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Chapter 2: Repercussions or "Everyone Eats poo poo" The day is saved! It's morning, the Juka have fled Britannian shores, and the men are resting off the night's events. Ha ha I'm full of poo poo things suck for our lone good boy quote:"Cousin. You've got to help me." The city of Vesper is pretty dour as everyone returns that day. Word of the "gargoyle invasion" has gotten around, even if they were repelled, and there are fifteen men confirmed dead, dozens more injured. Similarly dour is the briefly-mentioned, but now-introduced Admiral Duarte. quote:"Insubordination is a grave offense, Montenegro," he mumbled, tugging the lapels of his gold-buttoned overcoat. "I ordered you to let the strangers land, but you attacked them still. You're going to answer for it." Being that he is a rich failson, Gabriel Montenegro proceeds to run to his cousin and go "Hey, Damario, we're going to Britain and I need you to talk to the mages on my behalf so I don't go down for this." Damario's not so sure that the archmages are going to take his side, but he's happy to be clear of Vesper, because he's getting paranoid that every shadow is a vengeful assassin. Damario is having the worst day, and Montenegro doesn't improve the situation when he just says (direct quote) "Not much point in worrying about it. The dangerous ones you never see coming." We cut elsewhere. Thulann of Garron is walking down the corridors of... the Palace of Garron, a granite structure which is cold to pass through, but full of the warmth of the (ghost of) sounds of children echoing down hallways, or torch and sunlight dancing across walls in patterns that bring color to the building. She crosses past some massive bronze doors into a throne room? Bedroom? It's not made clear, but inside is a hot middle-aged Jukan. quote:From this deep tapestry emerged a mountainous figure. Two heads taller than Thulann, the man possessed a warrior's physique and a ruler's regal bearing. He wore a voluminous pair of satiny pants and no shirt to conceal his broad chest. His head was bald. His short, backswept horns, common to all male Juka, were uncovered. His face was chiseled by as many years as Thulann's. The two of them do not get down to anything but business, however. Thulann asks not what his body can do for her, but instead how battles with the Technocrats of Blackthorn are going. The Jukans appear to share a landmass with Blackthorn and his people, and their neighbor is pushing to expand north into their territory with engines of war which "fly a hundred feet overhead and drop lightning like a cloud". It's allowing them to ignore what would normally be an incredible defensive wall of mountains. There's a brief conversation where she asks "Can we win? Now that we're in open combat, do you think we can win?" and all Turlogan can say is "not alone". It seems that Thulann's expedition, while not amazing, was the greatest success so far. There's talk that somewhere to the west of this land is another continent, but nobody has returned from that route yet. We learn the Jukans are south of Britannia, and that, as soon as he hears about the Black Duel with Montenegro and that Britannia is a land of honor... it's probably worth sending a second expedition? One more overt, as diplomats? Also, they slowly prepare to gently caress through this whole conversation. Here's what this whole section reads like for most of it... quote:"They were aggressive, yes. We were strangers crossing their border. But they are an honorable people." She stepped close to him, standing between his thighs. Her fingers draped over his wide shoulders. "I have told no one else this. During the fighting I met their leader. His name is Montenegro. We settled the battle with a Black Duel." [...] "If these New Britannians have such traditions of honor, then we have common ground. I think we can fashion a bond from that." Before they can get down to it, though, another warlord bursts in through the chambers, with some weiner-kid Jukan unable to stop the older man. This is Bahrok, and he is furious that Thulann did not keep his son safe on this expedition, with his boy Sigmhat (you know, the leader of the whole thing, who Montenegro killed 1v1) not even getting the honor of a funeral pyre in his homeland. Actually, none of the dead did. The voyage back was too long to keep the corpses on what ships remained, so they made a stop and performed rites on an island mid-transit. Anyway, Bahrok says some things you can't take back about "Turlogan's mistress" not being worth it, and Thulann disarms him by going "Yeah no we were going to talk about this in the morning, when I intended to show up at your house and perform his Life Words for you", which is some kind of speaker for the dead act that Sigmhat entrusted Thulann with when they first set out, figuring if anyone was liable to make it back in his place, it'd be her. And with that screeching halt and everyone's passions deflated, we swap scenery! It is now time for Montenegro's trial for the actions on the beach. He's trying the "I'm just a simple soldier, your honor" move, wearing his black dress uniform amidst all the colorful attire of the nobility, since this trial is held at the Royal Senate of Britain. The senators listen to Admiral Duarte's take and go "Well, Montenegro, you hosed up, we just have to determine how much-" before he interrupts. quote:He stood and raised a hand. "My lord, if I may, I have one more piece of testimony to present." From the crowd, Damario and Gregorio rise, and the latter takes the stand. We get a bit of backstory on Gregorio since, you know, he's an entirely new character for this and we have no context for how awesome he is. His age is unknown, people figure he's 100+ since he's been an archmage for almost 50 years, he worked with the Meer (again: still no context for who or what the Meer are), he might be the best mage in history for as much as that means given the Cataclysm blasted a lot of history right out of existence... yadda yadda. His testimony is rear end-saving for Montenegro. He tosses his cousin a warm smile and Damario just looks away silently. Suddenly, Montenegro realizes he might not be as saved as he hopes. I'm not going to transcribe the whole speech, because Gregorio is a very loquacious character, but in short: he begins by going "you know, I was on the wilds once after the Cataclysm, with these lads' grandfather... I totally understand Montenegro's 'strike first, ask later' philosophy in light of surprises like this." The problem is that he decided to follow up Damario's pleas with some scrying spells, and it led him to different conclusions. Yes, the Juka seem to be the same race as Blackthorn's 'gargoyles'. Indeed, this seems like it might have been the prelude to the invasion they were worried about for years. But... Gregorio asks why they didn't take a single prisoner for questioning, even if Montenegro invokes Compassion. This is undone because, well... Damario is a good boy, and when Gregorio asked what happened that night, he told his master about seeing a Juka in the tent, being KOed, and waking up to his cousin going "they go free". Montenegro silently vows that, and I quote, he "[cannot] place a seer's word over a warrior's" and so he will never betray Thulann and the law of the Black Duel. Thus, in his refusal to answer if he made a deal with the foreigners, he signs his own conviction. The court erupts in fury and frustration. We have one more cut back to Jukan lands. In worldbuilding news, there are descriptions that the Jukans used machines of some sort in the past, or that their lands were built upon by them. A volcano known as the Great Mother still bears the skeleton of what reads as a geothermal pump "sticking into the sky like a dagger" above the lava. In plot news, Thulann isn't going to get to retire, because she's being trapped by her own vows onto the return expedition to Britannia. The warlord Bahrok is leading the expedition, and so to counter his desire for blood, young Venduss is assigned to the fleet. This means if Thulann is going to keep her word to train the boy... she's going along for the ride. Britannia again. Montenegro is being spared the worst fate because Lord Valente called in every favor possible out of sympathy... but he's being demoted, is losing the rank of Commander, and is just on the verge of being expelled from the entire Order. Valente understands he's hiding something, and knows it's a matter of honor not to talk, but he makes the knight swear one thing in exchange for all of this: "Do not seek vengeance. Not on the Senate, not on Gregorio, and not on Damario." Montenegro plays innocent only to be told "No, really, I get that you play the dumb soldier for sympathy, but I have known you too long to trust you on this. No revenge. Go back to your estate, go raise a family, go whoring for all I care, but do not start poo poo with the people you feel have betrayed you today. We're all on Team Human here." So later that week... quote:Within the old walls of Britain, in the southwest corner, a figure crept out of a large building and stole away through the blackness. It made its way in the direction of the city gates. It carried no lantern, but kept to the deepest shadows. When it crossed a bridge of moonlight that leapt between two tall shops, the figure came to a sudden stop. I confess I'm still trying to figure this out. Was Montenegro behind Damario, and he hurled the sword into the ground from behind, like a javelin? Did he have something rigged up to DROP the sword in front of his cousin? Also, are these unpaved roads, or did this sword somehow get lodged between two flagstones? I guess the dumbest possible idea is Montenegro is so much bigger he can shove an arm past Damario, swordplant the cobblestones, and wait for his cousin to do the bump in the night backup routine. This is stupid, is more my point. Montenegro is drunk as poo poo, or so the narrative tells us often, but he's also pulling off swordcrobatics and legit snatches Damario's wrists in one gesture to stop him casting a spell without blinking, no matter if his eyes were "glazed in the moonlight" or "glistened with drink". He rants for a bit, how could you betray me, blah blah, but then it gets dark... quote:"Please, Gabriel! Gregorio knew I would warn you! He forbade me from contacting you. Why do you think we never spoke before the trial?" Editor's note: probably when you spent an entire trial going "Compassion? It's a Virtue? Eh? Eh?" quote:I didn't cross you, Damario! You crossed me!" So. Let's recap. We are two chapters into a book about the world of Ultima. Eight virtues, strive to be the best possible human you can, something greater than a mere man, a champion of Good, capital-G. A standard writer might have taken this same opening arc and decided that this was where you humble the protagonist and he let pride carry him too far over the line. It wouldn't be out of sorts, the games were full of writing about how you need the virtues in balance, because pushing one at the expense of others leads to misery. That was kinda Blackthorn's whole thing, in fact. Instead, the end of chapter two is our protagonist bragging about being good at genocide, ignoring everyone going "Look, you rear end in a top hat, don't go off half-cocked" after his hubris knocks him down socially (but not economically!), and he burns down his family ties and becomes Batman. I suspect you are now beginning to see why I wanted to take a detour into these novels for a lighthearted "what the gently caress" change of pace. claw game handjob fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Mar 16, 2023 |
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Mar 16, 2023 00:49
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To not understand what the deal is with Jukans. To ask which ones have the wings. To ask, is this Virtuous?
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Mar 16, 2023 03:11
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secretly best girl posted:So. Let's recap. We are two chapters into a book about the world of Ultima. Eight virtues, strive to be the best possible human you can, something greater than a mere man, a champion of Good, capital-G. A standard writer might have taken this same opening arc and decided that this was where you humble the protagonist and he let pride carry him too far over the line. It wouldn't be out of sorts, the games were full of writing about how you need the virtues in balance, because pushing one at the expense of others leads to misery. That was kinda Blackthorn's whole thing, in fact. Wait, wait, wait, this guy is the protagonist? This reads like the origin story of the villain du jour.
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Mar 16, 2023 06:44
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Every reference to Britain makes me thnk of the scene taking place in an alleyway in London behind a chicken cottage or something
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Mar 16, 2023 07:38
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Lord Bri'ish Luv the 8 virtues 'ate gargoyles Don't like it, there's the moongate
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Mar 16, 2023 08:32
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CAPT. Rainbowbeard posted:To not understand what the deal is with Jukans. To ask which ones have the wings. So not a lot of people have the wikis updated with these novels for obvious reasons but I legitimately think they just go "Britannia genocides the gargoyles at some point" because I do not recall the winged dudes being in here at all. As for the Virtues... Just you wait. Dirk the Average posted:Wait, wait, wait, this guy is the protagonist? This reads like the origin story of the villain du jour. My dude continues to be the main human for all three novels. Spoilers: Thulann is a major Jukan player and we might get some from other factions. Perhaps they'll even team up! Eventually! Like... Only in the third novel, from memory.
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Mar 16, 2023 16:23
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Welcome back to the thread! secretly best girl posted:So. Let's recap. We are two chapters into a book about the world of Ultima. Eight virtues, strive to be the best possible human you can, something greater than a mere man, a champion of Good, capital-G. A standard writer might have taken this same opening arc and decided that this was where you humble the protagonist and he let pride carry him too far over the line. It wouldn't be out of sorts, the games were full of writing about how you need the virtues in balance, because pushing one at the expense of others leads to misery. That was kinda Blackthorn's whole thing, in fact. Doubling down is the classic second step in the more noir sorts of tragedy, where it's well clear to everyone but the people involved how badly it'll all end. I know, I know, this isn't going to be one of those either.
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Mar 16, 2023 23:12
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I finally did it. I reached the end of the thread so I could necro it back. I read WFR back in college in the early 2000s and i enjoyed it so much i read the next 7-8 over the next couple months. I got to Pillars and hated it, then read somewhere online that this was all Objectivism. Being a sheltered child, i decided to read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. I remember struggling extremely hard to get past the 500 page screed in Atlas and i had a new understanding of what the SoT books were actually about. I think I hate read the rest up to Chainfire, but never finished the series, and tossed the books in the trash after finishing Atlas. I look forward to our what our favorite Randian psychopath and his plucky sidekicks get up to next. Eventually! Thanks for going through this, OP!
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Dec 6, 2023 23:08
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pakman posted:I finally did it. I reached the end of the thread so I could necro it back. I found a copy of Atlas Shrugged in our little local free library thing and picked it up out of sheer curiosity, because I've never read the reviled thing. I also considered it a public service, frankly.
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Dec 7, 2023 10:46
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why would you do that to yourself
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Dec 7, 2023 11:21
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DicktheCat posted:I found a copy of Atlas Shrugged in our little local free library thing and picked it up out of sheer curiosity, because I've never read the reviled thing. How far did you get? I couldn't make it more than a third of the way. It's an awful book.
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Dec 7, 2023 17:52
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I read the entire thing and enjoyed the detectiving bit, where she put aside the endless grandstanding for once. Overall it's better written than any post-main-series Goodkind.
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Dec 7, 2023 18:07
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I started reading one of Rand's books, the one about an architect or engineer or something, when I was in middle school. I remember just being sort of bored until the main dude raped some lady, but she was fine with it? Even with my... underdeveloped politics of the time, it was a big WFT moment that made me drop it forever.
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Dec 7, 2023 23:14
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Comrade Blyatlov posted:How far did you get? I couldn't make it more than a third of the way. It's an awful book. I'll be honest, I've not even started, because I have actual good books to read. Malachite_Dragon posted:why would you do that to yourself The goonish tendency to flip over rocks. It may remain unflipped, however. Like I mentioned above, I do have a plethora of actual nice things to read.
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Dec 9, 2023 06:53
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pakman posted:I look forward to our what our favorite Randian psychopath and his plucky sidekicks get up to next. Nothing, goodkind ded
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Dec 9, 2023 07:02
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And it was almost certainly covid or covid-related.
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Dec 9, 2023 07:28
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Malachite_Dragon posted:And it was almost certainly covid or covid-related. A=antibodies
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Dec 9, 2023 16:13
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I feel bad for laughing, but I bet he'd argue that he was vindicated because he died on his own stupidity rather than being saved by some nanny state. That's not even that much of a stretch.
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Dec 9, 2023 16:42
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DicktheCat posted:I feel bad for laughing, but I bet he'd argue that he was vindicated because he died on his own stupidity rather than being saved by some nanny state. I don't think he would. Because he's dead
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Dec 9, 2023 17:50
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A brick in the Wall of the Faithless.
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Dec 9, 2023 19:39
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I remember starting to read The Fountainhead in middle school and I made it to the point where the main guy raped the main gal and she was fine with it. Even with my complete lack of critical thought about my literature intake at the time I was majorly creeped out and abandoned it.
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Dec 18, 2023 00:37
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