He's Adjuntant

 

Adjutant is his Name, Deadhand is basically a nickname such as Sovereign of the Red Skies is for Warlock.

 

What may be confusing is that Adjutant is both his Name and his position. It's revealed when Cat and Hakram first meet Apprentice in Summerholm, IIRC.

 

Now I remember. It must have skipped my mind. Problem of serialised fiction I suppose.

 

Oh. Author confirmed no pattern of three between the Bard and Black. Not a significant enough rivalry by a long shot. Just Squire/Heiress and Squire/Swordsman.

 

Oh wow, it requires the sacrifice of a hero.

Does the Hashmallim spawn directly where he is?

Because if it does that would be very very bad for Catherine.

 

Interesting to note that both sides think they are fighting a losing battle.

 

Well, that was definitely not the retrieve I expected.

Spoiler

Hieress is quite hard on her minions. I did, however, chuckle when all the boats that Hieress' family had were dumped in the way (and then unceremoniously blown up).

 

Oxis of Evil is the GOAT. I thought it was a great chapter, lots of build up towards what's coming with The Lone Swordsman. I really want to see how it turns out with him.

 

Update is out, and the title is Red Skies. Gotta say I'm loving Warlock. Seeing how he got his name was beautiful, and his line on why they're different from the typical villain might be my favorite villainous boast yet:

Spoiler

“We will be different,” Apprentice said. “For the same reason we keep beating opponents out of our league. They think they’re strong because they’ve accumulated power and we haven’t, but that’s a fundamental misunderstanding. We’ve never used our own strength: we let Creation win for us.”

 

There was a double update. Read the chapter before that one too.

The Red Skies scene was pretty great though.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

Probably should've waited to read that until after my midterm, but ehhh... Was a good one, really looking forward to seeing how the chips fall when the battle is done.

 

Spotted this on a reread. Could be interesting, considering the story's approach and attitudes towards fantasy tropes.

 

That's that. Story is over. Nothing to see here folks.

Spoiler

I've been expecting this for weeks now. Super pumped to see what the plan actually is!

 

That last line was perfect though, really looking forward to seeing what comes next. And I'm glad they're giving the whole Rule of Threes it's due respect and weight, would've been very disappointing if it had been brushed aside.

 

As one reviewer stated:

I kind of agree with this. There is such a thing as too many cliffhangers. Furthermore, from a wider perspective the plot isn't really moving forward: we don't see much personal growth which would lead to Catherine ruling at some point, just an increasing number of injuries and disabilities. Finally, Heiress is not an interesting antagonist. From a different reviewer:

 

Any ruling would be done in a hypothetical book 3, and we know she would in that case both because she wants to and because Black wants her there. This is the climax of book 2, to determine whether or not Catherine actually does "break the spine" of the resistance over her knee and secure Callow for the Empire.

In this chapter alone, we've seen her essentially win the battle for the city and all its mundane forces, including the demons, with only mop up left to do that can be done off-screen.

As for Catherine and disabilities:

Spoiler

I'm giddy. Doesn't this lead back to a potential analysis as to whether the Ro3 applies to the Name or to the person? Ro3 applies just enough to bring Catherine back from the dead (because she was still in one with Heiress). Now, if Childer has picked up Squire, shouldn't the loss go to Childer?

It's now confirmed there is a White Knight so there's no advancement paths for Catherine from Squire. In other words, Squire is useless for her (since it doesn't seem likely she intends to kill Black to free up that spot). I still think the 'Warlord' name that's been thrown around is foreshadowing.

As for disabilities, well, apparently, that's the province of Good. And she's just about to storm into a place where Good is present. And honestly, Catherine certainly seems to have a plan to reverse what's happened to her. Her previous plan worked out well (you PLANNED to become an undead abomination?) or at least, successfully. The new one could, too.

 

Spoiler

Necromantic constructs have been a thing for enough time that this was an obvious possiblility (Hakram's hand, Chider, hypothetical prosthetic for Cat's limp). And good to see that whoever in this thread was right about Heiress' plan being to usurp the name of Squire and give it to Chider. Real question is whether or not this counts as Catherine discharging her loss to Heiress, and if Cat will pick the name of Squire back up (to continue the storyline of will she kill Black or not), or grab a new name (Warlord seems to be the favorite).

 

I'm hoping that she becomes the Grey Knight.

Spoiler

Heiress and the Swordsman are traditional incarnations of the good/evil dichotomy, the conflict between Praes and Callow, and are directly involved with the angels and demons who built creation.When Catherine wins, she overturns all of this and steps into a new paradigm built by Black and Co.

 

I was kind of guessing Death Knight, but I suppose it's still up in the air!

But yeah, Heiress feels too much like a starter villain? She's supposed to represent the storybook Evil tendencies of the tower but there's just not much there.