King of Swords 1-3
Chapter: 1
“Across the desert of Khul Kharim,
There stands an ancient and mighty temple, worn with age,
Its two hundred monks drenched with sweat and bent with the labor of its maintenance.
There, enshrined, the graven image of a god;
Mighty, imperious, carved masterfully, his eyes thrust to the horizon, his lips curled in a smile of mastery;
All burnished with the worn hands of monks and the labor-marks of slaves.
Its grip upon the land about is absolute. It has stood for two thousand years.
So long that, indeed,
Cracks have begun to form.”
-Unknown
Daddy issues all over the place
Jesus just how much does Salamk Dave get it on?
“the ruling king who sees in another his equivalent rules nothing”
-Lord Vivec
Reminds me of the Kingdom of New Orleans in East of West, which is intended as a high compliment.
We seek Perfection.
We must.
Because it is there.
It must Be.
-The Crawling One
Ah, so this is why it is called king of swords. The martial arts tournament episode.
Ego much?
I mean, I’d say he earned it
Well, Salami Dave is indeed the representation of Pride
HOLY SHIT
REPULSIVE THOUGH I MAY FIND HIS ARROGANCE AND THE WORLD THAT HE HAS BUILT, SOLOMON DAVID HAS EARNED MY RESPECT.
And what is this? A tournament?
I see that the fair-haired dumbass known as THE RISING KING has a road open to her…
Solomon David may preach about laws and order, but I suspect that this system of inheritance will cause much chaos upon his inevitable death. Even Gavelkind, scourge of dynasties, would be better than this.
“My body is the state and the whole of the law. It is here for the taking.” is possibly the most badass thing I’ve ever seen written, in this context. Fuck yes, Abaddon. THIS is how you hype a motherfucker.
So dude here has single-handedly sired his own council. Nice. I wonder if the younger men off to the sides are the younger generations waiting to take a seat at the table and grow a magnificent beard. Also, no girls? What are you? Kronar?
No girls, no. He had two daughters in his previous life, and lost them to violence.
Curious, the shape of Solomon’s demise is not obvious collapse I expected it to be. His pride doesn’t blind him to the possibility of his defeat, but it does make him underestimate it. He also groks the cycle of Empire and accepts what inevitably befalls them all. Dispite he’s pride he knows his place as the king that will be cut down to make way for the new, he’s even streamlined the process by setting it into law.
I like this tyrant.
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair
Well, that explains why everyone has the same style of beard.
Everytime I read this, Solomon David sounds Like Lawrence Fishburn playing as Morpheus in my head.
Dad God
MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!
Let the Kumite begin!
‘80s movie night!
Wait… So… His succession scheme is “Bitch, Fight me.”
Huh.
Molon labe.
I wonder, are the children of the Purple One so weak because they never had to fight for their crowns? Or do the fierce ones make their gambit and die young? Regardless, such a collection of milkmaids blushing upon the seat of power is a bruise upon the multiverse!
Of course, it is all relative I suppose. Jagganoth would laugh if you suggested he restrict legalized regicide to only a single day. That is why he is many times stronger than this puny god. I suppose in that sense I could be said to represent the chink in his armour…
Well… the theory of inheritance of acquired traits has long been disproven. Solomon was a mortal man by all appearances, whose power derives from his training in Ki Rata and possession of his key (made up of however many lesser keys); unless this somehow changed his genes, which doesn’t appear to have been the case (nor is there any reason to expect such to have been the case), his progeny would themselves be entirely mortal, with all the limitations therein inherent. It’s akin to expecting the children of a devoted bodybuilder to automatically develop a very muscular physique without any training. Lamarck was wrong! More to the point, even IF a son (or many of them) trained like hell every day until trying to oust Papa Solomon… what training would yield anything NEAR the necessary results?
Such is life in Wakanda.
Ah, the paradox of winning. It ain’t fun unless there’s a regular supply of losers.
There, enshrined, the graven image of a god;
His beard immaculately rectangular in appearance.
Tournament arc? Tournament arc. Probably with a gratuitous eighties music training montage before it starts proper. This is gonna be fun.
Ah, most understandable. I see now why he has yet to choose a successor.
What good would it do to have the wisdom to rule, if they have not the strength to do so? To defend against all threats to the kingdom, to enforce solidarity even as the kingdom stumbles from its loss.
I assume even were a worthy candidate present, they would not be acknowledged as such, at least not until they have [i]proven[/i] it is so.
(Yet, a softer touch is further required. To rally the people under the Heirs banner, to gather forces and sway loyalties. To this and more, without the Kings knowledge. Perhaps these are not needed. But such would prove a great aid in holding the empire… Or, perhaps, a burden no longer required?)
No matter, we shall see. We shall see.
Huh. The eyes of the assistants(?) along the wall are all glowing Solomon David Purple. (From the infamous CRA-YO-LA: Dyes of the Demiurge collection)
Don’t know what exact that would mean or portend, but it is as it is.
Also, more business meetings should end with “What, you think you can do better? Come at me, bro. All you gotta do to outvote me is land a punch. No? Anyone?”
I like Him. Pity about that whole Sword of Want thing that’s about to come down on His gloriously bearded head.
Eyeshadow. And one dude with glasses.