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‘Four servants will remain with Ibai at all times,’ said Qorvass. ‘Two will be chosen by House Blackburn, and two will be chosen by us. This way, if anyone steps out of line, be it Ibai or one of his guards, someone else will be there to help keep things in order.’
‘Or to help escalate things,’ amended Mevox.
‘That is why I advise everyone to pick your guards wisely,’ said Qorvass. ‘But I believe this may well be the only fair solution, and since we are pressed for time, I ask that you decide quickly.’
“Very well,” said Ismael. “I can agree to those terms.”
“As can I,” said Abel.
Salvador nodded, and Mevox gave a relenting sigh.
“Go and bring Ibai here,” said Abel. “We will have our two guards chosen by the time you return.”
The Blackburns departed immediately, and shortly thereafter, so did Lady Amaya along with a few of the other Sebolts.
Mevox sighed another time. ‘Agh. Why do I always end up being the asshole?’
Salvador smirked. “Perhaps it is just your natural state of being.”
‘So you’re saying I should embrace it? Alright. Salvador, you have a tiny head.’
“Hey...”
‘You look like a little dude piloting a big dude’s body.’
That earned a chuckle from Asad.
“Don’t just do it to me!” said Salvador. “Asad is standing right there!”
‘Asad, you’re bald, and your tattoos look like doo-doo.’
‘Okay,’ said Qorvass, ‘Perhaps we should go now. Always a pleasure, Mevox.’
‘Same to you, Qorvass, you pile of cancerous dog balls. You son-of-a-bitch-baby’s shit-filled diaper. You stupid-name-having motherfucker. You--’
Everyone was staring.
‘...I’m really sorry. I got too excited.’
A beat passed, and then Qorvass said, ‘I don’t think we should allow Mevox anywhere near the aberration. Agreed?’
“Agreed.”
“Yeah.”
“Indeed.”
‘I hate you all.’
“So who should we choose?” asked Salvador. “I would volunteer myself, if not for this guy.”
‘Oh, whatever! I can control myself, if I want!’
‘Asad can take a later shift, if need be,’ said Qorvass, ‘but he needs to rest first.’
Dimas stepped forward. “I volunteer, at least until Xuan is awake.”
Asad blinked at the man. “That could be days.”
“I will be fine.”
“Dimas has chronic insomnia,” said Lord Abel, eyeing his son. “That does not stop him from becoming tired, however. I will allow you the first shift.”
Dimas nodded.
‘Well, that’s one,’ said Mevox. ‘Who else? How about Lorenzo?’
Hector stepped up. “I, uh... I volunteer, as well.”
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
How strong is Hector compared to most servants there? We know that he has the strenght of a servant of around 6-7 years, I think, but does that make him a member in the weakest 10%, or already average or more than average?
ReplyDeleteIn the siege, he was standing so long more through luck than anythingelse, but produced some really good moves. So at the moment I have a bit trouble to anticipate how the Rainlords see Hector. As the kid tagging along? A valued fighter?
The Rainlords probably value him since he did save all their asses from Melchor, but no, all those servants there can squash Hector in a 1-on-1. Hector has the power of a servant of 8 years but that's just his materialization. He's lacking in other facets of a servants power due to his very short time as a servant (which he has no control over). And all those servants have hyper states on top of that.
ReplyDeleteThe important question is how many of those servants have an abberation kill under their belts. I wouldn't be overly shocked if Hector was one of the few that did. And solo to boot.
ReplyDeleteWonder if Hector would tell them. It's certainly not a good memory. I bet the most interesting fact about that would be that he essentially made the hardest call possible by killing it... After all it was his father.
ReplyDeleteForgot the hyperstates. ^^" so he really is the kid sitting at the adults table.
ReplyDeleteTechnically it wasn't. It was using his father's body but it wasn't him. Today's a bonus day though so we will get their reactions soon probably. I don't know that Hector would tell them bet Garovel probably would.
ReplyDelete(Had to look up how to spell Garovel, Part of me always thinks gravel. Don't know why as grovel makes more sense.)
So you'll also ship Mevox and Voreese also?
ReplyDelete"This way, if anyone steps out of line, be it Ibai or one [of] his guards, someone else will be there to help keep things in order."
ReplyDeleteThey respect him as a nice guy, who is both an outside quantity and no threatening enough that they can ignore him in favour of people like Sanko or Miles.
ReplyDeleteHe's maybe half to one third as strong as the rank-and-file here, except for soul power to anything but his own body. Technically that too, but he has the cheaty shield, so its ok.
ReplyDeleteI like Asad. He seems like one of the few characters who one would be able to stand if one didn't like them, where most others are kind of love or hate, although the distinction can get kinda blurry.
ReplyDeleteCan any single room contain that banter, though?
ReplyDeleteLike said in a couple of pages ago, Hector is tiny here. Hector has the materialization skills of an 8-year servant, but terrible soul sync. Meanwhile, the other people here are said to have hundreds of years of experience.
ReplyDeleteI think he's around the weakest 5%, definitely. The rainlords are letting hector tag along because of Garovel. He mainly survived through not drawing attention.
I think the average age in that room is 30-50 (Zeff is 30), with the four strongest (not present) just topping 100. Sanko is 200, and I imagine Parson is somewhere around 150. I think Abbas Saqqaf is Sanko's age, he has the same stifling aura she does and Parson doesn't.
ReplyDeleteComeback to Mevox that I wonder how the assembled would react to.
ReplyDelete"Speaking of doo-doo, how is it that an immaterial reaper..." *waves hand under nose*
Hmm...important question, you say? I would ask exactly how strong you think Geoffrey is when compared to the Rainlords. Hell, just other aberrations. Personally, I doubt he could beat Lynn or Ibai (I'm not even gonna say Octavia). Hector could barely even harm Lynn and I think these Rainlords could stomp her just easily as him
ReplyDeleteHuh? Didn't the massacre of House Elroy happen 30 years ago, when Zeff was 15? Even if it wasn't, Zeff is definitely not 30 cause Gema is 18...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had made a list of power levels for this arc, I totally forgot what page it's on, but I had Abbas after Sanko, Octavia, and Parson. While I think Abbas is more powerful than Melchor/Xuan/Rayen, it remains to be seen how he compares with Sanko/Octavia/Parson. Remember, it was Zeff that said Sanko's soul was stifling, whereas it was Hector who felt Abbas' soul. Since it wasn't the same person in either case, it's hard to compare it. If anything, it might point to Abbas being weaker than Sanko on account of Hector being weaker than Zeff. Practically any soul of a high tier servant is gonna feel stifling to Hector, yet Zeff is not gonna feel like that with just anyone. Asad, who's comparable with Zeff, didn't bat an eyelash at Abbas' soul (I don't think anyway)
I'm talking about servant age, not birth age. We always do when talking about power levels.
ReplyDeleteAnd just because Asad didn't react to Abbas's pressure didn't mean he didn't feel it. I think it's just an effect the other servants start feeling from you at a certain age, regardless of their own power level (unless they have it themselves and it swamps their reading).
I would say it is more than relevant as Geoffrey is/was probably stronger than Ibai currently is. Abberations strength I do believe(if I recall correctly) is supposed to be solely based on souls consumed, and Ibai hasn't consumed nearly as many as Geoffrey. Ibai's teleportation may be more impressive but that doesn't necessarily mean he is more powerful.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore you forget most of the Rainlords have some hyperstate, Hector did it solo, not even Garovel was there. I'm not saying Hector is more powerful than any of the Rainlords just that he is by no means a bad choice for this.
Why a single room; when there's the sky and the ocean.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, It's a personal opinion that Ibai is/was stronger than Geoffrey. That being said, I question where it was stated Ibai consumed less souls than Geoffrey?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I forget nothing when it comes to hyper states. I said it in my original reply to Geli. Also, you are confused. Hector has not achieved a hyper state. I question where it is that that was stated cause as far as I've read, Hector only had a pumped up soul-resistance (I think that's what it was called) due to Haqq's shield.
Odd...I'd always thought that the 104/106 for Melchor/Xuan was their actual age and their "servant age" was something like 90...
ReplyDeleteOn the matter of sensing souls, your post suggests that at a certain age, any other servant would have that stifling feeling that Zeff had for Sanko or Hector had for Abbas. I ask then would Sanko have the same reaction to Abbas' soul?
Fixed, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHector: I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!
ReplyDeleteSalvador: What?
Hector: Uh, sorry, I got caught up in moment.
I don't think whenever reaper talk about age is about actual age , it's always about age from the first day resurrection if you understand what I mean
ReplyDeleteIf Ibai is stronger than Geoffrey, it would mean that abbreations have a growth beyond soul consumption. Which would be logical.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I think Ibai is stronger as well, because he simply is a lot older. But he is lacking experience. So, even though Ibai is potentially stronger, in a fight he might lose.
What? No! Roman×Reese 4 Lyfe!
ReplyDelete...or should I say death?
Aberrations don't have to have another growth method besides soul consumption. While Ibai never fed on human souls, he fed on animals completely unchecked. Yes, human souls are more potent than animal souls, but who's to say that devouring multitudes of animal souls would not result in a beast of an aberration? Even Geoffrey had to be limited in how many humans he could eat.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would question what determines "experience" when it comes to Ibai and Geoffrey based on the sole fact that Geoffrey had never even met a servant before Hector, yet he was able to fight him well enough. Compare that with Ibai, who immediately did the same with an entire group of Rainlords (and defeating them!), all of which are most likely more powerful than Hector was at that time, if not now. Should exp really matter when we saw both Geoffrey's and Ibai's first real battles and they both handled themselves fairly competently?
This is why I wanted to hear from Sal cause I thinking waaay more things than I let on
Sorry I didn't explicitly state it but I was discussing Hector beating Geoffrey. He did that totally solo. Whereas any of the rainlords likely would have had either backup, a hyperstate or both in regards to tackling an abberation.
ReplyDeleteIbai could possibly be stronger than Geoffrey but that would require that either he is in his weakest state stronger (which I conceed is possible) or that he has consumed a large number of animals, the logistics of which make me doubt it's possible. He would need to have teleportation and move his animal kills randomly enough that it wasn't noticed and thought of as unusual. He would also need to not get caught being out of his room by the blackburns, and never let slip any knowledge he shouldn't have. Just doesn't seem likely to me.
The above of course depends on the only method we know for abberations to gain strength being the only method they can, which it might not.
I did reply above.
ReplyDeleteAs I said above I doubt Ibai would have been able to feed on animal souls unchecked. It's possible I just don't believe it's likely. I don't remember everything I'd like to of Geoffrey's events but it seems to me he was consuming souls well before we even meet him. (Maybe I am remembering wrong, but he was turning people into his fetchers at that point)
As for experience, yes the Rainlords were taken prisoner by Ibai but is that a result of his true abilities or a combination of surprise and entering the fight when he did. Also your point on Geoffrey works just as well the other way, the Rainlords knew about abberations at the time they were attacked, no one in Hector's first encounter did, and he fared significantly better.
My whole point here is that most of Ibai's prowess comes from his teleportation and the fact he caught everyone off guard. If his power wasn't teleportation I doubt he would have fared anywhere near as well as he did. Being able to teleport makes him tricky and surprising not necessarily powerful.
My opinion on the whole matter is in terms of raw power Geoffrey was probably ahead but if Geoffrey and Ibai were to fight, I think Geoffrey would get his butt kicked. In part due to teleportation being superior to his own ability, in part due to the fact that Ibai likely has more experience using his ability.
Anyway I am losing track of my thoughts and beating a dead horse. I don't think that Hector is the weakest choice here. Let's go a step further and say that Ibai is stronger, the question ultimately becomes is he stronger than Melchor, because Hector was able to stall him and on guard duty while being able to subdue is better it is generally sufficient to be able to stall until reinforcements arrive.
tldr:
-teleportation is powerful, Ibai is not (at least isn't necessarily)
I honestly believe you are overestimating Hector's power. His ability, emergences and all, only adds up to the ability of a normal servant of 8 years. The Rainlords in that meeting were all at least at the level of a normal servant of 30 years. Hector simply CANNOT compare with someone four times (at least!) his own power. And THEN that's when you add hyper states on top of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd on Ibai and Geoffrey, I don't really understand what you mean by "he is in his weakest state stronger" so I have to ignore that., as much as you might think it unlikely that Ibai was able to do all that, the fact remains that he DID do it and a fair bir of it too considering he was able to one-shot Rainlords. Also, where was it stated that was kept in his room at all times before this whole ordeal happened?
Somehow, my reply to your other comment didn't go through til just now. I'll wait til you can answer that one, then I'll respond properly
ReplyDelete"he is in his weakest state stronger" means exactly what is says. Just because they are both abberations doesn't mean that they started equally powerful. In a rpg it would be expressably as a difference in base stats. It's possible for two characters to be equally powerful but if one is at level 50 and the other at level 1 then the one at level 1 is in his weakest state stronger than the one at level 50 would be at the same level.
ReplyDeleteAs to defeating rainlords in one shot see below.
It is fairly clearly implied that if Ibai wasn't confined he was at least monitored to some degree or another. So if he teleported away he would not be able to be gone long and he would either have to legitimately hunt or always move about his kills so as not to arouse suspicion, never let on what he had been doing. He might have been able to hunt animals but either he is going to dump them in the ether or whatever he moves through or have a mass grave. Eventually the animals are going to avoid his hunting grounds so he will need to go further and further afield, and it just gets more and more problematic.
Ah I wrote a long response but my phone started acting up and I lost it. I'm sorry but I just don't have the patience to write that thing over again. On top of that, I feel we've been going in circles. Suffice to say, you believe Hector is not far behind the mid-tier Rainlords, I disagree. You believe that Geoffrey was stronger than Ibai is now, I disagree. I think Frost will answer these opinions sooner or later. If I end up being wrong, I'll of course make sure to say so on the corresponding page
ReplyDeleteMy read is you think:
ReplyDeleteIbai > Rainlords >>> Hector/Geoffrey
my thoughts are more to the line of
Rainlords > Ibai >~= Hector/Geoffrey
I am also trying to give consideration to factors other than raw power. If raw power was all important Melchor would have killed/captured Hector and yet it didn't happen.
Dafuq?
ReplyDeleteDa actual fuq?
"Ibai > Rainlords >>>Hector/Geoffrey"?
Are you saying I was coming across as if Ibai could beat any of the Rainlords that I said would outright stomp Hector? Namely, the Lords in that meeting, since those are the only ones I said could do that and would justify a ">>>"?
On top of that, you yourself are now saying that Ibai is greater than or equal to (I'm guessing that's what ">~=" means) Hector/Geoffrey?
Let me know cause I am confused as all shit right now. I was bout to call my whole debate with you a waste of my time once I saw this comment, but I think I'm just misunderstanding here
"Suffice to say, you believe Hector is not far behind mid-tier Rainlords, I disagree."
ReplyDeleteI have been assuming mid-tier Rainlords were the ones Ibai captured not the ones in the meeting.
My opinion on strength is often shifting ie, I have been using more than one definition. In terms of raw power I do think Geoffrey was stronger or at least could have been stronger than Ibai and Hector but in terms of actually combat ability I would put Ibai above both. In terms of combat experience I would put Hector above Geoffrey and Ibai. Sort of a rock paper scissors situation. As far as I am concerned Ibai's teleportation makes it near impossible to say where he really stands, and until such time as it is shown I am going with my instinct that he hasn't killed hundreds or thousands of animals and that he is probably an emergence or two either way of Hector.
What you mentioned in your first reply to Geli about him lacking in other aspects of a servants power doesn't reallly touch on other things I was taking into account, mainly combat experience and how it seems likely to me at least, that Hector's combat experiences have been different than the Rainlords. He has probably been in more solo fights against opponents who are stronger than he is than most of the Rainlords in general. Some of the things that happen also make me think he might possibly have reacted differently than the Rainlords Ibai captured did.
Low tier would be the no-name Rainlords that Ibai defeated, or the no-names that helped Melchor, or that Sanko squashed. Mid tier Rainlords would be Zeff, Salvador, Socorro, Dimas and the like. High tier would be the four at the top, Octavia, Melchor, Rayen, and Xuan. And this is of course just within the Rainlord, since Octavia and the rest would probably be mid tier when the true monsters like Sanko are added into the equation.
ReplyDeleteAnd you say that Hector's combat experience would help him even the odds a bit against someone who's most likely 4x his reaper age, more than likely has a hyper state, and (last but not least) is/was an active member of an army...? I'm sorry but I don't see that happening. However, I would very much like to know what it is that has you thinking that...
I don't think I've laughed that hard in months. Thank you. =)
ReplyDelete<3
ReplyDelete