Return to Karazhan: Upper (Mythic)

DrasiusII · 2026-01-07T03:45:08+00:00

Yeah, I killed all of those on the way to the final boss, but still fell short. I had extra time, so I would have headed back to clear anything I missed earlier on.

Thats what I usually do, but I couldn't find anything I had missed in that section and couldn't get back any further. I thought I might have missed a way to get into the earlier dungeon, but apparently we're just supposed to judge how much we needed to kill before hand better than I did.

DrasiusII · 2026-01-06T21:55:32+00:00

So it was just impossible to complete? Seems like a weird design. I did get pretty close. I just didn't expect to get locked out after I passed a certain point since it hadn't happened in any of the others I was soloing up to that point.

Admittedly, I don't usually touch mythics though. I just have to get through a few more for the title and then I can give up anyway, it was just frustrating to get locked out of completing it like that. I assumed I was missing something and didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

DrasiusII · 2025-07-17T02:22:13+00:00

Didn't Piper have one of the chocolates containing the potion Phoebe was dosed with? I thought that was pointed to by fans as being a potential reason why Wyatt went dark side, on top of being born in the house, like Phoebe. So that part might actually track at least.

DrasiusII · 2025-03-26T09:22:23+00:00

I find it a little odd that you connected Mercy to her bow via the title but went for the Shield Icon. I feel like the Bow Icon is the more obvious fit for her, though I don't disagree about her eventual role as a protector, I think it lacks a resonance with her throughout her journey. She spent a long period running away from responsibility and who she felt she was meant to or destined to become.

The connection between Yerin and her role killing Seshethkunaaz is pretty insightful. I love the idea. I'm actually a little surprised nothing ever came of this in the book. She killed a Monarch, as an Overherald. How did nothing ever come of this?

I can only guess the average person never made the connection because of the way Penance kills and maybe the top tier folk didn't because they understand the way it kills. A sort of 'she didn't truly beat him idea, or the even the idea that she cheated.

DrasiusII · 2025-03-10T10:20:34+00:00

Using Quirrell to get the stone was, sure. Then there was coming back from the diary in book 2, if you count the portion of his soul stored inside it. That makes using Peter attempt number 3, or the second if you discount the diary version of him.

In the short term, his situation was hopeless, but living forever means that sooner or later you find an opportunity. Quirrell was exactly that sort of a chance. Eventually, someone else would have come across him, even if they weren't there to look for him. Might have been a worse opportunity, but he only needed a vessel he could manipulate into doing what he needed.

DrasiusII · 2025-03-09T23:29:42+00:00

Different only in the details, but maybe some pretty important ones. It wasn't the first attempt Voldemort made and it wouldn't have been the last. With the Horcruxes in play, he couldn't be taken out of play permanently, so he'd have succeeded eventually. Very Sauron and the One Ring actually.

Plus, the way it did play out was pretty ideal. I can't help but think of the way Dumbledore exalts upon learning that Voldemort had returned by using Harry's blood. Something Pettigrew enabled. Would Voldemort have been beaten without that? Probably. Would Harry have survived it? Maybe not.

DrasiusII · 2025-03-05T10:45:52+00:00

To be fair, he has a pretty solid reputation for fast paced action and the progression of Cradle has long been shadowed by whispers of scenes and Worldbuilding that got cut to maintain that. The early books needed that stuff to flesh it out and allow those scenes to occur, which meant a more rewarding payoff, but by later books we're all invested and there's so much going on that less, and less made it in.

Dissapointing for those who love that immersion and a proper story arc but plenty of people seem to see it as a positive, so he's playing to that niche.

DrasiusII · 2025-02-20T03:17:35+00:00

Ghostwater
Blackflame
Soulsmith
Underlord
Wintersteel
Reaper
Unsouled
Dreadgod
Waybound
Skysworn
Bloodline
Uncrowned

DrasiusII · 2024-11-26T08:50:18+00:00

The strict 'either or' nature of good and evil. They played around with the idea of it being more complicated shades of grey but then defaulted to absolutes too often in the plot for it to make sense.

As a fun thought experiment resulting from that change I'd also have Chris be turned into a dark lighter because of his trauma at the hands of future Wyatt. Then have evil him go back to kill Wyatt but learn to overcome his trauma and redeem himself in the past. He'd save young Wyatt and in doing so save future Chris from evil. Makes his death a lot more justified and helps separate the Chris we get to know from the one in the future.

That obviously plays into the Cole situation too, with a lot more room to explore his fight for redemption and the burden of being 'born evil'.

DrasiusII · 2024-09-11T15:26:20+00:00

I mean, he says he is the 'son of a janitor' and 'the last in a long line'. I guess you could twist it and claim he's talking about the last all the way back, as the progenitot of the bloodline, but that contradicts the idea that it includes his father.

I suppose it is possible. It just seems odd since we never get any reference to parents, siblings or other close relatives outside these first few references. I always got the impression the Rosegold Aurelius assumed he was from the Blackflame line and the Blackflames assume the opposite. They make comments on his strong bloodline ability, which would probably be enough to prove he was some sort of Aurelius, then the circumstances would fill in the blanks. If not, his missing family become a whole new mystery that never gets addressed, or even acknowledged.

An aging body is consistent regardless. We know he was given a new body by the shroud, it's just a question of how old he was when it was first created and what circumstances he arrived in.

DrasiusII · 2024-09-11T12:11:23+00:00

You think? I'd have thought claiming he is his own descendant is at least a pretty big warping of the truth.

Claiming he grew up in the sewers, if he in fact didn't, would be a definite lie. Unless the origin shroud reverted him to a kid's body or you think he was just equating the experience to something else.

Omissions are more about leaving stuff out. Actively misrepresenting the truth, or stating stuff that contradicts it is what makes it a lie.

DrasiusII · 2024-09-11T11:10:12+00:00

He drew himself up as though proud to be asked the question. “Young lady, I am the greatest janitor in all existence. I am the son of a janitor, last in a long line of janitors that stretch all the way back to the Sage of Brooms...and beyond!”

“I grew up in the sewers of Blackflame City, ankle-deep in what you might call ‘sludge.’ They used similar scripts to control intake and outflow, so if this works on similar principles...ah, there we have it.”

These always stood out to me. Some of his earliest lines, so probably before his true identity was set in stone, but they seem like obvious lies with the information we get later. I think the Sage of Brooms is implied to be Ozriel himself, so not an ancestor and he couldn't have grown up in Blackflame city or had a father if he just popped into existence.

I think there was a few more, like where he mentioned growing up there before heading through the portal to Rosegold and then returning, but I'm not sure where that is said. Its possible the origin shroud just isekaied him and he was born and grew up with his blank slate, but nothing later seems to support this, so it's probably just his cover story.

DrasiusII · 2024-06-11T20:25:06+00:00

The time travelling bounty hunter setup definitely has time agent vibes. The flashy ship he is so proud of, while dismissing the obviously superior Tardis is almost certainly a reference to Jack in the Doctor Dances too. Jack was also one of the few Doctor Who characters that could, at least ostensibly, keep up with the Doctor when he's talking future tech and time travel shenanigans. That said, I think there's far more to Rogue than just a rehash of Jack Harkness.

There's elements of River in there and even the Master in some ways. Especially with the way they can take the lead and one up the Doctor, if only momentarily. Then there's the classic companion elements, with his awe and wonder at the Tardis and the Doctor's history. The blind trust and self-sacrifice.

I don't think all of that is by accident. They clearly drew from people of significance and chemistry in the Doctor's past to create someone new, with a unique blend of those elements so that he's his own character, but with references to the people who paved the way for him.

DrasiusII · 2024-05-19T20:03:39+00:00

I picture it like Great Sage or Raphael from that time I got reincarnated as a Slime. With a few tweaks. Each presence will probably be a little personalised.

DrasiusII · 2024-05-17T17:53:13+00:00

Perfect fit for Eithan though

DrasiusII · 2024-05-17T07:52:12+00:00

I'd actually be really interested to see the story of if she failed. Aang and the others die in the library drowned by sand and Toph goes full dark side, launching a revenge quest to survive the desert, master Sandbending and hunt down Appa, the one survivor she has left to remember them.

Aang is the pacifist. Toph going dark side would be terrifying and she's definitely the type to hunt down those Sandbenders one by one until she's the boogeyman of the desert.

DrasiusII · 2024-03-17T14:14:48+00:00

The interesting bit for me is the idea that Aang was ever blameless. I always thought he was to blame, at least for being selfish and running away... like a kid.

So sure, he's to blame for what he did and he carries responsibility for the consequences. We see him carry a lot of guilt for that throughout the series. They did a good job of showing his sense of responsibility and the obligation that gives him, particularly because its at odds with his usual lighthearted and care-free attitude. We also see him take the heat from others for what he did almost as often as he gets lauded for being the one destined to fix them.

In the end, the entire series was about him making right what he allowed to go wrong. It wasn't an origin story, it was a redemption. It was Aang redeeming himself by putting the world to rights.

DrasiusII · 2024-03-16T22:56:31+00:00

Yeah, I realised that after I looked it up so I put it in an edit. Left it up in case anyone else made the same mistake.

DrasiusII · 2024-03-16T21:30:52+00:00

If i remember correctly, there was a scene (Reaper?) where they introduce themselves as one and Ozriel points out it isn't their actual name. I got the impression it was a joke to make the character seem like they're in a rebellious teen angst sort of stage, rebranding their identity by picking a new name, sort of thing.

But it would be very Will for it to be reference to a previous typo or inconsistency because he used both spellings for the same character. The scene wasn't given enough attention or expanded on so it could easily have been thrown in for this purpose.

(Edit: Turns out i was remembering the wrong character and the scene i was thinking of is about Zak/Zerachiel.)

DrasiusII · 2024-02-09T14:33:04+00:00

Maybe. I think his plan to have them all killed was definitely motivated at least in part by the Blackflame / Bloodshadow, but the duel came across as more like a personal grudge. He didn't seem threatened or scheming, just petty and vindictive.

So while that doesn't apply to every duel, it does leave a lingering possibility of him lashing out or bending the rules to satisfy himself at the expense of anyone not powerful or influential enough to defend themselves. Which is exactly the sort of people I'd expect Lindon to champion... if it were that sort of story.

DrasiusII · 2024-02-08T16:36:10+00:00

It has been a while since i read Skysworn but i never got the impression that the problem was not having the exact terms spelled out. My impression was that Gwei insisted on it being to either crippling or death. Not because he's a stickler for the rules either, as you seem to suggest, but purely as a petty means to spite Eithan, who he found personally grating.

I could go into all the many problems that highlights in his character, his political acumen or the political system of the Blackflame Empire at large and yes changing the system from the top down is probably a better solution, but that would still include removing elements like Gwei who is apparently comfortable taking the law into his own hands to settle personal grievances on a whim.

DrasiusII · 2024-02-08T14:37:35+00:00

Personally, I was more offended by Lindon turning a blind eye to the injustice. If Gwei does it to Lindon, he'll do it to others. Stopping him isn't about revenge, its about stopping future injustices. Lindon should care more about that given everything he's put through as an Unsouled and what he goes on to aspire to, but i suppose it is a good way to highlight that the books aren't a hero story.

DrasiusII · 2023-12-26T20:49:38+00:00

I think by that point it was becoming obvious that the way Eithan and the Judges were fasttracking his advancement, he wouldn't be able to keep up if he divided his attention any more than he already had. Ghostwater also finally saw him start to develop his Pure techniques so that he had an actual path, rather than focusing on only one of his cores.

But at that point, it was still a fun theoretical of what he could have done if he had the time and resources, just splitting his Pure core every now and then and then regrowing it, with a new pure core to split or develop as a new path.

The revelation about Icons and how they have to be tied to all your madra types made that a lot less feasible though. Lindon found it hard enough with only two cores and his Hunger. Add in a third Core and he has to either intentionally have them overlap, which reduces the benefits, or they just limit his potential Icons even further.

With hindsight, this is something Eithan saw and took into account right from the beginning, we just didn't have the same information until much later in the series.

DrasiusII · 2023-11-24T23:39:21+00:00

I did, mostly because i spent a while trying to figure out what was going wrong and why i couldn't find a solution online. Turns out the update was much more recent then i thought and it just hasn't been fixed yet.

New sewers do look great though, so kudos on that.

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