After an unexpected stint as a freelance matchmaker, I can return to my original subject of speculation, namely the Spirits and their home, Elsewhere.
Elsewhere
Anzu gives us an apt description of its realm: “Our world—Elsewhere—reflects your own. It is the boundary and the bridge between the churning motion of your world and the infinite stillness beyond. Here, the dreams and sins of all your kind are remembered.” We can cut this description in two pieces.
Firstly, as far as we know, there are three realms: the physical world that we all know and love to different degrees, the realm of Spirits, and what I believe to be the realm of the Patron. Elsewhere stands at the the centre of them, acting as link and shield to both ends. How does this manifest practically? As those of the physical realm can’t access the Patron’s realm directly, so can’t the Patron access ours. As we very well know, the Patron can interact with the physical world, and the Pactbinder with the Patron’s realm. But, from what we gather, this link is cumbersome. If the Patron had uninhibited access to the physical, why would it need the Pactbinder to accomplish Its objectives? Conversely, the Pactbinder is brought to the Patron’s realm at Its will, in “soul” only and through the connection they share with It. Prior to the Pact, the PB had only dreams, and no physical encounter with the Patron. So, we can propose, the ritual of the Pact created a permanent bridge between the two of them that bypasses the obstacles of interaction between World 1 and World 3, without World 2 as intermediary.
Secondly, there is the “mirror” function of Elsewhere. It seems to be a function that operates only in relation to the physical realm; what is there to reflect from an “infinite stillness”, after all? What it reflects is straightforward enough: dreams and sins, which is to say the consciousness of mankind. Curiously, we are told that “of late, it seems that Elsewhere remembers your violence best of all.” From a historical point of view, I doubt the period during which the story takes place is that bloody when compared to past events, so I guess that either it’s particularly sensitive to strong emotions (as evoked by violence, conflict and war), or the imprint left upon it by significant events of this kind was so great it still “stings”, so-to-speak. Or it could be both, really.
Spirits
I don’t yet dare to speculate on the origin of Elsewhere itself, but I’m more willing to dabble into the origin of Spirits. The examples of spirits we have so far can indicate they are also the result of this “mirror” effect, to a certain extent. The “infant” spirit is a clear argument for such a thesis. Infants are unfortunate victims of violence, be it in war or else. Many orphans are created. And since Elsewhere “remembers” the dreams and sins of mankind, then what better example of remembrance can there be. In the same vein, the spectre knight is a more direct example of violence.
These are the lesser spirits, that we might call “those of less awareness”. We know of the lowest class, the Nahemoth, which are easy to banish, so there should be several classes at the very least. Perhaps it is with a growing sense of self that a Spirit grows in power. We are made familiar with the Archspirits, the highest ranked spirits, of which Anzu and Clíona are most likely part of. The two of them have colourful personalities, that’s for certain. And, interestingly, they both have names associated with deities: Anzu is of Mesopotamian origin while Clíona is Irish. Lesser deities as they are, these identities can give us clues as to how did they become Archspirits of greater awareness.
When asked about itself, Anzu tells us the following: “We have taken many names in our time, Thief. Picked at the carcasses of old stories. Until we were filled to bursting with symbolism. Though again the lean times have come. Once, we were all things known to the skies.”
“Picked at the carcasses of old stories” is a very particular way of putting it. The way I interpret this paragraph is that Anzu wasn’t necessarily the conscious origin of the myths and legends that gave it this “symbolish”. Rather, it is from these myths and legends that Anzu obtained its identity. Putting it another way: Anzu was at the origin of some/all of these myths and legends unwittingly, and in the aftermath of their creation it associated them with its own identity, rinse and repeat.
This scenario depends heavily on the history of Spirit magic. Invoking the gods in ancient times may very well have been a case of invoking spirits, since there are no gods as far as we can tell. Clíona and Anzu were thus your run-of-the-mill polytheistic gods, while the God in monotheistic and henotheistic(one supreme god+other lesser deities) religions may have been the Patron. This can potentially track with the niche nature of the usual polytheistic god: most of them have at most a few domains upon which they rule, while a supreme god assumes dominion over every aspect.
During the respective free roam event, Clíona gives us a noun: Court. Apparently, Anzu, prior to the Pactbinder, had become a shut-in and no longer interacted with its fellow spirits. Is the Court a group comprising all the Archspirits? Possibly. At the very least, it appears to be an exclusive club, since the only two spirits related to it are users of royal plurals.
Speaking of Clíona, how come she knows the Pactbinder’s whole deal, Thief of Names and all that? The answer may lay with Anzu. When asked if it knew that the PB took the Kingsgift, it tells us the following:“We sensed it as the Mists took you. A gnawing irritation. As though something had been stolen from us…From the beginning; the strength—and strangeness—of your call was unmistakable. It stirred a curiosity in us that lured us from the depths of Elsewhere. We did not realize that you were unaware of your deeds.”
From the way it’s presented, it seems like Anzu was instinctively aware of the Pactbinder’s situation. Moreover, the sudden kidnapping by the Mists triggered in him a sentiment “as though something had been stolen from us”. Additionally, we know Anzu has a direct relationship with the Patron, as presented to us at the end of Chapter 4. So, what’s the conclusion? It is not only Anzu, but the Archspirits, and perhaps all spirits, that have a lesser or greater link to the Patron. That would explain how Clíona was instantly aware of the PB’s identity.
What does that mean for Elsewhere and Spirits overall? If the Patron is some sort of Creator entity, then It is the one that provides Elsewhere and its inhabitants with the capacity for existence. Think of It like a source of energy, and mankind as the one who give shape to said energy. Therefore, Elsewhere is not only a boundary and link between the physical realm and the infinite stillness beyond, it is also a receptacle created by the Patron and shaped by mankind.
