Lack of Life

Yanessa supposedly casts a Zone of Truth on him. Zone of Truth can be cast by bards, clerics, paladins, and druids. Yanessa is none of these. Even if she secretly were, the following means she either faked the casting, or simply held her tongue about Primus not actually submitting to it.

“It was never my intention to slaughter any who sit now at this table.” Past tense. And there are more ways to kill than a slaughter. Questionable.

“The window has closed. We were running out of time. […] It is no longer a threat.” Tannesar has been gathering sand and dust for ages. Tansul made it in his ancient lifetime. What tight schedule was your undead angel project possibly on, Primus? Lie.

Lore drop about the Royal House of Obridai, to which all the currently Sundered Houses once knelt as vassals. The ancestors of Einfasen, Cormoray and Royce only acquired the lands they did because their ancestors knelt to the kings of Obridimia and the Shapers, despite being of more ancient magic lineage to Aramán. A historical point that none of the houses can refute. Truth.

‘Royce quarrels with Einfasen, Einfasen with Cormoray.’ Aranessa went to Otto as an ally. Otto said his house had friends with House Cormoray who they’d speak to about commending Murray. Primus is trying to tilt a narrative that doesn’t align with his speech. Lie/Questionable.

“Seventy years ago, we had an emperor.” More history. There was an emperor still ruling at the time of Tansul’s slaying. Truth.

“I speak truth to you now. My plan with the Deva Vindicta was the same as always.” Cue a reveal of broad real estate plans with the other Sundered Houses’ names staked out on them. “Western Telmora to the Einfasen. Eastern Telmora to the Cormoray. The Golden Orchard moved from its proximity to the closed doors of Faerie into the Tenebral Reaches for use by my family, and Yanessa, the razing of Telmora’s druid groves. Plenty of real estate to build cathedrals. We are true allies to all of you here. The Deva Vindicta was not meant to slaughter you. It was meant to make you kneel. […] The Vindicta would’ve been our winning gambit in the game that we all play here.” House Tachonis is not playing the same game, full stop. They don’t care about the Material Plane or its politics except as an obstacle prior to dying away to their growing empire in the Tenebral Reaches, where all souls bow to them. The Sepulchral Lord business with Grandpa Nullus is sign enough. The Deva Vindicta might have an extra use of making other lords bow to the Tachonis in life, but that’s secondary. The focus is on an existential scale, not a mortal one. It’s believable that the Golden Orchard is a coveted target. It’s believable that they’d want the druids to lose some of their foothold. It’s a shrug as to whether Tachonis cares enough about living Aramán to divvy it up to fellow lords or not. Lie/Questionable.

“Lord Einfasen, how goes the search for the Jotunøks? My Lord Cormoray, I understand that your grant at the Pentevral has gone through. Congratulations. I heard there was some celebration at the old Kalystra quarries? And I’m glad you’re well, Lady Halovar. Terrible case of bellows fever going around, wouldn’t you say? And of course, your wonderful Aspirants. How exceptional that these demons are here because they have been…saved.” Translation: Tachonis has eyes and ears aware of all the other Sundered Houses’ secret projects. Those same Sundered Houses had only guesswork to go off of with Tachonis, if that. It took all our heroes risking their lives and working overtime to dredge up enough evidence to reveal a fraction of what Tachonis, the house that works in shadow, was actually working on. Primus was caught off guard at the meeting’s start because he was shocked that any secret of his house could leak at all, let alone through the mystery of the reconstituted candle. Even so. Tachonis knows much more about the other houses than any of them even suspect of Tachonis. Truth.

[INSERT ARISTO ASSHOLE CLASSIST SPIEL HERE.] Part sales pitch. Part earnest shitty belief. It means nothing for House Tachonis to kneel to another house in life when they still rule in death. Questionable.

When questioned, Primus insists his push to have Thjazi Fang executed was only to bait Aranessa and her company to rush into range. Mentions the Candle of Slaughter requires noble blood to be spilled for it to work. The former is a good cover, entirely leaving out the significance of the Tachonis scar on Thjazi, intended to force him into servitude in death. The latter is a unique confession to make about how the spell components of your murder candle work in a room full of nobles. An admission so unflattering it would be taken for a grudging truth by his audience. (And possibly a good protection for later, if or when the second Tachandle is lit and used to kill off a bunch of nobodies for another slaughter.) Lie and a (Questionable) Truth.

“That is the sum total of it. I’ve told you all I can.” LIE. LIE. LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE.

Petra and Ryah, behind him: “We have much to discuss, my lords and lady, of the Revolutionary Council and its weakness following the assassination attempt on the Timmonish king and the Photarch.” An assassination attempt they knew was coming. Possibly all of them knew it and/or had a hand in it. They all wanted King Gus dead and the Council weakened. “There have been heated words exchanged. We need not make a decision tonight. Let us calm ourselves and let cooler heads prevail.” That the same line you sold to Amadah before you went hunting for Occtis on Altradler? “Come. We have laid a feast for you as a token of our apologies.”

Ma’ams. Ladies. My heroin chic skeletal gals. I know the “Zone of Truth” wasn’t “”cast”” on you, but come on. Your dad spent half his time here openly lying to everyone’s face about the Royce and Occtis killing and had to have his apology*** dragged out of him like pulling teeth. That Fantasy Doordash buffet was not laid for any apology. Either you’re up to some Red Wedding poisoning shit—thanks for mentioning the need for noble blood to spill, Primus!—or House Tachonis is simply incapable of opening its mouths and telling the truth at the same time.

And what a surprise. Primus and Yanessa want a private ‘just us priestly houses~’ chat while the other houses (plus a Termina!) get herded to the dinner table. Shocking.

I would be reluctant to use fridging in this exact context, because this isn't some imaginary scenario to generate manpain for a white hero, this is a much more common experience of Native American and First Nation people, having their wives and daughters and sisters (in particular, but not exclusively) go missing. And never getting answers, never learning what happened, and not being believed that there's a problem in the first place.

This is like how being rescued from a tower by a prince is not particularly empowering or affirming to cis physically able straight thin perisex white women and girls, but can be for basically anybody else. Particularly black girls and women, who do not get a lot of cultural messages that treat them as people who are so valuable and precious, who may not have the strength to save themselves, or may wish that they didn't fucking have to save themselves (and everyone else) all the time.

White men have this story so often happen that we have a trope name specific to one specific and particularly egregious version of this, but you don't often see men who look like Robbie dealing with this type of story in fictional settings, even though it happens for men like Robbie in real life with horrifying frequency.

It was never my intention to slaughter any who sit now at this table.

Intention does a lot of heavy lifting here. Primus may not have intended to kill the other Houses, since he needed them to stabilize his hopeful rule, but that's not the same as not being willing or ready to slaughter them all. And let's be honest, if they didn't kneel, death via Deva Vindicta is almost certainly what would have happened.

The creation of this weapon, the Deva Vindicta, the window has closed. We were running out of time. We completed the ritual in perhaps the last day we could have. It is no longer a threat.

I do wonder if the "last day we could have" was about too many forces getting to Tannesar to muck things up, or some sort of magical alignment having to do with the Sea Doors being open for them. We've been told above-table that the Tachonis are having to go the long way around with the Hall of Mercy now, so if the Sea Doors are open for a set period every year, that could make sense of it.

What was our plan? 70 years ago, everyone at this table kneeled to the Royal House of Obridai. All of us, vassal houses. Myself and Halovar descend from the priests of that empire, and all of you, though you fought against the gods in the Shapers' War, your ancestors all knelt. Many of you only have your lands because your ancestors did kneel to the kings of Obridimia. For 70 years, we have been without empire. And in those 70 years, we bicker and quarrel, react, overreact, make mistakes. Royce quarrels with Einfasen, Einfasen with Cormoray. 70 years ago, we had an emperor. I speak truth to you now, my plan with the Deva Vindicta was the same as always: Western Telmora to the Einfasen. Eastern Telmora to the Cormoray. The Golden Orchard moved from its proximity to the closed doors of Faerie into the Tenebral Reaches for use by my family. And Yanessa, the razing of Telmora's druid groves. Plenty of real estate to build cathedrals. We are true allies to all of you here. The Deva Vindicta was not meant to slaughter you, it was meant ot make you kneel. Tachonis is not strong enough on its own. Not without Einfasen, not without Cormoray, nor Halovar.

Gotta wonder at Primus's definition of "true allies" versus what others might define as such. True allies could mean we will help you as long as it benefits us. Which, he's made the argument that Tachonis isn't (currently) strong enough to rule the world on its own. But what happens when Tachonis doesn't need them anymore. Are they still allies then? Or are they rivals to be kept at heel, destroyed if they get to uppity?

We were to make you kneel. The Vindicta would've been out winning gambit in the game that we all play in here. Lord Einfasen, how goes the search for the Jotunøks? My Lord Cormoray, I understand your grant at the Penteveral has gone through. Congratulations. I heard there was some celebration at the old Kalystra quarries? I'm glad you're well, Lady Halovar. Terrible case of bellows fever going around, wouldn't you say? And of course, your wonderful Aspirants. How exceptional that these demons are here because they have been... saved. The Deva Vindicta was a winning move. A winning move in a game that you will not deceive me we are all playing. You might be angry that we almost won, but we did not. You have my apologies for the direct lie of the Royce gala, but let us not pretend that the old throne of Obridimia does not call to each and every lord and lady in this room.

We work best together. For there are 2 games being played here. The game in this room, and the game out there. They're playing too. All of them are playing out there. If we had won and made you kneel as vassal houses of the new Royal House of Tachonis, you would have ruled over every single mortal in creation, save a single family you would kneel to. Vast millions at your feet, and but a handful to whom you would be answerable. If they win, out there, the meanest oaf, the lowest beggar, the most mud-caked simpleton, will be your equal. You will be above no one. They will bury you in their dirt and call it freedom.

If I am bested in our little game here by someone in this room, you have my word, I will applaud you and serve as House Tachonis did serve for centuries.

Gotta wonder about which centuries of service Primus is talking about and how loyal Tachonis actually was at the time. Or how they actually served.

But we cannot take our eyes off them out there. Or did you not here the Lady Royce's late husband and what he can still hear? (Yanessa) Thjazi Fang. You pushed so hard for his death, my Lord Tachonis. (Primus) The candle requires still a great degree of noble blood to be spilt. We knew that if Thjazi was to die, the Lady Aranessa would come running to save him. We needed it to not be a death in private, but one with a trial and a hanging, such that she would have time to make her way to Dol-Makjar. We fed the information to the Royce that we were looking for Occtis thinking they might find him where we could not, and they took him to their home. Davinos was an improvisation, but wherever the Lady Royce and Occtis first met, I would have been waiting in the shadows. Or enough of Aranessa's retainers to speed the Deva's journey to the underworld.

Interesting to note that Primus thinks noble or vassal House blood needed to be spilled to power the candle. Especially as my understanding is that very few that were killed at the Palazzo were actual House (even just vassal) blood, instead being largely the hired help, possibly very minor nobles. I would not call just Raimond "a great degree" of noble blood.

Also interesting to note that while Primus has set Thjazi's death as bait for Aranessa, there's no indication one way or the other about having competing interests, at least over the Stone of Nightsong, brought up.

That is the sum total of it. I have told you all I can. Your wrath is just. Consider as always, my lords and lady, not what your heart might tell you in its consternation and fury. What advances the interests of your House?

"I have told you all I can." We know the spirit of Nullus is in on what the Tachonis are doing to mess with the Halls of Mercy. Primus could be sworn to silence, or just following his own father's orders not knowing the end to be spoken of here. The point is, there is more, but Primus cannot speak of it before the assembled Houses.

ALL THE WORST PEOPLE IN A MANSION TOGETHER GRRR

~Tip Jar~

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take these tags, on somebody else's post (condolences pip)

the thing is. this is what i would call an inside thought. nobody would have known you didn't get it if you didn't tell them that. if you recognised that it was important but didn't have the headspace to process it, you can reblog without commentary for others, or to come back to later. or you can save it somewhere and wait until you DO have the capacity to read it over a few more times, ponder it, consider what it might mean, figure out how to understand it, and THEN reblog it

but no. rushing to reblog while it is still opaque. rushing to admit to ignorance rather than spend the time to achieve understanding. perhaps hoping that somebody will break it down for you more simply, though to my mind it was quite simply phrased in the first place. never stopping to take the time first

comprehension is not always instant! sometimes it takes a bit of time for something to percolate after you read it; sometimes you need to read it a few times; sometimes you realise you don't have the context for it and either go and get the context or accept that it's not for you right now