Book II: Speculations Abound

Readers of a previous post were up in arms at the news that a major character dies in Book II, The Rats and The Ruling Sea. A few have been kind enough to add their guesses, fears, or seance-acquired glimpses of the evolving plot. Here are some of my favorites:

• Thasha dies at her wedding, and continues to play a part in the story as a ghost.
• Thasha does not die, but falls in love with Neeps. Pazel is consumed with jealousy.
• Thasha and her new husband, the Mzithrini prince, elope together and are picked up by the Chathrand. Pazel is consumed with jealousy.
• Arunis begins turning crewmembers into rats (hence the title), forcing Pazel and friends to surrender.
• Oggosk sticks a poisoned needle into Pazel's neck when he fails a test of courage, and then the ghost of Frank Herbert rises up and drags me off to that corner of hell reserved for plagiarists.
  
• Taliktrum steals the Nilstone and uses it to overpower the human crew. But each time he uses it he must sacrifice one ixchel life.
• Lady Diadrelu is sentenced to death, when her clan decides she has betrayed them to the humans.
  
• Captain Rose's fragile sanity finally snaps. He is straightjacketed. Uskins and Fiffengurt vie for control of the ship.
• Arunis makes a servant out of Felthrup the rat. When Felthrup realizes the evil he's been forced to do, he leaps into the sea.

Alright, I confess: a couple of those are mine. Had to do something with all those discarded plotlines. One of the above, moreover, is perfectly true. Back to the ouija boards!