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Path of the Immeasurable Swarm [Worm/Cradle]

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Krazo said:
The question is if she will try to expand Khepri powers...
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They will need to repair-heal QA for that. She was physically crippled by Scion during deployment to prevent her getting up to any shenanigans. Which severely limited the breadth of her available powers.
And for that they will need either someone at Abidan level with very specific set of powers or Queen Shaper.
 
I wonder if Taylor will teach Shardspeak to Charity/Eithan/Lindon? I imagine it might be useful to communicate faster, though probably the only Cradle natives who could learn it are Dream artists / Heart icon users, people with pseudo-presences like Lindon or Northstrider, or people who have enhanced information processing abilities like Eithan.
 
It would be fun to see Hera-QA creating Authority Math. Since for Shards it's much easier to understand and it very much should be possible. Authorities are infinities with very complex functions but it doesn't mean you can't compare them or can't solve their interactions through math - since their interactions are predictable even if with some fuzziness.
 
Random extra musing. Malice's remnant got left behind right? I wonder what the odds are that Taylor or Mercy will find themselves fighting a Shen-collared Malice remnant in the future. For extra angst.
 
Lexical said:
Random extra musing. Malice's remnant got left behind right? I wonder what the odds are that Taylor or Mercy will find themselves fighting a Shen-collared Malice remnant in the future. For extra angst.
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There's a good chance that Malice's remnant was annihilated by the Weeping Dragon's breath (emphasis mine):
derivativeoflife said:
"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."

Shen's barrier broke. As shadows swallowed the world, my last sight was of the blazing star between the Weeping Dragon's jaws beginning to erupt.
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Arcman said:
You know, Mercy kind of indirectly killed her mother here too by staying to save the golds. Canon didn't repeat, but it did rhyme.
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Oh absolutely, this is the kind of loss that'll have them second guessing themselves and wondering "what-if" until kingdom come. Mercy will blame herself not just for sticking around for the golds, but for using the arrowhead on the Wandering Titan rather than Sesh or Shen. Taylor will blame herself for letting Eithan talk her into not using the hand of the slumbering wraith as a distraction.

What if, What if, What if. If anything can make Mercy doubt herself and her worldview, something like this will be it. Unfortunately, time marches onwards.
Adistridos said:
There's a good chance that Malice's remnant was annihilated by the Weeping Dragon's breath (emphasis mine):
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Yeah, it's not clear, usually when someone dies their remnant takes a few seconds to form. Add on to that even when Monarchs are launching killing blows at each other they usually can't deal enough damage to destroy an enemy monarch so completely that a remnant doesn't form.

It's not inconceivable that between a combination of the sheer power of the Weeping Dragon's breath and Malice already being on her last legs that she was damaged enough a remnant couldn't form, or for the breath to last long enough that a remnant did form, and that remnant was too weak to defend itself and perished immediately. But I'd say it's far from a given that the remnant died from that attack.

Of course, the remnant definitely wouldn't be able to stand up against 2 dreadgods, so it almost certainly perished in short order unless Shen yoinked it for himself, either to make into a weapon or to collar up and use as one.
 
It's alive!

derivativeoflife said:
enjoy the next five chapters
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(Counts how many chapters have been released since this author's note)

😢

An amazing arc though! Very satisfying to see this payoff.

If Malice isn't dead and she shows up after the dragon monarch attacks, the soul oath will do interesting things to his spirit.

If she is dead, then eh, she was never my favorite character. Her end in the actual series was fitting. This just gives her a slightly better aftertaste. She was still the same cruel ruler in life.

Taylor and Mercy and Charity will certainly have their work cut out defending Moongravw though.

Hope Real Life is going better! Thanks for the chapters!
 
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NemiTheNen said:
given how she was written in the final book. Just...flanderized and ugh
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I don't think Malice was flanderized. She truly didn't want them dead, just gone, and was even willing to let Mercy go with them. I'd argue her last true interaction with Mercy was her most nuanced.

The problem is that what Malice wants and what the gang wants are fundamentally irreconcilable, which forces them into increasingly extreme circumstances. Just look at how unyielding normal people who want different things can be; then, stack centuries of ruling a continent and supernatural levels of willpower on top of that. Not to mention the fact that Malice was never going to agree, as was set up by the end of Reaper. When you live for centuries at the top of the world's hierarchy, and can use your "perfect and inviolable" willpower on yourself, it's shocking that all monarchs, sages and heralds don't turn out like Malice.
 
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Tylansimov said:
Damn, Malice dying is a real big divergence. At least Mercy won't have to kill her mom?
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Technically, it was Yerin

Not as much as you think, a main problem presented by Malice is that she was the final hurdle for Mercy to fully advance

As in Malice was actively psychologically breaking down Mercy to submit. Without her doing that Mercy just might fully develop faster amd finish Malice's final wish by removing the Dreadgods and kicking out the remaining Monarchs

There are many what ifs in this chapter and entire battle bur one thing is made clear, the Dreadgods need to go. They are too powerful and too destructive with active minds that purposely cause such destruction

The Monarchs who continue this farce by staying in the world because they would rather rule it are just continuing the problem

What is the bigger divergence is the remain of Sesh who per WoG is the most powerful Monarch in this generation with Shen as the most versatile

Sadly, there is no more back up Monarch as Fury ascended and Ashwind has no Monarch to protect then. Charity and Mercy needs to step up and Taylor with the backing of QA Crown Icon can hopefully lift up. Also with whatever Eithan is cooking up

Mercy making lots of friends from other Monarchs really did a lot for future things
Cyberlord4444 said:
Alternatively
Taylor: I made one Dreadgod run and another do my bidding, are you sure you're still on the winning side?
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8ME are completely Mercenary and knows not to fuck with super powers like when Dreadgod Lindon was abound

They are also the Monarch faction who are approving of the removal of Monarchs to remove Dreadgods
TheBarrometer said:
The other angle to remember, is that for Eithan's plans to go ahead he and his friends / students need time.

Who knows what bullshit Eithan is going to pull out of his arse, but he's going to have the full resources of the Akura to do it.
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In Wintersteel, Eithan did point out how he had multiple plans depending on who wins the Uncrowned and who the Penance was used for

So he probably also has some things going on I the background for these events
Tylansimov said:
I'm not sure we're super close. Canon seems to have something like a 2 or 3 year timeskip during Reaper (after the Emperor comes to the Valley and before they return to explore the Labyrinth).
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I don't think it was more than 2 years since Lindon was stuck in the world for 2 years until the 7 year festival in Sacred Valley

So yeah, Lindon's journey started and ended with said festival so we have a timeline of 7 years for the entire series
Fencer said:
Also and I mean this very seriously Eithan better fucking advance to sage because he owes it to Mercy and Taylor to throw his full effort behind this now.
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At the very least I can see Eithan choosing the Broom and Oracle Icons but not Death

He's gonna be so vindicated if he sees Mercy manifest the Joy Icon, proving that it does exists
viralstitch said:
Northstrider hates dragons but is a coward and a traitor
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We don't really know what happened with Northstrider especially with Shen being that bullshit and NS knows he cannot be trusted with any deal

We already saw that a Monarch can be trapped when Northstrider did it to Emriss in canon
Lexical said:
Random extra musing. Malice's remnant got left behind right?
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Remnant and body if it wasn't destroyed by the Weeping Dragon's breath (the strongest Striker technique in Cradle)

Can be useful since both are powerful catalysts
 
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TypicalVelocity said:
The problem is that what Malice wants and what the gang wants are fundamentally irreconcilable, which forces them into increasingly extreme circumstances.
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Going back to what a previous poster said about Malice's (likely) Archlord revelation, something like 'I protect the Akura clan' or 'I protect my family' would explain much about her actions.

She views that can't protect anyone on Cradle by Ascending, and so she does not. And then everything else cascades from there. Not to justify anything, but I think it's understandable that she does what she does.
 
It's a natural end state of the cultivator scenario if there's top tiers that are hanging around instead of ascending. Most cultivation worlds suffer a lot more casual cruelty and barbarism from their adepts because ultimately they don't give a shit about mortals/lower level cultivators. Here people actually want things in the world besides just enough resources to get to the next tier. Some of the top tier cultivators actually give a shit about random villagers. The problem then becomes that they're not the best at stepping aside for new management, or adapting new long term objectives.
 
Zoolimar said:
They will need to repair-heal QA for that. She was physically crippled by Scion during deployment to prevent her getting up to any shenanigans. Which severely limited the breadth of her available powers.
And for that they will need either someone at Abidan level with very specific set of powers or Queen Shaper.
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I think that we're seeing that QA is doing this to herself through connection to Taylor. Now that she's touched The Way through the Crown Icon, QA may even be able to accelerate this process. Though they are also braiding themselves together:
derivativeoflife said:
We'd been merged too thoroughly to separate completely anymore. Her understanding of authority and my understanding of the Crown Icon were all mixed up together, little bits and pieces of each other that couldn't be pulled apart without damage.
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Taylor has always integrated certain aspects of QA into her Path, as the connection has been there though with the wider connection and tighter integration, will the two of them add a hunger aspect? I can't think of a hungrier thing than the Entities. If they do, will the processing power that QA brings be able to gather Hunger Aura before the dreadgods can?
 
viralstitch said:
The Way through the Crown Icon, QA may even be able to accelerate this process. Though they are also braiding themselves together:
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She just needs to find a way to integrate the concept of a Crown to healing

There is a reason why some Icons are more suited than the other like how the Oracle Icon isn't good for controlling space and portals but can easily divine locations

viralstitch said:
will the two of them add a hunger aspect? I can't think of a hungrier thing than the Entities
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Taylor is too far in her Path to make such a change but even so what defined Taylor and QA are pretty clear, the Shadows where she did all her achievements, the Crown that rules over those below and the Oracle that sees through all she rules over

It is like how Malice defined the Netherworld Empress

Her successor should understand the depth of shadow madra, so the spirit of the Netherworld Empress reflected the Shadow Icon.

Her successor should feel the burden of rule, so the Netherworld Empress wore the nobility of the Crown Icon.

Her successor should fight with power unparalleled, so the body of the Netherworld Empress carried the Strength Icon.

Her successor should see far and strike from a distance, so the Netherworld Empress had the sight of the Bow Icon.
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In terms or rulership, Taylor actually succeeds more in who Akura Malice is, even if she doesn't embody physical power

The main difference is that this Taylor knows how to let go of power for the sake of a better world

There is also the fact that even if not the same, Malice wanted Mercy to be better than she could ever be
To name her direct descendants, Malice looked into the future and highlighted what she saw as their greatest feature. Not all Akura clan members got this treatment, Mercy knew; at some point, naming family members after virtues had become tradition rather than actual prophecy.

But now, with Dross and Emriss to sort the memories she'd absorbed from her mother, she saw Malice in her visions.

Surrounded by dark statues, Malice sought her son. She saw him as a sculpture of shadow, laughing as he struck dragons from the sky.

He exulted in battle, and his anger became a sword to destroy the family's enemies. She named him Fury.

His daughter was a dark statue of her own, surrounded by owls, who wore a cold mask. Malice looked closer and saw the girl spreading messages and monitoring the well being of the people, uniting them to stand against the powers of the wilderness. The Monarch named her granddaughter Charity.

Mercy saw her mother name Justice, Pride, and several other family members. She began to wonder if Malice had really left all these memories behind or if Emriss was adding a few stolen from somewhere else.

Finally, she came to her own vision.

Mercy was only a baby, still wailing, when Malice looked into her future. She saw her youngest daughter with a broad smile clear even on the dark statues in the World of Night. She healed, she laughed, and she cried for the sake of others.

And, in the end, Malice saw her daughter as another light rising over the dark mountains of the Akura clan.

Malice leaned back, satisfied, and let her World of Night fade. She looked down to the baby in herarms and named her.

She would be a light to complement the shadows. The Mercy to counterbalance the family's Malice.

Where the Monarch failed, her daughter would bring joy.
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Denty said:
Taylor is too far in her Path to make such a change but even so what defined Taylor and QA are pretty clear, the Shadows where she did all her achievements, the Crown that rules over those below and the Oracle that sees through all she rules over
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I'd argue taylor's path is already pretty darn close to covering some aspect of hunger---her endless swarm already eats things "till there's nothing left".
 
Denty said:
Taylor is too far in her Path to make such a change but even so what defined Taylor and QA are pretty clear, the Shadows where she did all her achievements, the Crown that rules over those below and the Oracle that sees through all she rules over
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I doubt it's that hard to add new elements to your path. Yerin added Blood to hers at Herald.
 
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