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And I was groomed by both them and my tutors for fourteen years to be a diplomat, to support my sister in her eventual rule by travelling to other nations.
I’ve never ceded before—never once allowed my Will to be taken at one of the Aurora Columnae scattered around the Republic. Almost all children are brought to one of the ancient pillars when they turn twelve, after which they’re able to cede to anyone, any time, without needing the presence of the massive pre-Cataclysm artefacts. My best theory is that my refusal to go through the ritual is why I’ve managed to stay unaffected all this time, working here.
I was a prince of Suus.
“It’s because you’re a deeply unpleasant child,”
😂😂😂
I lean forward so that my whisper carries to her ear. “I’m going to come back one day.” There’s no trace of anger in my voice. Just promise.
The basics of Will usage—peliphagy, the Catenans call it, though the term rarely enters common parlance—are
“Most people are stupid.” It’s an absent response, out of my mouth before I can stop it.
lol preach
“Because we—Military—need eyes and ears in there.” “You need a spy.” I smirk, despite myself. “In a school.”
“There are a lot of old ruins there.”
THE BOOK COVER
No one knows what caused the Cataclysm, the world-spanning disaster three centuries ago that left less than five people in every hundred alive.
“So what I want to know, Vis, is what are you punishing yourself for?”
That changes when the section in front of ours explodes.
oh 😟
There’s a wet, thudding sound. Sacro’s head explodes.
oh
“Nice to finally meet you, Diago.” There’s a mental dissonance when the name I haven’t heard for three years registers.
There’s a heartbeat where I see my father’s bloodied form as I fall, my sister’s ghostly hair in the water. The old rage stirs.
My cut finger, and side, and shoulder, all pulse with a dull ache.
This is the first book I’ve read the main character has had a consistent pain from injuries instead of it being forgotten after being “treated”
There’s no law against women holding positions of power and education in the Hierarchy, but Birthright’s complex system of taxation and legal obligation around marriage and children makes them more rare.
Bitches
Which means he probably doesn’t have the backing of Military at all.
but… your way doesn’t work. And I want no part of it.”
I love this kid
“Then they were participants and by definition, shared guilt.” “They didn’t have a choice.”
Bruh this man this is what’s wrong with extremists holy shit
“But I can hate without it coming to violence.”
Victims can still be enemies.”
That is a horrible mindset
“You’re ceding.” I’m certain now, her wan skin obvious in the light. “To Estevan?”
Wow so murderers and hypocrites WILD
And every person in that section—four, maybe five thousand people—explodes as one into a sickening, violent haze of crimson mist.
Bro what the FUCK
Estevan was waiting for them to flee. To bunch together, exactly as they did.
He’s so stupid tho bc like what are you gonna do kill all the lower level people and then who is left to take will from? They are gonna need people and will come after those that they can just steal it from aka this group so like bro
Aequa pauses for a half step; I can almost see the questions forming on her lips.
Idiot
The power to protect is the highest of responsibilities, Diago. When a man is given it, his duty is not only to the people he thinks are worthy.
“Silence is a statement, Diago. Inaction picks a side. And when those lead to personal benefit, they are complicity.”
“Maybe you’re right, but there has to be a better way. If we do this, then what do we deserve?”
“But a broken blade can still cut, Diago.”
Then in one savage, sharp motion, he’s twisting and thrusting the stylus upward, through his neck and deep into his brain.
Saw this coming but why - they trying to make him a hero in the hierarchy’s eyes?
“She couldn’t talk for months, but eventually, everything healed. Everything but her memory, and her eyes.”
Oh
“There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.”
“Nervousness means there’s a fear to be faced ahead, Diago. The man who is never nervous, never does anything hard. The man who is never nervous, never grows.”
But… look. One of my sisters was at the naumachia. And she survived, praise Arventis.”
They’re just people
Despite myself, I can’t help but feel a brief flush of pride. Followed by immediate irritation at my own reaction. Rotting gods, but the man is charming.
Obsessed with how human he is written
“And you think you’re better—why? Because you fought Melior?” “Because I killed him.”
Fuck yeah dude
It’s not something I can afford to ignore.
I can’t get it out of my mind that history is going to repeat itself and that kid in seventh is going to die like Vis’s adopted fathers brother died (was murdered)
“I enjoyed that,” he murmurs in Cymrian, staring straight ahead.
“Just because you are good at something does not make others bad at it.”
“But even if I could, the Academy is meant to reflect the challenges we face in life, not protect students from their realities. Most pyramids out there are full of Dultatises. And Iros,” he adds meaningfully. “Whether the obstacles to our advancement arise from our ties or our actions, we need to learn to overcome them ourselves. It’s not fair, but nor is the world.”
fair system only works if there’s an unbiased means of assessing merit. When there is no pride or selfishness involved.” He gives a soft snort, shaking his head. “Which means that fair systems cannot exist where people are involved.”
It’s their contents that captures my attention, though. Makes my breath catch and blood freeze. In each one, skewered by a long black blade through the chest, is a single, naked corpse.
What the fuck
I impatiently reach forward and brush my fingers against the cool surface, trying to make some of the symbols clearer.
WHY WOULD YOU TOUCH IT
“Obiteum is lost. Do not open the gate. Synchronous is death. Obiteum is lost. Do not open the gate. Synchronous is death.”
The fuck is going on is there a gate to another world
His eyelids flutter open. There’s nothing but bloodied sockets beneath.
NOPE FUCK THAT
“Strange dream,” he says eventually in Cymrian.
lol I love this kid
I’m quite certain their eyes had been removed, too. Strange and unsettling, but also familiar. I can’t help but wonder whether Lanistia’s accident during her Iudicium is somehow tied to all this.
Oh 😟
Today was not such a bad day.
Cuties
And I don’t mention the words they kept repeating.
Why ???
