Quinneapolis
And I'm out of Cradle
Quinneapolis
I think I will take a Will Wight break to read some spookybooks
Quinneapolis
before starting his other big series
Gabiluzbad
Is this a spoiler zone?
Quinneapolis
Quinneapolis
it is now
Echo
Sweet, want to see some extra worldbuilding stuff from his blog?
Echo
He did a few posts summarizing stuff about the Abidan, which I think are interesting considering what just happened: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Gabiluzbad
A few weeks ago you were saying something like “I’m looking forwards to Eithan getting beaten by someone”
Gabiluzbad
I think that was you
Quinneapolis
yeah
Quinneapolis
and honestly, narratively-speaking
Quinneapolis
I still am
Quinneapolis
if Eithan can win every battle then why are we following Lindon
Echo
He kind of couldn't, though- like, we see Eithan lose multiple times. The Origin Shroud didn't just hide his power, it was actively limiting him to only mortal abilities.
Echo
And the second he took it off, the Abidan's laws bound him again, so he couldn't act against anything on Cradle because that's not his job and he's not allowed.
Quinneapolis
I mean that, in terms of telling a story about Lindon getting stronger, and Eithan being his mentor
Quinneapolis
I want to see Lindon surpass his mentor
Quinneapolis
which means we need to see what Eithan can't do
Gabiluzbad
And I had to DM echo on the spot
Echo
We do know one thing he can't do: heal.
Quinneapolis
Lindon isn't working towards doing that, either
Gabiluzbad
Yeah mainly I was just like “they’re gonna be waiting LONGER than they expect”
Echo
Yeah, fundamentally Eithan also very much wants Lindon and Yerin to surpass him.
Echo
He's just prepared to wait a while, since he had a much bigger head start than they realize.
Echo
That said, either way he's kind of out of the picture now- whether Lindon and the others knew they had a safety net up to this point or not, that safety net is gone now.
Echo
And they're about to be openly in conflict with... pretty much every Monarch on the planet, more or less.
Quinneapolis
I feel like we're talking about different things
Gabiluzbad
It would be pretty narratively unsatisfying if Ozriel killed the mad king and saved the day though
Quinneapolis
If a character, especially a good guy, is established to be invincible, then for the story to have satisfying narrative tension, it must be revealed that they are not
Gabiluzbad
Yeah no disagreement there
Quinneapolis
if Eithan could have resolved the problem the whole time if it were not for legal technicalities, then it cheapens Lindon's journey
Gabiluzbad
Sorry I’m still at work so my attention is split
Echo
It works for me because those laws are like. Magically binding, not just "you're not allowed", but I can understand where you're coming from on that, too.
Echo
That said: I do really like how the reveal played out as an emotional beat.
Echo
It wasn't a triumphant moment for Eithan, this was him having to give up on what he actually wanted, because helping the people he cared about was more important.