Four nimble fingers with even nimbler claws twirled a silver strip until it was a hazy blur. Every once in a while, a translucent specimen of chaotic life would spawn from the currency's gritty surface, but the swift motions of Jacko's digits snuffed the phantom out as soon as it was created.
"Theah are heaps of us gobb-o's who think that impkind didn't start with the Marrow," the Tail-Blooder explained. "Loads of us believe that we were put theah in the prisons by somethin' biggah and baddah than us. That's not to be debated. But the question isâjust how long were we imprisoned for, aye?" Jacko shrugged. "Most subscribe to the belief that we always lived in a state of destitution and imprisonment. That theah simply was no beginnin' to it all. An eternity goin' backwards in time. Can ya fit your cat noggin' around that?"
Seraphimus stood in the doorframe to the metal shack, forelimbs folded in a guarded stance. "Honestly, no, I cannot," she said. "I've only ever envisioned spiritual magnificence as going forward."
"Ah!" Jacko's sharp teeth showed as he pointed at her across the tiny structure. "So you do believe they are souls!"
Seraphimus' charcoal brown eyes narrowed. "That what are souls...?"
"Fwoosh!" Jacko charaded "rising smoke." His eyes went wide. "The Peetra Shade! The holy bearst of blood light that billows when a bloke bites it!"
The griffin cocked her head to the side. "You mean this plane's deathlights?"
Jackso shrugged. "Call it what you want to, sheila. The Dihmahs don't geeve a rat's ass ovah what it is, so I assumed you'd be just as apathetic." He paced across the shack towards her, twirling the strip. "Us gobb-o's, though? We believe it's the rubbish left behind when an imp rejoins Peetra's flame. Ya see..." He approached her. "Theah's the flame we burn and the flame we waste. The less that's wasted, the warmah our place will be in the eternal torchâ"
"That's close enough," Seraphimus interrupted, her gaze slicing the angle of his feet.
Wincing, Jacko slowly teetered around and paced in the opposite direction with drooping ears. "Righ... So Dihmahsâfrom what we can tellâlive the way they live cuz they want to cast as little flame as possible when they kick the bucket. That way they own theah soulsâby not owning them at all! Does that make any sense?"
"Not really, no."
"Whew! I'm not alone, then! Heh..." Jacko cleared his throat and turned around. "Gobb-o's, of course, think the opposite. We're heah to manifest as much Peetra as possible while alive... so our souls are less rubbish when our time on thees plane is ovah. It's a not noblah, ya think?"
"I think..." Seraphimus hung her head slightly, headcrest drooping. "...that religionâin any formâis far less relevant and meaningful than I once thought it was..."
"And given how the streeps fall in this world, who can blame you, aye?" He bore a bittersweet smile. "Guess an ostrich like yourself feels righ loss without feelin' Peetra first-hand."
"Get to what this all has to do with Penumbra, already," Seraphimus grumbled.
Jacko nodded obediently. "Well, Flame is simply a means of emitting light and warmth..." The strip in his claws spat out a tiny dragon and he shook it clear. "And while it's so powerful and mesmerizing, it's constantly decayin' all the same. So... considerin' how bright Peetra is and how much us Gobb-o's have been able to conjure eet..." He leaned against the table before him, his brow furrowed in contemplation as he spoke: "Theah's gotta be a biggah well of the stuff. Y'know? Theah's gotta be a place wheah one big torch or a billion big torches were once lit... or are still lit!"
"And you think that is what Penumbra is?" Seraphimus said.
"Well, that's the crazy part!" Jacko leaned back, smirking. "Have you ever wondered where the very word came from?"
"... ... ..." Seraphimus blinked unemotionally. "I would be lying if I said that I wasn't somewhat curious."
"Same heah! And so are many other gobb-o's like me! Curious, that is." Jacko gestured. "What if... we weren't always imprisoned? What if there was actually a beginnin'? A time before time, so to speak?"
"That would sound somewhat logical..."
"Righ, love." Jacko nodded. "So... maybe us Gobb-o's came from the same place the word 'Penumbra' did. Maybe ages ago theah were imps who knew things that many of us don't know today..." He whispered. "...including the Metal Mum. She doesn't know eithah."
"What...?" Seraphimus raised an eyecrest. "...is that heretical to suggest out loud?"
"Shhhhhhh!" Jacko cringed, looking nervously over his shoulders. "...you're on the money, love. What gave it away?"
Seraphimus exhaled slowly. "I'm... something of an expert on heresy."
"Well, gobb-o's who make the mistake of lecturin' other gobb-o's on the possibility of us comin' from someplace othah than the Marrow are ostracized by their fellow blokes."
"Goblins..." Seraphimus cocked her head to the side. "...like you?"
Jacko's ears drooped noticeably. His eyes avoided the griffin's.
She breathed knowingly. "You weren't always a 'Tail Blooder,' were you?"
He kicked errantly at the dirty floor. "... ... ...me great-great-great grand uncle's nephew twice removed was a Tail-Bloodah." He sniffled slightly. "That was the flamin' branch of Peetra the Metal Council traced when they decided the caste I was to be demoted to."
Seraphimus squinted. "You can be thrust down the castes?"
"Aye. For disruptin' the Furnace." He shrugged. "It's an age-old expression."
"The Furnace being... your contribution to Petra's Flame."
"Avril and the rest of the council said I was spittin' rubbish," Jacko said. "Ruinin' me soul and the like. They said they were kickin' me all the way to the Blobstain for me own good... so that I could process the flame at a level low enough to meet the poor standahds I had set for me inevitable death." His nostrils flared under a pointed nose. "You ask me... they were just needin' to make an example out of someone. I had spoken a bit too much and it was in season soooooo... heah I am."
"And let me guess..." Seraphimus breathed. "You're seeking vindication for your heretical beliefs... so you can be accepted back onto the higher branches of Petra."
"It's m-much m-more than that!" Jacko exclaimed, shaking his hands.
"Hrmmmfff... I should have known. Every putrid creature on this plane is only after their own grimey aspirations." She made to leave the shack. "Why I thought you could actually educate me on this world, I'll never know..."
"Wait wait waitâ!" He scampered across the way on tiny feet. "Don't go! This is about heaps more than that!" He grabbed her talon with two desperate fingers. "Just hold up, love! Please!"
"... ... ..." She stared daggers down at him. Schiiiiing! Talons kissed the air just centimeters from his tiny wrists. "I thought I made it clear that I wasn't to be touched."
He gulped, but stared boldly at her all the same. "Shred me into shadows of Peetra all you want! But just heah me out first!" His ears leaned back sharply as his eyes hardened. "I've been to the Edge in search of Marrow and scrap! I've seen the light! A light like no other! A eternal splash of brightness and colah from some Paradise beyond!" His teeth showed. "'Penumbra' is more than a bloody word! It's an answer to questions that the engineers of Petra have asked for all generations that have evah been!" His eyes rounded again, like a child's. "And you're from theah, aren't you, love?"
Seraphimus sighed. She moved her talonâbut gently, loosening his grip without amputating him. "It's not as bright a light that you think."
"But it's real, as?!" Jacko grinned, his ears pointing straight up. "Shinier than starbeams and sweet as cinammon?!"
"It's far too difficult to explain to the likes of you," Seraphimus muttered. She gazed aside with a sad expression. "Even I... never truly grasped it. And it was right in front of me."
"I'm willing to heah what you know!" Jacko exclaimed. "Aftah all, I've told you what I know!"
Her frown reformed, harder and more grizzled. "You've barely told me anything."
"Sorry. Tradie habits, love." He gestured. "I'm used to givin' things only by piecemeal." His ears cocked slightly to the side as he smirked. "I'm certain I can scrape up more information to interest you..."
"... ... ...if what?" she filled in for the goblin. "If you can't convince your fellow abominations of the reality of Penumbra, then how can I manage?"
"Because you and your companions are the real deal, sheila!" Jacko gestured. "If... if you just got on a skiff with me and made for the mighty metal branches across the Blobâ"
"To what end?!" Seraphimus fumed. "To try and convince this... 'Metal Council' of yours?"
"Reckon you're onto me starbeams, cobbah!" Jacko pointed between them, winking.
"You have to be mentally deranged to think that I actually share in your pitiful desperation," Seraphimus said. "Aren't non-imps forbidden from entering this city of Petra?" She huffed. "You're nothing more than a vagabond in need of futile retribution. There are far... far grander things on my plate, sir."
"Mmmm..." Jacko nodded. "No doubt of that. But... judgin' from how easily ya get hot under the collah..." He leaned forward with a sly glance. "...you're not strangah to desperation yourself."
"... ... ..."
"Just what sort of business is your team leadah in? I'm talkin' about the cesspool yawnhead with the glitz around her neck." Jacko smiled. "I don't suppose it has anythin' to do with the war ovah the Sarcophagus, aye?"
Seraphimus stared silently at him. After a cold inhale: "You're a nosy little bastard. You know that?"
"Reckon I'm not half as daft as you think, eithah, bird." He snapped a finger at her. "How about it? Fancy a bit more hagglin' for brain farts?"
Sera... Why the FUCK have you not just killed the little bastard already? He doesn't know anything, and only wants to use you to get himself a higher standing. He doesn't want change, he doesn't want the truth. He is scum, and deserves to die like scum.
Geb
I really don't know how much use Jacko is going to be to Sera let alone the rest of the group but I think he's gonna end up being what they need to get into the city. Somehow anyway.
I thought that the team was already a large cast. I
wantneed Jacko.Everyone please sign the Add Jacko To The Team petition.
Midnight Reflection
Yes he is. Wouldnât be a bad fit for the first new Herald member on the Dark Side!
Jacko needs to join the crew. Having a local to help out will be a wonderful opportunity with or without exterior motives. In fact motive is exactly what makes characters come alive. When they strive for a goal they are at their best.
8897796
I am sure you would love to have a death chicken fly into your house and interrogate you.
Jacko is insanely brave for keeping his cool in that situation. Him standing up to Sera simply goes to show how dedicated he is to his beliefs. Heck even his friends call him crazy and don't believe the stuff he says. Of course he's desperate for someone to listen to him, and Sera happens to respect a show of strength.
So a goblin outcast, and a dihmer outcast.
Is this going to be a thing? Is Dash going to bolster the herald with outcasts from each of the armies?
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
8897814
I'll sign that.
What is the font used in the cover art of Austraeoh?
Jacko sounds like a good dude. Maybe with different priorities, but that's more of a result of being in this place than because he's evil. He's also the only type of person that can actually stand up and force Sera to listen. He's not too nice, not too sacrificial, not too demeaning either. He's like.... a more religious BIg Show.
8897797
You have to chant thrice to yield results.
8897796
Out of curiosity, what brings you to that conclusion? Nothing indicates he doesn't want change, and nothing indicates he doesn't want the truth.
Wonder what Jacko is after.
And every time the imps say "metal mum" I can't stop thinking about Roarke.
Kinda surprised that they know what cinnamon is here on the dark side.
The brain farts beckeths
8897858
A merry band of misfits under the flag of a flighty sparrow.
8897796
Not really seeing that interpretation. Sera has been far worse to the Herald's sanity. Plus, seeing as they really need a native to guide them through the Dark Side's culture, he's probably going to be the best they've got to be willing to do it.
8898013
Sera straight up asks him:
He literally has nothing to offer. The Goblins don't let in non-goblins, no exception. And from what we hear, it sounds like the Goblins also run on a Caste system, and if they want help they need someone from a HIGHER caste, not the outcast that is also kicked out and not allowed back in.
He doesn't want to learn about the Light Side for anything good, or liking it, or wanting to know about it. He flat out says what Sera said is true, that he wants the Group to go with him and convince the Goblins they are wrong, and most likely overthrowing the entire Goblin Kingdom too, just so he can be allowed back into the city and no longer be an outcast.
And being an outcast, he has no information on the City, can't get them IN the city, and has no motivation to help them, especially if he suddenly finds another way of getting proof. Like say, stealing their stuff? Or RD's Necklace? Or any books and journals, and other such things?
To put this another way. If you went into a whole new world, would you go see the Hobos and the Outlawed teen gangsters for useful information about the culture, and able to use them to get into a city only their kind can get into, that they themselves aren't allowed to enter?
He has no use, no information they can't get from other goblins, and wants to use them for himself and not actually help them. Even the entire time he is talking to Sera, he doesn't even give any information that she doesn't already know, or couldn't know from any other goblin. Like say the head Smithing Goblin that RD's been talking with and learning info from also.
8897842
It's not his house.
Possible new companion sometime in the future?
8898062
>pony maker profile picture
>wants a charectar to die just cus
>dude was literally asking about pneumbra and sera is overly enthusiastic
8897796
8898062
Hmm. I wonder why people just downvote me for my legit honest question of why Sera, SERA, the person of the group most likely to slaughter and kill people just for annoying her or looking at her funny or for too long, hasn't just killed this goblin that admits to wanting to use, and maybe even harm, the group she is with and herself as well.
I wouldn't ask this if it was any other Member of the group. But this is SERA here interacting with the Goblin. This was just a joke post at first. But since you all got so downvoting with it, I'll upgrade it to a serious question.
WHY hasn't she killed him for annoying her multiple times now? She used to be high ranking special ops, designed to find, kill, and slaughter criminals, and it's quite clear this guy is a shady guy and most likely a criminal. Whats more, being the elite of elite, they most likely done undercover work, and know how people like this guy act, especially after getting his motives, and how bad he could be to the group.
So yes. I have to ask. After this:
She doesn't just kill him and be done with it, off to find someone else with information? Like I pointed out, he's an outcast, a hobo, someone with no information or way to help them, and she knows that. So when he annoys her, and pushes her limits, why doesn't she kill him and go on her way? RD and the rest of the group won't know. He's an outcast so the Goblins won't care and probably will reward her. So seriously. Why?
Can any of you, actually give me a real, clear answer? Or just going to downvote like cowards because you know I'm right and don't want to admit it?
8898158
And that has to do with... anything? And not just cause, but because it would be IN CHARACTER for Sera to do it.
8898189
Watch your tone, mate. Reckon it'd be a shame for you to ostracise yourself for being overly aggressive.
As for why Sera hasn't gutted the grovelin' goblin. Because he's not an active threat to the group, perhaps. He's not armed, not in good standing with the others, who obviously wouldn't believe what he says without first hand proof due to his religious stance, he admitted to what he wants out of the deal, which is more to learn about the lands on the light side than improve his station back to where it was before his demotion. Which seems like it would be a bonus to him more than the main objective.
Sera also acknowledges her own shortcomings in blindly adhering to the religion in her own halidom homeland, and perhaps sees a way to atone in someway by helping, even if it is just an exchange of information, someone who she previously would have just gutted on the spot for spouting what is decried as heresy.
Is he annoying? Depends on who you ask, he's not actively trying to annoy her though, he just is, but he's still a possible information source, and corpses can't talk.
Is he shady? No shadier than the rest of the goblins, in fact, I'd say they've been pretty open in explaining their business and beliefs and other professional goings on, to the herald.
Plus, all the goblins seem to know each other, it wouldn't take long for someone to notice that he's gone missing, or turned up dead, around the same time the group of outsiders came in, and that'd make them super wary and distrustful of the Herald.
At the end of the day, Jacko seems to me like a goblin version of Theanim Mane. He just wants to know the truth, and he's brave enough to stand up and ask the questions that make his fellow goblins uncomfortable. He's found a veritable fount of information that interests him, and some folk who are willing to lend him time and ear to talk and discuss such things, so if he has to cough up some information for what he wants, he's going to.
Pixie seen the light, now wants to snort the rest of the stix?
8897858
The three big factions would probably all kill or use her for their own ends if they knew what she was and what her intentions were. So, yeah, outcasts are gonna be the order of the day it seems. Although, for the record, theyâre already full of outcasts to begin with.
8897858
It wouldn't be the first time she took a bunch of misfits and helped them become much more than even they realized they could be. Ebon Mane, Eagle Eye, Josho, Sinra, Booster Spice, Roarke, Props, Zaid, Floydian, all misfits or rejects of some variety, and we all know what they did. All they needed was a reason to improve, a better tomorrow to hope for, and they could surprise even themselves. I see no reason Jacko cannot do the same.
Well, this is one of my favorite dialogue chapters since the Spindlers. I still think that "Petra" is just the transliteration of "petrol" pronounced in the imps' dialect/accent.
But, a small flame as a part of a cultural centerpiece gives me memories of Darkstine, and it gives me memories of the Ledo-Xona battlefield's machine-flame (Odrsjot ch 140). Might Rainbow banish parts of the Blob with a juiced up triple (or quadruple) Rainboom (Odrsjot ch 144).
Jacko has a child-like fascination with the Light Side and he wants to know more about where he comes from. He seems friendly enough, too, so....maybe it wouldn't hurt to take him along, show him the Magic of Friendship.
And then there's this purple-eyed Dihmer.... I want to hear her story :)
What's it like being from Penumbra?
8898033 But thanks to goblins naming her on multiple occasions, at least we know the Metal Mum isn't actually Roarke.
She's Avril Lavigne.
8897858
She'll build her own army, with outcasts and misfits (also blackjack).
Jacko is far from useless. I don't think he's trying to get back into Metal Mum/Petra's good graces. I think he's realised that there's a wizard behind that there curtain and now he's very much up for taking out the twiddly sticks this whole shebang is balancing on. Let Petra fall and burn; and from the ashes rise truth.
The gang can work with that.
8898189
In character, you say.
I disagree.
While she has always held those who waste her time in disdain, she only ever killed those who opposed her directly. She never became another Shell, no matter how far she sank. Any other threats and posturing on her part are just that: a means to scare off annoying people that waste her time.
For that matter, she has changed. Her presence at this point alone is evidence enough of that.
Jacko, how do you know what an ostrich is?
I said how do you know, Jacko?
Was it the script? Did you read the script, Jacko, is that how you know? Is that the script there in your hand?
Seraphimus x Logan Ship Confirmation Chapter Counter: 62
The goblin wants truth. Mostly money, but truth too.
Whenever they mention the "Metal Mum" I can't help but think of Roarke, cyborg matriarch of the light-side goblins. I wonder if this is more than coincidence?
8897903
If you're referring to my cover art then it's either Avenir or Univers LT
8900376
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPt1am18lR4&t=1605
8897814
đž (my hooves were dirty so I had my cat sign for me)
Is a rebellion in the works?
Just a band of outcasts, seeking the truth.
How real of a concept that is....
You know, I was originally not gonna even post this, but then I ended up spending way too much time on it to not do something with. I donât really care if no one sees this or cares, I just wanna put it here. This is a long and largely pointless comment filled with math on an old chapter, so I canât blame you for ignoring it. But to the pointâŚ
So I started wondering if it would be possible for the souls/deathlights/Petra Shade to be going either to the Light Side â presumably directly opposite the Prism â or to the very center of the ring fragmentâs midpoint, given that Axanâs light was described to sink into the ground, even by the very edge. Iâm going to use the former assumption as I think thatâs more likely from the math perspective (if the latterâs the case, the math would remain the same, except the ring would be about twice as thick).
For the record, Iâm assuming that the Urohringr is a perfect circle of constant width, that the Midnight Armory is in the exact center of the fragmentâs Dark Side, that the soulsâ paths are the most direct possible, and that Keplerâs statement that youâd need to look up 40° to see one Edge from the other is accurate (meaning the fragment is 80° of the whole ring).
Let us define
r
as the ringâs radius from the center to the surface of the Light Side,\theta
as the ringâs angle, andw
as its minimum possible width so that a soul starting from the Edge wouldnât start by going up first (as perceived in relation to the Dark Sideâs surface). Hereâs a crude illustration.From this, we can observe that
from which some basic algebra tells us that
and more importantly,
Since we know that
\theta = 80°
, and\cos(40)\approx0.766
, this would mean that the ringâs width is roughly 23.4% of the whole radius.Not only is that already a fairly unlikely-sounding out come, but since the length of Rainbowâs journey through the Light Side (assuming Equestriaâs at the center) is
2r\pi\times\frac{40°}{360°}=\frac{2\pi}9r
(in other words, roughly 69.8% of the radius), this would mean just crossing the Edge of the World at the end of Utaan would cover one third as much distance as the trip from Equestria to the Edge.So I think itâs safe to say this theoryâs pretty much impossible.
âŚUnless one or more of the assumptions I made were inaccurate. Or IC just didnât bother with the math (which, letâs be real, what reasonable person would?).
why canât i get this kind of determination for something actually productive
9036830
Because you have an animal brain that focuses more on what interests it than on what would be considered optimal application of effort. Also:
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/378/290/d8f.gif
I feel like this is important. Either this exists at the heart of the machine under canterlot and the midnight armory, or itâs all the flames Dash lit on the light side.
Which also means that if there were all those flames on the east edge in a row, then there should be some on the west side....which means we wonât go back the way we came.
RIP Noble Jury.
That little imp sure does has his big ol ears price.
It would be a shame if they gave him away...
9114466
I feel like there'll be room for a denouement yet. Even FoE had a 15 years later
Heresy!!!
Here is the standard procedure for dealing with such
11/20/2019
04:15 UTC
Jacko's quite the persistent seeker. He's got guts, I'll give him that.
Sera "I'm something of a heretic myself" Phimus and Jacko Tailblood, the aspirant. Never has a more dynamic duo stepped forth upon this concave stage. Three cheers now, for our esteemed players.
I had figured it was their souls or their life force, so yup, gotta agree with ya Jacko.
This is gonna get complicated real frickin quick.