As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance
- According to the fic, when Jack Vessalius created the Four Dukedoms, he divided the country into four quadrants for each to govern and quell the anarchy that had run rampant since the Tragedy of Sablier. It was the King, however, that decided which family ruled which quadrant, giving the Vessalius the largest quadrant to the South and the Nightrays the smallest to the North (largely because nobody trusted them). Early chapters make clear that Reveille, the new Capital, is in the South, within the Vessalius’ “territory,” whereas the quadrants’ boundaries met at the old capital, Sablier, in respect to the country’s great loss. Of course Bernard Nightray would have so much influence over what was done with the ruins of Sablier within the series (to the point where he could set up an orphanage for an experiment)—for the North to be the smallest territory, Sablier must be a relatively northern city, meaning that of the Dukedoms, the Nightrays are probably the ones with the household geographically closest to it at all times, and thus the ones more likely to lean towards the duties of monitoring it.
- The idea that the new capital, Reveille, is unusually close to the Vessalius main house is backed up by Oz's words during St. Bridget's Day in the manga, in which he says that, due to his father's will, he never was able to attend festivals before despite the main Vessalius household being so close to Reveille.
- These quadrants are likely a reference to The Wizard of Oz; like the country of Sable, the Land of Oz is divided into four “quadrants”; Gillikin country, Quadling country, Winkie country, and Munchkin country, which are oriented North, South, East, and West respectively. Like Sable’s four quadrants, the boundaries of these lands each meet up at the capital in the center of the country, the Emerald City.
- The idea that the new capital, Reveille, is unusually close to the Vessalius main house is backed up by Oz's words during St. Bridget's Day in the manga, in which he says that, due to his father's will, he never was able to attend festivals before despite the main Vessalius household being so close to Reveille.
- In the second podcast transcript, “A Jack, a Glen, and the Tragedy of Sablier,” one of the streets named as the first casualties in the Tragedy of Sablier is Sibylle Square. A chapter earlier, we learned that the country’s royal family is the House of Sibylle, though of course the surname isn’t used much, and that it’s considered extremely disrespectful to use the name unless under very specific circumstances; things that bear the family's name are their sole property, with authority shared with no other. From this, we can deduce that Sibylle Square was the focus of monarchical power in Sablier, probably the location of the palace—and probably where most of the “ruling class” were when they died.
- In Advance 11, during Oz's, Gilbert's, Hedia's, and Anderson's trip to the old Vessalius main house (which has now become a historic site and museum), Gilbert seperates from the group and Anderson expresses relief that Gilbert hid in Oz's old bedroom instead of out on the expansive grounds somewhere. But in Advance 21, we learn that the staff have honored the last Duchess, Ada Vessalius, and her love of cats and charity through the grounds partially serving as a cat shelter, something that also draws in a lot of tourists. No wonder Gilbert didn't leave the house when he was upset—the grounds are covered in cats!
- While Ada gave the rest of the family more stereotypical tombstones, she marked her brother's passing with an obelisk. The author makes mention in their notes that Obelisks in Egyptian symbology were the stone representations of divine sunbeams and were considered markers for the entrance into the land of the Gods. Why was Oz singled out for a radically different tombstone than the rest of his family? Of all the people Ada laid to rest there, Oz is the only one whose body isn't there, because he Disappeared Into Light and his body became one with the Core of the now light-filled Abyss. Ada chose a marker that reflected what happened to her brother.
Fridge Logic
- Where are the Baskervilles? If Gilbert entered the service of the Queen for so long, what have they been up to? Why has no one gotten in contact with Oz, a Child of Misfortune, earlier - especially since he's the one who now has to deal with continuing contact with the Core of the Abyss?
