Discord had changed. He was now much longer, able to contort in midair and completely wrap any Prince in the full length of his body from muzzle to feather. His goatee had grown out long and luxurious, giving him a very evil appearance. His goat horn had grown long and crooked, and his deer antler was now an 8.8 point crown. Cascading energy of all colors and none surrounded him like an aurora before shifting to dance over his bald head. His staff now shimmered with palest blue and darkest purple, the energies of Anu and Padomy. Most different of all were his eyes, which now showed ancient wisdom, impossible knowledge, and the mischief of the truly wicked.
"Dad, everyone, I'm glad you're standing up for me, but I can fight my own battles...especially in my own Realm," he spoke up warmly. "Speaking of..." He lifted his staff. "I Discord, son of Sheogorath, son of Jyggalag, do hereby claim by right of succession and conquest the Throne of Madness and Chaos!" he bellowed out, the very fabric of reality shivering from the declaration. "Do any here gainsay my right?" He was greeted only with silence. "Well," he continued in a more normal tone, "now that that's taken care of, let's address some more important matters." He crossed his arms and floated back. "Why is there no Daedric King?"
Everyone stared at him, completely stunned. "...come again?" Vaermina finally asked.
"Only in private, love, I thought we were agreed on that?" Discord teased, making the Prince of Dreams blush rosily...much to the stunned amazement of several other Princes and the amusement of others. "But let me be blunt. The Daedric Princes are always in conflict with one another, alliances shifting on a moment to moment basis...meaning we have very little power where it matters. But history shows when several Daedric Princes unite, the results are awe inspiring. So...why is there no King to gather that power and shape that unity?"
Jyggorath snorted in amusement. "What do you think I was trying to do when I got cursed?" he explained with a playful glower at some of the other Princes.
"Now to be fair, Jyggorath," Clavicus spoke up, "your old self wasn't someone any of us would be willing to follow. Of course trying to enforce Order on those of us who aren't Order is going to result in unified counterattack."
"Let's nix that possibility, shall we?" Discord suggested. "I love Chaos as much as the next Daedra, but only when I'm the one making it and being entertained by it. So let's make things interesting." He raised his Staff again. "I, Prince Discord of Madness and Chaos, do hereby name myself King of the Daedra! Any who would accept my rule, swear fealty to me before the end of the Era! For all others...let the King Games begin!"
"King Games?" Hermaeus Mora snarled out. "What are those?"
"Just what they sound like," Discord explained. "I don't want war between the Princes, so we're keeping it simple. I have declared myself King. If nothing has happened by the end of the Era to refute that claim, I will be King, and you all will swear undying fealty to me. Before then, you may choose either to swear that fealty early, or challenge me for the Crown. The challenged chooses the game, the only rules being that relative Daedric Power and magic skill of the competitors in no way influence the outcome of the game."
He twirled playfully around Vaermina as he continued his explanation. "If I am challenged and win, the loser swears eternal fealty to me as their Liege, for themselves and all sworn to them. If I lose, I swear eternal fealty to the winner as my Liege, for myself and all sworn to me. It thus becomes an elimination match of Games, last Prince holding the Crown winning it all."
"Ludicrous!" Hermaeus Mora snarled. "Do you really think you can bet the fate of the Daedra on a series of games?"
Smiling, Discord turned to the Princes who had sided with him. "How many here like this method for ending this conflict and changing the face of Aurbis?" he inquired. The ten Daedra who had protected him raised their hands...as did Boethiah. "Boethiah? You're for it too?" Discord asked in surprise. "You realize there's no option to deceive when it comes to these oaths."
Boethiah smirked. "I am well aware. It might actually smooth things over between us this way. I look forward to these games."
Smirking, Discord turned to Hermaeus Mora. "So that's 12 for. How many against?" His grin turned vicious.
Hermaeus Mora snarled defiance. "Fine! I shall play your game, and you will regret challenging the Prince of Knowledge to a game of skill!"
Discord turned, seeing that he got the ascent from the other dissenters. "In that case, I look forward to your challenges. Until then...begone!" He thrust his Staff at them, banishing them back to their own realms.
"I'll take my leave as well," Boethiah spoke up. "This is going to be...an experience." With that said, he turned and left, fading to his own realm.
Discord sighed in relief as he stretched out, only to find himself nearly crushed in an armored bear hug. "D-dad!" he gasped out.
"Don't you ever pull anything that reckless again!" he snapped angrily. "I could have lost you to zero-sum, and never known the joy you brought me."
Discord smiled, wrapping around his father. "How could I not, Dad? You made me who I am today. What's the fun in being Mad if you don't take insane risks once in a while?"
"Well, I'm rather certain we'll all swear fealty to you once you've trounced the others," Clavicus spoke up.
"Are you certain he can?" Sanguine asked somewhat nervously. "They are quite capable..."
Discord's grin split his face three ways. "Oh don't worry...it's in the bag." He pulled out a large sack and reached into it, pulling out a deck of cards, a checker board, a chess set, and a cribbage board. "Ooh, Double Cranko!"
rare to see cribbage mentioned in anything. well done!
An... Interesting compromise. Though I can't help but feel that Discord is going to find a way to warp the rules of whatever "Games" the challenging princes come up with to his own advantage without actually breaking them...
It's what he does, after all.
I just looked up Double Cranko, and it sounds like Calvinball: The Tabletop Game.
7834381
You misunderstand.
The other Princes challenge him. Discord picks the games.
7834414 Have you been reading 'No Game, No Life'? Because Discord's challenge is straight out of it.
7834395
Now I have to look up double cranko. You just had to reference those comics.
Hi! I haven't read this yet, but she should put in the main description what it's a crossover with.
7834480
Yup, that's where I got the idea from.
7834565
What comics? 'Double Cranko' is from MASH.
7834571 It's Discord and SHEOGORATH. You either already know from the name or wouldn't get the references anyway.
You forgot to space between crown and cascading. Also, ooh, Discord's all grown up!
That's, a valid question.
If you insist...
Like the Cell Games?
Or not. That's OK too.
As you wish.
Clever. Also, considering Discord's shtick, I have no doubt that him trouncing the others will be FUN.
Let's hope none of them pick Checkers otherwise when a piece for Discord reaches the end he'll win with a King Me.
If one truly think Discord is Mad they might as well look at him like he grew three heads.
Next thing we know Discord might as well as bagged his victory.
7834666 maybe not the name out right but the cover are is hard to miss the answer who gets this MLP displace
7834666 It's just polite, and helps if a potential reader knows the name, but not the media.
I've yet to see No Game No Life, myself. Discord's got this, natch
This will be fun!
7834582
Calvinball, as stated by who I replied to. It's Calvin and Hobbes
7834571
7834666
7834775
not really, it doesn't affect that much, if only it helps you get interested in the other property if you haven't been exposed (started reading a vbit about the elder scrolls series myself)
I wonder if we'll be seeing Mornington Crescent, Numberwang, and Sabacc?
7835844
...who?
7834773
hey sans
do you have a notebook next to you while reading tatsurous stories and write down puns as you read the latest update?
7836168 No, I just read and think of it on the spot since I aim to make the puns chapter specific. I just use the comment box to type them there, think and if it's OK, post.
7835855
mornington crescent background here
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornington_Crescent_(game)
example here
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/25300550/
numberwang background here
http://thatmitchellandwebb.wikia.com/wiki/Numberwang
sabbacc background here
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sabacc
7835844
7835855
those do sound like pony names don't they?!
7836442
Actually, I thought they were Elder Scrolls characters I didn't know.
7836450
Really? I mean, Sabacc I can definitely see, but Mornington Crescent and Numberwang don't really seem like characters from TES... still, thanks for explaining it, mastermenthe! And there is also always the game Mao, which has some interesting rules in and of itself.
O' course, there's also Cripple Mr. Onion, Dragon Poker, and Shibo Yangcong-San, but all of these seem to have rules set already.
I can't believe discord is Tet
Actually discord as tet is ingenious
Theoretically, Hermy could guarantee his victory by challenging Dissy to a game of riddles, trivial pursuit or something similar to that.
7836871
Hermaeus doesn't get to pick the games.
Discord does.
7836824
Tet? i dont recall that name in the TES mythos. please provide a link or explanation?
7836880 Tic Tac Toe means that Discord can always force Hermy to play for a hundred thousand years until he finally gives up
7836887 that's because it's a No Game No Life reference, god of games
... ... uh... ... I I fergot to sleep agean ... I its 7 or 8 08 am right now
yaaaaaay...
So Discord gets to choose the game when he gets challenged, right???? I suggest Calvin Ball.
Vaermina needs to challenge Discord and the game is Who can Last Longer in Bed.
7837780
I thought they could die? Isn't there lore about Daedra fights and Daedra killing other Daedra? Like Mehrunes Dagon. He gets killed, though not permanently.
7837448 Me: "Are you sure this will work?"
"I have NO IDEA!"
Well, I guess it's time to du-du-duel. I mean, so far he is the king of games...
Discord's gone truly mad.. or so it would seem. I have a feeling he didn't show his true power at all, just to make Hermaeus think he can win.
This is certainly going to be interesting.
Trust Discord to make a game of something incredibly serious
That sounds like Card Game Calvinball...
I read through all of the comments, and no-one said anything about the 8.8 points on his antler? Am I the only one who got the Back To The Future Reference, or was it so blatant that no-one else thought that it was worth commenting on?
9637820
That depends on whether or not people have seen it