Massive Spoiler Warning :- Snippet Character

This is a new topic, and it relates to the Safehold snippet in the Snippet Forum.

IF YOU HAVE YET TO READ THE SNIPPET, DO NOT CONTINUE READING THIS POST.

THIS POST CONTAINS GUESSES WHICH COUNT AS SPOILERS. DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU WISH TO AVOID THE SPOILERS.

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In the snippet, a new character is introduced, Ahbraim Zhevons. He is introduced having managed to perform a seijin-style feat, infiltrating a hostile palace and waking up King Gorjah at knifepoint before introducing himself as being a friend of Merlin Athrawes.

But what does this mean? I can see several possibilities.

1 ) Ahbraim Zhevons is an expert (but fully human) soldier who has proven flexible enough to be brought into the Inner Circle as Merlin's apprentice, and this is his first mission, aided by the use of a Recon Skimmer under OWL's control.
Possible, but unlikely.

2 ) Nimue has created Ahbraim as a backup identity, should Merlin be "assassinated", ready to step out of the wings, and this mission is also designed to establish his existence and Seijin-skills.
Possible, but what about the time required to reconfigure?

3 ) Merlin was the victim of a trap that would have killed a regular human, and his/her body was damaged. Rather than risk further questions, Nimue invented Abhraim as a new identity, had herself repaired into the new shape and decided to undertake a mission designed to persuade Gorjah to reconsider his position.
Quite probable, but how would such a trap have worked?

Awaiting further comment in a high state of excitement.
O... M... G...

Excellent guesses!

I think one of them will be right

Least likely of all

4) That it is an arch angle's Picca which has come back to life (no I don't think it is likely that their is a second PICCA But you never know)

Read the passage 5-6 times now I think it is Merlin though how he picked up the accent I don't know.

Anyway the words used sounds like Merlin

Casual, chatty and fiendishly well informed. Not to mention extremely dangerous.

The real question is why would he want to change identity?

The guesses above sound quiet good I also wonder if visiting in this persona means that Merlin can be in two places at the same time both at Telesberg looking after the Emperor and also able to slip out and do one off missions with no one being able to say, "how did you travel 3000 miles that quickly?"

Why would merlin (Assuming it is merlin) go to tarot?


My guess is that looking at previous conversations about Tarot we know that it is a vital base (a potential staging point for the church fleet)

I guess that it is now late spring by now as we know that Caleb and co were wintering over at Chisholm so it is possible that first elements of the church fleet are ready to set sail to Tarot from the mainland.

On reading the blurb (which is underneath)

we see the phrase "Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path."

I wonder if the phrase "destroying everything in it's path" is a reference to the fate awaiting Tarot because of it in the church's eyes giving Intel to Charis on the southern fleets whereabouts in OAR and also a nod to the historical facts on our world of the how the crusaders treated the countries they went through on the way to Jerusalem

(I'm no historian but if my my memory serves me right didn't they trash Constantinople?)

So My guess on top of guess is that Merlin is warning the king of what is about to happen to his country when 200+ war ships full of fanatics will arrive.

Any way heres the blurb



The new novel in the New York Times bestselling series that began with Off Armageddon Reef, By Schism Rent Asunder, and By Heresies Distressed

Young Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm. Cayleb and Sharleyan have created the Charisian Empire, the greatest naval power in the history of Safehold, and they’ve turned Charis into a place of refuge for all who treasure freedom.

Their success may prove short-lived. The Church of God Awaiting, which controls most of Safehold, has decreed their destruction. Mother Church’s entire purpose is to prevent the very things to which Charis is committed. Since the first attempt to crush the heretics failed, the Church has no choice but to adopt some of the hated Charisian innovations for themselves. Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path.

But there are still matters about which the Church knows nothing, including Cayleb and Sharleyan’s adviser, friend, and guardian — the mystic warrior-monk named Merlin Athrawes. Merlin knows all about battles against impossible odds, because he is in fact the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died a thousand years before. As Nimue, Merlin saw the entire Terran Federation go down in fire and slaughter at the hands of a foe it could not defeat. He knows that Safehold is the last human planet in existence, and that the stasis the Church was created to enforce will be the human race’s death sentence if it is allowed to stand.

The juggernaut is rumbling down on Charis, but Merlin Athrawes and a handful of extraordinary human beings stand in its path. The Church is about to discover just how potent the power of human freedom truly is.

Alistair wrote:Why would merlin (Assuming it is merlin) go to tarot?

...

Surely it is Merlin hiding behind an assumed identity to mask the fact that he has come from far away, and very quickly. The accent is double edged: as a mask and, even better, coming from a Duchy of Siddermark, implying that the Empire has friends in "other" lands, as well. 'Get with the program Gorja! Keep up that correspondence with Charis.'

I personally think either #2 or #3 is the most likely. Don't really know what to think of it, because the last sentence confused me some, the Pooh & Piglet bit, but that seemed to imply that Merlin is dead. Now the torture starts! I'm going to be frothing at the bit until the next one comes out & then the next and on, and on!

Stormy, ignore Piglet and Pooh, it's just how David Weber signals the end of his snippet. I'm sure there is a reason for the choice of sentence, but that conversation is best left for a new thread in the David's Dimension forum.

Back to topic (sort of), I'd agree that Tarot will soon be in serious trouble, especially if the Group of Four finds out about the correspondance. They already killed one king, so why not another, just to fan the flames further?

The use of the new name suggests to me that Nimue will soon be setting out to rescue/retrieve the two surviving children of Prince Hektorof Corisande. Having established this new identity, full milage will probably be extracted soon.

Awaiting comments while trying to remember the names of the two kids.

Don't worry, the Pooh and Piglet bit is just DW's standard sig line.
Cheers
John

Stormy wrote:I personally think either #2 or #3 is the most likely. Don't really know what to think of it, because the last sentence confused me some, the Pooh & Piglet bit, but that seemed to imply that Merlin is dead. Now the torture starts! I'm going to be frothing at the bit until the next one comes out & then the next and on, and on!

Thank you for clearing that up! Yeah, I got to that line & went "What!?!"
You are probably right about using that identity to secure Hektor's two children, if it could be done without raising too many questions, I think that is definitely something that they should do. Having another persona that can be coming & going places without raising the questions Merlin's appearance there would, will open up possibilities for all kinds of interesting missions.

At the very real risk of being accused of topic drift, I have to expand on a possibility developed from option 1 of my original post. To save time, let me repaste it below.

"1 ) Ahbraim Zhevons is an expert (but fully human) soldier who has proven flexible enough to be brought into the Inner Circle as Merlin's apprentice, and this is his first mission, aided by the use of a Recon Skimmer under OWL's control.
Possible, but unlikely."

The notion of Merlin having an apprentice has been in my mind ever since I wrote that, and a new conclusion has bubbled its way up to the surface. Hektor Aplyn-Ahrmahk, the Duke of Darcos. Adopted member of the royal family and the boy who was with King Haarahld when he died. He has seen Merlin fighting at full potential, and he's loyal as anything to the Empire of Charis. Does anyone else think that soon he'll go to Merlin and ask to be trained in the ways of the Seijin, so that he can better serve Emperor Cayleb? It could be interesting, having Merlin suddenly have an apprentice following him around all the time.

Awaiting comments on this... interesting possibility.