u/Cypresss09

Here is the item description of the Preceptor's Big Hat:

>Large hat with the movements of the stars drawn on the inside of the brim. Worn by the magic preceptors who served the Carian royals.

>Glintstone sorcerers are the descendants of astrologers, a fact that the Carians remain aware of. Even if their fate has been long severed from the stars.

So it seems like the Preceptors were maybe the resident mages of Caria, besides the royals themselves. A "preceptor" is someone who basically upholds a law or commandment, and in some contexts is a sort of instructor or overseer. Already, it's kind of hard to imagine what their actual role was besides "magic teacher", but it seems significant that they knew about the stars and fate.

What seems more juicy to me though, is the vow they supposedly took when Radagon married Rennala. Per the Mask of Confidence:

>When Radagon married Rennala, he ordered the Carian magic preceptors to don these masks. To make it clear that all of their matters were to be kept strictly private.

For posterity, "confidence" in this context almost certainly means "secret". As in, "can I tell you something in confidence."

Anyways, most people think that this item description refers to the fact that Radagon is Marika. But what is it that the Preceptors actually do that would make them uniquely privy to this information? I suppose it's possible that they had the bespoke knowledge of the astrologers - how to carve out one's primal glintstone and put it into new flesh. Knowledge of the separation of flesh and soul could potentially allow them to 'pierce the veil' so-to-speak, and understand that there's something funky going on with Radagon's soul and flesh.

Then again, the way the item description refers to the Preceptors' "matters", could imply that these were new tasks they were charged with following the marriage.

Their vow of silence could also have nothing to do with the Radagon/Marika thing. Their outfits have imagery of twin snakes all over them, which is kind of maddening because what are we supposed to take from that? I've seen someone suggest that the Preceptors might have known about Messmer, who was possibly an illegitimate child of Radagon's. This is a little tenuous, but it still begs the same question as before - what exactly were the Preceptors doing that would make them privy to such secret knowledge.

Does anyone have any theories? For such a footnote in the overall lore, the Preceptors seem to be within a big puzzle that's frustratingly difficult to solve.

The game makes it pretty clear that Torrent, not Melina, chose us in particular. He's seems pretty loyal from the get go. The weird thing is that he doesn't abandon us or even show any hesitation when we get embraced by the Three Fingers or use the Frenzied Flame to burn the Erdtree. Something which we see in the FF ending does kill him.

The obvious instinct is to write this off as the devs not wanting to deprive us of a core game mechanic halfway through, which does make the most sense. But the interesting thing is that when Melina abandons us, she makes a point to say goodbye to Torrent. The fact that there's an in-game reference drawing attention to the fact that he stays is kind of compelling.

Of course, the confusion here is expounded by the DLC where Torrent banishes himself from the Abyssal Woods, presumably because he feels the overwhelming presence of Frenzy.

It all makes me wonder, is Torrent bound to us in some way? Why did he choose us in the first place?

This is all tied to the bigger question which I've been trying to figure out on my own - who is Torrent's former master? Since he sticks with us through any ending of the game, I find it hard to believe he would still be loyal to whoever it is.

This is just something I've been thinking about. I saw a theory recently that Radagon was a creation of the Divine Gate when Marika ascended without a lord. This is a compelling idea, but it led me to something else. Per the secret rite scroll:

>A lord will usher in a god's return, and the lord's soul will require a vessel

Hmm. Is it possible that Marika attempted to ascend without her Consort/vessel present? Thus, when it came time to ascend, Radagon's soul had nowhere to go but into Marika's body?

Alternatively, is it possible that Marika merged herself with Radagon at some point beforehand, thus allowing herself to fulfill the role as both God and lord-vessel?