i need to get this out so bad. like i don't think i can sleep until i write this down.
the drag path mv is introducing the new story, and i think that it's going to be another part of the legendarium. yes, the tolkien one. hear me out.
so the Clancy cycle was the story of the Nine Rings of Men, right? "Nine for mortal men doomed to die" and all that. There are nine individuals with powers related to death/dying, and a position of power within this society. one person tries to break out and join a new society full of people fighting the influence of the Nine, but at the crucial moment, he chooses to continue the cycle.
now, here's where stuff gets stretched. I think that the robes are the Nine. they're the one thing Clancy takes from the bishops/their fortress. that's the point of no return. this establishes that the rings can be reshaped while still holding their power.
theory time below the cut!
I think Torchbearer has one of the Rings of Power, namely Narya, the Ring of Fire. I'm pulling from the fandom wiki here as opposed to the original source material, but "Narya was described as having the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination and despair." That sounds awfully familiar. It also grants a longer life and fire-related powers. I know the last one is a stretch, but what if that fire was oh, let's say, in the form of appearing to the despairing to lead them to hope? And we also never see how the Banditos get their fires and torches, especially since there doesn't seem to be an abundance of fire starting supplies in human civilization. Yeah, there might be a whole little camp or city with these set up, but this is a group of scouts doing scouting stuff that needs to avoid detection. Wouldn't you want your guy with the fire ring helping you with fire stuff?
So, if ten rings of power are accounted for, where and what are the other ten? Including the One Ring? There are two options:
The One Ring is destroyed, setting the Dema saga clearly in the Fourth or Fifth Age (most likely, given that the only other magical creatures we see are Neds and that one dragon, who may or may not be some kind of world serpent and/or the only one of its kind)
The One Ring is still at large, and this is the bad ending.
I'm inclined to believe, given that Torchbearer has Narya, that we're witnessing the second option. Sauron won. The wizards and elves have fled, hiding their artifacts in the land for those worthy to bear them. And the dwarves are just underground with the greatest fallout shelters ever witnessed. The surviving remnants of humanity crowded in this one walled city, hoping for protection but experiencing a slow destruction instead. The Nazgul took up residence in this city and remade it in their image.
Also, I believe that Dema is a modernized spelling of the city's name. Given the naming conventions of Middle Earth, later Trench, it's probably spelled Déma and originally named by the elves, but the modern English keyboards and audiences can't accommodate that.
Anyways, the new story will follow other rings and items of power in Trench. We'll see a lot of walking. And we'll maybe see the destruction of one of the rings in the Drag Path video, probably one of the Nine, if not all.
tyler joseph is so funny he met josh and was like “i am going to write fanfiction that is so queer coded but also you’re the sun but also you’re jesus” and i think that’s neat
something about a drag path, about leaving it there on purpose, about Neil dropping his duffel and digging his shoes into the gravel as evidence that he was taken so Andrew would know he did not leave him on purpose
knowing how to disappear without a single trace yet wanting with everything in him to be found by Andrew. just Andrew. He wanted someone to save himhewantedsomeonetosavehim
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
theartofmadeline
