In Darkness - Network

Well, it looks like I was right.

We have armor. We don't have bears yet, but I imagine when we do, they'll be quite displeased.

Dug found a very large helmet, sort of fit for a bear, in the library.

Who wants to play hide and seek to find any of the rest of it?

And do we think this means we get bears here?

Given that the clues of the lottery seem to point toward the panserbjorne of Svalbard, I will tell you what I know of them.

The two riddles seemed to imply "ice" and "bear". The map was fairly self-explanatory; it had Svalbard circled. I'm not certain what the alethiometer is meant to represent in the theme present. The bears don't use them. The prophecy child, Lyra, had one, and she did trick the bear-king into agreeing to engage in single combat with a challenger. Perhaps we're meant to trick the bears, but I won't speculate on that.

Alethiometer are used to detect the truth in things. The explanation is lengthy and I believe pointless in context, but perhaps someone else may be able to work out the relevance of one in the theme of clues. I'd be willing to go into what I know of them if anyone believes it would be helpful.

The panserbjorne are generally solitary creatures, though their kingdom is in the far north, centered near Svalbard. They have a monarchy, though the king can be displaced by losing a challenge of single combat to another bear. The bear king when I was taken was Iorek Byrnison, who was a friend to the prophecy child. There may be some connection there, but again, I won't offer any speculation.

The bears are known as armor-bears because of their skills as metal smiths and their ability to form intricate armor from a substance they call 'sky-iron', or metal obtained from meteorites. Their armor is to them what dæmon are to us. They pour themselves into their armor; it is their protection from other bears and it may bear some symbolism, but any other superstition attached to the armor remains a secret from me.

It did once reach my ear that Iorek's armor was stolen from him and the men who took it did not live to tell of it, but that is third or fourth hand knowledge and I don't know how reliable it is.

I don't know if any of this is helpful, and I'd be willing to expand upon any points anyone thinks may be relevant.

- Isadora

The casting of lots hath resulted in the following. Doctor Banner and I both hath receive-ed riddles.

His:

There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color is the bear?

Mine:

On the way a miracle: water became bone.

Also, the puzzles hath reveal-ed what appeareth to be a compass and a map.

I must confess that I know not what these tidings herald.

[Spike didn't bother to make this private to Dora. That's so very much not a mistake, because apparently he feels like being a jerk and implying a relationship exists in public. Also, it's likely that he sounds a bit tired.]

Hey, Dora. Your bed's cold and I don't like hide-and-seek.

Are you seeing someone else behind my back?

Did you survive?

Welcome back.

You aren't bearing any new scars or bandages or odd personality changes, are you?