KING OF SWORDS 10-144
Chapter: 10
“Enyis reached the city of Golden Flowing Water, which was at the time the most brutal domain in the world. For spitting in public there, one could lose a finger. It was a thirsty, conquering city that took many slaves, enjoyed the whip, and worshiped the sword.
Enyis was surprised to find the streets sparkling clean and orderly. The buildings were well constructed, airy, and it was scattered with well tended gardens redolent with many colorful flowers.
‘They must enrapture you with splendor,’ said the Boar King, who had noticed Enyis’ confusion. ‘Otherwise, you might look down and notice the blood-matted beast who shoulders this city, and your mind will fill with unpleasant truths.'”
– Enyis and the Fivefold Sword
The flames rise on his form like a whisper of the engulfing pyre that is Ki Rata, the most terrifying form of efficiency.
Well, his arena seems to have recovered well from the recent trauma.
His Honor Guard sports dazzling armor; their faces are battered and beaten.
His sons, who look like grandfathers, have seen this show before. Their sour expressions tell us what they think of it.
And finally, the arrogant, self-centered, self-absorbed beefcake Solomon David himself, always the star attraction in every show.
Yes, this is an empire built with the blood and sweat of others. Solomon David is a true…asshole.
One wonders as well – he can choose how he appears, and clearly he chooses an image that radiates power.
But I wonder if there is a truer version of who he really is — like the lovely Mottom when the fruit bowl is empty — that doesn’t look so attractive.
Imagine what we’d see if we could truly see him – you know, ala “Picture of Dorian Gray”
Don’t know if that’ll ever happen, but if it did…be prepared to be sickened.
Once a year, Solomon allows himself a treat. He goes into a room with no family, no servants, no pets and absolutely no cameras … and has a panic attack.
Don’t forget heavily soundproofed so that he can scream all he wants, can’t have anybody hearing him freaking out.
Hahahahaha
Hey, it’s mr. Eye Patch Guy again. Hi mr. Eye Patch Guy. Hello.
I tend to encourage non-violent conflict resolution, but Solly is one of those people who need their folly *shown* to them, rather than explained. Show him, Chain.
“But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.”
“I’m afraid so — I can’t compete with you physically. And you’re no match for my brains.”
“You’re that smart?”
“Let me put it this way: have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?”
“Yes.”
“Morons.”
“Really? In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits.”
Aristotle say un Tyrant be perverted Royalty.
Must’ve been a real moron, then.
It’s interesting that Vigilant Gaze isn’t joining Allison and Cio in the stands. I wonder if he’s sitting with Zaid instead?
The invited audience seems to be segregated by gender, with the court ladies on the side of the arena opposite Solomon’s tower.
That seems to be in keeping with the trend we’ve already seen of no women in the military (though it would be hard to tell with those garments), government/palace officials and servants, and officials/personnel in the arena area itself.
I wonder if he even HAS court ladies at all, other than maybe the wives of the sons.
And here i thought only dwarves knew hot to craft fancy and elegant beard decorations
Got them big bara tiddie flames
well were either about to see a second angel die in this comic or were about to see white chain pull off something that less than 100 people alive have seen, a demiurge harmed in direct combat.
Were I to take that drop of blood, I would tell him: Abdicate your throne. Maintain what you like, do whatever, but be emperor no more of nations or men – only yourself!
He would then be as he began.
So much lovely detail work in this page, bravo Abbadon!
BEARD JEWELRY
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Abbadon was mildly socialist.
Could you please explain what appears ‘mildly socialist’? Because I don’t see anything that is even nanoscopically sized socialist here. Is it the shiny armor? The glorification (which isn’t monopolized by any one ideology)? The purple?
To address smjjames’ question about Rizz Rustbolt’s comment:
Because if you adopt the definition of ‘socialism’ common among living English-speaking socialists*, socialism is an ideology that is deeply hostile to stratified class systems, conspicuous displays of wealth, and the dominance displays of a permanent class system. Solomon David and his empire have lots of all these things, and are being portrayed as authoritarian jerkfaces.
_____________________________
*(Yes, it is commonplace among English-speaking advocates of capitalism to say ‘but no, that definition English-speaking socialists use is not really socialism, REAL socialism is Josef Stalin, which is why socialism is very bad.’ Even if you believe that, though, this isn’t about what you think socialism is, it’s about explaining Rizz’s comment)
Some of the most violent and ruthless governments in recent history were (or at least claimed to be) socialists. The nobility or monstrousness of a society doesn’t lie in how perfect its moral system is when written down, it is in how the people apply it and when they chose to ignore it.
Genghis Khan and the Mongols were violent and ruthless, does that mean they were socialist?
That’s the problem with the way people use the word ‘socialist’ these days, it’s become utterly meaningless, might as well have 7 billion different definitions for it.
I’m saying that just because a government calls themselves something or follows a certain government structure doesn’t mean they are good or evil.
Societies are made by people and there is no structure so pure and perfect that it can’t be corrupted by the people within, just as there is no structure that is so vile that it can’t contain nobility caused by the people in it.
Certain types of society can engender or suffocate noble behaviour, but it is always the people in them and how much they are willing to interpret or bend the rules for their own gain or the gain of others that ultimately makes a society noble or vile.
If you see critique of a type of government it does not mean that it is an endorsement of others or that the type of government has no value. But history has proven time and time again that just because a government structure claims it is noble, doesn’t mean that it actually is noble.
Virtually any form of government can be equally good or evil, because as you say, it all depends on the people. But then, the true measure of a system of government isn’t how well it works when the people are trying to make it work, but the reverse: how well does the government work when the people are trying to abuse it for their own personal benefit?
The best type of government is one that is not convinced of its own perfection and genius. The worst type of government sees its people as obstacles to overcome and to strictly bind by its rules, believing they can’t be trusted to do the right thing.
A government’s worth isn’t measured by how well it works when people abuse it, but how well it encourages people to be noble, kind and to oppose the structure of the government when it does not fit the situation. And most importantly to make people want to do the right thing instead of forcing them.
Some government structures are better at this than others, but all of them fail when they become convinced of their structure’s moral and intellectual suporiority over the people it governs.
In short, please never believe that any government structure is perfect and unquestionable. It always ends badly when context, kindness and understanding are no longer the guiding lines of the individuals in any structure.
it’s worth noting that socialism is more of an economic system and essentially a philosophy of human rights, and the political side of it is entirely in relation to people trying to either enact policy that allows socialist society or using the word as a cover for their heinous authoritarian/fascist ways. but while theoretically someone COULD enact socialism through authoritarian force and then relinquish their power with mechanisms to prevent a successor, but in practicality it seems like you kinda have to do it through a strategy more like cooperation and mutual aid and democratic governance, because as we see time and again… as with stupid sexy salami dave here, nobody really ever relinquishes that power once they’ve arranged society to their liking.
[i]Imperium Romanum intensifies[/i]
They seen to be expecting a small scale fight at least. With everyone sitting so close and the knights gathered just outside the circle. I’m suspecting fast moves and lots of not-doomsday-aoe techniques lest we need a a refill of red paste.
Kill 6 Billion Incorrect Definitions of Socialism
(I think you replied to the wrong comment here by accident, sir. The one you want is Preem Rizz Rustbolt’s post, above. Just a courtesy reminder.)
That is true but I didnt know how to change it so it will stand here as a testament to my flailing eyesight
Splendor for splendor´s sake is often used to cover up things that are missing but what Solomon clearly isn´t missing is any of his workout days.
Oooooh. Enyis and the Boar King are back. The armour is astonishing (and did you notice the unic heraldic things for each man on the third panel?). And Solomon is plainly radiating badassry. Gorgeous, gorgeous.
The emblems are particularly suitable for citizen soldiers. Uniform armour, but each carries their family badge. A very nice touch.
Alternatively, the emblems are also particularly suitable for a hereditary or semi-hereditary warrior aristocracy that has been forced into uniformity by their powerful, demanding, and very meticulous overlord.
All the knights of the realm must wear Solomon David’s armor in Solomon David’s royal presence, but are allowed to wear family heraldry. Most citizen soldiers through history wouldn’t have heraldry.
They would have had unit heraldry instead, to encourage them to think of themselves as a part of their unit, rather than individuals.
It is difficult to say which type of association these badges represent.
So do Salomon’s sons impregnate their wives or that is a role reserved only to the ruling King so the descendants would be of his pure blood than have it diluted through his son seed? It’s kinda shitty to have a wife but your dad or grandfather or great grandfather etc. has the right for first night ending with 100% magical certain impregnation.
Does it mean Salomon choose Allisson as his next wife candidate and Cio as her servant seeing where they seat are?
They repaired the arena over night? Salami Dave seems to run a tight ship there!
Completed civil engineering projects include: moving stars to recapture planets into orbit in the habitable zone, opening portals, and building imperial architecture across 1000s of worlds.
He had the arena built by people hauling on ropes with bloody hands. He probably fixed it overnight himself with demiurge bullshit.
One has to agree, one whole tower from one end of the arena has gone, replaced with these multiple viewing daises.
One also wonders where the tsuriyane or dohyo roof attaches to.
Quite possibly he has much more high-tech methods for building arenas, and was having it built by hand labor to emphasize its ritual importance. If the Area-Builder 2000 just floats over to the construction site and plops out an Arena like a chicken laying an egg, it does very little to glorify Solomon and a lot to make Omniversal Construction Equipment, Inc. look impressive. People must toil and sweat to make Solomon look more glorious by comparison.
White Chain: Your need to maintain control comes at too great a cost!
Solomon David: My beard is an egg, your argument is invalid.
*Youtuber voice* Swolomon David here and today I’m about to destroy this angel in one on one combat. Like, subscribe, and submit to my divine law for more content like this
Invoke the Fist of Ten Thousand Storms and SMASH! that like button!
Chant a canticle of submission, and RING THAT BELL!
His sons in the fourth panel look extremely unhappy. I wonder who they’re rooting for? There’s probably not one of them who hasn’t wished he could challenge Solomon David like White Chain now has. Imagine living your life knowing there’s NO POSSIBLE WAY you’re ever going to get out from daddy’s shadow! Being an Emperor of over a hundred thousand universes, a Demiurge and the only living Grandmaster of the most unbeatable matial arts in the multiverse serves to crush whatever ambitions they may have had.
What a prominent chandelier-like banner holder! I’m guessing there’s a non-zero change that this fight ends with a sudden eclipse of both suns, rendering a darkness such that no one can tell how Solomon David ends up dead underneath the fallen ornament, with the next chapter being a murder mystery that grows increasingly absurd as more evidence piles up that the culprit was obviously Gog-Agog.
I like it
Observe the sun-shade over the ring. It casts its shadow in the centre of the ring, so a sun is directly overhead; and this an hour or so after dawn. Solomon has clearly fixed one of Rayuba’s suns directly over his palace and the day-night cycle is made by dimming the suns as previously posited.
Fully expecting Solomon to get over confident, underestimate White Chain, lose to a ring-out, have his key taken and get eaten by gog-agog.
He can’t lose to a ring-out. By his own decree, which is all that matters, he has to lose a drop of blood.
One was expecting that Solomon might refrain from using Ki-Rata, otherwise there would be forged ash smithereens in less than a microsecond. Where is the honour in that? Or the adulation of your populace.
The realisation comes, that if sister White Chain’s body is destroyed, then one of those smithereens could just nick Solomon and draw a drop perchance, after WC has been sent to the Void and is stuck there until such time as someone is good enough to craft her a new body. A confusing endgame.
Rayuban Populace: So do we just forge her some new armor, display it on the throne, and establish an interim government, based on majority consensus and consent of the governed, until our new, one true empress returns, to save us in our darkest hour?
LOL J/K, it will be based on paperwork.
As the fight nears by, there’s one thing I’m really hoping to see relevance of.
White Chain introduction included claim to know 4th syllable of Royalty. Which is the same one as Solomon’s.
If she uses that, would that disable his Key-based powers? It would still be an incredibly difficult fight, but less impossible.
Oh ho, Adana! You have definitely paid attention to the details. There may be an ace up White Chain’s sleeve, after all.
Or horseshoe in her glove, sock full of quarters in her hip pocket, etc.
That’s something I had completely forgotten, if indeed it ever made an impression on me when I first read it.
Who knows what will happen, but in any event that’s a brilliant observation Adana!
Where does it say that the fourth syllable of royalty is the same as Solomon’s though?
And DLDracorex has a point, while it’ll remove his key based abilities and enhancements, he’ll still be capable of using Ki Rata.
Also, considering that he seems to maintain those two artificial (if they truly are artificial) suns by sheer will through his key and moves them at will, disabling the key doesn’t seem like a very good idea. If it’s just temporary and assuming the suns don’t crash into Rayuba, things should be okay. But if it’s permanent or it lasts a very long time, then, depending whether the suns are real suns with solar masses and whether they turn off, Rayuba will either freeze or become scorched, only inhabitable to the servants adapted to such conditions.