Probably Bad Comic Aurora Theory Time:
(Spoilers for very recent pages, and very long rambling, hence the cut. If you follow me and haven't read Aurora, you should go do that, it's good, but this post won't make sense until you do that)
I think Lord Stefan could be Falst's Terrible Dad (Henceforth FTD.) "But FTB was a ferin, and Lord Stefan is Not!" Ok, ok, hear me out.
To list off some things we know:
The Light Dragon gives "gifts" to her followers-- aside from magic fancy light powers, she also grants Chapter 6's Fire Dragon the ability to speak (in the Dragon Font , but fairly standard speech bubbles and without glowing or colors, indicating that it's probably a physical change rather purely magic psychic powers) (2.6.25)
Ferin can't just be mutated to human by Life Magic alone because of their extra-strong "soul barrier." This also makes them resistant to cave corruption. (several pages, probably also the lore section)
FTD was closely affiliated with the paladins in Falst's early memory, enough to wear their uniform and get glowy text bubbles.
Falst remembers FTD leaving for a cure for Falst's mom, but can't specify what that cure entailed. Upon returning, FTD seems to be conflating mom's death and some grander paladin-related quest, that he seems to have a lot of personal responsibility for (not just a faceless mook)
Everyone having a little void in them is pretty established, I don't recall whether that's a broadly known Fact or something they figured out. Assuming Erin is right and void and light are different transmuted forms of the same fifth element, there's probably some of that in everyone too, or at least the capacity for it.
Falst has some sorta weird Light Magic going on. Lord Stefan hasn't really shown us what specifically he can do without the Dragon Herself present, he's mostly been strategizing, but he's relying on his bald friend to do all the communication.
Circumstantial Evidence:
They look kinda similar :) Jk, lol, everyone in this comic has Floofy Hair and Big Beard Alone a Doppelganger Does Not Make. Those nose bridges and beard shapes are similar, though, and while the hair color is different, the orange could have been lost along with the rest of FTD's lion traits. Stefan's furry cloak could be a design nod to his fuzzy (ha) origins, and the white streaks coming out of scars already indicate that becoming the "hornbearer" wasn't a meaningless title, and that some physical changes might have been involved.
Timeline-wise, FTD would leave, either to try to complete a quest and earn a gift that might heal his wife, or to complete a quest that would directly create an otherwise unknown cure. He procrastinates and then blames Falst for his failure, but sticks with the paladins and works through the ranks until he's promoted to hornbearer, and granted a boon. Since he doesn't have a dying wife anymore, he asks to be human, maybe so he can do his job without discrimination, maybe because he thinks he would have been able to save his wife if he and his son weren't cursed, idk. Now he's Lord Stefan, still not a mage as far as we can tell, with a specific weirdness about Tam and Erin because of their youth, very goal-oriented, and ruthlessly practical.
This also would nicely tie in with Falst's early motivations of wanting to become human SUPER well-- He and Stefan (or a different guy, if FTD is just some other dude) meet eventually and recognize each other, Stefan is like, yo, kid, now that you are beginning to explore your fancy light powers, if you use them for Paladin Stuff she can help you be human like me, you'll finally be strong enough for my approval and human enough for society's acceptance, it's all you've ever wanted. And then Falst has a chance to refuse in favor of the power of friendship and being yourself, or have a little villain arc as a treat. This is definitely a weirdly specific theory, and i don't think that it will play out exactly like this, but it feels plausible given the trajectory of Falst's crashout so far.
Mechanics:
To break down why I think this is even mechanically possible based on Aurora's magic system, we gotta get into some magic weeds.
We are pretty certain that Void is something like hunger, or desire. It's a consumptive force. It's less clear what Light is, but I think describing it as "creative" (as in, able to create, especially out of nothing-- no manipulation of ambient matter needed) would be fair, considering the number of times we see someone manifesting a cool glowy sword. It's also VERY regularly used for Brain Stuff -- communication, mind melds, and those psychic attacks with the crowns from the Tam fight. Knowledge is also part of it-- Paladins collect knowledge, Erin craves it.
If Erin is right and Light and Void are the Same Thing, I think that Void and Light together are aspects or transmuted forms something like Soul-- Sentience, Awareness, Intelligence... something like that. Whether this has anything to do with Dainix's "soulfire" or divine "starfire" is unclear so far, but not impossible. I'm basing this off of how we see Light and Void used throughout the story. Within the average Person, I think that Light manifests thoughts and creative energy and a sense of self, while void creates the desire to pursue or feed that energy. Tess's description of the Spark uses the same color as Light, for example, with a little purple guy: (void? or overthinking on my part?)
The prologue also feels relevant:
In creating a vessel that is open to the elements, they accidentally "Spark" all their trial vessels:
Maybe I'm totally wrong, or maybe this is obvious. Doesn't matter. My point is that if anything is going to manipulate the soul barrier, and get past the Ferin Curse, it would be whatever the Light Dragon has going on. Open it up, let the life magic change the shape, and close it with the gift receiver intact, in contrast to The Collector's attempts.
(The whole passage from Lady Huracan (beginning 1.14.20) and Falst's later ruin interactions also feel tangentially relevant-- If Ferin are closed off to the primordial elements, they're much closer to an Ancient than the average "cave-folk," and generally would be good choices to be paladins. I also have thoughts about the "wandering life mage" that created Ferin to begin with, the Collector's similarities to Lady Huracan, whatever. There's also the lore page about The Twins, and the Ferin's apparent blessing from The Twins. probably not important.)
My point is that if anyone DOES have the ability to actually dangle Falst's original desire in front of him, it's genuinely could be the paladins, and that it could potentially lead to broader connections between the Collector and Paladin plot hooks. It's also notable that everyone else in this dang party is either an explicit or implied vessel, weapon, or in some other possession type situation that challenges their autonomy-- Even Tess being "chosen" implies that she might have some responsibilities to whatever decided to zap her in the first place. Falst's turn could be coming soon.
Anyway. We need a Go Fund Me to help get the gang off this terrible island. This post is gonna age terribly when I'm inevitably wrong about everything. Yeehaw!
