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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years ago

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B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #viren #harrow #rayla #runaan #callum #claudia #soren #lujanne #moonshadow elves #aaravos

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writeforself · 6 years ago

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Sleep Talking

Natakas x Reader

A/N: This is probably the first one I’ve finished in one sitting. Wow. I’m still in denial btw.

p.s. Set in the end of ep2

“I will meet you two there later.”

Standing in your hideout in Achaia, Kassandra says with a smile. She has business to attend to, being a famous misthios, she always has. Another bandits to kill in the west of Achaia, you were there when she took the job, accepting it as soon as a bag of drachmes was dangling in front of her.

You didn’t mind that; you needed the drachmes, Achaia had not been treating you well since you set foot here. When you arrived not long ago, a group of bandits ambushed you in the woods, if your hadn’t been thinking about the message you and Kassandra received, you wouldn’t lose all the drachmes on you. You were just glad Kassandra caught you up in time and saw the bandits disappear in the thick green. The rest of that unfortunate day was full of exchange of “Malakas” and “I’m sorry.”

You didn’t mind. In fact, you were thinking about another subject Kassandra had discussed with you the other night. She was drunk; you were on Adrestia, celebrating defeating another pirate ship on your way to Achaia. Barnabas had been distributing several cups of wine around the crew.

“So you think it’s them?”

Between the conversation she turned and asked you, with that smug smile of hers lightened up by the fire. She is your dear sister, but that smile annoys you, always does.

“Could be. They are the only people we know who would send this kind of mysterious message.” With the papyrus in hand, you tried to identify the handwriting on it, with the memory of their handwriting in the cave in Makedonia.

You felt someone pushing your shoulder. It was Kassandra, chuckling softly, obviously drunk.

“So are you going to tell him?” “Tell him what?” You wished you were drunk enough to handle this question. “Oh, come on, it’s an open secret!” She laughs and giggles like a mischievous little child, sometimes it makes you wonder who is the older one. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You turned your head away, shifting your focus back to the papyrus. “Bah, you’re no fun.” She turned back to rejoin the celebration

***

Now you are here with him, you cannot stop thinking about what Kassandra had said. It makes you anxious, not just about your apparent distracted mind, but also about the dire situation. It hadn’t occurred to you when you went to search the information of the Tempest with Kassandra and him. Not until now as Kassandra seems eager to leave you alone.

You feel someone staring at you, and you realise Darius is already gone.

“Take care of [Y/N] for me, Natakas. I’ll meet you in Dyme before you know it.”

Before you even has the chance to protest, she is already running off with her full speed, and disappears from your sight within a second.

He laughs and you sigh. Without further conversation, you follow Kleta to the villages she talked about.

It is a peaceful tiny village by the shore. At first you are surprised that how close it is to Kephallonia. You have heard about that island for thousands of times. Where Kassandra grew up always fascinates you because it sounds completely different from Sparta.

Kleta points out a house located on the hill beside the village. Looking from below you could already imagine the magnificent view you could overlook up there. You haven’t paid attention to Kleta’s words, your thoughts are all over the place. When you finally wander back to the reality, She is already leaving the town, waving goodbye from the other side of the bridge.

“You seem excited.” Natakas chuckles. It reminds you of that pleasant evening in Makedonia. “I just have a lot of things in mind.” You reply. Remembering he’s leaving tomorrow. “The view up there must be amazing.” Trying to distract yourself from the melancholy raising inside you. “Yes, it’s a beautiful place.” He seems unsettling. You wonder what’s on his mind. “Kassandra should be here right now.”

Turns out Kassandra arrives when the sun is about to set, just in time for enough daylight to climb up the hill. After exchanging a few words about the house, you head on inside. When you see the amphoras lying on the ground, you almost feel relief, crossing your finger hoping it is carrying wine inside. You want to drink, forget the doubts and troubles that has been clouding your mind since you arrived in Achaia. You all want to drink, to have a great night before parting for eternity. To leave a splendid memory of each other and hold dearly forever.

You have never seen Natakas like this. His imitation of Darius is perfect that makes you and Kassandra burst out laughing. You can’t remember the last time laughing like this. Maybe the wine is working its magic inside you. However, you are still bothered by all the worries. You decide to sneak out of the party and climb up to the roof. It is not a safe task to perform while being drunk, but the night wind has sobered you up a bit. When you finally reach the roof, you lay down an amphora beside you, pouring wine into the kylix till its full.

That night in Makedonia was much like this, but instead you were on Adrestia drinking with the crew, with them already gone.

The only thing that comforted you after the last separation, was that you would always stand under the same sky, the same night sky where you laugh and talk about life beside the bonfire. Yet you are not sure this time you would have the same optimistic attitude.

With the breeze brushing across your skin, you try to hum the song Kassandra always hum when she stands by the sea. Its rhythm and melody are soothing and calming. Eventually you lay your head down on the ground, with only the stars in your sight. Gently, slowly, quietly, you drift into a sweet slumber. Hypnos closes your eyes with his tender fingers.

***

“Where is [Y/N]?” It takes a while for Natakas finally notices your disappearance. But Kassandra has seen your exit, she is still sober.

“Sneaked out. Probably asleep on the roof.” She takes another drink and places the kylix on the table. “[Y/N] does that when she’s drunk.”

She wipes off the remaining wine hanging on the corner of her lips, prepares to set out again.

“I need to go now, need to prepare for tomorrow.” “What about [Y/N]?” Natakas looks confused. “Just bring her back to me in one piece tomorrow.” She grabs her spear and fixates it on her back. “That won’t be an issue.” He laughs, waving his hands urging Kassandra to go.

“Oh, by the way,” When she reaches the door, she turns back and walks toward Natakas. She leans closer to him, and whispers playfully into his ears. “She talks when she sleeps. And none of them are lies.”

Natakas looks puzzled, but the smile still clings upon his lips. His brown eyes shine with curiosity, glowing beside the candle light.

“My father does that too.” He laughs, and bids goodbye to Kassandra who runs away into the dark.

When he makes his way up to the roof, you are lying soundly under the night sky. The temperature in the air is perfect for sleeping outside. He goes down to grab a pillow and places it under your head. Sensing the motion, you remain asleep, but turn toward him and mumble a few words.

“Leaving again tomorrow.” He sighs, turns to you, gazing at your countenance, thinking, talking to himself, and chuckles. “I was hoping to hear something from you. Kassandra said you talk while you sleep.”

He stretches his hands toward you, but decides to reach for the empty kylix and amphora lying next to you, to place them beside him.

Maybe tonight reminds him of the night in Makedonia. Gazing the stars, remembering your expression when you tasted the food he cooked, the sparkle in your eyes that lightened up the dark night.

“Natakas don’t.”

Finally, you utter some words. He turns to you waiting for further movement, not expecting to see something dripping down from your cheeks.

You are trembling. He is panicking.

“Don’t go.”

You whisper. Probably suffering in a nightmare, the rhythm of your breath turns into a mess. He’s shocked. Looking around for Kassandra’s trace, but she was long gone.

In the end, he puts up his courage, and places his hand on your head, gently rubbing the soft hair of yours, still looking around, now trying to find something to say.

Thankfully, you soon return to a calm state. Inhaling and exhaling, it seems that you‘re sleeping soundly, but he senses some quivers through his fingers resting on your head. He pauses, remains silent for a long while. Eventually he turns back to you, opens his mouth, hoping his words would drift away with the evening breeze.

“I won’t.” He pauses once more, seems to regain confidence. Finally he smiles again. “Trust me.”

#natakas x reader #natakas #assassin's creed imagine #ac oddysey #assassin's creed odyssey #Assassin's Creed

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