Gaius Septimus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
survival_isnt_living) wrote2012-10-19 03:46 pm
survival_isnt_living) wrote2012-10-19 03:46 pm
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[OOC] Foresight before First Calderon
This came out of a long, long internal session with myself on what a few lines in the scene between Araris and Septimus just prior to First Calderon meant. The foresight in the family is a Known Fact; while Sextus may have had it most powerfully, Septimus might have developed to that point had he had time* (a running theme with him).
Septimus says (or does) three things in those final moments with Araris which are either curious or outright "WTF how much did you know precognitive boy."
1) The most sketchy basis of 'hmm': Septimus gives the east a haunted look, apparently. On the one hand, that's where the Marat are coming from, and he's not stupid, he's going to try to survive but he really doesn't actually expect to. On the other hand, he shakes it off, and I'm not entirely certain it isn't tinged with 'there is evil there which currently sleeps, but it will wake in too few years for my comfort.' (And to some degree as a consequence of his death, of course.) Sketchy, some headcanon, and wishful thinking, but possible.
2) This is also sketchy, but Septimus seems decently certain that Isana and baby will live. Admittedly, sending Araris with them makes it almost guaranteed, but he seems somewhat less concerned by their physical safety in the battle beyond the standard due concern of 'cataclysmic battle.' (That last phrase half-sentence is crazy and a little stupid.) He is, however, concerned that they'd be alone. He wants Araris there to love them if he can't be. And, for that matter, he says it at all. It seems like that might be politically worrisome if Octavian is being, you know, raised as Sextus' heir. (Then again, Sep is not always as concerned with that as 'this will make people happy.') But just that statement could have that implication. (Also, there is total OT3 material there, and I don't even usually go for those.)
3) "I think I finally understand what's been happening since Seven Hills." This is the one that gave me the most trouble, even though it is arguably the one most substantiated as actually being outright precog and him knowing in somewhat more concrete terms 'This Is What Is Going On.' He's well aware by then that everything's going to hit the fan ('go to the crows,' rather), but even unlike his father shortly after Sep's death, I think Sep realized in those few hours that everything was actually about Octavian. It seems that knowledge partially affected his decision to make extra sure Araris went with his family. More to the point: it's not as though a plot to kill him is news. But something changed since Seven Hills, and what changed is that he went to Calderon and met Isana.
The other reason to suspect this is what he saw is that apparently Sextus first 'saw the storm coming' shortly after Septimus' death. Thing is: he had no heir. This just means there will be civil war on his death. So why didn't he just adopt someone as his heir? Hell, Aquitaine, which would have blocked some of his 'acquire Crown now' moves and, well, Attis was a close friend of Sep's and probably the most qualified. Not to mention, it would have kept Attis from getting quite so jaded.
But Sextus didn't appoint an heir. Alera tells Tavi that Sextus expected to be the one to guide Alera through the crisis and that, until things had settled, Isana and Tavi were safer kept at a distance. Except... uh. When Sextus first meets Tavi, the first thing he does is yank the boy to Alera Imperia under his watchful eye and to begin being trained to follow Sextus on the throne. That is kind of the opposite of keeping him at a distance. Sure, Tavi's known by Sextus' enemies now, among them Invidia--who may not know who Tavi's father was, but this is the child who wrecked months or years of planning in a couple days. It might well have been safer for Tavi to be shadowed by Araris and where his place as Sextus' little project (as I'm sure everyone knew Amara was) would keep him too clear to be just quietly shanked.
Thing is... Fade offers Tavi his sword. "A princely gift. Are you sure it's yours to give, slave?" Yes, Sextus is usually pretty hard to actually throw off-guard. But he's altogether too calm. And way too aware from, you know, never meeting them that Isana is Tavi's mother, not aunt. The latter could be upon-meeting-induced precog, and I entirely believe Sextus did not know exactly where his grandson was. Plus: Tavi - Octavian. Amara reported to Gaius, and added that the kid Tavi kind of did his crazy stuff, and told him about Fade. Given what happened with Aldrick, no way did Sextus not immediately guess who that was (Basic Facts of Aleran Life, okay). And no way did he not recognize Tavi as ickle!Septimus!clone. But again: utterly unsurprised. Also, he could have thought maybe illegitimate, but then again knowledge of his son wouldn't even need precog to know that no, the boy was a legitimate heir.
Then you add in Alera's general awareness, her comments on Alerans subconsciously crafting (plus possibly this being the explanation for the Gaius precog), and that she posits that her doing the same unconscious knowledge thing (and transmitting to the Gaius family by extension**), and there is the added possibility that Alera somehow knew that the next she would be attached to was lurking in Calderon. I would be totally comfortable going out on a limb and suspecting that he knew Septimus had left a wife and son who survived the battle, and that the boy was growing up somewhere in Calderon, but had no details about where or who. And then, quite suddenly, Amara tells him about a orphan boy exactly the right age with ambition, brains, a touch of insanity, a hefty sense of responsibility, a willingness to take that risk for what he cares about, and a suspiciously (legendarily) competent and presumed-dead swordsman who only showed that talent to protect the boy's life.
It's possible that Araris' presence and Tavi's talent was enough to make Sextus suspicious and then a glance at Tavi told him everything. But if he knew what was coming for years? It would be downright irresponsible of him not to make sure the Realm had an heir. The first five, ten years, sure, but he's about eighty. It's past time. So why doesn't he?
I think he knew.
And if he knew, the most likely reason for Septimus' comment, the one he never explains to Araris, is that his foresight kicked in painfully hard that day. He saw the pattern and, even more than just 'keep my son I love and the heir my family needs alive' he realized Octavian was the point of it all.
*WARNING: TOTALLY POINTLESS AND TANGENTIAL PAIR OF FOOTNOTES FOLLOW:
It is unclear if Tavi will ever be as powerful or subtle in either crafting or foresight, even given enough decades of practice. It is possible, even likely, given his drive and reasons for wanting to--not to mention the consequences of the final book--that at least the former could happen. (Power, at least, though subtlety might or might not come; Sextus' mind is fascinating.) As for foresight, Tavi never shows evidence of being as strong in it as even Septimus; on the other hand, his occasional leaps of intuition are possibly between his sheer brilliance for his work and possibly a little more preternatural in nature. That said, Septimus was the golden boy; Sextus was the pinnacle of power for the original dynasty; and Tavi will likely grow into the most dangerous, effective, and game-changing First Lord since the original Primus (or more, given what stunts he pulls) once he isn't a freaking inexperience twenty-something. He's certainly more dangerous than Septimus ever was; on the other hand, it's also proven that Tavi can do a lot more with a lot less than most of his family. Sextus could have learned it had it started young enough. And I have no idea what the point of this was, except to go d'aww family.
**If it was Alera doing so unconsciously and passing it to the family, this might be the explanation for 'some part of me, young Gaius, will be with you and your children after you.' On the other hand, I like the theory that in order to keep in touch with his land Tavi does end up reconstructing the mural. A very different gestalt, thanks to Tavarus' mind being radically different from the original Primus', but that's a whole other speculative post.
Septimus says (or does) three things in those final moments with Araris which are either curious or outright "WTF how much did you know precognitive boy."
1) The most sketchy basis of 'hmm': Septimus gives the east a haunted look, apparently. On the one hand, that's where the Marat are coming from, and he's not stupid, he's going to try to survive but he really doesn't actually expect to. On the other hand, he shakes it off, and I'm not entirely certain it isn't tinged with 'there is evil there which currently sleeps, but it will wake in too few years for my comfort.' (And to some degree as a consequence of his death, of course.) Sketchy, some headcanon, and wishful thinking, but possible.
2) This is also sketchy, but Septimus seems decently certain that Isana and baby will live. Admittedly, sending Araris with them makes it almost guaranteed, but he seems somewhat less concerned by their physical safety in the battle beyond the standard due concern of 'cataclysmic battle.' (That last phrase half-sentence is crazy and a little stupid.) He is, however, concerned that they'd be alone. He wants Araris there to love them if he can't be. And, for that matter, he says it at all. It seems like that might be politically worrisome if Octavian is being, you know, raised as Sextus' heir. (Then again, Sep is not always as concerned with that as 'this will make people happy.') But just that statement could have that implication. (Also, there is total OT3 material there, and I don't even usually go for those.)
3) "I think I finally understand what's been happening since Seven Hills." This is the one that gave me the most trouble, even though it is arguably the one most substantiated as actually being outright precog and him knowing in somewhat more concrete terms 'This Is What Is Going On.' He's well aware by then that everything's going to hit the fan ('go to the crows,' rather), but even unlike his father shortly after Sep's death, I think Sep realized in those few hours that everything was actually about Octavian. It seems that knowledge partially affected his decision to make extra sure Araris went with his family. More to the point: it's not as though a plot to kill him is news. But something changed since Seven Hills, and what changed is that he went to Calderon and met Isana.
The other reason to suspect this is what he saw is that apparently Sextus first 'saw the storm coming' shortly after Septimus' death. Thing is: he had no heir. This just means there will be civil war on his death. So why didn't he just adopt someone as his heir? Hell, Aquitaine, which would have blocked some of his 'acquire Crown now' moves and, well, Attis was a close friend of Sep's and probably the most qualified. Not to mention, it would have kept Attis from getting quite so jaded.
But Sextus didn't appoint an heir. Alera tells Tavi that Sextus expected to be the one to guide Alera through the crisis and that, until things had settled, Isana and Tavi were safer kept at a distance. Except... uh. When Sextus first meets Tavi, the first thing he does is yank the boy to Alera Imperia under his watchful eye and to begin being trained to follow Sextus on the throne. That is kind of the opposite of keeping him at a distance. Sure, Tavi's known by Sextus' enemies now, among them Invidia--who may not know who Tavi's father was, but this is the child who wrecked months or years of planning in a couple days. It might well have been safer for Tavi to be shadowed by Araris and where his place as Sextus' little project (as I'm sure everyone knew Amara was) would keep him too clear to be just quietly shanked.
Thing is... Fade offers Tavi his sword. "A princely gift. Are you sure it's yours to give, slave?" Yes, Sextus is usually pretty hard to actually throw off-guard. But he's altogether too calm. And way too aware from, you know, never meeting them that Isana is Tavi's mother, not aunt. The latter could be upon-meeting-induced precog, and I entirely believe Sextus did not know exactly where his grandson was. Plus: Tavi - Octavian. Amara reported to Gaius, and added that the kid Tavi kind of did his crazy stuff, and told him about Fade. Given what happened with Aldrick, no way did Sextus not immediately guess who that was (Basic Facts of Aleran Life, okay). And no way did he not recognize Tavi as ickle!Septimus!clone. But again: utterly unsurprised. Also, he could have thought maybe illegitimate, but then again knowledge of his son wouldn't even need precog to know that no, the boy was a legitimate heir.
Then you add in Alera's general awareness, her comments on Alerans subconsciously crafting (plus possibly this being the explanation for the Gaius precog), and that she posits that her doing the same unconscious knowledge thing (and transmitting to the Gaius family by extension**), and there is the added possibility that Alera somehow knew that the next she would be attached to was lurking in Calderon. I would be totally comfortable going out on a limb and suspecting that he knew Septimus had left a wife and son who survived the battle, and that the boy was growing up somewhere in Calderon, but had no details about where or who. And then, quite suddenly, Amara tells him about a orphan boy exactly the right age with ambition, brains, a touch of insanity, a hefty sense of responsibility, a willingness to take that risk for what he cares about, and a suspiciously (legendarily) competent and presumed-dead swordsman who only showed that talent to protect the boy's life.
It's possible that Araris' presence and Tavi's talent was enough to make Sextus suspicious and then a glance at Tavi told him everything. But if he knew what was coming for years? It would be downright irresponsible of him not to make sure the Realm had an heir. The first five, ten years, sure, but he's about eighty. It's past time. So why doesn't he?
I think he knew.
And if he knew, the most likely reason for Septimus' comment, the one he never explains to Araris, is that his foresight kicked in painfully hard that day. He saw the pattern and, even more than just 'keep my son I love and the heir my family needs alive' he realized Octavian was the point of it all.
*WARNING: TOTALLY POINTLESS AND TANGENTIAL PAIR OF FOOTNOTES FOLLOW:
It is unclear if Tavi will ever be as powerful or subtle in either crafting or foresight, even given enough decades of practice. It is possible, even likely, given his drive and reasons for wanting to--not to mention the consequences of the final book--that at least the former could happen. (Power, at least, though subtlety might or might not come; Sextus' mind is fascinating.) As for foresight, Tavi never shows evidence of being as strong in it as even Septimus; on the other hand, his occasional leaps of intuition are possibly between his sheer brilliance for his work and possibly a little more preternatural in nature. That said, Septimus was the golden boy; Sextus was the pinnacle of power for the original dynasty; and Tavi will likely grow into the most dangerous, effective, and game-changing First Lord since the original Primus (or more, given what stunts he pulls) once he isn't a freaking inexperience twenty-something. He's certainly more dangerous than Septimus ever was; on the other hand, it's also proven that Tavi can do a lot more with a lot less than most of his family. Sextus could have learned it had it started young enough. And I have no idea what the point of this was, except to go d'aww family.
**If it was Alera doing so unconsciously and passing it to the family, this might be the explanation for 'some part of me, young Gaius, will be with you and your children after you.' On the other hand, I like the theory that in order to keep in touch with his land Tavi does end up reconstructing the mural. A very different gestalt, thanks to Tavarus' mind being radically different from the original Primus', but that's a whole other speculative post.