#planning out his protector of the realm era | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

swan-of-sunrise · 3 years ago

Text

Spellbinding (Chapter Twenty Three)

Summary: The battle to save Alfheim and the Nine Realms from Tarian’s tyrannical rule begins.

Pairing: Loki X Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Disclaimer for battle/combat violence

A/N: Writing battle scenes are hard, I would’ve had this out sooner but I was literally strategizing and writing out an entire battle lol I think it turned out good in the end! I really recommend checking out the Spotify playlist for these next chapters, the music makes the story seem even more epic! Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Three April 18th, 2016 Alfheim (Previous Chapter)

When (Y/N) was a small child, the subject of war had always intrigued her; she’d often read of epic battles between good and evil in fantasy novels and daydream about taking part in one of them, much like the Pevensies had in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. As she grew up, though, her opinions on war evolved past childhood fantasies, as it became something horrifically real and something she never wanted to be a part of. But as fate would have it, she’d find herself preparing to lead an army of her mother’s loyal followers into battle against a tyrannical leader to not only save Alfheim, but the rest of the universe as well.

After she succeeded in astral projecting herself to Loki, (Y/N) passed out from over-exertion and woke several hours later in their temporary base camp about a mile away from Freyr’s Knoll, the hill where legends claimed King Freyr conjured the magical barrier that isolated Alfheim from the rest of the universe; several elders in the Rebellion’s Council believed that the hill was where Tarian would launch his campaign and the scouts they’d sent to track his army’s movements confirmed their theory. The Council then caught her by surprise when – once they reconvened to discuss the battle plan and strategies– they unanimously elected her to lead their forces.

“Me?” (Y/N)’s brows rose in disbelief. “I-I’m honored, of course, but I don’t think that I’m the suitable choice. Elora’s the one who’s led you guys for almost three decades, after all, not me…”

“That’s true, your highness, but now it’s time I return to my original duties as the protector of the throne.” Resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Elora’s golden eyes were filled with trust as her lips curved into a small smile. “We will follow our rightful queen into battle just as we did twenty-seven years ago and Norns willing, her leadership will guide us to victory.”

David nodded in agreement. “You were born for this, princess, and you’ll make us proud. You always have and you always will…”

We just have to hold them off until Loki and Thor arrive with Odin’s Einherjar, (Y/N) told herself while she finished sharpening her sword in the shade of a large tree. Her confidence began to waiver as she looked up and observed the Alfheimian men and women preparing for battle around her; they were undoubtedly brave fighters for deciding to go against Tarian and an army of Draugar, but they were also primarily made up of older farmers and youthful recruits, a far cry from the tyrant’s expertly-trained personal guard that was accompanying him to Freyr’s Knoll.

“I know that they don’t look like much, princess, but you shouldn’t underestimate them.” (Y/N) glanced over to see David approaching, already dressed in his armor and slinging a full quiver of arrows over his shoulders. “‘All warfare is based on deception-’”

“‘Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable.’”

David’s smile widened and she felt her cheeks warm at the look of pride on his face. “Did you read The Art of War in college or while you were working at the library?”

“When I became friends with Steve Rogers, actually, it’s one of his favorite books.” She chuckled at the older man’s barely-concealed surprise. “It’s okay, even I find myself wondering how I managed to become friends with a World War II-era superhero. When I first joined the Avengers, Steve told me that there were lots of important things that Sun Tzu’s writing could teach people and not just about warfare, so I decided to give it a shot.”

“And was Captain America the one who taught you how to fight like you did in the dungeons the other night, with all those kicks and that cool flip-thing?”

“Yep, him and an Air Force veteran, an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and a former Russian assassin.” She patted the hilt of her sword before sheathing it. “But Loki was the one who taught me how to swordfight.”

Nodding, David was silent for a moment before tentatively replying, “Look, I know that since I haven’t been a part of your life I’m probably overstepping by saying this, but you shouldn’t give up on him.”

“I…I never said that we were…”

The older man shrugged. “You didn’t have to, princess. Your eyes give it away every time you mention his name…and you’ve also got a habit of rubbing at your ring finger whenever you’re nervous.”

(Y/N) glanced down to see that she’d been absentmindedly fidgeting with the finger that once displayed her engagement ring and instantly stopped with an exasperated sigh. “Loki and I…we fell in love during my first few months with the Avengers and we were even engaged to be married, but then I ran away to Alfheim.” Reaching down, she pulled the green-hilted dagger out of her boot and twirled it in her hand; her fingers traced the Asgardian etchings along its hilt as her thoughts turned to hers and Loki’s emotional goodbye. “Because I knew he wouldn’t just let me leave, I used my magic to seize control of his mind long enough to slip through the portal I created. It’s a long story, but Loki’s dealt with mind control before and the experience…well, it’s something that he’s still getting over. That’s why I left my ring with him; he shouldn’t have to marry someone who betrayed his trust and hurt him like that.”

David lowered himself to sit on the crate beside her, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked down at his boots and fidgeted his hands. “Tarian was the one who manipulated you into taking that drastic step, (Y/N), and if Loki’s as smart as you say he is then I bet he already knows that. And since he’s sworn to do whatever it takes to help you defeat Tarian and an entire army of Draugar, I’d say that what you did hasn’t changed his mind about wanting a future with you, not one bit.” He glanced over at her with a soft smile on his face. “You love him?” She nodded. “Then take it from the guy who fell head over heels for an actual love goddess and don’t let that love go to waste…‘cause you won’t realize just how precious it is until it’s gone.” There was a flash of sadness in his eyes but it disappeared just as quickly as it came when he chuckled. “Truth be told, I’m looking forward to meeting the guy and finding out if that old Norse myth about him and the goat’s true or not.”

(Y/N) burst into laughter and David joined in, the anxious knot in her stomach beginning to lessen as the sound of their laughing filled the small glen. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you but Tony Stark already beat you to that question; he got drunk on New Year’s Eve and asked Loki all about it, and then Loki spent the rest of the night complaining to me about how Midgardians always misinterpret everything. Along with his genius-level intelligence, Tony’s got a real gift for riling people up like that.”

He shook his head in amazement. “You’ve certainly got some eclectic friends, princess, but they sound like a great group of people. Maybe when all of this is over you can introduce us.”

“I’d like that a lot,” (Y/N) matched his grin with one of her own and tucked her dagger back into her boot, happy that she and her father were managing to bridge the gap in their relationship; the more they talked, the more she realized just how similar they were and after spending the past few days listening to people compare her to her mother, it was nice knowing that she shared just as many similarities with her long-lost father.

“Your new armor suits you, (Y/N),” Glancing up, she spotted Myriani and Hagen approaching and arched a brow when she noticed the rounded shield in Hagen’s arms; it was well-worn, with gouges in the wood and a faded paint job, but she could still make out the intricate rearing unicorn etched upon its surface. “But Hagen and I decided that it wouldn’t be complete without Layeia’s battle shield.”

The Alfheimian beside Myriani nodded in agreement. “The unicorn, a rare and magical creature that personifies both love and war, was her sacred symbol and now it belongs to you. Wield it with honor, your highness.”

(Y/N) looked over at David, who gave her a reassuring smile and gestured with his head towards the shield; she got to her feet and accepted the shield, securing it to her arm and testing its weight as she blinked away her tears. “I…I will. Thank y-”

The call of a horn suddenly echoed throughout the glen, causing everyone in the area to stop what they were doing and look around; David stood and before she could ask him what the sound meant, it called out again and spurred the surrounding rebels into action. With her jaw set in determination, Myriani slipped her helmet on and fastened its strap beneath her chin. “That’s the Gjallarhorn, the throne of Alfheim’s call to battle. Tarian’s here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The midday sun, though partially hidden behind grey-colored clouds, was high in the sky as (Y/N) gripped the leather reigns of her horse in her hands. She, David and Elora were positioned at the front of their army of five hundred Alfheimians with Freyr’s Knoll rising up behind them all; even though they’d gone over the battle plan more times than she could count and she knew that Loki was on his way, (Y/N)’s heart was beating at a rapid pace while her hands began to sweat in her fingerless gloves.

“Kiddo, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent…”

I’m not too sure that piece of advice applies to a universe-altering battle with a tyrannical ruler and his army of un-dead soldiers, Auntie, (Y/N) thought as she took a steadying breath, but I’ll try not to forget it. While the enemy’s marching began to grow louder, she glanced over at her father and blurted out, “What’s the first thing you want to do when you go back to Midgard?”

David looked at her in surprise but once he recognized the nervousness etched across her face, his eyes softened and he replied, “Well, I wanna pay my respects to your Aunt Evie but after that, I’d like to spend as much time as I can getting to know my amazing daughter.” His smile became more mischievous as he looked past her at Elora. “Elora here’s been looking forward to visiting Fenway again; baseball was one of the only things she truly liked about Earth, you know, that and Harrison Ford.”

“Say what you will about Midgardians, but they’ve invented so many different ways to battle one another for honor and glory…and as for Mr. Ford, I merely appreciate his skills as a film actor.” (Y/N) and David exchanged looks of amusement as Elora awkwardly cleared her throat and diligently stared ahead.

The sound of the Gjallarhorn filled the air once again, its echoes much closer than before. The wind picked up and as it blew in their direction, (Y/N) nearly gagged when the scent of decay reached her nose. Moments later, the enemy army appeared over the distant ridge and she got her first look at the un-dead Draugar; they were far more terrifying in person, their bodies an amalgamation of rotted flesh and their eyes glowing deep violet with the dark magic used to reanimate them. Their clawed hands were clutching swords and spears at the ready while they marched and as (Y/N)’s eyes scanned the horizon, she swallowed in nervousness; their small rebellion was clearly outnumbered by the Draugar and judging by the way Elora stiffened beside her, the Alfheimians were unnerved by the sight of their butchered and zombified countrymen.

When they were about two hundred yards away, the Draugar stopped marching and stood at attention. Out of the sea of snarling creatures appeared a chariot, drawn by two white horses with Tarian holding the reins; the tyrant was dressed in black leather-covered armor adorned with golden gauntlets and pauldrons, and a large golden crown rested on his head. The hand that wasn’t holding the chariot’s reins was clutching a tall staff and when she looked closer, she realized that the staff was topped by the Fjӧlkyngi Steinn; the glowing violet-colored stone was fixed to the staff with encasing gold bars, presumably to help stabilize the incredibly powerful Alf Seidr trapped within it. Although there was a vast distance between them both, she could feel his pale eyes boring into hers and her jaw tightened in anger, overwhelming hatred for the man who killed her mother and subjugated her people surging through her veins.

Two figures on horseback emerged from the Draugar and moved to flank Tarian’s chariot; the rider to the left was General Arbane, heavily-armored and with a confident smirk plastered on his face, and the rider on Tarian’s right-hand side was Amirah, trying and failing to mask her obvious discomfort. The Alfheimian princess’s conflicted state filled (Y/N) with a small glimmer of hope that they’d manage to pull off their ambitious battle plan, a plan that hinged on earning Amirah’s cooperation. Both David and Elora believed that Amirah would remain loyal to Tarian but (Y/N)’s gut told her that the princess would play an integral role in the upcoming battle, so they reluctantly agreed to help carry out her plan.

“The Royal Guard’s stationed behind the Draugar,” Elora quietly observed, her golden eyes narrowed as she surveyed the enemy before them. “Tarian intends for this to be a simple massacre, a footnote in the tale of his glorious campaign to rule the Nine Realms.”

(Y/N) shifted in her saddle and clutched the reins of her horse a little tighter. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

The three of them watched as Tarian raised the staff and slammed it down on the wooden floor of the chariot, the action sending shockwaves through the ground and causing the horses to nervously skitter; the Fjӧlkyngi Steinn glowed brighter and with his voice magically amplified, the tyrant began to speak. “My fellow Alfheimians, I do not wish to spill more of my countrymen’s blood. You have all been led astray by both the daughter and the lover of the traitorous Layeia, coerced by these weakling Midgardians into standing in the way of progress. Surrender now, and you will be shown mercy by your benevolent king. Further resistance will only result in death, for you and for everyone you love. The decision is yours.”

Tearing her eyes away from the massive army before them, (Y/N) looked over her shoulder at her own forces, taking in their simmering determination as they stared down the man who’d caused them so much pain for nearly three decades. I couldn’t ask for better soldiers to lead into battle, she thought with an inward smile, turning back to face the enemy. She held the reins in one hand and with the other, she drew her sword and held it high in the air as the Alfheimians behind her let out a deafening battle cry; despite the distance between them, she could make out the hardening look of disgust on Tarian’s face at their brave display and couldn’t stop herself from arching a brow in challenge.

Tarian leveled the staff in their direction and as they watched, the Draugar snarled and charged forward; ignoring the pang of dread at the sight, (Y/N) remained steadfast and kept her sword raised, carefully watching the creatures’ movements. Beside her, Elora called out to their forces, “Archers, to arms!” There was a sudden rustling of arrows being nocked into bowstrings and to her right, David was doing the same. “Take aim!” Bowstrings were pulled back as the Alfheimian men and women aimed their arrows at the sky and when the Draugar were about a hundred yards away, (Y/N) sliced her sword downwards and Elora cried out, “Fire!”

A volley of arrows flew through the air and quickly found their targets, lodging in the charging Draugar’s heads and chests; the arrows barely slowed them down and as Tarian’s smirk began to widen, the sounding of horns from the trees on either side of the creatures echoed through the air. Flaming arrows traveled through the skies and once they reached their targets – the gasoline-soaked arrows that their first archers fired – the shrieking Draugar burst into flames and collapsed in a second-death. The fire rapidly spread and in an instant, it formed into a massive wall of flames that separated both armies from one another.

“Nym would’ve really appreciated this part of the plan,” David remarked with a saddened tone as their forces let out a cheer. (Y/N)’s attention, however, was focused entirely on Tarian stationed across the battlefield; his pale eyes were filled with a cold and calculated fury and without looking away from her, he used the staff in his hand to easily extinguish the raging flames and ordered a fresh and much larger battalion of Draugar to charge forward. Now would be a really good time for Odin to send his Einherjar, she thought as she anxiously bit her lip and David muttered a curse. “Dammit, that was supposed to stall ‘em longer. That’s all the incendiary we’ve got…”

“What are your orders, your highness?”

Swallowing thickly, (Y/N)’s grip on her sword tightened. “Sound the battle horn. We’ll have to stall his army ourselves until our aid from Asgard arrives.” The Alfheimian woman beside her brought the curved horn up to her lips and blew, the high-pitched call announcing to their forces to prepare for direct combat. As their rousing battle cry sounded behind them, (Y/N) glanced over at an unaware David and tentatively spoke. “Dad?” Since learning that the older man was her long-lost father, she’d been careful not to call him by anything other than his name; she hadn’t felt quite ready to take that seemingly small step but as they stared down the charging army of Draugar, she realized that there was a possibility she’d never have the chance. David’s face was filled with surprise as he looked over at her, and she found comfort in his familiar gaze. “Will you stay with me?”

Her father’s eyes softened at her words. “I always will, princess.”

After exchanging a reassuring glance with Elora, (Y/N) took a deep breath and raised her sword high in the air before shouting, “FOR ALFHEIM!”

The three of them urged their horses forward into a gallop and charged, leading their small but determined army of Alfheimian men and women into battle; the horns sounded off from the trees on either sides of the advancing army and the rebel archers emerged, one group led by Myriani and the other led by Hagen. The three groups reached the charging Draugar at the same time and then their forces clashed in a cacophony of sound, the battle truly began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parry, slash and repeat. Parry, slash and repeat. (Y/N) was no stranger to combat but her time as an Avenger hadn’t exactly prepared her for the chaos and turmoil of battle, and while she fought, she began to suspect that her ancestry was the only thing keeping her alive. The quick reflexes and intuition she’d inherited from her mother helped her block the Draugar’s fierce attacks and counter with deadly strikes of her own. In the midst of all the fighting, she’d been knocked off of her horse and was continuing her attacks on foot, her sword and shield quickly becoming soaked with the tar-like blood of the reanimated creatures.

“We’re overextended!” Elora called out, swinging her battle axe and decapitating a nearby Draugar. “We must fall back if we’re to keep Tarian from reaching the Knoll-”

“We can’t, we need him to believe that we’re holding our own so that he, Arbane and Amirah’ll join the fight!” Flipping her sword around, (Y/N) drove its blade into the sternum of another Draugar and used the edge of her shield to shove its body back. “‘Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak!’”

As she fought, the Alfheimian woman let out a brief chuckle. “Your father’s quoted the words of Sun Tzu to me for almost thirty years, and now I’m forced to listen to my queen follow in his footsteps!”

“She’s a chip off the old block, isn’t she?” David appeared nearby, driving an arrow through the empty eye socket of a creature and firing the same arrow at another. “I agree with (Y/N) but the left flank could use a little shoring up!” Without another word, Elora hurried off to help their forces at the left flank and the two of them continued tearing through the onslaught of Draugar.

(Y/N) tried her hardest to keep her attention on her many attackers, but she couldn’t help but notice the bodies of slain Alfheimian rebels littering the battlefield and hear their dying cries amongst the din. We just need to hold on a little longer, she thought as she fought with renewed determination, just a little longer. Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground by a snarling Draugar and her sword skittered away; she had just enough time to raise her shield and while she used it to defend herself from its vicious claws, she reached down and withdrew Loki’s dagger from her boot. With a strangled yell, she drove the blade into the creature’s head and shoved its lifeless body off of her before staggering to her feet and tucking the dagger back into her boot. A sudden gust of wind whipped at (Y/N)’s hair and after retrieving her sword from the grass-covered ground, she turned to see a vivid-blue glow emanating from behind the nearby ridge.

“What the hell is that?” David called out to her as he hurried to her side. “That’s not Alf Seidr, is it?”

She shook her head and as the strange glow began to fade away, she raised her sword and shield in preparation for an attack…

Beep, beep!

The familiar car horn cut through the noise of the ongoing battle and as the two of them watched in amazement, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Jeep sped over the ridge and drove straight into the fray; in the darkening skies above them, Iron Man flew past them and began blasting Draugar with his repulsors and with a mighty roar, the Hulk appeared and began smashing through the nearby creatures with ease. A smile slowly spread across (Y/N)’s face as Loki and Thor finally made their appearance at the top of the ridge, both Princes of Asgard dressed in their full battle armor and practically radiating power; Thor’s eyes and arms were crackling with sparks of lightning and Loki’s entire body was surrounded by swirls of emerald-green magic. Instead of Odin’s Einherjar, the Avengers had arrived in their moment of need.

“…I take it that those are your friends?”

(Y/N) nodded, beaming as she blinked away her grateful tears. “Yes. Yes, they are.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gjallarhorn-Yelling Horn Fjӧlkyngi Steinn-Magic Stone

A/N: I couldn’t have written this chapter without The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe lol a lot of this battle was inspired by the final battle in that movie. Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wx8TZwpDN0l33tES3W3Nk?si=197086739bdf4fed

Chapter Twenty Four

Spellbinding Masterlist

Tagging: @nexiva @ravenclawbitch426 @cminr @confusedfandomwriter @momc95 @nickkie99 @austynparksandpizza @brooke0297 @a-laufeyson @outoftheregular @ladydmalfoy @itscomplicatedx @0-artemis @vivloki @crowleysqueenofhell

38 notes · View notes

phantom-le6 · 3 years ago

Text

Film Review - Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

Staying with Warner Brothers animation for one last review while taking a break from superheroes, it’s time to take a look at the second film in the Mortal Kombat Legends duology.

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

A couple attempts to protect their infant son, Liu Kang, from pursuing Tarkatans, who are sent to prevent the infant from fulfilling his destiny of defeating the Emperor Shao Kahn. They tear the father apart and mortally wound the mother, and then prepare to devour Liu Kang, but are stopped by Lord Raiden, who kills them all. The dying mother asks Raiden to tell their son that he was loved by his parents before passing on, and Raiden takes his leave with Liu Kang to train him for his purpose.

Following the events of the previous Mortal Kombat tournament, Shao Kahn declares war on Earthrealm in retaliation for Shang Tsung's defeat at the last Mortal Kombat tournament on the inter-realm island. Princess Kitana, Kintaro, General Reiko, and Jade lead the emperor's first wave invasion force of Outworld laying siege against a Shaolin monastery but they are repelled by Kung Lao, Jackson “Jax” Briggs and Kurtis Stryker. At the onset of their assault, the Outworld commanders are confronted by Johnny Cage and Jax’s partner Sonya Blade.

When Cage and Blade are soon joined in stymying the incursion force by Liu Kang and Raiden as negotiations fail, Kahn appears himself, petitioning Raiden to participate in a final Mortal Kombat tournament to decide the fate of their world once and for all. The thunder god agrees and he ventures to the realm of his overseers, the Elder Gods, to put forth his commitment to this ultimate contest.

Meanwhile, just as plans for the final competition are being drawn, Scorpion reawakens back in the Netherrealm after having died a second time upon Shang Tsung's island. He is confronted by the maddened Elder God Shinnok over the death of his favoured servant Quan Chi. Shinnok wants Scorpion to go to Earthrealm to use the key embedded in is soul to retrieve the final piece of the Kamidogu, but Scorpion refuses and flees to Earthrealm to escape. Shinnok then hires the Lin Kuei clan to retrieve Scorpion. Back in Earthrealm, Lin Kuei members Smoke and Kuai Liang (the new Sub-Zero and brother of the original) are summoned by the grandmaster to hunt down Scorpion. They are horrified to witness their missing peers having undergone cybernetic biomodifications as a means to strengthen the clan, and that they are expected to do the same. In response, Smoke and Sub-Zero rebel, with Sub-Zero being the only one to flee successfully.

Back at the Shaolin Temple, Raiden returns to his troops after making arrangements to hold and participate in the tournament while relinquishing his immortality. Once the Earthrealm warriors heads out for Outworld, Scorpion makes his presence known to Raiden. He mentions how the key to Shinnok's prison had been bonded to his soul and came to the protector of Earthrealm for advice about its purpose. Raiden informs him about the key’s relation to the Kamidogu, which is a supreme magical relic from a bygone era that could doom all the realms if reassembled.

At the start of the tournament, Cage is defeated by Kytinn warrior D'Vorah; Sonya defeats D'Vorah and Li Mei; Kang defeats Jade; Stryker defeats Baraka; and Jax successfully defeats Kintaro by ripping his arms out of their sockets.

Back on Earth, Scorpion is being pursued by the now cybernetic Cyrax and Sektor in a dockside shipping yard. The trio are soon interrupted by Sub-Zero, who is out for revenge against Scorpion for killing his brother, but even he is outmatched by their superior enhancements, and the arrival of a cybernetically Smoke tips the balance further. With their enemies overwhelmed, the three cyber-Lin Kuei apprehend Scorpion and make off to the Temple of Elements. At their destination, they force Scorpion to open the gate leading to their prize. As they prepare to eliminate him once upon accessing its gateway, they are interrupted again by the vengeful Sub-Zero. Scorpion tries and fails to explain to Kuai Liang why he killed his brother, but succeeds in forging a temporary alliance with him against the Lin Kuei. The two are still no match for their robotic assailants and are left for dead upon their acquisition of the artifact as the mountainous hall collapses on them.

As the second half of the final tournament is underway, Lao and Stryker are killed by Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. Kitana rebels against Kahn instead of fighting against Raiden only to be beaten into submission. Kang defeats Shang Tsung regardless of a setback and spares him.

Within the Netherrealm the Lin Kuei realize too late their employer was Shinnok, learn of his plan to revive the One Being and bring an end to all of creation, and they subsequently betrayed and killed for their services.

During the final stage of the tournament, Raiden loses his battle against Shao Kahn and dies in the process, enraging Kang to defeat Kahn and win the tournament. Celebrations are cut short however as Shinnok finally succeeds in resurrecting the One Being, who appears to use Shinnock as a vessel for his power. With the aid of the Elder Gods, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion, Liu Kang engages in combat with the One Being while Johnny, Jax, Kitana, and Sonya protect civilians from Kahn’s remaining army.

In the aftermath of the battle, Kang manages to absorb the One Being's power and uses it to separating the realms into their original state, including Kitana’s realm of Edenia. Sonya and Johnny share one final kiss while Liu and Kitana hold hands in hard-earned peace. As they do so, the sky is filled with lightning, possibly implying that Raiden is not truly dead.

Review:

When I reviewed the previous Mortal Kombat Legends film, I stated that any film of this franchise has to nail three key elements. First, including the tournament the computer game series is based around along with enough exposition for a new audience to understand what it’s about. Second, a respectable level of Fatalities to honour the key thing that separates Mortal Kombat from other fighting games. Three, accurate representations of the characters from the source material. Scorpion’s Revenge did better than the live-action reboot on the first count while not quite getting enough exposition in, it brought the Fatalities and other game elements in very well, and it got the characters very close to the source material. How, then, did its sequel do?

The answer on elements 2 and 3 is about the same; if anything, the Fatalities of the first film are probably topped in quantity and certainly topped in terms of sheer goriness by those in this film. That along with the numerous elements thrown in from the extensive lore of the games makes this film a real delight for any MK fans who have played a lot of the games. On the first element, that of exposition to explain the tournament and keeping that as the film’s overall focus, that’s where Battle of the Realms falls short. As I see it, there’s three reasons for this. First, it’s a sequel. Second, the film’s commentary states the film makers were condensing a huge amount of lore and a lot of characters into just two 80-minute films, so some things went over-board out of necessity. Three, as Warner Brothers’ DC productions often show, the studio often supposes people already know their franchises from other formats, meaning they often fail to sufficiently consider first-time audiences.

The reality is that much like the Injustice computer games that are made by the same people behind Mortal Kombat, film is not the right story-telling medium to get such a huge level of lore across. Unlike general superhero films, things like the Injustice Elseworld or Mortal Kombat have grown and developed in serialised formats that have a lot of time to develop long, in-depth stories. When forced to adhere to the time-constraints of a film, you lose the depth and time that story needs, and it gets diminished as a result. I honestly believe Warner Brothers need to remake both projects as shows, either for general TV release or to go straight out on Blu-Ray like the films (I don’t want to buy into a streaming service for such things, thank you very much).

Otherwise, the film is good and worth a watch if you like Mortal Kombat done to a decent standard in film format. However, for me, it’s still not nailing what I want from a non-interactive audio-visual re-telling of Mortal Kombat, and doing that is my challenge to Warner Brothers. TV series for actual TV or Blu-Ray, not a streaming show or web-show at all, that fully shows what Mortal Kombat is and focuses fully and solely on the tournament. Oh, and a bit more tournament organisation being made apparent would also be a good idea; like the first one, the tournament scenes felt like a total free-for-all with no sense of round-by-round progression. End score here is 6 out of 10.

2 notes · View notes

chaosrealm-mk-imagines · 4 years ago

Note

How would mk characters react to their s/o doing terrible things but for the sake of protecting them? With Mileena, Cetrion, Raiden and Kung Lao please!

Thanks for the request! I did some background about what happened so that the actions have more sense. I planned at writing more characters but runned out of ideas but I hope you like it

MILEENA

At first she believes that her S/O has betrayed her when they disappear

Only to be informed that they have gone against Kotal Kahn on their own, risking their own life as a way of saving her from being caught

Her S/O is imprisioned and tortured, refusing to reveal any secrets or betray Mileena

When Mileena is about to be killed by D’vorah, her S/O appears with an army of undead to save her

Later Mileena discovers that her S/O died at the dungeons of Kotal’s palace, having sold their soul to Quan Chi at the Netherrealm in exchange of helping Mileena to win the war

She’s shocked and completely heartbroken by it, being unable to express how she wished things were different even if it meaned that she would be dead for that

Mileena is absolutely depressed with it and blames herself for it, no price can ever pay for a soul, and the one from her beloved is now forever imprisioned as a revenant to the Netherrealm

She promises to repay her S/O by saving their soul, even if it means that many people must die

No one ever did anything like that for her, she will be forever grateful and will never doubt the existence of true love again, such act restores her faith in the world and touches her heart deeply

When she assumes the Outworld throne again she makes a memorial for her S/O and allies with Raiden and the Earthrealm for defeating Shinnok and saving the revenants

CETRION

As an Elder God, Cetrion never had time to pay attention to mortal affairs, but now it was different and she had someone to protect

But then she discovers that her S/O has allied with Shang Tsung as a way of keeping Kronika from absorving powers from Cetrion

She asks herself about what truly matters, feeling shaken by such actions

Knowing that her beloved is at the enemy side, Cetrion loyalty towards her mother starts to break with her doubts of being at the wrong side of the warfare

Cetrion could never have thought that a mortal could have such virtue and courage of risking their own life for someone they love

She knows that the sorcerer will betray Earthrealm at the end and that his promises towards her S/O would be only lies, now she knows that someone must stop both Kronika and Shang Tsung

She is compassionate and quick to forgive her S/O for having helped Shang Tsung to obtain the crown

The godness speaks to Raiden and warns him of the incoming danger, defecting to the Earthrealm warriors as a way of keeping her S/O safe

She will never be tired to praise the attitude from her beloved, telling how their actions were brave and selfless

The results of the final battle are changed and Cetrion doesn’t gave her power to Kronika at this timeline, ruining her plans and helping against the titan as a way of keeping peace

In the New Era, Cetrionis no longer a god but a mere mortal, living with her S/O until the end of her days as a way of thanking for how they opened her eyes to the truth

RAIDEN

He always knew that having feelings towards someone would be his doom, but never thought that such thing could be said about his S/O too

Raiden can’t believe that someone he trusted so much was able to betraying him that way, he feels like a fool for having listened to Fujin advices about how he needed to learn to trust people

After Raiden being corrupted by Shinnok’s Amulet, his S/O couldn’t handle seeing him that way, leaving Earthrealm and seeking for a way to help him in the Netherrealm

They spoke to Shinnok head, desperately asking for a way to revert what happened, earning his attention

Shinnok promised to stop Dark Raiden if freed and gaven a new body

The thunder god loved one feels bad for what is about to be done, but it has to be this way for the sake of the man they once knew

The dark power of the amulet was hurting Raiden and he would eventualy attack peaceful realms in a violent way of keeping Earthrealm peace

After receiving a new body and being freed from Netherrealm, Shinnok was utterly shocked with such love coming from a mortal to the protector of Earthrealm, keeping his word as he was able to weak the amulet powers with his dark magic

Shinnok walked free and Raiden was cleansed from the amulet influence, but now he had a new issue as the fallen elder god would seek him to have his trinket back

When his S/O tells him the truth, he starts the kind of sermon you would only listen from an angry Math Teacher at high school

He can’t believe what his S/O has done

But now the amulet powers are ceassed and he has to face the consequences of his own actions as Dark Raiden, blaming himself from what happened and promising to never fall for evil influence again

He’s able to forgive his beloved one but puts an end to their relationship as a way of keeping them both safe, and it tears him apart more than anyone could imagine

KUNG LAO

Kung Lao was about to face Shao Kahn at the Mortal Kombat tournment, he had won many fights and felt proud of himself, being reckless about his own safety

Raiden warned about his destiny, but he didn’t heard. His S/O in the other hand was truly worried with what would happen.

When the defeat of both Shang Tsung and Quan Chi happened, Shao Kahn was speechless and didn’t wanted to keep his word, so he murdered Kung Lao in front of the crowd

Little did he know that the one he killed was not real, but his S/O pretending to be him trough magic

No one knew about it, his S/O had fought in his place after keeping him from the tournment by imprisioning him at the dungeons

When Lao scaped from the trap his S/O had made to protect him, he was speechless

When he appeared Liu Kang thought he was seeing a ghost

Raiden was the only one that knew what truly happened

The thunder god told the truth to them, receiving terrible reactions

Kung Lao couldn’t believe that Raiden allowed that to happen, he blamed the Earthrealm protector and wanted to avenge his beloved death

But he was stopped by Liu Kang, that told him he would die if going against Shao Kahn, what would make his S/O sacrifice meaningless

Now he needed to be better, to be the best so that one day he would be worthy of such sacrifice from his loved one

When he sees that his S/O is now a revenant at the hands of Quan Chi, he’s even more motivated

The feeling of guilty will never leave him, he was the one supposed to die and became a slave at Netherrealm but thanks to his S/O he was free from that fate and could prepare himself for what was about to come.

177 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years ago

Text

Foundation: Why Isaac Asimov’s Estate Approved Modernizing the Sci-Fi Classic

https://ift.tt/3EKbwIq

This article contains no spoilers for Foundation.

We live in an era when classic works of literature that were once thought to be “unfilmable” — particularly in the realms of sci-fi and fantasy — are now actually coming to the screen. Chief among those, and certainly a crown jewel in the annals of science fiction, is Foundation, an epic series of stories and novels by legendary writer Isaac Asimov that spans thousands of years of future galactic history.

Premiering on Apple TV+ with a 10-episode first season, Foundation begins with the story of Hari Seldon (played by Jared Harris), a mathematician who develops a science called psychohistory, with which he can predict large-scale patterns in history and human behavior. Not surprisingly, Seldon’s prediction that the vast Galactic Empire will collapse into a 30,000-year period of barbarism doesn’t sit well with the Cleons, clones of the original emperor, Cleon 1, who have ruled the galaxy for more than 400 years.

Seldon’s plan is to establish the Foundation, a repository of knowledge that can help cut the coming dark ages down to 1,000 years. The Cleons allow him to proceed, but banish him and his followers to a distant planet called Terminus where they will set up the Foundation. Key to Seldon’s plan are a brilliant young woman named Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobel), his adopted son Raych (Alfred Enoch) and, years later, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), the warden and protector of the colony on Terminus.

Series creator/showrunner David S. Goyer — known to fans for writing the original Blade trilogy, co-writing the screenplays or stories for the Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, creating Da Vinci’s Demons for TV and much more — tells Den of Geek that he had been approached in the past about adapting Foundation as a feature film, but finally jumped at the opportunity to develop it in the present era of long-form streaming. But that doesn’t mean Foundation wasn’t difficult to adapt anyway.

“The original novel or series of short stories was written in the late ‘40s, early ‘50s,” he says. “So the key was identifying the core themes and figuring out, okay, that was what Asimov was writing about in a post-World War II environment. What’s the world like today and how can we apply what’s happening today to the metaphors of Foundation now?”

Other roadblocks to adapting Foundation in the past (which has defeated filmmakers such as Roland Emmerich and Jonathan Nolan, who were developing it for Columbia Pictures and HBO respectively at different points) were the vast leaps in time that the books make as well as their generally cerebral, complex nature. But Goyer had other concerns.

“I thought the harder aspect was making it emotional,” he explains. “The books aren’t known, per se, for being emotional, but with television, people tune in for emotion and characters. So I had to figure out ways of taking Asimov’s themes and embodying them into characters that could express those themes, through love, through their relationships with their parents and children, and so forth.”

One solution to that — and to updating Foundation for audiences in the 21st century — was to make alterations to a number of the major characters, like Salvor, Gaal and the Cleons’ android right hand person Eto Demerzel (Laura Birn), almost all of whom are male in Asimov’s books. But Goyer says he first wanted to make sure his proposed changes met with the approval of the late Asimov’s daughter Robyn and the Asimov literary estate.

Sponsored

How Foundation Brings the Asimov Novels to Life on Apple TV+

By Michael Ahr

Is Foundation Apple’s Answer to Star Wars?

By Michael Ahr

“The first question that I posed to the Asimov estate was, given that this was written in a post-World War II environment, where there were virtually no speaking female characters in the first book, where very few members of the science fiction community or readers were women, was, ‘We’re going to be doing this for an audience of today and I want the characters in the show to reflect our audience. How do you feel about gender swapping some of the characters?’” he recalls. “Robyn Asimov and the estate completely embraced it. They said that Asimov himself would have embraced that and they were absolutely comfortable with that.”

Goyer also made other, extensive changes to the narrative, such as creating the Cleons (who are played at various ages by Lee Pace, Terrence Mann and Cassian Bilton) and developing storylines that would add the kind of action, intrigue and space opera necessary to keep audiences involved for 10 hours. Goyer says that every step of the way the Asimov estate was on board.

“Look, I grew up on these books, I revered the books,” says Goyer, whose introduction to Foundation and sci-fi came at a young age through his estranged father. “Like a lot of people, Asimov meant a lot to me. A lot of people have a very personal relationship to the original Foundation trilogy — it’s kind of this hallowed piece of work. It was important to me that Robyn and the estate felt like we were doing Asimov’s work justice and that we understood what the themes were about.”

He adds that the estate and Robyn Asimov were “very happy” after reading the first two scripts and seeing the first two episodes: “We felt that we had embraced everything that was important about Foundation and changed the things that, they felt as well, had to be updated for the time.”

The irony of this, even some 60 years after the first Foundation novel was published, is that Goyer sees the overall story, subject matter and themes as more relevant and prescient than ever.

Apple TV+

“I started on this project three years ago,” he says. “Certainly climate change was something that people were talking about, but it hadn’t reached this critical juncture where we’re at now. We weren’t involved in a global pandemic and we weren’t involved in this crazy factionalism and this rise of nationalism that we’re seeing.”

Goyer says that it took him several readings over the years for the books to finally grab hold of him, and that he also passed on adapting it for the big screen twice before. So what made this the right time? “Now that I’m a father, I find myself thinking a lot more about what the world of tomorrow will be like, what the legacy that we leave our children and grandchildren will be,” he responds.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“That’s a lot more important to me now than it was before I was a father,” Goyer continues. “A lot of those themes carry through in the books, but also in our show. It’s kind of about, what are you willing to sacrifice now, so that future generations, our children and grandchildren, will be able to live in a world that’s as amazing as the world we live today? What is today willing to give up for tomorrow?”

The first two episodes of Foundation premiere Friday (September 24) on Apple TV+, with future episodes debuting weekly.

The post Foundation: Why Isaac Asimov’s Estate Approved Modernizing the Sci-Fi Classic appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3kB5zW4

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

4 notes · View notes

laannie0803 · 4 years ago

Photo

Lord Benjicot Blackwood, también conocido como Ben el Sangriento, fue cabeza de la Casa Blackwood y Señor de Árbol de los Cuervos durante la Danza de los Dragones y el reinado de Aegon III Targaryen.

Los Blackwood dieron su apoyo a Rhaenyra Targaryen cuando estalló la Danza de los Dragones. Benjicot se convirtió en Señor de Árbol de los Cuervos con solo once años a comienzos de la guerra civil, cuando su padre, Lord Samwell Blackwood, fue asesinado por Ser Amos Bracken en combate singular durante la Batalla de Molino Quemado.

Participó en la Batalla de la orilla del lago donde, aunque los hombres del Norte y de las Tierras de los Ríos derrotaron a los de las Tierras del Oeste, tal fue el precio que Ben lloró al ver las pilas de cadáveres. Cuando el príncipe Aemond Targaryen devastó las Tierras de los Ríos a lomos de Vhagar, Lord Benjicot reclamó la ayuda de Rhaenyra para proteger a los señores ribereños con sus dragones, pero ésta no respondió a su llamada.

Ben fue uno de los señores ribereños que acudieron a la llamada de Addam Velaryon para marchar junto a él sobre Ladera. Durante la batalla que allí aconteció comandó el centro del ejército, y fue testigo del enfrentamiento entre los dragones Vermithor, Bruma y Tessarion, que muchos años después relataría al Gran Maestre Munkun. Cuando acabó la batalla ordenó a uno de sus arqueros, Billy Burley, rematar al dragón Tessarion, que agonizaba de dolor. Cuando regresó a casa se llevó el cadáver de Addam Velaryon, que enterró en Árbol de los Cuervos.

A finales de la guerra, y en respuesta a la decisión de Aegon II Targaryen de castigar a los señores que no le habían jurado lealtad, Lord Blackwood unió sus fuerzas a las de Lord Elmo Tully para participar en la Batalla del Camino Real. Los ribereños encabezados por Benjicot salieron entre los arboles, destruyendo el flanco del ejército de Lord Borros Baratheon. Logró dispersar a los tormenteños y conseguir la victoria, ganándose el apodo de Ben el Sangriento. Ben y sus compañeros marcharon posteriormente a Desembarco del Rey para asediar la ciudad, pero antes de siquiera llegar el rey Aegon II fue traicionado y asesinado por sus hombres.

Se dice que Ben y su tía Aly quedaron desazonados al enterarse de la muerte del rey, ya que consideraban el veneno un arma de cobardes y sin honor. Benjicot Blackwood, Lord Kermit Tully y su hermano Ser Oscar, ligados por la batalla, se hicieron inseparables y se empezó a conocerlos como los Muchachos. Ben permaneció en Desembarco del Rey mientras tenía lugar la coronación de Aegon III Targaryen y se conformaba el consejo de regentes. Cuando regresó junto a su tía a Arbol de los Cuervos, fueron escoltados por mil norteños que habían llegado al sur junto a Lord Cregan Stark.

Lord Blackwood fue considerado como uno de los potenciales candidatos para tomar en matrimonio a Lady Baela Targaryen, medio hermana del rey. En 132 d.C., Benjicot marchó hacia Invernalia para asistir a la boda de su tía Alysanne con Lord Cregan Stark. Como era pleno invierno, el viaje duró el triple de lo previsto, sufriendo ataques de forajidos que robaron todos los regalos de boda.

Cuando al año siguiente tuvo lugar la muerte de la reina Jaehaera Targaryen, Lord Unwin Peake, Mano del Rey y Protector del Reino, preparó la boda entre el rey y su hija Myrielle en secreto. Muchos señores alzaron la voz cuando se enteraron; Ben cuestionó la celeridad, argumentando que debían haber dejado al menos medio año a Aegon para llorar a su reina.

En 134 d.C. Lord Ben encabezó un millar de hombres de los Blackwood que se unieron al ejército liderado por Ser Robert Rowan, quien se dirigía al Valle de Arryn para resolver el problema sucesorio de los Arryn. Benjicot, que aún no había cumplido la mayoría de edad, asumió el mando del ejército cuando Ser Robert fue asesinado por los hombres de los clanes de las Montañas de la Luna durante la travesía. Lord Alyn Velaryon y Ben el Sangriento lograron poner orden en el Valle y forzar al resto de partidarios a rendir vasallaje a Lord Joffrey Arryn.

En 136 d.C. Lord Benjicot Blackwood fue considerado como candidato a Mano del Rey, pero fue descartado por ser demasiado joven.

Benjicot Blackwood tuvo una vida larga.

Lord Benjicot Blackwood, also known as Ben the Bloody, was head of House Blackwood and Lord of the Tree of Crows during the Dance of the Dragons and the reign of Aegon III Targaryen.

The Blackwoods gave their support to Rhaenyra Targaryen when the Dance of the Dragons broke out. Benjicot became Tree Lord of the Crows at just eleven years old at the start of the civil war, when his father, Lord Samwell Blackwood, was killed by Ser Amos Bracken in single combat during the Battle of Burnt Mill.

He participated in the Battle of the Lakeside where, although the Northlands and Riverlands men defeated those from the Westlands, such was the toll that Ben wept at the piles of corpses. When Prince Aemond Targaryen devastated the Riverlands on Vhagar's back, Lord Benjicot enlisted Rhaenyra's help in protecting the river lords with her dragons, but Rhaenyra did not respond to her call.

Ben was one of the river lords who responded to Addam Velaryon's call to march alongside him on Ladera. During the battle that took place there, he commanded the center of the army, and witnessed the confrontation between the dragons Vermithor, Bruma and Tessarion, which many years later he would report to Grand Master Munkun. When the battle was over, he ordered one of his archers, Billy Burley, to finish off the dragon Tessarion, who was dying in pain. When he returned home he took the body of Addam Velaryon, which he buried in Tree of Ravens.

At the end of the war, and in response to Aegon II Targaryen's decision to punish the lords who had not sworn allegiance to him, Lord Blackwood joined forces with Lord Elmo Tully to participate in the Battle of the Royal Road. The riparians led by Benjicot broke through the trees, destroying the flank of Lord Borros Baratheon's army. He managed to disperse the tormenteños and achieve victory, earning himself the nickname of Blood Ben. Ben and his companions later marched to King's Landing to besiege the city, but before King Aegon II was even betrayed and killed by his men.

It is said that Ben and his aunt Aly were dismayed when they learned of the king's death, as they considered poison a weapon of cowards and without honor. Benjicot Blackwood, Lord Kermit Tully, and his brother Ser Oscar, bound by battle, became inseparable and became known as the Boys. Ben remained in King's Landing while Aegon III Targaryen was crowned and the council of regents formed. When he returned to Raven Tree with his aunt, they were escorted by a thousand Northerners who had come south with Lord Cregan Stark.

Lord Blackwood was considered one of the potential candidates to marry Lady Baela Targaryen, the king's half-sister. In 132 AD, Benjicot marched to Winterfell to attend his aunt Alysanne's wedding to Lord Cregan Stark. As it was the middle of winter, the trip took three times as long as planned, being attacked by outlaws who stole all the wedding gifts.

When the death of Queen Jaehaera Targaryen took place the following year, Lord Unwin Peake, Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm, secretly arranged the wedding between the king and his daughter Myrielle. Many lords raised their voices when they found out; Ben questioned the haste, arguing that they must have left Aegon at least half a year to mourn their queen.

In 134 AD Lord Ben led a thousand Blackwood men who joined the army led by Ser Robert Rowan, who was heading to the Valley of Arryn to solve the Arryn succession problem. Benjicot, who had not yet reached the age of majority, assumed command of the army when Ser Robert was killed by the men of the Moon Mountains clans during the voyage. Lord Alyn Velaryon and Ben the Bloody managed to bring order to the Valley and force the remaining partisans to surrender their allegiance to Lord Joffrey Arryn.

In 136 A.D. Lord Benjicot Blackwood was considered a candidate for Hand of the King, but was discarded as too young.

Benjicot Blackwood had a long life.

#benjicot blackwood #samwell blackwood #alysanne blackwood #aegon iii targaryen #elmo tully #oscar tully #cregan stark

34 notes · View notes

chronicparagon · 4 years ago

Text

Onmyoji AU: The Phoenix from the West, Blessed and Cursed

Disclaimer: This verse is based on the Onmyoji rpg and information I found about North America during the suggested time period and from other AUs. This includes the early encounters with European settlers and the damage of colonialism. Although I could not find records of Native Americans being in Japan around the earlier eras, other ethnicities have been there.This includes Yasuke, a samurai of African descent from the 16th century. This also touches on Eastern mythology of the phoenix. I thought this would be symbolism of Harmony’s journey of rising from tragedies, if that makes sense. I did my best to combine Eastern and Western Indigenous perspectives and this I will continue to work on it.

This could be subject to change when more information can be found and this AU is open to suggestions for improvement. Triggers are tagged.

TLDR: A cleric who would not let bad things that happened keep her down. She travels as a healer with the capabilities to bless and invoke divine intervention, which can affect weaker spirits and demons.

It is hard to say where she came from. Most people did not know the past behind the quiet young woman who holds a gift that is both a blessing and a curse.

Her journey began as an infant brought to the Land of the Rising Sun.

She was seen as a commodity like her people including her mother. She was born to an Indigenous woman held captive by travelers who bore the skin that was as white as snow and hearts as cold as the bitter winters. Horrible barbarians indeed with greed driving their twisted scheme. Search for gold and precious resources ravaged the land the native people held sacred. They retaliated against the invaders, but these strangers always seem to come back in greater numbers. They attacked the villages, slaughtered the bravest of warriors including the woman’s husband and the father of her child who came to the world in the darkest hours of the night, just before the dawn. Her name was Mato Ciqana (Little Bear), after her father, Mato. Though her mother used to call her Ciqana for short. She was not quite like most babies. A quiet infant who was never fussy or rambunctious and many found endearing for this and for her eyes.

The child’s eyes were not the beautiful dark hues seen by her people, but bright silver, much like the moon. There is a reason to this, but the truth would not be known until later in the child’s life. It was an early sign of what she would become.

Though originally intended to be a slave, a man took pity on the young mother and her baby and took them in. He later married the mother and took Ciqana as his own child. He gave her the name Harmony.

The girl lived her early childhood in Europe and she was more rebellious. Most children made fun of her for her darker complexion, which often led the girl to get into fights. She was scolded for this, but that did little to stop her when she or others were targets of harassment. She lived up to her name, as fierce as the grizzly bear when the time came.

It was often discouraged, but Harmony’s mother secretly taught her about her roots. She was taught her tribe’s language including prayers. Though she was deemed lucky to a protected life from what would have been a grim fate, this would not last. Her father served as a protector of missionaries who would travel to Japan. Harmony and her mother went along with them. This is where blood drenched Harmony’s story. The attack came in the dark of the night when missionaries arrived to Japan. Sinister beings that are not from the mortal realm found fun in reaping the foreign souls.

Almost everyone perished, almost.

When the time came to kill the child, Harmony’s ability came to her aid. She came from a line of wičháša wakȟáŋ and wičháša winyan, holy men and women who healed the people and served the spirits. Though the holy people and healers were chosen by the spirits through dreams and rituals, her first calling came in a dire moment. One of the two demons cast hellish fire on the girl, just to watch her writhe and cry for mercy. Harmony does not remember how it happened. She tearfully said a prayer in her native language, her heart pleading for salvation. Eyes shut tight, she heard the anguished cries of her devilish assailants before they perished by a holy light. They were weaker demons who would fall to holy powers. Harmony remembered the screams, the painful burns of cursed fire searing into her skin, and the tears she shed for her mother.

It was then that darkness swallowed the world around her. Surely, this would have been the end had it not been the child’s will to live and divine intervention that she invoked.

As always, light followed darkness. Harmony woke up to the golden morning light, no longer out in the lone road but in the home of a kind old man. He was a doctor who came across the massacre with the girl being the only survivor. Knowing she is alone, he adopted the child despite not knowing where she came from. From there, he gave her a name to help her blend into Japan’s society.

He called her Mizuki after her gray eyes that shine as bright as the moon. Though she preferred the name Harmony or her birth name, she had no choice but to accept the new name. Though her heart could never be healed after losing her family, she slowly adapted to her new home. Unfortunately, she was badly burned, leaving scars carved into her skin. Ridicule from the village children for her appearance and not having a family incited her old habit of defending herself with violence.

Harmony had to learn the hard way that she should not resort to fighting as she grew older. The fighting stopped as she grew older, but while she became a gentle young woman, she would not tolerate injustice. She became more withdrawn from other people, often seeking refuge in the forest embracing the village where she practiced the old prayers and honed her skill in healing on animals, granting every one of them a new chance at life. While she was taught to be a proper lady, Harmony was not denied learning the ways of medicine as she had an interest in it. Her guardian taught her what he knew, and she incorporated it into her healing capabilities as well as holistic healing that her mother taught her. Harmony would never forget these teachings as it is her way of honoring her people and the spirits who protected her when near the clutches of death.

The old doctor has plans for Harmony who he insisted to call Mizuki as she neared marrying age. There were several suitors as they heard about the girl with skin kissed by the sun and silver eyes that resemble the moon. She held the reputation of being quiet with a kind heart as an adult, nothing like the wild child who acted out. Though her scars turned most of them away, which made courting difficult. She did not mind being single. No, she was not against marriage and wished to have that someday, but believed she was not ready for it. She took her time, though the rejections for her imperfections often hurt her. It didn’t help when rumors about her being inhuman for her healing which was not deemed as normal for humans.

The woman’s life would take another turn as tragedy struck once again. Demons attacked the little village. Harmony did what she could to protect her home and guardian. She did not abandon it, just as her ancestors from the west who stood their ground when invaders attacked.

But there were too many to fend off herself and she fell, seen as dead, but her body was not touched as she laid unconscious in the blood of her fellow villagers. This was due to outside forces intervening in her favor. This was yet another pivotal moment as she would find herself in another world. It was filled with warmth and light. She remembered seeing a proud bird flying above her before it perched before her. It was then that she found that the bird was a phoenix. A powerful voice came from the bird.

“Fear not, child. I have not come to harm you.” He begins, “I come with a message. You have seen what you can do. You can heal the wounds of the body. Your heart is strong and yearns heal broken spirits and spare the innocent souls. This all part of your destiny. You are called to become a holy woman, one who holds the gift of healing the body, mind, and spirit. You hold the gift to protect the weak from darkness and cast away evil.” Harmony remembered these words as though it was yesterday.

“You must go forth and use your skills to heal the sick, protect the weak, and bring light to this dark world. This is the path you will tread. You are like myself. You fell in darkness and cursed flame, but you have risedn again. Just as you will rise again from the ashes where you lay. Go forth and be the light.”

Go forth and be the light...

The dream faded with the spirit’s last words. That was when she woke in the ruins of her home. That is when she noticed a new mark on her body. It’s a mark of a bird with wings outstretched on her back. It was the mark of the spirit. Forced to relive the darkest moment of her life. Alone and surrounded by people who perished in brutal ways.

To this day, Harmony would not forgive herself for being so weak as she wanted to protect others. How she wept for the people around her. Despite their distrust in her and how they made fun of her as children, her heart remained pure and full of love for others. Harmony did what she could for them, giving the villagers their last rites from what was taught to her on this land and from her mother. She gave her goodbyes to the doctor who raised her, no matter how her heart ached, she knew it must be done, using her knowledge and skills to bless the bloodstained earth and free the souls.

That was what she did before leaving with what she could salvage.

From there, the young woman moves on with the spirit’s words on her mind and a new mission: Tend to others in need, embrace healing, and use her abilities to banish evil with the same methods as her ancestors held close to them. She is blessed to be a holy agent and healer, cursed to live on land that is not her own, which affects the strength of her gift and cursed to have little acceptance for she carries marks of hellish fire. But despite these misfortunes, they did not keep her down. She still lives with kindness and bring healing energy.

She rose from the ashes of devastation and heartbreak, just like a phoenix.

#here is my long-ass AU #a big royal mess #yes she is essentially a cleric #might make changes as I learn more about the history and the Onmiyoji world #left in the dark #racism tw #slavery tw #violence tw #blood tw #death tw #fire tw #I'll continue to work on this and clarify if there's any confusion

4 notes · View notes

sepublic · 4 years ago

Link

Behold, after all this time… Part 3 of Bionicle: RaE! RaE is short for ‘Redone and Expanded’… I’ve already redone G2’s original duology. But what of the expansion? I’ve said that I would expand the story from there, and make it almost three timesas long as the original G2!

Well, here it is- Part 3: Life! I’m really excited to share this with you guys… I’ve had this in the works since 2016, shortly after Bionicle G2’s cancellation! It marked my determination to really DO something with G2, to expand on it and make a mythos matching its predecessor, or at least coming close to it! It isn’t exactly perfect, and there are a few bits I need to smooth out, as well as a plot-hole or two I need to resolve… But for now, THIS is easily the most fleshed-out of my fanmade ‘Parts’! It brings a whole new world to match the landscape of Okoto, the ‘cursed land’ of Xia… And I hope you guys enjoy the new storyline I have to bring!

As always, below is a beginning excerpt; The rest is accessible through the link!

Makuta is dead.

He was vanquished in the battle on the Mount of Darkness’ peak, slain by his brother Ekimu the Mask Maker, now Toa of Creation. Axonn, Kualus, Vakama, Lesovikk, and Brutaka have all disappeared, with Krahka and the Rahi going their own ways; Save for the Red Serpent, which stays with its Okotan friends. Okoto itself has suffered grievous scars from the Elemental Horde’s razing of the island, but now the fully-empowered Elemental Deities are working to heal the damage, bit by bit. It is a long and arduous process, but progress is definite.

While the Deities are no doubt grateful to the Toa, by the end of the day their alliance dictated the mutual defeat of their respective enemies, before cutting ties off. Thus, the Elemental Deities are only bound to repair Okoto, while the Okotan Alliance works by itself to track down and handle the remaining members of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Still, some endearing memories and experiences are held close to heart, even if deities are normally not supposed to interact with mortals and favor them too much.

The Toa are celebrated as eternal heroes, and as the Toa of Creation, Ekimu is crafting Masks of Power and other ingenious inventions at an unprecedented rate. Yes, there are Brotherhood forces still out there and unaccounted for, in hiding ever since Makuta’s demise. But with Makuta himself dead and Umarak trapped within the Mask of Shadows, hidden in an undisclosed location by Ekimu; What is there to fear? It seems that a new Creation Age is approaching, a second one no longer marred by Makuta’s influence, a reborn era wary of the mistakes of the past and willing to rectify them. The celebration with Makuta’s defeat was immense.

So why is Narmoto so nervous?

The Protector of Fire is definitely relieved by the defeat of Makuta, certainly- But now that Makuta is out of his mind, it seems an old fear, once locked away in the face of more immediate threats, is resurfacing… His wife and his son, Lhii, are concerned.

Almost as if in response to Narmoto’s concern, a string of ghastly, grisly murders suddenly emerges across Okoto. Reports come in, of Okotans found dead in their sleep, their bodies torn asunder as if by some horrific beast- Yet those nearby never recalled hearing such a monster. Checking the room where the slain had slept, there is no trace of a struggle, no trace of anything, be it a Skull Spider, or Energy Leech, or the like having made its way into the bedroom. Locked doors remained locked the entire time, with mechanisms set in place to detect if they are breached; Only for the mechanisms to remain still, even as the next morning another victim is found dead.

Paranoia quickly besets Okoto as it rallies warily, trying to ascertain the threat. Something is killing others in their sleep, when nobody else is watching; And somehow doing it without setting off a single alarm, without alerting anyone or anything. The Toa, Protectors, and other warriors remain vigilant and on guard, unsure of what to do. Eventually, a clever experiment is held, as someone is instructed to don a Mask of Stealth and watch over a friend.

Days pass- Until one night, that sleeping friend begins thrashing about, increasingly distressed from a horrific dream of some sort, as they begin moving around. They begin to react with increasing intensity to their nightmare, terrified- Until wounds suddenly appear across their body. Before anything too bad can happen, the victim is awoken just in time.

The victim tells of a horrific nightmare appearing in their sleep, specifically targeting them. When it harmed them with its claws, those same wounds appeared in the real world, terrifying the Okotan Alliance- Their new foe, this new killer, is a being who can access the dreams of others and kill victims within them.

Everyone is mystified, with Ekimu recalling legends of those who could access dreams, but usually such examples were found right beside the dreamer in order to infiltrate the mind. How is this possible? Regardless, the Okotans remain vigilant and on-guard, attempting to stay awake as much as possible. People are instructed to sleep in groups and shifts, with allies watching over one another as they sleep, ready to wake someone up in case a bad dream evolves into something worse.

As Okoto becomes exhausted, Onua hypothesizes that whoever is doing this is bound to space- Recent, subsequent kills all happen close to one another, indicating the culprit is travelling, entering dreams to kill, and then moving on. Thus, they presumably can’t access the dream of someone far away, so for every recent kill in one region of the island, everywhere else is presumably safe. This theory seems to work somewhat, and guards are set out to areas with recent attacks. Masks of Power are made to detect anything, but nothing can track down the mysterious killer- And when someone IS attacked, Masks of Radar and the like only detect the victim’s soul!

Eventually, the killings suspiciously cease, but everyone continues to remain on-guard. One night, Ekimu falls asleep… Only to be attacked in his nightmares.

However, Ekimu is prepared, having donned the Mask of Control. With full control over his own mind, Ekimu is able to manipulate the world in his dreams even better than the shape-shifting perpetrator, and captures them in his grasp. The killer, caught, shifts back into their true form; A serpentine, bat-winged creature with elastic properties.

The killer reveals their name and identity, to Ekimu’s shock; He is Yagavo, one of the Rahkshi, Sons of Makuta! Yagavo, incensed and mourning his father’s death, has vowed to avenge Makuta by slaying his enemies and continuing the Mask Hoarder’s original plan to take his rightful place among the gods.

Ekimu attempts to keep Yagavo trapped in his dream with the Mask of Control, but Yagavo, underneath desperate circumstances, breaks out of the dream himself by revealing his presence in the real world. Yagavo’s physical body suddenly manifests besides Ekimu’s sleeping form, now free of the dream, even as Ekimu himself awakens and immediately attacks.

As Okotan forces immediately awaken during the commotion, Yagavo manages to escape, his abilities revealed; The power to access a parallel, dark version of Okoto, devoid of all life. This ‘Para-Realm’, as he calls it, is Okoto’s shadows, reflecting and mirroring its landscape. If a pit is dug into Okoto, minutes afterwards an actual pit will form in the Para-Realm, in the exact, identical place.

If Yagavo goes into the Para-Realm and moves forward five-feet, and then heads back to Okoto, he will be five-feet away from where he disappeared. The Para-Realm is like an identical map, laid directly over Okoto, and by accessing it, Yagavo can disappear completely from one world, undetectable and unstoppable. Yagavo had used this ability to access the dreams of Okotans from the Para-Realm, enabling him to stealthily kill people without having to expose himself in the light world.

Yagavo escapes, even as Ekimu alerts and warns the rest of Okoto, which is dismayed but not too surprised to see that more of Makuta’s creations are now resurfacing. Even as Okoto regathers its arms, Yagavo resurfaces, now leading what is left of the Brotherhood of Makuta. The Okotan Alliance goes into conflict with Yagavo and the Brotherhood of Makuta, with Yagavo utilizing the threats of his dream-murders to keep Okotans anxious and awake, exhausting soldiers and making it easier for Brotherhood forces to take them out in the real world. The Toa hunt down Yagavo, who is well-aware of his physical weakness, being a glass-cannon compared to the rest of his brethren.

Meanwhile, Matoro herself begins to have a recurring nightmare of a darkened being, but is it not one that seems to necessarily hurt her- Just torment Matoro psychologically, with Yagavo elsewhere. Matoro makes sure to tell the others of this, but based on the evidence, it’s apparently just that- A dream. Or, a vision…?

Elsewhere, Taiki spots the demigod Krevasse, sneaking away with a stolen egg in tow- Upon being noticed, Krevasse panics and drops the egg. Curious, Taiki picks up the egg and takes it to Kinigan scholars to study, but nobody can recognize its species! Not even Ekimu is aware what this egg will birth, and fascinated, Taiki takes it upon herself to work on hatching the egg. She sets to work, nursing the egg tenderly, figuring out how to nurture it, even as she makes plans to track down Krahka and see if her knowledge on Rahi can help.

All the while, Narmoto remains concerned. Whatever has been troubling him isn’t Yagavo- So what is it, then?

During a battle against the Brotherhood of Makuta, Gali ends up being endangered. Just before she can defend herself, she is suddenly barraged with intense, mental agony, leaving her vulnerable for an Energy Leech to attack. Luckily, she is rescued just in time by her allies, and everyone is left wondering what could’ve performed the attack. Perhaps it was a Kal, having absorbed the powers of a Mask of Telepathy… But even so, Gali notes that this mental attack was far more intense and concentrated than any Mask of Telepathy she had come up against. Likewise, there weren’t any Kal nearby; So who could’ve done it? Yagavo had never displayed such an ability.

As everyone else begins to consider the possibility of yet another Rahkshi, Narmoto inquires as to the exact location of this battle. After learning the information, he dons a Mask of Stealth and heads by himself, alone, to where the battle had been held. He makes sure to watch from afar, wielding a Mask of Sight, and waits…

Unbeknownst to him, a wary Yagavo learned of the unusual mental attack from the forces present at that battle, and heads off to investigate, watching Okoto from the Para-Realm and spying on Narmoto. He begins to look around the source of the mental attack, having his suspicions, and stumbles across something in the tunnels of the Para-Realm…

Narmoto heads underground, but is secretly trailed by Ekimu, who has heard of the Protector of Fire’s unusual behavior and is now investigating himself. Underground, Narmoto finds a pale, hunched-over being, huddling in the darkness, and addresses them as Dweller. Dwller smugly addresses Narmoto like an old comrade, mocking him over the new life and ‘fake name’ he had made for himself on Okoto- But he warns Narmoto that the past will continue to haunt him, always, and is about to return. The shadow of Narmoto’s crimes has been trailing him for a while, and now it’s about to emerge.

Dweller assaults Narmoto with a powerful mental barrage, but a prepared Narmoto manages to fight back somewhat. During the battle, Dweller is forced to move around and is briefly struck, causing him to drop something; A faded, golden-shard, of unspeakably old age, faint and worn-down from centuries of not only decay, but by a day of something far more powerful…

Ekimu, arriving to help Narmoto, is shocked, immediately recognizing it as a fragment; A shard, one of six, from the Mask of Life all those years ago.

Ekimu immediately demands to Dweller how he found this shard, and if he knows the location of the others- But Dweller retaliates with another mental attack. Ekimu, prepared, creates a shield that is able to defend himself and lunges in to defeat Dweller, only for Yagavo to appear. Yagavo teleports in from the Para-Realm, seeing his chance to kill Ekimu, and manages to wound the Mask Maker as he focuses his attention on the Rahkshi. Dweller, seeing an opportunity, begins fleeing down the tunnels, even as his mental power summons something else…

To Narmoto’s shock, a massive, subterranean worm appears, swallowing Dweller whole. For a moment, Narmoto is unsure of what happened- But then he realizes Dweller must somehow still be alive. Ekimu, adapting to Yagavo’s sudden ambush, begins to contact everyone else to help him catch Dweller, even as Yagavo calls in his own Brotherhood forces.

Okotans and Toa arrive to fight, with the Brotherhood of Makuta coming in to intercept. In the chaos, Dweller, makes his escape, having used his mental powers to brainwash multiple animals into his loyal bidding. Narmoto gives a particularly frantic chase after Dweller, but is defeated by the pale being as he gloats that the Shadowed One will finally punish his insolence after all these years. With a brainwashed Gukko to help him, Dweller flies off and arrives at the coast of Okoto. There, he digs up a submerged, silver canister, one identical to the one the hunter Kualus used a few months ago to arrive on Okoto, and later leave the island.

Dweller enters the canister as its hatch-lid closes on him, and the cylinder’s machinations begin to function as it heads back into the ocean, turbines activating. The canister begins to spin rapidly, and dives beneat the waves, heading out into the dangerous, endless oceans beyond Okoto.

With Dweller having escaped, the battle ends in a stalemate as Okotan forces retreat. Ekimu, terrified and having old trauma re-awakened, angrily confronts Narmoto about Dweller, demanding to know his past with the being, and who The Shadowed One is. Narmoto, equal-parts exhausted and paranoid, insists that the Okotan Alliance must immediately prepare an expedition across the ocean to track down Dweller.

Naturally, everyone inquires as to how they’d track down Dweller, and where he’s even going in the first place- There is no land beyond Okoto, right? At that point, Lewa interjects, recalling the story that Kulta the Skull Grinder told him… About how the Skull Raiders hailed from a cursed land, travelling across the ocean in search of a better, safer place, and found Okoto. On a hunch, he immediately theorizes that perhaps this is where Dweller is headed?

Expecting to be shot down, Lewa is surprised when Narmoto confirms this with total certainty, promising this is exactly where Dweller is going. Narmoto himself knows the exact coordinates of this cursed land, the one that the Skull Raiders fled from all those centuries ago, and promises to Ekimu that as bad Yagavo is, he will never be the threat Makuta once was- Because right now, a far worse threat is looming in the horizon. The Shadowed One has a fragment of the Mask of Life… And if he does, it’s possible he’s looking for more, or worse, already has most –if not all- of them!

Shaking, a rattled Narmoto insists that defeating The Shadowed One is now Okoto’s top priority, that as bad as Yagavo is, The Shadowed One is even worse. Everyone calms down Narmoto as his ramblings become frantic, demanding to know how he knows all of this, recalling that his past with Dweller still hasn’t been elaborated upon.

With Narmoto confronted and in a corner in more ways than one, he hesitates… But nevertheless, he turns around, and tells the truth, or at least part of it;

Narmoto was from this cursed land, a native to it like Dweller. He was once a terrible, awful person- An irredeemable murderer, thief, and criminal like Dweller. He served alongside many other people like him in a group, a mercenary organization known as the Dark Hunters, of which The Shadowed One is the ancient founder and leader of.

Narmoto is from there, this island… the cursed land of Xia.

More questions come in, but Narmoto insists that Ekimu set to work making a craft that can transport everyone to Xia. Arguments rise up, becoming heated before it’s all finally settled and calmed down. Narmoto explains that while he was a Dark Hunter, something happened to him that made him question everything- And tired and disgusted of it all, he sought to leave Xia and find a better place. He had heard of Okoto from a Dark Hunter named Shadow Stealer, and wanting to be free of Xia’s corruption, he headed there in a canister.

When Narmoto arrived, he changed his name and arrived in Tawahi, claiming to have been the child of Okotans who tried to live beyond the Mega-Villages, only to be slain. Chilled, Tahu, Jaller, Takua, and Kapura remember this story well, their faith in Narmoto now terribly shattered as they regard him like a completely different person.

Narmoto assimilated himself into Tawahan culture, eventually becoming the Protector of Fire. He had been surprised and dismayed to hear of the Skull Spider threat upon arriving… But after seeing Okoto’s beautiful, lush wilderness, and the goodness of the people there, he became determined to fight on their behalf. Narmoto insists that THAT is not a lie- But it doesn’t matter. As far as Narmoto is concerned, he can be stripped of his Protector status and thrown into a prison cell for the rest of his life… He’d be fine with this, so long as the Okotan Alliance heeds his warnings, and goes after The Shadowed One.

For years, Narmoto had been paranoid, knowing of Dweller’s presence somewhere on Okoto. He never mentioned Xia or his true past, being ashamed of it, and terrified that if the Tawahans found out, then Dweller might consider them a liability as well, and… kill them.

Narmoto was scared that the Dark Hunters might one day track him to Okoto and get their revenge, and in the process hurt his loved ones in the crossfire.

Silent, everyone else considers Narmoto’s story… But nevertheless, they are rightfully angry, something Narmoto does not fault them for. Regardless, he insists to Ekimu, swearing on his life that The Shadowed One must be stopped at any and all costs- That whatever he has planned now regarding the Mask of Life’s fragment, it will undoubtedly be cataclysmic.

Ekimu, having witnessed firsthand the Great Cataclysm, agrees that The Shadowed One cannot be allowed to recreate the Mask of Life- Something he and Narmoto already suspect him of.

Of course, the Protectors point out that there is still the matter of Yagavo to deal with- They can’t leave all of Okoto defenseless, unless they plan to transport the entire population to Xia. Arguments and discussions are held, and finally a decision is held. A group of Okoto’s best warriors will head to Xia, to stop The Shadowed One and retrieve at least one fragment of the Mask of Life- With the Mask of Control, Ekimu can destroy this fragment completely. From there, the Okotan group will continue to investigate into The Shadowed One’s plans, and deduce if the destruction of the fragment will stop him; If so, they will return home and help with Yagavo once more.

The rest of Okoto, Ekimu included, will remain on the island to combat Yagavo and the Brotherhood of Makuta’s return. Narmoto is a bit dismayed that they aren’t going to bring an entire army, warning everyone that even without the Dark Hunters, Xia is a lawless, dangerous place. Many groups and dangers exist, all at each others’ throats, and people are constantly killed in the crossfire everyday.

Intimidated, the others reassure him that they’ve fought Skull Spiders, Skull Warriors, Rahkshi, Energy Leeches, and Elemental Beasts; Nobody is invincible, but they’re used to danger at this point. A guilty Narmoto, accepting his comrades’ faith in one another, is the first to volunteer, deciding that if anyone dies on the mission to Xia, it should be him.

The others are concerned about his mindset, but with mixed feelings, agree that this only makes sense. Eventually, a decision is held; The Toa and Protectors will go on this expedition, in order to assuage Narmoto’s concerns. In addition, they will be joined by the likes of Jaller, Takua, Hahli, Macku, Kopeke, Matoro, Kongu, Tamaru, Hewkii, Hafu, Nuparu, Onepu, and Taipu.

Obviously, some reservations are held, especially amongst the Toa, about abandoning Okoto. Ekimu reassures them that they’ve done their part in slaying Makuta; They’ve done so much for a world that they had no connections to, prior. Besides, Ekimu and the Okotan Alliance are stronger than ever, while the Brotherhood is only getting weaker. Ekimu reasons that they should trust Narmoto’s warnings- And if not those, then they can trust what Ekimu has to warn about the Mask of Life.

Any trace of that cursed, heretical creation must be wiped out from existence, just to be safe. Just one fragment should be sufficient, but just in case, if it can make their conscience sleep at night… Then maybe the Toa can help Ekimu find and destroy the remaining pieces.

Emboldened, the Toa make plans to pack up. The Okotans are dismayed to hear that some of their best warriors are leaving, and shocked at the news of Xia and Narmoto’s past. Indeed, his fellow Protectors aren’t sure how to look at him anymore, and Lhii and Narmoto’s wife don’t know how to feel. Lhii begs Narmoto not to leave, and hesitating, Narmoto remembers why he left Xia, only to take on an entire swarm of Skull Spiders…

He promises to return home alive, then. At that moment, Narmoto decides that while his guilt is real, his son and wife are actually tangible beings. They don’t deserve to lose a family member, at least not more than Narmoto deserves punishment and justice. Maybe he can atone in some other way… but for now, Narmoto makes the decision to come back alive, all while ensuring that The Shadowed One’s plans are ruined.

Farewells are held, for the timebeing, as the lingering concern in the air remains palpable; That some may not return alive. Still, life has always been difficult, and those going on the Xian expedition have always been willing to die for Okoto. This sucks, but so has life until now. They may as well get this over with, right?

Narmoto introduces Ekimu to the canister he used to arrive on Okoto all those years ago, hidden in the basement of his home. Analyzing its incredibly complex mechanisms, Ekimu notes that it’s more advanced than anything he’s seen Nuparu make, all while having nothing to do with Life energy. Even as Nuparu and her fellow Marn engineers obsess over the canister, fascinated, Narmoto notes that Xia is a technologically-advanced island. It has no deities nor Masks of Power- Thus, its technological progress developed in a completely different way.

Working together with Marn engineers, Ekimu crafts a powerful vessel by reverse-engineering the canister’s schematics. Tapping into his power over Creation, he constructs a powerful aquatic vehicle, one capable of travelling across the brutal, devastating storms and hurricanes that surround the endless ocean. Upon considering a name for this new vessel, Ekimu is given a suggestion; Lhikan, the name of an old friend who had helped Narmoto change his life for the better…

The Okotan expedition finishes packing up, making sure to keep it a secret from the Brotherhood of Makuta. Yagavo saw the Mask of Life fragment that Dweller had, giving everyone more reason to head to Xia, in case the Brotherhood wanted to retrieve it as well. Thankfully, the Brotherhood of Makuta has no presence on Xia, with Narmoto having never heard its name during his time there.

The final farewells are held. Transmitting data between the canister and the Lhikan by incorporating the cylinder into the ship, Narmoto sets coordinates for Xia. The Lhikan, fully-automatic, lets its passengers board as they bid farewell; And then its hatches close down and shut tightly, as the powerful ship begins rocketing off into the endless oceans beyond Okoto.

Elsewhere, Dweller hurries through the halls of a darkened fortress, finally arriving inside a throne room. A shadow is cast over him by the sole inhabitant of this throne room; The Shadowed One, an ancient, powerful warlord. Dweller reports that he has retrieved the final fragment of the Mask of Life, that all six are now on Xia; Now all the Dark Hunters need to do is find the remaining five. However…

Dweller reports that he failed to kill Narmoto and the Toa, and now the Okotans are likely aware of Xia and the Dark Hunters. Dweller is certain that they’re heading to Xia at this very moment, planning to stop whatever The Shadowed One has planned. Dweller apologizes profusely for his failure, begging forgiveness, and The Shadowed One playfully contemplates a horrific punishment…

But, he decides that enough hands have been severed today. Dweller is off the hook, for now, and will be instructed on a new mission. The Shadowed One takes the Mask fragment into his clawed-palm, identifying it as the Fragment of Jungle, and orders Dweller to send a message throughout the entire organization via telepathy. All across Xia, Dark Hunters hear The Shadowed One’s voice, as he tells them to prepare to make a nice, warm welcome for the heroes of Okoto…

#bionicle #Bionicle RaE #part 3 #xia #dark hunters #the shadowed one #toa #okoto

9 notes · View notes

multiverseforger · 4 years ago

Text

Unliving is shrouded in mystery, with rumors circulating that Nekron is darkness itself, existing before life entirely, or that he was created by the darkness as its protector. Another claim is that the Guardians of the Universe clashed with Nekron close to the beginning of the universe and were the ones to imprison him in the Land of the Unliving.

Krona War

Nekron gloats

Trapped in his own realm throughout most of eternity, Nekron first became aware of the world of the living through the deceased cosmic villain Krona. A rift was opened in the continuum between dimensions, caused by the death of an immortal. And Nekron looked upon the universe and saw all that was life itself, and determined that he would become its master. So that he might escape his prison, he resurrected and empowered Krona, with an army of the undead at his disposal, to slaughter the Guardians of the Universe and widen the rift.[2] It took the combined might of the entire Green Lantern Corps to defeat them, in a colossal battle that resulted in literally hundreds of casualties. Hal Jordan entered the Land of the Unliving on a suicide mission, and harnessed the souls of his fallen Lanterns to fight back against the great evil. Their combined willpower overcame Nekron long enough for the Guardians to seal up the rift, and Hal escaped, leaving the Lord of the Unliving once more condemned to his lifeless prison.[3]

Further Appearances

The Ultimate Opponent

Although largely confined, Nekron has made several more breaches into our world and had interactions with superheroes. After Captain Atom died briefly, he was introduced to several incarnations of Death, including Death of the Endless and the Black Racer. They were each presented as a component of death... and Nekron represented the concept as a cosmic certainty, death as the ultimate opponent.[1] In an attempt to gain control of the Quantum Field life energy of the planet, he had carefully engineered the hero's death. Although he absorbed a great deal of the power, Captain Atom used his connection to steal energy from Nekron's own personal field, and depower him enough to defeat him in physical combat.[4]

Underworld Unleashed allowed him another opportunity to gain entrance to the physical plane. Destruction of the Tower of Fate created another rift into our dimension, and Nekron fought Nebiros for the privilege of conquering the world. He won the battle, and the undead souls of the damned surged across the Earth as Hell literally broke loose.[5]Alan Scott and Fate teamed up against him. Nekron almost gained full access to our world, but fighting against him with the great supernatural strength of Fate gave Green Lantern enough time to demolish the portal with his green flame.[6]

Through the Rift

He was able to return to our world once more during Ghosts. An outside supernatural force brought a number of dead Green Lanterns back to life, calling themselves the Green Lantern Corpse. This created another crack in his realm, but still not one large enough for him to squeeze through. Taking control of the undead Lanterns, he sent them to capture the last remaining descendant of his original nemeses... Kyle Rayner. If Nekron had killed him and harnessed his powers, then he would finally have been able to leave his prison, but Kyle escaped back out through the crack and personally put each and every one of the rogue Lanterns down in single combat. Although it was a long and difficult battle, putting them back to rest sealed the portal and ended Nekron's threat once more.[7]

Nekron was accidentally summoned onto our plane by the supernatural hero Witchfire, who used his incantation without realizing the consequences it would have. She teamed up with Wonder Woman to prevent him from sucking the life-force out of any more innocents, while he was feeding. The combination of mystical energies and godlike blows was sufficient to drive him back into his own realm on that occasion.[8]

Blackest Night

Main article: Blackest Night

Black Lantern Corps

Following the Final Crisis, Nekron makes his triumphant return during the Blackest Night, where he forms the Black Lantern Corps composed entirely of his zombies equipped with power rings to wreak havoc upon the universe. His plans for this stretched back toward the Sinestro Corps War, when he killed the Anti-Monitor and absorbed him to energize his own Central Power Battery on the planet Ryut in Sector 666.[9] The battery wouldn't become completely active until it was discovered and disturbed by Lanterns Ash and Saarek, his first new victims.[10] He has taken the fallen Guardian named Scar as one of his servants, for she was burned by the Anti-Monitor and poisoned by his touch, causing her to slowly die and come under his influence.[11] There is also evidence that he has been influencing William Hand, the criminal known as Black Hand, his entire life. His control over Black Hand was solidified when Hand killed himself and his family, with Nekron taking him as his herald.[12]

As his influence spreads throughout the universe, the dead rise and return to take revenge on the living, building his power by literally devouring the hearts and emotions of all those who still breathe.[13] Only those with emotional ties to superheroes and villains are resurrected, to achieve the maximum potential. The sheer quantity of death caused by his Black Lantern Rings charges the Central Battery to full power. At this climax, he transports himself and his forces down to Earth to personally command his army. Landing in the middle of Coast City, he turns every single dead citizen into a Black Lantern, announces that all owe their lives to him, and he has come to collect.[14] Many of Earth's mightiest heroes rally to defeat him, and representatives from all seven Lantern Corps. Atrocitus, Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan, Indigo, Larfleeze, Saint Walker and Sinestro pour their combined beams into his Power Battery, hoping to obliterate it with the full life-force energies of creation. This only makes him stronger, and he seems to have planned this. Nekron resurrects Batman as one of his most powerful agents, who then kills and revives Animal Man, Donna Troy, Green Arrow, Ice, Kid Flash, Superboy, Superman and Wonder Woman as Black Lanterns. These are all people who have come back from the dead at some point in their lives, and he claims they only escaped because he let them... to further his own goals. He plans to use his army to uncover a dark secret of the Guardians... and then return the universe to a state of quiet order.[15]

Nekron's goal is revealed to wanting to find and destroy the embodiment of life itself: the white Entity. He kills one of the Guardians and uses their blood to draw the Entity out of hiding, then attempts to kill it and with it, which will in turn kill all of life in the universe. Sinestro bonds with the Entity and attempts to battle Nekron.[16] Despite Sinestro destroying his physical form, another Black Lantern simply picks up his weapon, becoming Nekron's new physical form. Nekron then manages to take the Entity out of Sinestro. Hal Jordan bonds with the Entity and uses its power to restore the living heroes transformed into Black Lanterns to their normal selves. Hal uses the Entity to transform the heroes into White Lanterns, together they defeat Nekron by resurrecting Black Hand thus destroying Nekron's link to the living plane. The Entity resurrects the Anti-Monitor which destroys the Black Lantern Battery. With his link to the earthly plane severed Nekron's body is destroyed, ending the Blackest Night.[17]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Unique Physiology: Nekron is a the personification of the absence of life and existence or the void before anything was. This gives him tremendous power as he is able to draw strength from the infinite abyss of darkness that predates existence along with the energy released at the time of death by beings he or his Black Lanterns kills. He is so powerful he can withstand an attack from the Anti-Monitor while sending him back to the anti-matter universe.

Immortality: Since he is not alive in the sense that we understand it, Nekron is technically incapable of being killed. As such, defeating him is extremely difficult; if defeated he will simply return to the Land of the Unliving.

Necromancy:Nekron's position as the Lord of the Unliving gave him a great number of powers that related to death itself.

Dark Lightning: He has the ability to fire bolts of a force called dark lightning from his hands, powerful enough to hurt and even kill the Guardians of the Universe. Despite being immensely powerful, it is not unstoppable. Wonder Woman was able to block it with her bracelets, although the force still threw her across the room.

Necrotic Empowerment: Nekron gains physical strength from the deaths he causes.

Reanimation: As the Lord of the Unliving, Nekron can reanimate corpses into fully functioning zombies working entirely under his control, and retaining semblance of their past personality.

Fatal Touch: The sustained touch of Nekron's hand can chill any mortal being to death, through supernatural means.

Reality Manipulation

Weaknesses

Dependency: For all his power, Nekron holds one great weakness: he cannot exist in this universe. In order to properly interact with the living, Nekron requires a link between between New Earth and the Land of the Unliving, such as a tear in space-time, or a mortal link such as Black Hand.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Black Lantern Central Power Battery (Formerly)

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

There is an unrelated monster named Nekron who fought the original Justice League of America.[18]

Trivia

It has been confirmed in official sources that his name is pronounced NEHK-Ron.[19]

35 Appearances of Nekron (New Earth)

25 Images featuring Nekron (New Earth)

4 Quotations by or about Nekron (New Earth)

Character Gallery: Nekron (New Earth)

Footnotes

↑ 1.01.1 Captain Atom (Volume 2) #42

↑ Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2

↑ Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3

↑ Captain Atom (Volume 2) #43

↑ Fate #12

↑ Fate #13

↑ Green Lantern Annual (Volume 3) #7

↑ The Power Company: Witchfire #1

↑ Green Lantern (Volume 4) #25

↑ Green Lantern (Volume 4) #42

↑ Green Lantern (Volume 4) #44

↑ Green Lantern (Volume 4) #43

↑ Blackest Night #1

↑ Blackest Night #4

↑ Blackest Night #5

↑ Blackest Night #7

↑ Blackest Night #8

↑ Justice League of America #128-129

↑ Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #16

Green Lantern Villain(s)

This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Green Lantern of Earth, or the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Green Lantern Villains."

Black Lantern Corps member

This character is or was a member of the Black Lantern Corps. Those who have died may wield the Black Power Ring, symbolizing their lack of both life and emotion.

This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Black Lantern Corps members category."

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Top Contributors

Categories

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.

3 notes · View notes

marvel-girl-13 · 4 years ago

Text

trust my rage

**Images are never my own, I do not claim to own them or the characters/people in them**

Warnings: None (unless you haven’t seen Thor, then spoilers)

Word Count: 1339

Summary: Behind the scenes leading up to Loki taking on a weapon of immense power

---

For centuries, the mortals had been watched. As they grew in numbers and stature upon Midgard, above them beings of higher power oversaw their progression as they moved closer and closer to the intelligence that made their protectors feel that they could handle themselves. With that increasing thinking power came the ideas and beliefs that the humans were not the only ones in the universe; they believed that there was some sort of higher power perhaps hidden in the stars and in galaxies far beyond their own tiny solar system. May it be that several groups had their own separate notions about this, they were not wrong. But there was still much that they had to learn.

The humans were indeed progressing at a steady rate. Now they had people that were also mortals who could protect their society from the villains who dared to trespass; sure, they needed some of their original protectors' assistance from time to time, but their need was growing lesser and lesser with each passing generation. Midgard was gaining strength and a foothold in its place amongst the Nine Realms, even if it was still a babe in comparison. It took a realm a millennia or more to obtain the status of its much older siblings, especially the elegant and magnificent Asgard. A few believed Midgard would ever be able to match the royal, ancient realm. Many did not.

Loki was among those believers. And not just with Midgard; with some other of the realms as well, such as Jotunheim with its abominable frost giants who greatly disagreed with his father and the other powerful gods of Asgard. He despised them probably most of all, these ruthless beasts that had threatened his home centuries ago when they had fought a war against Odin and the kingdom. There was a truce in place between their realms -

Well, there had been a truce.

Loki's brow, which had been furrowed, relaxed slightly with his reflection in the glass of his bedroom window. He let out a small sigh to himself, shutting his eyes for an instant as he thought of his arrogant, prideful brother. Thor had opened the door of war rather than attempt to close it, lock it, and throw away the key with his tirade, to say the least. Violence never solved any sort of problems, and the young man's foolish decision to attack Asgard's main enemy in hopes of intimidating them into submission certainly proved that. Loki had been horrified to watch as Odin banished Thor to Midgard to live with the mortals as one of them; it was a punishment that was worse than spending an eternity upon Jotunheim. Loki had grown accustomed to watching the humans from this very bedroom window throughout his life, just as several of the other gods did, witnessing their crimes upon one another as well as their victories.

He felt that the only way they could be quiet and as collected as Asgardians would be if they were ruled over a force just as powerful. Someone with integrity and strength, and force that would keep them in their rightful place. And that would go with the rest of the realms as well; Jotunheim and Asgard could be equal and no longer quarrelsome if they were united under one power. At the thought, Loki's heart began to beat a bit faster, his pale face flushing a little as he fantasized. His father was slipping, he could agree with Thor on that note. He, too, believed that Odin's age might be at last catching up with him and he was falling behind, lost in the years that were now too far away to even be remembered.

A new age was dawning. It wouldn't be long before Loki had a plan and would be prepared to step up as the rightful king. He knew that this was the time to execute this sort of plan, now that Thor was out of his way. No longer would he stand beneath his brother's shadow, being ignored, and known only as one of Odin's sons. He would be seen and heard, feared and perhaps even adored. Of course, it might be difficult to get his father out of the way as well, but Loki had a few tricks left up his sleeve. His others had proved to be more helpful than he had guessed they would have been, so the god had confidence in those that remained...

The echoing sound of a familiar laugh directed Loki's attention back to the present, his eyes gazing quickly back down at Midgard. It wasn't long before he found Thor, and his green eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. His brother, who had been for a bit confused and angry, now looked happier than he had been in perhaps a while as he sat upon the rooftop of what appeared to be some sort of makeshift laboratory. Beside him sat a young mortal woman, looking up at the stairs with a small smile on her face. They were speaking to one another in gentle, calm tones; and Loki did not need to pay any attention to what they were talking about to understand what was going on.

“No!” he snarled under his breath, his body tense and teeth clenched. Thor could not fall in love, and with a human woman, of all people! She would taint his mind, their closeness cleansing Thor's heart and soul enough so that he could return home. Then Loki would have no chance at the throne; as his brother would tell friends and family of how he and his queen had first met and the love that had blossomed, he would only mutter, "She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef." It all disgusted and infuriated Loki; the thought that a mortal woman would ruin everything...

“Gah!” With a single sweep of his hand, a burst of magic flew from his fingertips as he yelled. The sound of one of his bedside tables collapsing did not snap Loki out of his fury as he turned swiftly away from the disgusting sight. What could he do?! It seemed as if after he had gotten one thing to go his way, the rest just got worse. First there had been his reaction to the frost giant touching him on Jotunheim and then how his mother mourned for the son that her husband had rightfully banished and now this? He would either have to take advantage of Thor's absence while he still could or take out this human to buy himself more time to do so. The latter seemed too risky, what with Thor already becoming close with her; Loki knew that he would be giving his brother the perfect opportunity to prove himself then.

He would need a powerful weapon if he wanted to take on Odin and any other god who would try to stop him; his magic could do some damage, but there were many who were a great deal more skilled than he was. He needed something that others knew and had feared, a weapon that could rival Thor's hammer and had fought more battles than anyone would care to admit, a power that even Odin had once been afraid of...

Loki felt its presence before he even touched it as he gradually approached its pedestal, like a cold, strong wind across his face. The sensation was not painful, but just as gentle as a breath across his cheek as he opened his eyes to gaze down upon the relic in all its glory. Hesitantly, he lifted his hands and grasped the handles on either side of the shimmering, blue block with its dark, intricate designs trailing all over its surface. A connection surged through the object, a chill that trailed up Loki's arms and down his spine. Determined, he lifted the Casket of Ancient Winters, its icy-blue glow bringing shadows to dance across his sallow features.

The new era had come.

#loki #thor #loki of jotunheim #jotun loki #rightful king of jotunheim #old writing

4 notes · View notes

frstbiitten · 4 years ago

Text

//Yesterday I mentioned that I would talk about Frost’s new gear, since I’ve analyzed it before and talked about it, the names chosen for her cosmetics have a lot of meaning when it comes to its cultural background or anything around it that could be related with Frost. Good thing is that since Aftermath came out, a lot of things for many characters did as well, and y’all know I love this cyborg’s design a lot, so let’s begin with her power arrays.

Cordelia:

The name itself doesn’t have a clear meaning, but surely the name rings a few bells if you’re familiar with ‘King Lear’ by Shakespeare (inspired by real events). Cordelia was one of the 3 King Lear’s daughters and his favorite. To know how to divide the lands, he asks the daughters which one loves him the most, which Cordelia says ‘according to my bond, no more nor less‘. But Lear is not someone who uses his head for good and is infuriated with the lack of commitment to show love from his favorite daughter, and makes her vanish from his kingdom, to which is the beginning of a time of chaos in the life of the king. Spoiler alert: both father and daughter are taken to prison by their enemies (also, she comes back to aid him in the middle of his madness), and she is hung and dies but her body is taken by Lear for others to see, and is grief the final cause for his death to which he dies next to her. Of course, there are common points and not so common, along with the belief that Cordelia was a tragic character (and Frost is a tragic villain) no less. If we take in consideration the different parallels between Cordelia and Lear with Frost and Kuai: being the favorite, pushed away by their actions and finally dying before the eyes of that one who loved them before (of course, a big thing to notice here is that Lear is more obscure than Sub-Zero all the way if we analyze his character more).

Qingniao:

There’s a lot of names in her power arrays related with mythological figures from different cultures, most of them related to either femininity, the moon or the ice itself. However, Qingniao is different since it is not related to a goddess but to a creature. The qingniaos according to Chinese mythology were these blue (or green) birds, some of them had even three legs or just one and they were the messengers of the Queen Mother of the West Xi Wangmu, a goddess that it was believed could provide long life and prosperity, even some religions in China consider her as their central deity. These birds to the goddess were of high importance since they not only allowed her to deliver messages across the lands but also retrieve food for her as well. It’s pretty obvious why this name fits so well and shows the high importance and relation between Frost and Kronika (Titan - Henchwoman).

Oreade:

This time, this power array has the name that was used in Greek Mythology to refer to the nymphs guarding and living around the forests close to the different mountains, each mountain had a group of specific nymphs that would protect it, in fact, the most known oreade is no other than Echo. She was the nymph who fell in love with Narcissus and her voice was taken away by Hera, only being capable of repeating the last word someone spoke to her. The name for this power array honestly doesn’t have too much relation with Frost, but we could say that she is, somehow, a protector of the Hourglass since without its control, Kronika (or herself in her tower ending) would never be able to bring the New Era.

Ice Demon:

This is by far my favorite along with Quaestor and Birka Viking. Demons in the universe of MK are pretty common (hell, there’s even a whole realm that they habit). Other ninjas in the game have demon themed gear, especially when it comes to their masks, but this time we have that influence in this power array. Perhaps, what is safe to say, that is heavily influenced by the Japanese Onis but also by the Yaoguais, monsters considered by the Chinese folklore as evil spirits of any kind searching for immortality and becoming deities themselves. This relates heavily to Frost since her form to attempt to achieve both was through cyberization, and considering her personality, she could be easily related to the temper of a demon like the Yaoguais, constantly searching to harm divine creatures and humans.

Arctika:

Geographically speaking and according to the lore of the game, Arctika is actually a place beneath the mountains in China were the Lin Kuei Temple resides and this place has never been peaceful since the very beginning. The name of this power array goes along with her mask ‘Daughter of Arctika’, let’s not forget the huge importance that those cold lands have for Frost as a cryomancer and considering her wishes to be the Grandmistress of the Lin Kuei (not taking in consideration the lengths she takes to do it). For both her and Sub-Zero these lands have a higher meaning in their souls, they are around their own vital element that is the ice, and is no coincidence that both have gear pieces named after this place, also is where they first meant when the tournament for the new recruits would take place. A thing to notice is it’s distinctive design since it looks less like the other power arrays and more like a jet pack.

Ice Fury:

It is not a casualty that most of her gear refers to her personality since it’s what stands out the most when it comes to her and the treatment to other people, Frost is known to not be the most chill person to be around and having issues with her rage. Not only that is a quality of her personality that stands out at first glance, but also her fighting style. If we compare her fighting style with Sub-Zero the first thing we would notice is how much chaotic she is and violent with her moves, I’m not saying that Sub-Zero’s fighting style is less lethal, but is much more collected than Frost’s, considering that she is a cyborg and this allows her much more possibilities for her powers and how to use them, her entire body is a weapon of destruction and when Frost uses her ice powers in combat, her abrasiveness goes along with her movements and passion for defeating her enemies.

Chosen by Kronika:

We know for a fact that Kronika, the Titan who is (was) in charge of the course of time since the very beginning of the universe and master of The Hourglass, was the one who gave Frost an important place to take by her side, her gift to the cryomancer for fighting by her side for the New Era was to be superior than any human since she could see the full potential that this woman had in her soul. Kronika cyberized Frost for proving her loyalty to the cause and also be the Grandmistress of the Lin Kuei once their plans succeded completely. We see that Frost is proud to work by her side, logically she’s given an armor that goes along with both Kronika and Geras, who’s also another important agent that helps Kronika to achieve her goals. The name for this mask says a lot about how Kronika perceived Frost, or at least how Frost perceived herself when it comes to decoding what place she takes part in all of this.

Slayer of Sektor:

This name is pretty clear and tells exactly how things worked between Frost and Sektor, even if she would the Grandmistress in the New Era, her compromise with the Cyber Initiative was shared with Sektor, the same Lin Kuei who cyberized a generation of his clan back in the 90′s. The name for this mask could give us a hint about the kind of roles they played when it came to cyberize this new generation of Lin Kueis, we could say that Sektor was the one who organized and made the initiative function considering that he was the one who started everything, and Frost would be mostly in charge of retrieving the subjects for the transformation or even working as his protector (is never favorable to lose the head who has thought about the whole initiative if you think about it).

Northern Lights:

Also known as Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights is simply an atmospheric phenomenon that happens commonly close to the north or south pole, to make things short, is what happens when particles of the sun that are electrically charged with energy collide with the atmosphere of the planet and since the air is full of different types of gasses, the colorful phenomenon happens. Also, to take things in consideration, ‘Northern Lights’ was the name of one of Frost’s moves back in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, it was only allowed to input while fighting with the Tong Bei style. If we notice the design of the mask, it might resemble the mouth of an Oni/Yaoguai but it could also resemble the mouth of a dragon, considering the high importance that these creatures have in Chinese Folkore and the fact that the Dragon Medallion was the object of desire for Frost in the Original Timeline.

Pure Ice:

The name is pretty descriptive already since it’s highly related to her ability, but what stands out the most is the Lin Kuei symbol on it, again, this mask is another that pays homage to her origins and how her destiny is tied with the clan she wants to rule over.

I would continue with her frozen cores but the issue is that the names they have are too specific and related with the origins of her technology so it is not exactly what I’m intended to talk about (and the names are also kinda confusing if you ask me).

#❄‖ ∵ ｈｏｗｗｉｎｔｅｒｆｉｌｌｓｍｙｂｏｎｅｓ∴ — headcanon.#((omg this got longer than expected))

4 notes · View notes

fakexface · 5 years ago

Text

Post Season 8

•As the weeks pass, construction is underway to rebuild the damaged parts of the city. Cersei is kept in her newly appointed chambers; Qyburn is kept in the cells along with Euron Greyjoy. During these weeks, the Lords and Ladies of Westeros are brought in.

•Rhaegar discovered a very nearly dead Ellaria within the cells; he ordered her to be taken for immediate attention and to be nursed back to health. By the time of Rhaegar’s coronation, she is able to hold herself upright and feed herself, though she is still too weak to walk on her own. Whenever she sees Trystane and her daughters, she breaks down in sobs. She can be seen sitting beside Trystane in a wheeled chair, with her daughters standing behind her.

•Lady Sansa and Bran had made their way to King’s Landing in lieu of the battle, as well as: Robin Arryn, current Lord Paramount of the Vale: Gendry Baratheon, the new Lord Paramount of the Stormlands: Tyrion Lannister, current Lord Paramount of the Westerlands: Edmure Tully, current Lord Paramount of the Riverlands: Lord Bronn of the Blackwater, current Lord Paramount of the Reach: Tristan Martell, the Prince of Dorne: and Yara Greyjoy, Queen of the Iron Islands. Each house is present for the coronation ceremony, as well as all of King’s Landing. Sansa, Bran, Arya, and Jon stand to the side closest to the dais upon which the Iron Throne sat. Daenerys stands to Rhaegar’s right, dressed in a gown of rich ruby and black, the Targaryen colors; a circlet of silver sits upon her brow daintily, and a cloak of black trails from her shoulders with the Targaryen house sigil upon it.

•Samwell Tarly begins the coronation, seeing as how there is no longer a high septon. Rhaegar kneels before Sam and swears his oaths: to lead Westeros into an era of peace, to rule justly. He wears no armor, but rather, a high collared black tunic, black trousers, and a ruby red cloak that falls from his shoulders. Sam places the crown of silver and ruby upon his brow, speaking his title loud and clear: Rhaegar of House Targaryen, First of his Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. The crowd erupts into cheers, and the sound of the dragons bellowing can be hear above it all as they fly over the coronation.

•Afterward, he calls a meeting with the Lord and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms. Here, he explains his plans: they would each choose one person to represent their kingdom, and that person will remain within King’s Landing, forming a Great Council of the Seven Kingdoms. This is met with surprise and confusion- what was the need for a great council? Rhaegar states that having one man rule over the seven kingdoms does not bode well with him- that the winds have changed, and a new era is upon them. He wishes to open up trade once more to allow the Seven Kingdoms to flourish as they once had, as well as open up pathways for growth. He now has many connections within Essos; Ser Barristan Selmy was currently on his way back to Meereen to check in on Daario Naharis and how the situation bodes there.

•He makes it clear that he does not want an answer right at that very moment- a celebration was underway, and he wished to be with the people. But it was something that they need to think on; he would want an answer by the end of the week. He leaves the lords and ladies to talk amongst themselves. Sansa follows after him, calling out to him. She states that the North wishes to be independent. Rhaegar nods in understanding, and agrees that the North should be independent- it has practically been so since it’s creation. He will leave the details for her to discuss with her siblings, and to bring him their final decision whenever they make it.

•Rhaegar can then be seen doing what he once loved to do- be among the people. He stopped and talked, sharing stories and laughs. The people accept him quickly, as stories of his generosity had never died out.

•Later, he can be seen standing before the Iron Throne. Jaime Lannister approaches him and asks when he will be knighted once more, to which Rhaegar replies with a simple “now”. He turns, drawing his blade. For a moment, Jaime thinks that Rhaegar means to strike him down, but instead, Rhaegar gestures for him to kneel without a word. He kneels, and it brings him back to the day he was first knighted at fifteen, with Rhaegar watching him. Now, so many years later, Rhaegar is the one holding the blade and repeating the oath. “In the name of the warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the Innocent. Arise, Ser Jaime Lannister, a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

•Jaime rises, and Rhaegar nods- once- before Jaime turns to leave, his head held high, shoulders squared. A knight once more.

•It is night when Daenerys finds Rhaegar sitting alone before the large painted Map of Westeros. The siblings sit in silence for a while before she speaks up, asking him what he intends to do. When he asks for clarification, she gives him a look- a knowing look. He responds that he will not choose an heir right now- there is too much happening, too much to be done. He leaves her to retire to his chambers for the night. Before he can leave, however, she asks him if it hurts to be here. He replies that it does- that he can still see Elia and Aegon and Rhaenys playing in the courtyard.•Come morning, the trials begin. The first one on the stand is Qyburn, who is found guilty on multiple accounts of manslaughter, of human testing, of abuse of power. He is sentenced to live out his days in the cells; Jaime adds that perhaps he should pray to his god for mercy. The next trial takes significantly longer, for it is Euron Greyjoy- who looks worse for wear, bruised and cut up. He is found guilty of kinslaughter, of piracy, of plotting against the rightful heir to the iron throne, of attempted murder, among other charges. He is sentenced to return to the Iron Islands with Yara and Theon; they will be the ones to determine what should become of him, whether he lives or dies.

•The final trial is Cersei Lannister. Jaime and Tyrion are both present for her trial. Cersei, smug, expects for her brothers to testify in her defense. Instead, neither do. They testify against her, much to her growing horror. She pleads with Jaime to not do this, but Jaime responds that this is the right thing to do- that what she has done can not be overlooked. It is a tearful betrayal for the twins. Rhaegar, aware of Cersei’s pregnancy, is hesitant to sentence her to death. Jaime asks that her sentencing be put off until she is able to give birth. Rhaegar agrees, and rather than sentence Cersei to death right then and there, sentences her instead to be sequestered in King’s Landing in a secret location that only a select few would know of. She would be watched day and night until she has given birth, after which her sentence shall be carried out: death. She asks if he will burn her in this very hall like his father liked to do. Rhaegar does not respond at first, drawing out the silence as the masses gathered strain to hear. He responds that dragonfire would be too merciful a death for her, and orders for her to be taken away.

•Later, after the trials have finished, Rhaegar meets with the Lords and Ladies of Westeros. They have come to an agreement- that yes, a Great Council would be the best decision. However, Sansa rises, stating that the North wishes to be independent. This causes an uproar, which Rhaegar quickly silences by agreeing with Sansa, explaining that the North has been practically independent since it’s beginning. No one is able to argue with this. Rhaeagar asks if they will still send a representative- Bran speaks up and states that that is the very reason he has come this far. Trystane Martell states that Obera Sand will remain in King’s Landing to represent Dorne. The other houses have not decided on who will be their representatives just yet. Rhaegar is pleased, and adjourns the meeting.

•The next manner of business is his Small Council; Daenerys remains as his hand, with Ser Davos Seaworthy becoming his Master of Ships, Tyrion becoming Master of Coin, Samwell Tarly becoming his Maester, Varys remaining his Master of Whispers. When asked who will be the Master-at-Arms and Master of War, Rhaegar replies that he has yet to talk to either person on this subject, and will speak with them shortly.

•He can then be seen approaching Brienne of Tarth, who is surprised to see Rhaegar. The two stand in comfortable silence, watching the reconstruction of portions of the Red Keep’s roof before Rhaegar asks Brienne to be his Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, surprising her. She responds that there could surely be someone better for the position. He counters by asking if Sansa had released her, to which she replies with yes. He then gives her a smile and states that someone who had defeated The Hound in combat, who had spent years protecting Sansa Stark, who fought and survived the Battle of Winterfell, and was knighted by Jaime Lannister is more than deserving of the role of Lord Commander. She accepts with a barely-hidden smile, which makes Rhaegar chuckle as he clasps her shoulder.

•He makes his way to visit with Jaime Lannister next, and does not allow for him to even think on taking up the role of Master-at-Arms. Rhaegar explains that he knows Jaime is a damned good fighter, having trained him himself when they were younger, and seeing him fight in the war against the dead solidified that. Jaime, surprised but honored, accepts the position. Rhaegar informs him that his duties begin immediately, and when Jaime does not move, Rhaegar leans close and whispers that immediately means now.

•Jon is summoned by Rhaegar that night; he wonders if he has done something wrong. Rhaegar greets him warmly, asking for him to take a seat, for there are matters that need to be discussed. Jon becomes worried that Rhaegar is going to send him away, and before Rhaegar can begin, asks if Rhaegar wants him to stay. Rhaeagar, surprised, replies that of course he wants him to stay- he is his son, after all, and he would like to get to know him- if he wishes to stay, that is. Jon takes a moment to respond before replying that he would like to stay. Rhaegar then asks him how he would feel about being his heir. Jon replies simply that he’s a bastard, and has not earned the Targaryen name. This baffles Rhaegar, who argues that he’s more than earned it, but seeing Jon uncomfortable with the mere thought has him second guessing himself. Jon admits that he thought Daenerys would be his heir.

•Rhaegar replies that, if Jon truly does not wish to be the heir to the Iron Throne- then he will give the position to Daenerys. Jon replies that he never wanted any throne, to be any sort of king or lord. That isn’t who he is. Rhaegar agrees after a moment, before asking one more question: if not a king or a lord, what about a Master of War? To which Jon, surprised but pleased, agrees- and for the first time, Rhaegar sees his son smile.

•Rhaegar approaches Daenerys in the morning, requesting that she join him for a walk through King’s Landing. The siblings take a leisurely stroll, accompanied by only two guards. The people respond better to Rhaegar than they did Cersei or Joffrey; Rhaegar pauses often to lend a hand. When a group of children run up to him, he kneels down, Daenerys following suit, and gives the children a few gold coins to go spend on sweets. They run off, and Rhaegar rises to his feet slowly. Daenerys finally asks him what this was about, to which he responds that he has chosen her to be his heir.

•She stills in place, looking at him as if he’s completely lost his mind, and asks him if this is some sort of joke, to which he replies that it isn’t. He’d spoken with Jon, who refused the throne. He then tells her that he had always planned on naming her his heir, seeing as how it is more than likely that he will not have any more children. She asks if the Hand can also be the Heir- Rhaegar replies that he isn’t sure, but he makes the rules now. She grins and agrees. He then begins to pry into her personal life with Jon Snow, to which she actively avoids and attempts to change the subject, drawing forth a laugh from the king.

•Months pass; King’s Landing is flourishing, with efforts being made to create a system to filter in clean water and filter out waste; Flea Bottom is currently being renovated and rebuilt. Trade routes have been reopened, and peace has finally come to the Six Kingdoms. The dragons have taken to staying in the Dragon Pits; Rhaegar finds himself wandering there often. Jon and Daenerys find him here, where he sits with Rhaenyx, the dragon sound asleep as Rhaegar plays a soft tune on a silver stringed lap harp. Rhaegar greets them by putting a finger to lips, a cue for them to be quiet. He rises, slowly, and motions for them to follow. He leads them into the tunnels beneath the Dragon Pits, and to Daenerys and Jon’s surprise, he leads them to a clutch of dragon eggs- four, to be exact. He isn’t sure who laid them, but they are here and very much alive.

•Daenerys becomes distracted by the eggs, which allows Jon to take Rhaegar aside and quietly asks Rhaegar’s permission to take Daenerys as his wife. Rhaegar, unsurprised, tells Jon that he was fairly certain he’d given him his blessing by not having him killing on the spot for taking his sister to bed on the boat. Jon flushes and becomes embarrassed. Rhaegar laughs, and the trio make their way to the surface. Jon and Daenerys leave Rhaegar, who stands amongst the three dragons, and for the first time in a very long time, finds himself at peace. He climbs atop Rhaenyx, who is now awake, and takes to the skies over King’s Landing, soaring over Jon kneeling before Daenerys, over Brienne of Tarth training new knights, over Jaime Lannister holding his newborn daughter and watching Brienne, over Bran sitting alone in a garden, over Obera Sand sparring with Arya Stark, who is visiting, and out over the harbor. Rhaenyx releases a loud cry as they circle back around, Vhagon and Meraxal having come to join them in the air.

#Rhaegar Targaryen #jon snow #daenerys targaryen #rhaegar lives au #Jaime Lannister #brienne of tarth #game of thrones #game of thrones au #fakexface writing #my writing

10 notes · View notes

overlycaffeinatedwarmage · 5 years ago

Text

Curse the Dawn re-read

Curse the Dawn

Tarot Cards: The Emperor and Death. According to Cassie the Emperor stands for strength, assertiveness, and aggression. Perhaps a father figure, leader, king, or despot. The death card modifies the card and indicated a change in leadership coming. This can be taken at least two ways in this book. Cassie and Pritkin help Jonas Marsden overthrow the current leader of the Silver Circle. So, the current despot has been disposed. Also, Apollo, another leader figure, a god in this case, is effectively killed in this book. Also by Pritkin and Cassie. If we dig a little deeper we could say this applies to Cassie and Mircea’s relationship too. You’re seeing more and more of the cracks in it and his controlling nature. He’s ripe to be disposed as her lover. But that doesn’t happen for a bit.

Favorite chapter/scene/plot point: The entirety of the body swap. It’s not highbrow, but I love it. I love how Cassie deals with it (and how she doesn’t), how they deal with the intimacy of it. Everything. Also during that time we start to delve into both Cassie and Pritkin’s pasts a bit. Yay! At this point in the series we know very little about either of them.

Also, I love how Cassie and Pritkin kill a motherfucking GOD this book. They both know that, as weak as he is, they aren’t equipped to take him head on so they get creative. They get him away from people and then flush him down the metaphysical toilet. Classic. This entire book is classic Cassie/Pritkin and that’s why I love it so much!

Favorite quote: “Why do these plans of yours always involve me getting naked?!” Cassie arguing with Pritkin. I love it because he throws it back at her (in a flirty context) two books later. SWOON!

MVP (not including Cassie): I want to give it to Daikoku, but Pritkin more than earns it.

Interesting bits I noticed this time ‘round: The “Blue Tornado” when the lay line burst was probably Apollo. This whole description in chapter six is a lot like Ares in RtS. Now that I know what to look for it’s really obvious. Damn you’re sneaky KC!

The power answers Cassie regularly in this book. She just doesn’t realize it.

Johnny Cash music made an appearance in this book too!

The taco cart is in this book! It’s called Tombstone Taco.

“Delusions of grandeur” someone’s a Star Wars fan!

Cassie’s trauma is showing so much in this book. She’s afraid to get close to Pritkin or Mircea because she’s afraid that means she’ll lose them. Also losing Pritkin in the next book was totally foreshadowed.

Mircea is keeping stuff from her this book. All the time. Lots of guilded cage type comments. I think this is about the time I started to dislike him. It just rubs me the wrong way and reminds me of controlling ex’s.

Jonas assumes Cassie and Pritkin are a couple. He doesn’t show Cassie to her own room because he assumes she’s sharing with Pritkin. I mean they bicker like a couple and based on his own history I can see why he made that assumption.

Mircea and Marlowe are pissed that Cassie brought Jonas back. They wanted Saunders to be Lord Protector because they could manipulate him better. Have I mentioned that I don’t like Mircea lately? Because I don’t.

Pritkin trusts Cassie so much. When they swap spirits back, finally, it’s just natural. It didn’t work before then because he had his guard up because of everyone else.

My heart breaks when Pritkin claims that his life isn’t worth that much. UGH

The Badlands are totally foreshadowed here. Chapter 22, Pritkin talks about ghosts fading to other realms.

What further research did this book inspire (historical, mythological, etc): Jonas’ doormat says “Cave Canem” which means “Beware Dog” (yes I googled it).

Unanswered questions:

Cassie’s parents were both tall, how did she wind up short?

When is Roger from? Is he from Cassie’s present or her future? The distant past? Nothing about his story says that he has to be from the era you’d expect him to be from. Personally, I think he’s from the future because why not. I saw a Q&A about his family being an interesting topic. I can’t wait until we find out more about him.

What are Pritkin’s favorite swears??

#cprr19 #cassie palmer #karen chance #curse the dawn

19 notes · View notes

derkastellan · 5 years ago

Text

BattleTech: The Star League - an exercise in advanced Fridge Logic

“I’ve considered “BattleTech: Star League” an all-time great sourcebook. It tells the origin story of the whole BattleTech universe up until the First Succession War. It also explains the full story behind General Kerensky’s Exodus, a major plot point repeatedly referred to in books, finally detailed.

Back then when I got the book originally in the 90s I might not have really known that this was a setup to follow up with the Clan Invasion era of BattleTech. Or maybe I personally got it after that had already been launched. When it was released in 1988 the timeline shifted into the Fourth Succession War and there had been release referring to that mythical Star League.

Some books don’t fare as well when being re-read decades later, and “The Star League” is not an exception, though I have to admit I might be applying impossibly high standards...

Don’t think about it too hard

One talks of “fridge logic” when you set a piece of fiction aside, go to the fridge, and realize that the inner logic of the work does not quite add up. The point of fridge logic is that it is sufficiently convincing to keep you absorbing a piece of fiction but you might end up taking it apart later.

I’ve also been re-reading the Warrior Trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole and reminiscing about “Heir of the Dragon”. While Stackpole’s novels about the Fourth Succession War lay out a template for other BT novels, they also skew the setting heavily, completely upend its balance. “Heir to the Dragon” contrives as hard as it can to construe a War of 3039 that restore the setting balance long enough for it to persist until the events of 3050 - the Clan Invasion. In hindsight that book is full of fridge logic it seems unfair to call out “The Star League” but here I am.

It’s any author’s prerogative to time situations to maximize drama, to have events happen in a convenient way, to maximize the impact of a work of fiction. If there is too much of that with events happening all-too-convenient, we talk about a “deus ex machina.” The authors of “The Star League” (SL from now on) were trying hard to avoid that and to have a string of logical-seeming events follow like pearls on a chain. But when you look too close, it all comes apart...

Setting and world design can often become subservient to requirements of the plot. As I said, SL tries hard to avoid that, but it doesn’t quite accomplish it. The events I will focus on are the Periphery Uprising and the Amaris Coup (also names of chapter headings). These are part of the climax and are supposed to explain the downfall of the marvelous Star League itself.

What is needed?

The SL was the most advanced golden age of mankind, but the standard setting of BT in the 80s was an era of technological decline and petty scuffles. The challenge for the authors was to explain not only the rise of such a realm but describe its fall in a way that the downward spiral seems inevitable.

The original realm at the heart of human-occupied space, the Terran Hegemony, had to vanish through the course of events because the map of 3025 existed long before the map of 2781. For this to happen it was not enough to let a line of royal succession end, a whole realm had to collapse. Also, the end of the SL had already been blamed vaguely on treachery and so the story of that treachery had to be set up.

Furthermore, the fall from glory was a great opportunity for memorable drama, the end of a golden age, after all, and the preclude for centuries of war.

There was only one problem: the SLDF.

The Star League Defense Forces were not only the most advanced but also basically the biggest fighting force in the BT history, led by brilliant General Kerensky. You cannot set that up and then hand-wave your way out of that setup. But the authors kind of did.

The basic plot points of the Periphery Uprising

The Periphery realms are exploited by the Inner Sphere lords and businesses for their own gain, resentment builds.

The ruler of the SL dies, orphaning his son. General Kerensky is named Protector of the Realm and the young lord his ward, but circumstances pretty much prevent the general from executing any of these duties.

Stefan Amaris, the leader of the Rim Worlds, conspires with other Periphery governments to ultimately achieve independence.

He befriends the future lord of the SL, a lonely minor and orphan. He proceeds to manipulate the young lord and gain influence over him.

A tense stand-off between the SLDF and Periphery rebels develops, including terrorism against the SLDF.

Suddenly 50 full mech divisions of fighting force appear that have been secretly built up and end up destroying almost as many divisions of SLDF forces scattered throughout the periphery. (There’s roughly 100 divisions of the SLDF in the periphery according to the book.) Where they cannot defeat the SLDF directly they drop prohibited nuclear bombs and move on.

[EDIT: To put this number into context: “ At its peak prior to the Clan Invasion, the AFFC represented the largest single military since General Aleksandr Kerensky took most of the Star League Defense Force beyond the Periphery, with over 268 BattleMech regiments.” (from: sarna.net) In the BT universe, according to the same source, a division is made up of 3 brigades, and a brigade of 3 regiments. Even if we assume that only 1 out of 3 brigades in a division is a mech brigade - after all a tank division does not consist entirely of tanks! - we still might be contemplating 150 mech regiments - a bit less than the Draconis Combine at the beginning of the First Succession War. Supposedly the Draconis Combine was involved in providing those mechs. Would they supply as many as they have themselves out of pure greed??]

Meanwhile Amaris’ Rim Worlds are suspiciously peaceful and the young lord calls in Amaris’ troups to protect the Hegemony as more and more troops of the SLDF leave it to fight in the Periphery Uprising.

In the final act, Amaris personally murders the young ruler, abusing his trust, and lets his troops enact a coup, almost completely overcoming the unsuspecting local forces (which they outnumber 2:1).

These are the events that earned Amaris the “honorific” the Ursurper and the events that follow see the destruction of the Hegemony in the liberation campaign, ending with a drive for freeing Earth itself and killing Amaris.

Why it doesn’t work

The bigger a conspiracy is the more likely it is that somebody talks. Supposedly the conspiracy involved...

the governments of all four periphery realms,

the members of dozens of independence movements spread over 1,000s of light years,

the militias and their many thousands or more members,

the personnel of half a dozen major merchant companies,

most of the military of the Rim worlds,

the members of those 50 divisions, and

their mercenary company trainers.

We are supposed to believe that the SL intelligence services were not capable to undermine a conspiracy numbering in the millions, that nobody went rogue, nobody talked. None of the Rim Worlds soldiers ever got drunk and said too much to a local during a night of debauchery of any kind. Nobody ever went to the authorities.

Not only that, all these people either enlisted in the plan or kept quiet for money.

The SL is concerned where certain shipments of battlemechs are going but cannot squeeze it out of a single crew member even though they know who handled the shipments.

Amaris explicitly betrays a major independence movement but everyone else sticks to the plan.

There is enough black money moved around to fund not only the independence movements, but 50 divisions of battlemechs and more. The equipment is bought, so is the silence of those transporting it, and finally these people are trained in the Deep Periphery for years - which means building bases to host them on unsettled worlds beyond realm borders, requiring a constant stream of resources to sustain them.

Nothing of that left a trail for SL intelligence to follow?

We’re talking sums of money probably equivalent to the budget for the SLDF because these troops have to be created anew. In other words, vast amounts. How do the governments change their spending unnoticed? The SL does not do basic accounting? [EDIT: According to sarna.net the SLDF at its peak fielded 125 battle mech divisions. This is the result of 1 1/2 centuries of military spending. The Periphery governments are supposedly capable of creating 40% of that force on-the-fly with a training program hosted by a few mercenary units. How can you effectively train so many soldiers, especially to fight as large formations, without having an organization to match the SLDF or a major house military? It’s doubtful any Inner Sphere lord could match this feet - because they never have. If this was easily possible, why not double your own forces “in secret?”]

And here’s the worst part: It is established that the periphery is actually being exploited by the Inner Sphere for their own gain, so this major spending comes while essentially massive amounts of riches are funneled away anyway, in times of exploitation.

Does this really make sense? Do people take part in a scheme that takes a decade to unfold, including five years of separation from loved ones for many of them? Can the personnel of 50 divisions really be hidden in the ranks of staff of half a dozen transporting companies?

(Also: Take for example the American War of Independence. Roughly a third of the people of the Colonies were Loyalists. Even in occupied populaces resenting their occupiers you would have some people actively collaborating with their oppressors. Even more - many periphery worlds owe the SL for either being settle-able or for making their lives a lot easier through things like cheap water purification technology...)

More fridge logic

Other facts that have been established:

The SL has entrenched its troops in fortifications in the periphery.

The SL doctrine for fortifications is to enable troops to strike from hidden exits, not to lock itself in or simply concentrate its forces.

The prime fortifications of the SL, “Castles Brian”, are under mountains and underground with many tunnels and hidden exits.

So, can the rebels simply drop nuclear bombs on these guys “and move on?”

They can’t. These devices don’t raze mountains. Also you need a delivery vehicle. These fortifications should have had anti-air defenses, but even if not or if ineffective against the chosen delivery vehicle, they are still hidden behind tons and tons of rock.

The popular image of nuclear bombs is of an all-destroying force but this is not accurate. Militarily the stopping power of a nuclear bomb has been established and for use against armored forces like tank divisions the actual kill zone is rather small - like a third of a mile in diameter if I remember correctly. Take then into account that battlemechs are better armored and secured also against radiation than modern armored vehicles and they can even be made to operate in the vacuum of space. (And space and radiation go together...)

Furthermore, given that terrorist strikes have been an tactic mentioned within the same pages I’m covering here, including suicide attacks and a localized nuclear strike, which SLDF commander would not spread his or her forces to the best of their abilities to avoid vulnerability?

Thinking this further, the SLDF is operating in enemy territory - these people are bombing their own land. So they just blow up a few megatons next to their own population centers? Ignore the fallout on civilians that are entirely their own population??

It quickly becomes clear that this “tactic” is more a plot device than anything. These rebels are so unscrupulous and amoral, they can resort to things the SLDF wouldn’t do and therefore best it easily. This supposedly explains away all the advantages the SLDF enjoy - their stockpiles, technological superiority, fortifications, advanced training and doctrines, even the many years of actual combat experience.

The same plot device is used in how Amaris’ Rim Worlds troops eliminate resistance in the Hegemony. Now there’s less inhibition to use such weaponry given these are not their home worlds. But the other conditions still apply - especially since many of the Hegemony worlds explicitly have Castles Brian, and many several.

And regular plot convenience

Other things like the automated defense systems of the Hegemony were simple plot convenience, there to be ironically used against those that hoped to enjoy their protection. This helps explain the bloody and protracted campaign need to win the Hegemony back.

The Amaris Coup’s basic design depends on many things - including...

the greed of the Inner Sphere lords completely clouding their self-preservation. After all they sell materiel to staff 50 mech divisions when originally the presence of a single mech battalion in one periphery realm was almost a casus belli.

the continued cooperation and secrecy of all participants during the decade where Amaris unfolds his plan to win Richard Cameron’s confidence. What was the backup plan if that wasn’t possible?

the complete lack of anyone else caring even a little about Richard Cameron, like Kerensky doing his actual duties during this time period, especially given the fact that he’s supposedly meticulous, dutiful, and virtuous without measure.

the administration of the Hegemony not developing the least of initiative.

that the Kerensky reforms made the SLDF so dependent on his leadership he couldn’t delegate this duty to anyone else. What kind of genius makes themselves unreplaceable and traps themselves in a situation where they cannot serve their duties?

that nobody notices Amaris deploys double as many soldiers to the Hegemony than he originally stated. So nobody noticed the extra beds, extra meals, extra vehicles, extra battlemechs? Did half of them hide in the toilets and get their half-meals shoved under the door? These troops were housed on Hegemony territory and supplied by the Hegemony administration. How do you pull off such a sleight-of-hand?

We’re actually closing in on “deus ex machina” quick. Yes, such big plots are often contrived. But there is a measure, and if you look closely, this book does not come together as well as it seems.

Conclusion

Just as Kerensky’s Exodus, it’s best not to think too hard about how all of this is even possible or all unravels. It’s both disillusioning and concerning that this is still one of the best setting books I have ever read. For all its flaws it creates really a lot of good lore and has an engaging plot.

This is kind of what to expect when the broad strokes are already made and somebody has to fill them in. Kerensky’s Exodus or the sudden fall of the SL were outlined, and filling in the gaps makes kind of clear that this was a tall order. The book mostly succeeds, even. It just has to perform a few sleights of hand too many to get there...

[PS and foot note: I’m currently reading also bits of “BattleTech: Explorer Corps”. When reading about ComStar Primus Simms’ visions I noticed that in the BT universe if somebody has visions they are usually accurate and plot-relevant, linking plot elements without apparent cause. In “The Star League” one Cameron predicts the end of the Terran Hegemony, for example. Such visions usually revolve around elements whose meaning is clear in hindsight, like Simms’ seeing “visions of monsters” who really are the symbols or emblems of invading Clans. If we add Stackpole’s foray into a mystical duel between mech warriors defying scientific explanation (in the Warrior Trilogy between Yorinaga Kurita and both Kell brothers, Patrick and Morgan). From this we can conclude that deep down the BT universe has a supernatural element.]

#battletech #star league #fridge logic

2 notes · View notes