Oooooh boy. So indeed, the Brimmed Cap did have a hand in this after-all… But the shrewdest part about it? It was Coco’s vial that was the trigger. This was discovered thanks to Coco’s sharp eyes of noticing that her vial was still full, and thanks to her enthusiasm if discovery, she had wondered aloud whether there was an infinite looping mechanism in it to keep it full. That drew Qifrey’s attention, which prompted them to go visit Nolnoa’s shop for further inspection. It was there they had discover they had cast a ‘Twinned Bottle’ spell, which makes it so two vessels share the same content, and a small medal inscribed with a Casting Seal in the fluid. This must have transpired during the last incident when the Brimmed Cap had that short moment with Coco before Qifrey and the others had found her unconscious at the bottom of the tower.
And while Nolnoah and Qifrey have successfully pinpointed that there’s a mysterious addictive suspense in the ink, the truth was revealed to us the viewers, and that the addictive is in fact blood. So this isn’t exactly something Qifrey wants to be caught holding by the Knights of Moralis— in-fact it was either ignorance, or sheer luck by the fact they didn’t think to investigate beyond checking for tattoo’s inscribed on Coco’s hands. But the fact it has the wielder’s blood may prove to be a critical lead that could actually produce results of accurately tracing them down.
For that reason, I do wonder if the wielder is also able to disengage the spell by effectively cutting the rope to its lead should Qifrey realize blood as the key ingredient at play here. Either they consider it a risk worth taking, or perhaps they want this to be exposed. He did wonder how long it’d take for them to notice– well, if anything, probably sooner than he thought.
But now this begs the question: Can blood alone be enough to work as a conjuring ink to draw out spells? Or is it merely the secret to making them tremendously more powerful? If the former, then Silverwood Trees may not be the only source for conjuring ink. And if that proves to be the case, should the secret get out, that means gate-keeping ‘Outsiders’ from practising magic is that much harder. Using blood as conjuring ink would be nothing to sneeze at for those desperate enough to use magic to attain a means to an end, such a Dadga who was begging a Knight of Moralis to heal Custas’ wounds.
Speaking of which, it seems even “Healing” may be classified as a taboo, which… is a bit insane if true. This is definitely a grey area since I can see how it can be abused, especially when Humans like Dadga are desperate for miracles. But at the same time, it’s because Witches have chosen to gate-keep magic rather than attempt to establish a rule of law and order, they are creating essentially a black market primed for organizations like the Brimmed Caps. People like Dadga, when pushed to desperation, makes excellent targets for those who’s very likely willing to dabble in taboo magic to justify a means to an end, but I digress.
Truthfully, I’m not so sure whether it’s really a good idea for Qifrey to keep this new information a secret from Coco. I get why it’s probably better to keep her in the dark, especially since Easthies hasn’t given up on trying to force a confession out of her… But at the same time, knowing what the Brimmed Cap are capable of is also important. Though considering her guilt and trauma of casting that taboo spell, perhaps the knowledge that the Brimmed Cap intend to drag her into their affairs may be too much for her to handle at this time.
But now Qifrey has bigger problems on his hands. Although he despises memory erasure spells, he ended up having to use it on Nolnoa because their discovery proved to be too much for him to handle. He felt the urgent need to let the Knights of Moralis and the Great Hall know about it. But Qifrey can’t afford them to confiscate his biggest lead yet, so he needed him to forget that one moment. It goes to show the lengths Qifrey’s willing to go to maintain his leads to the Brimmed Cap. That being said, he didn’t quite conceal the secret perfectly, as while Nolnoa has forgotten, both Tartah and Coco (despite being in another room) witnessed the bright light. So Tartah certainly remembers the incident, and while he doesn’t know what had transpired, what he does know is that his grandpa has mysteriously forgotten about it. So this is something that might come back to bite Qifrey as he has technically breached their trust in this manner.
Apart from that bombshell, we learned another thing today: Silverwash condition.
Unfortunately under the present system, Tartah will never be able to become a witch due to the fact he cannot see colours. Those who have Silverwash eyes can only seen the world in silver. And the problem here isn’t that he’s incapable of learning magic, but it’s because Witches only accept “exceptional beings” to speak, so they do not accept those who are considered “flawed” or “imperfect”. Aka: This is flat out discriminatory stuff, but I don’t think Coco has fully understood that yet, and I’m not entirely sure if this is something that will stick in her mind. There’s certainly a possibility, as Coco may want to learn more why there isn’t a spell to fixing eye-sight, or perhaps Witches are so stingy about imperfections. It would offer an opportunity to further explain the rules around healing/restoration magic.
That being said: There’s a part of me that wonder whether Qifrey’s eye that is constantly hidden behind his hair is actually Silverwash, or maybe there’s something else about it (possibly and most likely related to the Brimmed Caps) making it the reason why it’s hidden in plain sight. It may also not be a total coincidence that one of the glass on his spectacles is tinted black. I can’t help but have suspicions there’s a purpose behind it given how every object in this series has various uses so as long as there’s enough surface space to draw the spell— such as the door knobs Tartah used today.
Needless to say, the more we learn about the Witches’ and their organization, the more deeply flawed it is. The Knights of Moralis appear to have no actual system designed for proper trials and investigation, and work purely off presumptions made in the heat of the moment. It seems irrelevant to them if the person, such as Coco today, who was not guilty of charge. On top of that, they also seem to ignore the fact there are victims being used by the Brimmed Cap, and they are dragged into their affairs without any knowledge of such. And Coco’s a prime example of that, as she was subjected to this by being given that magic picture book of magical spells, and now a vial that was tampered with a ‘Twinned Bottle’ spell, putting her in a position where she’s using taboo tools without her knowledge nor consent. It’s a deeply flawed and hypocritical system, and that’s why Qifrey despises it so.
Last but not least, thankfully everyone was able to be spared of losing their memories– including the Outsiders that were on the scene. The land Coco accidentally had destroyed won’t be restored to its original state seems, but Qifrey and Olruggio had at least made the effort to attempt to restore the river and establish a solid sand bridge for travellers to traverse on. Agott really thought this whole incident absolutely blew her chances of taking the second exam any time soon, so Agott will have the chance to do it, good for her!
