I have a new theory, which I alluded to briefly in the thread
What happened to Shenavyre and the Unykorn? (spoilers) (in relation to Ember dreaming she is Shenavyre). My theory centres around a short story written by IC (who else? :P) which was published in
Road to Camelot, a collection of short stories based around the characters from Arthurian legend.
The story is called "Guinevere, or The Sleeping Beauty". Clearly it has ties with both Sleeping Beauty and Arthurian legend, but another strong connection is between it and the Legendsong.
You will need to read the story for this thread to have much chance of making sense, so if you haven’t read it, then I suggest you have a look for a copy (it's still available for sale, and should be in most libraries), but if you really can't find it, send me a PM. :)
BEWARE SPOILERS for The Legendsong AND for Guinevere, or The Sleeping Beauty.My overall theory is that part of what will happen in Darkbane may be related to the events in this short story.
The story was published in 2002, the same year as Darksong. My main interest in this story is in the characters of Shenavyre/Ember and Lanalor. Here's a few of the relevant ideas the story has in common with the Legendsong:
- a person (Lanalor/Guinevere) is transported unaware to a specific place and time
- each of these places are ideal for someone in a coma, and then waking and recovering from said coma
- both book and story are about the need to restore hope to the world by a specific event/thing
- the name Shenavyre being so similar to Guinevere (I'll come back to this point)
What I'm suggesting is that Ember may be Shenavyre, born again but on Earth (similarly to Arthur in the short story), while Lanalor was transported through time, to where she would be (like Guinevere in the story). But then of course she got drawn to Keltor with Glynna - so now Ember will need to return to Earth, as some part of trying to reunite Lanalor's body and his soul/mind. (I never liked those theories that Glynna would have to go to Earth :"( so I'd be much happier if it was Ember instead!)
Part of my theory is based on Ember’s dreams of Shenavyre – she dreams of her so often – what if, like Guinevere, she is dreaming of her earlier/past life? The fact that
Shenavyre is so similar to
Guinevere suggests that the connection here is no accident – we have stories about the Unykorn (though under a different name), so why not the same thing about Shenavyre?
However, I have no idea of what her role or Glynna's will be. Ember's purpose
outside of her role as the Unraveller or Soulsaver, however, may be something else entirely. The reason for this is that, from the short story, Vera is Guinevere, and is dreaming of being Guinevere without having any knowledge of her true identity. She is given a set of objects/clues that eventually manage to unlock her memory. After all, Ember has already unlocked her memory of her life on earth by using music - what if there is more to come? What if the a'luwtha - which is, significantly, recognisable as Shenavyre's - combined with some other object/s, make Ember remember that she is Shenavyre?
Here’s a summary of my theory:
Vera/Guinevere = Ember/Shenavyre (dreaming of her earlier life?) Meaning that the dreams suggest to me that Ember is Shenavyre. It could be another reason she was so obsessed with the tapestry in Alene’s rooms.
What do you think? Plausible? Insane? Saw it completely differently? Let me know! ;D