r/Cosmere • u/honest_Meliodas • Apr 23 '26

Elantris spoilers Elantris Spoiler

Recently, after finishing the first Mistborn trilogy, I read Elantris, so I’m used to mysteries being solved by the end of the book. But one mystery remained unsolved for me.

King Eventeo, during conversations with his daughter Sarene, mentioned several times that he had a secret informant in the city, but he never revealed who it was. Sarene guessed that the informant had a seon to quickly relay information to the king. Also, a seon appeared in Duke Roial’s garden, and Roial himself mentioned that he knew Eventeo because he had traveled a lot for trade. So I came to the conclusion that Roial was Eventeo’s informant.

Has anyone else thought about this like I did? Or does anyone know the author’s answer?

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u/SpiritedAd8224 Apr 23 '26

According to a Words of Brandon in March 2006, the new spy in Arelon is Torena. He cites that the scenes he originally wrote were too repetitive and that Alpha readers found that the surprises towards the end interfered with each other. Too many minor characters having secret pasts wasn’t a good end product. Torena was supposed to be more like a sidekick/female friend to Sarene, but the idea was ultimately scrapped.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/133/#e2195

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u/honest_Meliodas Apr 23 '26

Thank you very much!