C3e85 spoilers below:
So, now that we know Evon Hytroga is a member of the Ruby Vanguard (A realization that is still as flabbergasting to me today as it was on Thursday - they really will take just anyone, won't they?), does this increase the likelihood Jiana Hexum is a member as well?
As soon as we learned she and Armand Treshi were smuggling things for Paragon's Call, I assumed she was a member of one of the two groups. But it would be funny if she wasn't and she just got played by them. Boy, if that's the case, you know she is PISSED. But if she is a member, has she passed what she knows about Ashton up the chain of command? For that matter, what does she really know about Ashton?
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Chewing through my floorboards with the revelation of: Ashton getting out of the contract, finally a free agent, realizing for the first time that they had been "fucked with". their mind tampered with and edited. Followed directly by: He was ready, and willing, to owe Jiana Hexum something again, if it meant getting Laudna back. It was gonna be one of their calls. Having that realization, reconciling that kind of violation, and still. And still. Ashton. Not making friends my ass.
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I have this hc that when Ashton was at the orphanage and their skin started to turn to stone, the adults assumed it was some sort of contagious disease and kept them locked in isolation for nearly the entire process and that it left them with some claustrophobia
I would also imagine that if hexum found out about this (and I imagine she could find out about anything) she would use it to her advantage to keep them obedient, punishing them (or threatening to) by keeping them locked in a small dark space
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Just a lil’ expression practice w/ FCG that’s from a moment in ep35 :]
Drew all of these September 24th 2022.
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[00:56:00]
Ashton’s dream shows Milo participating in the robbery at Hexum’s house. It’s not a piece of the story we’ve had before, and it introduces a new (and I think important) aspect to their relationship dynamics:
When Ashton accepted the years of indenture to Hexum, it wasn’t just on behalf of the Nobodies, who had left, - but also Milo, who had stuck around and whose involvement remained, as far as we know, a secret from her.
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As of C3E22, we now know that Ashton's strange magical abilities come from consuming a vial of distilled dunamis that they stole from Jiana's house. We also know that Jiana receives regular shipments of these vials from Wildemount and appears to be handing them off to some unknown figure.
A quick refresher on the vials of dunamis: The Mighty Nein encountered a single vial, created by the one and only Yeza Brenatto under the instruction of Vess de Rogna. The Nein recovered the vial, took it with them to Xhorhas, and eventually gave it over to our beloved war criminal Essek Thelyss.
A portion of the notes recovered from the Brenatto apothecary read "In these past weeks, we have successfully distilled a single vial that should enable a temporary influx of dunamis to even an untrained soldier. Once I can remove the beacon itself from the process, I hope to have this alchemist produce a number of batches over the next 12 to 16 months, refining the method with each step until we can certify its use in combat." [see C2E48 "Homeward Bound" 3:34:20]
It is unclear exactly who knew about Yeza's research immediately outside of himself and the Cerberus Assembly. Regardless, in the 7 years since the end of Campaign 2, clearly more of these vials have been developed and they are being moved to Marquet, for reasons that are as of yet unclear.
It is also unclear who exactly is producing them and why. The obvious suspect would be the Cerberus Assembly, as they are currently in possession of a Luxon Beacon [at least they were as of the end of C2] and were the ones to commission the research, Ludinus himself visiting Yeza in Felderwin while he was working on it.
But there are some interesting questions here. Namely, why would they involve Jiana with this? The Cerberus Assembly are a historically secretive organization, as well as a well connected one, so why exactly are they using this apparently random noble woman in Jrusar to ship their magic/science experiments around? I'm not saying it's not possible, in fact I do think they're still the most likely candidates, it just raises a lot of questions. Who are they sending these to? Does Jiana know what's in these vials? What is she getting out of this deal? Why have they decided to outsource this instead of keeping everything within the Assembly, within the Empire? Ultimately, what interest would they have in the affairs on another continent?
Of course, there are hypothetically other candidates for the source of these vials. Yeza, Essek and the Kryn Dynasty, mainly. But Yeza seemed disinclined to continuing work on this project and certainly lacks the connections for cross-continental scheming, as well as the ambition and access to a Beacon; Essek is on the run, without access to a Beacon and should hopefully have learnt his lessons against involving himself in this type of thing; and the Kryn Dynasty are renowned for keeping the secrets of dunamancy close to the chest, so this would be remarkably out of character for them. Also, theoretically The Nein themselves, but they're also unlikely for the same reasons as Yeza and Essek, among others.
A quick reminder before speculating on Jiana's connection to the Assembly - We do not know the names of every current member. At the end of C2 there were two vacancies, one for the late Vess de Rogna, one for the arrested Trent Ikithon. We know that Astrid Becke took Ikithon's place as Archmage of Civil Influence, leaving the seat for Archmage of Antiquities vacant. However, as it has only been 7 years since the end of Campaign 2, it is unlikely that Jiana is or was the Archmage of Antiquities. We know the last 2 people to hold that position, and we know that it's very difficult for someone to be actually removed from the council. So unless she somehow became Archmage of Antiquities then did something so heinous that she was ousted within 7 years, I think it's unlikely. I also see no reason for her to be on the council in absentia in Marquet just hiring people to prank her associates and taking violin lessons. If this is related to the Assembly in any way, she likely isn't an archmage.
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Even more spoilers for c3e85:
Following up from this idea, you know how Evon Hytroga said he couldn't go back to Exandria? That struck me as odd at the time because who the hell is this guy? Exandria's most wanted? No way.
Remember how one of the things Bell's Hells took from his museum were business papers of some kind? When they got back to Jrusar, they handed the papers over to Jiana Hexum. What if something in them implicated Hytroga as working with the Ruby Vanguard and when everything kicked off during the solstice Hexum ratted him out (through a third party of course, she'd never do anything directly) to the authorities?
Of course a less conspiracy theory idea is that his dealings with the Clasp finally bit him in the ass and joining the Ruby Vanguard was his escape plan. He'd be just enough of a short-sighted idiot to think THAT was a good idea.
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"Just because you have a soul doesn't mean you know how to use it too good." F.C.G, you can't just murder people like that-
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