Seeker of Thrones 9-101
Chapter: 9
“The inner sanctum of Yre is said to be a fragrant temple, encircling the vault, where Mammon has kept the elders of his slaughtered clan entombed and preserved for hundreds of years. The purpose of such sentimentality is unknown to any but the low numbered priests of the Count, who do not venture from Yre and do not see the sun their entire lives. It is the bane of any historian, to be certain.”
-Payapop Pritram
oh, man, she left cio. :/
Hopefully, for only as long as it takes for the elder King of Kings to lay some hard earned wisdom on the metaphorical ass of his heir. Though it’s more likely that the Rising King will only return to save her Chronicler once she has slain the tyrant sitting in the driver’s seat of her mind. To a mental battlefield we go, I suppose…?
Bah! I make for a poor seer. I remember how ardent I was in my conviction that Lucky Felicia would survive this heist. I cannot rightly say what one Sovereign, let alone a pair of such beings, shall choose as their path. Never mind that a core component of Sovereignty is the ability to CREATE a path through force of will.
I met a traveler from an antique land.
She asked me if I had any noodles.
An equitable arrangement was reached.
The noodles were not my finest, and yet she repaid me with a proverb most fine, from which I have derived much contemplation over the years.
What do you think about Death, o rising king?
For consider: to some, it is mercy.
To unpack:
If you think, does Death think of you?
Can there be a riddle if something is true.
While you are easily reachable, I’ve been meaning to ask, friend Ulurhad. Do you happen to peddle shields?
Not for me, mind. Some strange folk have taken to thinking I would make a good teacher, and while I’d love to turn them away, I might as well make sure they understand how to not have their own heads taken off.
Relevant to this because of how so many seem obsessed with the Art of Cutting and reaching heaven through violence and all that, and yet few, or perhaps none, have mentioned the thought of protection.
Power is not the same as force. Any fool with a sharp knife can kill. Power, here referenced by Zoss, I believe refers to the capacity to protect. To keep safe that which one holds dear.
Any ignorant fool can cut, it’s the wise one that knows what to cut. And, by the transitive property, what not to cut.
“I thought you’d turn out less of a dick than I was.”
Well if he’d call her by her actual name, it might help. :p
Backsies?
Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned out that Mammon is long dead and his priests keep things going on out of pure routine (or perhaps out of fear of reigniting multiversal war)?
Unless they could mask Mammon’s existence to the other Demiurges, this seems rather unlikely.
Well, if it is possible to mask your presence from other Demiurges, maybe sitting deep in the middle of a reality-warping fractal labyrinth could be the way to do it.
Its truly one hell of a bureaucracy
Zoss lookin snazzier than ever. are these two just going to have a New and Better Look every time they meet.
Anyone else reading Zoss with Keith David’s voice?
NOW I am.
It is not possible to imagine the Conquering King’s true voice, for it is louder than universes, and as deep.
Yes, even the whispers. Hell when you’re dating.
Actually, more Keith Carradine for me.
I was reading it in Wayne June’s voice.
Hrmm… John Wayne. Sure, he’s only a Duke. Maybe Elvis would be more appropriate? “Perhaps it was a mistake after all.”
…I…
I’m the only one hearing it in Paul Reubens’ “PeeWee” voice, aren’t I?
I bet he can really fuck her up if he wishes. Which will be amusing.
I highly doubt there’s anyone or anything that he couldn’t really fuck up if he so desired. Which raises the question of why does he not, when the world so deserves a kick in the ass.
The world reflects the will of the sovereign. All this is Zoss. He tried to whip the world into shape and failed. He then set to the more meaningfull task of self of self cutting and found it necessary to excise himself from the whole mess. But as a final kick to the hindquarters of the world and by extension himself, he gave us an heir. And what a kick in the pants she is!
So that’s what that feeling is in my pants.
Boredom and the anulling of such; perhaps because of amusement as well my dear friend.
Well, Zoss is unimpressed.
Monarchy was a mistake.
Arguably, the universe was a mistake. I’d not dwell on such matters.
“In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
Always.
Absolute power…
…derives from a mandate from the masses, not some old bearded geezer distributing keys of power. That is no basis for a system of government!
Bah! Government is violence organised, made necessary by limits of man. When you far surpass those limits, no “system” nor “dialog” is truly needed – you can administer all the violence by yourself, efficiently, tearing through any resistance. Including the will to oppose you.
Meanwhile, Cio cries out from her stone prison: “Help! Help! Come see the violence inherent in the universe! I’m being compressed!”
There’s some lovely filth down here!
You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just ’cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
It seems, mayhaps, that Zoss is seeking to break a cycle of selfishness that has pervaded the universe since Time immemorial. Perhaps he saw something different in Allison that has been shrouded by Incubus.
Were I to wager a guess, I might say that it was a quality to find purpose in others. Or perhaps a willingness to seek companions. Regardless, Incubus-Allison obviously does not fulfill Zoss’s hopes, and maybe a stern talking to will help Allison regain control.
You’ll get farther with a stern talking to and an ass kicking than you will with a stern talking to alone. – The Wisdom of Dad Angel
I always figured Allison was going to break the key at the end of the story. But maybe a better future is possible. But yeah, we totally need Incu-son to go first either way.
TTTTTtttttttthhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaat… is actually pretty brilliant…
Hhmmmm… Then again… We have seen an image of the Rising King grown to her full measure of Sovereignty. The star on her brow remains, burning just as bright as when first it was lodged into her skull.
If even the old King is telling you you need to step back and reconsider your actions, echoing our own thoughts, it is a supreme arrogance to think you are on the right path. At least she has that under control.
Also, a mistake after all, huh? So he did not consider it one until this point? Good to have that in mind.
So Zoss did not err in his initial choice of heir after all. All this time, everyone has believed the key was not meant for Allison, that it was only happenstance that thrust that power upon her, most of all Allison herself. The true heir could certainly use a reassurance like that, in the face of the great enemy called I.
It’s plot moments like these when i like to imagine a figure powerful enough to slay angels and learn all the hidden names of god, is experienced enough to ACTUALLY see through Incubus’s influence with Allison and is intentionally saying the exact things Allison needs to hear in order to break the cycle… Or at least break the control Incubus has over her.
Confiture and preservation
After a throne, nice and cool.
I recall The Last Hero’s lament, do you?
Old man Zoss here to check on his project. Looks like some asshole’s gone and messed it up.
Ol’ granpapi Zoss has gotten forgetful and less aware as the eons stretch on.
wow, when Zoss is disappointed in allison you have to know something is fucked up
“Neither you, Simon, nor the fifty thousand, nor the Romans, nor the Jews, nor Judas, nor the twelve, nor the priests, nor the scribes, nor doomed Jerusalem itself. Understand what power is. Understand what glory is. Understand at all. Understand at all.”
Oh dear. This will not end well.
By the way, where the fuck is the cat? Me want kitty!
I am a boy who is big
Your name make you dependent on others. Without one smaller than you, you either cease to exist or become irrelevant. Cast off this limiting name and embrace self-existant reality. You are worth it.
What is a blood god without the circle of life?
Nietzsche said it’s how we choose to assign meaning to our lives that gives them meaning, but I say it is the connections between our lives that gives them meaning.
Without each other, and the wheel that binds us, none of us mean anything.
Just kiss me already
What is the shape of the universe?
Perhaps he knew, as learned men do, that violence is a perpetual cycle. Perhaps he sought to become powerful in order to break the endless cycle. But power does not make one infallible, and forcing hands to open requires much more than power.
Head Mustache-Twiddler is unimpressed.
ALi-CUSS’s List of “THINGS I DON’T NEED…..!”
The Burdens of Mottom
The Conspiracies of Angels
Conscience
The Love of Demons
The Wisdom of the Retired Master of the Universe
The Protection of Angels
Her Weaker Moral Self & Her Even Weaker Aspects.
The Intrigues of Demons
“Custom Tattooed Doxologies of the Draconic Demi-god Electro-Carved into Your Lily-White Derriere While You Bleed…..by his Fervent Reverent Dancing Discordian Ducal Denizen Devotees.”
INCUBUS’S PATRONIZING, CONTROLLING CORRUPTING INFLUENCE
A Graceless, Charmless, Fumbling, Selfish boyfriend who couldn’t charm, inspire desire, arouse, or give pleasure.
New Armor ?
A Clue to Help Alice with the Seven ?
Zoss seems way-more put together than in previous appearances- he’s speaking in whole sentences and everything! Plus its way less cryptic than before.
I was kinda hoping that inner-Allison might have chosen that distracting explosion as the moment to do something, but I guess she’s still waiting to see how this plays out, too.
Maybe he’s had time to take a few naps after being decapitated.
Or Alice can hear him more clearly, now that she has red eyes and white hair too.
Uh-oh, now she’s ticking off her patron… The question is whether Zoss can recognize Allison’s little Incubus problem and deal with that effectively.
> Allison’s little Incubus problem
Would Allison have survived three sticks of dynamite exploding at her feet with a bit of Incubual assistance?
You don’t create an fully functional adult, let alone a king, by solving their problems for them. I fear for the rising generation.
“Do you think God stays in heaven, because he too is afraid of what He’s created?”
no, he’s just really lazy
If I was a god, and I AM, it would take an enormous effort not to come down there and slap yo ass.
Whose lazy now?
Exorcism required.
Seeker of Thrones indeed
Oh Alison, a few weeks (months?) ago you were pouring coffee for minimum wage and now you’re swearing at The Conquering King, the man who broke into heaven and murdered the Prime Angels. I imagine Zoss is about to lay a “respect your elders” smackdown on her.
I suspect YISUN will be more verbal than physical with Allison. Fists and bullets and swords are TRUTH, and YISUN is nothing if not a liar.
Two pairs of red eyes. Where does the colour originate?
Allison is acting a bit basic. But zoss implies there’s still time to save cio and stop being a basic bitch like the rest of the throne pretenders
It’s been said that those who most desire power are those least qualified for its responsibility. What does this tell us of our young, aspiring King?
“this cycle”? Cycle of conquest, maybe? With this being the third. Interesting that the specter of Zoss doesn’t mention the influence of Incubus. And where is the specter hiding? If I were a controlling personality god-king-magician, I would tie my consciousness to the key itself, so I would go wherever the key was transferred to.
And make ones self literally a tool! No thank you.
He could tie his consciousness to the very matrix of the 5,444,439 universes (plus Throne) itself. Zoss is now, multiplied and immanent in every sub-fermionic particle making up all of us, and can manifest anywhere and everywhere.
…forgot to put this in the previous comment. We keep getting references to the kin that Mammon had killed. I bet that becomes an important plot point, maybe the key to Mammon’s vulnerability.
Ok, but, what about the CAT!?
You’re right. People keep selling the cat short, even to the point of implying that cats are somehow less important than dragons. I’d say that those folks are in for a rude surprise, but actually I think the cat doesn’t care. One sunlit window and it’s outta here.
If there are any constants across all of creation, they are lies, vice, and humanity’s most resilient enemy, cats. The cat is probably fine.
Pop’s gonna take his key back to teach the pupper a lesson.
Of course, it’s not at all clear what right or justification Zoss himself had to assault Heaven and kill angels to begin with. And thosze who have to live with the new ruler of the multiverses might be excused in wondering what right Zoss has to unilaterally hand them off to some new asshole.
I suspect that the decapitation which kicked off this whole sequence of events should have been your first clue that you might have f’d up, Zoss.
Not to put too fine a point on it but maybe the reason the cycles keep repeating is that you’re a bad teacher, oh Conquering King.
Diggin that Nietzsche reference
So it is that Zoss reveals the only true path, to reject the cyclical nature of violence and thus of existence.
It bears repeating: Where. Is. The. Cat.
Does the empty eye still see?
So Allison is nearing the boss room of the Dungeon of Greed. Good luck with that Economancer.
Surprise ending, the cat was the dragon all along.
If someone learns the entirely wrong thing, is it the fault of the student or the teacher?
The answer, of course, is “yes”.
yes
When the immortal undead omniverse-conquering god-king thinks you’re going a little far, you might want to reconsider your choices.
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