WaxerRed Okay total crack pot theory time, put on those tinfoil hats! I think the hidden villain is none other then...
King Alonon's sister.
Dam this is some true tinfoil hat shit. I love it.
To contribute some tinfoil:
One patron user continually asks SL when part two of Tyna's romance subplot will happen. This time around, when the patron asked the question, SL responded with "After the next update, you won't need to ask the Tyna question any more." So immediately after (WARNING: SPOILER) Simon gets his ass kidnapped by the mysterious power, we are going to immediately deal with Tyna melodrama in one way or another. COINCIDANCE? I THINK NOT! TYNAS FAMILY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS!
Additionally, the Anak describes two Arclenti tower walkers hidden from his view. One is certainly the Third Power. The other is almost certainly ALONON. COINCIDENCE? ONCE AGAIN, I THINK NOT! They are using equally subtle power, because they learned how to subtly tower walk from each other!
I am, however, skeptical for a couple of reasons.
Mithyn is pretty convinced that it's the church holding Ivala captive. Ofc, she could be wrong, but still. How could Tyna's mom be faking her death and also running a church-dominating cult?
I forget if this was said during the update, or if I just imagined it, so correct me if I'm wrong but IIRC somewhere in the update it was stated that the third power used a more terrestrial strategy in their research of the elements of the universe. This makes a lot of sense if its the Church, they have a ton of followers across the continent (and beyond), but less so if its only one really powerful tower walker behind it.
We haven't met her yet. It would be really weird narratively to pull out a major villain at the last moment like that.
DukeLeto7 Granted, being mostly dead hasn't prevented other characters from putting in an appearance, and she could have faked her death as Scoutman suggested...
I mean we are getting into full tinfoil hat theory, but if the tower walker is subtle, faking their own death would be the perfect cover!
Fulminato i think you miss the great problem, if tyna mother was asesual like alonon... how tyna is born? alonon cannot even thinking to have sex with someone less force himself to do... (rape is a possibility, but...)
This is a good point, and honestly this isn't great for the theory. But I'm not sure it totally torpedoes the theory, there are a few ways it could happen.
Tyna's mom was a noblewoman in a fantasy version of the early-modern/late medieval world. And while the TLS world is a lot more egalitarian than ours during that period, there is still pressure for noble woman to strategically marry and produce an heir. Tyna is under this pressure. Heck, Alonon is under this pressure. So it might not much have mattered what her orientation was, she had a duty to her country.
Tyna could be adopted.
Annndddd this torpedoes the Tyna's mom theory. That is literally Hester.
But it would be fking legendary if it turns out to be true and that image was misdirection. Not gonna happen, but it would be legendary.