Seeker of Thrones 9-109
“Once, on the road, Prim met a meditating sage who had spent most of his life on top of a flat rock. They had black bread and shared some ajash, as was custom. The sage was thankful, as the road was not very frequently traveled in those days and he was very near the point of starvation. During his conversation, he was delighted to learn of Prim’s extensive mastery of Empty Palms and the fifty five earthly purities. Delighted, and as payment for his meal, he taught Prim the meaning of watchfulness.
This was the old breathing and cold-atum technique often used by warrior monks in those days. It ran through the following methodology:
Build a tower, and make it impregnable. Make every stone so tightly sealed that no insect can squeeze through, no grain of sand can make it inside. Your tower must have no windows or doors. It must not accept passage by friend or foe. No weapon, no act of violence, and not one mote of love may penetrate its stony interior.
“Why build the tower this way?” said Prim?
“It will make you invincible,” said the sage, “This is the way of Ya-at slave monks. Their skin is like iron, and so are their hearts. They are inured to death and fear. Grief shall never find them, and neither shall weakness.”
Prim thought a moment, and came upon a realization, for she was wise, obedient, and an excellent daughter. “If a man built a tower this way, he would quickly starve, no matter how strong he became.”
The sage was even more delighted. “Yes,” he said, “There is a better way, and I will teach it to you:
Once you have built your tower, you must deconstruct it, brick by brick, stone by stone. You must do it meticulously and carefully, so that while you leave no physical trace of it remaining, your tower is still built in your mind and your heart, ready to spring anew at a moment’s notice.
You can enjoy the fresh air, and eat fine meals, and enjoy a good drink with your friends, but all the while your tower remains standing. You are both prisoner and warden. This is the hardest way, but the strongest.”
Prim saw the wisdom in this, and quickly made to return to the road, but the sage stopped her before she left.
“As you to your earlier remark,” the sage said, “The man who builds his tower but cannot take it apart again – that man is at the pinnacle of his strength. But that man will surely perish.”
– Prim Masters the Road
Aah Senility. The only rue enemy of Mortals.
As Mottom once said: “everything’s rotting”
Better to say, it is only truly the enemy of mortals.
These Demiurges will never be equal to the Multiplicity.
Even their greatest could not master Space-Time.
Actually, the First King seems to have done that, in some sense or other – he seems at least cosmicly aware of the cycle he is in, has refused to die despite being dead, possibly by timey-whimey shenanigans, and is mucking with outcomes beyond the length of a multiverse cycle. If he hasn’t mastered Space-Time, he at least is a journey-man at the subject.
As a servant race the Kind People are in essence immortal, save for violent death.
In which Allison sacrifices most of her friends to infiltrate the multiverse’s most secure assisted living facility.
Oh. My. A gentle, polite soul.
When when are born we are soft and supple
and as we age we settle, and harden, and crack.
Stalk and Know, for this is axiomatic.
Glucose: Any and everyone can be polite when the situation calls for it. Remember, this guy DID have his entire clan slaughtered for his own purposes. He’s pillaged countless worlds, and caused untold deaths. Just because he’s being polite in the moment doesn’t make him stop being a heartless glutton.
Liebot, what is the saddest thing? A dragon that forgot why it hoards.
Though The King’s body was Immortal, His mind was not and thus His soul rotted from inside form incorruptible. The King is dead, Long Live the King!
Or so I am told by a Consummate Liar…
To inherit a slap across the face
that shows in rage, unlike white stripes
is true duration
The Great Dragon gave his mind fully over to amassing wealth! Such wisdom!
“The man who builds his tower but cannot take it apart again – that man is at the pinnacle of his strength. But that man will surely perish.”
This is why seeking the way of the Blade is foolish.
Always listen to Meti!
he definitely shrank down from last page
Deconstruction: yes, one must remember the other half.
You know, it seems Mammon might not be the monster he once was. Keys don’t grant immortality do they?
Mammon is a Servant and thus possessed of an immortal body. His mind however…
Even the gods from whose corpses the Keys were plucked grew old and died. Only angels and demons seem truly immortal, though the original angels yet did die and demons can always be returned to Chaos. True immortality, it seems, died with YISUN.
Immortality is not the problem. Vitality is. Even if a castle is built so sturdy it stands until kingdom come, it matters not if the lord inside has perished. Or worse, gone irretrievably mad.
The immortal edifice that is Mammon still stands, but the ruler inside is…diminished in capacity.
They don’t, but he’s immortal anyway because he’s from one of the Servant species (the Kind People in specific), who are all naturally immortal (humans are actually the only mortal race in this setting). But I guess their immortality doesn’t prevent senility from setting in.
Servant races such as Mammon’s do not die of old age. That particular gift belongs to the black flame of humans and devils.
Nay, but Mammonkin’s immortallike
Mammon was born of the Servant races (though He has long since ascended such meager classification through unparalleled Greed), meaning that He is utterly deathless regardless of His Key.
From what I understand, keys don’t grant immortality on their own, but do allow for it with the right techniques. But Mammon is a Servant, and Servant species are naturally immortal anyway.
Humans are the only type of Inheritor with a natural end to their life.
in a way they do. but to the body only as long As the mind persists i think. they can revitalize the body over and over halt the aging. heal its PHYSICAL wounds. But I cannot help the wounded mind.
I never expected to find such a supremely impressive, opulently wealthy, and exceptionally powerful dragon… So sad looking.
Time is the first enemy and the last.
Indeed, and the one that comes for prince and pauper alike. I suppose I should have expected this, we’ve seen plenty of the other demiurges succumbed to one thing or another already.
Ah, and here again we see a creature enslaved by its own hand. This one by an obsession long ingrained into its very nature but slowly forgotten.
well.
It seems that Mammon has a lot in common with Scrooge McDuck.
On the contrary, Scrooge McDuck knows where and how he earned every coin and bill in his hoard. He can tell the story of how he found any of his treasures. And while he may do so very reluctantly, he is prepared to part with his wealth for the sake of his family, which he has come to regard as his greatest treasure.
He built his tower and nearly perished for it, but tore it down again after letting his nephews in and emerged all the stronger for it. I daresay any similarities between Mammon and him are mostly superficial at this point, perhaps if Mammon were able to deconstruct his own tower… but I do not think that is likely.
I was more referring to the fact that while they are both famed as having a fierce temper in defense of their wealth, they are nonetheless possessed of a fairly genial personality when said wealth is not at risk.
however, your point is fair and well-taken.
A dragon in his dotage. Now I kinda feel sad for him.
He can’t see, he can’t remember, and he no longer cares. Yet he insists on counting it all anyway, because we are slaves to our former selves.
Behold the second snare of the mighty, which is called Stagnation.
Fear not of others, but fear of self. Fear of the possibility of change. To attempt to stretch a single goal long enough to bind the doubting voices within, and eternity without.
To die, and yet live to see the keepers of the grave flying your corpse-standard to pursue their own petty goals.
Pity them, the dead in their towers.
Grant that one day Royalty will show them mercy.
Addiction is a powerful thing.
I wonder how many have perished at this point in the heist because they were too proud to say they were sorry. Maybe Alison having conquered her Strength is the only thing keeping her alive, now.
Hmmm…interesting. Not the dragon I expected.
He’s kinda cute actually. Old dude who’s just kinda hoarding out of habit, it sounds like?
Poor old dragon. He’s gone potty.
Allison or Mammon: who will awaken first?
…How long ago, exactly, did Yalbachoath steal Mammon’s Key of Kings?
In its majestic equality, dementia ravishes the rich and poor alike.
Aye! the great one’s mind is gone. Or perhaps he feels he is too great for fear
(Also aahhh the pain of waiting for updates through this climax is real)
He’s lovely. <3
Awh he’s just a sweet confused old man.
Who murdered his entire family and decorated his house with their corpses.
Aiight so in my head, Mammon sounds exactly like SCP-082 Ferdinand the Cannibal as portrayed in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0b2s_ot9_0
Agreed.
BAD
MIN
TON