Hiya! I just wanted to share what I've been thinking about since I believe chapter 14? Major spoilers ahead so um... big gap incoming! (also it's mostly speculation on my part and I may have missed stuff in the story or that the creator has posted elsewhere so it may already been proven right or (more likely) wrong, [also also I want to make clear, if you want to remain in the dark about potential plot developments please do not read, I'm only writing this cause I think I might have figured smth out and I'm proud of myself, to that end if the creator wants me to take it down then I will do so immediately, I love this story so so so so so much and I just want to share my love for it with as many people as possible {also also also sorry for the rambling, not good at talking/writing concisely (or at all) lol}])
Anyway, I wanna talk about the encounters we get after leaving for the trip, specifically the first two. I got to thinking about the "soldier" who's asking for advice and what we know:
1) not human (the only sapient non-humans we've met I believe were spirits and peri)
2) magic (specifically the ability to manipulate the environment, their appearance, and the emotions of others [something peri's {specifically the royal bloodline} are known for])
3) The family dynamic (clearly a family with at least halfway decent standing, a mother set in tradition values, and a brother who uses his wealth to control people as well as several other sibling, each with their own niche [admittedly the family may have been fabricated but I don't believe so])
You see, I first was tipped off by the family bit, it sounded to me an awful lot like the family described by kham (or however you spell his name [I am too lazy to go back through the story to check]). Plus most notable families are tied to their political circles, and as such generally stick to a singular craft, yet this family seems to be all over the place. This leads me to believe that their family is of a particularly high stance, and I believe, is the royal bloodline that kahm is apart of (I've decided to start spelling the jerks' name wrong on purpose). Then I got to thinking, why would the peri have risked exposer by asking for this advice, and especially while using their real family and not a fabricated backstory, unless, they were genuinely looking for advice. But then, why go to the crown as opposed to literally anyone else? And why wait till they've left the castle? And why not do it so indirectly? Cahn! Well wait, what about the incident earlier with the farmer? Seemingly staged perfection, disappearing into thin air afterward, likely used to delay us. Perhaps plotting an ambush, but why? Our prisoner, obviously (I also didn't negotiate with Chan at either point)! Now, Can said himself that his sibling are stronger than he is (and he's a lazy butt), so obviously he used his funds to "persuade" his sibling to do his bidding. The peri agreed, likely viewing the player as just another pompous noble their brother wanted the upper hand on, but then, they meet the player (keep in mind I chose to approach the farmer, not sure what happens if you don't) and they don't see the noble they expected, they see someone kind, who cares, who sees not tools, but people. Maybe the player could help? Obviously if Clam got word of this he'd be upset, so he can't risk asking as himself, but as a guard? No-one would know. Now, the possibility of it being a Peri is dismissed due to the lack of a face, but this could've been intentional, the player knows their guards, and so do D and A, so perhaps they chose instead to remove any distinguishing qualities and projecting the idea of normalcy instead to not draw suspicion. I believe that this Peri doesn't want to hurt us, not anymore. I believe he wants to help, maybe not for our sakes, but for his families, for his own, and for his beloved. Also, I may be reading a bit too far into it, but I think that each of the siblings have different abilities to some degree, which is why they're so capable in each of their chosen crafts. I mean, even with his guards, I doubt Catnip could normally keep track of every merchant he influences to such precision, no, I believe he has some level of magic that aids him in these endeavors, which is another reason I believe that he sent his sibling rather than doing it himself, his sibling simply has a better magical skillset than he does. In fact, I believe his mother may even directly affect what they're each good at, doing something similar to what happens in Encanto, where each family member has an ability tailored to the present needs of the family. This could also explain the issue the youngest is having, given the family likely already had most all of what they "needed", the youngest may simply not have a purpose in their eyes. Anyways, that's my rant and like I said, I definitely missed stuff and am probably way off but I'm really proud of putting this together and if anyone wants to add to this I would love to see what y'all think! And again, I do NOT want to take away from the work, if the creator wants me to take this down I will do so without hesitation, I love this story so much and I want to make that abundantly clear! Have a good morning, afternoon, night, or wtv! Love y'all! GN!