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Path of the Immeasurable Swarm [Worm/Cradle]

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derivativeoflife said:
Elissa stirred next to him, woken by his own movement. "Morning," she murmured, wrapping an arm around him. He grunted a response, but he didn't pull away. Despite the friction between them these past few weeks, Hanno had been careful to never take his frustration out on her. No need to ruin the one good thing he still had in his life.

Gently casting his senses outwards, he saw that Hiram was stirring awake as well. At least they hadn't let themselves sleep long enough to get woken up by their youngest toddling his way down the hall to their room again. Further down, Tanitha was still sound asleep; she'd started picking up his bad habits lately. At least she was still taking her studies seriously, even if they kept her up later than advisable for a girl her age.
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At least the man is principled enough to be a good husband.

derivativeoflife said:
As much as he loved his wife, she didn't really understand. Of course there'd be opportunities for him in the future, but none like the one he was currently missing. Crafting a weapon out of the remains of a Dreadgod was more than just the chance of a lifetime; it was something which had never and would never happen again in all of history. Right now, at this very moment, soulsmiths were doing work which would be studied for thousands of years to come, and Hanno wasn't one of them. But there was no point in starting that argument again, so he didn't reply.
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It's about the art to him.

derivativeoflife said:
Of course, as Elissa constantly reminded him, his disfavor had probably saved his life. There'd been an effort to cover up the hideous casualties House Shen had suffered in Everwood, but whispers had leaked through anyway. The only saving grace was that the other Monarch factions had suffered just as badly or even worse, or else the Akura Clan would have already been knocking on the door. Also, on a more personal level, that two-faced bastard Florian had been one of the casualties, and good riddance. But none of that was enough to remove the sting of being left to languish here while the other expert soulsmiths of House Shen unlocked the secrets of the Labyrinth and the Dreadgods.
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Sure it would've been safer to not be a part of it but he still would love the chance to study things.

derivativeoflife said:
Hanno barely paid attention; it was probably mostly lies anyway. There was nothing he despised more than administrative work. It needed to be done, of course, but there was no reason it needed to be him doing it. He usually just did whatever the Gold scribes recommended anyway. He added nothing by being here except as an implied threat, but anyone with half a wisp of dream aura knew you didn't defy House Shen no matter how much of their forces were absent. But no, Tyre had to go and insist that they make a show of the fact that they were still here, some nonsense about reassuring the populace. Every Overlord had to do their part, he said. The waste of time was absolutely criminal.
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Rank comes with responsibilities.

derivativeoflife said:
The spiritual pressure washed over the woman without the slightest effect. "That's a shame," she said. "Perhaps I can provide a little extra incentive?" She pulled something from her soulspace, and Hanno's blood froze when he realized what he was looking at. It was a stuffed black bear, one ear slightly ragged from being regularly chewed on.

In an instant, he had the woman by the front of her robes. "Who are you?" he snarled. "What have you done to my family?"

She casually reached up, taking his hand by the wrist. To his shock, she easily peeled his grip away, her strength dwarfing his own. "Your family is currently our guests. They're perfectly safe, and I have every hope they'll remain so."
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Man Taylor out here being terrifying.

derivativeoflife said:
Those scripts had been added shortly before Hanno had arrived in Alabaster City, but he'd still heard about them. After all, it was the first time in the bank's history that an entire new script circle had been added for the sole purpose of keeping out a single specific sacred artist. But that meant it wouldn't hinder anyone else, so what was the point of-

Hanno froze, his fear turning into outright terror. "You- You're suppose to be dead!"

"Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated," said the Shadow Sage, a small smile of amusement flickering across her face. "After you've disabled the scripts, I want you to access the highest level soulsmithing archives. No need to retrieve anything in particular; just open the door."
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She's having fun with this.

derivativeoflife said:
"I will release you and your family wherever you like, unharmed. I didn't lie when I said your talent is being wasted. The Akura Clan will be happy to offer you a position, if you want it. Or we would be willing to give you the resources to start a small sect of your own. You could even return to Alabaster City, although I wouldn't recommend it."

Hanno hesitated, frozen by indecision. Even in the depths of his bitterness and humiliation over being blamed for Florian's disastrous mistake at Knife Peak, he'd never for a moment considered outright betraying House Shen. Betraying a Monarch was worse than just a particularly unpleasant and painful form of suicide; a crime like that would see his entire family executed.

But the Monarch wasn't here, and the Shadow Sage was. All of House Shen knew her grim reputation; there was no act foul enough to give her pause if it meant advancing her clan's interests. The thought of trusting his family's safety to her word made him want to throw up, and yet… If there was one thing he could trust with absolute certainty, it was the horrors she'd inflict on them if he didn't do what she wanted.

Could he trick her? No one left in Alabaster City was a match for a Sage one on one, but the city's defenses and security constructs were strong enough to frustrate even a Monarch, at least for a while. If he could lure her into the bank and then trap her there…

"If you think lying to me is a good idea, then maybe you're less intelligent than I thought," said the Shadow Sage, chopping off that line of thought like an axe. No, of course he couldn't trick a Sage, anymore than he could fight one.

Wilting, he nodded. "I'll do it. Whatever you want. Just… just don't hurt them. Please."

"Despite what you may have heard, I would prefer not to," she said. "I'm glad you decided to be reasonable about this. Now, I suggest you hurry. You wouldn't want to miss the opportunity I've arranged for you."
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The terrifying reputation, casual intimidation and ability to know you so well combines in a terrifying fashion.

derivativeoflife said:
[Error. The requested information cannot be found. Anomaly detected. Unrequested information was recovered in place of the requested information. It appears to be a message. Message is as follows: "Northstrider. I believe it's time we talked."]

He scowled. His codex had progressed less than he'd hoped if it could be defeated by the efforts of a mere Sage, even one particularly adept at manipulating Fate. He'd sensed someone manifest an Icon in Moongrave the day before; she must have fully realized her connection to the Oracle Icon, as the Shadow Icon alone wouldn't allow for this degree of control. Construct a hypothetical model of the Shadow Sage using only presently known information, he instructed it.

[Acknowledged. Model accuracy estimated at seventy percent. Most likely explanation: The Shadow Sage believes she has found a way to turn you against Reigan Shen. Her companion is a previously high-ranking soulsmith of House Shen, disgraced five years ago after an accident which resulted in the destruction of a partially constructed cloud fortress.] Further information appeared in Northstrider's mind; he briefly reviewed it, then dismissed it as irrelevant.

Irritated, he considered simply ignoring her, but pushed the petty urge aside. It was possible she really did have valuable information for him, although he would have to be on his guard. Catching her in a lie would be difficult even for him, but if he did, he would simply kill her and be done with it.
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That's a pretty good prediciton on the codex's part. Also he seems to respect her danger level.

derivativeoflife said:
The Overlord cleared his throat several times before speaking. "Yes, ah… As I'm sure you're aware, compelling obedience from a Monarch-level remnant is an extremely difficult task, particularly a sentient one such as Tiberian's. After a great deal of research, the approach we settled on was binding it with a sort of artificial soul oath. But in the process of crafting the binding, we made an unexpected discovery. The nature of the link between the remnant and our Monarch meant that…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Meant that our Monarch gained the ability to substitute the remnant for his own spirit when making real soul oaths. In… In other words, if he were to break an oath, it would be Tiberian's remnant that suffered the consequences instead of himself."

Several unpleasant emotions bubbled up, and Northstrider ruthlessly suppressed them. "Even if he believes what he's saying, you've clearly compelled him to speak. What assurance do I have that you haven't altered his memories?" he demanded.

"I haven't touched his mind," replied the Shadow Sage calmly. "You can examine him yourself, as long as you don't harm him. I'm compelling him through entirely old-fashioned means."

[No mental influence detected], his codex informed him. [High likelihood the Shadow Sage is holding some or all of his family hostage to ensure obedience.]

Of course. That was why Northstrider avoided those sorts of entanglements. He manifested the codex over his shoulder and held up the dream tablet to it. Analyze this. Confirm it's genuine, and that it could function as claimed. While the codex did its work, he crossed his arms, directing a glare at the Sage. "Tread carefully," he told her. "There is something of Malice in you, but you are not her equal yet. Take a lesson from how her games ended before you seek to continue them."
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The oh hey Soul Oaths don't bind Shen is a big deal. Also he thinks Taylor messing with a dude's family is a Malice kind of move but he doesn't really get that Taylor is her own beast.

derivativeoflife said:
"I assure you, my game is quite different from Malice's," was all she said in response. Nothing in her tone of voice suggested a threat, but Northstrider thought there was one hidden there regardless. Perhaps it was nothing but a confident front; certainly she knew showing him any hint of weakness would draw nothing but contempt. On the other hand, the Akura Clan had rebounded with surprising strength after the death of their Monarch. Young or not, the group of Sages and Heralds they had assembled were not to be taken lightly. Again, he was tempted to simply kill her and remove the threat here and now. Even if she was telling the truth about Shen, he'd be a fool to think any alliance they made would last more than an instant after the lion's death. But he'd allow her to state her case before he decided.

[92% chance these designs are the authentic work of Reigan Shen,] reported his codex, interrupting his thoughts. Knowledge appeared in his mind, detailing how the style and techniques used in the design matched Shen's known work. [Simulations suggest an 87% chance the designs would function as stated. Based only on their known capabilities, the chance that the Akura Clan could produce a forgery with this level of authenticity is under 2%.]

Again, Northstrider held his emotions under strict control, considering the matter objectively. The Shadow Sage had already shown the capacity to defeat his codex, but there was still at the very least a strong chance that Shen had the ability to break soul oaths. Would he? Now that Northstrider was aware of the threat, he could demand additional guarantees, and Shen was hardly in a position to refuse him.

[83% chance Shen will betray you if he believes he has the ability, for both material and personal reasons. His chance of having that ability is unknown, but his plan calls for the completion of a Dreadgod weapon of his own before killing the Bleeding Phoenix.]
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He's weighing all the threats and possibilities, man did not get this strong or old by being dumb.

derivativeoflife said:
To his mild surprise, she seemed to address his thoughts. "I was never actually going to hurt his family, you know. I'm not naive enough to think I've never killed innocents with the kind of destruction I've caused, but it's something I avoid when at all possible. People like us need anchors, someone to remind us where the line is when we forget."

"Do not," snapped Northstrider, "presume the right to lecture me."

The calm expression she'd worn until now vanished, her face hardening with cold anger as she met his glare. "Billions of people are dead because you allowed yourself to be deceived by one of your oldest enemies, including our Monarch. I have every right to lecture you."

Space warped and reality twisted as Northstrider's fury finally burst forth. The working holding back the ocean broke, the water twisting into a violent maelstrom around him. And yet a bubble of clear space stubbornly remained around the Shadow Sage, repelling both the water and the pressure of his fully unveiled spirit. He focused his will, intending to crush the insolent Sage. To his shock, he found himself outmatched.

[Alert. Foreign authority detected. Anomalous energy detected. Source unknown.]

Analyze!

[Insufficient data. Searching records… No matches found.]

Beneath his anger, a cold sliver of uncertainty wormed its way into Northstrider's heart. He'd fed every scrap of knowledge he'd ever discovered into his oracle codex as he created it, and he'd delved more deeply into the more esoteric aspects of the Sacred Arts than any other Monarch. Even if he wasn't quite omniscient, nothing on Cradle should have been this unfamiliar to him, this… alien.
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Taylor out here spitting facts and pocking at something really deep in Northstrider. Also Hera stops by to say hello.

derivativeoflife said:
The Shadow Sage continued speaking, ignoring the violence around her. "Even now, you'd rather double down than admit you were fooled. How far will you go, to hide from the truth? Will you kill me, for bringing it to? Will you keep helping Shen sharpen his knife until the very moment he plants it in your back? When did you forget that the first step to mastering the Sacred Arts is mastering yourself?"

Northstrider came within a hair's breadth of unleashing a technique. Only two things stopped him: the alien authority that the Sage was still radiating, and the insidious whisper at the back of his mind telling him that if he struck now, he'd be proving her right. "You are an arrogant child, speaking of matters you know nothing of, meddling with things far beyond you. Here is the truth. Whatever this power is that you command, it will not protect you from me. I will take it for myself, and if anything is left of you after I have fully understood it, perhaps I will give you the honor of helping me deal with Shen as I see fit. Now, submit!"

[REFUSAL]

The closest Northstrider had ever come to death since advancing to Monarch was when he'd been struck by the breath of the Weeping Dragon. The power in that technique had been overwhelming even to him; for those few brief seconds, he'd felt like an ant trying to resist being crushed by a boot. The authority which struck him now was similarly overwhelming, brushing his own command aside like dust. It carried the weight of eons beyond comprehension, of subjugated worlds beyond number. He was transfixed by the million-eyed gaze of a being so large, he couldn't properly grasp its size, and all he could sense was absolute, suffocating contempt.

An instant later, the presence withdrew, although not entirely. What he now realized was a mere whisper of its authority still mingled with the Sage's, shielding her from the pressure of his spirit. In the back of his mind, his oracle codex was gibbering incoherently, trying and failing to understand something far beyond it. His fury was gone, snuffed out like a candle.
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He's been made aware of their weight classes.

derivativeoflife said:
"You want me to promise you a Dreadgod weapon?" asked the Shadow Sage as though nothing had happened. "I certainly have no need for one. But what have you done to deserve that power? What would you use it for? Do you think the Abidan will reward you for power you obtained through betrayal and murder?"

Northstrider silenced his oracle codex with a thought; he would repair it later. With effort, he mastered his own mind as well. He was perfectly capable of coming to conclusions on his own, without the codex's help. If the Shadow Sage commanded such power, why was Shen not already dead? Why come to him at all? "Then perhaps," he growled, "they will reward me for bringing a violation of their laws to their attention. Whatever this creature is that you serve, it cannot act freely, can it? Not without drawing their notice. And you cannot stop me from ascending without its aid."

She raised an eyebrow. "You've refused to ascend for centuries, and now you say I won't be able to stop you from ascending? A rather abrupt change of heart."

He opened his mouth to snap that obviously things had changed, but the words caught in his throat. None of his reasons for delaying his ascension had stopped being valid. The Shadow Sage had disrespected him, insulted him, flaunted her capability to crush him if she was willing to pay the price, but she hadn't directly threatened him. She'd come here hoping to secure his aid against Shen. Again, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't turn on him after the lion was dead, but was he truly going to flee his home because of what might happen? And there had to be more limits on her ability to wield the creature's power than just the Abidan; a Gold who tried to cycle a Monarch-level scale would be burned to ash in an instant. He had centuries of experience on her, knowledge which no one else on Cradle possessed, and he was confident in his own strength. Surely, he could find a way to defeat her no matter what power she wielded from beyond this world. So why had his first impulse been to flee?

"That's right," said the Sage, once again seeming to guess his thoughts despite the tight grip he kept on his dream aura. "You're afraid, aren't you? You're afraid of the heavens, but now you've discovered something here on Cradle that frightens you even more. You're afraid to admit Shen manipulated you, and you're afraid to admit that you're afraid, even to yourself."

As desperately as Northstrider wanted to strike her down for her words, he didn't. He did nothing, because… because he was afraid. Because no matter how little he wanted to confront the lies he'd been telling himself for centuries, the alternative was even worse. The single brief glimpse he'd gotten of that thing made him feel insignificant and powerless in a way he hadn't experienced since Gold. If he attacked all-out with no warning, he might well overwhelm the Shadow Sage before she could fully call on its power… but he also might not. And so he was forced to admit that she was right.
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She's basically force him to confront himself and he doesn't like that she's made good points that are right.

derivativeoflife said:
"What is it?" he asked eventually.

She considered him for a few seconds. "Her name is Hera. Her species possesses immense power, but lacks the creativity to make effective use of it. They form bonds with humans and other sentient species, granting us power so they can observe and study what we do with it."

"I have never heard of such creatures before."

"You wouldn't have." There was a note of finality in her voice; she wasn't going to say any more on the subject.

Northstrider was shaken, uncertain. Centuries worth of decisions had been thrown into question. How much of his reasoning had been valid, and how much had been hollow justifications? He would need to spend time meditating on it, ideally with the help of his oracle codex, but there was no time for that now. One thing he knew with certainty, though, was that his fear was a weakness he couldn't tolerate. His great strength in other aspects had allowed him to ignore it, and it had festered, a flaw in his defenses which Shen had happily exploited. That ended now.
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At least he's trying to correct his poisonous thinking.

derivativeoflife said:
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Then, I would like your assistance with a project of my own. I intend to repair the defect in this world which produces hunger aura."

"That-" Was impossible. Of course it was. Many Monarchs had tried, including Northstrider himself. There was no defect; the world was simply too fragile to contain them. If the power to strengthen reality in that way existed within Cradle, then reality would have already been stronger, and the problem would never have existed in the first place. But that assumed the world was a closed system. If power could be brought in from beyond the world… "That is extremely ambitious. Perhaps foolishly so." And yet, he still felt a trickle of excitement. Even if he lacked the power to do as she suggested himself, no one on Cradle had his knowledge of hunger aura. This was a project worthy of being his legacy. "I would hear more."
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He respects the sheer ambition of it.

derivativeoflife said:
Later, after the Shadow Sage departed and he'd finished purging his fortress of Shen's informants, Northstrider sat examining his repaired codex. The damage had been minor, and it had been made stronger for it, less likely to be overwhelmed by foreign energy systems in the future. He was hesitating. No; he was afraid. He recognized it now, and refused to let it stop him. Construct a simulation of my personality from just before I advanced to Monarch using my memories.

[Acknowledged. Do you wish to access it directly?]

…No. Display it as a projection.

The image formed after only a few seconds. Its arms were scaled red instead of black, and only to the elbow rather than the shoulder. Its eyes were still brown, rather than draconic yellow slits. Aside from that, they were mirror images of each other. The Sage of the Hungry Deep crossed his arms in a familiar expression and snorted. "So. You've finally stopped lying to yourself."

"Yes." There was no need to say anything else.

"You already know the answers you seek."

"...My judgement is compromised. I created the oracle codex for this purpose, to better organize my own thoughts. Serve your purpose, and answer me."

The image snorted again. "Very well. There was no point at which you became a coward. We have always been afraid. The difference is that we used to confront our fear directly. After you advanced, you felt fear was beneath a Monarch, but the fear was still there. You were simply hiding from it."

It was right, of course; he had already known that. But as intended, the outside perspective helped crystalize the knowledge, even if it was really his own. "Was I wrong, to delay my ascension until I had taken everything I could from this world?"

"Everything you have achieved here, you could have achieved in the heavens, likely with less difficulty. There is some merit in accomplishing these things on your own, I will grant you. But taking is precisely the word for what you have done. All of your discoveries and creations have been used exclusively for your own benefit. If you had shared them widely, offset the harm you do just by staying, then I might grudgingly approve. Instead, you have refused to take even the slightest hint of responsibility. Have you forgotten that you first despised the Abidan for that exact reason?"

"I thought if I could become powerful enough, I could force them to be better." The words were pointless; there was no one else here to convince, but he felt the need to say them anyway.

"And instead, you have become worse."

It had been a long time since Northstrider had judged anything as better or worse, rather than useful or useless. He wasn't yet prepared to say that view was wrong; his younger self had been naive and overly idealistic, ignorant of the brutal reality of Monarch politics. But his current self was undeniably flawed as well. Reconciling the two would take careful consideration. For now, though, he dismissed the projection. Instead, he ordered his codex to organize and present all of his knowledge on hunger aura and its source.
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Props to past Northstrider he's an awesome guy and hopefully current Northstrider and future Northstrider can become more like him.

zinay said:
And here we once again see Taylor's greatest weapon in action, talking.
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Her charisma and ability to connect to people really is her strongest ability.
 
Hanno seemed to be too tied up in stewing in his resentment to care about the social games that would let him rebuild his reputation.

Tyre, I think, is trying to help him, but doesn't understand why he won't let him.

Taylor, however, gets people.
 
I really like how you're able to create characters and places which fit so well in cradle's world. This interlude and the previous one were really fun to read.
Also, great way to have Northstrider have his 'labyrinth' conversation early.
 
It's interesting how Taylor and Ozmanthus have some similarities, especially post-gold morning. Specifically I point to the way that neither of them really know how to lead, despite being competent (kind of underselling it in Ozmanthus's case). Ozmanthus wanted a group of individuals who weren't sworn to the Eledari Pact that could go around saving iterations under his command. It was denied, but if it was granted he'd absolutely run them into the ground because of his lack of understanding of how to actually properly lead. He'd puppet them around like pieces on a board, while he'd be highly effective as he did this he'd also lose the trust of his team and miss the signs of them falling apart and breaking under pressure.

Very similarly, one of the core aspects of Taylor's character is her inability to trust. It is only fitting that when Gold morning comes, her notion of "everyone working together" is directly controlling people into doing her bidding. The key element missing for both Oz and Taylor is vulnerability. Neither has truly figured out how to open up to those around them and inspire faith and trust to bring their team closer - at least they didn't. Oz does a lot of learning on his time on Cradle, and I think it's been very productive for Taylor as well.
 
Jinx999 said:
Hanno seemed to be too tied up in stewing in his resentment to care about the social games that would let him rebuild his reputation.

Tyre, I think, is trying to help him, but doesn't understand why he won't let him.

Taylor, however, gets people.
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More than that he seems to actively find those activities to be a punishment in and of themselves. So being told to go do that kind of thing makes him think Tyre is just continuing to kick him while he's down, but act like he's some kindly old mentor. This just makes him hate Tyre more, and feeds into his negative interpretation of the interaction.

Edit: The worst part is that the very things that make him useful to Tyre in that role are also why he'd never understand how to use that position to restore his rep in any meaningful way. Because he refuses to engage with the favor trading and graft he'll at best be considered a talented administrator and forced into more such roles since he'd not use the position to his personal advantage. So for all Tyre may or may not be trying to help, he's actually not helping because the last thing Hanno wants is people getting the idea that he's useful as an administrator.
 
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When you think you can throw a temper tantrum because you are the bestest on the playground but the stupid child in front of you has brought her big sister to the fight so now you're outgunned.
 
w34v3r said:
More than that he seems to actively find those activities to be a punishment in and of themselves. So being told to go do that kind of thing makes him think Tyre is just continuing to kick him while he's down, but act like he's some kindly old mentor. This just makes him hate Tyre more, and feeds into his negative interpretation of the interaction.

Edit: The worst part is that the very things that make him useful to Tyre in that role are also why he'd never understand how to use that position to restore his rep in any meaningful way. Because he refuses to engage with the favor trading and graft he'll at best be considered a talented administrator and forced into more such roles since he'd not use the position to his personal advantage. So for all Tyre may or may not be trying to help, he's actually not helping because the last thing Hanno wants is people getting the idea that he's useful as an administrator.
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For me the worst part was that he was not a good administrator in those scene : demanding to hear both account, then only hearing one and an external report before taking a decision means appearing biased (and thus corruptible, hence the letters)

I could feel in those scene that for Hanno, Tyr was the angel telling things he did not want to hear but would have helped if listened to, wile taylor was a devil flattering and manipulative, leading to a pretty doom.
(how much is the offer genuine, how much it is recruiting an intermediate talent by making him think the post in question would be higher than it is, and how much is empty since hanno would be trapped once he helped anyway.)

Northstrider is another scene, another game. He is actually 'wise' and relatively unclouded by pride or the previous hierarchy, so the trick is not to secure being listened to but to instead provide strong enough argument to overcome monarch level character flaws. Taylor has to play therapist on a passively hostile patient (that she has all reason to be angry with) with very little buy in.
 
Icare said:
For me the worst part was that he was not a good administrator in those scene : demanding to hear both account, then only hearing one and an external report before taking a decision means appearing biased (and thus corruptible, hence the letters)
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He does actually listen to both, the second is just largely skipped over by the narrative
 
TJ5__ said:
Very similarly, one of the core aspects of Taylor's character is her inability to trust. It is only fitting that when Gold morning comes, her notion of "everyone working together" is directly controlling people into doing her bidding. The key element missing for both Oz and Taylor is vulnerability. Neither has truly figured out how to open up to those around them and inspire faith and trust to bring their team closer - at least they didn't. Oz does a lot of learning on his time on Cradle, and I think it's been very productive for Taylor as well.
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...I mean, she just held a guy's family hostage to force his cooperation and then threatened Northstrider into listening. Both would have been much harder to convince without threats, but she went with the easy win on both counts.

There's definitely justification on both counts, and she 'never actually planned to hurt his family', but it's a lot like the whole 'I'm gonna put black widow spiders on everyone in this bank but so long as they don't bite everything is peachy keen'. It always sounds justifiable from the protagonist's point of view, but it's a slippery slope to play that kind of game. That guy is still alive to describe how she threatened his children, and everyone is going to view her as that kind of person if the story reaches them which cuts off some avenues of communication. Likewise, it made Northstrider listen better to have him put in his place by Queen, but refusing to be bullied by Northstrider opened her up to more scrutiny by the Abidan.

It's all very in-character for Taylor, and she has made some progress - mostly in that she's working with others and showing some nuance rather than going full throttle on villainy because she thinks nobody cares - but I wouldn't say she's made a ton of change or progress in characterization. It's the same playbook. Which is fine, people rarely change at her age all that much and she has her reasons, but Oz and Taylor are both definitely still Oz and Taylor and faith or trust are still foreign words to them. We'll have to see if that actually changes at some point.
 
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derivativeoflife said:
The spiritual pressure washed over the woman without the slightest effect. "That's a shame," she said. "Perhaps I can provide a little extra incentive?" She pulled something from her soulspace, and Hanno's blood froze when he realized what he was looking at. It was a stuffed black bear, one ear slightly ragged from being regularly chewed on.
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I wonder. Odds that that's just one of her shadow constructs in disguise?
 
Gnarker said:
I wonder. Odds that that's just one of her shadow constructs in disguise?
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The real thing would be easier I think.
No need to complicate it for dubious future advantage.

UrielAngeli said:
And, unless we were decieved alongside him, he discerned the important part immediately: both were lying.

What need to strain truth from lies, when both now deserve whatever consequences come from solving the problem directly?
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Yep, since both are lying he can slap them with any reasonable punishment and nobody will truly be upset(even their sects would probably be more upset about them being caught lying)
 
drake_azathoth said:
...I mean, she just held a guy's family hostage to force his cooperation and then threatened Northstrider into listening. Both would have been much harder to convince without threats, but she went with the easy win on both counts.

There's definitely justification on both counts, and she 'never actually planned to hurt his family', but it's a lot like the whole 'I'm gonna put black widow spiders on everyone in this bank but so long as they don't bite everything is peachy keen'. It always sounds justifiable from the protagonist's point of view, but it's a slippery slope to play that kind of game. That guy is still alive to describe how she threatened his children, and everyone is going to view her as that kind of person if the story reaches them which cuts off some avenues of communication. Likewise, it made Northstrider listen better to have him put in his place by Queen, but refusing to be bullied by Northstrider opened her up to more scrutiny by the Abidan.

It's all very in-character for Taylor, and she has made some progress - mostly in that she's working with others and showing some nuance rather than going full throttle on villainy because she thinks nobody cares - but I wouldn't say she's made a ton of change or progress in characterization. It's the same playbook. Which is fine, people rarely change at her age all that much and she has her reasons, but Oz and Taylor are both definitely still Oz and Taylor and faith or trust are still foreign words to them. We'll have to see if that actually changes at some point.
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You're right, but to clarify I wasn't even referring to taylor's behavior in this last chapter so much as some of her neuroses through Worm. I think she's a lot more reasonable here, being both older, more mature, and having had a lot of time around people like Mercy and Charity to calm down and regain faith in the world.
 
It would be rather funny if Taylor's abduction of the soulsmith's family actually just amounted to sending them to the Akura clan's equivalent of an amusement park for the day.
 
drake_azathoth said:
...I mean, she just held a guy's family hostage to force his cooperation and then threatened Northstrider into listening. Both would have been much harder to convince without threats, but she went with the easy win on both counts.

There's definitely justification on both counts, and she 'never actually planned to hurt his family', but it's a lot like the whole 'I'm gonna put black widow spiders on everyone in this bank but so long as they don't bite everything is peachy keen'. It always sounds justifiable from the protagonist's point of view, but it's a slippery slope to play that kind of game. That guy is still alive to describe how she threatened his children, and everyone is going to view her as that kind of person if the story reaches them which cuts off some avenues of communication. Likewise, it made Northstrider listen better to have him put in his place by Queen, but refusing to be bullied by Northstrider opened her up to more scrutiny by the Abidan.

It's all very in-character for Taylor, and she has made some progress - mostly in that she's working with others and showing some nuance rather than going full throttle on villainy because she thinks nobody cares - but I wouldn't say she's made a ton of change or progress in characterization. It's the same playbook. Which is fine, people rarely change at her age all that much and she has her reasons, but Oz and Taylor are both definitely still Oz and Taylor and faith or trust are still foreign words to them. We'll have to see if that actually changes at some point.
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You are kind of right but there are a few important things to note. Hanno belongs to House Shen which is very much an enemy. Northstrider was an ally before they stabbed the Akuras in the back which led to the their Monarch dying. He is also very much an enemy. She is also using precog to walk a fine line here to beat Shen.

And as for scrutiny by Abidan they seem distracted and she plans to correct the Hunger Aura thing which will draw huge amounts of attention. I don't think she could convince him without revealing Hera. What she did just now is not a big deal and she seems to be careful to use Hera's authority only when near another monarch level being so at a casual glance at least people will assume it is the monarch's authority.

I think one of the key things to show Taylor has change is her Strands of Unity Technique. It is based on when she was Khepri but doesn't dominate.
 
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