Comic for January 27, 2019: Lifting the Veil

[CrRAR]

Hmmm. *looks closer* HMMMMMMM.

Trace 2: GrandTemplar Scoobadoo? Lots of implications to this page, the board has been set, gloves are off, let the inner motivations flow~

It is curious that whatever it is... is in the Rose room, let’s not forget that. I’m more thinking maybe that’s irrelevant, maybe it was just a convienient location for storage of such an atrocity. The rose/subtleflower petals are interesting indicating non-disturbal in quite a long time, so it very well could have been a funerary wing for Rose. Would make sense post-Saria for him to have repurposed the area with such disregard in such a way. Reenergizes the thought that she really does not know the truth about her... arrangement.

How pleasant of old Trace to park such a stunning specimen of his highest-quality pupating hellspawn there.

Thanks to Maddie, the doors are open too. Hopefully this place doesn’t operate under the “In Case of Emergency: Break Glass” mechanism. If so Rocky has a much... tougher... fight ahead of him. I weep for thee, you awful rock monstrosity. >:

Trace indeed does experience a interjected “No!” here, huh? Based on the other times Evil!Trace has surfaced, I always read a little sarcasm into what he’s got to say. Like he may be toying with Trace just for fun, from whatever pedestal he’s projecting from. Like, whatever Trace and company think they may be fighting against doesn’t have as much impact as they expect. Dance puppets, dance!

(...but for real, fight. Just. Keep fighting.)

[MuonNeutrino]

Well. This is absolutely not good. Ye gods, old!Trace, what did you DO to poor Rose?!?!?!

OK , well : Rose has now a full access to the mansion , and it doesn't seem to be pleasant for Trace's dark side . But why this fact makes the forbidden door opening ?

The thing hidden in should be Rose herself , connected to the estate with these tentacles ? This explain how she can appears suddenly when someone needs her or how she knows where each person is : she's a solid astral projection ............. Maddie has seen "it" before to be teleported ; maybe she'll reveal it later , even if it's only a private discussion with Rose

That is my suspicion as well. No wonder Trace's first wife was restless in her grave.

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

As for why Trace would do something like this, I think it might tie in with the question of why he kept Rose on in such a position of importance in the first place. Rose once said that Saria was the reason she was still here. My own personal speculation on that was that, since Rose was such a close friend of Saria's, in Trace's mind she became in some twisted way almost like a piece of Saria to him - one he couldn't bear to lose or throw away. And we know that Trace was obsessed with stopping death and trying to find some way to bring back Saria. What better way to combine those two - preserving this last fragment of Saria and keeping her close, and furthering his research on defying death - than to bind Rose as his test subject? She was already old even when he took over, he's going to have to do something if he doesn't want her to take away that last piece of Saria simply by dying of old age. And so he freezes her, trapped, unchanging, like a fly in amber, to forever preserve that last piece of Saria. Or, even more creepy, perhaps she did die of old age, and he refused to accept it, like he refused to accept Saria's death. Except this time he has the benefit of years of obsessive thought and research on the topic, and he's able to preserve her body on the edge of death in some sort of magical stasis while keeping her soul from escaping. Don't underestimate just how crazy old!Trace was...

Poor Rose.

[Rafe]

The thing that seems most revealing here is Rose using the term "influence", rather than say, "access". I makes it seem as if she isn't so much a real physical being, sensing things and transporting herself around the estate, but instead, just some kind of power or presence, kept connected to the estate. Maybe there is still a physical Rose somewhere in this. Maybe she's something more like a spiritual presence who can still manifest herself physically when necessary. Whatever she is she has spent many years being "restricted" by the old Trace's magic.

A while back, we saw her musing about the world beyond the Estate, and how long it had been since she'd seen it. Maybe now that her "restrictions" are gone, she'd be able to leave if she wants to. There may have been a lot of things that she has been kept from doing or seeing. In other words, being freed at last from whatever was binding her, all kinds of unforeseen things might happen. It might even mean that she wasn't merely forbidden to leave the estate, but that she was forbidden to die when she should have. She says she will explain it to Trace later. I'm looking forward to that.

[CrRAR]

The thing that seems most revealing here is Rose using the term "influence", rather than say, "access".

Good point. One thing of note, and maybe it’s just the power of the transport at hand, but Rose’s eyes are reddish here. They’ve only flashed blue before (I think... I will check). Also, the cracking of the glasses as many have mentioned. What’s different about this?

What if influence... can flow both ways? As in Rose thinks “oh what’s the harm in having the permission to save these poor children” from a place she knows nothing about. She explained that the study they’re in now she was blocked from so she hasn’t touched... or know anything of its contents. Same goes for THAT hallway, which doesn’t even exist VISUALLY.

I get a sense that Rose serves as seneshal to keep things in check at the estate, tame a dormant beast of a mess that Trace wrought. Much of which, admittedly here, she knows nothing of. She only knows to maintain order, wrangling lovecraftian horrors is proooobably not within her repertoiré. As we have been shown there are terrors within these walls...and while Rose may think she’s formidable and that everyone is stuck in the estate with her... she may be stuck in the estate with IT.

Eric somewhere rn: “...and you all wanted to get OFF MY SHIP!?!”

[Panther]

Well. This is absolutely not good. Ye gods, old!Trace, what did you DO to poor Rose?!?!?!

OK , well : Rose has now a full access to the mansion , and it doesn't seem to be pleasant for Trace's dark side . But why this fact makes the forbidden door opening ?

The thing hidden in should be Rose herself , connected to the estate with these tentacles ? This explain how she can appears suddenly when someone needs her or how she knows where each person is : she's a solid astral projection ............. Maddie has seen "it" before to be teleported ; maybe she'll reveal it later , even if it's only a private discussion with Rose

That is my suspicion as well. No wonder Trace's first wife was restless in her grave.

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

As for why Trace would do something like this, I think it might tie in with the question of why he kept Rose on in such a position of importance in the first place. Rose once said that Saria was the reason she was still here. My own personal speculation on that was that, since Rose was such a close friend of Saria's, in Trace's mind she became in some twisted way almost like a piece of Saria to him - one he couldn't bear to lose or throw away. And we know that Trace was obsessed with stopping death and trying to find some way to bring back Saria. What better way to combine those two - preserving this last fragment of Saria and keeping her close, and furthering his research on defying death - than to bind Rose as his test subject? She was already old even when he took over, he's going to have to do something if he doesn't want her to take away that last piece of Saria simply by dying of old age. And so he freezes her, trapped, unchanging, like a fly in amber, to forever preserve that last piece of Saria. Or, even more creepy, perhaps she did die of old age, and he refused to accept it, like he refused to accept Saria's death. Except this time he has the benefit of years of obsessive thought and research on the topic, and he's able to preserve her body on the edge of death in some sort of magical stasis while keeping her soul from escaping. Don't underestimate just how crazy old!Trace was...

Poor Rose.

During a moment , i was thinking about Trace trying to keep Saria alive with dark magic and some "technology" . But i remember we've seen her ghost disappearing close to her tomb , and that's not really seeming as her hairs ; so no ............... The best theory is still about Rose

[BadJoke]

Will definitively come back to bite Trace. Even if Rose saw he has changed a lot she has still "order" to prevent Trace from reaching the mysterious room, and she may well use her powers to prevent him from doing so if he gets too curious, especially if she fears it'll turn him back to "bad Trace".
She may as well choose to take radical action if Trace does (or seams close to) turning back to evil.
Or she may even be corrupted by that now unrestrained power. After all old bad guy may have had a reasonable reason for reducing her link who seems to glow like red (and so, corrupt) magic and if some of the theories here are true about her being totally connected to the building...

And do you think Nora may have helped Dark Trace at creating that red ominous thing?

Also I'd like to post something about the mysterious figure, but I have so many theories about it I'd need 2 hours and 3 walls of text to explain it all.

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

As for why Trace would do something like this, I think it might tie in with the question of why he kept Rose on in such a position of importance in the first place. Rose once said that Saria was the reason she was still here. My own personal speculation on that was that, since Rose was such a close friend of Saria's, in Trace's mind she became in some twisted way almost like a piece of Saria to him - one he couldn't bear to lose or throw away. And we know that Trace was obsessed with stopping death and trying to find some way to bring back Saria. What better way to combine those two - preserving this last fragment of Saria and keeping her close, and furthering his research on defying death - than to bind Rose as his test subject? She was already old even when he took over, he's going to have to do something if he doesn't want her to take away that last piece of Saria simply by dying of old age. And so he freezes her, trapped, unchanging, like a fly in amber, to forever preserve that last piece of Saria. Or, even more creepy, perhaps she did die of old age, and he refused to accept it, like he refused to accept Saria's death. Except this time he has the benefit of years of obsessive thought and research on the topic, and he's able to preserve her body on the edge of death in some sort of magical stasis while keeping her soul from escaping. Don't underestimate just how crazy old!Trace was...

Poor Rose.

Where did I heard that before? ...

YOU MONSTER.

[CrRAR]

YOU MONSTER.

Fun fact: if you read into the art direction behind GLaDOS it's supposed to vaugely resemble someone suspended from the ceiling.

And do you think Nora may have helped Dark Trace at creating that red ominous thing?

*Cut to Nora*

"No, nope, nahh, nuh-uhh, THAT one is all on Trace. He was one sick puppy. Enjoyyy~"

*Cut back to estate*

[Ddraig]

Well. This is absolutely not good. Ye gods, old!Trace, what did you DO to poor Rose?!?!?!

OK , well : Rose has now a full access to the mansion , and it doesn't seem to be pleasant for Trace's dark side . But why this fact makes the forbidden door opening ?

The thing hidden in should be Rose herself , connected to the estate with these tentacles ? This explain how she can appears suddenly when someone needs her or how she knows where each person is : she's a solid astral projection ............. Maddie has seen "it" before to be teleported ; maybe she'll reveal it later , even if it's only a private discussion with Rose

That is my suspicion as well. No wonder Trace's first wife was restless in her grave.

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

The top of the figure's head looks similar to Rose's original hairstyle, but the shadow only has a small offset at neck level that only might (in my opinion) be just large enough to be her braid at an angle. Personally, I'm more inclined towards the idea that it's not Rose. The hair looks more like Trace's to me, but the real clincher that it's not Rose is that the figure doesn't have visible ears. That rules out any of the Keidran races, leaving Humans and Lizardfolk (if they had hair). It may be some form of inter-race or spirit chimera, but if so, the head is human.

The hairstyle itself to me looks like it's also similar to Brahn's http://twokinds.keenspot.com/comic/906/ and... another human's who I can't place at the moment. It's a vague suggestion rattling around the back of my head like my subconscious is going "Ooh, ooh, you know this guy!" but I can't pin it down more than that.

[MuonNeutrino]

The top of the figure's head looks similar to Rose's original hairstyle, but the shadow only has a small offset at neck level that only might (in my opinion) be just large enough to be her braid at an angle. Personally, I'm more inclined towards the idea that it's not Rose. The hair looks more like Trace's to me, but the real clincher that it's not Rose is that the figure doesn't have visible ears. That rules out any of the Keidran races, leaving Humans and Lizardfolk (if they had hair). It may be some form of inter-race or spirit chimera, but if so, the head is human.

I don't think we could *see* the ears from this angle. They're not on the top of the head, they're on the sides (which we can't see), as can be noted on old!Rose in the top few panels. And, as also visible in those panels, Tom very often draws the characters with the ears pinned back, further reducing their visibility given that the floating/whatever figure is presumably facing towards the camera. The braid could also easily just be hanging down her back, which would not be visible in the shadow.

As for the hairstyle, Brahn doesn't have the sticking-up bits this outline does, his head is flatter on top. I agree that the small bit of hair we can see isn't enough to be conclusive, but I don't think it matches Brahn. There's also the rose petal motif, which definitely suggests to me that it's *something* having to do with Rose, anyway. And just thematically it follows a mere pair of panels after we just saw Rose go all nuclear magic; the implication seems clear to me that it's *something* she did, and why would the door need to open if it wasn't something having to do with having her restrictions loosed? If she just needed access in order to teleport the pair away while they're in an area normally off limits to her, why did she open the door?

[stlsf4003]

Well. This is absolutely not good. Ye gods, old!Trace, what did you DO to poor Rose?!?!?!

OK , well : Rose has now a full access to the mansion , and it doesn't seem to be pleasant for Trace's dark side . But why this fact makes the forbidden door opening ?

The thing hidden in should be Rose herself , connected to the estate with these tentacles ? This explain how she can appears suddenly when someone needs her or how she knows where each person is : she's a solid astral projection ............. Maddie has seen "it" before to be teleported ; maybe she'll reveal it later , even if it's only a private discussion with Rose

That is my suspicion as well. No wonder Trace's first wife was restless in her grave.

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

As for why Trace would do something like this, I think it might tie in with the question of why he kept Rose on in such a position of importance in the first place. Rose once said that Saria was the reason she was still here. My own personal speculation on that was that, since Rose was such a close friend of Saria's, in Trace's mind she became in some twisted way almost like a piece of Saria to him - one he couldn't bear to lose or throw away. And we know that Trace was obsessed with stopping death and trying to find some way to bring back Saria. What better way to combine those two - preserving this last fragment of Saria and keeping her close, and furthering his research on defying death - than to bind Rose as his test subject? She was already old even when he took over, he's going to have to do something if he doesn't want her to take away that last piece of Saria simply by dying of old age. And so he freezes her, trapped, unchanging, like a fly in amber, to forever preserve that last piece of Saria. Or, even more creepy, perhaps she did die of old age, and he refused to accept it, like he refused to accept Saria's death. Except this time he has the benefit of years of obsessive thought and research on the topic, and he's able to preserve her body on the edge of death in some sort of magical stasis while keeping her soul from escaping. Don't underestimate just how crazy old!Trace was...

Poor Rose.

So what you'er getting at here is that the Rose we've been dealing with since the group arrived at the estate is not a being of flesh and blood but of mind and spirit? And that whatever Maddie saw before she was warped out of that room was what remained of the REAL Rose?

If that's the case then I've only got one thing to say.

CALLED IT!!!

[Warrl]

The top of the dark-red figure over Maddie's head actually looks quite a bit like the top of Maddie's head - but not quite identical. It could be a shadow. Or not.

As for Rose: to date we have never seen her touch another person or seen another person touch her. And the only object that she has definitely moved by physical contact, and also has been definitely moved by another character's physical contact, is the coffee bowl she delivered to Reni. (Other than that - there are a few things she has carried that nobody else has touched, doors that we don't see just how they were opened or closed, and non-moving objects such as the floor.) There's also her disconcerting habit of popping up near anyone who mentions her.

(Now I want Maddie and Karen, or Natani and Keith, to arrange to call on her simultaneously from different parts of the mansion.)

[steelabjur]

Those aren't tentacles, they're tubes. Bet the Rose we've been looking at isn't her body but an image. I'm calling it now, Rose is wired into the manor like a central computer, only instead of a bank of server blades, it's Rose's body and it's all wired into all the magical systems old Trace setup. Old Trace limited her access to those systems, probably because he didn't trust her because she's a Keidran. It'd also explain her sudden ability to teleport Karen/Maddie out of trouble, remember the teleporting table? Those tubes probably also supply her body with needed life support and mana to keep her alive and power those systems. He probably got the idea when he discovered Euchre's magical power, both as a useful tool and a way to keep Euchre in check. Now she's free of Old Trace's controls.

[leinglo]

I don't know what that thing is behind the door, but, whatever it is, the important bits we need to focus on is that Old Trace was ready to kill anyone that tried to get to it, and the shadow of Old Trace is actively alarmed by it getting out.

[CrRAR]

I don't know what that thing is behind the door, but, whatever it is, the important bits we need to focus on is that Old Trace was ready to kill anyone that tried to get to it, and the shadow of Old Trace is actively alarmed by it getting out.

Yeah one more bizarre point is the level to which the room has been concealed. If it was something he cherished why concealed, booby trapped, and guarded with lethal force? It seems it needed hiding from more than just Rose. Hell, an insta-teleport would cover 99.99999% of interlopers. Like, someone could be specifically seeking it out AND they needed to die for trying to. Makes you wonder what criteria Maddie & Karen fulfilled to reach such a place.

We’ve encountered most all the other Master Templars. But! Do we ever know of what happened to Master Mage? Perhaps his magical acumen was required to be... harnessed... to pull off magic the likes of what powers the estate. Still, could be Rose floating there, but that does seem awfully cruel. To evil Trace though probably anything made sense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If she just needed access in order to teleport the pair away while they're in an area normally off limits to her, why did she open the door?

The doors flying open may be an awakening brought on by Rose assuming “influence” over that area. Maybe... Rose can learn to control the area but it’s just unfamiliar to her being freshly introduced to it. Like if you need to wiggle your ears you can do it, but one must learn to focus on that specific muscle. A new hall could be like a new ear that Rose needs to learn to wiggle... or maybe wiggled something the wrong way.

[Technic[Bot]]

Holy [EXPLETIVE] Those are not tentacles those are...

Those aren't tentacles, they're tubes. Bet the Rose we've been looking at isn't her body but an image. I'm calling it now, Rose is wired into the manor like a central computer, only instead of a bank of server blades, it's Rose's body and it's all wired into all the magical systems old Trace setup. Old Trace limited her access to those systems, probably because he didn't trust her because she's a Keidran. It'd also explain her sudden ability to teleport Karen/Maddie out of trouble, remember the teleporting table? Those tubes probably also supply her body with needed life support and mana to keep her alive and power those systems. He probably got the idea when he discovered Euchre's magical power, both as a useful tool and a way to keep Euchre in check. Now she's free of Old Trace's controls.

... Ok I am a bit late for the party, Yes: what Mr Steel said....

Yep, that's my bet too. I'd started to wonder about this possibility the moment we saw the rose patterned window back in comic 1048. It provides an explanation for several oddities regarding Rose that have cropped up since she showed back up. Not only does it explain her apparent ability to know everything that goes on and teleport around the manor at a whim, but also her being essentially locked away on magical life support potentially provides a rationale for her still being alive at all given that she ought to be over 25 at this point. (Assuming she even *is* still 'alive' in any conventional sense, anyway, things could be a lot more grim than that - see below.) Also, just from the current comic, if you look closely at the panel looking into the open doors, Maddie's head isn't *quite* obscuring all of the figure inside - there's the top of a head of hair peeking out behind Maddie's head. And while everything inside there is red, that hair looks to me like a deeper red than could be explained by the lighting - like it'd be red even without the red glow. In fact, it looks to me like Rose's original hair color, and the way it's shaggy on top looks like her original hairstyle too - compare with the bottom left panel here. And, of course, there's that signature rose petal motif in those panels.

As for why Trace would do something like this, I think it might tie in with the question of why he kept Rose on in such a position of importance in the first place. Rose once said that Saria was the reason she was still here. My own personal speculation on that was that, since Rose was such a close friend of Saria's, in Trace's mind she became in some twisted way almost like a piece of Saria to him - one he couldn't bear to lose or throw away. And we know that Trace was obsessed with stopping death and trying to find some way to bring back Saria. What better way to combine those two - preserving this last fragment of Saria and keeping her close, and furthering his research on defying death - than to bind Rose as his test subject? She was already old even when he took over, he's going to have to do something if he doesn't want her to take away that last piece of Saria simply by dying of old age. And so he freezes her, trapped, unchanging, like a fly in amber, to forever preserve that last piece of Saria. Or, even more creepy, perhaps she did die of old age, and he refused to accept it, like he refused to accept Saria's death. Except this time he has the benefit of years of obsessive thought and research on the topic, and he's able to preserve her body on the edge of death in some sort of magical stasis while keeping her soul from escaping. Don't underestimate just how crazy old!Trace was...

Poor Rose.

I always considered the "Rose is a ghost" was just us the fans being a bit over-imaginative about Tom's work compounded by the fact he has not given much explanation about the details of magic in Mekkan. But know I am not so sure. I honestly do not like the idea either, it would be terrible cruel to keep her like that, although it would be an interesting plot twist that contextualizes old Trace abhorrent behavior. Yet, and I am quoting my favorite physician, It creeps me out
However i will be the devilś advocate for the moment and argue against the "supended animation" idea:
We now Keidran can teleport with magic as Raine has already demonstrated so Rose being everywhere might be simply a case of: "I am a magic butler", the reddish glow might simply be her aura, Raine blue, Rose red, etcetera, after all we have not seen that many spellcasters in the story. And why we assume Rose opened the door? Maybe whatever it is behind it "sensed" the fight and/or Maddie and slamed the door open? Perhaps to let them escape from the golem, or to kill them itself.
If i am to provide alternative interpretations, something i am already doing, it might be an artificial body, you know for Saria, or maybe a chimera like those newer sketches. Besides if it was only Rose remains bound to the state the security seems too strict, wouldn't you agree, but for his personal resurection/necromancy project?
"That is a lady worth killing for"

We’ve encountered most all the other Master Templars. But! Do we ever know of what happened to Master Mage? Perhaps his magical acumen was required to be... harnessed... to pull off magic the likes of what powers the estate. Still, could be Rose floating there, but that does seem awfully cruel. To evil Trace though probably anything made sense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Wasn't Trace Master Mage before he violently overthrew Mary?