I know the comment is old and my commenting now Is probably beyond irrelevant (I’ve made myself not leave replies for the very
reason)
But nevertheless bere it goes. I don’t think it is, a continuity error that is. I think the intensity and the need of the moment just levelled her up
or she gained a new skill or whatever because she needed it NOW. The skill/class gets announced when they fall asleep but it’s not as if we haven’t many times seen them gained/used during the day and the announcement just names/acknowledges the change.

They weren’t her fingers anymore.

As far as Flos being the insider, very unlikely. He’s attempting to conquer the whole world again, he would have zero reason to help out another ruler – particularly one as potentially strong as an emperor – gain strength. I also don’t see him giving advice on using totems to expand territory, as there has been zero evidence of anything similar for Flos doing that.

For the beings on the solstice seemingly not talking with Geneva or any of them, it could just be a matter of distance and time. They seemed to be at least partially physical entities, so even if they can move extremely fast, they should still have to move through the world. One or more visiting Laken on the same evening could be quite possible as Liscor is only about 500-600 miles away from Invrisil. Baleros would be much, much further. If they actually had physical constraints, not being able to make it between Izril and Baleros in a single night would be plausible.

Wait, we don’t know they’re evil, we’re just assuming it.

Yeah it could’ve been from the dead gods

[Skill – Undying Loyalty Learned.] (green)

Not a typo, but this probably shouldn’t be green. In all the long history of Innworld surely some ruler has pulled this stunt before. It’s impressive enough to give it to Laken as a bonus “learned” skill.

Controlling someone’s mind is a most profound act of violation, and it’s one that’s terrifyingly easy to justify with excuses to yourself. Which means it’s half way down an incredibly slippery slope. It’s why I’ve had little sympathy for Magnolia from the start; the Magnolia who tried to mind control Ryoka into spilling everything at their early meeting, using a charm skill, is fundamentally the first step on the path to the Magnolia that considers it perfectly reasonable to just abduct Ryoka off the street and threaten to keep her prisoner for her entire life for information.

These two things are different in degree, not in kind.

Magnolia doesn’t have the philosophical background to know that using a mind control skill is wrong; her world literally doesn’t allow that level of ethical development. But it is.

Yes, “You don’t want to sell us death sticks. Go home and rethink your life.” is fundamentally evil. It’s a profound violation of free will, done out of laziness to avoid dealing with a petty annoyance. Obi-wan has a better excuse with the droids; the stormtroopers are active soldiers of an enemy who is looking to kill them en route to killing a lot of other people; this rather changes the moral calculus. A war, by definition, is a situation in which you take evil actions of necessity to prevent worse evils, and Obi-wan is very much at war with the Empire.

typo: Both times there were only wounded, not the dead—the Windfrozen Riders –> … not killed