The Gwinsle Divergence
The Facts
Jessica Gwinsle is presumed dead at the hands of the Tarrant military.
Elsbeth Traleth has escaped on the same night of Jessica's death.
The exploring ship plans have been stolen on the same night of Jessica's death.
The Implication
Cadyn has a breech that is very close to Queen Setta Waylen.
The Hypothesis
Jessica Gwinsle is working for Tarrant as a double agent.
The Narrative
In the very early morning hours of Helbrede, 3rd of Storms Jessica Gwinsle wakes select Battleborne consisting of Coletrane, Marcellus Bayfield, Marley Blackwater, and myself. We are informed of a mission of the utmost importance that is to be carried out immediately. The details are sparse, we are to meet one of her spies that has information regarding a Tarrant Battleborne that their own country is uninformed about. The evidence of a existence of this Battleborne is wanting; a strange light seen in the window of a house as the spy was passing through. We take a civilian fishing vessel to Tarrant's shore. There seems to be no other involvement of the Cadyn military.
On Adel, 4th 0f Storms we meet with her spy, Fizz. He adds no further compelling information about this so-called Battleborne that we are seeking. Fizz gives us directions to the village and the house where he saw the light. He warns us of a likely ambush location near a bridge.
Jessica Gwinsle is a Battleborne and the Commander of the rest of the Battleborne. She makes consistent and sound decisions. One of her roles is as a scout for the Cadyn military. On this day a proven Battelborne scout failed to notice an ambush, with full knowledge of the high probability of such a thing occurring at this exact spot. Jessica Gwinsle led four Battleborne into a trap.
During this combat, Jessica was initially separated from the rest of her group and taken down by the awaiting Tarrant military, only to be dragged off as a captive. Her blood is mentioned as being useful as she is being carried off. The destroyed bridge spanning a raging river should have been enough to end the foray; however, the prowess of Cadyns Battleborne proved no match for Tarrant. The Tarrant soldiers carried Jessica away while their comrades left behind were dispatched.
Elsbeth Traleth, a war prisoner from Tarrant, escaped some time during the night of Vite, 2nd of Storms and the morning of Helbrede, 3rd of Storms. The highly guarded plans for the Cadyn exploration ships have also gone missing during this same time frame. The very same time that Jessica is acting on this information that leads her and four Battleborne into Tarrant.
This this all coincidence or by uncanny design? What if...
Jessica has access to the room and chest where the ship plans are stored. No guard would think to stop her from entering the room, especially if she had a legitimate, or seemingly legitimate, reason for being there. She knows few people have access to the chest and once Wrellen is done for the day no one else is likely to notice anything missing. A quick in and out for someone that is supposed to be there.
Then, Jessica helps set Elsbeth free. She is guarded and locked in a cell with no discernible way to exit or harm the guard from the inside. The guard would have no reason to open the door. Jessica asks to see Elsbeth and dispatches the guard.
Jessica then initiates her escape plan to cover any avenue that may have been left open. She gathers some Battleborne for an urgent mission in Tarrant, requisitions a non-military vessel for transport so as to not throw any signals, and meets with her Tarrant handler. Who directs her to a spot where she will be separated from her companions and taken under Tarrant protection.
What could be the motive for such a sudden but inevitable betray? Cadyn conscripts all Battleborne into military service, no exceptions. To get out one has to die, get imprisoned, or turn defector. With little place to stay low in Cadyn, where is a defector to go? To Tarrant, of course. How would Tarrant accept a commander from Cadyn, their sworn enemy, into their midst? Provide an offering that is too good to refuse; provide the blueprints to build ships that are able to reach the new lands.
That Jessica is presumed dead at the hands of the Tarrant military does little to debunk this. The force that Jessica met with were under the command of the Dragon, Loce Silas, who is known to be a fierce and skilled commander. Once the goods have been delivered, what is the benefit of keeping excess baggage? After all, once a traitor, always a traitor. And for whatever reason they could have wanted her blood, there was plenty of it. It ties up the loose ends nicely.
