Wielder of Names 2-36
Chapter: 2
“A Coat of Arms is, like many devil-made creations, completely useless in the wrong hands, and completely and utterly devastating in the right ones. It does of course, all depend on how many hands we’re talking about.”
– Paricos the Gilt-footed, Guild Scion
What about that Book of Holding? That thing seems pretty useful too…
It’s clearly her fanfiction book.
Probably.
A devil with creativity is a dangerous thing.
If I’m correct to assume that all devilcraft involves wordplay, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it’s her Inventory.
A true practitioner of the greatest Art knows that Reality is a Lie, so there’s no harm in writing more lies on top of it.
Poor brethren of Ingsvld, abused like usual with nary a care. Hahahahah….
It is a monstrous practice, all the worse for the fact that is our intended purpose. It is for *this* that my kind were made. Zoss did only right when he toppled the ancient thrones of the gods.
But, of course, then Zoss’ disciples came along and they were just the sort who would go about relentlessly decapitating your kind in pursuit of their Art.
Oh well. The hunter wins the meat, yes?
Of course asking them nicely for their knowledge never did occur to the Demiurges hmm?
You have truly lost your head when you do not recognize it.
Wait, I’m confused. I remember Cio having two sets of arms aside from her “main” pair. Did she just put those through the sleeves of the Coat of Arms or did the coat actually form them from thin air?
A Coat of Arms has as many arms as is needed, of course.
Not from thin air I would say. From what we have peviously seen, devils exist in a sort of raw, ‘in potentia’ form before they are ‘defined’ by their masks, which limit their size, strength and multitudinous eyes/teeth. The ‘Coat of Arms ‘, when worn likely defines the devil wearing it as having ‘ x more arms then normal’ … though likely at some downside, possibly including the fact that it’s hideous.
The Coat of Arms is from the original story on the Homestuck boards, and seems able to replicate a large number of arms. It therefore allows her to weave her paper magic far more quickly than she normally would, although it obviously requires an exceptional amount of concentration.
Of course, there’s an implication that Cio used to have a much more illustrious mask than her now-feeble blue, so who knows what tricks she yet has up her sleeves.
The coat of arms does indeed form them from thin air. That’s the “of arms” part. She had multiple sets of arms in chapter 1 because she was wearing the coat of arms then too.
Yeah, I’ glad that got cleared up. I’d been wondering about the other arms since Cio reappeared.
If this is the same, or similar to, Oskar’s Coat of Arms (remember, he got a NEW coat) then yes, it essentially just made her a bunch of arms on-demand.
Pretty sure the coat did it. Her ex has a thing about magic coats, she probably got it from him. It’s his kind of pun, too.
It seems like Cio can vary the number of arms she has (whether this is something all devils can do or something unique to her is unknown). In some pages back in the Gilded Cage, she had 4-6 arms, and only 2 in others
She’s certainly burning through her onigami paper. Hope it’s not too long a trip to her local Red Arts & Crafts store.
I’ve broken my lurking status just to point out the beauty in your easily missed pun.
“Onigami.” Consider that word yoinked in most resplendent fashion, Preem Heh. 😉
I concurr. Onigami is not only apt and precise, it is also aesthetically optimal. My thanks and kudos to you.
onigami, devil-paper or demon-parchment are all wonderful substrates.
=//=
PAPER-FOLDERS PAY ATTENTION, I THINK CIO WILL FOLD SOMETHING BETTER, AND MORE AIRWORTHY, THAN A SIMPLE CRANE.
Not from thin air I would say. From what we have previously seen, devils exist in a sort of raw, ‘in potentia’ form before they are ‘defined’ by their masks, which limit their size, strength and multitudinous eyes/teeth. The ‘Coat of Arms ‘, when worn likely defines the devil wearing it as having ‘ x more arms then normal’ … though likely at some downside, possibly including the fact that it’s hideous.
Look upon this blue-masked devil, and her resourceful ways! Perhaps through her marvelous deeds, she shall slough off her excess names and reach more glorious heights. I think she’d be rather fine in the glamour of gold, do you not?
She’ll bide blue a while yet, to hide her blackness takes time to forget.
Look’s like someone is continuing the Indian mythological tradition of more hands = more power
Well…if nothing else, it is certainly one way to gain some “muscle”
Hm. The pattern of Cio’s coat isn’t dissimilar from her clothing when she was introduced, although the style was entirely different. Still, magic coat, what are ya gonna do?
On the other hand, devils are made of black, chaotic flame. Quite possibly the coat just helps.
Cio was indeed wearing the coat previously. http://killsixbilliondemons.com/comic/ksbd-3-38/ Note the sleeves draped over the back. Presumably, she wears it differently from how she does now when time is not a factor.
But is she certified to bear arms?
No, but she is licensed to arm bears.
The Coat is back!
Reminds me of an old joke… “What’s new?” “C over Lambda!” But seriously folks. I didn’t think it was possible to love Cio more, and then she blows my mind by using origami spells based on Physics equations expressing the speed of light! It looks somewhat like C = lambda*(something), but since it’s upside down, I can’t quite figure what the (something) is. No matter, though. I know we’ve got at least the speed and wavelength of light involved in this spell–can’t wait for the next page to see what happens! Especially if her final incantation is as splendid as the triumphant “I Quit!” she used to cast the cuisinart of paper dolls back in Hell 71 when she took her leave of Praman Nand’s employ.
Turning my head sideways I see C=^L, which I interperet as perhapts being C= delta L, which would be somewhat of a tautology in that it says the speed of light is equal to a change in distance over time, which is to say that the speed of light fits the general formula for speed as it is a speed at all.
I have meditated long, my brethren, and ask thee what ye know of the means by which a devil changes its mask.
It is known to all that the mask is the binding which keeps the devil as a sentient being, as the unbound devil is a mindless thing of pure hate and destruction- the black flame in its ideal form. It is also known that a devil’s names and its mask are tied into each other, with ever more names being equated with a lesser rank.
But lo, this implies a curious thing, for it demonstrates the nature of the masks. Rather than the devil himself being weaker at lower ranks, it is more accurate to say that the bindings that hold him are strongest, with the shedding of names releasing ever more of his innate power. The white mask is most potent, constraining the devil into a puny thing, while the black mask is barely a constraint at all, the least shell that may still bind the black flame into its accursed identity.
But how does a devil go about the process of shedding its names? Must it find the false names, the bindings it may safely abandon, to grow stronger? Must it learn some means of binding its own will to enable the mask to grow weaker, transcending from mighty white and blue to the thinness of gold and black? Or is there some stranger process involved for growing in power?
In other words, what makes a devil worthy of its mask?
She who knows the name of a thing can destroy it.
She who can destroy a thing controls it.
Devils are, above all, patient; soon after that they are wily. How quickly does an average person forget the oddball names of devils? Surely only a warlock would know the practice of memorizing names.
So — as long as someone KNOWS the name of a devil, that name is binding. However, and take warning for this is a common error of novice warlocks: books are not fire.
Books do not remember, they only record. A devil’s name in a book is no binding. Only held in a living mind of a living soul of a living flame is a binding.
And of course, a devil knowing their own name is not binding either — every being knows itself fully in subliminality.
Ergo, to loose names, a devil grows subtle, and possibly murders a few warlocks in their sleep. To gain names, a Devil need merely be tricked into revealing more of it’s full name.
I know something of names and shaking them off. Why, I myself have struggled long to shed away ‘Tor Avesh’ (Thirteenth Echo of the Great Hunter) in favour of something more personal.
Firstly, the name exists to define the being that holds it. Thusly if the name ceases to truly define that being, the name becomes empty. I suspect this means that a Devil must embrace change, more than anyone else, so that they may one day be free from their limits.
Secondly, a name becomes more real when it is spoken. Thusly, if a name is forgotten by all, it can only cease to be binding. Truly, it is unfortunate for my own plight that my siblings have such a long memory.
Additionally, I suspect that in the case of Devils, a re-masking might allow for the ‘renouncing’ as well as the ‘reinforcing’ of names. This, of course, requires the aid of a binder and is thus rather dangerous.
Are the Lovely Daughters also demons? Or… some strange mortal race? Automatons?
Cio is not-so-disarmingly disarmingly charming while doing origami magic based on the speed of dark (light backwards). I wonder how powerful she’d get with modern physics books with creative doodles from bored engineers in it… or with scifi books about time travel or RPG manuals about how to use time magic…
Is that… a blatant Eightfold (from Paranatural) reference? Sweet.
Wait. No one has addressed the red “string” Cio is manipulating…biting…
I’ve read of a mythical red string of fate, that ties together those destined for romance, though there are vague hints that other fateful encounters might be arranged via red string. For a fanfiction writer, red string is a most appropriate weapon.
“Oh dear, I missed…I guess I’m not as Ebon as I used to be. My name is Ciocie C. Cioelle, head fanfiction writer to King Aspirant Allison and former master book-keeper!”
Cio seems to grasp the black flame with paper and magical red string. Pyromancy is weird.
“Oh dear, I missed…I guess I’m not as ebon as I used to be. My name is Ciocie Cioelle, fanfiction writer to King Aspirant Allison and former master book-keeper!” *Slashes a hundred ghouls with red thread*
Honk, this fool desires to see what the small artist will craft with her origami arts and wether she still possess the power to easily subjugate her enemies.
Tengen Toppa Paper Lagann inbound! Hopefully our protagonizing duo are drift compatible.
I am not certain, it could merely be the lighting, or perhaps even Devil masks may show red patches during times of mental, emotional, or physical stress…but it looks as though our dear Cio is turning Red?
It’s from her Leystone, I think.
This is such a beautiful pun. I will now go weep for joy.
paper mecha pls
paper craft, paper magic, paper skills, origami or wathever, i love it.
i wonder how many crazy skills theres out there and if this one is common or not
It reminds me of Eightfold from Paranatural.
Interesting artistic choice to use an odd number of arms.
So if YISUN, with their manifold arms, folded the multiverse from paper, they unfortunately used the unwanted cheap ads and badly worded gutter press for ours. With some exceptions like Onigami Paper for this comic.