Reading this book after DF and the Sisypheum saga is...... is just. An overwhelming experience. It hits so hard, SO hard and deep, and every other paragraph. Especially when you are still grieving from <Sons of the Selenar>. O Throne I mean it, EVERY other lines and sentences reminds me of something from previous books. Of so many things. This book is an auto-triggering cannon???
I mean, below is a glimpse of the roller coaster of emotions I went through so far.....
Prologue
> open book
> see the prologue is subtitled "The lightning shard, broken"
> start sobbing already
> see Quor Gallek
> have flashback of DF, from the better time Numeon had with Thiel to the heartbreaking fate he met, all thanks to this Word Bearer
> cry
> said Quor Gallek meets his death at a warehouse
> feel good that the old score is finally settled
> until realize that it was also a warehouse, where my boys had fisrt met Grammaticus(they rescued him from the Word Bearers there); and where everything began to unfold
> get emotional for the reprise
> and sob at the memories of the Fire Ark boys
ONE
> Vulkan thinks of an old Nocturnean proverb that the dead could never come back, not the same.
> instant throwback to DF, where Xathen exaclty said "Nothing that dies can ever come back the same."
> Numeon unbendingly denied that when everyone was trying to convince him to that
> oh Artellus my good loyal steadfast baby...........
> cry hard
> Vulkan has to descend into the fire, below an anvil, 'and reveal what lies beneath'
> in <Promethean Sun>, N'bel showed him a hidden passage under a anvil, one that led to the truth; the secret about his origin, where he came from, who he was, why he was different, and most importantly, his fate―the path he had to take.
> back then, Vulkan chose not to open that secreat and sealed it instead; thus the truth came with the Emperor himself. But this time... as Vulkan is no more the same being after his death, he follows the Path Below and reveals what lies beneath.
> (and, yes that was also a ref to AE; the Paths Above and the Paths Below. The Sisypheum also took the Paths Below btw, you know.....)
> with his cloak of drakehide, Vulkan climbs, from a fisssure in the rock; he crosses the desert, where lightning strikes and makes black glass, to meet his sons. To reborn.
> ah, yes, a desert, where lightnings constantly strikes; where you need a drakehide for protection from flesh-tearing sandstorm; just like the lightning fields on Traoris
> the lightning fields where Numeon met his first death.
> And reborn; until he met the second and last, right here and now, at the mountain Deathfire
> ...
> total meltdown no words available thank you Nick Kyme
> "A great fissure opened up in the ground", almost swallowing Vulkan back into the earth, but Vulkan avoided it and waited until the earth quieted; until the Time of Trial ended.
> a great fissure, you mean the fissure Numeon went into. To sacifice himself; to bring Vulkan back. Which was, his final trial.
> have another breakdown and cry hard
> this is the moment their path crossed; the point "the circle of rebirth be forged". (DF quote "Nocturnean belief held that all things which come from earth must then return to it. Only then could the circle of rebirth be forged. It referred to immolation by flame―flash, bone and ash.")
> cry even harder
> Vulkan finally reunites with his sons
> you know this scene. you've seen this exact scene before.
> CRY
> my baby Artellus' name is mentioned
> CRIER
> 'My sons...'
> CRIEST
> they talk about Numeon and his sacrifice, his miraculous doing of bringing Vulkan back
> Vulkan Lives
> as Numeon believed
> as Numeon saw to
> shed whatever amount of tears you have left
> 'You who protected me as I slept, acrossed the Ruinstorm. You who brought me back,' Vulkan says and Zytos replies, 'Numeon did that.'
> cry so hard that you have to stop reading and have break to gather overwhelming emotions (again)
> oh my good boy Artellus......
> sob
> the three swear their loyalty to the primarch reborn anew, Gargo being the last one to make his oath
> Gargo was practically the only one who believed in Numeon to the last when all the other brothers doubted
> Gargo was the one who said that the ancient Nocturneans believed the dead could come back, mentioning the Promethean resurrection ritual of daubing faces in white ash
> which they did perform later on Nocturne
> Gargo has been a believer, and now is a witness; to what he believed, what Numeon had believed, what miracle the Pyre Captain made, and to the ancient myth become reality.
> it's just
> i just can't
TWO
> Shadrak Meduson enters the chat
> oh hello Meduson good to see you again...... or, rather, for the first time that is
> whole <the Seventh Serpent> ordeal emerges
> oh team Sisypheum my boys.....
> melancholy
> along with the Ravens, "Fewer still were the Drakes, bellicose and aggressive in their scale-gren armour. They fought stolidly, without fear."
> oh how much I missed you my precious boys........
> get emotional
> at least this drake boy Nuros is so cute and charming, surprisingly cheerful and witty
> be happy to see him spirited
> until the captain of Clan Avernii™ enters the chat too
> AND says, "Oh, I'm with the Drake."
> burst into tears
> yeah I know I'm seeing things bUT
> oh Pergellen, you good loyal Morlock from Clan Avernii who followed the Drake as his own captain
> more tears
> the Raven Dalcoth is mentioned, not having a word yet, being distant lone figure among them (or, in shadow)
> typical Raven Guard behavior, which Hriak too shared
> miss him a lot
> sob
> Meduson to Nuros: 'For a Nocturnean, you have a passable wit'
> speaking of passable something, do you know this humble apothecary who said he had 'only a passing skill' when he could teach his friend blacksmithing?
> oh I miss you Atesh my boy so much.......................
> cannot recover from the loss, still grieving
> (guess I would be for ever)
> Nuros replies to Meduson: 'And this coming from an Iron Hand'
> which reminds me of Domadus, whose coping mechanism was humour
> you know, Domadus once made a sarcastic joke regarding Leo's temper and Numoen couldn't believe what he heard so said "Are you sure you're Tenth Legion?" lol
> one of the precious moments of the Fire Ark
> smile at that
> and sob at the same time
> a traitor legionary was dying on "the scorched earth"
> and Meduson specifically orders Nuros, the Salamander among all, to "Scorch the earth"
> oh Ra'stan oh Haukspeer you good boys
> cry, again, as alas this is another reprise but the notes are reversed
> not to mention the Medusan Immortals and their breacher shields
> reminisce <Immortal Duty>
THREE
> Abidemi sings
> aww how cute
> Abidemi asks "Is it him?" when they see Vulkan; as to the said proverb of the dead could never come back same
> go deep in thoughts, deeper and harder
> nonetheless, Vulkan is still very hot
> hot in multiple ways, lol
> and "his voice as deep as thunder", oh yessssss
> but good lord could you stop whisphering to your son's ears with that deep sexy voice please, it may distract him greatly??? he needs to concentrate
> *cough cough* am sorry where was i
> Vulkan mentions the ur-drakes of Nocturne
> THE ur-drakes
> SoS quote: 'I trust you, Atesh Tarsa,' said Vulkan.
> And the ur-drakes dwelling in Nocturne's molten heart rose up to bring him home.
> i
> i just
> i can't
> ..........mental breakdown, utterly
> to see Vulkan says: "These ur-drakes are Nocturne."
> Tarsa my baby, wlecome home. You became Nocturne itself. You proved worthy of your father......
> take eternity to gather courage to continue reading
> an eldritch gate of the eldar again, it's been there whole time
> just like Ibsen, One-Five-Four Four. Or Caldera, as he renamed
> another reprise, but Vulkan is now different. And he makes different choice. He means to use it, instead of destroying it.
> and, yet again, it's Gargo who realizes Vulkan's intention first
> find this so speaking? Cannot tell yet, but somehow it feels eerily meaningful.
> and again, Abidemi sings
> as they head deeper into the gate, crossing the maelstrom within it
> cross it just as they crossed the Ruinstorm
> great reprise with another reprise, but with Vulkan alive leading them
> it's just....
> be lost for words again
@morteuse said: ❛ just sit there and look pretty and let me handle this. ❜
Well, Zagreus does look worse for wear, doesn't he? He's had a particularly rough go of things this time, and he often doesn't know if or when he's going to run into Thanatos. Part of him wants to protest, to tell them that they don't have to help him, but they're just as stubborn as he is at times. If he wants to help, he's going to help, even if he's going to complain the entire time.
"Nooo problem, Than. I'll just be right here. Looking cute and quite kissable while you take care of all that." Zagreus grins, plopping down right on the ground as more adversaries start to appear. It's not like it's hard for Thanatos anyways. He's death, for goodness sake. While Zagreus likes their friendly, little competitions, it's nice to be able to breathe for a second every now and then. "I'll just admire how rugged and handsome you look while killing all of these for me."
