Mount Aris, Jewel of the South, Citadel of Sea, Sky, and Stone, place of singing heights and awesome depths, and beloved home of Silverstream, is sending her (along with her parents, of course) on a mission to Griffonstone, the great city beyond the Celestial Sea. Queen Novo sent them to call on their ancient friendship with the Groverians and ask for help dealing with a sudden spike in disappearances. What started out as individuals vanishing without a trace has turned into entire ships suddenly disappearing, frequently enough to scare most of the traders away from the Straits of Aris. Nobody knows what's causing the disappearances, though after a month almost everyone agrees that it's foul play.
But whose play? Pirates would try to ransom their captives, murderers would have slipped up by now, and slavers wouldn't risk drawing the Dragon Lord's ire by attacking Cadmun ships.
Who's behind the disappearances? Where are those who disappear going? What does 'ATHANG' mean, and why did Queen Novo give Sky Beak a note saying it? (And what else was written on it?)
Silverstream sails across the Celestial Sea, in search of Griffonstone, adventure, and answers.
The synopsis confuses me... When does this story take place?
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Around the same time as Search for the Truth.
Edit: I was wrong, in order for it to make anywhere near logical sense, it's happening about a week before that, so around the same time as Domesticity; by Homestrian reckoning, 8/15/532.
Topographically interesting hill here...
I have a few questions about the King of Blizzards, especially what stopped him in this world. But for now, I'm looking forward to seeing an aspect of this world few ever consider.
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Ooh, thanks for catching that.
Also, yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to exploring Mount Aris and Griffonstone with Silverstream. Homestria doesn't have a monopoly on interesting locales or places worthy of song; the sea-scraped cliffs of Aris, the fiery mountains of the Dragon Lands, the stony oak looming over Griffonstone, all of these are reminders that greatness and wonder are the rights of all places and all peoples, not only those we usually focus on.
Who's this King of Blizzards? This world's version of the Windigos, or a sorcerer of some kind?
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A legend of Aris' past. When the Deep Winter descended on the world, the King of Blizzards rose up out of the south and besieged Mount Aris with his minions, fleeing when the Joyous Spring overwhelmed the cold and death. As for what he was... well, the jury's still out on that; the legends describe him as a monster, while the anthropological community mainly views him as a warlord, using the winter as cover to launch an attack against the weakened Arisians. There is no hard evidence saying that he actually existed, though, and there are some who say that he was only ever a myth.
In terms of narrative function, though, I can confirm that we won't be meeting him in the present day; his main uses were to emphasize the global nature of the
Deep Winter (which I really should have named before now...)(Edit: I did, the Cold Age. This is what happens when you spread your background information out, people, you try to provide information you already did elsewhere) and to give the Arisians a reason to find the tunnels beneath the mountain.You've heard of the Day of Black Sun. Now, get ready for the Night of Black Star!
Yup. I'm sure that'll be taken care of with zero unforeseen twists, turns, or unexpected revelations...
Fascinating look at this world's Griffonstone, and at the issues plaguing the larger world. Starlight is, after all, a sideshow to the main event. Not everyone is paying attention to her. Though I do have to wonder where and how Silverstream gets involved in this mess.
Unexpected but interesting object of reverence given who the Oddons equate to.
Even with a far more anarchic Ornithia, it's nice to know that those two end up together.
Drowned zombies in the sunken ruins of a fallen civilization? I'm sure its nothing. And that no harm will come of holding onto those fingers. (Though really, there are even odds that those digits will be either Silverstream's ruin or salvation.) Let's hope the locals don't keep making their displeasure known.
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Less an object of reverence than an object of nigh-omnipresence. A desert isn't exactly the best place to avoid the Sun.
Well... End up together, yes, end up *together* together, no. This Ocypete, though she shares the same name as the one from the comics, is a completely different one, possessing a friendly relationship with the good captain as opposed to a romantic one. Apologies for the confusion, and any potential disappointment.
One can only hope...
Well, that was creepy. Hope none of those drowned zombies have tridents.
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I'm sorry, did I give you permission to give me war flashbacks to those abominable, "Now-I-Am-Become-Death-The-Destroyer-Of-Worlds" monstrosities of a mob?
So, if I understand correctly, the water zombies are responsible for the disappearances? Spooky.
Aaand now I'm picturing Drowned with kraken-like tentacles giving ReDead-style "hugs" as they drag their victims into the depths. This is your fault, Ranger. And I refuse to suffer alone. Sweet dreams.
Oh, Gallus. He's dutiful, but he's scarred by his life on the streets. And being a teenager. Certain sensitivities definitely apply there. Let's just hope the dignitaries aren't too put out by their escorts' orders for maximum paranoia.
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Oh no!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smqucjnlvgc
Try not to dream all that with this playing in the background. :)
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Gallus' duty is a shield for him; like Gilda said, he hides behind it whenever things get tough. He uses it to make himself seem bigger than he is, partially, like you said, due to his formative years on the streets; he can't, must not, let himself be a boy ever again, because for him being a boy is linked with scrounging on the streets, wondering if you'll ever wake up after going to sleep and, if you do, whether that's good or bad. After his traumatizing years of vulnerability growing up, he can't let himself become vulnerable ever again. That's one of the reasons the messenger irritates him; she's so happy, so bubbly, so in harmony with the world and its wonders that he just wants to shake her and scream at her that she's lying to herself, that if you open yourself up to the world like that it'll only end up hurting you. The world wants to eat her, just like it wanted to eat him, and he doesn't want her to get eaten... and he doesn't want her to keep acting like she does and not get eaten, because that would mean that he's wrong, that it is possible to be a kid safely, that all his attempts to make himself a man are unnecessary, that his attempts to kill the boy who said this
are wrong. He wants the messenger to be wrong, because otherwise what he's doing is a choice, not "what needs to be done to survive." If she's right, then all the time and effort he's spent on becoming a man was wasted, and the boy who's been desperately holding out inside his heart is the hero, not the villain. Griffonstone took his innocence from him, and he desperately wants that to mean it didn't take anything of value.
After the attack in Gemerelli, I think they'd be more reassured by it.
The captain's a good person. I wish more people were like her. Heck, I wish my anxious brain would take notes.
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Her, actually. But yeah, Celaeno's great.
Welcome to Griffonstone. Don't mind the sense of looming destiny, that's normal this time of year.
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Griffonstone is the heart of an ancient empire, seat of wealth and learning, the meeting point of East and West. It's Istanbul, New York, and Ctesiphon all rolled into one. The history of the place, the sheer weight of years, makes it a miracle that anyone can walk at all there.
Hey, people are allowed to change their tactics. And the important thing to remember is that sea monsters are people in their own right, even if they're hostile to drywalkers. I'm not saying diplomacy is guaranteed to succeed, but it's not like they're locked into the methods described in the old texts. (Granted, they may be, but there's no reason to think they haven't innovated in the intervening years.)
I thought no one could translate those...
That's a very relevant question these days.
Poor Glenda. People like clean categories; it's not easy when you end up filed under "Other" nine times out of ten.
Ah, hard evidence. Now there's the question of whether anything or anyone in the area can perform the necessary digital analysis. (Well, it is a digit.) To the Runery?
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I meant in terms of show seasons. Is the main villain Squirk?
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Ah, sorry. This is set after Season 9, but before the timeskip in The Last Problem. As for the main villain... That remains to be seen.
Never expected Ocean Flow to channel Denethor, but Gallus does make a decent Pippin.
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Ocean Flow might be channeling Denethor here, but will she be able to eat a cherry tomato like him?
As for Gallus, he does make a surprisingly good Pippin; not necessarily the best warrior, but with enough heart for all his company. Here's hoping he doesn't go dropping any stones down wells or gazing into any Palantiri...
Fascinating stuff in both the past and the present. Let’s hope Gallus’s oath won’t be tested too soon…
Also, alas for Tempest. Though if they never did find the body, well, goodness knows she can be tenacious.
Yeah, Drowned are scary, especially in large groups with more than one trident.
Ah, skepticism in the face of whelming* evidence. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps a scientist sane. After all, when they're mad, they see all kinds of possibilities, as Twilight can attest.
* The biologist is too impressed to be underwhelmed, and if they were overwhelmed, they might accept the possibility of fish people. Ergo...
There's a bizarre paradox in beating defiance into a people. "Do as I say and sneer at authority!"
On some worlds, the blue skin might be unusual. Here, it was that they were all blue, with no variation.
I have questions about the local Dragon Lord. And how many dogs they're expected to have.
I can't help but be amused by an arcane library with e-books.
Ah. Can't tap for blue mana if you don't control the land.
Fascinating bit of insight. The question is, if the ship was attacked by the ocean's foot soldiers—not that they have feet—who was commanding them? (Or has their been an undersea revolution since that tome was penned?). Still, more answers than questions, which is always a welcome exchange. Let's see what they do with this information.
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More like, "I'll teach you how to root yourself no matter how hard the world tries to move you." Though you're right, it is very easy to see this backfiring.
...and the author somehow forgetting that the blue skin would be normal.
Ember II, Lord of the Dragon Lands, Descendant of Cadmus, Champion of Fire, will sadly not be taking questions at this time. Perhaps later, though. As for dogs... Spike is a special case, representing the mirror's translation of Twilight's faithful companion rather than the noble dragon that Spike has become. The Dragon Lands are predominantly human, don't worry.
Actually, that was more of me trying to indicate to the reader that, sorry, I won't be blinding you with my poor drawing skills; you'll have to take the characters' word for the illustration.
That makes a lot of sense, actually. Interesting.
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The worst part is the trident-bearers are, to me, the only actually scary ones; the unarmed ones are just too slow to be a serious threat. This means that the majority of the time Drowned are a joke to me, but for that minority they are one of the most terrifying things in the game to me. Please, Mojang, reduce the Drowned variance; make the unarmed a bigger threat (read: faster than a sleepy snail) and make the trident-bearers NOT "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
I really hope that's not foreshadowing...
Well, there's something resembling hope here. Let's hope those further up the chain of command keep accepting the fish people invasion. One moment of skepticism in the wrong mind could be disastrous here.
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Well, somewhat thankfully, like Sir Cloudfloor said it's not like they have any better ideas. Fish-people check at least most of the boxes, and Silverstream's report checks off a few more; at the very least, the "fish-people invasion" theory deserves investigation.
Can't tell if Gilda is more mocking or shipping at the end there, but I'm very curious to see what comes next.
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More gauntlet-throwing, testing to see how much Gallus has grown up; if he still tries to shut out Gabby like he did in Gilda II, Gilda will know that his promise to protect Silverstream was an anomaly, a boy randomly acting like a man instead of a man coming into his own. Part of being a man/woman (to Gilda) is a willingness to sacrifice, even when it doesn't directly benefit you: a real adult fears no suffering if they know good will come of it, in her eyes, a philosophy closely linked to her membership in the faith of the Burned. Gallus wasn't willing to suffer (as he would in all likelihood describe it) Gabby's company, but he proved himself willing to serve Silverstream and Ocean Flow, and now Gilda's testing to see whether he's willing to serve because he grew up (and is willing to endure Gabby's presence) or simply because he lost himself in his speech ("smooth as his dancing").
Whew, that's quite the lore dump! And now we have a MacGuffin to chase. What could possibly go wrong?
Fascinating stuff, both the history and the limits of global telecommunications. I especially love Silverstream’s quiet insight into those around her, particularly Gallus. Looking forward to more, especially now that the group has a genuine quest to pursue.
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Thanks! Regarding Silverstream's insight, her problem isn't that she doesn't pay attention to the world, it's that that attention has a tendency to get swallowed up by whatever catches it. She's easily distracted, not inattentive.
Vashta Nerada, anyone?
Thoroughly ominous note to end on. Looking forward to the next tune.