1. First off, what are the two incidents at Landorin mentioned in the guidebook? One is the massacre, but what is the other?
2. What is the nature of the Way? Is it circular? The are parallels between the past and present hint that the Way is repeating itself: the burning of Janwen and Estrana, Landorin "being" at the beginning and the end of the Way, etc. The Way might even be just simply be Rhue's journey to find out why he died at Landorin (maybe he never survived the massacre; maybe he's a spirit just trying to find out why he died)? Or perhaps it is his search for Serena is his search for serenity/peace. Serena might not actually exist; she's just the bait that lures Rhue onward. Serena might be whoever Rhue makes her to be- Kloe, Cesta, Chasta, etc.
3. In a weird metaphysical sense, is Rhue the "Purpose" of a new Way? Or perhaps the swords and how they are used craft the next Way? The people in the strange "dream" Estrana are possibly persons slain by Rhue's sword. They seem to still exist on some level inside of Rhue, and Rhue can "guide" those shades (i.e. Rhue leads Midian to Jed). By the way, did anyone notice the subtle screen shimmer when Midian joined Rhue's party? Perhaps it was a figment of my imagination, or perhaps it's an example of Rhue (the "Purpose") directing the actions of Midian?
4. Is it possible the Shadows that seem to be following Rhue are actually not always the same entity? One is obviously the Phantom Slasher, but there are others times when the shadow simply watches. Mayhaps there are two shadow entities- one is a killer (active role), the other is a spectator (passive role). Taking this a step further, there were two shadows present when Rhue began his journey. The one giving him the sword might be the Phantom Slasher (played an active role), the other that didn't even react (was passive) might be the Phantom Watcher? They might be agents (of the Purpose?) watching and judging Rhue based on his actions and choices. It might even be Lun!
5. Are the swords really artifacts that allow the bearer to travel between various levels of the Way? Traziun follows his father by an unknown means, Rhue's sword sends people to "dream" Estrana"...?
Well, that's enough speculation for one sitting; I probably could spend all day trying to tease out some sense in The Way's plot.
