no one else wants to deal with because he's odd enough that maybe they'll just leave. the man does NOT have a real job, he is john dee.
I love this thought But also, when he starts trusting the Nein enough to stop doing his I'm not interesting, just happy to be around, I have no part in anything here thing he sure sounds like military, at the very very least high ranking intelligence (plus Matt said he specifically requested to monitor the Nein, though we know he sometimes had others watching them for him)
(To the Nein, after they fail to stop Obann) "I already have a few operatives looking to infiltrate, to locate and infiltrate the Cult of the Angel of Irons." (Right after the ceasefire) "You know, it prevents me from some of my capabilities throughout the day each time I do this, so while I'm here in my home and things are not requiring me to be elsewhere rapidly, thankfully this is a moment in time in which I am more useful here in the city." (EGtW) He is eager to use the conflict as an excuse to practice the deadlier aspects of dunamancy (To the Innkeeper) "Take care of them and should you need anything… well, we'll know."
I feel like I see a lot of conspiracy over Essek's ley line instrument. Ley energy is what helps mages fuel spells, if it's strong it's easier to do magic.
Essek's main hobby is spellmaking. It's like a weather forecast to a gardener. If it shows the leylines are relatively strong that day, then he would probably make excuses and stay home to prioritize his research.
And some people try to connect it to Ludinus. Why would Ludinus care about tiny changes in the ley lines an insane distance from the malleus keys, or anything he's working on or cares about?
Especially when the Assembly has the New Haxon outpost by Rosohna. They could just measure it there if he even cared at all.
Look, Essek is baby. Like, his Mom is on her third life and assuming an average lifespan of 450 years, she’s lived at least as long as Da’Leth, same thing with the Bright Queen.
And he got tricked by someone again who is 1000~ years old, into giving up a fancy magic rock that the other adults in his life wouldn’t let him study.
I’d put money on Da’Leth eventually planning on bringing Essek in on his plans, effectively having groomed him into a perfect little general.
If I were Essek after murdering the bastard for putting an anti magic collar on my husband, Id go make big wet eyes at the Bright Queen and beg for forgiveness.
I don't know, the queen still sentenced Adeen to death for being the victim of mind control from a literal devil, and her baby for being cursed, I don't think she would take any excuses
So I was reading the sourcebook and noticed something
Even so, not all ruling Dens like the idea of introducing what they consider lesser creatures into the consecution, leading to tensions between the people of Rosohna and the scattered villages in the Xhorhasian wilds.
So racism against the native people, that's not great. But there are three ruling dens - Den Kryn, Den Thelyss, and Den Mirimm - so it's not certain that it's Essek's den, right?
But then we're also given
An acclaimed soldier and talented leader, Verin Thelyss is the younger brother of Essek and the youngest soul of Den Thelyss.
Verin, at somewhere around 120 years old, is the youngest member of Den Thelyss. Meaning they don't have anyone from a species with a lifespan shorter than 120 years who hasn't been reborn at least once, which would mean they haven't allowed any lesser creatures, aka goblinkin, into the den.
I think Den Thelyss might be the racial elitists of the dens.
You know what's a creepy thought, is Ludinus' interest in Essek alongside their similarities. It seems like the Dynasty's system and religion turned Essek into who he was (Matt hints that even Verin knows this but has hope):
"He understands why his brother is the way he is, but he also believes a lot in the Dynasty, and the faith that the Luxon and the whole idea gives and he, like, partially believes it?"
Ludinus is a heretic from a culture who still worships Corellon despite their city's fall and the empire's religious ban, and he's specifically noted to hunt the Dynasty for secrets and weaknesses. He probably knows exactly what to look for to find a hidden apostate in a religious society, like knows like.
At peacetalks Essek was certain that the Dynasty would kill him, but that he could lean into "his resources" (Ludinus) for protection, and to put it mildly, Essek's not an optimist. It's almost like Ludinus sees him like an apprentice and Essek knows it.
How long do you think Ludinus has had an eye on Essek? Caught a glimpse of him in Kryn diplomatic envoys (which Essek said Den Thelyss invests in) Ramped up efforts after hearing news of Essek's father dying, in a way that we see Essek clearly blames himself for? Going really out there, he could even be the source of Essek's 22 int, giving him a tome of clear thought.
Okay, if we're actually talking "wish list ideals that are not make or break but I would lose my mind", my actual real dream season 1 Essek concept is that there are a few scenes, probably around the Zauber Spire attack, establishing Essek working with Ludinus and Trent, a la how Cassandra was structurally established as associated with the Briarwoods before the party actually met her, in a way that wasn't possible to see in game. Nothing major, just to lay down foundations now that the medium allows it. You probably wouldn't even need to come back to him until Rosohna in a couple seasons, and everything else can play out as it did.
Establish the Cerberus Assembly's villainy, their willingness to manipulate ambitious young mages for their own ends however they see fit, and the fact that Essek is in so far over his head and hasn't even really realized it yet, while setting up some really delicious dramatic irony well down the road where the audience knows and the Nein don't, which also puts new viewers on a slightly more even playing field.
It means that Essek's guilt is undeniable, and his circumstances fraught, but also puts into perspective precisely why Caleb later sees himself in him and twists the knife in real time during all of their eventual interactions.
be cool to see the war and how he hinted to fight in it as well. Not only swapping info and research with the Assembly but also his efforts messing with them, raiding the felderwin lab immediately after they finally get their only potion after months of struggling.
What if Ludinus had been trying to recruit Essek to his moon cult and that's why they were so snippy when we saw their conversation on the boat. Essek deconstructing Ludinus's attempt at his not-religion religion and Ludinus pissed off that he couldn't get this faithless broken heretic to his side.
Essek actually seemed to very much know about the potion experiments, not only did Leylas explicitly ask him about their prisoners and interrogations of Yeza, but the Kryn only raided the lab immediately after the assembly finally completed their first and only potion after a long period of struggle.
What if Ludinus had been trying to recruit Essek to his moon cult and that's why they were so snippy when we saw their conversation on the boat. Essek deconstructing Ludinus's attempt at his not-religion religion and Ludinus pissed off that he couldn't get this faithless broken heretic to his side.
