Horn in Babbie

Some may not agree with the idea that Horn fled into Babbie, but if Marc is right and it did happen, it explains one question I had about the very end of the books: Why doesn't Babbie go with Silk, Seawrack, and the others when they leave Blue? At first I didn't understand this omission, but if Babbie does indeed contain Horn, then conceivably he wanted to stay and watch over his children remaining on Blue. That still leaves Nettle though. Why in the whorl did she go along with Silk (who isn't her husband) and his girlfriend? To find Horn, who she believes might still be wandering the Whorl or Green? Kind of tragic . . . -Steve

I think Nettle is leaving for the opposite reason, that she knows that Horn is dead, her children are now full grown, and she has no reason to remain on an isolated island near crime-ridden New Viron. Thus she returns to the Whorl, which apparently still seems her true home to her. And of course the final scene of RttW could be scene as a representation of the Harrowing of Hell, the medieval notion that in his three days of death Christ entered Limbo and freed the Old Testament righteous. For me, the most annoying issue concerning the group's departure for the Whorl is the inclusion of Seawrack. While Silk had some of Horn's memories and wanted to see her again enough to learn to call her from Scylla, I don't understand while Seawrack wishes to depart for a strange new place with a person she doesn't even know, and who possesses no longer the personality she loved three years before. Christopher Culver

Nettle was as much a disciple of Silk as Horn was. If Horn hadn't gone to search for him, Nettle would have. Now that Horn is dead, following Silk is the natural thing to do. Following Silk is the natural thing for anybody to do, actually, which may explain why Seawrack went with him, although I'm not sure why Silk wanted her to come. Here's a theory. Hearing Seawrack's song makes you fall in love with her. Silk heard her singing because Horn was already tuned in. Just being next to Horn and having him point out the song is enough for that military officer to start hearing her. Maybe her song is like one of those hidden pictures, that once it is pointed out, you can't not see it anymore. So, even though Horn is gone, Silk still hears and is enthralled by Seawrack's song. Kinda creepy, especially given his continued devotion to Hyacinth. -Rostrum