Wielder of Names 3-57
Chapter: 3
“Lo! And there was one, who had a name of seven parts in seven, and it was a shining name, and it’s words were writ with the Flame that nourishes creation! He came in his chariot, whose rims were the Wheel, and pulled by the four beasts that dwell at the foot of YISUN. Such heat issued from his mouth as to scorch all the stones of heaven – it was a terrible sight, even to the faithful. Oh God!”
-Shard of the prophecy of the Successor, attributed to Acolyte Periptos of the Eye Revealed. Uttered twenty seconds before death.
2 Michael, this is what you get for assuming masculinity. Throne is getting a new Ruler, not a new King.
Angels are sure stubborn about misgendering people. Kinda short-sighted, in these latter days of law.
Angels have a giant hard-on for stasis. It takes millenia for them to even admit a small change in their laws.
Well…Angels are the children of masculine UN, not feminine YIS.
Granted, Devils are the children of feminine YIS, but one can only expect them to flaunt propriety.
The angels are very much concerned with what was and what may be. This is fitting for children of UN for these things are not. It is folly for them to try to control the now, for now is given to YIS and her children.
In the great dance one should refrain from stepping on ones partner’s toes.
Hmm an angel that exposes doubt at order I wonder will they metamorphosis into a new form and follow a different order completely. This will be most interesting for even I only change in the method of following my madness through order and my shape changed from it.
It is for such reasons that Devils and Angels so detest one another.
Angels are forged with all the knowledge their Duty requires, and so find the petty intricacies of mortal flesh that fascinate demonkind pointless, insipid trivia.
Sadly, it is in such petty intricacies that prophecies deal.
And nowhere is it written the King shall be male.
A kept king is a dangerous thing. 2 Michael may overestimate his ability to control one such as Kill Six Billion Demons.
The unstated assumption: it was Juggernaut Star’s intervention which disrupted the prophecy, and not Zoss’s deliberate outmaneuvering of an unacceptably bleak endgame.
On the other hand, now that Zoss is dead and Allison holds the treasure wheel, it’s not like he’s the one who gets to decide anymore either.
What a mess! How beautiful!
The plot uh, what is the word, it is already thick… thickenens? 3 Thickened Plot Continues to Impress The Perceivers?
THE PLOT CONGEALS
THE PLOT SOLIDIFIES
THE PLOT ORGANIZES ITSELF INTO A CRYSTAL LATTICE OF FRACTAL COMPLEXITY
The plot fills me, and I grow turgid. Puzzling action ensues.
“Uttered twenty seconds before his death.”
I can testify, on account of being a witness, that the two events were highly related.
Curious that 2 Michael, who so condemns “insipid gender”, is convinced the rising heir must be a he. Especially considering that 6 Juggernaut could only have intercepted the “real” heir after Zoss had already given Allison the key. There was no reason to think there was a mix up – Zoss quite directly granted her the gate. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a choice, both her and Zaid were present. The way 2 tells it makes it sound like he either didn’t know (or is concealing for his own reasons) the fact that Zoss got to the two humans before anyone else. As though 6 had to /bring/ Zaid to Zoss, and lost him along the way, so Zoss was forced to give the key to the “wrong” heir. Interesting.
You may want to re-read the comic’s first pages: Zaid is snatched away by the Thorns, and then Zoss jams the key into Allison’s skull; this could perfectly be read as “Zaid was the intended heir and Zoss had little time before his body died, so he planted the key onto the only person available”.
If you ask me, the real clue that Allison is indeed the true heir is in her dialogue with Zoss: first he calls her “kingling”, then he names her “Kill Six Billion Demons”; and a few pages later, the vision states that KSBD shall be the name of the new ruler. (Also, in the vision you can see the heir flanked by Cio and White Chain; that is pretty straightforward I think)
Theory: Zoss is from Allison’s earth and Zaid is his closest, living direct descendent. Other than physical similarities (Nose, eyebrows and hair), there’s not much to go on other than the stubborn insistence by everyone that he’s Zoss’s heir. Without some direct connection to Zoss, it just doesn’t make sense at this point for everyone to keep believe Zaid is Kill Six Billion Demons when the prophecy so obviously applies to Allison.
Remember, most of them don’t know Allison. The only major actors who have met her personally are Cio, White Chain, and Incubus. Of them, Cio and White Chain seem to have sided with her (and don’t seem to care much about the prophecy), while Incubus seems to know that everyone else has the prophecy wrong (based on what he said in her dream, he knows Allison was the one Zoss chose, but believes that she is going to give the key to Zaid and that it will be a “poor decision” on her part, which seems like a relatively reasonable way to fit all the pieces together.)
…honestly, rereading Incubus’ page, while everyone has him pegged as a dangerous enemy, I’m not so sure. Especially with these recent revelations in mind, it seems like he favors breaking the cycle by making Allison the genuine heir (but doesn’t think it’s actually going to happen.) I mean, given his name and its implications, he’s probably going to try and seduce Allison into doing something, but logically he’s going to be more effective in that role if what he’s trying to get her to do actually makes a degree of sense.
We only see Incubus in a dream, and it could simply be part of his deception, but he (and Solomon David) also seem to be the least outwardly corrupted of the seven.
I think it’s debatable (and intentionally unclear), but I suspect that if asked, Zoss would respond somewhat like Vivec from Morrowind (whose philosophy a lot of the comic is based on.) It doesn’t really matter whether the prophecy was accurate or whether Allison was “chosen.” Zoss knows better than anyone else that you can choose yourself, prophecy be damned.
Zoss got there first, and Allison and Zaid were both with him. THEN the Thorns show up and snatch Zaid, and after that Zoss bestows the key. I could be wrong, but it seems to me like he definitely had the opportunity to give the key to the ‘right’ heir if he really needed to.
This is pretty wild theorycrafting, but Zoss might have known the angels well enough to guess that they could be misled by overly-strict adherence to the letter of prophecy, or perhaps by their own assumptions. He let them ‘steal’ Zaid and was free to give the key to the true heir without them interfering with her.
In a world where names seem to say much, no one seems curious about the name of Our Heroine. It is coincidence that the phonetics of her name support another spelling? Al-YISUN does not seem misplaced.
See how they have dulled the flame of White Chain. See how bright she shall become once freed from their yoke.
Prophecy? Bah! Prophecies are for those who lack Vision. The true Fate of the Universe is guided by the wanton and the vain- and young White Chain is one who Wants very dearly.
That which Aesma did not learn, has been learned.
Nothing but contempt for those who would break the law to save it.
Breaking the law brings great power temporary.
True discipleship to the law brings power eternal.
Wait a second, Where in YISUN did brother Michael’s spears go!? This fool is sure he saw his sibling’s body pierced with the celestial spears of the conquering king just moments ago.
WHOOOOOOPS
Seems as though this must-be-kept-secret holy mission being shared with Vigilant Gaze and co. doesn’t bode well for its success. White Chain has already showed preference towards a long sleep and reincarnation than serving the thorns.
The Thorn is a fool- for a declared Royalist, endangering the great prophecy is idiocy of the highest order. Heh- the girl already gains a new name. Sound the trumpets for AL YIS UN, the Heir, the Rising King Kill Six Billion Demons.
The seven syllable word shall be spoken, Black Flame shall be written upon White- thus is Creation shaped. It is only proper that we Aeons cannot wield the Key, for the White Flame is of the Law, and it cannot change it. It takes the darkened furnace of desire to break the Wheel.
Somehow, that panel gets me the feeling that it was Jagganoth, not 6 Juggernaut Star, who broke the prophecy.
Gilgamesh?
Something tells me that our thorny skeleton and pigeon may be dangerously misunderstanding our false blonde heroine.
May I just say how much I love how that statement makes perfect sense in context? I love this comic.
ALYSUN WANDA RUTH
The seventh syllable is not spoken in a tongue of flesh.
If the dead truly understood the living they would not be dead.
softness is a trait that facilitates justice, just as vagueness facilitates prophecy.
=//=
TO BE STRONG IS TO BE HARDY BUT TO BE HARDENED IS TO BE BRITTLE.
Does anyone else imagine white gains voice to sound like Estelle?
I feel that. She plays the same sort of role as Square Mom and they look vaguely similar as well.
No, but that does make sense.
I kind of always imagined Cio sounding like Whoopi Goldberg for some reason, though.
I always imaged a more raspy voice of a smoker for Cio but now I cannot read her lines without imagining Whoopi. Thanks.
Ah- the change in color stems from despair.
Jagganoth for the long con. Who knew?
Jagganoth represents the sin of Wrath amongst the Seven. Some forget that Wrath is not merely the destructive rage of the now, but also the simmering resentment of many kalpa, with plots only coming into fruition after many years of vengeful plotting.
To destroy one’s foe now is immediately gratifying, but little matches the ecstasy of tormenting an enemy for an aeon before finally ending his misery.
Sily flame. Nothing lasts forever. Especially kings.
Except, of course, for YISUN, who is both dead and eternal. What a great liar they are.
Hrm, for beings older than the stars, these fellows are not very well-versed in the hard science of prophecy! It is not a feeble bough to be broken by the slightest breeze, but a bar of strongest adamant, unbreakable by it’s very nature.
Of course, in certain cases, at times, and on occasion, a small amount of interpretation of further divination may be necessary to create a full, true, and complete prophecy of events yet to come but such things come with the territory, especially with dealing with cosmic events far beyond mortal ken, as it is well known that the mistakes of Aesma make by far the best prophets, the immortal creations of Koss simply lack a certain fleeting element that cannot pierce the veil of time and perceive the true natu-
*continues in this vein for several hours*