So with the Nona cover reveal on Thursday (so excited! What does she look like?) I’ve been thinking about the Locked Tomb. So perfect lyctorhood, theoretically, allows both necromancer and cavalier to survive, while still gaining lyctoral abilities. And if Jod is the norm for perfect lyctorhood, the lyctoral abilities are far beyond imperfect lyctors. But lyctorhood isn’t just getting a boost in the necromantic department. You also gain your cavalier’s skills, hence why cavaliers use rapiers, so the lyctor can lift a weapon with their wimpy necro arms. In a perfect lyctorhood, the cavalier probably gains necromantic abilities as well.
So, my theory. John Gaius is not a necromancer. He was Alecto’s cavalier. We already know they were the first necro-cav pair, but I think we’ve got who was the necromancer and who was the cavalier wrong. The story I’ve got in my head is that John is the only normal human to survive whatever wiped out the Earth. You can say Alecto was already there and somehow changed by the Earth’s destruction, but I think a better explanation is that she was created from whatever happened. We know from Harrow that large thanergy bursts at the time of conception create powerful necromancers, and the death of the ten billion would have created a lot of thanergy. So born from that thanergy burst, Alecto is the first necromancer. If John is responsible for the world ending, this would be why he says he created her, and calls her “My Adam” (I.e. Frankenstein‘s Monster).
Now Alecto’s a powerful necromancer, but even she can’t preform the resurrection alone. So she and John figure out perfect lyctorhood, to increase her power and give him the same power. So they do, and that’s great. They preform the resurrection as a team, and recruit some of John’s personal friends and their loved ones to become their disciples. (John mentions he knew Augustine before the Resurrection, so I’m assuming he knew all of them.) But Cristabel and Alfred are too hasty. They think lyctorhood requires a sacrifice to work. So they kill themselves to allow Augustine and Mercymorn to ascend. John doesn’t wanna say they were wrong and make their deaths pointless, so sacrificial lyctorhood becomes the norm.
Now Alecto’s not human in this theory. She’s a byproduct of the death of the ten billion. So she disturbs the other lyctors. John’s afraid of them discovering perfect lyctorhood, and also likes that power and doesn’t wanna share with Alecto, so into the tomb she goes. She was buried with the cavalier sword to sell the lie that she was John’s cavalier. Then the second generation of lyctors show up. What’s important is this theory is Anastasia and Samael. Anastasia and Samael figure out perfect lyctorhood, but don’t know John is a perfect lyctor. So they’re like “Hey God, we may have discovered a new method for lyctorhood. Wanna observe the process?” And John’s like “Yes, I would like to see that. (You can never know about that cause my empire would fall apart and if other people knew about perfect lyctorhood I wouldn’t be God-Emperor of Everything anymore)” Anastasia and Samael actually get the process right, but John kills Samael mid process, and claims they didn’t get it right. Anastasia is sent to the tomb, where she can do no harm.
Where’s my evidence? Well, first of all, we know John’s original eyes are uncommon, but not anything mystical, just a lipochrome mutation. However, nobody’s got eyes like Alecto. The white on black look with solid sclera? That’s magic baby! Also, necromancers are born with their abilities. Necromancy didn’t exist before the world ended. And why would you fear your partner so much unless your abilities that make you so special were stolen from her? Why can God defeat Alecto once, but never again? Because she knows his game now, and is equal in power. Anyway, there’s the theory, feel free to help me workshop it.
Ok, since I’m now a locked tomb blog kinda now, and I Have Thoughts, I’m gonna share them with you. What would happen if Cytherea hadn’t shown up? I don’t mean like “everyone has happy fun times and works on necromancy together!” First of all, Silas Octikiseron is there, and he always gonna be No Fun. A non-Cytherea Canaan House would still be full of petty sniping at each other. What I’m saying is, the necromancers of Canaan house are some of the most brilliant to have ever existed.
We’ve got Ianthe , Abigail , Palamedes, and Harrow, who could all make claim to being the best in their respective fields. You honestly think these four couldn’t figure out perfect lyctorhood together? Hell, in canon Palamedes figured out Something that allowed Cam to both survive and get his eyes, and they had this planned out before his suicide attack on Cytherea. Ianthe figured out imperfect lyctorhood without any help, Cytherea killed Abigail first explicitly because her spirit medium abilities and knowledge of history could figure out who Cytherea was! And then Harrow, who managed to preform the lyctoral process while being attacked by a much older lyctor! If we get into Harrow the Ninth, she’s one of two people in canon who can manage theorems in The River! You honestly wanna tell me if they put their heads together, they couldn’t figure it out?
So my idea is that the Necromantic Dream Team over here figures out perfect lyctorhood, thinks “Oh yeah, this is probably how we do it.“ Then everybody who wants to be a lyctor becomes one, cavaliers intact, and they send a call to God like, ”Ok everybody’s done”. Could you imagine? Everybody just walking on the ship with their cavaliers like it was nothing? I can’t decide if it would be funny or absolutely heartbreaking. Funny from an outsider’s perspective, but Augustine and Mercy and maybe Gideon the First would just break. Pyrrha, Cristabel, and Alfred‘s sacrifice meant nothing, and these children figured out what they couldn’t! The angst potential here!
So as soon as I saw the Nona cover I really wanted to wear a burger shirt too. If you also want to wear a burger on your chest or you love dogs and birthdays you might check my shops hereandhere. It comes on other stuff too, take a peek!
really overcome by the sixth and the ninth’s friendship rn. cam and pal taking care of harrow’s body while she’s helpless in a profoundly weird and dangerous situation because they love her. trying to jog nona’s memory for the slightest possibility that it will bring back one of their friends. just the love and the trust these two little feral lesbians inspire and they aren’t even there to see it.
pyrrha says otherwise but she’s so down to be a mom. she chases wake around the mithraeum like “what the fuck happened to my baby” and then at the end of htn when she learns gideon isn’t her kid it’s johns she’s like. hmm. okay it’s step-mom time and then tries to save gideon from drowning anyways. and now shes out here playing house and braiding nona’s hair and trying to stop camilades from getting themselves killed and she’s griping about it the whole time like “this is my personal hell blah blah blah shouldve just hijacked a ship and gone to a farm blah blah blah”
..: but pyrrha babe, my sister in christ, nothing is keeping you here. you can leave anytime like you’re the one out here adopting every kid you can find and refusing to leave them after knowing them a whole few months. you fucking softie.
