You know, on one hand I'm really happy with how this arc has gone and how Cat has become a more interesting character to follow again. On the other hand we've just traded one obtuse power set that seems capable of dealing with most problems she comes across for a new set that we dont know the rules for. All the tricks of night we've seen so far is kinda pushing it; but stealing revenants from the dead king? Now you're just making shit up as you go along.

 

Don’t call on the Sisters to guide you through portal making because you want to prevent them from falling prey to the Dead King. Proceed to have the two fight over control of a dead body, which is exactly how you lost your last bottomless source of primordial power. Yeah, okay Cat.

 

It seems like a fairly easy extrapolation from a power that lets you steal away things or people. We knew she picked up a thief power from the Thief of Stars' corpse. Cats already seen how much the thief power runs to, including stealing a sun and fleets, and poor Thief of Stars got stolen and stuffed into a bag before so stealing a person is completely possible.

Her new night power seems basically the same as the old winter one - they're all just a variation on stealing an aspect from a name. I think the new night one is slightly more powerful - it seems to deny the usage from the other named once she takes the aspect - but more limited in number of uses.

 

This right here. I was like what the fuck? That makes no sense.

 

For once in this thread can we all agree on the fact that that last chapter was brilliant?

 

Yes.

 

Spoiler: New Chapter

Welp didn't quite expect Archer to get gibbed like that

 

I mean, its unexpected but it also fits. The Dead king is aware of pilgrims resurrection trick so of course he would act to remove it. This shard of his consciousness is also kinda pissed at Cat so of course he'll be vindictive and force a lose lose situation for her.

I'm more interested in the fact that the way the dead king works is by splintering his will through his soul. Might explain how he's survived centuries of the bard and heroes trying to end him.

 

Masego's banter has definitely become top notch:

Spoiler

“Given such a premise, what reason do I have not to kill us both?” the Dead King said.

“Nothing,” Hierophant acknowledged. “You simply lack the ability-”

He paused, looking for something suitably pithy to add. Insults were pithy, he vaguely remembered quite a few of his friends using them.

“- you Jaquinite,” he scathingly added.

Spoiler

“You overestimate yourself,” the Dead King warned.

“Your secondary runic escapement patterns were subpar,” Masego scathingly said.

He was getting rather good at this pithy banter stuff, Hierophant mused.

He honestly remains one of my favorite characters, and I'm eager to have him back in the picture.

That said,

Spoiler

Fuck the Grey Pilgrim for waiting, and fuck the Wandering Bard for orchestrating it.

 

Fuck em' with a barbed dick. I feel like the waiting is what made the price what it was.

 

Yeap. And you can tell that was the plan. Can't wait for Cat to shove this in their faces as she tears them apart down the line.

 

I'm full on team Bard.

 

... that's banable right?

 

It should be, I think.

 

Larat you cheeky fucker. You pulled a Catherine.

 

I like Larat as much as Tyrant now, we'll probably see more of Ivan in the next chapter as well. PGtE has some great banter.

 

I guess I'm back.

A couple things to note. While I agree to a point that stabbing one another in the back right now isn't what anyone wants or needs, it needs to be noted that Cat's totally been ready and willing to screw with and subvert the heroes throughout all of this. It also deserves to be mentioned that, Dead King shard or not, Masego was totally up to some awful shit this entire time. We even get a scene where Archer made sure I wouldn't care when she got shot in the head awhile later by saying this shit:

Which, I mean, fuck Archer in general for that dumb statement, but more importantly, it's hilarious that she talks like fucking Akua isn't right over there and like Cat isn't 100% ready to forgive Black for everything he's ever done. Generally, I'd argue against betraying members of one's own group, especially while facing a greater threat, but let's still not pretend that the Woe don't do a lot to deserve it. Fun as watching him and the Dead King fight was, Masego's an utterly awful person.

The bigger issue, in my eyes, and the bigger question is--how does this effect the drow? Because remember--and I forgive you if you don't, because it's laughably stupid--but a big chunk of the drow's cooperation here is that Cat's giving them a new home, namely settling them in the Kingdom of the Dead, clearly the most desirable of real estates. Stupid as that is, they agreed, and part of that deal was that Masego was going to terraform the place with his nonsense magic, because remember, the Kingdom is a hellscape. The entire Island is poisoned with, and I quote, 'thick lingering green tendrils of something toxic fouling the air.' The surrounding lake is filled with festering corpses. The plains Keter once stood on have been reduced to cliffs by centuries upon centuries of mining that go so deep there's lava at the bottom, and behind the castle walls lays a permanent, gaping portal to Hell.

Masego's magic is gone now and if he still has his name at all, his Witness Aspect has been seemingly crippled and possibly other parts of it, and without him goes basically the entire deal with the drow and one of the foundational parts of the Accords, which potentially cripples Cat's side utterly.

I mean, it's not going to, I think we all know that--but if I was the drow right now, I'd be looking around and wondering what the heck was in this for me at this point, because everything's going to shit against the Dead King and they haven't even fought the guy yet.

 

I don't care if he was making dead baby soup. I'm firmly Team Woe.

 

Isn't that you already though, Cat?

Anyway, mostly a filler chapter, but a good filler chapter with some fun back and forth as we get to who puts on the crown. I actually think it was pretty damn well done, all told, it's just that parts fell flat for me, for the usual reasons. Like the usual 'You'll be buried in heroes!' excuse that I'm still waiting to have any actual weight to it and the wobbly power levels where we speak of how Sve Noc would be doomed against the real Courts, when really, the drow made the Fae look like punks when they just had the Night. Now they have the Night and Winter; add Twilight to that and it's hard to buy anyone doing jack shit to them, least of all any heroes.

I guess there's the story excuse, but I think everyone already knows my opinion on that dumpster fire.

 

Ryuugi is baaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!
Seeing his comment made me so happy to read this chapter.