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Path of the Immeasurable Swarm [Worm/Cradle]

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Guess I was wrong, Crown icon it is. I assumed Hera would consider herself too far above mortals to see herself as ruling them, and instead simply see them as extensions of herself. Taylor has been teaching her to human better than I thought.
 
Oh that was amazing! Looks like Hera just became a Sage as well from what I understand of the power system of this series.
 
You know, there's probably some gold somewhere who has been on the fortification teams, been up and going through every phase of the fight, and is just lucky enough to be intact enough for the next fight, and they're just standing there looking alert, while desperately trying to keep their mental break down internal.
 
Interesting. I assumed Hera wouldn't be able to interact with the Cradle magic system at all, but at the very least she can connect to Icons.

Also, the opening was very well done. I didn't even realize it was a QA/Taylor merger until after they separated. But hot damn, casually usurping the Silent King's control and nabbing the Phoenix.

Damn, Malice dying is a real big divergence. At least Mercy won't have to kill her mom?
 
Okay, so, as happy as I am that they survived… maybe it's callous of me, but I hope Mercy learns when to cut and run from this. Her heart is both her greatest strength AND her biggest weakness, but until now she's generally refused to see/accept that it could actually be a weakness. If she hadn't tried to argue for those last Golds, everyone in power would have made it out okay.
 
derivativeoflife said:
I hoped it had at least made a difference. I couldn't sense the Silent King anymore, but last I'd seen it had been bolting away at several times the speed of sound, its skin flayed almost entirely off and the muscles beneath ravaged. I didn't think it was coming back even if it sensed that Hera had gone; it was, after all, a coward at heart.
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Yeah, you better run. He won't be in a hurry to come face to face with Taylor again.
derivativeoflife said:
Mercy was leaning over me, her eyes full of concern and fear. I desperately hoped it was fear for me rather than of me, although I wouldn't blame her for it. Like I'd told the Silent King, Khepri was a worse monster than it could ever hope to be, unable to see people as anything more than tools. The Archlords were shaken but unharmed, but several of the Golds were dead and many more had lost consciousness, blood dripping from their eyes from the strain I'd placed on them. The guilt sat lightly on me, stacked on top of the guilt I already carried. I'd always known what I was.
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I hadn't thought about this, but it does make sense. Khepri and Taylor were always able to force people and bugs beyond their physical limits. It wouldn't surprise me if she forced them to draw on their willpower far beyond the limits of what it was safe/reasonable for them to do and inflicted damage as a result.
derivativeoflife said:
For an instant that seemed to last an eternity, Malice hesitated, her bow half drawn. Then I felt her striking out with her full authority, but not against either Dreadgod. The Phoenix let loose another beam of blood madra, and Malice turned, interposing herself, allowing it to strike her full-on in the back. Without her will enforcing it, her damaged armor shattered. As her breastplate began to dissolve into aura, I caught a brief glimpse of Malice herself. She was looking at us, or perhaps at one of us in particular.

"Mercy," she said, her voice carried to us through wind and dream aura. "Keep the family safe. I love you."

"M-mother?" asked Mercy with a trembling voice.

"Go."
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Dang, RIP, unfortunate that Malice died here, but in some ways it's probably a good thing that she died a hero before she could live long enough to see herself become a villain.

Now when it comes time to kick the monarchs out of Cradle Mercy and Taylor will be able to fight the other monarchs with a clean heart and a clear conscience.
 
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w34v3r said:
You know, there's probably some gold somewhere who has been on the fortification teams, been up and going through every phase of the fight, and is just lucky enough to be intact enough for the next fight, and they're just standing there looking alert, while desperately trying to keep their mental break down internal.
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Assuming the author is willing, this would make for a great omake. They generally don't rehash previous events, so it should be safe?
 
Holy crap! Malice sacrificing herself is a huge divergence 0_0 And the oath holding the dragons back is gone now too… At least Taylor has access to another Icon! Now Mercy needs another power up, and Lindon and team will get a chance to shine.

Though I am curious is Malice actually died, or if she maybe ascended at the last minute to escape the dragon's attack. Either way, one less Monarch means there should be less hunger aura and the dreadgods should reduce in power again.
 
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w34v3r said:
And no monarch tier back up.
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You say this but Sha Miara might turn up. She and Emriss are definitely friends of Mercy and can be trusted. Emriss is probably too busy handling the fallout as that battle was over her lands.

EDIT: Hopefully LIndon and Yerin can participate a bit though. Yerin is very close to connecting to the Sword Icon and Lindon might connect to the void and drain a bunch of dragons for power as well.
 
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MultipleChoice said:
Guess I was wrong, Crown icon it is. I assumed Hera would consider herself too far above mortals to see herself as ruling them, and instead simply see them as extensions of herself. Taylor has been teaching her to human better than I thought.
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Different people use Icons differently, and their meanings for different Icons can be different.
To one person the crown could mean control, to another it could make them tools / chess pieces etc.

Also for QA... That's how she rules over other shards.



So Silent is probably going to flee and hope to just outlast taylor. (Either she dies, or ascends. Plus she probably realises that killing him would make the other 2 stronger anyway.)

I Imagine same with the Phoenix.. Its not as smart, but they are cowardly. So just best to avoid any fight it doesn't know it can win. And from its perspective, next time, the enemy might be able to adjust its technique, and might be more focused on hurting itself (Phoenix), rather than needing its power to fight.

ZhaneSilverman said:
And the oath holding the dragons back is gone low too…
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Maybe I'm confused... But I think they are going around the Oath instead? Which is why she wanted to know the wording of the oath?
But maybe I've just forgotten important details of the oath.
 
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dob said:
Maybe I'm confused... But I think they are going around the Oath instead? Which is why she wanted to know the wording of the oath?
But maybe I've just forgotten important details of the oath.
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The implication is that now that Malice is dead "mother's land or the people under her protection." encapsulates nothing and no one, so Sesh is free to go into Akura territory again.
 
ZhaneSilverman said:
Holy crap! Malice sacrificing herself is a huge divergence 0_0 And the oath holding the dragons back is gone low too… At least Taylor has access to another Icon! Now Mercy needs another power up, and Lindon and team will get a chance to shine.

Though I am curious is Malice actually died, or if she maybe ascended at the last minute to escape the dragon's attack. Either way, one less Monarch means there should be less hunger aura and the dreadgods should reduce in power again.
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Ascending is not easy. Well for a Monarch is isn't that hard but she couldn't hold her armour together after putting her will into letting Mercy escape so she wouldn't have been able to ascend in time. If she could ascend she could just go to Moongrave instead.
 
I mean what other Icon could QA have picked up lmao. Can't say I was expecting Malice to die here, but it fits natively. Its a huge kick in Mercy's ass—in her head I can imagine her seeing herself as having killed her mom to save a handful of golds. And to add insult to injury, she's completely nullified her biggest remaining achievement of getting the dragons off their asses.
Next couple of days/weeks/months are gonna be really, really round unless Taylor/Mercy/Charity can reach Monarch very, very fast. Well, that or get some more help from Hera. The Phoenix would make a very good monarch-tier attack dog.
 
p235711131719 said:
Ascending is not easy. Well for a Monarch is isn't that hard but she couldn't hold her armour together after putting her will into letting Mercy escape so she wouldn't have been able to ascend in time. If she could ascend she could just go to Moongrave instead.
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Generally it's not, but it seems quite easy for Fury when he did it, and Malice has had a long time to make preparations to have it as a back-up plan. It's possible she was only able to punch through Shen's barrier to let the others retreat to Moongrave. Just a curiosity though, ultimately it will depend on if derivative wants Malice dead or just out of the picture.

NemiTheNen said:
Did Fury already acsend?
Charity might be able to
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Fury did already ascend. He went Monarch right after the Ninecloud tournament to fight the dreadgod cultists, and then took a month to get his affairs in order before departing.

Charity does have pretty good chances as I imagine she got plenty of advice from her father on becoming a Herald.
 
ZhaneSilverman said:
Generally it's not, but it seems quite easy for Fury when he did it, and Malice has had a long time to make preparations to have it as a back-up plan. It's possible she was only able to punch through Shen's barrier to let the others retreat to Moongrave. Just a curiosity though, ultimately it will depend on if derivative wants Malice dead or just out of the picture.
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If Malice could ascend she could have just made the hop to Moongrave alongside Mercy much easier since she was already using her authority to transport Mercy and Taylor there. And Malice would never choose to ascend if she could stay on Cradle. Ascending over death probably as you say but it would not be part of any back up plan she makes.
 
Well, the Akura seem to be a little (a lot) bit fucked, unless QA intervenes directly again, which i assume has some limits and/or consequences for Taylor (if there aren't, she kinda just stomps on everyone in Cradle).

Sesh has a personal grudge against them and they don't really have anyone that could stop him right now. Shen and Northstrider are enemies, Emriss might want to help, but probably not to the degree of coming to fight the dragons personally, same for Miara (not to mention that she's the weakest Monarch around, while Sesh is iirc the strongest). The Eight Man Empire are mercenaries and could easily be bought by Shen or the dragons over the Akura. I guess Charity might be capable of reaching Monarch, but it's unlikely to be a quick/guaranteed thing. Taylor isn't even at Archlord, let alone ready for Monarch, while Mercy and Lindon (the other most likely candidates) are even further away.
 
ZhaneSilverman said:
Charity does have pretty good chances as I imagine she got plenty of advice from her father on becoming a Herald.
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We learn in Dreadgod that people who intentionally stay at Sage have a hard time advancing to Monarch because they get "stuck". They sort of internalize the mindset of not advancing. So Charity, who was probably planning to be fourth in line (behind Malice, then Fury if Malice dies, then Mercy once she's old enough), might have trouble.

(No idea how this applies to Fury, maybe the plan of getting incredibly close to Monarch and stopping right before the finish line prevents this.)

p235711131719 said:
If Malice could ascend she could have just made the hop to Moongrave alongside Mercy much easier since she was already using her authority to transport Mercy and Taylor there. And Malice would never choose to ascend if she could stay on Cradle. Ascending over death probably as you say but it would not be part of any back up plan she makes.
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For those confused, we see in Dreadgod that ascending (at least for Monarchs) is traveling through the Way and then just...not stopping. Instead of returning to a different point on Cradle, you continue traveling.

So yeah, if Malice could summon the authority and concentration to ascend, she could also just travel to Moongrave.
 
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