Manga spoilers and theory
Some days ago I saw a post theorizing that the ink that Coco used on the first chapter had come from Qifrey's silverwood. I assume this would happen like, during the experiments, the brimcaps had somehow extracted woodcruor from him and kept it, then Iguin put that in the "wand" he gave to little Coco.
Now I can't tell exactly how this would happen, because if extracted normally, it would require Qifrey to remain a tree for some time, enough for a branch or two to start wilting, then be mind-wiped and "restored". If they'd done that, they would have proof that you can bring back the silverwood host no matter how much time passes since the tree takes over their body. But with Custas' case, Lestisse appears to just now find out that this is a possibility. Though, as far as theorizing goes, it's perfectly possible that whoever was responsible for Qifrey's experiments just didn't tell Lestisse anything about it.
So for theory's sake, let's say that this is what happened, and that the ink Coco used the first time had actually come from Qifrey.
Which by itself may make for some angst (maybe?) and kind of connection, like how Coco's first foray into magic came through Qifrey against his will, and then how Qifrey chose to be her teacher, and while I wholly like this as an idea, thinking and thinking about this makes me wanna take it deeper.
Something that kinda catches my attention in the first chapter is how…. sinister the way he appears is. Coco is "hunted" by dark shadows as she draws the big spell, and then once she completes it, Qifrey all but materializes behind her.
Which kinda piques my curiosity. Was Qifrey so sneaky and Coco so immersed in drawing that she didn't notice him coming into her room? That she didn't even hear the steps on the wooden floor or the door opening?
I am perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief and just simply not care for the specifics. Maybe the sinister aura was to signify that something bad was about to happen. But this is why this is a theory for me to have fun with 😁
So… what if, through the theory that the ink Coco used had come from Qifrey… the spell had actually summoned him? Like outright teleport him there against his will, or at the very least he could somehow sense it when "his ink" was activating spells? I mean, yeah, he had grown suspicious of that picture book on his own, and he seemed to plan on going back either way, but what if the ink gave him no choice but to actually appear there?
Now the thing is, why would that be important?
It's because of something that actually seems to not make that much sense to me. Iguin calls Coco "their child of hope". But I'm like, pal, you gave this toddler a pen with a conjuring ink and some VERY dangerous spells she could realistically copy. If Qifrey hadn't appeared to pull her out, Coco would have turned to stone. Investing in a child becoming your Chosen One™ only to endanger them sounds counter-productive, and at the same time, they appear super chill with leaving Coco to be tutored by a guy who very clearly hates their guts.
So what I'm thinking is... what if all that was part of their plan? Basically:
We've got this ink from this silverwood host. He very conveniently is still alive right now and learning magic. We cannot use this ink because we might accidentally summon him or alert him to our location.
This toddler can actually prove our point. How about we give her a book with some basic and mayyyyybe a few war-crime spells along with a pen and ink from that silverwood guy? Wait that guy is studying to be a witch master? Excellent.
So okay. She draws with it. Even if she draws the petrifying spell, the guy will be summoned, realize shit's about to go down and pull her out because that's what pointed caps with their superiority complex do innit.
Absolute worst case scenario, they get caught in the spell. We undo the spell enough to pull him out, erase his memory of that day, then try again with another kid.
Less worse case scenario, he pulls her out but erases her memory. We swoop right in to act as her saviours and tell her how we can undo the magic and help her get back at the stupid pointed caps that did this to her. Inconvenient, but might work.
Best case scenario... the guy realizes the book is a lead to us, his curiosity gets the better of him... and he takes the girl as his apprentice. Practically doing our job for us until she's learned enough to join us.
Yes, I realize how convoluted this is, and that it has a ton of holes, and I admit I haven't re-read all the parts where Iguin appears. It's just very interesting to me that Iguin seems very chill with leaving Coco under Qifrey's care and tutelage, and also didn't seem to have an issue giving a little child the means to cast a spell that can petrify her and her entire house. But hey, look, she made it out, and now she's being taught magic! Might as well relax and let things come to us.
As for Qifrey not explaining to Coco how he happened to appear at the right moment... Qifrey, keeping secrets??? I am shocked!
... Yeah, I mean, it's not like he could tell her that the ink she'd used came from him and that is how he was summoned at the right time. Plus, it appears he's the one witch in that place that knows the most about silverwoods, and until Custas' case he was certain that there aren't any human hosts other than him, at least, none that weren't taken over by trees. So, there would be no way for pointed cap witches to know that, if a host was restored, they could be able to summon that host simply by using ink that had come from them, since they use conjuring ink that has only come from existing trees. So, before Coco figured out that he's a host, he would have no reason to tell her he was summoned. Now that she knows, though... maybe it would be time for another revelation or two.
I don't know. I know it's convoluted and may not actually fit the plan of the brimcaps. But it was interesting coming up with it.
