Thoughts running away off the rails...

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loudmouthjhawke
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Thoughts running away off the rails...

Post by loudmouthjhawke »

So I decided I'd re-read a number of Fel's stories now that I've got some extra free time each day and my mind seemed to latch on to a number of little bits of information and twisted to form some really weird ideas and was wondering if anyone else had anything similar.

One of my twisted ideas has to do with the Fox and Kyven's mother. The twisted idea from little bits of information, could the Shadow Fox spirit be Kyven's mother?

I mean, first, the fox only appeared to Kyven after his mother's death. Perhaps his mother could see the Fox and wouldn't reveal herself to others until her death? Or maybe her presence somehow kept the fox at bay (like connection with another spirit). Another possibility could be Kyven and his mother are part of some long project of the Foxes to reintroduce Shamanistic potential in humanity (as Shamans have existed in our history and even today, so there were likely shamans before the first Arcan Shaman, just not since the Breach). Either way, Kyven's mom goes, in comes the Fox. So there seems to be a connection there. We're not given any information concerning Kyven's mother, her disposition, history or anything at all.

Second seems to be the Foxes' possessiveness and interest in Kyven. This is pretty flimsy as it could be his importance is a convergence of several different key points, such as convenience of his existence, the important timing of his existence when he could be necessary for a possible war-effort in his life-time. Regardless the Fox has watched and been present for much of Kyven's life. Maybe she was just preparing to manipulate him, but the Fox strikes me as a complex spirit who has more than one reason for anything. So it doesn't seem far fetched that while she might have been building Kyven's trust in her by appearing to be some kind of guardian while keeping an eye on his life, that there could be more to it. She acts as though Kyven is just a tool, but seems to be invested in him a lot more than just a tool would need to be. Again, it could be Kyven is just necessary, but it seems more than that. She seems to believe in Kyven, that with what he has he can get through difficult situations, and when what he has is clearly not enough, the Fox provides a little something to give him the ability to overcome some obstacle.

Babies. The Fox is obsessed with Kyven for the purposes of having little babies. From the beginning she spurred him to breed himself with others. She led him to those who have potential she felt made them worthy (the whore and her shamanistic potential), then later on different Arcans, then Umbra and eventually Danna. Toby might seem to throw this off, but he could be seen as donating his humanity to the cause to make sure the Shadow Fox Arcan breed has a wider genetic diversity to help sustain it in her eyes. It is clear that the shadow foxes see her as their Mother, from Umbra, as well as a number of her traits. Perhaps she does see them as her children, and so would see Shadow Fox Arcans in the same light. She doesn't seem the nurturing mothering type, but then again she might just not prefer direct obvious involvement being an entity of guile and deceit. Regardless, her obsessiveness in ensuring Kyven has many many babies just reminds me of all those crazy anime mother types in Harem anime series waving flags and pushing their poor male children into breeding virtual armies.

In the same vein, the Shadow Fox seems awfully interested in getting Kyven and Danna together. There are probably other women she could approach that would be more willing or perhaps more compatible with Kyven, but she is focused on manipulating Kyven and Danna to be together. The interest in Danna seems to come into being when Kyven expressed an interest in her just after their first meeting, but that could also be that they had just met and so Danna could be brought to the Fox's attention. So who knows, other than Fel?

There is also Kyven's nature. He easily slips from the 'honest and trustworthy' craftsman to capable liar and spy, but was there really such a transition? From the beginning of the story he was lying or concealing facts. He could see spirits all of his life, but hid this from everybody. In fact, his need to deceive others into believing he was normal caused him to distance himself from others instead. Rather than lying by misdirection or using his imagination, he merely lied by omission, removing the possibility of talking about it. Perhaps the Fox saw those traits in him early on, or perhaps Kyven was meant to inherit those traits.

Kyven's shadow powers. This is a bit of a stretch, but it isn't until after Kyven begins to actively use his shadow powers he gains the medallion that lets him take human form and yet he can still use his shadow powers. It is explained that he can still use them because he's not really human, just wearing human skin. But then again, the Fox told him that. And the Fox is a dirty little liar. Before he was trained in his Shaman powers, the only abilities he had were to see the Spirits (triggered by the Shadow Fox) and to sense the energy of crystals. Perhaps he wasn't strong enough or had experienced a trigger event(such as his need to be hidden which let him blend into shadows after he became an Arcan). Either way, Danna doesn't seem to be able to use shadow abilities, and I don't recall mention of Toby doing so either. Is it they are Arcan in skin/fur only, or is it they aren't directly related to the Fox in some form? Or is it I just haven't re-read up to that point and forgot that they could?

Last, but not least, the eyes. The damned eyes! It is mentioned a few times the Fox has glowing green eyes (and I believe they were described to be a key characteristic of her appearence), and it is underscored throughout the story(stories) how striking his green eyes are.

There's probably some more that I don't remember. An I'll probably think of more as I continue to re-read (already restarted Shadow Walker, just finished Spirit Walker again this morning). But the twisted idea in my head is that somehow the Shadow Fox Spirit took human form, and upon death resumed her spirit form. Such an occurrence could lead credence to spirits being peoples ancestors. That in her human form (perhaps she was fully aware of her true self, partially aware, or was more like a shaman in that she could sense other spirits but was human otherwise) she fell in love with or met/manipulated a human man with whom she could potentially have a Human Shaman son.

Maybe I'm nuts? Maybe I've figured it out? I dunno, but Fel would! Regardless, does anyone else have any thoughts or crazy ideas on the matter? Or any thoughts or crazy ideas on another matter? Share! ^_^
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expedient
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Re: Thoughts running away off the rails...

Post by expedient »

loudmouthjhawke wrote:Kyven's shadow powers. This is a bit of a stretch, but it isn't until after Kyven begins to actively use his shadow powers he gains the medallion that lets him take human form and yet he can still use his shadow powers. It is explained that he can still use them because he's not really human, just wearing human skin. But then again, the Fox told him that. And the Fox is a dirty little liar. Before he was trained in his Shaman powers, the only abilities he had were to see the Spirits (triggered by the Shadow Fox) and to sense the energy of crystals. Perhaps he wasn't strong enough or had experienced a trigger event(such as his need to be hidden which let him blend into shadows after he became an Arcan). Either way, Danna doesn't seem to be able to use shadow abilities, and I don't recall mention of Toby doing so either. Is it they are Arcan in skin/fur only, or is it they aren't directly related to the Fox in some form? Or is it I just haven't re-read up to that point and forgot that they could?
I suggested something similar to this in the topic "Reality and the Shadow Fox". I think that Kyven may be able to shape shift between his human and arcan forms and the amulet is there only to either limit or assist this ability. The Shadow Fox Spirit lies. He may even be able to change into more stable shapes than just those two.
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dellstart
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Re: Thoughts running away off the rails...

Post by dellstart »

wow , thats an interesting theory and one that requires , more than a quick of the cuff reply...
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expedient
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Re: Thoughts running away off the rails...

Post by expedient »

dellstart wrote:wow , thats an interesting theory and one that requires , more than a quick of the cuff reply...
My hunch started when I noticed a startling similarity between how Kyven changes shape when using the foxhead medallion and when he changes and manipulates his shape after being tortured in Shadow Walker chapter 5. Since then the idea of belief being Kyven's main limitation has kept the idea in mind.
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