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[RT][HF] A Practical Guide to Evil Book 3: Chapter 62: Verse
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Author: u/Yes_This_Is_God *
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URL: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/chapter-62-verse/
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Score: 51
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Created: 2018-01-29T05:05:05
Post:
Comments:
u/ForgottenToupee [+18] (23 minutes later)
I think this chapter confirms that Cat will transition into the Black Queen. That paragraph about branding Black’s soul had a similar feel to what happened to Masego when he witnessed the sorcery that put Liesse into flight.
u/M3mentoMori [+12] (51 minutes later)
Agreed. Cat's inexplicable annoyance at not being in command, her mentioning that the Black Knight is the right hand of the Dread Emperor, the voice in her head that wants her to order Black to live, her mantle as Duchess of Moonless Night... Too many things pointing toward that particular transition.
I think Black will die at the hands of Diabolist as part of the latter's plan to break Cat. Black dying will cause Cat to transition, probably after Akua has already rendered her helpless, setting up for Cat to embrace the ruling potential mentioned above and transition into Black Queen. I imagine the transition point will be her commanding Black to get back up in her grief.
That's solid enough that I'm more curious about who the antagonists will be after Ubua's suicide. Warlock seems very likely, as does Ranger, Scribe and Procer. Malicia and Assassin are less certain. For the former, Malicia is genre-savvy enough that she might semi-peacefully step down, or she might feel the need to oppose Cat. Assassin is too much of a mystery to determine either way.
u/ForgottenToupee [+16] (an hour later)
While there might be some conflict with Warlock or Ranger, the next antagonists should be Cordelia and the White Knight/Tyrant, though if Malicia’s plan to stop the next Crusade before it begins works (and I’m not convinced it will), it’s anyone’s guess. Since the “Prince’s Graveyard” is a thing, I’m inclined to believe there will be war with Procer.
And what do you mean by step down? Malicia is the ruler of the Empire, Cat’s slated to be the ruler of Callow under her. I don’t think there should be any conflict there, it’s already been referenced several times that Cat won’t break from Praes.
u/M3mentoMori [+10] (an hour later)
I'd have to dig up the interlude that mentions it, but Cat hearing the song 'The Girl Who Climbed the Tower', iirc, hinted that she would be attempting to, well, climb the tower. I may be wrong, though the fact that 5 books are planned and we've had 1 major antagonist per book (the claimants, Lone Swordsman, and Diabolist so far) makes me think Book 4 and Book 5 will have Procer and Praes as their antagonists, though not necessarily in that order.
Edit: Found a mention in the chapter where Cat is made Lady of Marchford. Black mentions the song to Cat, naming it, and mentions he heard it in his youth, but it 'wasn't for him'. With all the rulership flags popping up, I'm pretty convinced she'll transition into Black Queen and start hearing more verses and attempt to depose Malicia.
u/-main [+7] (4 hours later)
we've had 1 major antagonist per book (the claimants, Juniper, and Diabolist so far)
Did you forget the entirety of Book 2, the Liesse Uprising, and the Lone Swordsman? The other Squire claimants and Juniper are both Book one.
u/M3mentoMori [+3] (4 hours later)
I did, yes. Haven't read those parts in a while. Edited.
u/CouteauBleu [+5] We are the Empire. (17 hours later)
and attempt to depose Malicia
I hope that doesn't happen. They have no fundamental reason to be opposed, and they're both all about grudging cooperation.
Seriously, I read rational fiction precisely because I'm sick of this "we do obviously stupid things because the story needs a villain" crap.
u/nick012000 [+1] (22 hours later)
I think that it's more likely that Malicia might retire and become the Former Empress and act as a mentor/advisor to Cat after she ascends to the throne, like a lot of the Japanese rulers used to.
u/None [+1] (3 days later)
Oh, you mean like a Chancellor?
u/nick012000 [+3] (3 days later)
But with the succession inverted, pretty much. It'd be a pretty neat coup on Malicia's part: take the useful parts of the Chancellor's role and invert the negative parts of it by investing it into a new Name, bind Callow to Praes by showing that they're capable of achieving the "Praesi dream" too in that a Callowan would ascend the Tower, and preventing herself from getting ganked by her successor to the throne.
u/ForgottenToupee [+2] (13 hours later)
Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that. In that case, I’m not sure I’d like a Malicia vs. Cat showdown. I also can’t see her just stepping down though, so I hope there’s a different thing on the back burner for that.
u/RynnisOne [+2] (9 hours later)
Agreed. An Empress outranks a Queen, so even if Black Queen is to be Cat's title, putting her against the Empire before Procer and the Hierarch/Tyrant before pitting her against the Empress just makes sense. Toppling, or at least driving off, the Empress is only really feasible when they don't face an existential threat from invasion.
Note that the Wandering Bard's plan is still in play, causing the ultimate victory of Good. For Cat to stand a chance against that, she'd have to find some way to be able to speak to the Tyrant (likely while making war on his forces) and for him to set up some classic Villain's Last Words speech to reveal it at the end of the arc.
u/Oaden [+1] (a day later)
it’s already been referenced several times that Cat won’t break from Praes.
I'm putting money on it that Callow will break from Praes, or alternatively, reverse Blacks gambit. Praes can't be at war with Callow is Praes, but the reverse also holds true. Praes can't be at war with Callow if Praes is Callow
There are two books left, Assuming that this book ends Akua, then we have one book for the crusade, and one book for another antagonist. There are in my mind two candidates. The Hierarch and the Empress
u/eaglejarl [+3] (a day later)
Why do I see multiple people referring to Akua as Ubua? Is it an in-joke that I am simply not in on?
u/M3mentoMori [+3] (a day later)
https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/prodigy/
u/None [+4] (28 minutes later)
In that case what could be her aspects
u/ForgottenToupee [+13] (31 minutes later)
Rule? Both Malicia and Kairos have that as an aspect, so that makes sense. Though admittedly Cat hates the ruling side of her gig, so I wonder if that would work.
Edit: I’m gonna go with Command instead of Rule. That seems more her style. I think it would be a mixture of Black Knight’s Lead and the Dread Empress’s Rule.
u/Sonderjye [+1] (14 hours later)
I'd say that something like 'chaos' would be a good candidate as well but I don't know how that would end up.
u/ForgottenToupee [+1] (17 hours later)
Ha, what about something that works along the lines of Bastilla’s battle meditation from KOTOR? Black’s Lead is already kinda like that, but not quite from my understanding.
u/Oaden [+1] (a day later)
Aren't all Aspects verb's? (with notable exception being "Fall" which was obtained a unnatural way)
u/Jangri- [+3] (a day later)
Fall can be a verb, if used as a command. In fact, that's how I've viewed it so far.
u/Sonderjye [+1] (a day later)
I don't think they nessesarily are. I haven't counted but the other non-verb that immediately comes to mind is 'Yoink'.
u/LordGoldenroot [+2] (a day later)
Yoink is not an aspect.
u/nick012000 [+14] (22 minutes later)
In this chapter, Cat and Amadeus gank a Titanite Demon, and then Cat picks up on something that half the comments section were talking about last chapter.
u/haiku_fornification [+7] (3 hours later)
Black is still going to die in this book regardless of whether he's planning for it or not. The reason for that is again exemplified in this chapter: he's vastly more capable than Cat so any engagement she would find challenging - like the devil - can be solved by bringing him in. There's very little tension with him around so he'll either be removed or operate in a different arena like in book 2.
u/panchoadrenalina [+3] (7 hours later)
Grear chapter. Hail the black winter queen!
I think we are set up for a thief yoink -ing akua's soul
u/RynnisOne [+5] (9 hours later)
Would be funnier if Thief yoinks Cat's soul before Ubua can try to command it with her Diabolist powers. ;)
u/melmonella [+1] Tremble, o ye mighty, for a new age is upon you (12 hours later)
New headcannon
u/None [+3] (10 hours later)
I really liked the prose of this chapter.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (a day later)
Am I the only one who wanted to go back and look and see if the missing word and letter typos spell anything? I usually don't notice, but the were generally in things that were annoying Cat.