IC has given us several criteria for the Destroyer; and these have led me to believe that Rushton is the Destroyer.
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We know that:
- The Destroyer isn’t necessarily Ariel
- It isn’t Jes or Swallow either, but Swallow is the SORT of person she would guess if she were in our positions
- It's someone not obvious at first, but who will seem obvious once revealed
- The Destroyer doesn’t know what he’s going to do, and what happens in the end is an accident- as an inherently good character, we know that Rushton would never deliberately seek out and use the weapon machines, and because Elspeth hasn’t told him anything, he doesn’t know anything about her quest.
- The Destroyer isn’t necessarily evil- Rushton is always portrayed as a protagonist- he is the one who is responsible for turning Obernewtyn from a prison to a haven for misfits, but he also never quite fits in at Obernewtyn.
I also found several of my own clues from the books.
A catalyst is usually required to bring out misfit talents: so when Ariel kidnapped Rushton, he could have been trying to bring out Rushton’s latent talents. We know that Ariel is the H’rakya, the bringer of destruction, so it would make sense that he knows who the Destroyer is. And as for his torturing Rushton; Ariel must have had a bigger reason than just to affect Elspeth. While he may be an evil, sadistic character, there is always a reason behind what Ariel does, and hurting Elspeth isn’t a big enough reason.
We also know that Ariel tried to turn Rushton against Elspeth, and almost succeeded. Again, hurting Elspeth isn’t a big enough reason for this; but if Rushton was the destroyer, then Ariel may have been trying to turn him against Elspeth so that Rushton would have no problems with becoming the Destroyer and hurting Elspeth should he need to.
Rushton is Elspeth’s love interest, practically the second most important character. It is typical of writers to make the villain someone very close to the hero, as it always manages to shock the readers- and IC keeps telling us that the end will surprise everyone.
Also, IC makes a point of bringing up Rushton’s latent powers- this could mean they play an important part later, undoubtedly in Elspeth’s quest.
The antagonist is almost always someone who’s been around since the beginning- and Rushton has been there since book one, and has played a major part in every book since.
Rushton and Elspeth have a rather tumultuous relationship- they seem drawn to each other, appear to love each other, and yet are constantly arguing. This could be because as the Seeker and the Destroyer, they are subconsciously drawn to each other, but as enemies, they cannot be totally comfortable around each other.
Rushton’s family and ancestors have always been a major part of the books- Hannah Seraphim started the Reichler Clinic and was a friend of Cassy's, Jacob Seraphim first built Obernewtyn, and one of them (feel free to correct me, I don't have access to my O-Chron books =[ ) disappeared into the mountains, where Elspeth will have to follow one day. Every Seraphim that is mention has played an important part in Elspeth's quests, and so Rushton must too.