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ionlydrinkhotwater · 1 year

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TEARS WAITING TO BE DIAMONDS ESSAY BY @pap3r-cr0wn

It's long but worth it

Unearthing Diamonds:

Discovering the Hidden Storyline within TWTBD

This meta is based on my interpretation and reading of TWTBD, IOL, etc. Your mileage may vary.

I also wrote this while sick and during breaks at work, so I apologize for how rushed and messy it is.

Scope:

I will rely exclusively on what is written in IOL and TWTBD to support my arguments. I know that SRB has commented on her stories and answered fan questions, but I won’t be using those. Unlike her published stories which have gone through her drafting and editorial process, her responses to fans have not and are therefore, subject to change. Therefore, I consider only the published stories canon and author comments as highly persuasive, but non-canon.

On Elliot Being a Traitor:

Upon hearing the leader of the cart soldiers refer to the imprisoned dwarves as traitors, Elliot expresses skepticism towards the use of this label and invites the assembled soldiers, as well as the audience, to consider the following:

“What do we know about their trial?”

“Who’s to say they’re even traitors?”

Elliot Schafer in TWTBD

Thus, when the same label is applied to Elliot (in some cases, by Elliot himself), it should be remembered that the reader was encouraged at the start of the story to not simply accept the accusation of treason at face value. In fact, I will argue that almost nothing in TWTBD should be taken at face value.

On the Crime of Treason:

Treason is an attention-grabbing crime that most people think they understand, and, if the casual way it’s invoked by the media is any indication, almost no one actually does. It also has two dimensions to it: the legal and the political. I will begin by explaining the crime of treason from a legal perspective (both in the real world and within the story) and then I will move on to its use as a political tool. I will show that Elliot is not a traitor and that his admission of guilt is suspicious.

How is the crime of treason defined in the Borderlands? We cannot know for sure, but we can infer that the legal system within the Borderlands probably bears some resemblance to the UK legal system with some influences from Ancient Greece and Rome. Here is a quick list of text-based reasons for why I believe this is the case:

We know that within the Borderlands camp, most of the humans who immigrate from the other side of the wall are from the UK. The UK students, including Elliot, encounter no significant language barrier when they enter the Borderlands, and the nomenclature, slang, and even D&D-inspired surnames are reflective of UK/Western European conventions.

The sport of Trigon has its origins in Ancient Rome.

Adara mentions using silphium as a contraceptive in IOL which is one of the uses the Ancient Greeks and Romans used it for (among many other things).

Rachel Sunborn is an archetypal Spartan mother from those ancient joke books (I admit, this point is not dispositive, but I wanted to point this out because it’s funny).

NOTE: I will dispense with the treason laws in the UK that are tied specifically to actions against the monarch and their family.

For the sake of this analysis, the definitions of treason in ancient Greece, ancient Rome and the UK that actually apply to Elliot’s so-called treasonous acts in TWTBD are not so different that I need to deal with each individually. Instead, it’s more useful to look at their essential components to see if Elliot meets the definition of traitor under the law. For that reason, I will use the UK’s Treason Act 1351 since the elements of the crime are similar.

The Treason Act 1351 from the UK states that an individual is guilty of treason:

“if a[n] [individual] do levy war against [the state] in [the] realm or be adherent to the [state’s] enemies in [the] realm, giving to them aid and comfort in the realm, or elsewhere”. (I changed any reference to gender and to the King).

Elliot states the following in TWTBD:

“I’m guilty. Our side was wrong. So I gave away military secrets. I stopped a war. I’m a traitor and I should be executed….”

So, Elliot’s guilty as charged, right? Well, not necessarily.

Legally, the crime of treason is actually very narrowly defined, and, considering the severity of the punishment and the scope of the crime, it’s not without good reason. To quote the famous English jurist and judge, Sir William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England and, specifically, on his commentary on high treason: “b[y] enemies are here understood the subjects of foreign powers with whom we are at open war.”

Incidentally, this is also how the term “enemies” (or sometimes “aggressors”), when used to define the crime of treason, is generally understood in many other jurisdictions (including the U.S.). This is why I said that most people don’t really understand the crime of treason because they don’t realize just how specific the set of circumstances must be for someone to meet the definition of treason under the law. Elliot states that he stopped a war so he certainly didn’t levy it against the Borderlands. Additionally, it is not enough for Elliot to aid a foreign power to be guilty of treason, he had to aid a foreign power with whom the Borderlands was in an open war, and textual evidence in TWTBD does not support that conclusion. Surprisingly, a key witness testimony for the Elliot’s defence comes from Prince Mark. While describing Luke, Mark says:

“The champion had brought a golden age of peace to the Borderlands.”

Based on this piece of testimony, we can conclude that the Borderlands was not in open war with anyone recently since that would be incompatible with the idea of a “golden era of peace”. We also don’t need to rely exclusively on Mark’s word either. If the Borderlands was involved in a war recently, I would assume that someone in the story would mention it (considering we’re in a military settlement, in a military-run state) or even make a passing reference to it. Recall that Elliot stated that the Borderlands was in the wrong, and that by passing along military secrets, he stopped a war. If we entertain the scenario that the Borderlands was in open war with a foreign power, and if these military secrets are so significant that possession of them by that foreign power can end the war, then Elliot’s actions either forced the Borderlands to surrender or resulted in a military loss. This is very unlikely. Aside from how dangerous this would be for Borderlands soldiers against whom the military secrets would be used if they were in open conflict (which Elliot would not let happen), it also would not fail to be huge news. Moreover, it would be odd for Mark to omit a recent military loss when speaking about the accomplishments of the Sunborn champion or even Commander Woodsinger, for whom he also expresses admiration. Instead, everyone, even those close to Elliot (like Myra) seem to have very little idea about what really happened. Elliot’s confession is also suspiciously lacking in details when he describes his so-called treason. Therefore, when Elliot says that he “stopped a war”, he means that by divulging military secrets to the other side, he prevented one from happening. This is the explanation that aligns best with the circumstances described in the story of TWTBD and what we know of Elliot.

But it also means that Elliot didn’t commit treason.

I can now imagine that some readers might reasonably point out that my argument so far relies on a legal definition of treason that may not apply at all in this fictional world. It’s possible that Elliot’s actions meet the definition of treason under the law of the Borderlands because it does not require the side to whom Elliot gave the military secrets to be in open war with the Borderlands.

Fair enough. Regardless of whether Elliot is actually guilty of treason or not (he isn’t), I will now argue that Elliot’s attitude of contrition and his confession of guilt are suspicious in light of the events of IOL and when the political dimension of the crime of treason is considered.

There are two salient incidents in IOL that illustrate Elliot’s relationship to the Borderlands justice system, the politics of the Borderlands and the state.

The first incident is when Elliot, Luke and Serene prevent a war between the human and elf alliance and the dwarves by stealing a treaty from Commander Rayburn’s office and showing it to the elves. In law, we have something called precedent. A precedent, in extremely simplified terms, is a previous court decision which is used as either a binding or persuasive authority to determine a ruling for a subsequent case involving similar facts and/or legal issues. Building on our previous discussion about the surrounding facts involved in Elliot’s so-called treason, we can draw a fairly strong comparison between the facts involved in this incident and what Elliot describes in TWTBD: the Borderlands were wrong, Elliot (along with Serene and Luke) delivered information to a foreign power, and they stopped a war.

When Elliot and company are confronted with how they obtained the treaty, Luke lies and says that they found it in the Sunborn library. Interestingly, the only consequence Elliot fears he and the others will suffer for what he terms as “technical treason”, is expulsion. Elliot also thinks this:

“…nobody wanted to discuss where the treaty had actually been. And nobody was going to expel a Sunborn.”

The second incident in IOL that illustrates Elliot’s relationship with the Borderlands’ legal and political system is Colonel Whiteleaf’s rebellion. Arguably, Whiteleaf’s actions are far closer to treasonous than anything Elliot does (levying war) and Whiteleaf’s reasons are far less sympathetic (entitlement and misogyny). As a member of the military, Whiteleaf is at least guilty of mutiny. Despite this, Whiteleaf suffers no legal consequences for mounting two violent attacks on the Borderlands camp and attempting a coup. Elliot uses the information he and Myra found about Whiteleaf’s family to blackmail the colonel into surrendering peacefully. While it’s annoying that Whiteleaf can walk away relatively unscathed from what he did, the system of the Borderlands protects people like Whiteleaf so he would have gotten away with it even if Elliot and Woodsinger attempted to bring him to justice. I think both Elliot and Woodsinger understood that the legal system in the Borderlands is a sad joke. This is why neither of them weaponized it when they had the chance. For better or worse, the laws of the Borderlands do not apply equally to all citizens. If you have the right last name (like Sunborn or Whiteleaf), even treason (technical or actual) can be hand-waved away. Instead, knowing that Whiteleaf would walk away from his actions without facing any real consequences, Elliot was able to eke out the only win he could get. In order for Elliot and Woodsinger to create a Borderlands where there is equal accountability, they have to play within the system for now. While I tend to roll my eyes when I hear things like “incremental change” and “working within the system”, it would be unfair to impose the way our world works on the Borderlands. Recall in IOL when Dale said:

“…the Border guard established a law that must be kept throughout the land, and enforce that law.” and “The backbone of the Border guard are the families who settled in the fortresses built along the Border itself centuries ago…”.

NOTE: Dale is a moron, so I assume, considering the many influences from Ancient Greece and Rome in the Borderlands, that when he says “centuries”, he is referring to a time period spanning thousands of years, not merely hundreds. While it is also possible that time is reckoned differently in the Borderlands, I doubt this considering the timing of the “school year” and Christmas celebrations align with our world.

Elliot has no choice but to work slowly and use the system since there is almost no infrastructure in place to support really significant reforms and even if there were, the populace of the Borderlands appear to lack any real political imagination or even political consciousness that would support huge societal/political reforms. This makes some sense when we consider that they have lived under the same system of military-run governance for centuries, under the same old families, and that, for those who come from the other side of the wall and who have lived under different systems than those of the Borderlands, they can always leave or turn to banditry. When marginalized groups in the Borderlands face hardships due to social inequality, their reaction isn’t anger towards the system, instead, they are socialized to view it as a result of a personal failing. Hence the defeatist attitude of the council course teachers.

This is why Elliot blackmailed Whiteleaf into performing a bit of political theatre because Elliot actually understands how Borderlands politics work. The people of the Borderlands seem to enjoy (and fall for) fairytales. Therefore, Elliot re-directed Whiteleaf’s (unearned) prestige and privilege into crafting a tale where a worthy warrior of an old family concedes to the superior leadership skills of his female rival-foe and they put aside their differences and a general amnesty is declared. It works. Not only does this stop the violence, but this actually helps to create a legitimizing story for Woodsinger’s regime as well as act as a deterrent to others who want to attempt a coup. It would be easy for Elliot and Woodsinger to give into a justifiable desire for personal vengeance (like when Adara tried to avenge Ben), but as we saw with that situation, this only results in never-ending cycles of violence and nothing changes.

Treason as a Political Tool

Treason is a political crime. Historically, it was used to legitimize and lionize the state. As a weapon of the state, it’s almost always ill-suited to purpose. When it is used in a court of law where the rule of law actually prevails, it usually fails because there are other crimes that fit the actions of the accused better. The main reason treason is brought up is as a form of political theatre. Usually, the times when people were successfully tried and found guilty of treason were when the treason laws were wielded by tyrants and/or in a climate where the rights of the accused and procedural justice were put aside in favour of high emotions and political fervour. A good example of this is how Henry VIII (and other English kings) used treason laws.

The Elliot Schafer we know has a healthy skepticism towards institutions, talks openly of revolution and, considering his cultural identity, probably has a justifiable dislike for zealous nationalism and capital punishment. Even if he was guilty of treason under the law of the Borderlands (and I still think he isn’t), he would be more likely to denounce such a broadly-worded treason law as corruptible and a tool for the state to exercise arbitrary violence on its citizens.

So why would he suddenly say out-of-character things like: “I’m a traitor and I should be executed.”?

Why would he offer his life to legitimize a legal system he knows is broken and biased?

Why would he want an execution to put an end to his dreams of peace and revolution?

Why would he want his execution to serve as a deterrent to others from doing the morally right thing when the state is in the wrong?

He wouldn’t. So, what’s going on here?

“What do we know about their trial?”

“Who’s to say they’re even traitors?”

Elliot Schafer in TWTBD

The Smokescreen

The interesting thing about confessing to a crime is that, in most legal systems, you avoid a full-blown trial and go straight to sentencing. Without a full-blown trial, there are no witnesses, no discovery process to find the facts of the case, and any on-going investigations are closed so that resources can go to other unsolved cases. I bring this up because I think it is relevant to Elliot’s case.

Here is my theory:

Elliot Schafer is not guilty of treason. He is guilty of a different crime and, in order to avoid the scrutiny and investigation that would commence if he was charged with that crime, Elliot with Woodsinger’s cooperation, confessed to committing treason in order to create a smokescreen to hide his true crime, a smokescreen he continues to utilize.

Recall what I said:

Treason is an attention-grabbing crime.

The people of the Borderlands lack intellectual and political curiosity (“…nobody wanted to discuss where the treaty had actually been.”)

People in the Borderlands don’t seem to understand what the crime of treason actually entails so they would accept Elliot and Woodsinger’s story at face value.

BOTH Elliot and Woodsinger understand the system and people of the Borderlands. They know that if Elliot says he’s guilty of treason, all people will care and gossip about is how he avoided execution.

What is the crime that Elliot Schafer committed?

What would merit a smokescreen like this?

The answer reveals the entire hidden plot line to TWTBD:

Elliot is guilty of espionage. To be honest, the type of espionage that Elliot committed may only amount to a misdemeanour, since the foreign agent to which he gave the military secrets was not an “enemy”.

“Confusion and misdirection were coward’s weapons…. Mark saw right through Mr. Schafer.”

Why would Woodsinger cooperate?

When Elliot has an emotional meltdown in Woodsinger’s office, Woodsinger says this to him:

“It is possible that I believe you might - might - have the potential to be even more useful than a capable medic,.”

In the Borderlands, Luke and Serene are heroes because they protect people and save lives. Woodsinger, whose politics are more aligned to Elliot’s than any other character in the series, recognizes that Elliot is a hero too. In fact, in terms of numbers, Elliot has saved more lives with his treaties and blackmail than any individual warrior could hope to do.

Recall that Woodsinger also appointed Elliot to be a teacher, which is a job he still has in TWTWB. Even before Elliot realized it, she was helping Elliot to plant the seeds of revolution and reform in the younger generation, before time could calcify their worldview. Even though Woodsinger is firmly fixed within the establishment, I think she is a revolutionary and a reformist herself and Elliot’s actions reignited that spark in her.

Basically, they’re a less problematic M and Bond.

Why would treason be preferable to espionage?

Elliot stated that he gave away military secrets. This raises a few questions: How did he get his hands on these secrets? How did he get the information to the other side? Who was his contact on the other side?

Even the charge of espionage would draw attention to Elliot’s and Commander Woodsinger’s operation. While it’s true that people in the Borderlands are shockingly uncurious, I think anyone would be curious about an underground spy network with potential connections to Commander Woodsinger.

Here is what I think occurred:

Luke and Serene were off on a mission, so Elliot could not rely on them. The Border guards were doing something suspicious. I assume they were doing something that would create a misunderstanding that could then be used to justify a war. Elliot had to act quickly to stop this, and so, his methods had to be cruder than usual. As a result, Elliot, Woodsinger and their contacts were almost compromised. Elliot and Woodsinger used “confusion and misdirection” to protect their contacts and their intelligence network by having Elliot confess to treason and claim responsibility for the entire thing. They were also careful to keep their story as vague as possible to avoid too much scrutiny. Woodsinger capitalized on the fact that Elliot confessed to the crime to lessen his punishment to exile. Elliot’s exile to Westering is now his cover so that he can get on with his real mission which is to run an intelligence network bent on achieving world peace, investigate criminal activities occurring in the more remote and lawless fortresses, and radicalize school children on the side.

Apparent Discrepancies in TWTBD:

In this part of the meta, I’m going to go through the story of TWTBD and point out strange moments, questions, and discrepancies that hint that things are not what they seem and also, that knowing how doors work is the key to unlocking (pun intended) the real story of TWTBD.

And don’t worry, I will address the Luke and Elliot thing too.

I will then provide my reading of the story which explains how everything actually makes sense.

The World Through a Keyhole:

We are told the story through the limited perspective of Prince Mark, a sheltered royal living under a rock and everything he sees is filtered through his myopic worldview and trauma.

When the story opens, he mentions that his nurse is speaking to him from behind a locked door. Mark also mentions that his key is the only one that opens his door.

The order of events after Mark opens his door is important and I will bullet point them here:

The door swings open;

Mark looks around and sees all the entrances cut off by his uncle’s men who are ready to kill him; “Mark attempted no escape”.

He pivots and kills his nurse.

Mark is attacked from behind and knocked unconscious.

QUESTION: How was Mark attacked from behind when he is standing at the entrance of his room that only his key can open?

When Mark temporarily regains consciousness, he feels himself being bundled onto a cart and one of the voices says this line to him:

“This is all I can do for you. Courage, my prince. You’ll need it where you’re going.”

QUESTION: Does Mark’s rescuer know where he’s headed?

When Mark recovers, he steals keys from the guard and feels ashamed about it. The text says this:

“A true prince would find a way to free his people, not only himself. A sergeant at arms helped Mark unloop the chains from around his chest and a private kicked him roughly off the cart.”

“Run fast, my prince!” shouted the sergeant. “Run far!”

QUESTION: Why didn’t they unlock all of their chains and then attack the cart soldiers and flee as a group?

It’s not as though each lock has its own special key (that wouldn’t make sense at all, and even if we allow for that absurdity, why wouldn’t they steal all the keys? Why wouldn’t all the keys be on the same ring?). Also, if they had unlocked everyone’s chains, it would’ve been easier to attempt an escape since all the dwarves on the cart are members of a troop and are capable fighters.

QUESTION: Why kick him off the cart and then shout about it?

They completely sabotaged Mark’s attempted escape.

When they arrive at Westering, the leader of the cart soldiers says about the dwarves in the cart:

“…. A troop of dwarves!….their king wants them to serve life for treason.”

QUESTION: Are we really supposed to believe that the baby-murdering usurper king is anti-capital punishment or something? Also, if the cart soldiers are soldiers, to which fortress are they affiliated? Obviously, they can’t be operating independently or they would be mercenaries.

Mark says “Surely traitors are executed.” when he finds out that Elliot was exiled for treason, so we know that in his kingdom, traitors are executed. So why wasn’t he? His uncle murdered all of Mark’s siblings-including his little sisters- because even an infant legitimate heir is enough to topple his plans. His uncle is brutal and thorough and yet he seemingly makes the colossal tactical error of letting a legitimate heir and a group of seasoned warriors out of his sight. Also, there’s no mention of the troop having any serious injuries, so are we to believe they surrendered and consigned themselves to slaving away in a mine without a fight?

The redheaded man had a ledger with him, and an extremely peculiar writing implement. The ledger crashed against the side of the cart.

QUESTION: Why did Elliot throw or smash his ledger against the side of the cart?

I know he’s melodramatic but what is this? He’ll even go so far as to climb the side of the cart too. What are you up to, Elliot?

Despite Arch’s offer to buy a few of the dwarves’ contracts, Elliot only takes Mark.

QUESTION: We know that Elliot ultimately saves them, but why didn’t he take a few of them anyway? Wouldn’t they have been helpful allies?

According to Piper, she was sent to the fortress with Elliot because she kept causing explosions.

QUESTION: Since when did that become an issue at the Border camp?

Elliot caused explosions all the time with his otherland gadgets.

Mark recalls this about the Sunborn Champion:

“Unrivalled in war, friend to elves and mermaids, hero of land and sea…. The champion had brought a golden age of peace to the Borderlands.”

QUESTION: So Elliot is a no-name traitor and Luke single-handedly brought peace and friendship to the land through the power of handsomeness?

It’s been seven years, so how’s the revolution going, Comrade Schafer?

When discussing whether Elliot knows the Sunborn Champion, Piper says:

“…but Mr. Schafer used to get letters from a lot of important people.”

To which, Illyria responds:

“Or does he say they’re from a lot of important people.”

QUESTION: How does Piper know about Elliot’s correspondence? Also, if she knows at least this much, why doesn’t she provide any names to help support her story? How would you know that someone is important if you don’t know who they are?

When Myra arrives at Westering, she is surprised when Mark refers to himself as a prince. Later, when Mark, Illyria and Piper break into Elliot’s office, they hear Myra say the following:

“-where could he be? asked Myra. “I have to explain. We never talked about the dwarven side of the family. We had a lot of impressive jewelry, but I thought perhaps that was normal for dwarves. I knew my parents married in spite of family opposition, but then- they weren’t happy.”

QUESTION: So what was the point of Myra in this story? To have her name invoked to gain the trust of a prince, arrive in person and have a disastrous interaction with that prince, feel bad about it, know nothing of her dwarven heritage and then, after feeling sad for Elliot, disappear from the story?

Recall that Myra says this in IOL: “We’re going to be sent to our new postings, and we have to decide where to apply.” and “I want to go live among the dwarves,…”.

This was an important part of Myra’s character arc in IOL. Her dwarven identity caused her a lot of hardship in IOL. She faced bullying and hid her face during the incident when the humans almost went to war with the dwarves. She mentions how dismissively Dale Wavechaser treated her because of her dwarven heritage. It was admirable that Myra wanted to live with the dwarves and to embrace that part of her identity and shed the human supremacist nonsense she experienced at Border camp.

I also refuse to believe that the Myra who helped Elliot investigate the discrepancies in Whiteleaf’s war stories (which Elliot used to blackmail Whiteleaf), would be so useless.

Elliot responds to Myra’s question about Luke’s letters:

“I haven’t read his letters. What’s the point? I know what they say. I chose to be a traitor to everyone. I chose the end of everything. I don’t need to torture myself past the end.”

QUESTION: But he’s still friends with Myra? What about Serene? Why is it only Luke who would care about the traitor thing?

Also, as I’ve established, Elliot is not a traitor, and in this scene, he describes a scenario which sounds a lot like what he, Luke and Serene did when they were kids.

When Piper finds a map she says:

“Mark!” Piper held up a map. “A days march from our Westering fortress is Deepfort. There’s a mine by Deepfort. Mr. Schafer noted it’s a gold mine.”

QUESTION: Recall when I said that knowing how doors work is important to this story? How did Elliot and Myra not hear Piper basically yelling out the details of their plan to storm a fortress when it is very clear that the kids could hear the literal emotions in Elliot and Myra’s voices when they spoke in low conversational tones?

“They (meaning the kids) froze on hearing Myra of the Diamond Clan’s voice, sweet and low…”.

Also, the scene immediately cuts to the kids at the fortress. Elliot had his hand on the doorknob (they saw it turn), so how did they get out of the office before he came inside?

When the dwarves leave the mine, a dwarven girl presented Mark with a battle axe that the dwarves made in secret.

QUESTION: What? How? Wouldn’t the dwarven prisoners be searched? Isn’t this a gold mine? What’s the axe made of? Gold? Humans wouldn’t have a weapon’s forge in a mine and certainly not a gold mine. Also, if the dwarves could make and hide weapons, why wouldn’t they use them to escape?

Also, the dwarves poured out of the mine after Mark shouts his family’s words (Light in the dark; clear as a diamond) at them.

QUESTION: Were there no guards down there? Aren’t gold mines deep and big? They may be familiar with the significance of those words, but how did they recognize it as a signal that they were being rescued?

Also, there is this line:

“Sword clashed against axe. Their cry rang out in defiance against the terrifying sky. “Light in the dark! Clear as a diamond!”

Mark also mentions that a Westering guard struck the axe from his hand, but the guard was killed in the next moment. Mark feared he wouldn’t get the chance to pick his weapon up.

QUESTION: So are the dwarves fighting alongside the kids? That would make more sense than Ilyria and Mark fighting entire groups of guards alone. But then, what weapons are the dwarves using to fight? More secret battle-axes? Again, if the dwarves had access to weapons, why didn’t they use them to fight the humans and escape?

Piper asks: “Can someone take me to materials I might fashion into explosives?”

QUESTION: Didn’t Piper explode two fortified doors and part of the fortress’s wall? Did she already run out of explosives? How did she transport all the explosives she used before?

“There were more soldiers than Deepfort ones here. The men of Westering fortress must have missed them far more swiftly than Mark had hoped.”

QUESTION: Why would they send so many men to go after three missing kids?

Elliot says this to Captain Arch:

“I’ve gathered evidence of you skimming off the top, selling off weapons and grain supplements.”

Then Luke shows up and Elliot says:

“He’s only committed petty crimes…. He and most of his men need to be fined,….”

QUESTION: Since when is arms trafficking a petty crime? To whom were they selling the weapons?

Elliot says this to Luke:

“This is my pupil, Prince Marcus of the Diamond Clan….”

QUESTION: Why didn’t Elliot just introduce Mark as a prince like this to the class at the Westering fortress? Why didn’t he introduce Mark like this in his letters to Myra and spare her and Mark the embarrassment?

“It seemed Mr. Schafer had summoned forces from the Border camp…”

QUESTION: If Westering and Deepfort are remote fortresses, how did the Border camp forces arrive at such a convenient time? Presumably, Westering is closer to Deepfort than the Border camp.

“He would have to stay, with his strange new friends.”

QUESTION: So Captain Arch and his men had to pay fines for their petty crimes, but they are still at the fortress, right? Aren’t things at the fortress going to be really awkward for Mark and Elliot? Especially with Captain Arch?

The big picture questions I have are this:

What do Mark and Elliot’s stories have to do with each other?

What was the point of Myra in this story?

What can we learn about the 7 year gap between IOL and TWTBD?

The Hidden Story of TWTBD

For the first part of this, I need you to suspend your disbelief since it will seem as though I am making things up from thin air. Stick with me, and hopefully it will all come together in the end. Also, if you find this a bit confusing, I will have a summary of my full theory at the end.

The Timing of the Coup

Unlike the rest of his family, Mark is the only one who did not have an assassin planted in his bedroom. His baby sisters had their nurses, his older brothers and father had lovers (no mention of his mom). Why would Mark’s uncle choose to make his move now when he’d been so careful to plant spies and assassins in his family’s inner circle for years? Why didn’t he wait a few years for Mark to have a lover? Mark’s little sisters were infants so even in two to three years, they would still have live-in nurses.

I have a theory for why Mark’s uncle felt he had to seize the throne when he did. The first answer is that the king (under the influence of certain forces which I will explain later) has been looking into the issue of dwarf trafficking. Mark’s uncle knew his name would come up

(“…dwarves this fortress had been collecting for years. Perhaps his uncle had handed some over”),

and his brother would turn on him. The second answer is that a troop of highly skilled, loyal dwarves who Mark’s uncle couldn’t persuade to take bribes and who he could not count on defeating were enlisted by his brother, the late king, to go on a certain secret mission. That mission was to allow themselves to be captured by traffickers, pretend to be prisoners and, when the time was right, they would mount a rescue. If one of his main obstacles to usurping the throne was going to let themselves be hauled off by humans, especially humans he’s had dealings with before, then he would he would take this boon and welcome. There would be no rescue and he would abandon the troop to their fate.

Why would the late king sent the troop of dwarves on this mission and who influenced this decision?

Myra of the Diamond Clan. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Myra is a former council course student, like Elliot;

She lived with the dwarves for a few years after completing her training at the Border camp;

We also know, from what Mark realizes when he sees the dwarves at Deepfort, that the capture and enslavement of dwarves in human mines has gone on for years. It also may go both ways as Celaeno says in IOL regarding the human prisoners: “We could sell them as slaves to the dwarves…”.

We are not told what Myra’s job or rank is in TWTBD.

Elliot has been collecting information on the Deepfort’s trafficking before the story of TWTBD started.

There is more and I will also address what Mark overheard Myra saying outside Elliot’s office, but I will get to that in a bit.

For now, here is what I think happened:

Myra, Elliot and Woodsinger all have their own very good reasons to be ideologically opposed to the trafficking and slavery going on between the dwarves and the humans (a de facto slave trade with the label of penal servitude slapped on top). On the surface, Myra, like most council course members, probably performs administrative duties and accompanies military officers on official diplomatic missions and negotiations involving humans and dwarves. In reality, Myra, a shrewd and brilliant scholar, serves as a diplomatic liaison between the dwarves and humans as a member of Elliot and Woodsinger’s intelligence network.

Let’s assume that Mark’s rescuer (who probably used a secret entrance or passage to get into Mark’s room to “attack” him from behind) is in contact with Myra and knows about the secret mission the late king gave to the troop of dwarves. He knows the cart left before the coup started. The rescuer used the secret passage to sneak Mark out of his home (and probably changed his clothes so he wouldn’t stand out). The rescuer intercepted the cart and told the cart soldiers -and by extension, the troop of dwarves- about the coup, the dead royal family, and the new king. The cart soldiers needn’t fear reprisal from the current regime since the new king considers these dwarves traitors who should spend the rest of their lives in servitude…and also take this other, unconscious dwarf. Then he put Mark in the cart, where Mark temporarily regained consciousness and said his line (“Courage, my prince…”).

The Behaviour of the Troop

The troop of dwarves found themselves in a pickle. Not only were they unable to prevent the coup and save the royal family, but now they can’t go back home. Their mission is also in a state of limbo and they also have the last surviving member of the royal family on their hands. If they wanted to, they could use their skills to attempt an escape, but they wouldn’t. They owed it to their people and late king to see this mission through and they had to be careful not to draw too much attention to Mark in case his uncle found out he was alive and tried to assassinate him. On the other hand, if the humans in Deepfort find out that they have the last surviving heir to the throne, Mark would become a valuable hostage. The humans might offer to “take care” of Mark for his uncle in exchange for the uncle giving them huge amounts of wealth or more slaves or they might keep Mark and make him a puppet king through which they can exercise undue influence on the dwarven kingdom and incite wars all of which will only benefit the humans.

Unfortunately, Mark’s just a sheltered prince with poor self-preservation skills. He is clueless about the mission he’s complicating with his presence. He also fails to realize that his existence is a potentially destabilizing force for both the dwarves and the humans.

So the kid steals the guard’s keys and tries to escape.

The troop of dwarves don’t bother to unlock their own chains or try to escape because they’re determined to see their mission through, but they let Mark believe they are helping him escape. The truth is, Mark, who is unused to the surface world, would probably just get captured again, and if he tries to return home, his uncle will murder him. A private kicks Mark off the cart and the sergeant shouts for him to run. I find it odd and careless that the sergeant refers to Mark as a prince here, but considering that the humans don’t show any indication that they know that Mark is a prince, then the sergeant was either careful not to say “prince” loudly, or maybe he used the dwarven term for prince? I can’t really explain that part. Anyway, I do think the troop intentionally spoiled Mark’s escape attempt in order to keep him alive. Yes, he and sergeant were beaten, but better beaten than dead.

When the cart arrives at Westering, Elliot immediately goes on an anti-trafficking spiel, crashes his ledger against the cart and singles out Mark.

Elliot knows about the mission (he is working with Myra and he is investigating Deepfort, after all). He sees Mark, and recognizes that he should not be there. There is something interesting in how Elliot immediately asks Mark if he’s twelve. It is as though he suspects something about Mark’s identity.

Mark mentions his affiliation to the Diamond clan right away, but Elliot only interrupts him when he refers to himself as a prince, as though he wants to undermine that statement and use the interruption as a distraction. More importantly, Elliot says:

“Any relation to Myra of the Diamond Clan?…”. I think Elliot’s interruption serves a lot of purposes here. It deflects attention from Mark referring to himself as a prince and I think that by invoking Myra’s name, he’s not only making a connection with Mark, Elliot is also letting the troop of dwarves know that he is part of the mission, that despite all the setbacks, the mission is still on and that he and Myra will be in contact with them. I also think that Elliot crashed his ledger into the cart and then climbed into the cart on purpose. To the Westering soldiers, Elliot is just being his usual melodramatic self, but I think he used his opportunity to pass a message to the troop of dwarves.

This is why the troop of dwarves are so silent throughout this exchange, why the sergeant turned from Mark and why Elliot didn’t take up Arch’s offer to buy a few of the prisoner’s contracts. Elliot basically let them know that he will look after the prince so they can get on with the mission.

A Little Bird Told Me…

Was anyone else suspicious about the private?

“We’re not unexcel.”

“Unethical,” hissed a private at Arch’s back.

“Funnily enough, when systems rely on free labour from prisoners, many get unjustly convicted. That is, say it with me now-“

“Unethical,” murmured the private.

“…a private appeared reporting a tally of the grain delivery from the villagers.”

This private is absolutely Elliot’s agent. Arch thinks that the private is under his command, but I believe that this private (and I imagine many people in various fortresses in the Borderlands) are actually agents of Woodsinger and Elliot’s network. It make sense as well since there are a lot events that come up later that would require Elliot to have someone who is an insider (or rather, infiltrator) in Westering. Also, upon mentioning my theory about the private to my twin, ionlydrinkhotwater, she brilliantly suggested that this could be Cyril Leigh from IOL. I have no proof for this, but I want it to be true. Also, considering that Elliot made Cyril take out library books for him, collect letters for him, and was probably one of the people Elliot had in mind when he told Woodsinger about the people he terrorized into spying for him, it would fit. It doesn’t matter who this private is though, because what’s significant is that this character shows how Elliot’s reformist politics have gained traction in the Borderlands, and that Elliot has someone planted within Westering’s power structure who can assist him with his investigations. It also makes Arch’s posturing about being in command of the fortress even funnier.

Speaking of Elliot’s agents, I also want to talk about Piper.

Piper and Elliot came from the Border camp together:

“After more incidents at the Border camp, I was sent away. Mr. Schafer was exiled here, so it worked out.”

“Certainly more peaceful than before you came with your explosions, and Mr. Schafer was exiled here for treason.”

I am suspicious that Elliot allowed his student to be sent away for causing explosions when he used to do the same thing when he was in training and he was never sent away. As I’ve already stated, Elliot is not actually a traitor and I don’t think Piper is at Westering because she was sent away as punishment. Piper is with Elliot because she is his protege and spy.

Like Woodsinger, Piper shares Elliot’s political views and unlike most people in the Borderlands, Piper seems to possess intellectual and scientific curiosity. Where else have we seen explosions occur in the Borderlands? The wall. In IOL, Elliot mentions that he was probably the only one who conducted experiments with the wall. I imagine that Piper has taken over that project. It also makes sense that Piper would go with Elliot to Westering. Not only because of mutual affection, but because Elliot knows that someone less scrupulous may try to use Piper’s scientific (and destructive) talent. The last thing he wants is for her to end up part of a Borderlands version of the Manhattan Project.

As a character, Piper seems to know everyone’s business. She succinctly summarizes her and Elliot’s situation - providing very little detail - as if she was reciting the cover story she is supposed to tell. She also knows Ilyria’s backstory in detail as well and she is immediately interested in Mark’s story too. Piper is like Elliot, if Elliot was instantly likeable and enjoyed explosions.

Even though Mark thinks Piper is skeptical about his story about being a prince, on re-read, that is only Mark’s interpretation. Unlike Illyria, Piper never says that she does not believe him. In fact, her first words to him are: “So you’re from the dwarven kingdom underground?” after he went into his spiel. Mark does notice that Piper stares at him in a wondering manner, the same way people do when he talks about being a prince, but Piper stares at him and Illyria that way for lots of reasons.

“Piper stared at them in a wondering manner. Usually Mr. Schafer did this too…”

Also recall that Piper asks Mark if he knows why people stare at him when he talks about being a prince. Both Elliot and Piper are interested in his answer. It’s clear from this exchange that Elliot knows that no one believes Mark, so it’s interesting that he doesn’t “defend” his student who is being treated as a liar and, from what Mark says here-

“…being surrounded by disbelief made Mark feel as if it weren’t real…”

He’s getting gaslit constantly. Elliot’s reasons are understandable for the reasons I outlined earlier. I think Piper was instructed by Elliot not to talk about Mark’s real identity and to keep an eye on any student who might suspect that Mark is telling the truth and try to use that information.

There is also this exchange:

Illyria says this to Mark and Piper:

“Mr. Schafer started the rumours he has been exiled to teach in this fortress outpost for a grand crime.”

Illyria’s getting a little close to the truth and it makes Piper uncomfortable.

“I don’t know,” murmured Piper.

She also says this:

“…Mr. Schafer used to get letters from a lot of important people.”

Firstly, it’s significant that Piper knows about Elliot’s letters. Elliot used to know about Woodsinger’s letters because he terrorized (Cyril, probably) his students to keep an eye on them for him and report anything interesting. It is how he knew that Woodsinger had reached out to Calaeno. Either Piper is one of Elliot’s messengers or she is spying on him. I don’t think Piper is sneaking around and finding out about Elliot’s letters behind his back though, because if that was so, then why, when Illyria expresses skepticism about Elliot getting letters from important people, does Piper not name anyone? She could have said: I saw his letters. He got a letter from so-and-so. Instead, Piper stays silent. Also, I doubt that Elliot goes around talking about how he gets letters from important people, as Illyria suggests. That’s really out of character. What I think happened here is that Piper felt a protective urge to defend Elliot when he was being badmouthed and because Illyria is sort of right about Elliot pretending to be a traitor, but then Piper realized she may have said too much and clammed up.

Recall that Mark barely needed to convince Piper to join his cause, unlike Ilyria who he had to convince. Her politics are an echo of Elliot’s and I also think she knows about Elliot’s plans for the dwarven prisoners (I’ll get to that later).

Mark, Illyria and Piper made plans to break into Elliot’s office when the opportunity arose. The text says: “Mark’s chance came when a visitor arrived.”

What was it about Myra’s visit that created an opportunity for Mark and friends to break into Elliot’s office? It’s especially odd since Mark left the room in an emotional and dramatic state after his brief encounter with Myra. Not to mention that Elliot came to his office shortly after the kids broke in. It doesn’t seem like Myra’s visit was that great of an opportunity so much as that Mark was at the end of his rope.

Here is my theory about Piper:

Piper knew about the mission involving the dwarves. She knew that Elliot already had the Border guard stationed near Deepfort. She knew that the Deepfort prisoner revolt (yes, that was going to happen regardless of whether Mark was there or not), was scheduled to happen tomorrow. Myra showing up to Westering was the signal that things were a go for tomorrow. That’s why Piper is the one who suggested they break into the office. She wanted her, Mark and Illyria to be the ones who kickstarted the revolt: to save Illyria’s reputation and to let Mark be the one to help free his people.

When Elliot and Myra reach his office, the kids can hear their conversation outside the door with amazing clarity. Presumably, Elliot and Myra could hear them just as well.

Interestingly, Mark states that Piper “roamed Mr. Schafer’s office at random”. She is also the one who just so happens to find exactly what they needed:

“Mark!” Piper held up a map. “A day’s march from our Westering fortress is Deepfort. There’s a mine by Deepfort. Mr. Schafer noted it’s a gold mine.”

Mark assumed Piper was searching at random, but that’s only what it looks like to him because he doesn’t suspect that Piper knows any more than he does about where his men are. I think that Piper looked in seemingly random (but actually very specific) places in Elliot’s office because she was looking for the map.

Not only does she happen to find the conveniently-marked map they need, she even knew it was a day’s march from Westering. Also I guess Piper put on her best NPC-exposition voice when she said her lines. Elliot and Myra definitely heard her and I think that was what she intended (once again, knowing how doors work helps us solve the puzzle).

At that point, I imagine Elliot and Myra had to engage in some awkward and loud small talk until they were certain the kids had escaped the office. I will get to what I think Myra and Elliot did later.

We can’t underestimate just how smart Piper actually is. Recall that Piper set up multiple timed explosives at Deepfort without the benefit of clocks or gadgets. She had to calculate and keep track of the rate at which her fuses would burn and when detonation would occur for each explosive in her head, in the middle of battle. She is also both confident and unfazed during the battle at Deepfort.

Finally, I want to address Elliot and Piper’s relationship. Woodsinger made Elliot feel like his skills were valuable, his interest in culture and peace were valid and she used her position of authority to protect him and give him the space to use those skills to make the Borderlands a better place. I think it’s sweet that Elliot is doing the same for Piper. In many ways, Elliot is keeping the promising to Piper that he Borderlands breaks with so many other kids. Otherland kids are lured by the promise that they are going to be badass heroes in a magical fantasy land and by the time they realize it’s never going to happen, they are jaded and bitter. With Piper, Elliot offered her the chance to join his intelligence network whose goals are social reform, justice and world peace which she can help achieve by using the skills everyone else dismisses. Piper is misunderstood and a displaced orphan. She’s living in a world that’s alien to her and fears her skills. It says a lot about her and about Elliot that despite all that, she manages to be one of the most cheerful, kind and brave people in the story.

What’s Going On With the Revolution?

The thing about agitators, reformers and revolutionaries is that once they start to gain real momentum, they get a target on their backs. It seems odd that Elliot isn’t dealing with assassination attempts all the time and that he isn’t famous either. The Borderlands has had the same system of governance for centuries (and probably longer). The old families should be horrified by Elliot and Woodsinger’s reforms. In a world in which there is lasting and substantial peace, the power and influence of the military will fade, giving way to a new power structure (hopefully more representative and egalitarian). Elliot threatens the power of the old families. He threatens to destroy the only system they have ever known and the privileges they didn’t even realize they enjoyed. I imagine he isn’t only trying to create lasting peace, either. I think that he, and his students (many of whom would be adults by now) are tackling social justice reforms on various fronts: gender, culture, science, justice, etc.. Are some of Elliot’s students writing best-selling anti-war fiction? Are some lobbying for reforms to the justice system? Are Elliot’s allies trying to motivate the villagers to consider other forms of governance that don’t privilege the interests of the military over their interests? What about worker’s unions? The traditionalists should be worried. It’s not just the human power structures that are under threat. I suspect Elliot is assisting Golden with the suffrage-elf movement and as I’ve argued here, he’s also helping Myra to abolish penal servitude and trafficking between the dwarves and humans. Yet, the only time we see Elliot in danger is when he specifically places himself in danger.

So, is the revolution a bust? Is the reason that Elliot is not a target, or even well-known because he hasn’t accomplished anything and he isn’t really trying to do any sweeping reforms?

Hell no.

Firstly, one of the reasons the traditionalists don’t know about the revolutions slowly spreading throughout the Borderlands is that I think at this point, they are underground movements.

Secondly, the reason Elliot is not a known figure, despite the reforms that have already taken place, is because Elliot pins them all on Luke.

Recall what I said earlier about Elliot knowing the Borderlands and how its people think and how they love fairytales. Remember how Elliot handled the diplomatic incident with the Elf-Dwarf treaty and Whiteleaf’s mutiny. Luke is a universally loved figure in the Borderlands.

“Unrivalled in war, friend to elves and mermaids, hero of land and sea…. The champion had brought a golden age of peace to the Borderlands.” - Mark, TWTBD

“I wish you would not start a revolution” - Luke Sunborn, IOL

Luke supports Elliot, but he is not responsible for the Borderland’s age of peace, the alliances between the mermaids and humans, and the many other things for which he is given credit and which is almost certainly the result of the hard work done by Elliot and many nameless others. I also don’t think Elliot gives Luke the credit because he loves him or thinks that Luke needs even more privilege and credit than he already has. It’s funny that Luke is known as the Sunborn Champion and held up as the ideal Sunborn son when he is actually the outlier of his family. Luke is actually the ideal son of the Borderlands: a good soldier, non-political, respectful to authority, patriotic and brave. If America’s highly mythologized version of George Washington was real, that would be what Luke is to the Borderlands. Elliot is more than happy to wield Luke’s privilege because it’s effective.

Luke flattens nicely into an uncontroversial symbol upon which anyone can impose their preferred worldview. The old families see Luke as the ideal scion of the oldest family and advocate for their interests. Nothing Luke Sunborn does could possibly threaten the power and security of the old families and the traditionalists, because he’s their man and one of them. For the non-political crowd, Luke Sunborn is a fairy tale hero. Whatever he does, it’s good and just and there’s no need for any deeper scrutiny. For those who actually support political reforms, Luke is a valuable ally who is willing to look past his position of privilege and throw his support behind reforms that will topple the system that has always benefited him. Finally, for those who violently oppose reform and threats to the oppressive status quo, the threat of violence from the Sunborn Champion will force them to think twice about trying to resist. Elliot may be a pacifist, but he doesn’t force that decision on others, and in international politics, the fear of war and threat of violence is one of the inescapable ways to enforce peace.

With Luke as a symbol, Elliot and Woodsinger have a lot of latitude to enact significant reforms in the Borderlands in the background before the old families have a chance to realize what’s going on. This may seem dishonest and manipulative, and it is, but the Borderlands does not seem to have the concept of transparency in governance, and popular voting. The idea of a woman of colour in power almost sparked a civil war that only ended through when Elliot blackmailed Colonel Whiteleaf. The methods are not ideal, but we know that Elliot and Woodsinger are sincere in their beliefs and that the other side is not willing to engage with them in good faith (or at all, really), so they have no choice.

I also think it’s interesting to note who is known in the Borderlands and who isn’t. Based on what Mark says, Luke Sunborn is famous, Elliot is not, Serene is famous, Golden is not, and he knows about Woodsinger, but he didn’t know about his cousin Myra. I think this is intentional. I think Elliot, Myra, and Golden are revolutionary leaders and effective reformists, but they use Luke, Serene, (sometimes) Woodsinger, and (eventually) Mark as public faces to sell their reforms to the general public.

Maybe someday when there’s a Borderlands University, there will be students writing papers on how history totally erased the actions of marginalized people like Elliot and Myra and Golden, and then they’ll de-platform some Whiteleaf apologist who’s invited to give a talk in DeWitt Hall on why the Colonel Whiteleaf Library should keep its name and not be changed to the Cyril Leigh Library, because history. Could happen.

What’s Going On With Elliot and Luke?

“But life teaches us that sometimes we must make compromises.”

It’s interesting that Elliot has both a personal and a political relationship with Luke. For almost seven years, he was able to have it both ways. He could utilize Luke as a symbol for his reforms and also just have Luke be his boyfriend. I think the he knew this was a delicate balance to maintain. I mentioned earlier in this meta that I think Elliot had to take on the mantle of traitor to protect his job (his real job: revolutionary leader, political reformer, diplomat/spy) and those who work for and with him (his network and contacts). Elliot realized that his symbol, Luke Sunborn, should not be attainted by association with a known traitor. The balance was destroyed and now Elliot had to make a compromise. He either sacrificed his professional and moral integrity by staying with Luke and jeopardize everything for which he’s worked all these years, or he can end his personal relationship with Luke and maintain Luke’s public image for the sake of the revolution.

Elliot chose.

Except he didn’t. I personally believe that in the seven years they’ve had to grow and cultivate their skills, Elliot and Luke became equally hyper-competent at their respective jobs. Luke is a superhero and Elliot is a master of intrigues. I also believe despite the passage of seven years, there’s some strains of stupidity that are chronic.

If Elliot wanted, he could have actually broken up with Luke. Instead, Elliot assumed that if he went off in exile and stopped answering Luke’s letters, Luke would eventually end things with him. He also refused to read Luke’s letters to confirm this.

Does any of this sound kind of familiar?

Recall in IOL that Elliot believed he would be doing the just and valiant thing if he broke up with Luke. Then he didn’t.

Elliot didn’t break up with Luke during his exile and he didn’t read Luke’s “break up” letters either. In that way, he kept their relationship in a Schrodinger’s box-like limbo.

Elliot has integrity and sincere political beliefs. I think he is willing to die or endure any number of hardships for the sake of his beliefs. Elliot is also human. So it’s really funny that breaking up with Luke seems to be the one line he can’t bring himself to cross and the one compromise he can’t bring himself to make.

I think when Luke appears and Elliot can’t help but call him by the endearment, “Loser”, it was Elliot’s way of giving up on trying to compromise between his beliefs and his personal attachment to Luke. I also think that seeing Luke have a big hero moment reminded Elliot that Sunborn charisma is a law of nature in the Borderlands and Luke cannot be cancelled so maybe he shouldn’t overthink this.

I also think Elliot is absolutely overestimating the political acuity of his opponents. He’s out here playing 4D chess and they’re choking on checker pieces.

“But I thought you said when you’re an adult, you must learn how to compromise?” When he looked around, Mr. Schafer was grinning.

“I didn’t say I was good at it.”

Why Did Elliot and Myra Say That?

“I’m guilty. Our side was wrong. So I gave away military secrets. I stopped a war. I’m a traitor and I should be executed….”

If Elliot and Myra were having a private discussion together, why would they say these things unless they meant them?

From Mark’s point of view, Myra appears to feel bad about not knowing her dwarven heritage and embarrassing Mark. However, based on what we know about Myra from IOL, we know that it’s unlikely that she didn’t know about her dwarven heritage since she lived amongst the dwarves after her training and, therefore, she would have known about Mark and the Diamond Clan. According to my theory, she is also involved in dwarven politics, as well.

I believe, like Elliot and Piper, Myra knows that Mark is a prince, but in order to protect him, she had to act like she didn’t. She feels guilty about having to be cruel to be kind. Another way to understand Myra’s words is to remember that she is now in a precarious position… politically. If Myra and the humans recognize Mark and it gets back to Mark’s uncle, not only would there be upheaval such as I described earlier, but the act of harbouring a royal fugitive could become the justification for a war between the humans and dwarves. Mark’s uncle is also Myra’s uncle and Myra and her dwarven parent may be seen as either a potential ally to the usurper king (as a diplomat who can get the human government to recognize his regime as legitimate) or as yet another enemy he needs to eliminate. I read Myra’s words as her explaining why she never had the chance to become close to her late relatives growing up. She may also be talk about whether her dwarven parent is in danger, or concerned about what happened to their relatives, or even whether her dwarven parent could have provided any information about what was happening with the royal family that led to the coup. At no point does Myra say that she didn’t know who Mark was nor does she reproach Elliot for not telling her about Mark’s identity. Most of their conversation is about romantic drama anyway.

As for what Elliot says, recall that Mark doesn’t note any emotion in his voice the way he does when Elliot speaks in the rest of the conversation. I think Elliot is wryly going through his cover story for Myra to demonstrate that he’s made his decision and he’s prepared to live with it. That’s why these lines so clipped, matter-of-fact and detail-free and it’s also why he ends them with a joke. He’s not confessing his sins, he’s going over the role he’s chosen to play, which is interesting because he and Myra were part of a play back at school, so this can be a tongue-in-cheek callback.

Elliot then refers to himself as a traitor a second time after Myra asks about Luke’s letters and this time, Mark notes the emotions in Elliot’s voice. The reason is that when Elliot called himself a traitor before, he was being glib because he (and Myra) knew it was just a cover story. This time, Elliot isn’t confessing to treason against the Borderlands, he’s confessing to betrayal against Luke (and presumably, Serene). He chose his political ideals over the two people he loved most, so naturally, he feels sincere regret about that.

The Deepfort Revolt

“…. Mr. Schafer frequently became distracted from lessons to stick his nose in things that were none of his business: grain, armaments.”

I am going to go over what I believe was Elliot and Myra’s plan in full (the kids are not involved):

Myra, through her contacts in the underground dwarven kingdom, convinced the king to join her, Woodsinger and Elliot in their plans to end dwarf-human trafficking. The King sends his most trusted troop to infiltrate Deepfort where it is suspected that dwarves have been kidnapped and sold for years now. When the troop eventually arrives at the gold mine, they get in contact with Myra and Elliot and confirm that not all the dwarves are condemned prisoners (penal servitude is unethical, but it’s not necessarily illegal, unfortunately) and many are actually kidnapped and enslaved dwarves (both unethical AND very illegal).

Meanwhile, Elliot connects the traffickers (the ones who operate the carts) with Deepfort. I suspect they are since they already promised most of the troop to Deepfort, which suggests they have an ongoing business relationship. I believe the cart soldiers are actually part of Deepfort, but their duties are probably listed as “delivering provisions” (hence the cart) or something innocuous on the records. Elliot’s spies tell him that the Deepfort has a lot of weapons despite the fact that the Borderlands is in peace time and a lot of weapons are in the hands of the cart soldiers. Elliot realizes that Westering, a “poorly provisioned” fortress, has been selling weapons (and grain) to Deepfort.

Elliot dispatches Private Cyril to Deepfort to tell them that their “redheaded trouble” (Cyril started the rumour in my theory and it’s why the cart soldiers had heard about Elliot) is keeping an eye on the books so they won’t be able to continue their arrangement for the foreseeable future. They can still sell them grain (helps maintain the illusion that the deal is still in place to the men of Westering, and allows Elliot’s spies to deliver a cart full of weapons to Deepfort). Meanwhile, Arch has no idea this happened and continues to send weapons and grain to Deepfort. Elliot cooks the books so Arch and the others don’t notice they aren’t getting money for the misappropriated weapons. The weapons that are sent to Deepfort (in the grain cart) are diverted to the dwarven prisoners in preparation for the day of the revolt. Recall what I said about Elliot probably having contacts in multiple fortresses? I have no doubt that he has one in Deepfort who is the liaison between the dwarves, Elliot and Myra. Remember how Mark thought the dwarves in the gold mines had fashioned weapons in secret from their captors? Remember how I said that wouldn’t make a lot of sense? Since the dwarves would be searched, there would be no weapons forge in a gold mine, and we don’t know whether the gold mine would yield a sufficient amount of other kinds of ore to create weapons. What would make more sense is if the dwarves received the diverted human weapons from Westering and re-fashioned those into crude versions of dwarven weapons using the tools they have on hand.

I’ll pause here to explain why all this cloak and dagger is necessary and why Woodsinger couldn’t just have the Border camp raid Deepfort and free the prisoners. The methods by which Elliot and Myra are obtaining this evidence is illegal and also involves a lot of espionage. In order to properly and justly convict the men of Deepfort and put an end to the trafficking, Elliot has to create a situation in which the Border camp has “just cause” to raid Deepfort and “stumble” onto the proof that the dwarves in the gold mines are not convicted criminals, but kidnapped slaves. If the dwarves in the mines just happen to revolt against Deepfort while the Border camp forces just happen to be nearby to provide aid (to Deepfort, on the official record) and they just happen to stumble on Deepfort’s dirty secret in the process, well, that would be a great bit of luck, wouldn’t it? I also think Elliot and Myra would want to give the dwarves an opportunity to practice some self-determination (through a revolt) rather than create a human saviour story.

As for why Elliot the pacifist would arm the prisoners, let’s recall that against a force of armed soldiers who do not recognize the personhood of their prisoners, the only viable way for the prisoners to have any chance at all of resisting their captors is if they are armed and able to put up a fight.

-Elliot wrote to Woodsinger to have the Border camp forces camped near Deepfort (not too close to raise suspicion; and with another mission as a cover to create plausible deniability).

-If Mark, Piper and Illyria hadn’t gotten involved, the plan would have gone like this: the dwarves would get some sort of signal to start the revolt (when the Border camp forces were already on the move), by the time the Deepfort men got their act together, the Border camp would arrive and force a surrender by Deepfort (Elliot would want to minimize the loss of life and violence). Meanwhile, at Westering, they would receive word that there was trouble at Deepfort and that the Border camp was getting involved. Since the men at Westering wouldn’t necessarily know about the trafficking stuff, they would assume that the Border camp was just helping Deepfort. However, what if the Border camp forces find out about the illegal weapons and grain? Maybe they should send a force over to Deepfort with the stated purpose of offering aid, but whose real purpose is to hide evidence. Elliot makes a note of which Westering men go to Deepfort so he knows who to bring in for questioning (since Arch would only bring those who know about the evidence to come with him to hide said evidence). Elliot knows that Arch is the ringleader, but it would be a good way for his accomplices to reveal themselves too.

-By the time the Westering forces arrive, the men of Deepfort are already under arrest, the dwarven prisoners are free, and also, they have some questions for the Westering men who’ve just arrived.

Things don’t always go the way you planned though. When Woodsinger hears the report of what happened from Elliot, I hope she reminds Elliot that karma is a bitch.

I want to be clear, I don’t blame Mark, Piper and Illyria for getting involved and messing up the timing. I said that I believe Piper knew (vaguely) about the date of the revolt, or rather, that Myra coming to Westering was the signal that the revolt was going to happen the next day. I do not think she knew about what role the Westering fortress was going to play. I think Piper knew that Westering fortress was engaged in financial grift, but I don’t think she knew that they were going to get involved in the revolt. Piper genuinely cared about Illyria and Mark, and like the mini-Elliot that she is, she schemed to get them involved in the revolt because she knew that it would provide them an opportunity to be heroes (they are her Serene and Luke) and redeem their reputations. Piper also wanted to join the fun because of her own politics and, she wanted the opportunity to set off a bunch of explosives in a fortress. I think she does not tell Illyria and Mark about Elliot’s plan because she, still a kid at heart, believes that she and her friends will have the situation settled nicely by the time the Border camp appears so they they can be the heroes. She, Illyria and Mark still have a lot to learn.

When she shouted about the map to Elliot, she was letting him know that she, Illyria and Mark would be at Deepfort within a day. It’s funny because she’s an explosives expert and she gave Elliot a countdown to get his ducks in a row before the blows the doors off his plans. She’s putting Elliot through the same crap he put Woodsinger through back in IOL. Elliot only has himself to blame for the fact that Piper subscribes to the Ask-For-Forgiveness-Instead-Of-Permission-school of dealing with authority figures.

Here is how the plan actually went down:

Upon realizing that the kids were going to get involved, Elliot and Myra have to scramble. Elliot couldn’t just prevent them from leaving because: he wouldn’t physically fight them to keep them there, he couldn’t get the Westering men to hold them in custody (they aren’t on the same side, and they would be put on their guard), if he did snitch on the kids, their already tattered reputations would suffer even more, the plans are already in place and they can’t delay them because of this disruption, and finally, he cares about Mark, Piper and Illyria and he understands they need to do this because it really would help them redeem their reputations. All he can do is what Woodsinger used to do for him: be really pissed off and do what he can to protect and support the kids.

Myra immediately leaves Westering and heads to the Border camp to let them know that the timing has moved up. Elliot tries to cover for the kids going missing, but it’s impossible. Unfortunately, Mark the “pretend prince”, beautiful, dangerous Illyria, and Piper the pyromaniac, are too inconspicuous for their absence to go unnoticed for long. Knowing that Mark is probably headed towards Deepfort to rescue the other dwarves and knowing that Myra has left for the Border camp (who are suspiciously close by), Arch and the other Westering men come to the conclusion that Elliot hoped they would (get to Deepfort; hide evidence of wrongdoing). The problem is that this happens way too fast and a force of soldiers are sent to Deepfort in pursuit of the missing kids. Remember when I said it was odd that Westering sent so many men after three missing kids? This is why they did so.

When Mark shouts “Light in the dark!” into the mine. The dwarves assume that this is the signal for which they were waiting. The sergeant, suspecting something is off, “shows no relief at the sight of Mark” and he says:

“My prince. I knew you would come. But I hoped you wouldn’t.”

This is an important character moment for Mark. He realizes his perception of the situation is catastrophically off, and that, once again, just like in the cart so long ago, he is forcing his people to go along with his dramatic, but ineffective attempts to rescue them.

Mark basically confirms that he is not part of the planned revolt when he admits: “I-I didn’t know there would be so many. I fear- we cannot all escape.”

The sergeant offers to give Mark a chance to retreat, but Mark, Illyria and Piper reject this. Mark (a noble himbo), decides that he’s going to fight with his people and die for them if need be, Ilyria (a marvellous them-bo) is confident in her martial prowess and Piper (keeper of the braincell), knows that reinforcements are on the way.

At first things are going okay, but then the Westering men arrive before the Border camp forces do. Elliot stops Arch from killing Mark. Mark assumes that Elliot is surprised that he got hit. We’ve seen in IOL that Elliot is very used to getting hit. At one point in the story, he basically goads some bullies into hitting him. I think the source of Elliot’s surprise is the realization that the Border camp forces are still not here, his students’ lives are in danger and his scheme is on the brink of falling apart in the worst way possible.

Elliot has to think fast to save his student. He knows that Arch is capable of reckless violence, so he knows there’s a chance that his words will result in his death, but he has to buy time for Mark to escape and for the Border camp forces to arrive. He plays the card he’d hoped he didn’t have to play.

“Stand back, Captain. I’ve gathered evidence of you skimming off the top, selling off weapons, and grain supplements. I will talk.”

Incidentally, Elliot isn’t just threatening Arch, he’s bluffing. I’ll explain how in a bit. It’s also important that Mark heard Elliot say this.

Luckily, the bid for time works and Luke-ex-machina (king of the himbos), arrives with the Border camp forces (finally!) and things come to an end.

Interestingly, Elliot says this to Luke:

“Don’t kill him,” commanded Mr. Schafer. “He’s only committed petty crimes…. He and most of his men need to be fined,…”

As I’ve said, arms trafficking isn’t really a petty crime and if he and his men were skimming off the top for months (or years), then it’s possible the theft here could rise to the level of larceny. Both crimes carry potential prison sentences. Depending on how you spin it, if the weapons were used by traffickers, then there are other crimes they can be charged with. Not to mention, is it really worth riding out and almost murdering a child and a well-connected individual (they’ve heard the rumours that Woodsinger reduced his sentence)?

Also, recall when I said that things at Westering should be awkward, and potentially dangerous for Elliot and Mark because Arch and most of his men were charged with petty crimes and made to pay a fine because of them.

But things won’t be awkward, because Elliot (and Mark) have leverage over Arch and his men. They can reveal that Arch and his men are guilty of far more serious crimes than they’ve been charged with, so the men of Westering better play nice.

This is going to be a bit complicated, so bear with me. Elliot diverted the stolen weapons and maintained the illusion that Arch and his men’s arms trafficking scheme was ongoing. To arrest them for this is flirting with entrapment, which I don’t think Elliot would do and anyway, Elliot essentially neutralized whatever material harm was created by Arch and his men’s crimes when he diverted the weapons. Also, Elliot is the one who downgraded Arch and his men’s crimes and it can be argued that makes him guilty of obstruction. This is fine, because Arch and his men are dumb, and even if they were smart, they would know that they can’t take Elliot down without taking themselves down (and their downfall would be worse). Elliot can now blackmail them into doing good for the community despite themselves. It’s better than forcing them to languish in jail cells (dungeons?) doing no good to anyone. Maybe after being forced to do good, some might rehabilitate and choose to do good. Also, we know that Westering is poorly provisioned. Maybe Elliot doesn’t want to unduly punish the soldiers for their economic crime because he knows the incentive for grift only exists because of the unfair distribution of resources amongst the fortresses.

Is this underhanded and manipulative? Yes. But that’s what make IOL and TWTBD so interesting. All the characters are jerks, but it’s their motivations that separate the good jerks from the bad jerks. Elliot manipulates, lies and schemes in order to force people to help marginalized communities, be more respectful and inclusive and to save lives. Luke’s methods are more straightforward, but straightforward violence is still violence. He threatens violence against Arch to protect Elliot, who he loves. Arch uses violence and schemes to steal because he’s greedy and dumb.

Mr. Schafer: Mark’s Merlin

I can imagine someone asking, if Elliot and Myra were going to rescue the dwarves anyway, then what was the point of Mark’s actions? What is the point of Mark’s story?

IOL and TWTBD is not a typical mainstream fantasy where the hero solves problems with grand gestures and sword fighting.

Who was the main antagonist of IOL? It was trauma, and war and societal oppression. The battles and schemes are set dressings. Pivotal plot moments were when Elliot, Luke, and Serene made sincere connections with one another and others, overcame their prejudices, unlearned the things trauma and oppression taught them.

At first, Mark’s story is set up to be a mainstream story. But if it really was, the story would end with him leading his freed warriors into battle to take back his kingdom from his uncle.

Remember what I said about how Mark started the story as a sheltered prince, living under a rock? The title ‘Tears Waiting to Become Diamonds” is interesting when we consider the phrase: “Clear as a diamond”. Mark’s worldview is narrow and rigid at the beginning of the story. The light blinds him, the vastness of the world scares him and he operates from a sheltered, fairytale worldview. He doesn’t object to trafficking on principle, he objects to it because it impacts him personally, and he can’t comprehend the bigger politics and machinations going on around him. The “tears” in TWTBD obscure his sight. They blind him and force his perception into a limited fish-eye lens. Everything is either about him or it is incomprehensible and dismissible. In fairness to the kid, his whole family is dead, so I don’t want to unduly blame him for retreating into familiar patterns at the beginning of the story.

At the beginning of the story, Elliot is very Merlin-like (in the popular imagination of Merlin). He’s a scholarly, enigmatic figure from outside time. Of course, unlike with Arthur, I feel like instead of convincing Mark that he’s the one true king, Elliot would try to incept Mark with the idea of getting rid of the monarchy and having an elected, representative government or something.

It’s interesting that Mark says that Elliot is a bad teacher compared to Applegold. I’m sure Applegold is a fine teacher, but it’s Elliot’s words and lessons that Ilyria, Piper and Mark absorbed throughout the story. It’s cute how they echo his words like a bunch of undergrads after their first philosophy 101 lecture.

“You said freedom of expression is vital for the young mind!”

“Mr. Schafer’s ethics classes say the Border camp has strict regulations regarding prisoners,…”

“Someone should liberate prisoners put to work. It’s wrong to capture people for your own benefit,…”

The climax of Mark’s character development and his story is when he realizes he misunderstood how widespread and long-standing the dwarf-human trafficking actually was,, when Ilyria shared her story with him and when he was willing to intercede Arch’s attack to save Elliot, a human.

I also want to highlight an important moment when Elliot introduces Mark as “Prince Marcus” to Luke. Until this moment, Elliot was careful to hide Mark’s identity for his safety. I think Elliot told Luke who Mark was for two reasons. Firstly, associating Mark with Luke is a form of protection (that Sunborn name is really something), secondly, and more significantly, I think this was Elliot giving Mark a chance to decide what his future will be for himself. Elliot acknowledges that Mark has grown and learned a lot and now it’s up to him to determine what the next steps are. Mark could publicly proclaim himself a prince, ally himself with the Sunborn Champion and seek vengeance on his uncle. Instead, Mark proves that he really is Elliot’s student.

“Go back to my mines…. Claim you escaped from the humans. Go about your lives, but when you find loyal souls in our caverns, tell them your prince is coming.”

Well, well, well, look who’s showing an interest in popular underground movements and scheming. Mark now understands that as a prince, his actions have widespread repercussions. He also knows that his people deserve to live their lives and he won’t ask them to place themselves or their loved ones in unnecessary peril. Mark went from living under a rock to watching his people go back to their lives from the high vantage of a tower, under a vast sky. His perspective is wider, vaster and more inclusive of the rest of the Borderlands. Mark’s conception of home is also broader than before. Where once his idea of home was his home underground in his insulated kingdom, now it includes the surface, where his friends and allies and enemies are, Westering, the Otherlands. His view is unobscured and multi-faceted. It’s clear as diamond.

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