Wielder of Names 4-77
Chapter: 4
“Old trees bend hard
For old trees most scarred.”
-Saying of the Forked Monks, 448th iteration of the Splinter Root Anhang
Kill Six Billion Demons
Seeker of Thrones
“Old trees bend hard
For old trees most scarred.”
-Saying of the Forked Monks, 448th iteration of the Splinter Root Anhang
Truer words have barely been spoken with such a frank attitude. The only way Allison will be free is to complete the prophecy or become so powerful destinies chains shatter on impact of her.
What is a prophecy but just another rule imposed by the universe?
Rules are not for Royalty.
A tree that cannot bend must needs break, in the midst of a gale.
Truth, howerver even an old oak knows to bow to the winds
Knowledge means little without ability.
If it were so, there would be no nurturance for new seeds.
To triumph over one’s own fate, one must learn to love it. Remember this, fellow students of life; To be free, one must first die.
You are absolutely right about loving one’s own fate, Preem Avesh. I don’t think though that it is necessary to die in order to be free. Freedom does not count among the absoluta of the Multiverse; it is a concept and can be perceived individually. Sometimes, I feel more free as a bleached and cracked old skull than I felt in life; sometimes, I miss the freedom life presented me with despite all hardships, like when an annoyed devil walks by and kicks me off the road.
There is such a thing as ‘absolute’ freedom, but I believe we two are in agreement that it is not a desirable thing. Nor is it something others would recognise as freedom.
All who live are slaves, from the perspective of the Silent Dead, no? Bound by chains of flesh, stone, need, fear and fate.
I have heard it said that existence is a prison, and I might agree with this line of thought. But I’d much rather dwell within it, than be subject to the freedom of the Not. At least, not until I find myself bored of it all.
The freedom we crave is indeed a concept, or perhaps even an emotion. True Freedom is a cold, barren thing that holds no more stories; It is an ending.
Ah, I am babbling am I not? Still, it is good to discuss philosophy with one’s equals. I do so treasure your company, Brother Skull.
This made me reflect upon one thing – I see myself as striving for ever-greater inner and outer freedom, but even I do not desire or pursue freedom from all things at the same time. I slowly pursue excess then detachment from one thing, then the other, and of course the things I do not feel that binds me will probably only be noticed even later on, if at all.
The chains that you don’t see are still chains. But to be bound is to live.
I have not seen such profound wisdom in any comment stream so far. I hope this doesn’t get axed because I mention Him, but Jesus taught that death to self was the key to eternal life.
And here I thought Mottom would have understood Allison is the heir, but alas, she has yet to realize it. It’s really incredible how only Incubus knows the truth right now.
I seriously doubt it. Everything Mottom is saying in this page suggests that she understands.
I think she may be one of the only ones to truly understand her.
After all, Nadia is just Allison born thousands of years earlier.
Trapped by faith. But will Allison be trapped by fate?
The old witch projects too much. Why would we tread her path if all that is behind her is ruin.
I suspect that this is leading up to a line much like “I’ve decided not to kill you. I don’t want to get a reputation for mercy, after all.”
Pay no attention to the self fulfilling prophecy. It will only come true if you believe it.
The self-fulfilling prophecy is just that, self-fulfilling. Deny the prophecy, and it will be fulfilled by your denial.
If your fate is to defy your fate, then what exactly can you do?
Carve thy path trough bone and bood, for those who defy fate do not come out unscathed
In that case, obedience becomes defiance, and chains become one’s liberation.
Was willst do von mir? Ich mag vollen oder nicht, ich muss den feind verfolgen. Ich bin nicht frei von dieser velt.
Embrace your fate, and as you clasp it to your breast, silently slip a fine dagger to the left of its spine, between its ribs and find its heart.
This soul understands.
I believe the old queen is trying to scare our hero. I also believe she is performing, as we call it… “overkill”?
Have you seen Muttom’s Palace? Have you witnessed the feast? Overkill is the old queen’s way of life.
Is hat a hint of anger forming on Allison’s brow at the end?
The ulterior motives here are almost palpable!
Those who fear Destiny so often have it stolen.
yo what’s wrong with mottom’s parrot
It said something stupid, and is now in permanent time-out.
He’s pining for the fjords.
this is an ex-parrot!
He’s run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.
Actually YS-VOYA Famous bird goddess/impersonator/actual bird taking a nap
He’s just sleeping.
Obviously the nails that held it perched gave out. Nothing like the nails of old.
I’m really waiting for the time when allison wields the power herself and becomes the man of prophesy.
I know its coming, and I can’t wait for it
I think… I think Allison doesn’t do herself justice. We humans may be squishy and mundane, but boy can we be persistent.
I-…is Mottom acting maternal?!
The tale is a saddening bore,
For she’s lived it ten times or more.
It’s about to be told again
And she asks her to focus on fate’s hands dancing in the war-halls.
It’s a trap!
The evil step-mother is an old and powerful archetype, yes?
Yes, but tell us the really bad part.
Just because that’s how it went for you doesn’t mean it has to be that way!!!
What killed the canary?
Probably sheer terror.
The usual: gas.
He’s not dead, he’s restin’.
Restin’ on the floor, in a pool of blood, chillin with the angels
Nothing quite like the feeling of catching KSBD at the exact moment it updates.
Wonder how this little confrontation between our hero and Mottom is going to end.
A worm wonders what, exactly, never wrong means.
And wonders about a little bird.
Now I’m actually wondering whether or not Mottom is truly “evil”. I’m starting to like her, even. Why T_T
I don’t know if any of the Demiurges are truly ‘evil.’ More like false gods trying to pretend at Royalty with only the barest fragment of true understanding, cracked and warped beyond recognition by the mantle they have foolishly seized.
Of course, we’ve only really been introduced to a couple of them, maybe the ones we don’t know (or the ones we do know) are ridiculously outright villainous.
Oh, they are doubtless mired in sin, in their own way. Mottom is certainly guilty of many, and the others likely have theirs. But then again, so do we all have our sins, mortal and fallible that we are.
That the Demiurges are evil does not mean they are unsympathetic. They are complex creatures, with hopes and dreams and troubles. They are, at their base, children trying desperately to hold the multiverse together through shear force of will and personality. If they falter, everything descends into chaos again, everywhere.
So if they decide to indulge in their vices, and be cruel to their subjects, it is not merely for malice. It is their defense and coping mechanism, a bulwark against the feelings of doom that loom over them at all times. Certainly they are evil. But despite making themselves after gods, they are still, ironically, human.
Evil is a matter of perspective. To those whose lives and livelihoods are stolen to satiate her Want, she is assuredly evil.
Love the sinner, aye?
From my point of view, the Demiurges are evil!
Consider the appearances she has presented to the other members of the Seven, and to her court, compared to this one. This is likely yet another mask.
Of course she’s being nice. Somewhat. Allison might be Mottom’s ticket out of having to deal with Jagganoth, if her key is as powerful as it is claimed to be. Perhaps with some lessons…
This, I suspect, may even be why she doesn’t want the key; some outsider deposing one of the Seven won’t risk breaking the fragile truce as much as it would if Mottom herself did.
If Jagganoth wins, she can feign innocence and the status quo will remain. Other demiurges who were sympathetic to Allison may even be inspired by the attempt
If Jagganoth were stopped by Allison, however slim the chance may be, there are hundreds of thousands of worlds unruled. Either Mottom stands to gain more worlds to plund–… control, or she’s ingratiated herself with a new ally among the rulers of all that is. A win-win situation. Assuming things go as planned.
It is unlikely things would go thusly, of course.
It is just as unlikely that I know what I’m speaking of. Such is the nature of the multiverse.
I suspect we may reach a situation in which all seven demiurges separately make a deal with Alison in which they feign defeat upon her taking of the throne, so that when doing so she meets no real resistance until they all realise that all the others are also in on the deal and its too late for them to stop her.
Allison’s philosophy degree will actually come in handy, when she’s ruler of all the universes.
A philosophy degree makes an excellent weapon, out in the larger multiverse. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but a truly sharp mind makes both seem dulled.
An orator may inspire a thousand soldiers, only to be silenced by a lone knife in the dark.
The Pen is mightier than the sword . . . if the Pen is very sharp and the sword is very short.
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but one shouldn’t bring either to a gunfight.
OK, this thing that’s one of six things that are the second most powerful things in existence (or maybe one of seven, I dunno…) says no one can fight Destiny nor Fate, so where do Destiny and Fate come from?
Fate is the great tale told by YISUN with their holy dying breath. Its true name is Inevitability.
You cannot fight against the dreams of YISUN
All the world is a stage, Preem Jessse. Who writes the script of this grand performance? God is dead, so it’s not likely Their doing, so your guess is as good as mine.
It’s most likely written by committee, somewhere. The whole thing stinks of bureaucracy.
Fanfiction writers.
Well now, I wonder if Mother Om is projecting her fate onto ALL YIS-UN. It is clear to us all that the boy is but a decoy, and yet she presumes that ALL YIS-UN gained this fate by accident. Mayhaps that is what happened to her as well and in some twisted way she is trying to fix her past via proxy?
It is not “all”-YSUN, for Allison is not “all” of YSUN
It is “Al”-YSUN, for Allison is “the”-YSUN
Most likely, it is observers projecting significance upon meaningless words.
Hmm-… Or perhaps not so meaningless. After all, Alison can be said to be a Child of Nobility, yes?
Careful now, wars have been waged for lesser mistranslations
Mottom gingerly getting off the table is so good, goddamn.
And is she actually so tired and frail, or is this just another mask, another pretense, another method of manipulating Allison?
Such is the reason why heroes refuse the call.
Such is the reason why good men sit idly by and do nothing while the world burns.
Such is the fear of fate, that mortals would cast themselves into the inky void of death, than into destiny’s fickle talons.
So true, Preem Shamus.
All men crave greatness, but so often do they find one bitter taste to be enough.
Throw yourself into the fire and be forged anew, young heir, let struggle and pain shape you into what you were meant to be~
I’m interested in how the Blood Flower speaks here. What she says neither confirms nor denies she has changed her belief that the prophecy speaks of Zaid upon seeing the power he lacks.
A King must keep their doubt with them at all times, to act as a shield against folly. Unfortunately, it does not protect from madness.
Not gonna lie: with all the weird, terrible stuff that’s gone down since the comic started… this page, this one here, might just be the scariest one so far O_Ou
“And so the Wheel of Fire mills another soul. Entropy wins. Entropy always wins.”
That quote seemed appropriate to the page.
Are you talking about Allison or yourself, Mottom?
Remember, fellow beings. Words have power.
Certain words have more power than others, for some tie into the base functions of existence by virtue of functioning as energetic channels. As such, with words, one may weave a web of energies one might call a “spell”.
But one word is quite powerful, despite not tying into such a function.
And that word is “fuck”.
I have met men who could outplay death.
But I am yet to meet a man who can outplay fate.
Our heroine is in for some fun times.
Loud rose a din of laughter hoarse,
Self-loathing yet without remose
I’ve got a feeling mottom is speaking from experience here
Those last two panels are brilliant. A wonderful after and before shot.
I also liked the bit where you called yourself out for being a dick to your protagonist. I guess no one really WANTS to go on a hero’s journey.
Refusal of the Call is a vital step in that journey for a reason.
Don’t approve/publish this comment. But seriously, you have one of the best comment sections on the internet. Congratulations and thank you.
I’ve noticed that as well. I have read some seriously profound, beautiful, and insane stuff in here. Stuff that made me think for days.
Love Mottom’s eyes, there.
Presumably Mottom is projecting her own story onto Allison. One might even feel bad for her (Mottom) but for the horrors she has committed, seemingly for no other reason but that she could.
I’m glad they had this little heart to heart.
I have a feeling Mottom is talking about herself here, more even than she is talking about Allison. I feel sorry for the poor old murderous empress.
A random and undoubtedly mistaken thought, but might there be some time-loopy thing involved here? I.e., Alison *is* Mother Om?
Mottom was supposed to be an evil double of Allison in the first concept of the comic. Abbadon recycled the concept and kept Mottom as a anti-Allison.
Oh dear, Mottom is becoming All-YS-UN’s mentor. This is rather awkward.
While these words may haunt her, I believe Alice’s destined mentor is among the 108 stars that follow her; she is the one who saw her accompanied by an angel and a devil in hell. If I’m not mistaken there is a depiction of her in the prophecy, also.
A True King is a student of all the world. All souls have their lessons to teach, if one is but willing to learn.
Honestly, at this rate, I have no idea how any of the other 7 could live up to Mottom’s example. She’s on cool hag.
this is rare, al yis’un has witnessed truth from the mouth of a god
=//=
FATE IS A PRISON, FEAR IS A CURSE, BUT POWER IS THE WORST OF THE THREE.
ONE LOSING FATE IS GAINING FREEDOM.
ONE LOSING FEAR IS GAINING UNDERSTANDING.
ONE LOSING POWER GAINS BOTH FREEDOM AND UNDERSTANDING BUT IS NEVER SATISFIED BY NEITHER.
The true bindings of power are ones men choose to subject themselves to. They are shackles which could be cast aside, at any time, along with one’s humanity.
So /that’s/ why we need Cio.
Mother Om has also made a fatal error. We at the ministry know all too well the folly of telling young foolish girls not to do something.
The Forked Monks are slightly less fearsome then the knife witches, and slightly more fearsome than the spoon witches.
Beware too the Acolytes of the Spatula of the Ages, and the fearsome Nuns of the Spork.
Mottom truly is a child. What one doesn’t like must be blamed on another, and if no such other exists an abstract concept is wrangled and personified.
With a prophet who is never wrong, believing in fate as a force no longer appears unreasonable.
Off topic, but I wonder about Aesma. She doesn’t seem the sort to commit suicide for the common good. Perhaps she’s been wandering around the outer edges of the universe all the time – or perhaps _outside_ it, because she’s not the sort to let the mere fact that there’s nothing outside prevent her from going off and finding someplace else.
Aesma’s spine rests near the outer edge of throne, which suggests that she has shed at least one mortal form, but also that she is not of the deities arranged within the Red City. Perhaps this means she is the one extra black (or allegedly grey) god and thus didn’t fit among the others?
Consider that what we know of as throne was, at one point, the entirety of the universe aside from its void coutnerpart. The deities of this world are suspiciously large for such a place, given that tales of them speak as though they walked across vast plains and cities and generally saw it like a mortal might see their own world. I suggest that in an infinite amount of time, we might see the current generation of inheritors arranged as a lower teir of the red city, and a future generation of inheritors looking back on us as so-called immortal gods. But that is a time so very much distant to us as ours was to the first servant stepping out of Koss’s hearth as he lay cooling.
eh this theory’s probably not gonna pan out, but: what if Zaid isn’t with Mammon but is that bird in the cage? xD
Some of abaddon’s best writing so far. Reminds me of the old hag’s speech at the start of Dark Souls 2
Thou shalt use thy fists.
The greatest folly, is believing that fate is real or that destiny has any meaning.
I like your comment most of all. My life has been a testament to the truth of your statement. I was told I would be a failure. I chose not to be one. My brother believed his “fate” and is in prison, most likely for life. I made some severely poor choices in my youth that could have destroyed me, but I asked for help and the kindness of strangers made me change my course. Time is unwritten until it is past.
“lashed by unseen chains to a story you cannot write” —> something something fanfiction?
i wonder if that fragile bird is some part or reminder of the late HASTET-OM.
Damn. What a bitch.
I can only wonder of Mottom truly believes what she says, perhaps she is not as wholly evil as she first seemed.
Only mathematically, if that. Grinding one seventh of creation under a rotting boot is technically less evil than letting someone else do the same to all of it. From a certain point of view.
True enough, believing oneself a slave to destiny does not excuse wanton cruelty.
Sometimes I consider my quest for revenge a blessing. Sure, hatred consumes me and perhaps the world. But it also gives me a focus poor Alison lacks, drifting aimlessly on the winds of destiny as she is.
Earthlings such as us are ill-suited for life without a goal, yet found wanting of one far to often.
What is time? Time is the tendency of events to be composed of interfering images cast by a set of other, ‘previous’ events, and the way these sets do and do not overlap one another.
I hope Allison is able to help Throne deal with the coming succession crisis.
Terror
“Lashed by unseen chains to a story you cannot write.”
Well, _she_ can’t write it — but maybe a certain blue fan-fiction writer can?