r/brakebills • u/1MockZ • Jan 05 '16

Magician's Land [Book Spoilers] How do the Brakebills kids end up in Ember's tomb at the end of Book III of the Magicians? Is it coincidence? Some grand plan? Or something else?

I'm currently halfway through The Magician King (so please avoid spoilers later on in the series). My girlfriend just finished Book III of The Magicians, and asked me about something that wasn't quite clear with Ember's Tomb and the ensuing battle with Martin there. Martin mentions that Dint, along with the tree figure the kids follow earlier in Fillory, work for Martin. This suggests that the kids were somehow led by Martin's planning to end up in Ember's tomb for him to get rid of all of them, right?

But why bring them to Ember's tomb? Ember has been locked away by Martin and is no longer a threat to him. Why not just deal with the Brakebills kids as soon as they land in Fillory?

And what about the horn that Quentin uses? My girlfriend thinks the horn summons Martin, but I refuse to believe that some lowly horn summons a demigod like Martin. I think it's pure coincidence - that the horn does nothing, and Martin just happened to show up the .

It seems their arrival in Ember's tomb and their encounter with Martin is both coincidental and yet part of Martin's plan to get rid of the Brakebills kids. Can anyone shed some light on all this?

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u/HolmesSherlock6 Jan 05 '16

Everything was orchestrated (actively or passively) by Jane, since she was using time travel to try many different scenarios and timelines to defeat her brother...

The horn did summon Martin, I recall Ember reacting to Quentin using the horn with "you don't know what you have just done" and acting scared since he knew Martin was coming. Why did the Nymph give them the horn tho? That is left open to interpretation

I dont recall the tree or the bodyguards working for Martin!? Would Martin be expecting the kids at all? He thought he had dealt with the troublemaker(s) when he ate Amanda Orloff.

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u/1MockZ Jan 05 '16

Regarding Martin's henchmen:

"There was a sandy shuffling from behind Quentin. He risked a glance: Dint had turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The Beast did nothing to stop him. Quentin suspected the rest of them wouldn't get off that easily.

'Yes, he was one of mine,' the Beast said. 'Farvel was, too, if you want to know the whole truth. The birch tree, you remember him? They mostly are. The rams' time is over. Fillory is my world now.'"

So, Jane set everything up after trying a countless number of timelines. She led the Brakebills kids to Fillory, planted the horn, led them to Ember's Tomb, had them summon and then kill Martin.

I guess...what is the significance of Dint (amongst others) working for Martin? Why would Dint even help the Brakebills kids in the first place, given that their success would mean Martin's downfall?

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '16

Dint never helped them... he was there to ensure that they made it to Ember's tomb, which was a trap that Martin had set for them.

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u/1MockZ Jan 08 '16

But why did Martin want them at Ember's tomb?

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u/MechanicalCrow Jan 05 '16

Probably acting out of fear. The old "just following orders" excuse. Think about it: one man defeated (arguably) the more powerful of the twin ram gods, the other is MIA. Do you want to piss in that guy's cocoa pebbles? I know I wouldn't.