[YatesOfYore]

I believe it was something to the effect of her being the daughter of a one-eyed riverboat gambler ... I can't remember any more than that ^_^;;
And I shall say it once more with clarity and emphasis (aka all caps)

I HAVE NOT, NOR WILL I EVER, CONFIRM OR DENY A THEORY ABOUT WILLOW'S ORIGINS.

It'll come out in the comic and only then. I drop hints now and again, cause it's no fun deducing something on pure speculation, but sometimes I drop ones that are misleading, or perhaps only appear misleading... I leave it up to you to decide which "clues" are important and which ones are leading you awry.

And no one more than me wants this secret to finally come out. When I started this comic, I was such a noob that I thought I'd have it out in the open in a couple of months! HA!

[Cypher]

I think at this point, I think we need two threads:

One to discuss the different theories about Willow, and another to place bets on how long it will be until we discover her true origins.

I put $20 on 2-3 years.
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Mors Certa, Vita Incerta.

Officially dubbed Pez by AsA
Cypher = code = problem = puzzle = Puzz = Pez

Keeper of Skogul's berserk rage, and the Endless Void.

[YatesOfYore]

My gosh, I hope not. ;_; I'm hoping for the end of the year... but it might be early next. We'll see

[thespaceinvader]

I'll put a lot of money on 'it's all a total mind screw, and she'll die before the end of Revelations without us ever finding out why she's there'.

=P
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Keeper of Tristram's rings, and Felucca's very expressive ears.

[Tinalles]

Ah, she can't die. The Law of Narrative Necessity clearly requires that the heroine survive at LEAST long enough for her origins to become clear. :-þ
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Grimwatch]

I was kind of fond of the 'one armed river boat and his gambling daughter' theory...wait, thats not right...

I can't even remember what theory I had last time, so I'll just have to make something up on the spot... hmm...

Willow is a crazy, late-night-pizza-fest induced hallucination of Nanashi's accidentally brought to life through the combination of the Siderean elemnts and the Augment stones from a planet with the enigmatic name of Plo'Thole.

(I said I'd have to make something up, I never said it would make sense)
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If it's not on fire, it's a software problem
Asa Dub (Forums Mk1) = Green. Grimwatch = Greenwitch = Green

Coach of the Maulers 'n' Brawlers Blood Bowl team - winner of the "Most casualties inflicted on opponents" award for T.A.G 2008, mwahaha...

[Tinalles]

There's a long-running single-frame comic strip. I'm sure you all know; it's called "Love Is ..."

So. You know what we need?

"Willow is ..." comic strips created by the forumers. ^____^
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[TheBritishInvasion]

Beluosus' child hrm? Not a bad theory but since I have a knack for pointing out the flaw in anything I just want to say that Earthsong has met children from Bel before he destroyed his planet. At the end of Genesis she says she has never seen Willow's race before.
That's not to say Bel didn't create her though.

And I am hereby creating an official competition! According to the Lady we have about 8 months before the truth comes out, in that case when we do learn the truth the person with the most correct theory is the Grand Winnah!
And the prize will be my Lucky Penny!
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Britland as dubbed by AsA
Avatar courtesy of Footloose
Keeper of Tengu's electricity and Willow's 'what did you just say' eyes.

[Tamir]

I'm pretty sure the Bel theory was originally mine. o_o That he sent her as an unknowing spy. But that's been debunked by the fact that Tristram didn't know she was out there.

[TheBritishInvasion]

Who said he told anyone about it? This is pretty interesting, if Bel created Willow he would have wanted her to have a different appearance to him so no-one made the connection.

She may well be a spy without even knowing it, Bel could have created her, given her a soulstone, and allowed the Haven's Guard to get to Willlow first. (Having destoyed his own race I'm certain Bel would allow one of his own guys, eg. Richard, to be sent home in order to obtain his own goals)
This could explain her recognition of the griffin, if she was created on Earthsong she could be familiar with the wildlife.

Bel created Willow to be a spy, he kept her in the dark about the war so that she did not defect and to ensure that no-one spoil the plan he did not tell the other Mandragora's about her, he could have given her a soulstone using his own element.
This doesn't explain why she can touch the manifest stone though.

As for my theory of the traumatic remanant, well, if she really was created by Bel then he is the only company she has had her entire life, learning that he is terrorising a planet and sending her to the enemy could be traumatic enough.

I don't remember your theory Tam, is this similar?
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Britland as dubbed by AsA
Avatar courtesy of Footloose
Keeper of Tengu's electricity and Willow's 'what did you just say' eyes.

[Tamir]

Mm. My theory is that Bel purposely chose a child with Willow's personality - goodhearted, yet fiery and with plenty of curiosity. He did so counting on the fact that she'd leave the Haven, and he'd use that opportunity to steal her back and learn what she knows.

But if he was counting on her leaving, wouldn't he tell the people out looking for her not to kill her?

Also, this theory doesn't explain why Willow could touch Earthsong's manifest stone....I tried to make an excuse there, but I'm now remembering that that's what really shot the theory down.

There are three known ways of touching the stone without dying: Having a siderean soulstone, having a soulstone of Earthsong's element, or not having a soulstone. Since a soulstone of Earthsong's element would kill an ordinary child, we'll rule that out for now. Bel could not have created a siderean soulstone, and if he didn't give Willow a soulstone at all, how did Earthsong call her? So, it doesn't work.

[TheBritishInvasion]

Something just occurred to me. Even though Earthsong is very careful about her element perhaps Beluosus somehow gathered enough to create a soulstone and implanted it into Willow? She would then have ES's element and be able to touch the Manifest Stone, that supports both our theories Tam.
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Britland as dubbed by AsA
Avatar courtesy of Footloose
Keeper of Tengu's electricity and Willow's 'what did you just say' eyes.

[Tamir]

A child with a soulstone of Earthsong's element would go boom. ^_^ That's the root of the soulstone effect, remember? That's why Earthsong is helping these children in the first place.

[TheBritishInvasion]

Drat, I forgot about that part.

/Edit, but I still think I'm onto something with this Bel theory.
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Britland as dubbed by AsA
Avatar courtesy of Footloose
Keeper of Tengu's electricity and Willow's 'what did you just say' eyes.

[Shandralyn]

Ok, so I have a couple theories about Willow's origin:

Theory 1: Willow is Earthsong's Eve created by Beluosus.

"Huh, what?" you say? Well, think about it. Beluosus knows how an Eve is created. He now is on Earthsong and may have access to some of the bleeding energies from her core. What if he could manipulate those energies to a point where he could cause the creation of an Eve? He would not have had enough control to specify where she'd be created otherwise there'd have been no conflict in the beginning over getting Willow.

I like the idea that Willow is Earthsong's Eve because it introduces all sorts of complications. Consider when Willow's month is at an end for example. Imagine Willow deciding to go home, not because she's afraid but because she's upset with some of the others probably. Anyway, imagine during the ceremony when Earthsong tries to use the power of the Sidera to remove the soulstone and both Willow and Earthsong start to experience a terrible pain.

Earthsong stops what she is doing immediately and comes to the terrifying realization that Willow is her own child... her Eve. It'd be something she'd never considered before because she didn't cause Willow's creation.

This also introduces some interesting plot twists. Willow would then have to be protected at all costs so that Beluosus can't use her to get at Earthsong. And what will all the other planets and the Sidera say when they hear of the news that Earthsong has an Eve? Willow will probably be denied having children of her own, at least until a better solution can be found. That could cause interesting angst if she ever becomes romantically attracted to anyone.

Anyway, I know people have shot down the Willow as Earthsong's Eve theory before, but I'm still a strong supporter of it.


Theory 2: Willow is the child of all the planets that have sent children to Earthsong.

Ok, bear with me. The children sent to Earthsong have soulstones consisting of the energies or elements from the other planets. I don't know if this has ever been answered directly, but what happens to those energies once the bearer and stone are safely seperated?

What if the energies remain on Earthsong and have over time pooled together and sort of fused. What if the combined energies were powerful enough that an Eve could be created from them? That Eve being Willow.

The main problem I see with this theory is that it takes a sentient planet-like being to create an Eve. The fused elements would have either had to give rise to a new being or conciousness, or an existing being would have to have manipulated the energies to create her. We haven't seen any signs of another concious planet-like being on Earthsong. It's possible Beluosus manipulated the energies to create her, but if he did I somehow think he'd have been able to control where she was created. In which case he never would have had to send out a party for her.


/edit: Oh, heh. Seems you guys are already on to the idea of my theory #1. I should really read every post before posting...

Anyway, why would an Eve of ES go boom when touching her manifest stone?