King of Swords 1-10
Chapter: 1
“During the last years of the Gods, when Un-Medam died, his mighty staff weighing four hundred million tons lay inert in the great House of Law. Demons and beggar gods crawled out from the stones of the red city and ran amok. Aesma was called upon to drag the staff up from its resting place and bring things back to order, but she had already torn herself apart in a rage. There was nothing to be done. Nobody could lift the staff.”
– The Song of Maybe
What’s on those guys faces? Almost imperceptable goggles? ritual scarring? the latest fad in facial hair?
Looks like ritual scarring.
After spending so much time with our gaggle of misbegotten female-presenting heroes for the first three books, it’s so weird to see this much beefiness.
! See how Atlas lifts the sky on His shoulders !
! See how Atlas holds the weight of the heavens in his belly !
A fool once asked what would happen, were Atlas to shrug. There is no risk of that. Without the duty that gives him purpose, the pillar-titan would have nothing to do but mourn his fallen brothers.
The wise man asks: what would happen, were some jackass to break his ankles.
Selling swords and parachutes, my lovelies, swords and parachutes! Break your own fall, and fell those you would see broken! None more than slightly used!
So… This man between two officers is Allison’s boyfriend.. Right?
I can’t remember when and how he had find out that Allison is in this world
Maybe all he knows is that Alison was with him when he was abducted, and he’s naturally worried that she was taken as well and maybe ended up in a situation that’s not as relatively benign as being a ‘guest’ in the palace of some kind of Cosmic Superman?
Oh hey! He knows that Allison is in this adventure too! Who told him and how? Really curious!
But now we will jump to Allison I guess. Old storytelling tradition, and as always, we must resort to tradition.
Maybe David let slip to Zaid that Allison has the Key.
He personally witnessed the key being inserted into Allison’s forehead, and has probably deduced from what he has been told that she’s what they’re really after.
Ahhh shoot, Solomon David is pretty neat, y’all
Zaid is gonna be real surprised when Allison shows up and kicks Solomon David’s butt (or at least the butts of all of his subordinates)
If you want a job well done you have to do it yourself, right SD?
Gotta love how every single thing Solomon does reinforces the underlying narrative that the whole weight of his empire rests upon him, and it would all fall apart the moment he was removed. And, of course, in one thousand years he hasn’t been able to figure out an alternative.
I mean, I don’t blame him. I want to see you try to figure out a way to mantain an empire that holds over a hundred thousand worlds in its grasp and that probably has a population of trillions, if not quadrillions of people, all of whom come from different lands, cultures, nations and have different values and ideas about their ideal government. Really, I would be suprised if anyone ever managed to do it.
One almost comes to the conclusion that Empire is a snare of the Great Enemy, Uncle Fiend.
That dominion over others, whether the rapacious talons of Mother Om or the paternal hand of Solomon David, is a fool’s conception of the meaning of Royalty.
That no liege-lord, no matter how deep her benevolence, can be good.
But that would belie what our lords and masters tell us, and so clearly must be treasonous lies, no?
Ulurhad, you have convinced me to buy something! Perhaps a subscription to these insights of yours?
I know a little of Royalty. A proper fealty is the link that makes the balance.. if Royalty owes nothing to others, the weight of their existence is nothing more than ego to the Royal; likewise if others owe nothing to their King, they would easily rebel.
Thus force, the Error and False, has sway in an unbalanced realm. The King is no more than a Thief given force, while the People are no more than Rebels set in place.
Alas that revolution is impossible beneath a bearer of a True Word, if they will it not. Or course, Diamond is oft translucent; his breakable flaws will eventually show themselves.
At least he knows who the true boss is.
All these gods are going to feel really, really dumb one day when the AL-YISUN / Allison connection gets pointed out to them.
Thank you for pointing that out, I feel kinda dumb now for not noticing that
Also none of you get paid for today because I’m doing your work.
In fact, just empty your pockets and give me whatever you have as payment.
time to clean the local streets
two thousand masters’ beat
out the vigilant mouth-piece
Dun-dun-DUUUUUN
Where indeed.
So, two major character interpretations:
1A) Solomon David is just doing this as showmanship- his empire hinges on his personal invincibility and authority. He doesn’t really care about any of this.
1B) Pursuant to that, he artificially limits what his subjects can achieve. Note the freaking *Stone Age* construction technique of hauling blocks directly up a ramp without using blocks and tackle or cranes or any such thing. While we’re at it, note that his councilors don’t have the glowy forehead insignia of being magically empowered, and that the councilors he surrounds himself with are all doddering oldsters who obviously never even seriously considered training up to fight him.
1C) Then he occasionally comes in and demonstrates his own astounding power by doing things that his subjects cannot accomplish. Not just foundational things like “put two suns in the sky,” but also more mundane things like “being a badass and winning a huge colosseum fight” or “actually building a giant colosseum at all.”
1D) Thus, his pride is fed.
OR
2A) Solomon David feels some measure of genuine… clearly not humility, but rather empathy, or a kind of shame that his pride compels him to address by finishing the construction himself. He sees those workers as his sons, realizes that they cannot do what his commands and their love has driven them to attempt.
2B) He does this *all the time.* He governs his empire because his people cannot govern themselves. He stays in office generation after generation because no worthy successor exists. he builds giant monuments personally because if he doesn’t, no one else will.
2C) And of course, he accomplishes these things easily, as befits a being with one seventh of all power in the multiverse. There is no challenge or threat that his people face, that he cannot or will not step in and solve for them.
2D) And thus, his pride is fed.
It’s interesting to reflect that the difference between the two A-B-C-D narratives is almost entirely in emphasis and how charitable we feel…
Maybe some combination of both? He feels sincere empathy for his people and truly views himself as a father to his empire, but on some level perhaps even a level he isn’t conscious of he can’t allow his children to grow enough to become independent of him, because his pride demands he place himself on the top, he has councilors but he gets the final word, he has a vast empire but refuses them even the most basic machines to ease their burdens, instead granting him the opportunity to show off his compassion and power.
yeah, you’d think that at least one universe, out of his million+ universes, would have invented some machinery to aid in construction. The ancient Egyptians managed to move blocks weighing up to 80 tons with just manpower, but they probably would have at least lubricated their sledges with water and had many more times the people pulling. Probably a less severe incline would help, too.
So I think you’re on to something there, that they’re artificially limited. He’s making his legions do this as some kind of trial, or just to rub it in how much stronger he is.
Assuming he isn’t just putting this on as a show for Zaid.
; _ ; 7 Aesma…..
And as surely as the sun remains fixed in the sky, bearing down upon all
one day the staff of Un-Medam, weighing four hundrend million tons
Heaven shook and it rolled onto it’s side, rolled and rolled
And before it fell into the void, 30 hells crushed flat
Cut off the head and the snake will die. Shall we see the demise of an empire ere the chapter is through?
I just noticed: as massive as these stones are; they are just piled up in a way that any fool can bring the collosseum down (unless there is a part of the architecture which has not been shown).
Reason #1 Why I am not Zaid: “Hey dipshit, you know my planet has this shit called a ‘crane’ that can do this shit about 1000 times faster than you’re doing it now! Being able to put extra suns in sky don’t mean dick if you can’t master simple machines!”
Calling it now.
He’ll enact a cunning escape to get away from this guy and go save his girlfriend, performing it immaculately and trough a daring adventure managing to slip beneath the self proclaimed god-kings notice, escaping off world five minutes before she shows up.
I will miss Aesma. She was the worst of us, so was the best of us.
I just feel happy knowing that I guessed the arena was under construction, the first time it appeared.
Well as awesome as this is you guys really need to work on block and fall system since it involves less blood.
Yes I know blood is power and significance but still.
AL-YIS-UN coils with devils hued blue to reach peaks you never gifted her, laddie. Yours is a game of patience and waiting.
This lesson is screwed up. Could it be that he is in fact a great hero, but neither an inspired scholar nor an effective teacher?