The Celestial Puppeteers: an Aramán lore theory
I believe that we Bolaire scholars of the Halaire Enjoyers discord are onto something here, so I'm sharing the theory now so we can say we called it if we're right:
The play that killed the trickster goddess Rauwyn was not performed by halflings. It was performed by her own celestials. The masks of the panto were crafted to be able to bodysnatch celestials and make them perform the play against their will.
Most likely the halfling conspirators presented the masks to the celestials as gifts, and then the runes inside the masks did their work and took them over: Trojan masks. A grand trick the halflings pulled on the tricksters who ruled them.
There's quite a lot of evidence to support this theory. Includes spoilers through episode 17.
Why is there a coffin for a halfling celestial (Olbalad) with a creepy magic mask in it? Explanation: that's the mask that took over Olbalad for the play.
If the masks were worn by willing halfling actors, then why are they sentient and why can they body snatch people? If they were worn by halflings, they wouldn't need to be sentient or bodysnatching, just magical, like the staves of night or the Last Arrow. But if they were meant to be worn by Rauwyn's celestials, they would need to be sentient and bodysnatching.
There's several points where Bolaire appears to be able to detect celestial vibes specifically. Brennan describes him reacting viscerally to the coffin. When he sees the lights of the Palazzo Davinos go out in episode 4, Brennan says Bolaire gets very bad vibes from it. We now know from episode 17 that the ritual the Tachonis did with Occtis in there was to summon a celestial.
Brennan called the fatal play "opening and closing night of the greatest play Aramán has ever known but no mortal witnessed." That's because the audience was not mortal (Rauwyn) but also because the actors were not mortal (celestials).
In the scene where Murray and Bolaire study the coffin, when Brennan says "Olbalad", Taliesin looks down at his notebook and gets an "oh shit" expression on his face and quietly says "oh no". Why does he recognize that name? Because he knows which masks went with which celestials.
This theory also would explain why Lady Cormoray is onto Bolaire and clearly wants him for herself. As a mask capable of controlling a celestial, Bolaire would be an amazing check on the power of the Halovars for any rival House that's aware of what they have in the basement.
This theory also explains why Bolaire is so rough on mortal bodies, degrading them over time: he was designed to be worn by a celestial, not a mortal.
Shoutout to @miladydragon, @schemer-aishama, and tareacel for brainstorming this theory with me. It was so much fun.
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