u/Edralis1

I know, I know, I’m late to the game. I just finished the book yesterday and I’ve been processing it since, and fangirling HARD over Agnieszka and Sarkan. I just loved the book–so many wonderful things about it. Especially those two!

There are a few issues I would like to clarify, and I’ve been wondering if somebody maybe noticed something during their reading that I overlooked or has some other reputable source where these questions are answered.

1. Why only girls?
2. Why weren’t they ever allowed out at all, not even for short visits with their family?
3. Were all the girls witches? If not, what specifically was he looking for in them? If yes, how come there was precisely one witch girl every ten years? (And, related to 1), how come no wizards?)
4. How come Agnieszka didn’t even know the name of the previous girl? It seems like that would surely be common knowledge in the valley.
5. How come the villagers don’t know what he’s doing with the girls, since he took  so many already?
6. At the start of the book, when he was summoned to deal with the chimera, why didn’t he teleport to the edge of his holdings and ride from there but instead rode all the way through his whole country?

I actually don’t expect there to be good answers to at least some of these questions, and I am okay with that (suspension of disbelief, I guess), but if someone has some good insights on these, I would appreciate it!

Thanks! :)

Bonus question for those who enjoy thinking about these things: What do you imagine happens afterwards?

I think: Agnieszka remains a woods witch of sorts, healing the Wood and taking care of it, but also taking on Sarkan’s role dealing with the villagers and helping them with their problems. Perhaps she would also have more contact with the villagers on the other side of the Wood, in Rosya, where her future apprentice (the [yellow cow] girl) comes from.

Sarkan comes back to stay in the valley and restores his tower and perhaps starts focusing on other areas of study, and perhaps also to some degree helps Agnieszka restore the Wood. I would imagine he would leave the job of dealing with the villagers largely to Agnieszka. I don’t see them as sharing household long-term, or getting married, but I think they remained close colleagues, meeting and collaborating often, and lovers, and that their bond remains deep and lifelong. (I can’t imagine Sarkan would want children, but maybe Agnieszka would at some point?)