Letting a primordial out simply to study it is just what I want from the third act. After getting good with the basics (arc 1) and then becoming an expert (arc 2), it's time for Zorian to be a legend.

And two things are finally upcoming. One, Silverlake finally has something important to offer to the Loop Boys. And two, they could definitely use Daimen's help. It's about time Zorian resolved the problems he has with this family.

 

I expect Zorian to prove himself better than his brother, though only in some aspects if Daimen is as good as everyone tells he is, but ultimately realize it's pointless for him to always compare himself to his oldest sibling. It fits the main theme of learning, be it to be a better mage or a person.

That said, I would like the moment when Zorian proves himself to be the better of the two to be something really awesome.

 

How cool would it be if Damien turned out to be Red Robe, though? Pssh, I don't need it to make sense. My hopes and dreams are enough.

 

I thought his name was Daimen o.o. I might be wrong though.

In any case, I've rediscovered my interest in this fic after dropping off around chapter 45 and reread from the beginning up until the most recent chapter.

I'm actually looking for quite the opposite with the upcoming "confrontation" with Daimen. I'm actually looking more for awkward family interactions/dynamics, especially when/if it becomes clear that Zorian is just as talented, if not more talented than Daimen. Despite their rather neglectful treatment of him, one can't argue that the Kazinskis weren't the most terrible family. They provided for Zorian and financially supported him, at the very least, which is better than some families.

I'm also curious as to how Daimen will be portrayed. For all we know, Zorian could be very unreliable with his descriptions of Daimen, considering his dislike for his family. I'm fairly certain that his family treats him the way they do in part because of his attitude towards him. Familial relationships are a two-way street after all.

I don't know quite what to expect, and that's what makes me anticipate the next chapter the most TBH.

 

There's been so much build up around Daimen, it seems like there's got to be something more to his character than just what we've heard so far - something more than just "famous older brother" - some kind of twist.

 

About time we got to meet daimen! Still hoping for a duel with Zach || Zorian but I guess that's tabled for the next update

 

Oh! That worldbuilding post finally comes into play.
https://motheroflearninguniverse.wordpress.com/2016/07/

Spoiler

Hm, actually I might be wrong on if the Sulrothum are connected to the magical bees at all, but if they're connected and the sapient species are being controlled, and apparently they place importance on sapience/sentience? Zorian could use that to have them help him steal a key from them or something.

 

So Damien is psychic and getting married to the heiress of a family that uses "secret family magic" to control insects. He has abandoned his work to spend time with her, and is rushing into a wedding. I hate saying the obvious, but anyone else think they may have put a compulsion on him to keep him around as breeding stock?

Other than that possibility he seemed pretty cool. But yeah, with their history I can see why Zorian would hate him.

 

Huh. So I was kinda right about the awkward family dynamic?

That actually really makes me look forward to Chapter 67, if only for the hilarity that will ensue because of Zorian's gift.

The one thing I'm confused about, though, is how they managed to reach Koth. I'm not sure if there was a little timeskip towards the end of the chapter and it's almost towards the end of the restart when they reach Koth through the Bakora gates or whatever, but it seems as though Zorian and Zach just managed to magically appear there without reason. Is there some sort of "teleport to simulacrum" spell that I missed in previous chapters?

 

I get why you want that Cheddar, but I don't think it is going to happen. Zorian just showed up and gave his fiance's family his teenage porn. He took that bullshit stunt with barely a grumble before laughing it up. If my brother pulled that he would be getting a bloody nose as soon as possible, not an invitation to come inside and meet everyone else.

Beyond that, in the last chapter Zorian felt that Daimen would help him and Zach if they asked. He can't be that bad of a person if Zorian can expect help from him.

 

How is Daimen psychic while still having such large mana reserves? Wasn't there something about an inherited witch bloodline being responsible for the psychic abilities and using up a large portion of Zorian's mana reserves as a result?

 

I think you've forgotten things about when Zorian first learned he was an empath. The vast majority of people that have it naturally have a mild version which displays itself in increased social ability, so if Daimen inherited that there's a very good chance that he may not even be aware of his ability just like how Zorian wasn't aware of it and his was more blatant. Plus even if he is aware, he would do as Zorian did and check the human literature on the subject, which would be lacking and not tell him about it's greater abilities.

Daimen not knowing it would also be something for them to bond over, as it would be something that Zorian would be superior in which seems like it's something his character needs given he compares himself to how talented his brother is mentioned to be.

 

Finally we meet Daimen. No twists for now as he's pretty much exactly as Zorian presented him to be.

Him having psychic talents isn't unexpected, but as some mentioned, considering his mana reserves he probably should only have a very low level initial abilities. How good he's now is an open question, but I would prefer if he's just decent by human standards which means he's pretty bad by Zorian and other experts'.

 

I do somewhat agree with this, although I will point out that Zorian's parents are pretty much in the "yeah no I still won't like my parents no matter what" pile.

And I'd also point out that the opposite is true in the story as well. Benisek used to be Zorian's "best friend", but then as Zorian grows to see that he's really partly a leech and partly a person more concerned with drama and gossip than success through the time loop he pretty much abandons him.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Zorian pretty much doesn't interact with anyone that he used to be friends with pre-time loop. Granted, the list isn't long, but...

Taiven- pretty much doesn't interact with her ever since he managed to overtake her in combat magic. Even despite her admission that Zorian was perhaps the best friend she had. Granted, the nature of the time loop means that Zorian has little time for emotional attachments (ironic as that might be), but even still it's kind of a shame that this chapter was the first we've seen of Taiven in many many chapters, if my memory isn't failing me.

Akoja- Probably a slight exception to the rule considering the date, but even that was forced on him by the simulacrum.

Benisek- addressed.


That's... actually it, now that I'm thinking about it, which makes it a pretty pitiful list.

 

Bloodline abilities take up some mana reserves, but it isn't a percentage. We know this because Zorian is quite insistent that Zach would benefit more from bloodmagic rituals than he would. It is probably just a large hunk of Zorian's reserves, to someone like Zach, the loss of mana wouldn't even be worth mentioning.

After rereading the chapter, I don't think Daimen is trained in his psychic abilities and willing to use them casually. If he was, then he surely would have tried probing Zorian's mind when asking if he was sent by their parents.

I should have known better, but the idea that Neolu could become a mildly important character took me by surprise this late in the story.

 

Actually, reading what others posted about Damien being psychic and his mana reserves, I must say that I never thought about that particular point. I completely missed it. But now that it has been confirmed that Damien is psychic like Zorian, but still has noticeably larger mana reserves than him, the first thing that comes to my mind is that Zorian may have inherited more from his witch bloodline than just psychic powers.

It was never stated that witches couldn't have more than one bloodline ability or that witch families with inherited magical abilities couldn't marry other witch families with inherited magical abilities. Even if that were the case, and they couldn't marry each other, it has been stated before that when magic abilities popped up out of nowhere that that usually meant that there was more to their family lineage, meaning that if a witch family decided to adopt a son like was done with Kael, that person could have witch blood in them and not know so, and then the above scenario could happen.

As for what the other bloodline magic could be if it exists, I'm betting on something to do with souls. And I say so, for the following reasons:

1. When both Zorian and Zach got hit by the same soul meld spell, Zorian recovered A LOT quicker than Zach, despite Zach being the one with a marker supposed to protect him from soul tampering.

2. Something about Briam's fire drake getting along so well with ONLY Zorian, has always felt a bit off to me. I guess it could come from the fire drake sensing that Zorian would respect his personal space and not bother him, unlike maybe the other students, but it still bothers me and makes me feel that there might be a magical reason for it. If Zorian has a magical ability dealing with souls, the fire drake might sense that from Zorian and not be as confrontational or hostile.

3. No one has ever been there to compare and see if Zorian is learning soul awareness and magic faster than normal. Think about it, Alanic has been teaching him, but can only see his progress through month-long increment which he promptly forgets. Before knowing about the time loop he was just suspicious about Zorian knowing so many things he could only have learned from him and after the time loop, he might have only attributed his fast progress to the radical new methods they were using or to prior experience from past lessons. When Zach started to learn soul magic, Zorian was promptly put through the radical new method (which Zach couldn't use due to his fully functional marker), so we never got a comparison of their learning speeds in the field.

4. So far, Zorian has been prevented from learning Soul Sight, when such a skill would be very useful for him at the moment. Could it be, that if he gets Soul Sight (possibly through a ritual Silverlake might know), he might awaken his latent potential in the field of Soul Magic?

 

I just realized that it's been a while since someone told Zorian how much he changed from their perspective. The last chapter had a humorous scene where Taiven said he has become a scary person, but to her it was probably anything but funny. It's one thing to deal with his sudden development of skill, it's another when he casually considers killing and kidnapping. And she's aware of the time loop.

Now, what would be a reaction to the same Zorian's attitude from someone who is not? It may just be an angle for his recent meeting with his brother. Yes, he's probably going to be surprised by his magical abilities, but what will be Daimen's reaction when they would find themselves in a dangerous situation and he discover that his little brother is a cold-blooded killer who casually murders people he considers his enemies?