Hopping onto this nearly a year later because I believe I have some evidence to support at least part of this theory
I’m still deadset on my “Adrian is Lancelot” theory for reasons I’ll state, but the idea of him being Asher (or at least related) has what is imo a HUGE damning piece of evidence behind it.
Unhinged Rambling
His fucking name.
No, really. Not only do I think Adrian’s name is a huge hint to his secret, I think (almost) everyone’s names reveal huge parts of their characters that we don’t know yet. I might make another post about this (I’m just worried it’d be a little unfair to theorize so heavily on characters we still haven’t even met lol), but I’m like 99% positive the names were all chosen for a reason.
First with the easiest. Adrian’s first name means “Son of Adria” and originated from the word adur which… literally fucking means water. Who does that remind you of huh? HUH??? When you battle Lancelot in the Camelot flashback as well, he throws you a wooden training sword that the narrative goes out of its way to describe as being similar to a bastard sword. In the milestone drabble about Adrian, it’s revealed that his signature weapon is going to be a bastard sword.
Eventually, he’s awakened by a high-pitched scream. Unconsciously, without thought, he leaped out of the bed, his arm automatically reaching for the bastard sword tucked within easy reach against the nearby wall.
Furthermore, I think even on a simple narrative level, it just makes sense. Lancelot takes up a lot of the spotlight in the Camelot flashback in Chapter 2. Your choices in that chapter basically boil down to whether you want to hang out with Arthur, Merlin, or Lancelot. I think this is a writing move that makes the most sense when it complements the major characters that we know so far. After all, Lancelot isn’t an RO, it doesn’t make much sense for him to have his own flirt stats unless he’s a much bigger character. Being one of the reincarnated Harbingers and arguably one of our closest modern companions makes the most sense.
But that’s enough about Lancelot. Adrian’s last name, Benoni, is derivative of the character Benjamin’s birth name in the Book of Genesis.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Benjamin’s name arose when Jacob deliberately changed the name “Benoni”, the original name of Benjamin, since Benoni was an allusion to Rachel’s dying just after she had given birth, as it means “son of my pain”.
This already ties in very well to the themes of self-hate and regret in Adrian’s character. There was obviously something in his past that makes him think of himself as being unworthy of love and deserving of the punishment this apocalypse has brought on him. But more than that…
Reuben (half brother)
Simeon (half brother)
Levi (half brother)
Judah (half brother)
Dan (half brother)
Naphtali (half brother)
Gad (half brother)
Asher (half brother)
Issachar (half brother)
Zebulun (half brother)
…Huh. One of these names looks remarkably familiar…
The Biblical Asher is almost comical in how antithetical his character is to Benjamin. Contrary to one being named for his mother’s unending grief, the other was named for his mother’s pure joy.
At his birth Leah exclaimed, “Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: so she called his name Asher”, meaning “happy”
And on that note, the CEO’s name is Abe. Or, maybe even more specifically, Abraham? With Adrian’s relationship to Catholicism, I’m hard-pressed to believe these details are completely accidental. Whether Adrian is Asher under a new name, or Asher is actually a brother of Adrian’s, the two are undeniably connected.
Plus, in Merlin’s own words:
If the soul remains willing and developments are dire enough to warrant it, it’s quite possible to reincarnate in a shorter span of time under certain circumstances. Generally not a recommended option, as such a soul is rarely properly ‘cleansed’ of its previous karma that way and suffers imbalances because of it.
Isn’t there a certain migraine-sufferer in our group that tends to have his flares during very, very specific moments in the narrative?