Rafal, The Prophecy, And The Tale Of Faithful John

Rafal, the Prophecy, and the Tale of “Faithful John”

"Trusty John," "Faithful Johannes," or "John the True" are alternate names to this fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. I feel like Rafal fits the “Faithful John” archetype.

Here’s the tale for context:

TLDR: In the tale, an old king is about to die. He asks Faithful John, his most trusted servant, to watch over his son. Faithful John vows to do so, and to give his life, if it comes to that. The king also commands Faithful John to show the prince the entire castle, except for one forbidden chamber containing the portrait of the golden princess, whom the king believes his son will fall violently in love with. The young king (formerly the prince) finally gets Faithful John to show him what is behind the door. Predictably, the young king falls in love, and goes off to woo the princess. Once the young king has captured the princess, Faithful John overhears three ravens talking about the young king’s certain yet preventable death. Faithful John decides to take on the burden, and not tell the king because he doesn’t want to be turned to stone for saving the king as a side effect. Faithful John does various tasks, and the young king continues to defend Faithful John despite his odd actions because of their trust. But, after the final task, the king cannot understand what Faithful John has been doing, sees Faithful John as a traitor, and sentences him to death. Faithful John confesses to his valiant deeds, and the king finally understands, but Faithful John turns to stone. The king mourns him, makes a sacrifice to bring Faithful John back to life, and Faithful John, the young king, the queen (formerly the princess), and their children live happily ever after.

Now for the parallels:

The young king = Rhian

Faithful John = Rafal

The princess = whichever of Rhian’s love-interests, take your pick.

The ravens = the Sader prophecy

Faithful John is the only one in the know. And, he’s overhears that he can never tell his master why. He does what he does. And, it looks like he’s actively thwarting his master's chances at True Love, but actually he’s sparing the king from a painful death, every time, even when he takes on personal sacrifices. He’s basically this under-appreciated, loyal, and actually competent companion. This sounds a bit like Rafal in Rise to me. Because it looks like, from the outside, that he is sabotaging his master’s chances at an ending, but he’s so loyal that he’s doing the very opposite! The people must have scoffed at him about the horse, and looked at him like he was a loon. The bridal garment would have burned through skin, and people wonder at his decisions. It would be sheer common sense if they knew, just like how Rafal shouldn’t withhold the prophecy from Rhian. But, "common sense" is not so common. Or, in Rafal's case, arcane knowledge is hard to come by. Is that too much to ask, for him to tell Rhian? Probably. Anyway, the point is that the king made a major sacrifice, and revives him because Faithful John was so faithful and deserved better, just like Rafal, assuming Rafal doesn’t do anything worse in Fall.

I feel like I saw a post like this somewhere before, but to apply it to Rise:

I love that the fate of the world depends on teenage emotions and hormones, but it should really be more stable than that in the long run. Why were teenagers elected as School Masters? (I know the book is middle grade to YA for its target audience, but I mean this in terms of common sense.) Like, whichever fairy tales affect the future of the Woods, even those that work more incrementally than the turn-of-the-century and era-defining ones, are still driven by teenagers. For instance, Sophie and Agatha's fairy tale caused change in waves, and they weren’t even as well-equipped as freshly-graduated alumni.

A system depending on a few individuals is not a system at all, in terms of practicality, and the likelihood of catastrophe. But, I’m all here for it! Because of conflict! It's great for storytelling purposes, and I live for drama.

But, Rise is still the worst cliffhanger I’ve ever read in my life. I’ve never been this invested in a cliffhanger before, like ever. I think it's because I was already too attached to Rafal and the idea of Rhian before reading the book. And, I was interested in the two brothers and the School Master/Great War lore in general. They're some of my absolute favorites.

Fall Theories on Blood Magic, Homunculi, and King Midas

This was originally going to be my last, long, pre-Fall prediction post. I had other, shorter posts with Rise thoughts and lesser theories, but I don’t have the time to post everything. So, I will likely post those when I go to post Fall thoughts after reading. Even if they become outdated, I may adjust them, or note that they were pre-Fall. Also, I aim to finish my second and final Fall prediction fic before May 2, but I may not. Even if it’s late, I’ll post the fic just in case anyone wants it.

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First, for context:

“A homunculus “[...] is a representation of a small human being, originally depicted as small statues made out of clay. Popularized in sixteenth-century alchemy and nineteenth-century fiction, it has historically referred to the creation of a miniature, fully formed human. The concept has roots in preformationism as well as earlier folklore and alchemic traditions” (Wikipedia).

“The homunculus is a diminutive humanoid creature believed to be created through magical alchemical means” (“Medieval Scientists Tried to Make Little People with Semen, Blood, and an Animal Womb”).

“The Kabbalah, for example, includes legends and stories about the alchemical homunculus, or "little man," and the golem, a kind of proto–Frankenstein's monster. In both cases the idea is that through certain secret magical practices, human beings can share in the creative power of God. To the orthodox believers of both Judaism and Christianity such a notion is considered blasphemous and betrays either the hubris of humanity or the work of the devil” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

“Prior to the rise of science and the mechanical vision of human life and the universe, the idea of creating human simulacra had a strong organic foundation. The homunculus was something one grew; the popular belief was that homunculi could be grown from the mandrake root, whose shape lent itself to anthropomorphic speculation. The golem, too, although not quite as organic as the homunculus, was nevertheless not pieced together bit by bit, as Mary Shelley's monster would be; it was fashioned, molded from clay or soil and then miraculously brought to life” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

“For the alchemist, matter was not the dead, inert stuff it is for us: it was a living body, one that could respond to a person's attention. As the alchemists transformed the matter in their alembic through the alchemical process, their own inner world experienced similar changes. The entire process centered on the idea of rebirth. The alchemists were to "die" in a sense—to lose their earthly, mortal being—and, if the procedure was successful, would be reborn” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

“Death was an essential aspect of the alchemical process; it was out of death that new life could emerge, as it did in the Frankenstein's monster. In Paracelsus's recipe for the homunculus, the horse manure represents the putrefaction needed to begin the process of rebirth. This is the first step in the alchemical work. The old self, the old Adam, must be broken down until we arrive at the prima materia, the primordial stuff, the unformed matter out of which any future creation can take place. The forty days in which the sperma is buried in the horse manure parallel Christ's forty days in the desert, when he is tempted by Satan. This means that the alchemist must undergo trials, must endure some suffering, and that the alchemical process is not something going on outside of oneself but is something that must be lived through. This is also suggested in the idea that the homunculus, the little man who is the alchemist reborn, must be fed by the alchemist's own secret blood. The alchemist's attention, concentration, mind, or soul must be completely focused on the task variously known as the creation or discovery of the philosopher's stone, the elixir of life, potable gold, the universal solvent, and, very often, the creation of the homunculus depicted in numerous alchemical illustrations, often as the god Mercury encased in the alchemical vessel” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

“That the alchemists would speak of this in parable, allegory, and obscure language shouldn't be surprising. It's difficult enough for us, who have the advantage of familiarity with self-help and psychotherapeutic literature, to grasp the meaning of rebirth. For the literal-minded of the Middle Ages, who were taught that all magic and occult knowledge was the work of the devil, this would be a subtle notion indeed. The idea that by going through the alchemical rebirth, one would become as Christ—regenerated—would strike them as blasphemous. What was left was the literal idea of making an actual man or woman, just like the idea of making actual gold from lead or finding an actual stone. Yet a famous alchemical maxim reads: "Our gold is not the vulgar gold." Clearly, making material gold was not what they were after. Creating an actual tiny human being was always recognized as a display of power that went beyond nature. This is a dim and distorted echo of the alchemists' belief that their art was against nature in the sense that it both sped up a natural process and redeemed its practitioners from a life lived solely at the natural, Adamic, unregenerate level” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

“The imperfection of their creature shows that the magicians, no matter how knowledgeable, are still far short of God, a point that contemporary advocates of "man-made humans" may wish to ponder” (“Homunculi, Golems, and Artificial Life”).

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For background, we know blood magic exists not only in the SGE movie but in the world of the books, to some degree. In the movie, Agatha holds a book called The Blood of the Homunculus, and coincidentally or not, it’s a red and gold book, like Fall. Otherwise, we do know a few other things surrounding blood magic from the main series.

In TLEA, the old heroes of the League of Thirteen, or rather, I think just a select few, paid off a witch to retain their youth or extend their lifespans with a life-extension potion, concocted from an odd mixture of blood and gold. The life-extension potion was also mentioned in the Handbook as well.

Something similar is mentioned in passing in Rise as well. The Pirate Captain was rumored to live on an elixir of blood and gold that kept him from aging. Though, I’m not sure whether you can gain true immortality from the potion. I think it is just a way to artificially prolong a life.

Thus, this potion could potentially have a more prominent role in Fall, especially considering the visual elements of the cover. Rafal and Rhian are dressed in blood red and gold outfits, and if that is not a massive indicator of a plot element, I don’t know what is. I think it’s quite likely that the groundwork has already been set up in canon, in TLEA, in the Handbook, in Rise.

Also, I find the usage of colors on Fall’s cover odd in general. There are probably some symbolic connotations or plot hints, but weirdly enough, I almost never associate Rafal with the color red. (Aside from the Handbook trivia that Sophie named a nail polish color from the line she designed Rafal Red. But, that is her interpretation, not mine. I associate Rafal with black, silver, dark blue, ice blue, and either emerald green, or a cold, wintry, firefly, radium-esque green. I’m convinced he renovated the Schools in TLEA to match Sophie’s eyes, whether it was a conscious decision or not.)

There was also a mention in Rise, I think, about Rafal being capable of using blood magic, as related to his ability to fly, and that Evers can’t use blood magic, which is why Rhian swims. I think this could be proven false, if Rhian goes as far as to do something with blood magic in Fall though.

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My theories regarding blood magic would have to be related to possession, resurrection (likely gone wrong), or raising an army.

I think there is a chance that Rafal could become obsessed with blood magic, and would possibly want to restore the state of the world to its Balance, the natural order of things, but in an unnatural, drastic way, by extreme methods, possibly to also retain his and his brother’s original Good-Evil roles.

If Rafal were possessed by blood magic, corrupted by some new, villainous force or his own greed, then it could explain any out-of-character characterization or his presumed murder of Rhian. Otherwise, he may just be temperamental, unstable, or too ambitious for his own good.

Also, that reminds me, in this particular possession theory, Rhian, no matter what he tries, will not be able to countermand the effects of the blood magic on Rafal’s psyche. The thought brings to mind this excerpt from Beasts and Beauty actually:

And, because the brothers have lost their immortality, they probably need something more: a functional replacement for their former power, more powerful magic than whatever they already have, than their preternatural sorcery, to fix all their problems. The two could see blood magic as the solution to all their problems because desperate times call for desperate measures, and they would become possessed by it as a result of giving up their free will to use it, or through selling their souls in some way or another. I think in many cases, magic tends to come at a steep price, but whether that actually applies in this case, I don’t know. And, by using blood magic that is intrinsically tied to life, they’d also be inadvertently too prideful, bringing about their downfall.

If one of the brothers dies, the other could use blood magic to grant him artificial life, returning as a hollow, empty shell of his former self, a vessel that isn’t quite alive in the typical sense. But, in most literature, having the power over life and death, and giving artificial life tends to be a sort of taboo. It’s simply not ethical, so by doing this, one of the brothers could be crossing the line because it is always dangerous and too prideful for humans to play God. I bet the Storian would not like this at all. Also, if resurrecting one of them backfires or doesn’t work, the brother who’s left alive could spiral into a depression, and could still have some involvement with blood magic or a descent into insanity as well.

For example, if Rafal is alive, he could then, hypothetically, artificially prolong his life after his brother dies, and he wouldn’t have True Love to actually sustain him and his youth. He would continue aging, but his lifespan would be abnormally long, and he’d likely suffer.

Also, this whole creation-of-a-life-through-magical-means is strangely reminiscent of the Spansel from TCY. And, all of this could share similarities with Rafal’s AWWP resurrection and his resurrection of the Old, fairy-tale villains. So, any of these possibilities aren’t wholly implausible.

Another possibility is that Rhian and Rafal, having no support, decide to raise an army of homunculi under their exclusive command to fight Hook, or to contend with any other probable villains of Fall. To back this idea, there are certain existent mythologies with creation stories wherein the human race are little figures sculpted from clay.

Also, any inclusion of such magical or elevated “technology” could be culturally-relevant today, or serve as commentary on current issues regarding genetic modification and the boundaries of what is and isn’t ethical. And, in crossing such ethical lines, Rhian and Rafal could change their own psychology, their inner worlds, by performing blood magic, or tampering with human life.

(This also makes me question whether the brothers have Celestiums. Regardless if they do or do not, I actually have plans to write Rafal’s Celestium someday. It’s already outlined.)

If these ethical debates are transferred over to the context of fantasy literature, to fit thematically into Fall, they could easily be a mirror to our world also. So, including something like this with broader parallels to our world is something Soman could potentially do with the many ways artificial life could come into play in Fall’s plot.

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Then, to go one step further with the blood magic theories: King Midas could be involved.

What if King Midas replaced Rafal, and is the School Master in the main series?

He certainly has the means to do so. He literally has an endless supply of gold at his fingertips. And, he could easily commandeer the Night Crawlers to supply him blood, like how Rafal negotiated with them, and exchanged Hook’s blood for passage to the underwater prison.

This could all add up to Midas abusing the life-extension potion to grant himself near-immortality.

Sometimes, I think Rafal isn't a School Master, just a glorified custodian, cleaning up Rhian’s messes, and literally the only one with more than a single brain cell.

I forgot to share this promotional image from a Fall video from Soman’s Instagram. I originally meant to attach this to the “Rafal’s Bird Motif” post because I guess it confirms that Fall will likely only further validate Rafal’s bird motif!

This image causes me to think it will be the “how” or the sequence of events that will confound me, not the outcome that will be a true surprise. It could still be Rhian or someone else masquerading as Rafal though. Or, we might just get an outcome verifying that the Rafal in the main series canon is the same person we see in the prequel duology. Just have to wait and see.

The reason I say it could be the “how” that will confound me in Fall is because, to me, this looks like an ending illustration. There’s no real action or movement, unless it really is a moment of calm. But, let’s be realistic—any calm in Fall will probably be the eye of the storm. So, it might confirm that Rafal lived or was the one who lived. If he won. Unless it’s not actually him. The other case, I’d believe it to be, is a pre-war illustration. But, it could be post-war because it’s awfully suspicious that he’s standing alone on that balcony.

Interesting that Rafal’s childhood nickname was Fala. Is there something here, hidden in plain sight? Are we being strung along with the answer right under our noses?

Fala and Fall of… They sound so alike. Could this be a hint that he’ll be the one to fall? That it’ll be his downfall we see?