#is it because i was eaten alive by gideon the ninth and harrow the ninth? also yes

[mayasaura]

Sorting out my thoughts on where everyone stands on The Issues as of the end of Nona. So far I think it's something like:

Extra notes:

Gideon's included in "Wants Jod dead" because she wanted John to be eaten by the stoma at the end of Harrow the Ninth, but her current stance is unknown as she has a history of wanting someone dead and then throwing down an uno reverse

Harrow no longer worships Jod, and it's unclear how much affection she still has for him, but she has never once denounced him or expressed the opinion he should die

Ianthe has never worshiped Jod, but appears to want him alive for pragmatic reasons

Pyrrha I'm least certain of, but as far as I can remember she's been dodging the question

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 46 of Harrow the Ninth

I sat on this for a while, because there is some Big Reveal happening here, but Gideon is not smart enough to figure out what it was, and I am not much better, honestly

This is kind of funny and very sweet after this entire book full of Harrow throwing up on herself, not getting enough sleep, carrying around a giant sword that she can't lift without help from her exoskeleton, ripping out her own bones to use as weapons, removing her own bone marrow to make Trojan Horse soup, and getting almost murdered by Gideon the First on multiple occasions

So Ianthe's arm can't grow back after getting chopped off, but Harrow's thumb can?

I guess this is the exoskeleton?

So: 1) Isn't Mercy supposed to be in the River at this point? 2) Mercy for some reason wasn't actually trying to kill her when she stabbed her - we know that Mercy is perfectly capable of killing a Lyctor without doing anything at all with a sword, due to her anatomical expertise. She wanted Harrow to get eaten alive by the Heralds, but not suffer while that happened. Why? She might be a BOE spy, but I don't see how it would help BOE (or anyone) for Harrow to be eaten by Heralds. Was she hoping that the Heralds eating Harrow would remove evidence that she killed her, and they would only do that while Harrow was alive? But surely Mercy is good enough at anatomy stuff to make Harrow's death look like anything she wants it to look like?

Who is "her" in "you're not her"? Commander Wake? The poster of Commander Wake that Harrow saw when she bumped into Corona and Judith did not mention her eye color. I'm guessing by "when they showed me your corpse" she's talking about Gideon's corpse back at Canaan House, which was retrieved by BOE? When she says "I thought I knew what you were", I'm not sure what she means. She obviously didn't expect Gideon to be who she actually was, from the rest of this, so what did she think Gideon was before she realized her eyes were that color?

So dead Commander Wake on Pluto was part of some operation conducted by Mercy and BOE there for some reason? And Mercy made some dolls. Given that Mercy is an anatomy expert, were these "dolls" meant to be imitations of people, possibly particular people? Why is she only just now realizing how Commander Wake died? Hasn't she had almost two decades to think that through at this point? I don't think she's only just now realizing that Gideon Nav might have survived, I think she was well aware of that possibility back when she asked Harrow her age and was relieved when Harrow said she was 15. And Gideon the First was sent after Commander Wake, so I guess in this note:

the person who was sent after her and took pity on her was Gideon the First, and I guess conceiving Gideon Nav was probably part of this plan as well, somehow. Conceiving a special baby of some sort, creating imitations of people, and going to the Ninth to do... something

I would have thought whatever operation this was would have failed because of Commander Wake's death, but it sounds like it was more complicated than that - she had Gideon, and then Gideon the First was sent after her, and then something happened with the two of them that messed up the plan somehow? Or something happened that lead to Commander Wake's death? And what part of the failure was Gideon Nav, a literal baby, responsible for, when it sounds like her birth was part of this plan from the very beginning? And Mercy thinks she has to go to Pluto herself to finish the plan, except

Cytherea did think there was something special about Gideon's eyes way back when, and she also wrote "YOU LIED TO US" in the Lyctor laboratory. But what do Gideon's eyes actually mean? What are they evidence of? Why is it special that they are recessive? Is there some secret parentage that someone has, maybe that John has, if John is Gideon's biological father? I don't know why it could matter to anyone post-Resurrection who John's parents were

If acquiring proof of something is enough that Mercy thinks she doesn't have to go back to Pluto to finish whatever operation was supposed to happen there, than it must have been an operation to uncover some evidence, then, right? Except, if Gideon's eye color is enough evidence for whatever it is, why wasn't Gideon's birth enough to declare the operation a success? She says "I don't have to breach anything", were they trying to open the Tomb?

This has to be real, because this is Gideon POV, and also I don't think even Harrow would hallucinate Mercy getting shot like that

But I have a lot of questions. Like:

Where did she get a gun on the Mithraeum? That seems like the last place in this universe for there to be a gun

If Cytherea's body is still on the Mithraeum, and has been this whole time, why did John say he couldn't sense it anywhere?

Why is Cytherea trying to kill Mercy? And why did she try to kill Gideon the First? Is she just trying to kill whoever was involved with the Pluto operation? Only, it sounds like Cytherea and Mercy were equally unhappy about whatever lying happened, so it seems like they would be on the same side?

Why did Cytherea decline to kill Harrow/Gideon? That definitely seemed to be a goal she had back at Canaan House, what has changed since then?

This made me wonder if it wasn't actually Cytherea's revenant piloting this body, but who else could it be? I guess it could be one of the ghosts that's haunting Harrow? Commander Wake seems maybe likely due to the gun, but like, Commander Wake is currently haunting Harrow's Canaan House River bubble and is I think a bit tied up with the blood rains and such at the moment

[sentimentalspiders]

Day 4: Skylines and Turnstiles. "hello, angel/tell me, where are you?"

[theriverbeyond]

master list of who is alive or dead, pre-NtN! it gets... complicated!

I did not include every single character ever mentioned because I wish to remain sane, but i guess if sister glaurica comes back and becomes widly integral to the story then i will have been proven a fool. But!! i think i got everyone that (i think is) plot relevent! Let’s start off easy:

ALIVE (with body and soul still together)

Ianthe Tridentarius (+ the incorporated soul of Naberius Tern) (last seen in the River, saving Jod)

Emperor John Gaius (last seen in the River, being saved by Ianthe)

Camilla Hect (last seen on a BOE planet with new eyes, with “Nona” as well as two other people)

Coronabreth Tridentarius (last seen on a murdered planet with Camilla and Judith)

Judith Deuteros (last seen on a murdered planet with Camilla and Coronabeth)

Comander We Suffer (last seen in AYU, on a BOE base/ship)

Fleet Admiral Sarpeadon (last seen on the behemoth-class flagship the Seat of the Emperor, formerly  known as the Erebos)

Now it gets weird. I am defining “Alive” to mean “the person, with body and soul still married, has NOT died/been killed/had their body irreparably destroyed, Jod excluded (presuming he did die once, a myriad ago)” and “Dead” to mean “quite a lot of different states of being that can happen after destruction of the body when it still houses the soul”. Defined below:

DEAD (revenant, not in river)

Palamedes Sextus (last seen posessing his own skull transformed into a hand, with Camilla and Judith and Coronabeth, on a murdered planet, as of NtN presumed to be with Camilla and Pyrra)

DEAD (soul active, not in river, non-revenent)

Pyrra Dve (last seen being submerged in the river, in Gideon the First’s body, as of NtN presumed to be with “Nona”, Camilla, and Palamades) 

DEAD (presummed to have passed on from the river)

Isaac Tettares (Last seen in Harrowhard’s dream bubble, soul presumed to have been ushered away immediately afterwards by Abigail Pent)

Jeannemary Chatur  (Last seen in Harrowhard’s dream bubble, soul presumed to have been ushered away immediately afterwards by Abigail Pent)

DEAD (died in Life, presumed to be in the River or a River Bubble)

Abigail Pent  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Magnus Quinn  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Ortus Nigenad  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Dulcinea Septimus  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Protesilaus Eboma  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Mattias Nonius (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Marta Dyas  (last seen fighting the RB #7)

Ninth House Crew (Crux, Aiglamamine, the Rev. Father and the Rev. Mother) (Last seen in Harrowhard’s dream bubble, bodies presumed to still be on the Ninth) (like A and C might not be dead but. I think they’re dead. Their characters seemed “correct” in the river bubble)

DEAD (soul status unknown)

Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity (soul last seen in cytherea’s body, having her head exploded, dead for the second time, body presumably farming snow leeks somewhere on the Ninth)

Gideon the First (soul side only, killed by RB in the river, body still active)

Colum Asht (soul lost when he was put under by Silas in GtN, body killed by Ianthe)

Silas Octakiseron (soul last seen escaping Harrow’s river bubble, body killed by the posessed body of Colum Asht)

Teacher, little old man version (soul last known to have escaped Harrow’s river bubble, body killed by the Second House)

DEAD (soul status unknown, lyctor edition - can lyctors even GO to the river? what happens to them? what happens to the cavalier’s soul when a lyctor dies when not in-the-river?)

Gideon, original flavor (soul last seen being killed in the river by RB #7, body last seen housing Pyrra Dve)

Mercymorn (last seen having having her heart exploded by Jod :( )

[Cristabel Oct (eaten and incorporated 10,000 years ago)]

Cyrus (last seen having lured RB #6 into a black hole, killing them both)

[Valancy Trinit (eaten and incorporated 10,000 years ago)]

Cytherea (soul and body killed at Canaan house, body last seen with its head exploded)

[Loveday Heptane (eaten and incorporated 10,000 years ago)]

And finally.... my favorite section! you thought it was already complicated. it gets MORE complicated!

IT’S COMPLICATED (lyctor edition)

Augustine (last seen being pulled, both body and soul, into the stoma)

[Alfred Quinque (eaten and incorporated 10,000 years ago)]

Ulysses (Last seen having wrestled RB #8 into the stoma)

[Titania Tetra (eaten and incorporated 10,000 yrears ago)]

Cassiopeia (last seen being “torn apart by ghosts” near RB #7, something I do not believe for a second)

[Nigella Shodash (eaten and incorporated 10,000 years ago)]

Anastasia (is she alive? is she dead? is she The Body? she never completed lyctorhood, but only Samael was killed in the process. what happened to her!!!! Body and soul status unknown)

Samael Novenary (body killed by Jod 10,000 years ago, soul “not all the way in” Anastasia, it’s complicated)

IT’S COMPLICATED (unholy terror edition)

Alecto, A.L., Annabel Lee, the Emperor’s Bodyguard (is she a RB? is she the First House? is she The Body? is she in some kind of staisis?)

IT’S COMPLICATED (Nona edition)

Nona... the Ninth? (how did she wake up in a different body? did she die before? who is she! why does she challenge Camilla to figure out who she is! does she not know? can she not say? when is her birthday? is she the The Body? is she a dog? is she in Gideon Nav’s body? Soul last seen in a body that doesn’t belong to her, on a BOE planet, with Camilla Hect and Pyrra and Palamades)

IT'S COMPLICATED (Drearbough edition)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (Body last seen being dunked into the river by augustine along with the Mithraum, being piloted by Gideon (new and improved). Soul last seen falling asleep in a tomb with a copy of Frontline Titties of the Fifth. is Her soul in THE Tomb? is she in the River? is she in Hell? did she get eaten by the stoma?) 

Gideon Nav (Body last seen failing to rot on a BOE base, developing a cult following, perhaps being piloted around by Nona. soul last seen “dying a second time around” but probbaly just being very dramatic, being saved by a wildly gorgeous, yellow eyed woman that perhaps looks The Body. was this real? was this in the river? where is she? HOW is she?) 

The Body (last known to be in the locked tomb, on the Ninth. is she in stasis? who is she? is she still in the tomb? is she alecto? is she anastasia? is she a ressurection beast? is she a failed lyctor? is she the emporer’s final death? is she nona? are harrow’s hallucinations a projection of The Body’s soul, or something else?)

[katkonstant]

Harrow the Ninth: Act 1 Analysis - Local Bone Lady Newly Single and Ready for Mental Breakdown

I am so scared! so confused! and so turned on by the sepulchered mystery of Harrow the Ninth’s Act 1! And because it’s quarantine time, it’s organizational mapping and near-obsessive theorizing time baby. 

I’ll warn you: this got LONG. 

Spoilers galore. 

This post is to try and organize my own thoughts as well as preserve in time that I don’t know shit when HTN finally hits. All to answer the big question: What in the necro-hell is going on? Here’s what we know as fact:

Gideon the Ninth was about Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter and Badass Emo Princess, and her not hugged enough but grinning through the pain sword lesbian cavalier, Gideon Nav. A catalogue of their romp of death in Canaan House.

Harrow the Ninth is currently cataloguing two things: (1) Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter and Mentally Unstable Concussion, and her cavalier, Ortus Nigenad and their guided tour of Canaan House. AND (2) Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Baby Lyctor, aboard His Imperial and Unending Magic School Bus.

Similar to @Siadea‘s wonderful post (x), I am all aboard the Timeline Fuckery Theory (TFT). Operating under the TFT, I will refer to our cast of characters accordingly. To summarize the TFT, the major point is thus:

In the prologue of Harrow, I think the Harrowhark of Gideon the Ninth (hereby Harrow1) settled in, swan dove into the River, somehow backstroked in time to when she woke up on the Emperor’s ship, and then she resurfaced (with Ianthe’s help), stripped of all memory&detection involving Keyword:Gideon. 

Gideon  [ORTUS]

It appears Harrow1 has programmed Harrow2 with a find+replace formula for ‘Gideon’ and replacing it with ‘Ortus’ on a pure, sensory input level. I have NO idea how she (or something else) did this. Prologue Ianthe Tridentarius telling Harrow, “I know what you’ve done, and I know how to reverse it” makes me think Harrow did this to herself. 

It scrubs the past as well as the present. Proof - (1) When Harrow2 gets the Emperor’s invitation to Canaan House, we gather from context that Ortus asks her if she’s considered someone else. Only we read it as Ortus saying, “have you considered ORTUS NIGENAD?” AND THEN THE SCENE STARTS OVER, but rewound to moments before. Like a glitch in the Matrix; (2) The Emperor’s lips distort when he says “Ortus Nigenad did not die for nothing” and is confused when Harrow2 says it back to him; (3) When the Emperor later says the name of the third Lyctor ‘Ortus’, Harrow2 starts bleeding from the ears and passes out.....We’ll get to him in a sec.

The three syllables Prologue Harrow dies on: Could be ‘Gideon’ and the mark of her successful mindflaying from recognizing the word. Could also be ‘Alecto’. Hell, could even be ‘Nigenad’. Inconclusive.

The Chilly Weirdo Harrow Has the Hots For (alternatively, who tf are you?)

The Lady of the Locked Tomb is appearing and disappearing in Harrow2′s mind, both at her recall of Canaan House and in her (current?) stay with the Emperor. 

She has Griddle’s Eyes. As we’re familiar with the lyctors, we know that when their cavs are “eaten”, necromancers’ eyes change to their cavalier’s colors. OR the Lady has simply taken on Griddle’s eyes to put Harrow2 at ease.

She has the voice of who Harrow2 needs to hear. We’ve heard the Lady sound like Pelleamena (Harrow’s mommy dearest), Crux, and Aiglamene (Captain of the Ninth guard). Both of these are people who loved Harrow1. 

These characteristics ^ lead me to believe that the Lady can see Harrow1′s obsession with her and is either Manipulating Harrow2 by manufacturing her voice and eyes, or is genuinely trying to love Harrow2 in return. (She may have been present for Harrow’s entire life. See my Ch.3**)

What does she want from Harrow2? --> I think, without support or proof, that the Lady wants to Rise Again (as villains entombed are wont to do). As she doesn’t have a corporeal form, she’ll likely need Harrow’s help. Underlying idea being: the Emperor dies when his Unholy Other Half returns. It would be a little contrived to have the “beautiful lady revealed to be the big bad” device be the GTN and the HTN twist but we’ll see. 

Interesting point: The Lady doesn’t like His Holy Frumpyness & Co. “Lie. Lie now.” She’s either protecting herself further down the line, or the Lady thinks that Mercy would have harmed Harrow2 because of this info. It’s possible this is the same interest if she needs Harrow’s help to free her. 

Now Let’s Talk about Swords

AKA the sexiest part of this dissertation. 

Harrow the Concussed is carrying Griddle’s Two hander. Not just any two hander. It is in fact and distinctly, Griddle’s sword. This is supported by (1) Harrow2 was given the sword by the Emperor “as a gesture” implying he knows Griddle and the sword’s significance to Harrow1. And (2) The severe physical reactions Harrow2 has to the sword’s loathing. In GTN Harrow1 mentioned to Griddle, “I have always felt like that sword hates me”. (this in and of itself is mystifying but I’ve got bigger occult fish to fry)

Either Griddle’s Sword or Cytherea is alive. The fade to black of Harrow rekilling Cytherea is a mystery within a Christmas light tangle of other mysteries and I’m not fucking with it. BUT. There are Five lifeforms aboard the ship that traversed the River: Mercymorn, the Emperor, Ianthe, and Harrow. Harrow2 tells us that the Body/the Lady isn’t in sight. That leaves inanimate objects: Cytherea’s body, or the two hander that hates Harrow. 

Harrow2, the Concussed, is not carrying a rapier. Only in the Prologue does Harrow have a rapier on her hip. Ortus the Alternate cav carries a rapier. See the next theory for why this is significant. 

The Events of Canaan House Two are Not Real. 

These are my weakest theories. They’re all weak, but these ones are chief weaklings. The Time Fuckery Theory’s biggest snag is ‘Canaan House: What’s Real?’, and I think only the events with Harrow2 on the ship with Ianthe are actually occurring. 

I think someone is soul/spirit guiding Harrow2 on this Canaan House Round II to show her something. Proof: (1) The repeated “Is this how it happened?”/”This isn’t how it happened.” Clearly indicate that this IS a repeated experience for Harrow, and not the original. (2) Ortus glitches a bit, looks at Harrow2 and says “You never did have much of an imagination.” Someone who knows Harrow1 made him say this. I think. (3) If we count who possibly could spirit-guide Harrow2 on this quest, we have to find the denominator candidates: the only people who knew Harrow1 at Canaan House and at Drearburh are Gideon, and Harrow1 herself. And - if the Lady really has been following her around, the Lady of the Locked Tomb. (4) This theory cannot account for the strobing red egg hallucinations on paper Harrow2 is being delivered. 

Second explanation: it’s all happening in Harrow’s head, and Harrow1 is the spirit guide. In support: There is a surprising amount of explanation and character depth from Ortus. I believe Harrow1 knows Ortus enough from childhood to be able to project him onto Harrow2 this way. 

Third explanation: Because the people Harrow2 is interacting with are all dead, it’s microscopically possible Harrow2 is tripping some soul-shrooms in the River and having the souls of Canaan House teach her something via flashback. In support: Prologue Harrow says five pairs of eyes close to submerge into the River, but hers would not open again. Incredibly vague, but could mean she was going to be spending a significant amount of time in the River. This theory is unlikely, as Harrow is a bone adept. Souls are squishy and freaky to her. Unlikely also from what we saw of the River. Ie; the River is an inhospitable predator which ripped Cassiopea apart and scares the hell out of Mercy and the Emperor. Not an ideal destination spirit-walk vacation spot. Plus, the only clear reasoning we get from Harrow about why she’s descending into the River is because she knows she’s going to die (although she tells Ianthe she has no plans to die)

Things to Note: (1) Teacher immediately spills the Sleeper beans, lets the laboratory cat out of the bag, and unmasks the key mystery. I think who/whatever is guiding Harrow2 around makes this happen legitimately just to save time. (2) Harrow2 is learning things from Ortus, Teacher, Abigail Pent, etc that Harrow1 and Gideon didn’t know.

If the Events of Canaan House Round Two ARE Real. 

If the Great Value Canaan House timeline is actually happening and are physically influential, the implications are fucking vast, because now we’re considering the multiverse of how time works. I am not about to get into that shit because I do (contrary to this post’s existence’s suggestion) have a life, and I don’t feel like rededicating it to the theory of relativity and time dilation. 

The biggest question though would then become: How would events have unfolded if Ortus had gone to Canaan House and not Griddle? The only conclusion to that is: everyone would be dead and Cytherea would be alive. Which does not jive with the happenings of Emperor Frizzle’s Magic NecroBus and Harrow2 (many are alive, and Cytherea is dead). It could be that Cytherea is, in fact, alive and needs re-killing via the Act 1 end of Harrow2 stabbing her. I can’t say.

What does freak me out about Canaan2 is Harrow herself. 

Not her insanity, mind you, but the fact that Harrow2 is hilarious. She’s always been acidic and funny, but Harrow2 is crude and funny. This is very, very bad. She makes a remark about the term ‘bone frenzy’ that Ortus says only someone who’d prefer ‘prurient magazines’ would think of. Can anyone guess who might be more incline than Harrow to prefer prurient magazines? Say a messy sword necrolesbian with a subscription to Frontline Titties of the Fifth?

Harrow2 is also not chasing Palamedes Sextus around the grounds of Canaan House in a near-suicidal race to Lyctorhood. 

Not only is she not working herself to death, but Harrow is doing the opposite: she is socializing. With the Fourth and Fifth! She’s caustic and rude while she does it, but she’s still spending time around them for whatever reason. 

All these behaviors are Griddle behaviors and they make. me. nervous. 

Is Harrow2 Actually a Lyctor?

Harrow’s Dramatis Personae section lists ‘Harrowhark the First’ with a huge and glaring and delightful redacted section below her name. If someone truly had the time, I’m sure they could sleuth out the layers of the censorship and find out what it says. However, it’s plain that the underlying text does NOT say ‘Gideon Nav, her cavalier’. So we’re left with more questions - who or what died to give Harrow her power? .....As a point of interest, it looks like the original writing has been overlaid with even more text. 

Ortus’ eyes were black - the same shade as Harrow’s. Harrow2 wouldn’t be able to confirm or deny that she had successfully eaten her Canaan Redux cavalier.

In the prologue, Harrow1 calls herself “half a lychtor” implying that either 1) she’s simply not trained, or 2) something went wrong in her lyctorhood creation

And then we have this weird Chapter 3** internal narration of Harrow2′s childhood without Griddle. And she’s.. absolutely bananas. She grows up a ghoulish, lonely, nut job. But she still says she had committed the indelible sin halfway. That she hadn’t been able to choke him (Ortus) down. 

Her manifestations of power don’t add up. First, Ianthe (undisputedly a lyctor) shoves Babs’ knife through her hand and has no problem with it, or healing right up. Harrow2... isn’t so lucky. Prologue Harrow is also in the process of dying. Conversely, while in the River, Mercymorn dismisses the idea that Harrow2 could possibly be using theorems and freaks out when she discovers Harrow can. Conclusion being: Either Harrow2 is incredible weak, or incredibly powerful but untrained, or she is Something Else Entirely*.

Harrow2 isn’t experiencing lyctoral indigestion. Cytherea tells Ianthe right after she eats Babs, “I can see him fighting you. Mine [meaning her cav, Loveday] came willingly, and it still hurt for a century.” We know Babs still fights Ianthe in HTN, as her eyes are usually swapping shades. It’s not something Harrow1 or 2 mentions as a problem. 

* My working theory is that Harrow2 is kind of lyctor-ish and being protected by the Lady, the Sword, or Griddle (who might be incarnate in either).  

Side note: It might be too far into the weeds to wonder about but I want to know what pregnancy would do to a lyctor. If we follow the Die Young but Beautiful and Powerful practices of the Seventh House, Dulcinea’s family uses their crappy genes as internal combustion engines: cells dying within them allow a perpetual source of thanergy. On the opposite end of that same theory, a necromancer constantly producing thalergy (life and cell growth) should therefore be significantly weaker, right?

This^ is only relevant when considering the other theory:

Papa Gideon [ORTUS] knocked up a fellow Lyctor. 

While it would explain the creepy “egg” texts Harrow2 is hallucinating, as well as why Cytherea spared Griddle multiple times at Canaan house, I doubt this theory for a few reasons: 

Of the available lyctors able to carry children, there is Cassiopeia, Anastasia, Mercymorn, and Cytherea. We only know Mercy and Cytherea.

It’s strongly implied that Cytherea and her cav, Loveday, were in a relationship. Since Loveday is technically still inside of Cytherea, I doubt she wanted to date around. 

The Emperor strives to present the Lyctors as siblings. This a) props himself up as the holy and imperial papa bear to guide and govern them, b) perpetuates the eternal and indestructible bond of siblings, and c) kills any idea of inter-lyctoral hooking up. Can you even imagine the destruction a Jersey Shore: Unholy Power bar fight would wreak?  

I’m not fully convinced Lyctor Gideon [ORTUS] is Griddle’s father. While it would make sense in terms of stature (Lyctor G/O is a single rippling muscle and Griddle’s biceps are... noteworthy), Silas Octakiseron told Gideon that her mother had hair just the same shade as her (source: Sister Glaurica’s toiling soul). Could be that Griddle’s Mom’s soul screaming “Gideon!” was her calling for the Lyctor, her brother/other relation. 

However, I DO believe Griddle is... more than. She wasn’t killed by the nerve gas, and Harrow2′s eyes are not Griddle Gold. 

As a second side note, Lyctor Gideon [ORTUS]’s cav was named Pyrrha Dve. This is exciting to me because of my slutty fandom tendencies and because a name like ‘Pyrrha’ begs for Tragic Backstory, and I’m here for it. Also, I want more interaction with Augustine as he’s who Ianthe says “won’t come save” Harrow. Eye emoji.  

Alecto

As far as I’m aware, there are no solid leads on who or what Alecto the Ninth is. Casting about in wildly unwarranted guesswork, I can throw a few baseless theories out; 

Alecto is Griddle’s truer name (possibly birth name or even what she’s called if when she is brought back);

Alecto is the Lady of the Locked Tomb; 

Alecto is the Emperor’s Cav. In Harrow’s ‘Dramatis Personae’, The Emperor is listed as well as his lyctors and their cavaliers. Except, the Emperor does not have a deceased cav. He has “A.L.”, his guardian. A.L. =Alecto, mayhaps?; 

Alecto, a combination of (2) and (3). The Lady is supposedly the Emperor’s death and who he could not kill twice. If she were his ‘guardian’ she would be a) more powerful than him, and b) someone he was emotionally attached to which he couldn’t bring himself to kill again. 

Things I Cannot and Refuse to Account For:

Ianthe Tridetarius became a sewn tongue as a favor for Harrow1. Wtf. 

Ortus Nigenad’s self-insert cavalier epic of Matthias Nonius. Wtf. 

**The entirety of Chapter 3 is either true or it’s not. Wtf was that shit.  

The psychotic “You lied”/”Egg” texts Harrow2 is hallucinating. Wtf.

This is.... all probably incorrect, and I applaud you if you made it this far. I could keep going, the material of Act 1 is that dense. But in answer to The Great Big WTF that is Harrow Act 1 - my theory is simple. 

TLDR; I think Harrowhark Nonagesimus is tearing down the laws of the universe to bring back Gideon the Ninth.