9 replies to this topic

[Blue Flaming Wings]

No, this is not another "Hwa Ryun is secretly a Ranker!" theory. 

 

We don't know much about Hwa Ryun at the moment, but what we do know has sort of clicked together in my mind into a large picture. Hwa Ryun is part of the Red Witch Clan, a race of guides, sort of foils of the Silver Dwarves. We met her for the first time in the Crown game where she was already a part of FUG and in contact with Rachel. However, we immediately hit a snag right then and there. 

 

Hwa Ryun has stated that she is just using FUG for her own purposes and her goal lies elsewhere. The mocking/joking tone she uses when she refers to Baam as "My god" (as compared to FUG's legitimate reverence to Slayers) also collaborates with this. But if she has not bought the doctrine of FUG then why had she joined it? Why was she in it before she ever met Baam and Rachel? 

 

My theory is that she had foreknowledge about their appearing in the Tower, specifically Baam's appearance in the Tower. 

 

To understand this, you must understand how the racial position of a guide works. Specifically, Guide, Gilahbi in Korean, just means "one who chooses and leads the way." Yu Han Sung describes them as "ones blessed by the Tower of all the paths within, to assist (a team) in its navigation, and, at times, are even able to foresee the future and change it." It can be said that a Guide has extreme analytic skills and are able to examine people and routes to determine the best course of action. However, rarely, they are said to be able to actually see and change the future.

 

I think it is for this second reason that Hwa Ryun is well known among Silver Dwarves despite only being a Regular. If she made several predictions in the past, as a child, before joining FUG, and they all came true despite her never seeing the places or people she predicted, it would seem remarkable to both the Red Witch Clan and the Silver Dwarves as Guides seem to rely on their observation and analysis skills and not true supernatural foresight. This is how her beauty could be a plot point. There could be a rumor that there is a beautiful young girl in the Red Witch Clan who can actually see the future, and therefore Evan Edrock was surprised to see her because he recognized Hwa Ryun from the rumors. 

 

This plays into why she joined FUG. She literally foresaw Baam before he entered the Tower and she saw what he did or could do afterwards. The man he could become. She didn't join FUG, then Baam and Rachel entered, FUG found out then asked her to guide them (Rachel first and then Baam from then on) but she joined FUG because she knew Baam and Rachel would enter, FUG would find out, and Rachel would betray Baam.

 

After all, let's imagine for a moment that Hwa Ryun hadn't joined FUG, that she was just another Regular on the Floor of Tests that Baam befriended. He and Rachel would still have entered, Rachel would still have seen him take the ball test, still have thought that he stole everything from her, still would have betrayed him to become the "heroine" of the story, and Baam still would have ended up in FUG's clutches after the betrayal but with no one on his side save Ha Jinsung - who would have been another stranger to him. Moreover, she would have gotten a ring and been another one of FUG's hostages. If she tried to do things afterwards, knowing through her foreknowledge that Baam was still alive, that would have tipped off FUG. 

 

Instead, she entered FUG, became a Guide to it's Rankers, perhaps even told them that she knew two Irregulars would enter the Tower. That way when they got both under their thumb she could still stay by Baam's side, help him become stronger (physically and mentally) and see about cutting their (or at least his) ties with the criminal organization afterwards. If she has some larger goal outside of just getting Baam strong enough to survive the Tower that can be explored later in greater detail. 
 

Edited by Blue Flaming Wings, 09 March 2016 - 07:44 AM.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So I just thought of a slight addition to my theory that I wanted to share (even if there hasn't been much activity in this thread): 

 

I call it The Blessed One of the Red Witches theory. 

 

This is even more unsubstantiated then the theory above so please take what I say with a grain of salt. 

 

So Yun Han Sung describes Guides as "ones blessed by the Tower of all the paths within", the theory is this that within the Red Witch clan there is born one is exceptionally blessed by the Tower. Blessed with good looks, intellect and unrivaled ability as a Guide that gives  them insight into events that could shake or disturb the Tower as a whole. That's why Evan Edrok was surprised to see her, not because there's some rumors about Hwa Ryun in particular, but because he was surprised to see that the Blessed One of the Red Witches had been chosen as a Regular. 

 

That leads to the second part of the theory. If the Red Witches had kept Hwa Ryun locked away a room, a gilded cage, it would explain her comment to Baam that the two of them were similar. It's because they both dealt with isolation. This, of course, would lead to another mystery for the readers - how did the Blessed One of the Red Witches leave them and join up with FUG? Thus, Evan Edrok didn't recognize her due to Hwa Ryun being some sort of anamoly among Guides, but because she as a "Blessed One" had a special existence, especially among Red Witches, and he was able to recognize her. 

 

Either way, I do hope for their reunion so we can find out once and for all why he was surprised to see her on the Floor of Tests.  

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So, I've thought of two new theories and decided to post them here, editing the title of the thread to show this.

 

First, is what I call external shinsoo manipulation. The way shinsoo manipulation works generally is that the Wave Controller forms baangs of any determinate size which they then fill up with shinsoo (the Soo, density). Flow Control and Reverse Flow Control mean you can either control your own inner flow of shinsoo or tamper with another person or object's flow of shinsoo. But we know that the shinsoo inside is not the only shinsoo out there. In fact, the Tower, the world, is filled with shinsoo. It's the very air around them and the oceans on each Floor.

 

I think Baam can manipulate this shinsoo.

 

That's essentially what he did during the Crown Game. He didn't form a baang and then lash out at Hwa Ryun with his own internal shinsoo, but rather he instinctively manipulated the shinsoo in the air to attack her. Possibly the same thing could have happened when he fought against Urek. Whether the other Irregulars can do this is up for debate.

 

Second, I think the staff that Hwa Ryun has is a Wand. It would make sense for why she was put in as a Wave Controller and not a Fisherman despite the showing of her physical prowess (assuming FUG didn't tamper with the results to let her keep an eye on Baam). If that is the case, that means she'll get a powerup once the group reaches the Floor(s) she has permission to use it on or Floor 43 (whichever comes first).

[azbarimon]

Interesting thoughts, thanks. Remember, just cause no-one is responding, doesn't mean that no-one is looking. Sadly, ever since ToG was removed from batoto, the forums here have pretty much died.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

Yeah, I was keeping eyes on the view count, and also deliberately double posting when I got a new theory instead of just editing the OP.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

The reason why there aren't Slayers for the Three Lords (making 14 Slayers instead of 11) is that the Three Lords will die when Zahard dies. Like how Zahard made a contract so no one born in the Tower could kill him, they also made a contract tying their lives to his. 

[agreton]

I enjoyed reading your theories. Since we don't know a lot about Hwa Ryun or Evan Edrock it can be difficult to say either way. The way I interpret it is that Hwa Ryun and the other Red Witches, are a type of clairvoyant guide, were as Evan Edrock and the Silver Dwarves are more of a utilitarian type of guide. Each of them are essentially a variation of a theme. They both can guide people through the paths of the Tower. 

 

I happen to believe that Hwa Ryun may be one of the strongest clairvoyants of the Red Witches. It would be interesting to see Hwa Ryun and Evan Edrock helping Viole climb the Tower, it would be very interesting to see how they work together or oppose one another. I don't believe it was any kind of coincidence that Hwa Ryun found her way to Baam through Rachel in Season 1. Nor that she attached herself to Baam after his faked death during the test. 

[Blue Flaming Wings]

Interesting. I never considered the possibility that the Silver Dwarves and the Red Witches had inherently different powers. Regardless though, Evan Edrock reacted to seeing her and we have confirmation from SIU that Hwa Ryun and Evan never met each other before, which implies that he's heard of  her.

[Blue Flaming Wings]

So, having looked at the raws and read the unofficial translation of chapter 196, I think most people would rule out the idea that Evan thought Hwa Ryun was a special existence and was merely surprised to see a fellow Guide on the Floor of Tests. But I think it's possible that he's just rationalizing his surprise away under the thought of "She can't be that person. The Red Witches would have said something by now." It has been nearly a decade after all. And I still think that his surprise of seeing her walk out of Yu Han Sung's room was overblown if he was just surprised in seeing another Guide. Some people even thought that Hwa Ryun was a Ranker until SIU confirmed that the two had never met before. Also, in his blog post, SIU said their meeting was "mysterious" - I think there may be more going on then we realize at the moment. We'll see if Evan has more to say on the matter in the future. 

Edited by Blue Flaming Wings, 01 May 2016 - 07:24 PM.

[God of LoL]

Interesting. I never considered the possibility that the Silver Dwarves and the Red Witches had inherently different powers. Regardless though, Evan Edrock reacted to seeing her and we have confirmation from SIU that Hwa Ryun and Evan never met each other before, which implies that he's heard of  her.

Personally, my headcanon is that if you want to get somewhere fast, you get a Dwarf, when you want to accomplish something, you get a Witch.

Edited by God of LoL, 08 May 2016 - 09:02 PM.