A Tale of Heroes (WIP) - 193k words. Updated 31/12/2022 with Chapter 5!

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I’m gonna get off the Blitz Queen hype train at this stop.

I’ll say that we should definitely not hand her the keys because she wouldn’t know jack about how to run an industrial economy. Second, we don’t do the whole “execute people for disagreeing” thing here. Third, I happen to agree with C.S. Lewis on robber barons being preferable to omnipotent moral busybodies. In Giga City most of their societal objectives will have been met, I’d expect, but I’ve also come to believe that crusading is a personality trait and many crusaders will just move on to the next one once their present objective is complete. I don’t want to unleash the Monarchs on a world radically different from their own but which they will nevertheless want to “fix.”

So put me down in the “just don’t bother them” column.

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1000

Nobody in charge knows jack about how to run an industrial economy. Evidence: the economy.

“Time for some genocide” and “I’m going to institute slavery” go a biiiiiit beyond disagreeing. Also, the US definitely kills people for disagreeing. That’s like, at least 60% of the CIA’s entire job. A considerable chunk of the remaining 40% is, of course, engaging in drug dealing.

The words of CS Lewis, everybody, a man who definitely had to endure being under the thumb of robber barons and was totally not born to a family of so many means he had private tutors.

Which we have no evidence of the Monarchs being.

Except we KNOW this is not the Queen, because the Monarchs got Crete and then nothing else, while having ample time, opportunity, and means to do so.

I mean, yes, even if for no other reason that you’d have to deal with the Broken King first, and I have the distinct feeling that bothering HIM will result in him painting half the city with the botherers’ entrails.

Disagreeing with us and unfortunately for everyone involved and plenty of uninvolved, Gloria has decided that “don’t bother” is the entire wrong way to go about it and intends to go bothering as much as possible.

EDIT: And that’s a problem, because the cult has literally zero chance of rousing the King. Like, none of it. It doesn’t matter if they go after the US, the G7, or host a bake sale. The volume of their message is irrelevant, because their message is not something the King has any interest in in the first place. They might as well be trying to get a cat to care about lettuce.

But Gloria is going around poking at Crete, and at some point he’s going to poke it hard enough that he’ll destabilise Crete out of the peaceful, independent, prosperous nation the Queen wanted it to be. And that’s something the King DOES care about. I mean, he already sent in an armed incursion to the QUEEN’S TOMB, it’s a miracle the US isn’t a smoking hole in the ground already.

If the Cult had anyone smarter than a doorknob running the show, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. They’d be scouring the world investigating every rumour of a way to bring people back from the dead, and then they’d publicise everything they found. Because THAT would get the King to show up and talk to them.

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1001

Here’s a thought: let’s say this prophecy that was stated was his own. Let’s say that he knew the conditions for his wife’s return are predicated on these things occurring so he just waits it out right. No point forcing it, he has all the time in the world to make sure it’s done right.

So let’s continue down this train of thought right- so let’s say the BK does have a limited prophecy powerset. That would logically imply that others also have this powerset and that the man can go out and find them and combine notes. So probably after a bit the BK gets a timeframe of within 10-20 years of when the events he saw should begin to align with his vision.

We know he exists to this day because whenever someone touches his wife’s kingdom he comes and destroys them with a storm and then all the invaders get slaughtered. The Broken Cult is problematic to him in the sense that they aren’t affiliated with him and are doing stupid shit in his name. But, let’s say that somehow our MCs are related to the BK’s prophecy right and he needs us to get stronger. A credible threat like the Broken Cult is a perfect way for us to get stronger and accrue experience.

The BK can and probably will end the Broken Cult at some point since I don’t think he likes them very much. But, they serve a purpose to him. Namely that they’re a great motivator for us to get stronger.

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1002

The prophecy doesn’t state conditions, though, does it? Doesn’t it just go “Queen dead, King wandering, wants Queen back”? It’s not like it goes “and the Queen shall return when the duck barks three times at the dead sun”. It’s not really a prophecy, it’s more a statement of fact, like “Moon full, wolves howl”. I think the only reason they’re calling it a prophecy and not history is because nobody wants to be the one that goes “and this dude is still alive and around after a thousand years.”

If he does, why did he spend all that time and effort with expedition which turned out to be a dud? Wouldn’t he already know they wouldn’t work? These expeditions are stated to have been expensive to the point they had a negative economic impact on Crete, which would go against the Queen’s wishes, so he surely wouldn’t have ordered them without an extremely good reason.

It also doesn’t really fit his character. The King didn’t plan. He didn’t set events in motion. He didn’t do anything you’d expect from someone who has the power of prophecy. I think the only definite power we have from him is some sort of pyrokinesis and long life (possibly immortality), and he certainly had other powers (you don’t kill EIGHTY THOUSAND armed and trained combatants just because you can make things hot), but he was basically the Queen’s hammer.

And also because him not existing would be a narrative dud, but yes, BK is definitely someone that’s still around.

Disagree. I think the King doesn’t care that these clowns are doing things in his name, because it doesn’t impede his search for a way to bring back the Queen and they’re not hurting Crete. They’re therefore irrelevant. No blip on the radar.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, they’re not even doing things in his name. They’re doing things in his honour, to draw his attention, or however you want to phrase it, but nobody has claimed they’re acting under the King’s order or authority.

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1003

I think you’re forgetting that they couldn’t save the Queen- but once she died he left Crete since he was only there for her. He’s a man who could fly across continents and talk to people. The author mentioned that he went to China and other places in person. Europe was burning people alive at this time, but the Chinese and Africans have a proud tradition of wise-men, oracles, and soothsayers.

He is a man with a goal and the means to make that goal a reality due to his longevity and the fact that very few people can tell him no. You can probably count on one hand the amount of people who could have beat him or his wife in their prime.

You have to realize, that he’s been alive for a thousand years. That’s one thousand years to figure it out and realize what he needed. Oh sure, his initial prophecy was vague but he could find people whose primary skill was foresight and prophecy and get them to tell him what he wants to know.

Do you think he’s just sitting on a mountain staring off into space unmoving? Or do you think he just keeps his ear to the ground, reads, and studies. After all, a lot of things have changed since the reign of Phokas. His wife needs to be brought up to speed. Her birth-country was destroyed by the Turks, the Italians and Germans unified, the Serbians are in a weird spot, the Bulgarians are free again, and so on so forth.

It’s a trap to think that the BK isn’t actively doing stuff and is just sitting around in the middle of nowhere. For all we know, he can be like the Emperor of Mankind in 40k and mask his aura and walk around as a normal guy. He can own an apartment financed through shell companies and just be waiting.

The League has a social media presence for one, do you think that if we’re important to the BKs plan he can’t just go to a public library if he hates phones and view the League’s Insta? Or just read the Giga City Times and see that the League welcomed two new members?

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1004

No, I’m not. That’s exactly my point. If the King has the power of prophecy, and knew that those expeditions would NOT save the Queen, why would he order them in the first place?

I’m not sure these people EXIST. If they did, they would all have been offered an immensely great deal by all of the governments, and I find it hard to believe that at least one of them wouldn’t have taken it.

Oh, he’s definitely doing something. He’s probably scouring the world for any rumours of a way that’ll allow him to bring the Queen back. Which, again, he wouldn’t have to do if he had the power of prophecy, because he’d just… know. Which is why I said that the Cult is a bunch of room-temperature IQ morons who’re going around trying to attract the King’s attention in entirely the wrong way.

I don’t know where you got this notion that he has the power of prophecy, because I can’t recall anything that even suggests it. One of the snippets even shows us that he was blindsided by the American colonists being total and utter shits.

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1005

I said that he has a limited form of prophecy. You’re making the assumption that it means accurate prophecies. Historically prophecy tends to be allegorical and heavily hidden behind imagery and subjectivity.

For all we know he’s only had one prophecy his whole life and this was the one he got.

Most people, are skeptical to begin with about prophecy and this is usually how most people see them. Including the BK. The Delphic Oracles and the other minor Oracles in Greece were famous in Antiquity for being as vague as possible.

You keep making the assumption it’s a perfect view of the future. When in reality- his prophecy was probably an infuriatingly vague look into a possibility which is why he had to get it verified.

“Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is… and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time.”

—Marwyn

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Historically, prophecy isn’t a thing that exists.

Doesn’t matter. At some point, somebody would have tried. Hitler spent a FORTUNE looking for the Ark fo the Covenant and the Spear of Longinus and whatever. He had an entire department dedicated to that stuff. You think governments wouldn’t jump at the chance for a glimpse of the future, hazy as it might be? Because that’s how fortune tellers make a living in the real world, and they can’t even do it.

We still have nothing to suggest that the Broken King, or anyone, can glimpse into the future. Because, again, the “prophecy” we have isn’t an actual prophecy. It just says that the King is alive and looking for a way to bring the Queen back. That’s not a prophecy, it’s a snippet from a history book. And that’s literally all there is.

If the King had more clues, surely he would have made sure to disperse them so that he could piggy back off of other people’s efforts to speed up the search (presumably, he can only be in one place at a time, though there might be powers around that). Because if someone else found it, he could just go to them and make them hand it to him.

Many. Seeker is definitely a title that’s handed down. I still have no idea why you’d think this would somehow be related to any sort of prophecy, and not really focused archaeology. Seeker doesn’t have things popping into his mind. He does the groundwork. Y’know, actual research.

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1007

Define what “Seeker” means. How many do you think have existed?

We’ve met two.

What are they seeking, who gave them their original mission? Why has Seeker been going around the world doing odd-missions that he refuses to tell anyone about. Even Ignis? You can figure it out, it’s because he’s looking for things on behest of someone else. Someone who can’t move as openly as he’d like because he’s very distinguishable. Especially to the sons and daughters of his former realm.

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This… still doesn’t have anything to do with prophecy.

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1009

You’re not getting the hints- so I’m going to be as blatant and blunt as an asteroid veering towards you.

The Broken King confirmed his prophecy, figured out the timeframe of when it will come to fruition, and established both the Queensguard to guard his wife’s tomb out of Cretans and the office of Seeker to look for things and act in areas he can’t.

All of this happened off-screen and is known to him because he already got the answers he needed. Now it’s a waiting game- he is waiting for the people he needs to trigger the return of the BQ. The BK probably figured it out within a century or two of his wanderings and was forced to wait. Can you imagine how frustrating that is? Just sitting around and waiting for the stars to align and the people with the right powersets to emerge.

Seeker is one of his agents. A long line of people who has been entrusted with verifying and looking for information on reincarnation, scraps of prophecy, and the rest.

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Then why is there a long line of Seekers? If he knows when it’s going to happen he could just… have people do it then. There is, again, no hint anywhere of an actual prophecy.

This is literally not what they do. They let people into the Tomb unimpeded. That’s not “guarding.”

This is suggested literally nowhere in the game.

Certainly possible. Though if he is, he’s almost definitely an ignorant one, because the League is coming into conflict with the Cult, and that’s dangerous for Ignis, and the author has already stated that, to Seeker, “Ignis” trumps “duty”, any time, every time. So he’d have snitched to her already.

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1011

There’s a difference between letting mourners and people who pay respects come in and disrespectful assholes. For instance, I don’t know if you have one in Portugal but we have a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and as long as you obey the rules the nice soldier guarding it doesn’t yell at you to shut up.

I’m just throwing around theories for discussion to get people involved. You can opt out and confine yourself to what you can read in the game and text or just participate in this theoretical exercise. More power to you for just keeping yourself focused on the known.

The Cult isn’t affiliated with the Broken King or one of his instruments. They’re trying to get him involved but he’s not biting. There’s a difference- Catholic Priests can go and call down fire and brimstone on people for not following the tenants of the Church but god doesn’t seem to give a shit eh?

That’s how I see the Cult overall- they’re trying to get his attention like you’ve said and he’s not interested.

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1012

Come on now, Gloria’s men were very clearly neither mourners nor there to pay respects. The guard literally told them to not go into the Tomb, and then just let them go inside anyway. With firearms!

Fully agree. However, knowing more about the King would certainly be an asset against the Cult, which would reduce risk to Ignis.

Well, obviously, they’re not offering him anything even near the ONE THING he wants. As far as we know, the King may have a lot of faults (he appears to be extremely trigger-happy, for one) but ego-driven doesn’t seem to particularly be on the list, so going “oh great and powerful King” at him yields an expected zero results. They keep trying to offer him a kingdom, when the only reason he even ruled Crete was because the Queen wanted the place to be prosperous.

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Yeah, because they don’t need to do anything since they can just call the BK who will probably show up there in around .05 seconds and go. “Well- shitbags hope you enjoy eating out of a straw for the rest of your lives.”

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Fun fact: whatever happened and by whoever, it was undone. So whatever went on in the Tomb involved:

  • extreme, but not fatal, violence
  • mind altering abilities
  • healing abilities (or possibly accelerated time, but presumably “these men have aged quite a bit” would’ve been noticed).

I’m not sure the King fits this, as he’s always been more of a “and now you’re very fucking dead” in every instance we know of someone pissing him off. Access to healing ability, though, certainly SOUNDS like something the King would’ve access to (from failed attempts at finding full raise dead capabilities), though I’m not sure he’d use them. On the people that went to raise a ruckus in the Queen’s Tomb, anyway.

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1015

I think he would, because he’s ultimately pragmatic.

He knows if you fuck with the United States we tend to do reprisals and he doesn’t want Crete to suffer an invasion from the United States. He can crush us of course- but I think he’s grown up a bit in the thousand years since his wife’s death.

So he sent a stern message to the US in a way that Gloria understands. Unfortunately- Gloria assumed it was the BC that did it and not the BK. Which means that he is using the G7 as a baited hook to get the wrong culprit.

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1016

She does!

Ignis, however, does not trump Victoria.

There’s a clash there, between what he’s doing for Victoria and what he’s doing for Ignis. He can’t accomplish both at the same time.

That’s certainly not going to be a source of problems, or anything.

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I don’t think this makes a difference to Gloria. He wants a feather in his cap and getting the Cult does the trick well enough. Note that when Mars lets it slip that this whole debacle is a plan, he mentions “a target for them”, not for “him”, which suggests Gloria set up the G7 meeting to gun for the Cult, not the King.

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I think it’s because Americans overall as a younger nation wouldn’t really understand the breadth and weight behind fucking with the King. The Old World would, if he’s still alive they know better than to twist his tail right?

Unfortunately- what Gloria and the G7 is going to find out is that the League isn’t equipped to fight near-parity foes. Which will definitely fit into their calculus on how to respond. Because, if the League, the Japan team, and the EU team can’t decisively win with all this overwhelming force…

If they hit a softer target like the EU it’s going to be interesting.

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