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Azune Nayar is not someone who was failed in his youth by the adults around him.
Azune Nayar is someone whose childhood and youth were marked by adults who, faced with bad choices, made the less-worse one because they cared about him.
His parents starved themselves to give him and his sister the chance of being recruited as child soldiers by a mercenary group, because that was the only way to protect him from starvation.
Thjazi Fang saw a child abandoned by the roadside, desperately, determinedly, and implausibly claiming he could fight. Thazi Fang was in the middle of waging a rebellion against the powers of Araman. That rebellion wasn’t the best place for a child of twelve. But it was a better place than abandoned by the roadside or picked up by another mercenary group, and Thjazi cared, so Thjazi took him in and assigned him to noncombat work away from the front lines.
By 15 Azune was fighting on the front lines. (In an earlier war, the same was true of Thazi at that age.)
Thjazi’s rebellion failed. He asked his brother Hal to look out for the teenage Azune. Hal did so, treating Azune as part of his family. Hal did the same for other people who needed it. Being like family wasn’t the same as being Hal’s kid.
The tragedy of Azune isn’t that he was failed or abandoned or uncared for or used. The tragedy of Azune is that the best that people who cared about him could give him still wasn’t the same as what he needed, because being an adult doesn’t make you all-powerful. Azune’s problems weren’t created by those who loved him. They were created by the world he lives in.
Azune lived his adult life for the Torn Banner because it was the life he knew; or out of loyalty; or because they were the ones trying to change that world into something different.
He offers understanding and empathy to enemies (Julien) and strangers (Vaelus). He learned that somewhere.
He will self-immolate for a cause. He likely learned that from his parents, who did it for him, and from Thjazi, who did it for the same cause.
You have pointed out a really big mystery re Thjazi and Azune
"Thjazi Fang saw a child abandoned by the roadside, desperately, determinedly, and implausibly claiming he could fight. Thazi Fang was in the middle of waging a rebellion against the powers of Araman. That rebellion wasn’t the best place for a child of twelve. But it was a better place than abandoned by the roadside or picked up by another mercenary group, and Thjazi cared, so Thjazi took him in and assigned him to noncombat work away from the front lines."
Then, in the following paragraph, you also state that Thjazi sends Azune to Hal. If he could do this, why didn't he do this before, earlier, long before Azune became 15 (the flashback where he was however incidentally at the front lines) or 17 (which he approximately was at the time of the rebellion's end). That's five whole years Thjazi didn't find an alternate way to house Azune.
Azune was rolling death saves at 15 (e2), and he still didn't get sent to Hal's until the Rebellion ended. We know this because Azune witnessed the act that threw Thjazi in chains (Julien's Big Stand).
So that's my question. Why did Thjazi take so long to put Azune with Hal? There's many possible explanations but until we have concrete evidence, I can't even say with certainty that Thjazi did his best.
This mystery, in conjunction with Azune's reactions, does not paint a flattering picture of Thjazi's choice. Azune does break down twice, once in private (e24), once in front of Murray and Thimble (e27), about how he feels like a liar and a killer and not a good person.
We know from Azune's private speech that he felt like he got set on that path because of what Thjazi asked of him. We also know from that same speech that there is a part of Azune who longs to know what he could've been like outside of Thjazi's influence, and then in the same breath wondering what it would've been like if Thjazi was his dad. So there is some longing in there, a yet unexplored disappointment in Thjazi
And here's the thing. People can do their best by you and still fail you. Sometimes, people just don't work out no matter how hard either or both party wishes otherwise. I don't think failure is synonymous with bad intentions or some inherent evil in someone. Sometimes, that's just how the dice rolls, where even someone's absolute best doesn't necessarily mean they're fit parents, or they're taking good care of their kids.
It's how that failure is acknowledged and handled that makes the mark of a character. We know that Azune's parents had not the means to feed and care for their children. Through circumstances far outside of their control, they failed as parents. They recognized that failure by giving up their children to people who could give them a chance.
That is the mark of their love, knowing when the place at their side is not tenable for raising children. They must be sent away.
I do think Thjazi failed Azune. Was it intentional? No. Did it leave long lasting harm to Azune? Yes. Does Thjazi think he failed Azune? I dont know.
I dont know why he didnt send Azune away so he could spend 5 years without a sword in hand. I don't know why Thjazi yelled at Azune to keep his eyes open when the teenage boy was so scared of battle, he couldnt even look (e25), instead of sending him away to Hal where Alogar (same age) spent his time just hanging out.
And I don't think that makes Thjazi evil or whatever. I think maybe he shouldnt be trusted to raise kids, at least on his own. But other than that...
I don't really know what saying "Azune wasn't failed" accomplishes. As you say, "people who cared about him could give him still wasn’t the same as what he needed, because being an adult doesn’t make you all-powerful" like that is a description of failure. Sometimes, it doesn't work out and failure does not need to be that someone doesn't care. Failure is not a marker of effort. Failure is "not achieving the goal set out, for any combination of reasons". Failure is not a moral judgment on someone. It's just failure.
"Azune’s problems weren’t created by those who loved him." This is pending the reasons Thjazi kept him close. Because we do know that right now, Azune feels like a liar and a killer and he doesn't like being that. And I have to ask, did he have to become a liar and a killer? Was there truly no other way that he couldve grown up?
I dont think we have enough evidence right now to definitively answer that. so...
Honestly, my favorite part about Campaign 4 is that Brennan wove together a High Fantasy Quest and a Civil Rights Documentary.
Yes, we must throw the One Ring into Mordor, but we also have to set up food banks and run volunteer drives and organize neighborhood watches.
One thing the Einfasen Carriage Discussion cemented is that the problem of the Undead also affects the Rebel Houses. They allied with the Tachonis out of need to fix the Barrowdell issues in their domain. So, even if the Afterlives hurt the Halovar and Tachonis bottom line (and that is a Big If), we would still be left with the banal Big Bad of Wealth (Cormoray) and Military Might (Einfasen)
Sure, maybe fixing the Afterlives will help with the arcane issues. But let's not pull a Nullus here and think that fixing the arcane issues will automatically solve the political problems. Those two quandaries intersect, ofc, but throwing the Ring to Mordor isn't going to change laws or establish democracy, and establishing a democracy isn't going to stop Sauron from raining hellfire (or whatever Sauron does).
It sure would help to not have hellfire raining so people can establish a democracy, and it sure would help to have a democracy to destroy Sauron. In short, there's overlap. The solution for the High Fantasy problem will help with the Civil Rights problem, and vice versa. But we must have two solutions.
This was never going to be a One Solution campaign. In the same way, the threats the Houses represent are divided in largely the same lines. Surprise, the Priestly Houses have arcana based "higher" power, putting their eggs in fake religions and the occult. Whereas, the Einfasen and the Cormoray have more "earthly" powers, trade and armies, full plate and farms.
The PCs are fighting a twofold war, and Brennan never lets us forget.
I've been thinking of calling this whole part the "Fellowship at the Farramh", to give it that nice nod to LotR
DISCLAIMER: This timeline will differ from other sources which I believe overestimate how long the Seekers travelled. According to e15, when speaking to the Candescent Creed knight, he was "getting excited for Candle Feast", which implies that Candle Feast has not yet happened. So the Seekers must arrive in Castle Torch on the days before Candle Feast.
ADDENDUM: In e24, we heard from Romina on Weaver's Day (Day 6, 29th of Trozemere) that the Stahlkeep received word from Riesengurtle about a betrayal. For Romina, in Dol Makjar, to have heard of the Seeker's party shenanigans in Riesengurtle, then it would be nearly nearly nearly impossible for the Seeker's shenanigans to have happened on that same day.
If Romina heard about Seeker's shenanigans on Weaver's Day (Day 6, 29th of Trozemere), then the Seekers must have met with Einfassen (and left his house) before that day.
ADDENDUM 2: Brennan's narration of the Seekers traveling to Tannesar involved hours upon hours of riding with an added 8 hour long rest. We note in e25 that the Seekers had another 8 hour long rest on the way back. A conservative estimate of travel time total to get to Venatus is 20 hours (12 hours riding plus 8 hours resting). Going back, I can allow for shorter travel time, let's say 16-17 hours total. If the Seekers took 16-17 hours to get back to Castle Torch, then for the Seekers to arrive on the day of the Gala, before the sun starts to set, they must have started traveling away from Tannesar on the day before the gala. Ergo, the wiki cannot be correct to have the Seekers still be at Tannesar on the day befor the gala, then arrive at Castle Torch virtually overnight. The hours would not add up. The wiki is wrong.
REGARDING THJAZI'S BURIAL: Lorekeepers marked his burial on the 26th of Trozemere. However player narration during the burial says as follows:
"LIAM: I just draw my daughters in and stand over his resting place. Even though it is well past midnight from the sparse lights throughout the city, I look out at The Rookery below us and I can see out in the dark, just barely where the Lloy home rests."
If it is past midnight, then it can't have been the 26th of Trozemere. It would have to be the very next day, on the 27th. This is further corroborated by DM narration that claims it is well past midnight when they left the sewers.
QUOTES re: EVENTS BEFORE THJAZI'S EXECUTION
Regarding Tertia's Sacrifice: "Our most recent findings were from about two and a half months ago. The final experiment was a failure and wasted our last supplies of ossement." (e17)
Regarding the Stone of Nightsong:"...the object that you retrieved on your last big adventure with Thjazi, of several-- Like a month or two ago, you got back from it." (e1)
Regarding Thjazi's arrest: "Just for the past two weeks, because Thjazi got arrested two weeks ago." (e2)
Regarding Alogar, Thaisha, and Occtis:
"Thaisha and Occtis, you passed by here a few weeks ago...knowing that Alogar was stationed here a couple weeks ago..." (e15)
(Thaisha:) "...there was one meeting, he was probably out doing something on the secondary, the second pass-through." (e15)
"Didn't catch him on the way back. I think he probably was out ranging at that point. He was doing his job, doing the job of the Barrowguard." (e15)
(Thaisha:) "And we were hustling back trying to get to Thjazi, so we couldn't wait around." (e15)
"They told me to inform that the Grey Tower needed an excursion at once to Tannesar... The third battalion was sent under the command of our head ranger into the night." (e15)
Regarding Petra and Ryah: "The ladies of your house were here more than a week ago. They came truly not long after you were last here, my lord, venturing into Venatus." (e15)
Regarding Mara:
"I'm sorry to say, Mr. Fang, but your brother came in about five or six weeks ago. He came in, ordered about six of the enchanted amphora...He had a falcon with him." (e24)
"Shortly after you (Thaisha and Occtis) left, perhaps a day, a close ally of Thjazi Fang came to Venatus and told us that a important plan had gone horribly wrong. She had been making her way to the tear in the world where the Stormwrack and the Eternal Night touch in the Tachonis homeland." (e18)
"Mara had come to Venatus to explain that a plan had gone horribly wrong." (e18)
"She told us that she needed to make her way at once to Dol-Makjar. It was of utmost importance that she traveled there straight away, but told us that there was a small Tachonis outpost at Tannesar and that we had to come here at once, that the fate of all of Aramán was at stake and we needed to come here and destroy an obelisk." (e18)
"She, exhausted beyond measure, needed every precious moment and flew at once for Dol-Makjar." (e18)
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Is this a closed or an open system? In other words, are new souls being introduced all the time? Or is the amount of souls constant through all of time?
IF NEW SOULS ARE BEING INTRODUCED:
What's the ratio of old v. new souls? How many new souls are born v. how many old souls are reincarnated per year?
The old souls will always outnumber the new souls. And the amount of available bodies will always be less than the amount of old souls. Do the new souls have to compete with the old souls to get a body? Or do new souls get priority for reincarnation? Where do old souls wait for their turn to be reborn?
Was the Tenebral Reaches/Underworld meant to balance out the cycle of rebirth? So dead souls would have to wait their turn to be reborn and give new souls a chance at life?
If old souls have to wait to be reborn, wouldn't the wait time increase exponentially as new souls get constantly added?
IF THE SYSTEM HAS A SET AMOUNT OF SOULS, AND NO NEW SOULS ARE EVER CREATED:
Then shouldn't the Afterlives all be destroyed to maintain life on Araman. Why did Mara explain that the Bridges could be two way streets, allowing souls to remain in their Afterlife? Why maintain access to the Afterlives when it is a threat to the cycle?
Wouldn't the amount of people being born with a soul be limited by the amount of people who choose the Old Path (and not stay in the Afterlife)?
What happens to the cycle if most souls choose to remain in the Afterlife instead of moving on?
How did Araman maintain the cycle after 4000 years worth of dead people choosing to live in the Afterlife? How was anyone born?
If souls must constantly be reborn, then shouldn't the Underworld also be destroyed with the Afterlives so souls must prioritize moving on ASAP?
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
If a human soul can be reborn into a hound's body, can they be reborn into other animals? Does becoming an animal affect their ability to reincarnate later? Relatedly, can non-reincarnated animals walk the Old Path? Do non-reincarnated animals have souls?
If non-reincarnated animals don't have souls, how can a soul be reborn into an animal?
Can souls be transformed into a different type of energy? (Like how the warlocks changed souls into fabric)
Is there a way for a soul to cease existing in either the Underworld, the Afterlives, and on the Old Path?
Given the importance of new bodies for souls to be reincarnated into, shouldnt the Druids insist constantly on childbirth and reproduction? Wouldnt a rising population serve the interests of the Old Path? (Where's the Fertility Rituals?)
How does the necessity of having children affect the ability of people to refuse having children?
I'd love to know if they've filmed any of the next Seekers arc yet. Alex has mentioned occtigan twice as something people ship (which isn't incorrect, but the knightingale ship is much bigger), and I want to know so badly if he's got it on the top of his mind because of upcoming interactions. I ship both, but I think Alex and Robbie have better chemistry, and it comes across that way in their roleplay.
They learned something about Souls and the Underworld that was of such great importance, they started doing this. They learned something so important that they now have to move at top speed if they don't want the Sundered Houses to stop them, maybe not just the Tachonis or the Halovar either, maybe all of them.
Murray is right. She asked the important question and the brilliant DM that is Brennan refused to answer. Where's the fun in that?
As altruistic and beautiful as freeing the souls is, Mara and the Cloak never meant for this ritual to be as big or as beautiful as it ended up being. Their plan was secret and secure. They need to do this 6 more times and they need 18 more artifacts.
There is a bigger picture.
The Selpuchral Lord, the Hall of Mercy, this pervasive and incorrect belief that the Underworld can "get crowded"... It's all intertwined
The Old Path is old. The Underworld has existed for as long as life existed. Neither are anathema to each other. The Shapers have never created anything, up to and including the necromantic rites that the Tachonis misuse.
The Shapers told a very powerful lie, so long ago that even the druids have accepted it as truth. But it isn't. Revivify is not a skill exclusive to the Shapers when everything they have is stolen.
Mara might not have a better reason beyond altruism, but the Cloak sure as sugar does. Murray is right. There is a bigger why. There was a bigger lie. The Cloak learned the truth. Occtis might already be well on his way to figuring it out himself.
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[ID: A digital illustration of Thimble and Occtis Tachonis from Critical Role. Thimble is the size of a human and grinning as she hugs Occtis, lifting him slightly off the ground so his feet dangle just above the floor. Occtis is hugging Thimble back and looking very surprised to be in the air. End description.]
I've been happily shipping Knightingale since about one episode into the Seeker's Arc but hello that scene between Kattigan and Occtis in the basement was so good. Alex made mention of Occtis being low on HP and was making sure to act sluggish, but no one healed him. That it was Kattigan of all people who noticed and fixed the problem is delightful.
Occtis and Thaisha obviously had their very sweet goodbye scene this episode, which I loved, but I keep thinking about Occtis very intentionally not telling Thaisha anything about Gaya. making sure to be out of earshot when he asks Murray about it
it reminds me of the discussion in Episode 16 + the Cooldown for it, where they talk about whether he intentionally kept the Kibbenimkedaz from her (or whether he - Alex - just forgot haha), and the potential tension of "I'm putting my neck out on the line for you while you're keeping secrets and making your own plans"
which wasn't the case in that episode, but was in this one. Occtis knows that bringing people back like he did is, if not an outright deal-breaker, at least a more complicated and emotional discussion than he wants to have right now, especially with her on her way to talk to her grandmother and the other druids. so he very carefully doesn't tell her.
fascinated to see what's going to happen with this when they reunite
(and when they reunite, Occtis will presumably be level 6 and able to cast a full Animate Dead, instead of just Summon Undead)
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I love that we spent so much time learning about all these death psychopomps for the Shapers, exclusively in service to their afterlives
And the Old Path finally gets one
The problem with Venatus is that people cant be forced to go down the Path if they dont want to
But most other times, the problem is that the Woods are Dark, and though they have cut a path, it is not visible through the tenebral gloom
So of course! The perfect angel for the Old Path is a giant celestial made of luminous paint that can serve as a beacon for all souls who are in danger for losing their way
After 70 years of swinging in the dark, Thaisha Lloy gives the Druids an upgrade
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