21 KiB
[RT][HF] A Practical Guide to Evil: Interlude: Stairway
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Author: u/Zayits *
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URL: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/04/11/interlude-stairway/
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Score: 73
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Created: 2018-04-11T04:01:53
Post:
Comments:
u/CouteauBleu [+31] We are the Empire.*
Amadis: "Ahah! Using my secret tunnel, I bypassed your highly defensible chokepoint, and now I can attack your undefended cities, while the bulk of the Callowan army is in the South!" Catherine: "Wow, that's really neat! Hey, wanna say hello to my teleporting Callowan armies?" Amadis: "... I don't know why I expected anything else, really."
u/Zayits [+14] *
Well, he doesn't know about warp gates and that Cat has multiple subordinates capable of making them, so from his point of view the plan has a good start. Add to that his numerical advantage in soldiers and heroes, the fact that gating towards uncharted territory across the entire country will take more than two days (Cat was busy hunting heroes that came from south, and she'll need to assemble her entire army and the Woe) and the risk of heroes waiting on the other side of the gate, and Cat's best response is to scry Kegan. EDIT: On a second thought, the map shows the thinnest point in the mountains to just a little closer to Harrow than Dormer is to Laure, and Cat stated in chapter 22 of the third book that marching that way would take more than a week, and that time in Arcadia can warp for plot reasons, so she has all the chances to arrive just in time.
u/IDKWhoitis [+10] *
She probably has her army already assembled somewhere near the front, amd just teleported herself to kill heroes. She could probably respond in force within 72 hours or a week at worst. The time required for a normal army to do so would be weeks at the least. Secondly, with such overwhelming numbers, he's going to need a supply train, which conveniently can only pass the mountains where they crossed. Those supplies will never reach their target. If food supplies dry up, which they will in a forced march, he wont be able to hit Blacks flank, or escape Cats harassment.
u/Clipsterman [+2] *
Cat has multiple subordinates capable of making them [warp gates] Who besides Masego?
u/Zayits [+13] *
The fairies that came with Nightfall are bound to have some sufficiently powerful or capable of magic.
u/leakycauldron [+2] Imperium of Man*
Laret has at lest Duke level powers.
u/Oaden [+1] *
At the very least the Prince of Nightfall. but probably other Fae should be able to form portals to some degree
u/CouteauBleu [+1] We are the Empire.*
I meant more "I don't know why I expected this to be easy", not "I don't know why I didn't account for Cat's warp gates".
u/signeti [+1] *
I think chance, that Cat does not know about approaching army trough Stairway is low. I would say she will either meet them there and in usual Foundlig gambit way will magically transform Stairway into Graveyard. Or she will meet them near Harrow, where resides one of the bound demons.
u/Yes_This_Is_God [+28] *
Prince Amadis would win, he suspected. The shit had more than a dozen heroes at his back, and two old forces of nature among them. It’d been a pleasant surprise to find out that Laurence was still alive, old sack of piss and vinegar that she was. The Saint of Blades was an army unto herself, and the Grey Pilgrim that went with her was supposed to be some kind of legend in Levant. why EE gotta tease us like this
u/Clipsterman [+20] *
Looks like someone don't remember Terribillis II and his decree to never fight a battle if it didn't seem like they could possibly lose.
u/Zayits [+16] *
Well he does say that Catherine will largely crush the army, he just believes that the advantage in soldiers and heroes will resolve it in their favor.
u/IDKWhoitis [+24] *
So lets see the traps Procer has fallen for, either intentionally or unintentionally.
- Scrying can be intercepted, blocked, or tools of assassination if the mages are skilled enough.
- They do not seem aware of Cats mobility through gates, and thus dont seem to understand that they wont be able to outflank her.
- They assume that this much sorcery can be flung around without raising an eyebrow or two, and that the 2 mage names of the empire cant figure out a way for this to backfire.
- They assume the Daoine are going to even negotiate, which doesnt seem likely. They know the monster that lives south of them.
- Still referring to Cat as Black Queen, and we saw the heroes doing that too. The sword saint and hero crew may get caught in a trap if Cats been keeping a lid on her transition. Cat didnt use an Aspect during the hero fight.
- They dont seem aware of the Dead King mobilizing, so that Northern push is likely to get encircled itself.
So either Cat, Black, and First Prince are playing 6D chess at high level, with narrative weight transfers. Or someone dropped the ball on information warfare somewhere.
u/Zayits [+17] *
You forgot to add that admiral Hadast seems to be the same mole Malicia mentioned in Warden I. Regarding Catherine's powers - they must be at least aware of the Wild Hunt swearing fealty to her, and given that Thief is known to have stolen the sun once, people also know that Cat can take people to Arcadia with herself. I think the transition already happened, but the Aspects will reveal themselves at the crucial moment: as we have seen with Stalwart Paladin, triggering mid-fight results in situationally convenient powers.
u/IDKWhoitis [+6] *
I think she's already picked up a couple of Aspects, but she didnt even need to bring them out, since even with the eldritch healing, no words were spoken. Even internal aspects have trigger words, and she seems to either be tapping into the Winter power or some rudimentary component of her new name (like how shadows and necromancy used to be hers under Squire, but now are gone since she isn't the Squire.).
u/Zayits [+2] *
By triggering I was referencing Worm, in the sense that the shape of the power is dependent on the circumstances of its awakening.
u/IDKWhoitis [+3] *
Well we have chicken and egg probelm, because sometimes the characters know what their aspect is before ever using it. I.e. hakram right before Summer Fae fort storming. Are the powers predefined and only show up when conditions are right, or are they truely shaped by the situation?
u/Zayits [+7] *
Hakram didn't know what it would be, only that it was coming. Cat even mentioned how it was the action of plot significance allows to sharpen a Name (chapter 26 of the third book).
u/signeti [+2] *
I actually hope that she did not and will not transition into any name. I would really like to see her to crush her enemies without Name and Aspects, just her bad-ass herself.
u/IDKWhoitis [+1] *
Frankly I dont think you can exactly retire from being a Villain or a Named. Like I know a claimant can surrender their tie to the name, but I dont think theres been a case of retirement. Also, to be Named is both a blessing and a curse given to those with the aptitude for it, Cats done too much to go back now.
u/signeti [+2] *
I did not mean that she would retire. I just like the idea that she would break the narrative by standing shoulder to shoulder with other giants of her era without Name of her own.
u/Rheklr [+2] *
I'm with you here. It also makes narrative sense for Cat to not transition, because as Squire (or whatever is left of that name) she is free and open to possibility. Once she transitions her new Name would come with a Role in the Story spun by the gods and she is limited by them.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+7] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm*
Don't forget starting an invasion in a city with a hell egg as Zayits pointed out in the r/APGTE thread
Imp'ed: or commented below but left out the hell egg word d'oh
u/Zayits [+3] *
Imp'ed I see what you did here.
u/Tinac4 [+2] *
See what? I have no idea what you're talking about.
u/AmeteurOpinions [+6] Finally, everyone was working together.*
- The strategic absurdity of taking your entire army and dragging out its supply train across a narrow, incredibly long staircase.
u/Morghus [+2] *
Against an army (of?) with goblins
u/haiku_fornification [+24] *
Consider that Prince Amadis notes that six Principalities stand behind him and he's about to invade Callow. That would make seven crowns... The mysterious way Cordelia got Praesi mages is 100% Cat's doing. I'm also fairly sure Cat sent inferior mages who only knew flawed scrying, so she can listen in. Just as an insurance policy, of course. Finally: “When historians try to pin down Foundling’s methods they point to the Battle of the Camps or the Princes’ Graveyard, but those came later. After she’d learned her trade. If you want to understand how she operated, look to the Battle of Four Armies and One – from the beginning to the end, she was playing an entirely different game from every other commander on the field.” —Extract from “A Commentary on the Uncivil Wars”, by Juniper of the Red Shields I guess we finally know whose graveyard it'll be, huh?
u/None [+7] *
Notice the position of the apostrophe. Not "Prince's Graveyard", "Princes' Graveyard".
u/Frommerman [+4] *
How likely is it that Cordelia knows her mages are inferior as well? She isn't calling this crusade for noble reasons, she's using it as a political tool to expend Procer's remaining military surplus after the civil war which put her on the throne. She might want to annex Callow, but considering how hard it is going to be to control a population which now recognizes the Black Queen, a Praesi agent, as their rightful ruler, she has to realize that would wind up being temporary at best. Callowans have no reason to like the Principate at this point, as they are measurably better off, on average, under Praes than they were even under their own monarchy. The fact that the Empress allowed Cat to exterminate the "traditional" Praesi villain and that the Empire is about to eliminate most of the nobility which hold Callow's true ire mean that Ater has done nothing recently except meet the needs of Callow. Cordelia has to know this. She isn't an idealistic Hero, and she knows that Callow won't just go with them because both nations are nominally on the side of Good. She's too cynical for that blunder. So, she calls a Crusade, "captures" some Praesi mages to learn their secrets, then sets all the restless soldiers of her nation on her foreign enemies. They'll grind each other down, but she would prefer that the Crusade end in a narrow loss which keeps Praes at bay for a generation and lets her keep face for at least attempting to do the "right thing" while accomplishing everything she ever needed domestically. Deliberately sabotaging the communications of her own side is an excellent means of guaranteeing this happens without any way of tying the failure back to her.
u/haiku_fornification [+9] *
I think you're severely underestimating the scope of the crusade and Cordelia's commitment to it. She'll soon have to fight on five fronts: North and South Callow, Free Cities, Dead King and the sea invasion of Praes. She's sacrificed a lot manpower, gold and political connections to get the crusade going in the first place. She's not an idealistic Hero but it doesn't make sense to commit so many resources only to set your goal on drawing even. Her primary objective is almost certainly to conquer both Callow and Praes. She might have backup plans in case things go bad (like her deal with Cat) but imo they're just that - backup plans. I agree that in all likelihood she knows the mages are compromised but I think she simply doesn't have a different solution on hand.
u/Ardvarkeating101 [+17] Father of Learning*
Huh. Call me crazy, but remember when Thief strolled in to negotiate with Cordelia? I think she's going to sabotage this guy somehow by leaking info to Cat. The invasion of Praes and death of black goes on as scheduled, but Callow is left alone.
Food for thought
u/Zayits [+15] *
Yeah, too many of her First Prince's political opponents dumped into one host, with enough heroes to either prop it up or even take command when the expendable leadership is cleared off the board. Though, if I'm right about Cat trying to trick Cordelia and make her power base unsteady enough for a peace settlement, she might have used their secret agreement to assemble all her enemies in one place and then empower them in some way (or at least cripple the loyal leaders more). The future Princes' Graveyard is a point against a scheme that convoluted, though.
u/Oaden [+2] *
The question is, what does Cordelia get out of it? Cat tricking Cordelia is to me, at this point impossible. Cordelia tangled with the Empress and won, she is the superior manipulator by miles I'm pretty sure the Principate is based on the Holy Roman Empire, (In which case, Praes could be the Ottomans and Callow poor Hungary in the middle, but that's besides the point) So maybe the plan is to reform the principate? Consolidate power in Cordelia and unite it into a stable empire that has no need of crusades?
u/AmeteurOpinions [+2] Finally, everyone was working together.*
Cat doesn’t need to “trick” Cordelia if she makes an offer Cordelia won’t refuse, like, say, betraying Praes with her Named and legion at a critical moment in exchange for softballing the crusade into Callow.
u/None [+1] *
same here, I dont know how good the talks where but I guess both sides have things to win from this matchup
u/panchoadrenalina [+13] *
Whenever i read one antagonist going "he i can take her" about cat i get a little grin. This is gonna be fun
u/Zayits [+13] *
Sudden foreshadowing time!
“Black assigned Father to find those in our newly-acquired territory after the Conquest,” he continued, already forgetting the lordly courtesy he’d tacked on earlier. “There’s one near Harrow he built additional wards over." ... "It has to be absence or corruption,” he replied. “All the others are accounted for. I’m inclined towards corruption, considering we remember why we need to have this conversation at all.” A shiver went up my spine at that, I was unashamed to admit. Every Callowan was raised on stories about what demons could do when let loose, and both of those kinds had famous legends to their names. An absence demon was widely believed to be the reason the entire Yan Tei Empire had no mention of it anywhere during two centuries and then had suddenly reappeared in the histories. People hadn’t even noticed it was gone, or even that anything had been missing at all. Looks like you are going to unmake history instead, Amadis.
u/hoja_nasredin [+3] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
demon on Callowan ground? Really Cat?
u/Zayits [+5] *
It's not like they have a way to permanently dispose of him, so leaving a well-warded standard alone is their best option. If Cat is going to find a hero that would agree to treat with her, she might get them to destroy it, but otherwise it's a powderkeg.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm*
Two questions that offer possibly risky permanent solutions:
- Can Thief channel the light of heaven, Ranger?
- Where is the inside of Thief's bag if thief burns the bag? Or is her hammerspace attached to her soul, if so do not insert standard.
u/Zayits [+6] *
Ranger, like Archer, is a neutral skill-based Name. Thief seems to be the same way, and doesn't have many brute-force combative applications for her Name besides. As for the bag, it's bound to her Aspect (Hold, specifically), and while she's able stuff there even things she can't touch directly, up to and including the sun, letting a demon get to an Aspect is how Cat lost her own.
u/leakycauldron [+4] Imperium of Man*
Depending on Cat's new name, the whole Woe might be Neutralish. Heirophant and Adjutant don't seem wholely Evil to me.
u/BausMANGO [+10] *
Amadis the new antagonist of Book 4, or just a throwaway character? "Saint of Blades"... Irelia?
u/werafdsaew [+8] *
He's too stupid to live long honestly. Most likely he'll be sacrificed to demonstrate how not unimportant Catherine is.
u/Zayits [+10] *
No way the pairing of throwaway fantasins and First Prince's political opponents is accidental. The heroes are most likely here to make this still a victory despite the casualties, or to get rid of Catherine once she makes her appearance known.
u/Frommerman [+1] *
...will heroes even work against Cat anymore? She's a fae queen whose entire story is built upon shattering all who oppose her, Good or Evil. In particular, the White Knight's whole justice schtick seems laughably pointless before Justifications matter only to the Just personified.
u/Ardvarkeating101 [+3] Father of Learning*
He's just going to wake up with a red smile when assassin decides to come around. He's way too arrogant to not be murdered for it. Maybe even by a hero if they're a member of a choir
u/Iconochasm [+7] *
I'm actually rooting for him to get a rude awakening / heroic ascension. Otherwise, dozen Heroes or not, he's a second tier political antagonist. Cat will eviscerate him.
u/Ardvarkeating101 [+1] Father of Learning*
And won't that just fuck up procer's plan
u/Mountebank [+6] *
Assassin is gonna stick with Black and that's an entirely different battle front of this war. Cat probably has control over Callow's assassin guild by now, but that shouldn't help too much against more than a dozen Named.
u/CouteauBleu [+1] We are the Empire.*
Yeah, the wishful thinking is strong with this one.
u/hoja_nasredin [+3] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
when was the saint of blades mentioned?
u/BausMANGO [+3] *
near the beginning, as one of the heroes under Amadis' banner
u/hoja_nasredin [+5] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
I mean besides the current chapter.
u/BausMANGO [+5] *
nah I think totally new hero
u/LordGoldenroot [+8] *
Wasn't there a mention of the saint of blades back when cat was first learning about domains?
u/Zayits [+6] *
Yeah, people in the comments made all the Unlimited Blade Works jokes.
u/None [+1] *
we know how good Irelia is fighting of invaders, now we get to see how good is she on the offensive
u/hoja_nasredin [+2] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
who is Irelia? Google shows no chapters with her!
u/Sarkavonsy [+6] *
I think they might be making a league of legends reference? I can't find anything calling that Irelia the "Saint of Blades" though.
u/None [+1] *
Irealia itself is making her first appearance on the guide, we where joking about a League of legends character that have the same name an tittle, maybe Erratic plays it. EE would you become/are a Rioter?
u/Oaden [+1] *
Irelia is a champion from the game League of Legends, that fights by telepathically controlling 4 blades
u/um_m [+8] *
In other news, the Guide just topped top web fiction (at least this is the first time I saw that occur). Good work guys.
u/WalterTFD [+3] *
This Amadis gonna get rolled. Looking past the Black Queen? Won't do that twice.
u/hoja_nasredin [+1] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
THe interlude https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/prosecution-i/ is not present in the table of contents!!!!
u/M3mentoMori [+8] *
Bonus monthly interludes are in the extra chapters section. Both Prosecution I and II are there.
u/hoja_nasredin [+2] Dai-Gurren Brigade*
ty
u/ProfessorPhi [+1] *
Has anyone noticed the website is inaccessible