I have…nightmarish experience. I stutter when trying to ‘talk’ books out.
So I’m not the only one then.
Ah well, it was worth a shot. 
Can’t wait to see what new wonders you come up with next Leigh, hope the surgery goes well. Not being able to write would be a nightmare, especially with hand troubles. Hope you feel better soon!
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So this might just be me, but I think that the way this story line is going Semryu is far from Red. Now, this is my opinion based on what I’ve learned, and I’m not going against everyone else’s theories, just stating my own.
The main reason I don’t think he’s Red, is how “you” describe Red in the library. “A purer, more selfish evil”. Sem isn’t being selfish, if anything he’s quite the opposite. He’s willing to give everything he has to save Illyan, and more. Even when she confessed, he still refuses to believe that she would do something like that. If he was selfish he would have given up on her, said “Alright she confessed, its done”. But he doesn’t. He continues to fight with everything he has even with odds stacked against him. Another, more minor example of him not being selfish is if you decide to go with Jun into her mind. If he was sefish he would have attempted to convince you to go with him. Yeah, he’s hurt a bit, but he understands and knows what you have to do for your other friend.
Also, the Red and his followers are willing to break the Laws of Spirit. Sem is fighting to uphold them for Illyan. He even says (I believe in the first one) that he doesn’t know how the investigation into Illyan doesn’t violate her rights.
If anything, I think he’s quite close to a Rheanic. He doing this to PROTECT Illyan. He’s willing to do it at any costs. He’s so loyal that even though it seems like everyone is against him, from the tar-kah-besh (sp?) to the students of Tar’citadel, he’s willing to fight. He even says it sounds crazy, but he has to do it. He’s doing so much to fight for her.
And yeah you could say: “But what if its because she’s Red, too.” Well, this is just me, but I don’t think that the Red followers, no matter how loyal they are to that person, would go this far to protect someone. They’re selfish and cruel, and mostly fight for themselves, and I think that if it means saving their own skin, they will just give up on saving someone.
So yeah just a theory, but I figured I might as well share it and see if anyone else agrees uvu.
Also congrats on getting married Leigh! Hope the surgery goes well. My friend needs to get it soon too so she wishes you luck as well 
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@TheLittleElf
It’s actually rather easy to counter that using the same examples that you have.
When it comes to the confession, his reaction can be seen as selfish due to the fact that he’s entirely unwilling to respect her wishes. While he does believe that she’s lying, she may be doing so for any number of reasons and the fact that he choses to continue to support, despite the risks that may bring to his friends, is because of his own desire to have her back at the school. Although this can be seen as trying to protect her, we can’t forget that the only reason that he wants to protect her is because he wants his friend back. Do you really believe that he would try to save her even if she wasn’t his friend? What if she was his enemy? He doesn’t want to respect HER wishes because HE wants her back. Even after the attacks he seems far more upset about the fact that Illyan is being blamed rather than the fact that over two hundred people died. He wants his friend back and damn the consequences to anyone else.
When it comes to the Laws of the Spirit he seems to be more like Clay where he doesn’t seem to mind bending them. Simply because he’s fighting to uphold them for one person, a close personal friend, doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t be willing to break it for other people. I’m sure that the Red followers have no problem with obeying the laws when it suits them, much like Semryu is doing right now.
With regards to him being closer to Rheanic it’s just like you said: [quote] he’s willing to do it at any costs [/quote] He wants to save Illyan and what that may do to everyone else. The fact that it’s his loyalty driving him to do this actually helps support that this is selfish. Do you think that he would be willing to help her if it was someone else being accused, say Genoa? Master Cael? Clay? He’s doing this not because someone is in danger, like a Rheanic would do, but because someone he cares deeply about is in danger. Just because everyone else is against him doesn’t mean that he isn’t being selfish, nor does it mean that he is.
“But what if its because she’s Red, too,” doesn’t even factor into it for me. Let’s assume that Illyan is a Red follower. In my mind, she wouldn’t try to recruit Semryu. It’s obvious that she cares about him in some way or another and likely knew of the dangers that telling him of her being Red or trying to recruit him. Because of this, I don’t think that Semryu would know about her being Red or have been recruited to the Red by Illyan. Besides, and this is just my personal opinion, Illyan obviously isn’t a Red follower. If you’ve read the scene at the Casfeild embassy then that much is clear, but for those of you who haven’t… Well, the scene in question goes down kinda like this. One person is concerned about the trial date as it’ll give her time to change peoples opinion. The second person tells him not to worry as “The public has already condemned her. Many have fallen with far, far less.” The first asks if he’s not worried about proof, to which the second tells him that stuff like this has never had alot of “tangible proof,” and that the delay will just make her seem more guilty and seal her death. The first then says that he “hopes so” and that the fact that “Every day she’s still alive and speaking her side of things is another night I’m not sleeping well.”
And one of these guys is the one that kidnaps Illyan and is found dead.
Don’t think that means for a second that this means that Semryu is innocent though. Someone doesn’t have to make contact with other Red followers to become one themselves and if we go off on the wild assumption that Semryu is one then there’s nothing to say that he has had contact with the others.
But that’s besides my point. What I mean to say is that Semryu, in my opinion, has started to slowly fall down to the side of the Red. While his intentions may be relatively pure, that does not mean that they will not lead him to following the Red after all “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Oh and then there’s this which, if we’re being honest, was a key part in forming this opinion.
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I have to say, well said both of you. I’m impressed with the thought put in on both sides, so much so that I’m going to share this little tidbit: the depths to which Semryu falls to the Red is entirely based upon the actions of the MC. You as the player and his friend are entirely the reason whether he goes manic Red mad on everyone and everything or keeps his morals in check. Also, the original character of Semryu in the Way Walker history did/does exist-- there is a cannon version of him that will be referenced in later books and possibly even show up, depending on how many contracts I can get with my publisher lol. That version of him is based off of one of my chosen endings in the upcoming WW:U3, though ive considered altering that Seem based on fan reactions to the endings once they come out. 
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Any ideas on when the update will be? Also congrats on your marriage!! Lol can’t wait waywalkers 3!
I don’t answer any questions about when books are coming out unless a definite date has been set. Check my blog for any up dates. ;p
Can I have a link to your blog?
@Cheez
Interesting thoughts. I can’t say your wrong or right, and I can’t say that I’m wrong or right, and you’re opinion/theory/whatever we call it made me think
The thing about Sem is, it could go either way. You could look at parts of him as selfish, some of them as loyal. I think we’re looking at it from two different perspectives, neither of which is surely right or wrong. Maybe its because we just played through differently as, like Leigh said, Sem changes depending on the choices the MC makes, even in subtle ways.
Also, looking back I don’t think I phrased my original statement that well. I suppose what I’m attempting to say is that Sem isn’t totally Red, and he is far from being as Red as some people believe him to be. Now that isn’t to say he isn’t Red at all.
In my opinion I think everyone is influenced by the Red in some way shape or form. Going to Catholic school makes me feel like its similar to ‘sin’. We’re all influenced by it, but its up to us to choose whether we fight it, give in, or act upon it. There’s no way to avoid the influence, you don’t choose “Nope. Don’t want temptation go away.” but you do choose the way you act upon such influences and how you let them affect you. Again, sorry for this religious spiel, but its honestly how I relate to it. Basically I learned that it isn’t about avoiding sin, because that’s impossible unless you’re well, God.
Now you said that “What if it wasn’t someone he cared about? What if it was Clay or Cael?” Well, remember that Illyan was like family to him, after he felt abandoned by being sent to the school. He saw her as a clanswoman with eyes like his family in a place where he didn’t want to be without a friend or family, something he was taught meant more than anything. Now think of how you would react if someone you considered to be family was on trial vs someone who you didn’t get along with or someone you didn’t know very well. There would be two very different reactions. I know if I was in that situation, I would fight for that family member or best friend as hard as I could, especially if I felt that they were innocent.
As for him not respecting her wishes, I know I wouldn’t believe it if someone I knew and loved said they were guilty of something horrible. In the way walkers world there is no greater sin than recruitment for the Red, now how would you feel if after months of denying it, someone you love just said, “I did it”? It must have been hard for him to handle and after everything that had been going on with the vibrations and Crispin being controlled according to Jun and all the suspicious things that had been going on, doesn’t he have a right to be suspicious?
And I do agree with some of the things you pointed out, like the lives of the others not being his upmost concern. But its like that question “Would you kill a thousand strangers to save a loved one?” There isn’t a right answer. People would like to say that they would save the thousand, but is it really that easy?
I do agree that in cases he’s being selfish, but at the same time, isn’t it selfish to ask him to just give up on her? To just say okay, and let someone he loved, someone who was like family to him just die? Its kind of a skewed system. On one hand, its selfish for him to give up on her to save himself, on the other, its selfish of him to go on against her wishes, and on yet another hand, its selfish to tell him to give up. Depending on the perspective things are viewed from, things could look different. Hell, its one of my favorite parts about the series, how things change depending on how you look at it.
And another thing about Semryu is that he is naive in some ways. The way he looks at the trial is that Illyan is totally innocent and everyone else is totally wrong for thinking she’s guilty. He isn’t really looking at the gray areas.
So, to me, the question isn’t whether Sem is Red or not. But rather, what makes someone Red? The system, again is skewed, and no one can truly say they know for sure. Is it truly right to persecute someone for doing what they think is the right thing? For fighting for someone who can’t fight for herself? For doing what no one else is willing to do to protect them?
No one can really say, because it isn’t black and white. Its an incredibly grey situation and its really pretty much impossible to say for sure if he’s Red or not.
Anyway, thanks for the insight. It actually made me rethink things : ) And thanks for being cool about it and not freaking out on me. Hope I seem a bit clearer this time!
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@TheLittleElf
I have to agree that Semry changes, at least a little in the first two books, based on the MCs choices but, I feel that, any Red he loses is because the MC pushes him away from it. I feel like I should add that my argument isn’t that Semryu is Red, or even heavily influenced by it, but that he is heading in that direction and that he would likely become a Red follower in the next book if the MC didn’t try to influence him to either side.
While I do agree with you in how the Red relates to sin, especially when it comes to being influenced by it, I think it’s important to remember that there is one major difference. Falling to the Red is (as far as I can tell) entirely due to hate. The amount of Red that you gain is primarily due to two things, the first being how often you react to a situation violently. Even threatening to beat up Clay gets you some Red score, so why you do it doesn’t seem important, just whether you do it or not. Secondly, how often you disregard the laws of the spirit. Mainly, the first and second laws although the second law (do no harm) could fall under the first point I made. What I mean is that, since the pranks on Jun and other manipulative actions gain you Red score, giving you more if you do it because you dislike him. Actually, with pranks it doesn’t give you any if you say “but only if it’s just ‘in good fun’, Sem.”
What I’m trying to say is that as far as I can tell, one can only fall to the Red if the reason that they ‘sin’ is due to hatred. I’m honestly not sure if that’s very different to sin, apparently despite five years of going to church and spending my entire life going to a school that has a religion, I can’t figure out that detail. Personally though, I like to compare the different sides in WayWalkers to the force. On one side you have the light side (Angani) who focus on calmness and seek to protect everyone, always fearful that they or one of their pupils will fall to the dark side. The dark side is of course, the Red. Their followers act mainly on emotion, and although they may have joined this side for different reasons, the main goal of each follower is to gain power and become stronger at any cost. The main difference between this and religion is that someone doesn’t necessarily have to do something bad to fall to the dark side, which I feel is similar to the read. Instead, which side your on is determined by how much hate you have in your heart which as far as I can tell is just like the Red.
I should probably have added that in his situation I probably would’ve acted exactly like Sem did/does. I’m not trying to say that his actions aren’t justified or natural, which I assume your reply to “What if it wasn’t someone he cared about? What if it was Clay or Cael?” is arguing against. Rather I’m trying to say that even if he’s fighting for her, the fact that he’s doing it because she’s his friend means that there is selfishness at play there. Even if it isn’t in large amounts, there is certainly some amount of selfishness behind his motives. This doesn’t make what he’s doing wrong, but it means that it could be possible for his motives to change to mainly selfish just like they could change to entirely loyal.
In regards to her wishes, I completely forgot that after he hears her recording it’s up to the MC as to whether or not he continues his investigation so I have to admit that I was entirely wrong during that whole section of my argument. Generally the point I was trying to make is the same as the one above, although your certainly right about there being selfishness in any other the decisions that he makes.
I see Sem more as stubborn than naive. At the end of the second book he knows, and says that Illyan could be red but that he wants to find “another way,” because "She hasn’t murdered anyone, she hasn’t hurt anyone."Although that is just before you get the choice to choose what happens next, in my head at least, he’s felt that way for a long time.
As for what makes someone Red? I honestly think that it’s a light side vs dark side thing, although it’s hard to tell whether that’s true or not as we’re only seeing one view.
I wanted to add one more thing about WHY I think Semryu, at the end of the second book, is heading in the direction of becoming a Red follower. Mainly it’s because of what we learn about Jun’s past self. In many way Semryu is like the past self in that they both want to protect people and have been shunned because of that. Even though we haven’t found out exactly why Jun’s past self fell to the Red, it’s implied that being seen as Tainted and the way people treated him because of that, was a major point as to why he fell to the Red. I feel as though Semryu is similar to that. In the first book, most people see him as evil and it’s implied that some of them think he is a Red follower. Judging from the contempt that he shows to the people who disagree with him, it seems that Semryu is having similar feelings as Jun’s past self when he went through the same thing.
If you’re thanking me for not freaking out then I should probably be thanking you too. It’s only through sharing ideas that our own can grow and if we’re being honest I wouldn’t have given this topic much thought if you hadn’t said anything.
One thing that I wanted to ask you about is who you’re referring to when you say “some people believe him to be?” If you’re referring to people in the story then I understand but I haven’t seen a lot of posts in the forum that say that he’s Red. Honestly, I’m concerned about getting shanked by the Semryu Fanclub for saying that he’s becoming more Red. I would think someone arguing the opposite would have a lot of support.
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i’m going to pop in with two quick clarifications:
1- one gains Red stats or becomes tainted not only b/c of hate (thought that is a big factor) but rather by nursing anger, fear, close-mindedness and overall squashing the ability to learn and grow. in this case, it actually makes the Red the opposite not of angani, but of montage.
2- ultimately, what makes you a Red Follower is the choice to become one. it seems kind of simple, but one can actually become tainted by the Red and not be a categorical ‘Red Follower’.
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Opposite of montage so how is that when red counts towards montage?
@Cheez
Well, first of all, I’d hope the Fanclub wouldn’t want to shank you, after all, everything you’re saying is based of the book, and in cases, even I, the one saying Sem isn’t as Red as he seems, am agreeing with you at parts. Like it or not I can’t deny he’s being selfish and falling into the Red, but my point is that its not as much as some seem to think he is. As for who those people I was referring to, it was mostly projected at the characters, but I did note a few points I’ve seen here on the forum as well. And if you’re asking if I have support? I didn’t really aim to get anything from my original post, just to state my opinion. I had no intention of getting the Fanclub all Riled up.
As for Red and sin relating to hate, I feel like it has more to do with conflict, as Sem said in the library. Take your example of the MC gaining Red points for threatening to beat up Clay, well that may be because your attempting to solve your problems with conflict. Now that isn’t to say there isn’t a difference between the Red then and the Red now. As stated the Red is now a more selfish evil. It isn’t just solving problems with conflict or using it to attain one’s full potential. Its conflict for the sake of conflict in a way. In the case of pranking Jun, you’re basically doing it to do it, for hatred, due to anger, and because you aren’t willing to get along. You’re attempting to further yourself, farther from them, by ‘one upping’ them in a sense. As for it changing when its “all in good fun” I think that has to do with the fact that conflict isn’t so much involved, as much as just having a good time is. It doesn’t have to do with hatred and such, more with just playing a game
Now that isn’t to say that conflict and hatred don’t go hand in hand, but there is a crucial difference there and its that there is a difference between conflict vs conflict due to hatred. I think this key difference relates to this in that Sem isn’t doing this because he hates everyone else. He’s into this conflict, he’s fighting so hard, because to him Illyan is something that he was taught is more important than anything: Family. He’s fighting so hard because of love, not hatred. Yeah, he hates those who are persecuting Illyan, but that’s not why he’s fighting them. He’s fighting them to protect her.
(And as a small side note, I’m wondering if we’ll see more of the Reds alternate aspect of resolution that was mentioned in the library in the third, as that could make a HUGE difference in the end and how things are viewed.)
Anyway, as for the whole Light vs Dark side of the force, I personally think there is more of a gray area in there, especially if you look at, for example, I believe its Rhean’s aspect. The aspect that believes that punishment for your actions is how to grow stronger. It may seem somewhat cruel, especially for the light side, but does that mean that they’re on the dark side? No.
And I see what you’re saying with the selfishness thing, and I agree to an extent. The only thing I really disagree with is the idea of just because she’s his friend it means its selfish. I bring back my argument that there are different ways to look at it, as couldn’t it also be selfish of him to just give up on her? Maybe I’m misunderstanding, as I’m not entirely sure I’m reading into it in the way I’m supposed to, so if that isn’t what you mean, feel free to correct me.
And to be quite honest, I can’t argue against the whole stubbornness thing, as I think you phrased it better than I did, and you’re right.
As for Jun’s past self, I feel like his hatred was fueled primarily by the betrayal he felt from not only his sister, but from those around him. He believed he was doing the right thing and despite that people still turned their backs on him. From the flashbacks alone, there are signs that he’s already falling by claiming that his sister is being selfish for not going with him, and, if what his sister said was correct, he was doing it for the glory of saving them, not for the Annarites themselves. He was in a strange way, closed minded about the whole thing because he wouldn’t look at it from the other’s points of views, he just say them and hated them because what they thought differed from what he thought. Jun even says that. I think this is where he and Sem differ.
Sem is doing it to save Illyan, someone he considers family, because that’s what he was taught was most important. He isn’t letting his anger and hatred get the better of him, or at the very least he’s trying not to. He’s using it to fight for Illyan not so much against those he hates as I think a red follower would.
Gosh, it feels like I’m building a case for my debate team again. This is actually really interesting, so thanks for sharing your thoughts, they’ve certainly made me think : )
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I’m not exactly certain what you mean…the Red stat can’t count towards Montage.
You mean while do people who follow Montage still includes The Red, when Montage is understanding and self-progress while Red is emotions that hamper development?
Because there are hints that the current Red is a corrupted version, when it originally existed it was probably similar to Slytherin from Harry Potter. Ambition is not inherently bad, or greed, or anything really as long as you don’t become solely focused on it. Everything in moderation.
Make final romances not end horribly in at least one version each?
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I’d be happy to see more interactions between the races. Like, we know the Clansmen and the Kira’s don’t get along well, what else? Are they opposites in every way, are they two sides of the same coin? What about the other races? I guess I’m curious to see more of the scope of this world you’ve created, the politics behind their actions; who are considered second class citizens, who’s discriminated against, the biological and cultural differences that make communication difficult?
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