Let's talk about Ozgard's vision (Dark Age and Light Bringer spoilers)
There's this little bit of conversation between Ephraim and Ozgard right before shit hits the fan and the Ascomanni arrive that has been driving me crazy on a reread. I think the things he said here can be attributed to events that will transpire later in Dark Age, Light Bringer, and maybe even in Red God.
At this point, we know that Ozgard is a fraud and an opportunist, more of a junkie than a shaman. However, with the themes of spirituality and religion being so prominent in this book (Darrow's pondering of the Vale, the whole plot of Ephraim discovering how close the Obsidian are with their traditions, even Lysander's desire to bring back the honor and virtues that were supposedly present during time of Silenius and Akari), what if there is more to it then just the ramblings of a half-crazy crook?
Let's start at the beginning.
The fire and ash thing is self-explanatory with how much destruction the planets have seen and how much more they will, especially Mercury. Same with the end of worlds. What worlds can be described as broken or doomed at the point of the story that we are now? I'm thinking of the Rim moons. With Demeter's Garter obliterated by fire (check), its trees and cities turned to ash (another check), the Rim faces unprecedented famine and hunger, even with the promise of help from the Core.
Now it's time for the symbolism.
"Serpent will strangle wolf". This screams the Mercury campaign to me. The serpent represents Atalantia (she's the only character that fits really, with that snake on her neck), and the wolf is Darrow and the Legions. With Heliopolis secured but surrounded by the Society's forces, the Legions and Howlers are being slowly suffocated by Atalantia's military.
"Lion will battle lion". I think this foreshadows Virginia's conflict with the Abomination, and maybe even something that hasn't happened yet? But i'm more inclined to see it as a tease for what we see later in the book with the Augustus siblings.
"Darkness will battle light" is very vague, and can be used to describe any conflict in the series, really. It's the "Sister murder brother" that interests me more. Can it also be about Virginia and Adrius? Will we see her kill him again? Can it be about a different pair of siblings? Or even just people of the same Color? Unsure about that one.
With "Son murder father", I choose the most far-fetched theory I can think of, just cause it's engaging. This is about Lysander and Cassius. He tried so hard to raise him to be better than his ancestors, to not grow up a Lune. If there is anyone that can be described as a father figure to Lysander, it is Cassius. And we all know what happened in hangar 17B.
"Father murder daughter" is what made me analyze this passage deeper on my reread. It fits Fá and Sefi really well, doesn't it? That's the only thing that i'm more or less confident about here. With the next few sentences in this passage we're entering heavy speculation territory, so brace yourselves.
I think all this about Sefi becoming one with the Red is true, it's just not about what happened in Dark Age. I think that she will become a symbol to the Obsidian. A martyr to them, just as Darrow is a messiah to Red. That's what will connect those Colors. The remembrance of Sefi, her dream and her sacrifice, will be the guiding force for the creation of the new Alltribe. An Alltribe that also remembers Ephraim's sacrifice (probably thanks to Volga), and thinks of him as a guardian.
