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At the speeds that Rayen’s body moved, a normal human would have been rent to dust. If it weren’t for Zeff’s passive soul defenses, he knew that he and Axiolis would not have survived, either.
Such were the limits of Rayen’s ability. She could move within one of two speed ranges: that of an unaided human, or that of pure light. Everything in between those two extremes was impossible. And unfortunately, this also meant that Rayen could not bring any of the weaker servants here without maiming or killing them. Even carrying reapers by themselves would not work because it was impossible for her to maintain a strong enough grip on them. If she tried, her soul would simply tear through the reaper, instead.
Moreover, the speed was a danger to Rayen herself, Axiolis knew, on top of being difficult to control. If she went too far with a single leap, her own body would break down, taking the merged souls with it. It was the same for every “light-wielder” who dared to use pan-rozum.
For now, Zeff would have to stifle his anger at Rayen for forcing him to retreat. He understood why she had done it, of course, but still. His and Axiolis’ collective pride wanted to rush back to the battlefield at that very moment.
But he didn’t. Reason won out as he helped the regenerating Evangelina to her feet and then did the same for Socorro. He tried to explain the abrupt change in circumstances.
And he remembered Rayen’s words. Twenty seconds, she had said. That didn’t seem like nearly enough time to wait before deciding on a full retreat. Zeff wasn’t even done talking to Socorro and Evangelina before time expired.
Nonetheless, they waited, and it very quickly became clear that Rayen was not going to return.
They had a decision to make.
“We must not delay,” said Socorro. “Rayen gave us the opportunity to run. We should trust her judgment and go.”
Zeff wanted to argue, and so did Evangelina, by the look on her face. But neither did. Difficult as it was to admit, Socorro was probably correct. Even if it meant abandoning all of their forces. Abandoning Francisco...
Socorro started walking, and after a fashion, the Lady Stroud and the Lord Elroy followed.
They had taken too long, however.
Zeff and Axiolis sensed someone approaching from the sky, moving at jet speed. Captain General Parson Miles was not going to let them flee so easily, it would seem.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
Goodness. You're just writing up a storm. Thanks for the good reads.
ReplyDeleteHis and Axiolis’ collective pride wanted [to] rush back to the battlefield at that very moment.
ReplyDeleteThree on One... what are the odds that Parson can come out of this fight alive?
ReplyDeleteGot it, thanks.
ReplyDelete<3
ReplyDeleteAll he needs to do is stall and even then I get the feeling he will probably be able to take them.
ReplyDeleteWhich is unfortunate.
"He tried to explained the abrupt change in circumstances"
ReplyDeleteShould be: "He tried to explain...".
Dammit Parson, stop being such an expletive. I'm too upset with you right now to pick which one. Please, Frosty, let Zeff give Parson and Overra to the Blackburns as a present. Because I kind of want him to drown in a puddle of mercury.
Also, please tell me you haven't killed off Octavia. I like Octavia. She's the coolest grandma ever.
Fixed, thanks for the catch.
ReplyDeleteI'm still confused by the breath of Alteration abilities, I mean Materialization and Transfiguration are straightforward any element on the table, Mutation and Integration sure its abstract but its still fuse any element or any protein, Destruction users poke holes in shit, but where it get iffy is Alteration we've seen two light users so the whole electromagnetic spectrum should be covered, we've seen gravity and electromagnetism which is two of the big four fundamental forces which raises the question what else can there be for Alteration users to use.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Parson can stomp Zeff, Socorro, and Evangelina. They're not on his level. Maybe they could beat Melchor, but I'm not even sure of that considering how he squashed Dimas and Salvador.
ReplyDelete"It was the same for every “light-wielder” who dared use [with] pan-rozum."
ReplyDeleteThe "with" doesn't look like it belongs, but even without it, the sentence looks weird to me.
Anyway, I'm glad we got some specifics on using light. I wouldn't be surprised if Rayen died here and is really only being used as a benchmark for Harper. I wouldn't be surprised, but I wouldn't like it >8C
I hope Octavia didn't die. And I swear Parson/Overra need their airy asses kicked but good!
Speaking of Melchor, this would be a great time for him to show up. Unless this is happening concurrently with the Marshrock battle.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible that the electromagnetic spectrum is special somehow, since it's so well-known and so broad, and so it gets divided into bands rather than being one power.
ReplyDeleteI would think gravity would be the same, although it still might be since he seems to control gravitational fields and we know electromagnetic fields are different from EM waves. Time will tell.
It also depends on the definition of a force. If things like inertia/momentum, fluid currents, elasticity or friction are considered forces, that both widens the possibilities for alteration powers, but probably also puts surprising limits on existing ones.
Gargoyle vs. Octavia, Xuan, and Rayen!
ReplyDeleteMelchor vs. Parson!
Make it happen, Frost!
George, I've never heard the term "rent to dust". Is that a auto-correct issue, or is that an actual literary term?
ReplyDeleteThat's fine, you know. If you want something closer to the pattern you're probably used to, "rent into dust" to mirror "rent asunder": the irregular verb "rend" is the word you've having issue with. :)
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter if they were running. Parson would've caught up. The dude can at least move as fast as a wind current can go. He IS wind.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't believe any of them were using pan-zorum.
You're thinking of Chapter 4, where Hector runs down the street and then down a highway. In that scene, though, it's shown that Hector can't keep up with the cars on the highway.
ReplyDeletetl;dr Servants are fast but not that fast.
Oh, and pan-rozum doesn't boost strength of regeneration necessarily. Pan-forma boosts regeneration, though.
What Eudiachloris said. Not so much a literary term. "Rent" is just the past tense of "rend." (Instead of "rended," which is not a word)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the catch. Fixed now.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Diego Redwater. He's Iceman.
ReplyDeleteAhahahaha
Diego isn't on the level of these monsters
ReplyDeleteCompletely unrelated to the current chapter.
ReplyDeleteAll the powerful people have titles based on their power. It makes sense because they're freaking demigods and people have a tendency to put names to such phenomena.
So, is Hector's name eventually going to become "Knight" (because he wears armor, knight, because it's black armor, night) or "Zombie Knight" (for reasons unknown) among the big players?
Given, zombie knight is an appropriate title for the series even if it never gets used in the books, but I think George Frost has planned this all out too carefully for that to be true.
Hector is way too weak to get a name. He'd need hundreds of years more experience to get on their level.
ReplyDeletePretty sure at this rate that's not true. He's already eight times stronger then he should be and that rate seems to be increasing, because of his tendency to throw himself into fights like this. Ontop of that, the shield he's using now is a big thing, letting him stand up to people at that level.
ReplyDeleteFinally, there's always the possibility that using the shield has some side affects. Like hastening the increase of his own soul defense, the way using a muscle makes it stronger. Downside if this happens is using the shield to much might cripple said soul defense.
Serves me right for commenting before finishing reading
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, do remember that the more emergence you get the harder it is to get any more because you have to get further and further afield to find difficult enough fights, and if you try to rely on it it will consistently fail you.
ReplyDeleteI think any form of energy and any force. Possibly also material properties like inertia, but time will tell.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm pretty sure emergence doesn't work like that. It subconsciously becomes harder not to expect it to happen, thus making it rare and difficult. Which, yeah, might make it harder over time, or in this case, it might mean that Hector won't get emergence every desperate fight. If he manages to survive though he can still hit it. Not to mention the fact that I don't think emergence is the only reason for it. I might have been reading wrong but it seemed there were hints that he was learning fast even counting those.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the fight thing goes, I would agree. Emergence would require need and desperation, which requires a foe that can challenge you. Normally hard to find but... Hector? Hector has been throwing himself up against monsters with Names. Abomination being the first one. A guy who can turn himself into light being the second. Then the guy who can control and turn himself into Mercury. Hector will need to reach their level to ever run out of challenging fights.
Finally, do we even now, or have been informed, the limits of emergence? Is it proportional? If Hector keeps throwing himself at people like these, people who can use heightened states, will it simply be a power boost or will it double his abilities? Did emergence let him grow 2 times stronger each time or is it a set amount? Too many unknowns to say for certain. I will say this though. Hector iiisss the main character. As much as it pains some authors to accept that, it usually counts for something in the overall narrative.
I think the power levels of the people here go: Sanko, then Parson and Octavia, then Melchor and Xuan, then Asad and Lawrence, then the majority of the servants here, then Hector. Even with boatloads of emegence and the shield of cheating, he's still right at the bottom of the heap. I'm not sure quite where Ibai fits in all of this, but I'd guess that he will be more important for the idea of a good aberration than for his actual strength in a fight.
ReplyDeleteI don't think its quite the same time, but definitely still before he and Xuan would have recovered from their last use of Pan-Rozum, considering that they both fainted from exhaustion the moment the adrenaline wore off.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity is the almost comical serial escalation in your fight scenes deliberate?
ReplyDeleteTalk about a loaded question.
ReplyDeleteDon't be so sure. I think it mentioned that Melchor needs only one day of rest after doing that.
ReplyDeleteAnd Melchor was holding back, trying not to kill them. He'd have stomped them otherwise. He didn't even want to fight. Do you think if he'd been serious, the Elroy spawn would have still been in (relative) safety? No, that whole area would have been the tomb for them all
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person to state Melchor is the strongest (or at least stronger than one of the 3 most powerful) Rainlords. Sure, he might be stronger than Xuan, but we dunno how either of those two stack up against Octavia and Rayen. And personally, outta the four, I'd much rather fight the dudes, the girls sound scary as fuck. One moves at the speed of light and the other wields the brightest flame and the frigging black holes!
ReplyDeleteOctavia is strong, but I can't really see her as strong as Melchor, maybe it was because Sanko overshadowed her, but for Rayen... I don't if she's really strong, since even her was having a hard time controlling her speed.
ReplyDeleteBy the way is Rayen in the top four of the strongest Rainlords? I remember they have their own power ranking. I think it was mentioned during the P.O.V of Emiliana.
Yes, Rayen is one of the strongest Rainlords. Page 804 http://thezombieknight.blogspot.com/2014/08/page-804.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteAnd Rayen wasn't having difficulties. The Narrative was telling you how difficult using Light-based abilities are, regardless of the user. It's actually a credit to Rayen that she can use it like that. Compare where Harper is and where Rayen is, in control of their powers.
Also, Dimas held back as well in that fight, but later Melchor squashed him along with Salvador. And this is with one, him trying to get Hector, and two, Asad interfering with him every now and then
ReplyDeleteTechnically, "rendered" skirts that... by doing donuts and blasting ACDC. xD
ReplyDelete"Rend" and "render" really do show how confusing English can get when trying to apply its Anglo-Saxon roots inconsistent. ;P [random glare at "children"]
It's a double-edged sword for Rayen, according to Zeff, or Axiolis.
ReplyDelete'Moreover, the speed was a danger to Rayen herself, Axiolis knew, on top of being difficult to control. If she went too far with a single leap, her own body would break down, taking the merged souls with it. It was the same for every “light-wielder” who dared to use pan-rozum. '
I'll point your attention to the last sentence. "It was the same for every “light-wielder” who dared to use pan-rozum." Rayen's proficiency with pan-rozum is actually a positive. You're taking it as a negative
ReplyDeleteBut I think in Harper's case it doesn't affect him much, since he can teleport from a longer distance without destroying himself, or his reaper. I'm just comparing the two pan-rozum user with light as their power.
ReplyDeleteRankings (In this arc, based on feat and/or hype)
ReplyDeleteSanko
Octavia, Parson
Rayen, Abbas (not really sure bout this one), Melchor, Xuan, Lawrence
Asad, Zeff, Socorro, Salvador, Mariana, Ismael, Nere
Santos, Evangelina, Dimas, Diego, Ibai, Horatio, Joana, Silvia
...
...
Adam, Oscar, Davin
...
Hector (lol), Charlie, Jonathan
Dunstan, Cisco, Louis, Randall
Lol I know even with that load of names, I'm still missing a fair bit.
Harper can barely even control pan-zorum. And as I said, as the *narrative* says, it's a difficulty for ALL light-wielders. That means that Harper also has this difficulty. And since he has not mastered pan-zorum, Rayen must be more accomplished at it. As I and others have said, Rayen is Harper on steroids.
ReplyDeleteHector already has a name...
ReplyDelete...Hector already has a name
ReplyDeleteI guess Harper has a death wish, since he doesn't care if he survives after using pan-rozum, or not. For someone who can't control it properly, I wonder why does he still used it, even though there's a high chance of him dying.
ReplyDeleteHey, here's a thought. Remember Xuan's oxide form? Could two servants whose elements can make a binary compound merge their pan-rozum forms that way to create one super-awesome combatant?
ReplyDelete(Ggrrrr stupid Blogspot comments. I tried putting this in Abilities from a library computer, and the post looked like it went up properly but vanished by the time I got home.)
It got marked as spam, unfortunately. Fixed it now.
ReplyDeleteHell to the yes!
ReplyDeleteI think this might be wrong...
ReplyDelete"“We must not delay,” said Socorro. “Rayen gave us the opportunity to run. We should trust her judgment and go.”
Zeff wanted to argue, and so did Evangelina, by the look on her face.
But neither did. Difficult as it was to admit, [Rayen] was probably
correct."
The text has Rayen (where the brackets are), but I think it should be Socorro (since she was the last one to talk and suggest something). I guess there's an argument for using Rayen here (meaning something like "Rayen was correct in saying that there's trouble if she's gone for longer than 20 seconds"), but it would make more sense if it said Socorro ("Socorro was correct in suggesting we should get out of here.").
Hmm. It had been referring to Rayen giving them the opportunity to run, but having it refer to Socorro instead might read a little smoother. Adjusted.
ReplyDeleteWhy not have your cake and eat it too? Have something like "Socorro was correct, they shouldn't waste the opportunity Rayen gave them"
ReplyDeleteHe used it because the fight was lost, and this was the only way to recover. If he hadn't taken the (massive) risk, he would have been dying all the same, and sentencing not only his allies, but every single person in the country to death at Abolish's hands. That's the kind of situation where you pull the aces out of your sleeves, even if they do give you paper cuts.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is he used to use it, but stopped for many years.
ReplyDeleteI still think that Harper can use his ability without the problem of dying.
Remember also that he went out of control when he ran out of valid targets, and that it still put him and his reaper through the ringer to the point that they were still feeling down in the dumps several days later. I think it said that Melchor and Xuan were only out of it for one day.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of his pan-mode up till the last moment of it. Parson was not in control. From what he said. I can assume he's not using it often, or not practicing the uses of it.
ReplyDeleteAh so I was right in feeling a bit a deja-vu with our conversation about Harper on another page. Is Harper your favorite character?
ReplyDelete