I'm sure we've discussed it before, but I couldn't fine a thread on the topic of Swallow's name (perhaps we talked about it in another thread not specifically about it). I'm re-reading Ashling (as part of the re-read) and posted in this thread
~Link~ as well - just putting it out there - that Swallow's real name is
Evander Duprey, and that all eldest males born to the Twentyfamilies D'rekta line would have been named Evander.
How's it even relevant? Well...Swallow's true name has always been fiercely hidden. It was what the Herders were trying to get out of Iriny in Ashling (/why they tortured/murdered Caldeko).
Why would the Herders even care about Swallow's true name? Knowledge of it wouldn't destabilise the pact between the Council and the Twentyfamilies at all.
There's only one possible relevancy I can think of: that Swallow's true name is important to the ancient promises. And it means that even in Ashling, Ariel knew of this, and had set the Herders to extract the information for him.
In Ashling, Swallow tells Elspeth that he'll be there when she speaks the words of the ancient promises, in the place where they were first spoken. You have to assume this means that she and Swallow will make it to one of the Sentinal's security systems, one that requests security clearance/identification to proceed. Swallow's blood, or his DNA or something - since he's descendant from Cassy, and Cassy's father was behind the implementation of the Sentinal - will be part of the unlocking mechanism. And Swallow's name will be part of that system.
How could Cassy have possibly prepared for this, and why would Cassy's dad have set the name of a future child he didn't know about - or the first Red Queen's brother, since that's who Cassy named their son after - as part of the identification/security system, unless she'd decreed that all males descendant from her carry this password/identifying name with them, until it was no longer needed?
I can't think of any other reason for Swallow's name to be relevant; anyone got any alternative ideas?
It makes me wonder a lot more about who the original Evander was, to Cassy's father...perhaps he worked with him.
