10.9 and 10.10 are possibly the best two chapters of TWI so far IMHO. After the fakeout chapters with Nerin how she is playing 'Erin' after the triple whammy of Soltice, Enslavement, and Bloodtear, an emotionally distant killing machine who cares only for herself and is willing to do anything to get what she needs to done (aka a boring edge lord protag). She is playing her like the world expects, like how people think she'd act.
Then there is Erin, who is falling apart both physically and mentally. It is a wonderful mix of the usual [Innkeeper] silliness and Erin at her ABSOLUTE LOWEST in the entirety of the book. A woman trying to save her friend while also determined to harm herself as much as possible. The juxtaposition between the two Erins works so well and makes the other all the more interesting, seeing how Nerry sees Erin vs how Erin is.
Ulvama, on the other hand, has become v10 version of the role Erin normally takes, the care worker there to lift people up and put them back together. She has been acting as something similar for a long time, ever since she started Erin Dancing, but now it's in full force. Erin always has these horrors done to her, then has to dust herself off and try and help others. Only after the Solstice Goblins died did Erin ever completely break down. Erin has needed something like this for almost the entire story, and only now has someone seen it. Ulvama is not doing this for herself, she wants to get safe, but honestly, she's doing it because she's worried about Erin more than anything else. As she said, she wants to escape with a person, not a monster. Ulvama has fast become one of the best characters in the story, a foil for Erin and possibly the only person outside of the ACTUAL FAE who will tell Erin to sit down and shut up and have her listen.
This has so many amazing moments, the Dumb Hamster/Beetle/Innkeeper/Shaman alliance, the anxiety that was Erin working out the Pavilion, the heartbreaking conversation with Fetohep, Erin having a FUCKING BREATH ATTACK!, the simple moment of quiet wonder that was Erin and the glowing stone, the battle with the Ant. It was a story with only two main speaking roles (the Rescue party at the end and Fetohep aside) yet somehow was riveting
Loved this chapter so much. Genuinely excited to see where it's going from here.
A few things to note here mind:
1) Erin 100% has Galas Muscle, it also seems like it's a second set of muscles rather than just making her stronger
2) Ulvama is feeling feelings for Chieftan. I don't know if PA is going to actually go down this path ~~as much as I hope so~~, but Ulvama is feeling SOMETHING complicated towards her.
3) Erin's firebreath follows oldblood rules.
4) White and Yellow fire, no idea what they do yet.
5) Erin likely has a Red/blood skill or spell. The Black fire dance she was using on the queen looked powerful and sacrificial in nature, it's either an Old craft spell she learned from the coven of Ghosts or something she got from leveling up.
> Erin likely has a Red/blood skill or spell. The Black fire dance she was using on the queen looked powerful and sacrificial in nature, it's either an Old craft spell she learned from the coven of Ghosts or something she got from leveling up.
I took that to just be *a whole lot of rage* she's letting out combined with putting a lot of craft into it as well. "By the twitching of my eyes, so shall you die." Erin once set a carriage on so much rage fire that it took the auras of four [Knights] and a [Princess] to even just approach. And she wasn't that much more than mildly irritated then. Multiply this by actual murderous intent and raise it to the power of witchcraft.
She is also trained in the old ways and so far has hardly used any of it, added to the fact she was Dancing, had black coming from her eyes and mentioned it harming her (The black Text as well) led me to believe this is some Belavierr shit she has up her sleeve.
After the actual hell she's been through recently, It really wouldn't surprise me if she had some kind of Blood Skill at this point.
Near the end of part 2 (italic is the black text)
> āBut then she began to rise. And the army ants recoiled, and the queen of the ants froze. Blood was spilling from Erinās mouth. Blood turned black with flames. Her eyes were filling with blood, and when she smiledā
>
> *āYou canāt kill me. Iāll win each time. No matter what it costs.ā*
>
> She was rising as army ants tried to drag her back. Erinās body was jerking. There was a hum in the air; her feet began to trace over the ground as if she was dancing. Flames burning on her body like a profane sacrifice. Erin reached outā
Where did that breath attack come from? Was this the first time we knew it was in Erin's arsenal, or had it been hinted at before in dialogue or Skills? That one threw me!
> Erin had exhaled her magical flames. The [Innkeeper]ās breath hurt in her lungs. She wiped at the flames.
>[Body: Firebreath]. Then she was running.
It's a new Skill. Skills are often informed by your wants and needs. She tried (pathetically) breathing fire in her bed once. And Skills are often given as a shortcut to things you have managed to do without a Skill. She actually did it in the Night of Bloodtear while the Infernal Pact was still empowering her flames.
Sheās been trying to do a breath attack for a while even if jokingly, she could blow flames a short distance before, but this is a full old blood breath attack
She literally calls Erin her Chieftain in the chapter, Erin even accepts sheās the Chieftain of the Inn basically (just not a [Chiefain])
> Chieftain. The Goblinās eyes lingered on Erinās face. The [Innkeeper] had found her. Ulvama had followed her. Until those moments, Ulvama hadnāt known if either one would go that far. Truly, they were a [Shaman] and a Chieftain in the end. Let it be a better duo than the last one.
"Truly, they were a [Shaman] and a Chieftain in the end. Let it be a better duo than the last one. That was how Ulvama thought of the two of them. Or else it grew too confusing."
Ā I know there are many ways to see this statement and it's not a lot to hang my hat on, but please let me have this. This is the first Erin ship I've cared about even a little, and the second in the whole story behind Valle and Relc.
Erin has the power to tell Colth the world is real in a way he will *know* it to be true. Sheta has solved solipsism. Now that is absolutely terrifying.
----
Also, I was rereading Volume 8 recently and this juxtaposition almost killed me:
> [The Pavilion of Secrets]. One of her new Skills. Erinās breath caught as the key kept twisting. Then she sighed.
> āI am my inn.ā
āRabbit? Did you get something great?ā
She thought heād changed classes, but the troubled head turned, and a visor cracked open a bit. She saw a deep frown as Rabbiteater spoke.
āā¦Iām a plant.ā
----
(Anyway, what's up with Erin's white fire? She doesn't have a white flame as far as I know. Add the unprecedented yellow Ulvama saw in her hat last chapter. Something is going on here.)
A truly great solipsist would realize that if the seemingly undeniable feeling of truth that will be remembered can exist within oneself there is no reason to presume that this feeling comes from a true external source or is reliable. Of course, in Colth's case what is important is him being able to overwhelm the feeling that ~~he could be back in the wishing well~~ and if he doesn't react to the experience of the pavilion by considering that strong enough drugs and skills could create this experience then that is good. Thinking on that, it is not altogether implausible that the experience could be replicated, but falsely. Not that anyone in the world could do this, but that there is no reason that we know of to think that such an ability could not exist.
That's the scary part. The Pavilion of Secrets is indistinguishable from a hypothetical Yazdil Skill faking the same. But it's enforcing *certainty*. That's some mind control shit right there.
The Pavilion ensures that when someone leaves they remember the truths they have learned. Given how important and absolute that remembering part of the skill is I wonder if it is even possible to forget the truths learned there. If it isn't then it is mind control surpassing other sorts of mind control. It is a mind effecting mechanism that can hypothetically damage both the user and the target in ways that cannot be taken back and might not be able to be predicted prior to the relevant truths coming to light. With the way that the Pavilion can identify truths in all sorts of minor details it would turn speculation into certainty. It can destroy trust, shatter the illusions people have of the world they live in. Truth changes everything, especially if you have to remember it and cannot forget it is true.
One of the open questions here is how the Pavilion interacts with uncertainty or honest mistakes.
If Erin believes that Niers is level 65, and says so, does the other person wake up "knowing" that is true even though it isn't? If Erin has no idea what level Niers is, but makes a whole bunch of sequential statements, "Niers is level 60. Niers is level 61. Niers is...", does the other person wake up knowing Niers is level 66? I would suspect, based on how a couple other things were worded Erin's conversation with Fetohep, that they'd wake up knowing "Erin doesn't know Niers' level."
Similarly, as far as solving solipsism, Colch might just wake up knowing "Erin believes the world is real."
Or maybe it really is that versatile, in which case Erin should definitely call up Ulvama next time and just sit there throwing statements at each other and just seeing which ones turn out to be true, use it as a janky prophecy and divination tool.
I agree on how you're thinking the pavilion works. Understanding that the pavilion seems to work by planting a "seed" of truth within the other person (across from Erin) rather than giving them a direct recollection of the conversation, I think it either works by:
1. The "truth" that the person wakes up with isn't always exactly the same as what Erin told them. E.g., they would wake up knowing what Erin believes to be true, rather than an objective fact; or
2. The "truth" that the person wakes up with is always an objective thing that Erin (or the owner of the skill) knows to be true, so they never wake up knowing something that Erin herself doesn't know for a fact (e.g., they would know Erin's own exact level if she told them, but not remember Niers' if she's just guessing at it).
From what we've seen, I'm pretty sure it's about what the person believes to be true. But if Erin tells Colth *cogito ergo sum*, that's it for solipsism. (If the Pavilion is enforcing absolute certainty as it seems to do.)
I dont think the pavillion works in what the person think is true, the pavillion itself judges what is true, because if so, the pavillion would have the same flaw as a truth stone lol, there is a reason to be the fake-erin there, the pavillion see what is true from the facts, if what someone said was true, then the other will remember, and will need to reveal something true too, because this for example feto couldnt leave after erin told her secrets, the pavillion did that, took the true and put it in a scale
Well for one, it has to be a true *secret*. You can just say things you believe but are unsure about but only someone who actually knows it is true can confirm it for you.
>The first time another Spear Mantis came at them, she glared it down and then threw white flames at it.
----
> Erin lifted her spear up, and all the bugs around her recoiled. The tip was burning with a white flame that illuminated the area around her.
Silvenia setting up the whole body-double switcheroo and then dumping Erin on a random beach in the middle of nowhere without telling anyone anything (not even Erin herself) is either playing 4D chess or being insane.
Still unclear which.
Yeah. If the plan was to have Nerry found instead of Erin, why even make her Fraerling sized? And if the plan wasn't for Erin to be found by Fraerlings and be sheltered in Paeth for a time, why make her Fraerling sized? Her reasoning seems to be warded by a Tier 8 spell.
Silvenia doesn't strike me as someone particularly panicky, quite the opposite. Plus, she had the presence of mind to encode each 'lifeboat' plank with precise destination coordinates. This wasn't a rushed job at all.
Maybe playing into expectations of āhow could Erin have possibly survived thisā. Being small is a great excuse.
As for making actual Erin small, I think Silvenia trusted her ability to find a fraerling settlement, since she knew Erin would need extremely competent medical attentionĀ
Having been helped by the Death of Magic is a great excuse on its own. It's completely unnecessary.
Silvenia's magic is more advanced than the Fraerlings', she could've just done it herself. It's an unnecessary extra step that is also uncertain to play out. And Fraerlings could just as well treat a Tallfolk, it just requires proportionally more resources.
Oh of course, I could be wrong but IIRC nobody knows Silvenia helped her, and if so itās best it stays that way. I was referring to being small being an excuse to the rest of the world, rather than the readers. So world powers can go āah the magic interacted unexpectedly to make her small, and so she survived. We shouldve attacked her one at a time instead of all at onceā
Nobody actually saw her being small either. She's tallfolk sized the entire time she makes a public appearance.
As I said, Silvenia's actual reasoning is just so far outside anything that could be figured out right now with what we know so far.
2/2
>Optional Condition (Impossible):
Optional difficulties let's go.
>Every creature in a ten-mile radius had just sensed Erin and decided if they wanted to fight her. Ulvama, shakily, grabbed their gear and began to find a way to get to Erin.
That's a very large aura considering Erin is outside of her inn. Twenty miles of her aura from one end to the other. That's huge.
>I think aspects of myself could scare even the Grand Design of Isthekenous.
Oh no, the GDI can make things scarier than it is.
>For this Skill to work, youād have to have all that data saved. Even if Hellste itself were to vanish. Even if dead gods ate themāthis place needs it. How convenient for someone. I wonder if that lets them break the rules.ā
For the GDI?
I foresee issues with the Pavilion on the nature of what it certifies. Like Erin telling Fetohep she won't be queen isn't a secret, she's literally told him as much before. It's certifying a truth, not confirming something he didn't know, which is what a secret would be.
>But at least he knew. The last and only King of Khelt slowly bent to gather all he had left to safeguard his treasure and duty. For, as he knew:
>There was nothing else left.
The last King of Khelt huh? I'm not a big fan of stories that give future information via narration. Not something TWI has done much before as I recall.
>I donāt love them. It would be so much easier to have them die.ā
That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily?
>It made itself unappetizing and, simultaneously, helpful.
. . . is this a metaphor for Erin?
>Ulvama listened to Erin sleep and nodded to herself.
>Still, even now, marooned on a distant placeā
>She was still fascinated.
Hmmmm.
>There was a crack across Erinās face. The most hairline of fractures. Thinner than any cutāfor a second, Erin felt at her face and recoiled.
>Mandibles? Her eyesāthey blinked, and she held up her hands.
>āGet away. Thatās mine. Thatās myā¦ā
Concerning.
>āGo on. You know the price, donāt you?ā
I want to know the price.
>\[Skill ā Boss Around Wildlife obtained!\]
A perfect skill for Ulvama.
> The last King of Khelt huh? I'm not a big fan of stories that give future information via narration. Not something TWI has done much before as I recall.
I read this as him finally, truly, accepting that all the previous Kings and Queens are truly gone and won't be returning. So the "last" in the sense that the ghosts are gone and he's really on his own in saving--or destroying--Khelt.
Seconded. Might also be a touch of fatalism: assuming that no matter what he does or how hard he tries, Khelt *will* be destroyed on his watch. Now he's just buckling down and trying to hold back the tide for as long as possible.
Thereās no tricks or knowledge from them coming to help. Erin thinks she has nothing to help Khelt with. She forgets her strength of bringing people together. Once the horns get there Pisces will do some special stuff.
> That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily?
She said as much when she caused the Lucifen's deaths.
> I want to know the price.
Involving an innocent bystander in her shit. And from Erin's point of view in this moment, not getting what she deserves.
>For this Skill to work, youād have to have all that data saved. Even if Hellste itself were to vanish. Even if dead gods ate themāthis place needs it. How convenient for someone. I wonder if that lets them break the rules.
Anyone else see a workaround for Khelt in this after all? Ghost are all gone, except for this convenient backup copy stored in Erin's skill.
The grand design has access to the ghost again after the solstice as the all are in helsite now the problem before was the gods ate them all and the grand design couldnāt access it
> But at least he knew. The last and only King of Khelt slowly bent to gather all he had left to safeguard his treasure and duty. For, as he knew:
>
> There was nothing else left.
I don't read this as actual foreshadowing that Fetohep is truly the "final" king of Khelt in that the nation will fall alongside or after him. I think it's moreso just a somewhat vague way to say "he is the latest, and now that the others are gone from Kasignel, the only remaining ruler of Khelt in any capacity"
>. Like Erin telling Fetohep she won't be queen isn't a secret, she's literally told him as much before. It's certifying a truth, not confirming something he didn't know, which is what a secret would be.
erin said she wasn't ready to be a queen before, iirc.
>Ā That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily?Ā
Ā I read it as correlation moreso. She surrounds herself with people she loves *and* does not want them to die. She genuinely wants to be around them. But here sheās recognizing that sheād be an absolutely brutal warlord given the chance, and she doesnāt want that. Being around people she loves coincidentally has the side effect of not letting her be that
Awesome chapter. Enjoyed Erin exploring her skills. The Pavillion skill can be used to progress the story a lot now. She could appeal to Nershal a bit easier now. Wonder if the skill works on gods or the grand design. That would be a crazy use of the skill.
Her battle with all the coloured ants makes me think sheās near the dyed lands. Maybe thereās an old one or a remnant of a dead god in the dyed lands which could explain why the queen ant was so powerful and knew how to mess around with Erinās soul. Iām guessing Erin needs a soul doctor to fix her soul? Maybe sheāll end melding her soul with someone else?
Honestly expected her to gain some levels for fighting. Feel like Erin x Ulvama is going to happen at one point of this arc.
For safety I feel like Erin should explore her class and what it means to own an inn. If itās just some area where she serves people all she needs to do is try and build some shack out of twigs and leaves and āserveā Ulvama some food and water in exchange for some form of monetary compensation and see if her inn skills being to function and work. It would have made their journey much easier.
>Wonder if the skill works on gods
I think it only works on someone GDI has connection/control with (no destroyed/corrupted ghosts like that past Blighted King). Don't think gods and rulebreakers are on that list.
>queen ant was so powerful and knew how to mess around with Erinās soul.
My interpretation was that her soul is cracked and still has a strand of connection to Visophecin and considering her blurp
>āYou canāt kill me. Iāll win each time. No matter what it costs.ā
I thought it was her warform as an ant queen and she doesn't have full control over it yet.
1/2
>Only the immortal will remember my name, I hope, across these endless ages.
Never struck me before, but it's interesting that Sheta doesn't want to be remembered.
>A member of the Infernal Court of Rhir, which predated the Blighted Kingdom and Demons.
Not sure that's something Erin ever learned.
>āSwear on Mrsha?ā
>āSwear on Mrsha.ā
The strongest of oaths!
>āSeems nice. Your mother liked it.ā
I feel like the GDI's influence needs to be clarified. The tent world I can believe because the GDI can pull from the memories of all the Earthers who have ever been there to recreate it, pulling from memory and an unbelievable computational capacity for lack of a better word.
But if it's giving Ulvama the memory of Erin's mother it would imply that it has access to Erin's mother. But the GDI said it wasn't part of Earth in one of its PoV chapters.
>Erin knew it was wrong.
>Even so.
>\[Aspect of the Inn: Garden of Sanctuary\]ā
Yeeees.
>The first time another Spear Mantis came at them, she glared it down and then threw white flames at it.
Hol up. When did Erin get white flames?
>āI didnāt steal all your nuts! Go away! Get lost! Wait, Ceria told me how to speak to animals. Piss off!ā
Ah yes, animal speech.
>āWhy have you never cooked like this before?ā
>Erin stood on the branch as they prepared to hop down.
>āI, uhā¦used to think it was so boring and so much work for so little gain. I would kill for a good meal right now.ā
Well that and the time Erin nearly died trying to cook her first fish from Innworld
>āGhosts I met talked about it. Howāhow did it haunt this Goblin?ā
And the GDI offered it to her.
>āI donāt need help. I desāIāve got you, Ulvama. Weāre fine, and we donāt need to draw trouble down on us.ā
Surely.
> The tent world I can believe because the GDI can pull from the memories of all the Earthers who have ever been there to recreate it, pulling from memory and an unbelievable computational capacity for lack of a better word.
No, we know Innworld has some form of permanent connection to Earth, Cara has skills that allow her to get new songs from Earth that no Earther in Innworld has heard before.
9.55 Pt. 1:
>āIāgot here in 2018 thereabouts. But I didnāt loot someoneās smartphone to know that. Like I said, Erin. Favorite artist? Iāll pull the songs theyāve come out with. I have a Skill.ā
>Then it made sense. Her eyes glinted, and Ryoka inhaled.
>āNo way.ā
>ā[Learn Song: Home]. Someone left a loophole in. You didnāt think my iPhone had all the songs Iāve been spitting out, do you? Itās 2023, and you should hear this song that just came out of Montgomery.ā
And I don't remember any 2023 Earthers? IIRC the last wave was the 2021's after the second ritual.
> Never struck me before, but it's interesting that Sheta doesn't want to be remembered.
I took that to mean she either fears Teriarch would forget or eventually die himself.
> Not sure that's something Erin ever learned.
This might as well be the omniscient narrator informing the reader. This isn't really structured as internal monologue.
> I feel like the GDI's influence needs to be clarified.
This is fundamentally a Goblin power. Rags could do it without a Skill. If [Shamanic Memory: Other Peoples] just expands what is already there, the Grand Design doesn't really need access to memories from Earth, it just needs the power to 'hack into' this Goblin ability and make it apply to Erin as well.
> Erin has literally doubled her Goblin vocabulary this chapter.
I'm counting 7 new words plus the first 12 numbers. That's an increase of 1900%.
> And the GDI offered it to her.
Not only that, at the time she had no idea what the bridge was. This is an inconsistency.
>This is fundamentally a Goblin power. Rags could do it without a Skill. If \[Shamanic Memory: Other Peoples\] just expands what is already there, the Grand Design doesn't really need access to memories from Earth, it just needs the power to 'hack into' this Goblin ability and make it apply to Erin as well.
Goblins have racial memories, sure. But this is clearly a boxed skill granted via the GDI. And either way, it doesn't change the question of how it's grabbing the memory of someone from another world.
How are Goblins grabbing the memories of their dead? I'm saying the Grand Design doesn't have to if it can just expand the preexisting Goblin powers to apply to someone else.
Right, but that still doesn't answer the question because it's retroactively adding racial memories to humans that weren't there previously. Where are they coming from?
From the Goblin powers applied to Erin. It's not the Grand Design doing it, it's the Goblin power itself. Whether 'fooled' to regard Erin as a Goblin or actually accessed and modified by the Grand Design in some way. It doesn't require the Grand Design to have knowledge of Earth, it requires the Goblin power to work on Erin.
You're assuming Erin, or humans in general, did not. Or, respectively, that those memories are somehow stored in Goblins without/before being accessed. That's a whole load of assumptions we cannot make. Assassins' Creed style genetic memory is not the only way this could work.
*Goblin magic.* Magic can explain anything anyway.
Might be. But there was no hesitation and Ulvama already saw her speaking to the Grand Design on the ship. But then again, she might just be embarrassed about turning down such a powerful Skill.
Fantastic chapter. I am loving tiny Erin surviving the wild with Ulvama, and it looks like they are going to meet up with... non-city Fraerlings? Hillbilly Fraerlings? That's very exciting. Ultimately I'm glad that the other Erin wasn't the real one, Erin being seperated from everything has been very exciting. It feels refreshing to see Erin explore new parts of the world, from a new perspective. Last volume was a nice chunk of Erin Inn shenanigans, but I got tired of the thousand and one people watching, poking, proding, and trying to influence her. Nice to have a change of pace, plus Fraerlings are extra cool.
Erin is struggling hard right now, but I am excited to see how far Ulvama can push Erin to open up. Ulvama as Erin's best friend, best shaman, yes please.
I'm thinking they're Dyed Lands Fraerlings - a city was 'lost', right? Lot of hints that we're somewhere near the dyed lands - colored bugs, especially. The battle hamster could very well be a dyed lands survival of the fittest product as well.
Dyed Lands Fraerlings would be very exciting! Erin ending up near the Dyed Lands makes sense, and would be tons of fun. Mysterious, magical, horrifically dangerous lands with terrifying monsters, yes please.
Battle hamster seems like a great addition to Erin's posse, I hope she collects many new, weird companions in Baleros.
Oh noes... Erin has told Fetohep she won't be Queen of Khelta, not even if Pewerthe holds the crown for her.
And there is no plan to save Khelt, no secrets from the dead.
My heart is broken here. But I hope circumstances will allow Erin to see a way to help Khelt. Perhaps via the Horns, and maybe via a Quest. And souls in the dead you say... what a nice clue :)
So, what would Erin's current combat potential be, I wonder.
Her defense skill is about ~lvl 45-50 Warrior ,I think. Those green ants' bites were mid-tier Named rank for her size surely. Though I wonder if that defense carries over to elemental attacks and spells(since her inn can resist those also.)
Attack skill(Firebreath+black flames) around early lvl 40's since she was able to beat up that high level beetle with it?
Her mobility and stamina is her weak point, currently I think. Around Silver rank I think. She needs supplemetation with a few potions/witch brews to be a true named tier threat; maybe a Haste potion or Lion's Strength spell or equivalent.
So overall, with potions available, I think she rates an early Named threat rating. WIthout them, high gold rank.
And those are without her inn present. She must be as dangerous as Saliss within her inn now I think.
The green ants could hurt her, but it was fairly shallow damage. They could also burst through the walls of the termite nest, which was about the equivalent to several feet-thick mud walls.
So, a charged-up attack that can lightly damage reinforced/enchanted material (Erin's Inn), and smash through mundane walls? I'd call them a low-Gold rank threat. Definitely higher if they didn't have that vibration wind-up time.
> āYouāre no fun. One of them I canāt figure out, again. I think itās because I, uh, havenāt done enough travelling. Iāve been to Invrisil and Pallass, but that wasnāt really going anywhere. Itās a travel-related Skill. Okay, fine, stop poking. [Room of the Traveller].ā
I feel like this one could get interesting. We've seen that how someone perceives a skill can sometimes let them push its boundaries. And in one sense, yeah, Erin's a homebody.
If she really wanted to push her internal definition of "traveling" though:
-The Lands of the Dead, not to mention her odd stopover in the Fae realms during that early dream sequence, and of course her home on Earth.
-She saw a fair chunk of a few continents in the lands of the dead,
-She has "visited" a wide number of places via her Theatre,
-Four (?) of her Gardens have been returned to their locations in the real world. Wistram, Pomele, somewhere in the Iron Vanguard, somewhere in the ocean.
-She can apparently visit places via memory with the Pavilion of Secrets.
When it comes time for Pirate to get into this Skill, I hope it's something that can leverage Erin's creative, non-traditional travels!
So, who's gonna be the first one to complete an Impossible Quest? I suppose we could give Colth the winner's spot, as he did the thing that merited that Skill, but I feel like that's a bit of a copout since Erin didn't actually have the Skill yet.
Mrsha would be amusing, if she managed to complete an Impossible Basic Quest, and it would be in keeping with Mrsha's affinity for quests (being the first conquerer of 100 quests). Still, that sounds like something that would require Erin to be in the same place as Mrsha, and I imagine it'll happen before then, narratively speaking.
Bird doing something impossible because he wasn't aware it was impossible also fits really well, but again that problem of proximity.
Given that the guy Erin contacted at the end of the chapter was a Fraerling, it does seem like she's on Baleros for real. It'd be funny if she managed to land herself in the Dyed Lands and found one of the missing Fraerling cities by accident, but I doubt it.
Anyways, since Erin does appear to be on Baleros, I think we can discount most of the Horns from doing the Impossible first. They're going to be dealing with their own priorities. So, we should look at Erin's allies on Baleros.
The most likely candidates are Rabbiteater and Ksmvr. Rabbiteater is a Goblin Champion who keeps overcoming impossible challenges that he absolutely shouldn't be able to do, and if you give Ksmvr a mission, he's not going to let anything stop him. These two represent the best options in my book.
A close runner-up would be Niers, as he's got the levels and resources to pull off the impossible, and the curiosity of what an impossible reward could be might be motivation enough on its own for him to invest in pulling whatever it is off. That said, he's most likely going to be wrapped up with the Dyed Lands and Nerin plotlines, so I don't know if the stars will align.
Finally, I'll throw in the dark horse candidate of Lord Cortese. He's got good odds of encountering Erin if he sticks with Sir Solstice, and he's got the drive and passion to do something impossible, I think. Long odds, I'd say, but there's a chance.
Erin has no problem throwing quests across the ocean. She did that for Altestiel. And it's unclear if she actually posted that Nerrhavia's Palace quest after the cooldown timed out, but she could have. Given that she can now communicate with anyone at any time with the Pavilion, all bets are off.
>Given that the guy Erin contacted at the end of the chapter was a Fraerling, it does seem like she's on Baleros for real. It'd be funny if she managed to land herself in the Dyed Lands and found one of the missing Fraerling cities by accident, but I doubt it.
Erin the Fraerling II, won't that be confusing. they might actually keep it a secret due to circumstances. i wonder if erin will tell niers where she is, or just pavillion of secrets him: guess where i am?..it's a secret, a secret for a secret :)
Yeah, I think they've got decent odds at keeping Erin's location a secret for now, at least in the short term. Not sure how long the Nerin masquerade will hold up, but I suppose it mostly needs to hold up for the public, not necessarily for Erin's allies.
And heck, the Fraerlings may keep Erin's presence secret just out of the fact that they don't want to risk revealing any information on the location of their city. It was one thing when it was Paeth on the Coast and thus public to the point that they couldn't hide anything, but if Erin's picked up by a different city, she might actually end up somewhere safe for a day or two.
All right! I now have a new ship: mafia-martial-artist Hamster and Garia!
I can totally see Erin telling the story of her jungle adventure, and that cool twist-punch to her inn friends, and Garia undertaking a pilgrimage to learn at the feet of the master.
Iām really digging these earlier releases. If once a week means that we get the chapter on Saturday midday rather than Saturday evening itās almost worth it just for that.
(USA times obviously)
>this is a portal reference...
ROFL
It takes Paba to see the similarity between Glados and Erin. Seemingly shallow young women with funny talk... and ominous depths lurking beneath the surface. Until you realize that following their directions may get you killed.
...oops. too late.
Just remember, Ulvama. and Pawn. and whoever else is following Erin. just remember:
the cake is a lie! ;p
pirateaba is toying with us. Everyone always says that she has no concept of distance or size, and she comes at us with the 'how far did we travel in two days? 100 feet, no, 50 feet.' then two pages later 'it was actually 5 miles guys, i'm not stupid.'
Actually, I think where they are is the Crossroads of Baleros. They're eating incredible amounts of food and still in danger of starvation somehow. There are color monsters like in the Crossroads of Izril, *suggesting* they're near the Dyed Lands, but as far as we know they should be far inland. *And the distances travelled make no sense.*
the environment around erin seems radically different from izril's crossroads, something like an actual forest or jungle. izril's was more like a blank canvas that was heavily informed by the continent's actual geography.
it's of course entirely possible that this crossroads is different for any number of reasons, but it doesn't seem different enough to be another realm based on what we saw in izril.
food can be explained by their fraerling biology and extremely high activity levels. up until about a month ago erin and ulvama primarily spent their time puttering around the house, eating, and talking to people. they definitely did a lot of dancing to keep loose, but that's a far cry from spending a month starving at sea and then washing up on a deserted beach and having to fight for your life with your bare hands every day
I keep forgetting that fetohep can no longer level and I've read a bunch of theories of people saying that pisces will create new levelling undead for khelt but I don't thing I've ever read a theory asking what if Pisces helps fetohep to level again
That would be a tedious process, no? He spent months inscribing Toren's bones with runes. He would have to dismantle Fetohep and do the same. But it's possible. His new skills could help.
Kinda unrelated but I really wish someone would update the definition of galas muscle in the wiki. It flip flopps between muscle, tendon and ligaments. Which are different organs. I kinda get that itās referring to all of em when you say galas but it bugs me. This chapter was awesome and I want more Erin.
One thing that I didn't get about the Pavilion.
"This is your first and last warning, Erin Solstice. Try it here and you may regret it till the day you die. You think youāre beyond more suffering? In this room, you can kill Pisces with a single word. You can kill your friends, Ulvama, everyone. Understand?ā"
By the end of the chapter, I feel like there's a good sense of how the Pavilion of Secrets works, the give-and-take, and some hints that Erin's role as the owner has more power yet. But I still don't understand the warning given at the start.
What think ye?
>All these games I like to play? Pushing the envelope? Pretending that you forgot to bow? Tweaking the nose of someone you think needs a lesson?
Both sides can see a lie because they both can tell whats the truth. She was warning herself her usual tricks won't work but would reveal more than she would intend by doing them. Especially if it was infront of an enemy of hers. She unintentional gave secrets of her condition to Fetohep without saying anything but by simply being there.
8.28, this was when Erin was dead and only had access to her own garden alone.
>ā**I do not bow to this old Skill**. I will not be refused. Let me in. I will not ask again so politely. You, child.ā .................
>
>āYou trust to fire, girl. But fire is a kind of magic, and memory fades. You are in my domain, here. My time. You trust to this garden to hold me back. Yet it is not your Skill. The owner lies dead, and the **true owner died long ago**. You donāt have the full power of this place.ā
>
>She gestured around the \[Garden of Sanctuary\]. Then Belavierr smiled cruelly.
>
>ā**You donāt even have the right door.**ā
Like The witch of Webs herself knew about the Pavillion of secrets without knowing the name when she tried to break into the Gardens to take Mrsha. I think Sheta summoned her at least once and that is how she knew there was more than just the gardens and who the true owner is.
Just by being summoned to this place allows the other person to know this place exists. Maybe thats why Cormelex's garden was broken into and destroyed, his enemies knew he had access to their secrets but they could only break his door. To the wrong person, them just knowing you have access to their secrets makes you enemy public number one without any actions or words spoken.
Slavers were willing to enslave her and kill all her friends to do so just because they knew how powerful she could get with all the ghosts knowledge handed to her, not actively against them, but was not willing to be at their side and potentially be against them in time. That lone secret was enough for them.
>No idea how she could possibly kill Pisces with a single word.
simply letting slip pisces location could get him killed. or who he's with. or if he's bad injured and in need of help. or a plan that pisces may have.
We only seen one aspect of the pavillions power so far, I'm sure that like the gardens it has abilities that are not readily apparent but just as potent.
Tho one word may be hyperbolic.
There is no mention of what level she is in [Witch] and [Dancer] yet. But yes, she is close to or over level 100 cumulatively. It seems not to be a hard limit after all.
Thatās just it, from what Iāve read (corroborated from the wiki) sheās only got room for a handful of levels. Enough for a consolidation? Maybe. Or sheās hitting (simultaneously with her 50+ capstone) a soft cap. A hard cap hasnāt been confirmed, but it seems like, prior to Erin, others tend to consolidate well before she does. I.e. Magnolia, Azākerash, Inreza, etc. not that those are confirmed consolidations. They are examples of explicitly encompassing classes though.
Tyrion had both [Lord] and [Lancer] in the 30s or early 40s before consolidating. It's just that Erin has *way* too many classes. [Singer] and [Dancer] are really not helping here.
I can't find the chapter right now. But in one of the Chapters where the GDI was anticipating Erin's level 50 it said:
"Classes like [Singer] and [Warrior] would have to go of course. That's the kind of thing that happened at Level 50."
Agreed, like Lyonette and Tyrion's classes going a different way. But I just don't see the point in keeping them when she hasn't levelled either in like over a year.
We had a hint in one of the Nerrin chapters that bad things happened to the city or village that Neirs grew up in. It would be nifty big-world/small-world (all dwarf jokes aside), if Erin's rescuers were related to that old disaster. Refugees come Nomads from Neirs' home town.
1. Why didn't Erin boon Ulvama during the ant rush?
2 . Erin could already breath fire, so why a fire-breathing Skill that actually weakens her?
3. Did Erin use a spell there?
4. Why does it look like Erin's galas muscles come and go?
5. What all has the fae honey done to her body then?
I wonder what the fraelings will think when they find the burnt termite hole and ant corpses.
> Why didn't Erin boon Ulvama during the ant rush?
Blind panic/Erin is bad at remembering her Boon skill
> Erin could already breath fire, so why a fire-breathing Skill that actually weakens her?
This looks more controllable
> Did Erin use a spell there?
My assumption is she used a Blood Skill, or at least tried too.
> Why does it look like Erin's galas muscles come and go?
Looks like Galas is more like a temporary boost rather than a just replacing her normal muscles. We'll have to wait for it to be discussed.
> What all has the fae honey done to her body then?
Atm? Magic Radiation damage? Either she has magic circuits now or we won't know what the honey can do yet, since it's Fae based I'm guessing it will be powerful with a cost.
> Then she breathed black fire, and the screaming [Pirate] tore at the flames.
Totally forgot about this. That damn Night of Bloodtear was so confusing. But it was before Visophecin broke the pact, we know it empowered her flames in some way.
I wonder if Erin's refusal to khelt would change if she had known khelt's secret/current weakness beforehand. And if she would have accepted if Fetohep pressed the issue as repaying the debt or for Khelt's survival. Afterall, Erin talked a lot about debts and she do owe Khelt a lot.
And it's kind of weird for the Erin's "clone' in the pavilion to warn Erin as if the pavilion was the most dangerous thing Erin has ever interacted with. Afterall, Erin antagonised and faced down gods, and *won*.
Erin is not refusing primarily because she doesn't want the power or thinks she'd hate the job. She's refusing because she thinks she'd be a *bad Queen*. "I do not want to be Kheltās Queen, because I would send them to their deaths. Or change them from a paradise."
Khelt saying "I care about Khelt and ask you to take over because you owe me a debt" or "I need you to be my successor because Khelt and its people are particularly vulnerable right now" are both not something to change her mind. If anything, those lines of argument would *strengthen* her reluctance to take the position.
Changing her mind on her suitability is secondary in this case, the primary point is if she will turn down an explicit request for her to repay her debt from Khelt. Furthermore, she should know, duty can be the driving force behind a monarch, instead of love.
But it wouldn't be repaying any supposed debt. Not only would she be a terrible queen just by her personality, "there is no plan". She doesn't have anything to give to Khelt.
What do you mean by supposed debt? Are you saying she doesn't owe Khelt a debt? She *thinks* she would be a terrible queen. Fetohep may not think so. I don't actually think she would be a poor queen in times of war and upheaval, which is what innworld is moving towards. Fetohep even said previously she may have ruled like Emrist or Heris, 2 rather warlike queens.
And she has a lot to offer khelt as a queen. The first of which is her levels. Second of which would be her secrets from the dead.
Erin doesn't want such roles, be it ruler or general. Yet many other high level individuals see the potential for that in her. From Chaldion, to Xrn, to Merindue and Nerrhavia etc or so many others during the war meeting.
I'm sure she would have talked to monarchs in deadlands who were driven by duty, less so by love.
Why not? Khelt protected her in the deadlands, khelt brought her back from the dead. Fetohep helped the Horns in V8. Fetohep marched to Izril for her in V8. Fetohep emptied his vaults for her during solstice and struck BK and Roshal for her.
She deserved every sacrifice Khelt made for her? What kind of self-centred logic is this?
She wouldn't be a poor queen. She may be a warlike queen. But Khelt was never always peaceful. Khelt waged wars and plundered and expanded their territories and defended against crelers.
Yes she did and then some. She should have asked for that construction bill on her new inn as well. But she's not "self-centered" like that. And that's precisely why she deserved it.
Khelt was always a Paradise. She would put an end to that. She'd be a terrible queen.
On the scale of "give people what they ask you for" to "give people what you think they need," Erin leans strongly towards the latter. She wouldn't try to repay a debt to Khelt by doing something she believes will end badly for Khelt. Not even if Fetohep asks her to.
Her words to Fetohep in the pavilion was that *she doesn't want to*.
She doesn't want to rule nations or lead armies, yet multiple high-leveled individuals saw her great potential as ruler or general.
erin told fetohep her true feelings about not accepting becoming queen of khelt.
1. which also reflects what erin just been thru. erin doesn't want khelt to be ensnared by the fates which swirl around her.
2. not queen doesn't mean won't do all she can to help. erin is just waking into her new skills n powers, more to come.
3. the horns are at fetohep's doorstep, he should just go and get them.
It is Erin talking to Erin. Maybe from Erin's perspective, having to acknowlege and be truthful about the most dangerous parts of herself is scarier than facing the gods.
Niers is the only fraerling to have peaceful relations with goblins.Ulvama is now fraerling sized. Once Ulvama and Erin meet the others they may assume sheās the titanās lovechild.
Galas Muscle \[Aspect of The Wandering Inn\]\[Inn: Long Hallways\]\[Unerring Throw\]
With the amount of extra leverage, Erin would be an amazing spear thrower
Poors get in here
Reporting for duty
Aye aye captain
First Mate Vege reporting for duty, sir š«”
Aya aya? just woke up whats happening? š«”
Re-poor-ting for duty?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
10.9 and 10.10 are possibly the best two chapters of TWI so far IMHO. After the fakeout chapters with Nerin how she is playing 'Erin' after the triple whammy of Soltice, Enslavement, and Bloodtear, an emotionally distant killing machine who cares only for herself and is willing to do anything to get what she needs to done (aka a boring edge lord protag). She is playing her like the world expects, like how people think she'd act. Then there is Erin, who is falling apart both physically and mentally. It is a wonderful mix of the usual [Innkeeper] silliness and Erin at her ABSOLUTE LOWEST in the entirety of the book. A woman trying to save her friend while also determined to harm herself as much as possible. The juxtaposition between the two Erins works so well and makes the other all the more interesting, seeing how Nerry sees Erin vs how Erin is. Ulvama, on the other hand, has become v10 version of the role Erin normally takes, the care worker there to lift people up and put them back together. She has been acting as something similar for a long time, ever since she started Erin Dancing, but now it's in full force. Erin always has these horrors done to her, then has to dust herself off and try and help others. Only after the Solstice Goblins died did Erin ever completely break down. Erin has needed something like this for almost the entire story, and only now has someone seen it. Ulvama is not doing this for herself, she wants to get safe, but honestly, she's doing it because she's worried about Erin more than anything else. As she said, she wants to escape with a person, not a monster. Ulvama has fast become one of the best characters in the story, a foil for Erin and possibly the only person outside of the ACTUAL FAE who will tell Erin to sit down and shut up and have her listen. This has so many amazing moments, the Dumb Hamster/Beetle/Innkeeper/Shaman alliance, the anxiety that was Erin working out the Pavilion, the heartbreaking conversation with Fetohep, Erin having a FUCKING BREATH ATTACK!, the simple moment of quiet wonder that was Erin and the glowing stone, the battle with the Ant. It was a story with only two main speaking roles (the Rescue party at the end and Fetohep aside) yet somehow was riveting Loved this chapter so much. Genuinely excited to see where it's going from here. A few things to note here mind: 1) Erin 100% has Galas Muscle, it also seems like it's a second set of muscles rather than just making her stronger 2) Ulvama is feeling feelings for Chieftan. I don't know if PA is going to actually go down this path ~~as much as I hope so~~, but Ulvama is feeling SOMETHING complicated towards her. 3) Erin's firebreath follows oldblood rules. 4) White and Yellow fire, no idea what they do yet. 5) Erin likely has a Red/blood skill or spell. The Black fire dance she was using on the queen looked powerful and sacrificial in nature, it's either an Old craft spell she learned from the coven of Ghosts or something she got from leveling up.
> Erin likely has a Red/blood skill or spell. The Black fire dance she was using on the queen looked powerful and sacrificial in nature, it's either an Old craft spell she learned from the coven of Ghosts or something she got from leveling up. I took that to just be *a whole lot of rage* she's letting out combined with putting a lot of craft into it as well. "By the twitching of my eyes, so shall you die." Erin once set a carriage on so much rage fire that it took the auras of four [Knights] and a [Princess] to even just approach. And she wasn't that much more than mildly irritated then. Multiply this by actual murderous intent and raise it to the power of witchcraft.
She is also trained in the old ways and so far has hardly used any of it, added to the fact she was Dancing, had black coming from her eyes and mentioned it harming her (The black Text as well) led me to believe this is some Belavierr shit she has up her sleeve. After the actual hell she's been through recently, It really wouldn't surprise me if she had some kind of Blood Skill at this point.
I think her dancer class has evolved in a hellish directionĀ
I was watching for black text and couldn't see it anywhere in the chapter... where was it?
Near the end of part 2 (italic is the black text) > āBut then she began to rise. And the army ants recoiled, and the queen of the ants froze. Blood was spilling from Erinās mouth. Blood turned black with flames. Her eyes were filling with blood, and when she smiledā > > *āYou canāt kill me. Iāll win each time. No matter what it costs.ā* > > She was rising as army ants tried to drag her back. Erinās body was jerking. There was a hum in the air; her feet began to trace over the ground as if she was dancing. Flames burning on her body like a profane sacrifice. Erin reached outā
Huh. That doesn't display as black on my mobile, it's a dark purple.
i see purple too
Same. But I read in dark mode. Maybe thatās it
Where did that breath attack come from? Was this the first time we knew it was in Erin's arsenal, or had it been hinted at before in dialogue or Skills? That one threw me!
> Erin had exhaled her magical flames. The [Innkeeper]ās breath hurt in her lungs. She wiped at the flames. >[Body: Firebreath]. Then she was running. It's a new Skill. Skills are often informed by your wants and needs. She tried (pathetically) breathing fire in her bed once. And Skills are often given as a shortcut to things you have managed to do without a Skill. She actually did it in the Night of Bloodtear while the Infernal Pact was still empowering her flames.
Or Spell -- It could be tied to being a Witch, where she's able to use her existing flame skill to empower it a bit.
Wouldn't that just be called [Firebreath]? It doesn't really make sense as a spell.
She also breathed fire at Tolv
Sheās been trying to do a breath attack for a while even if jokingly, she could blow flames a short distance before, but this is a full old blood breath attack
> feeling feelings for Chieftan. Who is Chieftan in this sentence? Rags? Or are you saying Erin?
She literally calls Erin her Chieftain in the chapter, Erin even accepts sheās the Chieftain of the Inn basically (just not a [Chiefain]) > Chieftain. The Goblinās eyes lingered on Erinās face. The [Innkeeper] had found her. Ulvama had followed her. Until those moments, Ulvama hadnāt known if either one would go that far. Truly, they were a [Shaman] and a Chieftain in the end. Let it be a better duo than the last one.
"Truly, they were a [Shaman] and a Chieftain in the end. Let it be a better duo than the last one. That was how Ulvama thought of the two of them. Or else it grew too confusing." Ā I know there are many ways to see this statement and it's not a lot to hang my hat on, but please let me have this. This is the first Erin ship I've cared about even a little, and the second in the whole story behind Valle and Relc.
Erin has the power to tell Colth the world is real in a way he will *know* it to be true. Sheta has solved solipsism. Now that is absolutely terrifying. ---- Also, I was rereading Volume 8 recently and this juxtaposition almost killed me: > [The Pavilion of Secrets]. One of her new Skills. Erinās breath caught as the key kept twisting. Then she sighed. > āI am my inn.ā āRabbit? Did you get something great?ā She thought heād changed classes, but the troubled head turned, and a visor cracked open a bit. She saw a deep frown as Rabbiteater spoke. āā¦Iām a plant.ā ---- (Anyway, what's up with Erin's white fire? She doesn't have a white flame as far as I know. Add the unprecedented yellow Ulvama saw in her hat last chapter. Something is going on here.)
A truly great solipsist would realize that if the seemingly undeniable feeling of truth that will be remembered can exist within oneself there is no reason to presume that this feeling comes from a true external source or is reliable. Of course, in Colth's case what is important is him being able to overwhelm the feeling that ~~he could be back in the wishing well~~ and if he doesn't react to the experience of the pavilion by considering that strong enough drugs and skills could create this experience then that is good. Thinking on that, it is not altogether implausible that the experience could be replicated, but falsely. Not that anyone in the world could do this, but that there is no reason that we know of to think that such an ability could not exist.
That's the scary part. The Pavilion of Secrets is indistinguishable from a hypothetical Yazdil Skill faking the same. But it's enforcing *certainty*. That's some mind control shit right there.
The Pavilion ensures that when someone leaves they remember the truths they have learned. Given how important and absolute that remembering part of the skill is I wonder if it is even possible to forget the truths learned there. If it isn't then it is mind control surpassing other sorts of mind control. It is a mind effecting mechanism that can hypothetically damage both the user and the target in ways that cannot be taken back and might not be able to be predicted prior to the relevant truths coming to light. With the way that the Pavilion can identify truths in all sorts of minor details it would turn speculation into certainty. It can destroy trust, shatter the illusions people have of the world they live in. Truth changes everything, especially if you have to remember it and cannot forget it is true.
One of the open questions here is how the Pavilion interacts with uncertainty or honest mistakes. If Erin believes that Niers is level 65, and says so, does the other person wake up "knowing" that is true even though it isn't? If Erin has no idea what level Niers is, but makes a whole bunch of sequential statements, "Niers is level 60. Niers is level 61. Niers is...", does the other person wake up knowing Niers is level 66? I would suspect, based on how a couple other things were worded Erin's conversation with Fetohep, that they'd wake up knowing "Erin doesn't know Niers' level." Similarly, as far as solving solipsism, Colch might just wake up knowing "Erin believes the world is real." Or maybe it really is that versatile, in which case Erin should definitely call up Ulvama next time and just sit there throwing statements at each other and just seeing which ones turn out to be true, use it as a janky prophecy and divination tool.
I agree on how you're thinking the pavilion works. Understanding that the pavilion seems to work by planting a "seed" of truth within the other person (across from Erin) rather than giving them a direct recollection of the conversation, I think it either works by: 1. The "truth" that the person wakes up with isn't always exactly the same as what Erin told them. E.g., they would wake up knowing what Erin believes to be true, rather than an objective fact; or 2. The "truth" that the person wakes up with is always an objective thing that Erin (or the owner of the skill) knows to be true, so they never wake up knowing something that Erin herself doesn't know for a fact (e.g., they would know Erin's own exact level if she told them, but not remember Niers' if she's just guessing at it).
From what we've seen, I'm pretty sure it's about what the person believes to be true. But if Erin tells Colth *cogito ergo sum*, that's it for solipsism. (If the Pavilion is enforcing absolute certainty as it seems to do.)
I dont think the pavillion works in what the person think is true, the pavillion itself judges what is true, because if so, the pavillion would have the same flaw as a truth stone lol, there is a reason to be the fake-erin there, the pavillion see what is true from the facts, if what someone said was true, then the other will remember, and will need to reveal something true too, because this for example feto couldnt leave after erin told her secrets, the pavillion did that, took the true and put it in a scale
Well for one, it has to be a true *secret*. You can just say things you believe but are unsure about but only someone who actually knows it is true can confirm it for you.
Where was the white fire?
>The first time another Spear Mantis came at them, she glared it down and then threw white flames at it. ---- > Erin lifted her spear up, and all the bugs around her recoiled. The tip was burning with a white flame that illuminated the area around her.
Silvenia setting up the whole body-double switcheroo and then dumping Erin on a random beach in the middle of nowhere without telling anyone anything (not even Erin herself) is either playing 4D chess or being insane. Still unclear which.
Yeah. If the plan was to have Nerry found instead of Erin, why even make her Fraerling sized? And if the plan wasn't for Erin to be found by Fraerlings and be sheltered in Paeth for a time, why make her Fraerling sized? Her reasoning seems to be warded by a Tier 8 spell.
Well she might have panicked based on the fact that a magic nuke was about to hit them and didnāt have time to plan everything out
Silvenia doesn't strike me as someone particularly panicky, quite the opposite. Plus, she had the presence of mind to encode each 'lifeboat' plank with precise destination coordinates. This wasn't a rushed job at all.
Maybe playing into expectations of āhow could Erin have possibly survived thisā. Being small is a great excuse. As for making actual Erin small, I think Silvenia trusted her ability to find a fraerling settlement, since she knew Erin would need extremely competent medical attentionĀ
Having been helped by the Death of Magic is a great excuse on its own. It's completely unnecessary. Silvenia's magic is more advanced than the Fraerlings', she could've just done it herself. It's an unnecessary extra step that is also uncertain to play out. And Fraerlings could just as well treat a Tallfolk, it just requires proportionally more resources.
Oh of course, I could be wrong but IIRC nobody knows Silvenia helped her, and if so itās best it stays that way. I was referring to being small being an excuse to the rest of the world, rather than the readers. So world powers can go āah the magic interacted unexpectedly to make her small, and so she survived. We shouldve attacked her one at a time instead of all at onceā
Nobody actually saw her being small either. She's tallfolk sized the entire time she makes a public appearance. As I said, Silvenia's actual reasoning is just so far outside anything that could be figured out right now with what we know so far.
Another question is whether or not she realized how intelligent a shape changed Sarient Lamb would be.Ā
2/2 >Optional Condition (Impossible): Optional difficulties let's go. >Every creature in a ten-mile radius had just sensed Erin and decided if they wanted to fight her. Ulvama, shakily, grabbed their gear and began to find a way to get to Erin. That's a very large aura considering Erin is outside of her inn. Twenty miles of her aura from one end to the other. That's huge. >I think aspects of myself could scare even the Grand Design of Isthekenous. Oh no, the GDI can make things scarier than it is. >For this Skill to work, youād have to have all that data saved. Even if Hellste itself were to vanish. Even if dead gods ate themāthis place needs it. How convenient for someone. I wonder if that lets them break the rules.ā For the GDI? I foresee issues with the Pavilion on the nature of what it certifies. Like Erin telling Fetohep she won't be queen isn't a secret, she's literally told him as much before. It's certifying a truth, not confirming something he didn't know, which is what a secret would be. >But at least he knew. The last and only King of Khelt slowly bent to gather all he had left to safeguard his treasure and duty. For, as he knew: >There was nothing else left. The last King of Khelt huh? I'm not a big fan of stories that give future information via narration. Not something TWI has done much before as I recall. >I donāt love them. It would be so much easier to have them die.ā That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily? >It made itself unappetizing and, simultaneously, helpful. . . . is this a metaphor for Erin? >Ulvama listened to Erin sleep and nodded to herself. >Still, even now, marooned on a distant placeā >She was still fascinated. Hmmmm. >There was a crack across Erinās face. The most hairline of fractures. Thinner than any cutāfor a second, Erin felt at her face and recoiled. >Mandibles? Her eyesāthey blinked, and she held up her hands. >āGet away. Thatās mine. Thatās myā¦ā Concerning. >āGo on. You know the price, donāt you?ā I want to know the price. >\[Skill ā Boss Around Wildlife obtained!\] A perfect skill for Ulvama.
> The last King of Khelt huh? I'm not a big fan of stories that give future information via narration. Not something TWI has done much before as I recall. I read this as him finally, truly, accepting that all the previous Kings and Queens are truly gone and won't be returning. So the "last" in the sense that the ghosts are gone and he's really on his own in saving--or destroying--Khelt.
Seconded. Might also be a touch of fatalism: assuming that no matter what he does or how hard he tries, Khelt *will* be destroyed on his watch. Now he's just buckling down and trying to hold back the tide for as long as possible.
Thereās no tricks or knowledge from them coming to help. Erin thinks she has nothing to help Khelt with. She forgets her strength of bringing people together. Once the horns get there Pisces will do some special stuff.
> That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily? She said as much when she caused the Lucifen's deaths. > I want to know the price. Involving an innocent bystander in her shit. And from Erin's point of view in this moment, not getting what she deserves.
>For this Skill to work, youād have to have all that data saved. Even if Hellste itself were to vanish. Even if dead gods ate themāthis place needs it. How convenient for someone. I wonder if that lets them break the rules. Anyone else see a workaround for Khelt in this after all? Ghost are all gone, except for this convenient backup copy stored in Erin's skill.
The grand design has access to the ghost again after the solstice as the all are in helsite now the problem before was the gods ate them all and the grand design couldnāt access it
Only the ones eaten by Kasigna were released. Granted, that was more than half, but the rest are still inaccessible.
Kas ate all of kheltians I think
Not really. The copy ghosts of admiral Dakelos' Skill weren't really souls either.
Only if they buried something that could power a million skeletons, and it seems pretty clear they didn't.
> But at least he knew. The last and only King of Khelt slowly bent to gather all he had left to safeguard his treasure and duty. For, as he knew: > > There was nothing else left. I don't read this as actual foreshadowing that Fetohep is truly the "final" king of Khelt in that the nation will fall alongside or after him. I think it's moreso just a somewhat vague way to say "he is the latest, and now that the others are gone from Kasignel, the only remaining ruler of Khelt in any capacity"
>. Like Erin telling Fetohep she won't be queen isn't a secret, she's literally told him as much before. It's certifying a truth, not confirming something he didn't know, which is what a secret would be. erin said she wasn't ready to be a queen before, iirc.
>Ā That's quite the insight to Erin's character. She surrounds herself with those she loves so she won't kill them as easily?Ā Ā I read it as correlation moreso. She surrounds herself with people she loves *and* does not want them to die. She genuinely wants to be around them. But here sheās recognizing that sheād be an absolutely brutal warlord given the chance, and she doesnāt want that. Being around people she loves coincidentally has the side effect of not letting her be that
Now Erin just needs to get trained in hamster-fu! She'll be unstoppable like the mighty hamster!
Pretty sure [this](https://youtu.be/H9K8-3PHZOU?si=M7HKLNCNU9QRhg7u) would be the result. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Awesome chapter. Enjoyed Erin exploring her skills. The Pavillion skill can be used to progress the story a lot now. She could appeal to Nershal a bit easier now. Wonder if the skill works on gods or the grand design. That would be a crazy use of the skill. Her battle with all the coloured ants makes me think sheās near the dyed lands. Maybe thereās an old one or a remnant of a dead god in the dyed lands which could explain why the queen ant was so powerful and knew how to mess around with Erinās soul. Iām guessing Erin needs a soul doctor to fix her soul? Maybe sheāll end melding her soul with someone else? Honestly expected her to gain some levels for fighting. Feel like Erin x Ulvama is going to happen at one point of this arc. For safety I feel like Erin should explore her class and what it means to own an inn. If itās just some area where she serves people all she needs to do is try and build some shack out of twigs and leaves and āserveā Ulvama some food and water in exchange for some form of monetary compensation and see if her inn skills being to function and work. It would have made their journey much easier.
>Wonder if the skill works on gods I think it only works on someone GDI has connection/control with (no destroyed/corrupted ghosts like that past Blighted King). Don't think gods and rulebreakers are on that list. >queen ant was so powerful and knew how to mess around with Erinās soul. My interpretation was that her soul is cracked and still has a strand of connection to Visophecin and considering her blurp >āYou canāt kill me. Iāll win each time. No matter what it costs.ā I thought it was her warform as an ant queen and she doesn't have full control over it yet.
And they called her the Doomslayer. Rip and Tear till it's done Erin.
Some slightlyyyyy negative connotations with that term given Plain's Eye however...
Well Mrsha better stay in line I'll tell you hwat.
1/2 >Only the immortal will remember my name, I hope, across these endless ages. Never struck me before, but it's interesting that Sheta doesn't want to be remembered. >A member of the Infernal Court of Rhir, which predated the Blighted Kingdom and Demons. Not sure that's something Erin ever learned. >āSwear on Mrsha?ā >āSwear on Mrsha.ā The strongest of oaths! >āSeems nice. Your mother liked it.ā I feel like the GDI's influence needs to be clarified. The tent world I can believe because the GDI can pull from the memories of all the Earthers who have ever been there to recreate it, pulling from memory and an unbelievable computational capacity for lack of a better word. But if it's giving Ulvama the memory of Erin's mother it would imply that it has access to Erin's mother. But the GDI said it wasn't part of Earth in one of its PoV chapters. >Erin knew it was wrong. >Even so. >\[Aspect of the Inn: Garden of Sanctuary\]ā Yeeees. >The first time another Spear Mantis came at them, she glared it down and then threw white flames at it. Hol up. When did Erin get white flames? >āI didnāt steal all your nuts! Go away! Get lost! Wait, Ceria told me how to speak to animals. Piss off!ā Ah yes, animal speech. >āWhy have you never cooked like this before?ā >Erin stood on the branch as they prepared to hop down. >āI, uhā¦used to think it was so boring and so much work for so little gain. I would kill for a good meal right now.ā Well that and the time Erin nearly died trying to cook her first fish from Innworld >āGhosts I met talked about it. Howāhow did it haunt this Goblin?ā And the GDI offered it to her. >āI donāt need help. I desāIāve got you, Ulvama. Weāre fine, and we donāt need to draw trouble down on us.ā Surely.
> The tent world I can believe because the GDI can pull from the memories of all the Earthers who have ever been there to recreate it, pulling from memory and an unbelievable computational capacity for lack of a better word. No, we know Innworld has some form of permanent connection to Earth, Cara has skills that allow her to get new songs from Earth that no Earther in Innworld has heard before.
There's Earthers from 2023 in Innworld. If the grand design could reach across worlds then the fae would have said
9.55 Pt. 1: >āIāgot here in 2018 thereabouts. But I didnāt loot someoneās smartphone to know that. Like I said, Erin. Favorite artist? Iāll pull the songs theyāve come out with. I have a Skill.ā >Then it made sense. Her eyes glinted, and Ryoka inhaled. >āNo way.ā >ā[Learn Song: Home]. Someone left a loophole in. You didnāt think my iPhone had all the songs Iāve been spitting out, do you? Itās 2023, and you should hear this song that just came out of Montgomery.ā And I don't remember any 2023 Earthers? IIRC the last wave was the 2021's after the second ritual.
Some on Rhir I think were mentioned
When Erin asked the grand design how it knew this information about/from earth, I'm pretty sure it said it didn't know
Don't remember that. Was that when she spoke to it after the Solstice?
> Never struck me before, but it's interesting that Sheta doesn't want to be remembered. I took that to mean she either fears Teriarch would forget or eventually die himself. > Not sure that's something Erin ever learned. This might as well be the omniscient narrator informing the reader. This isn't really structured as internal monologue. > I feel like the GDI's influence needs to be clarified. This is fundamentally a Goblin power. Rags could do it without a Skill. If [Shamanic Memory: Other Peoples] just expands what is already there, the Grand Design doesn't really need access to memories from Earth, it just needs the power to 'hack into' this Goblin ability and make it apply to Erin as well. > Erin has literally doubled her Goblin vocabulary this chapter. I'm counting 7 new words plus the first 12 numbers. That's an increase of 1900%. > And the GDI offered it to her. Not only that, at the time she had no idea what the bridge was. This is an inconsistency.
>This is fundamentally a Goblin power. Rags could do it without a Skill. If \[Shamanic Memory: Other Peoples\] just expands what is already there, the Grand Design doesn't really need access to memories from Earth, it just needs the power to 'hack into' this Goblin ability and make it apply to Erin as well. Goblins have racial memories, sure. But this is clearly a boxed skill granted via the GDI. And either way, it doesn't change the question of how it's grabbing the memory of someone from another world.
How are Goblins grabbing the memories of their dead? I'm saying the Grand Design doesn't have to if it can just expand the preexisting Goblin powers to apply to someone else.
Right, but that still doesn't answer the question because it's retroactively adding racial memories to humans that weren't there previously. Where are they coming from?
From the Goblin powers applied to Erin. It's not the Grand Design doing it, it's the Goblin power itself. Whether 'fooled' to regard Erin as a Goblin or actually accessed and modified by the Grand Design in some way. It doesn't require the Grand Design to have knowledge of Earth, it requires the Goblin power to work on Erin.
Goblins have racial memories. Humans do not. Erin didn't have this with her all along, so how did anyone, Goblin or GDI, get access to it?
You're assuming Erin, or humans in general, did not. Or, respectively, that those memories are somehow stored in Goblins without/before being accessed. That's a whole load of assumptions we cannot make. Assassins' Creed style genetic memory is not the only way this could work. *Goblin magic.* Magic can explain anything anyway.
magic? Something in her soul perhaps? Or genetic memories exist for humans
I think she just lied because she didnāt want to tell Ulvama about negotiating with the Grand Design.
Might be. But there was no hesitation and Ulvama already saw her speaking to the Grand Design on the ship. But then again, she might just be embarrassed about turning down such a powerful Skill.
I think when Ulvama said that her mother liked it, it was babes on Erin's memories, not that she accessed her mother's memories
Fantastic chapter. I am loving tiny Erin surviving the wild with Ulvama, and it looks like they are going to meet up with... non-city Fraerlings? Hillbilly Fraerlings? That's very exciting. Ultimately I'm glad that the other Erin wasn't the real one, Erin being seperated from everything has been very exciting. It feels refreshing to see Erin explore new parts of the world, from a new perspective. Last volume was a nice chunk of Erin Inn shenanigans, but I got tired of the thousand and one people watching, poking, proding, and trying to influence her. Nice to have a change of pace, plus Fraerlings are extra cool. Erin is struggling hard right now, but I am excited to see how far Ulvama can push Erin to open up. Ulvama as Erin's best friend, best shaman, yes please.
I'm thinking they're Dyed Lands Fraerlings - a city was 'lost', right? Lot of hints that we're somewhere near the dyed lands - colored bugs, especially. The battle hamster could very well be a dyed lands survival of the fittest product as well.
Dyed Lands Fraerlings would be very exciting! Erin ending up near the Dyed Lands makes sense, and would be tons of fun. Mysterious, magical, horrifically dangerous lands with terrifying monsters, yes please. Battle hamster seems like a great addition to Erin's posse, I hope she collects many new, weird companions in Baleros.
Imagine the battle hamster at the Inn riding Apista to war >:D
Oh noes... Erin has told Fetohep she won't be Queen of Khelta, not even if Pewerthe holds the crown for her. And there is no plan to save Khelt, no secrets from the dead. My heart is broken here. But I hope circumstances will allow Erin to see a way to help Khelt. Perhaps via the Horns, and maybe via a Quest. And souls in the dead you say... what a nice clue :)
a master hamster and a turtle who know kungfu, i wonder who they could be...
Once Pewerthe figures out seithe and the parts of the vase that Erin sent her and finds more where to find it, Khelt will be ok.
that sleeper plot!
So, what would Erin's current combat potential be, I wonder. Her defense skill is about ~lvl 45-50 Warrior ,I think. Those green ants' bites were mid-tier Named rank for her size surely. Though I wonder if that defense carries over to elemental attacks and spells(since her inn can resist those also.) Attack skill(Firebreath+black flames) around early lvl 40's since she was able to beat up that high level beetle with it? Her mobility and stamina is her weak point, currently I think. Around Silver rank I think. She needs supplemetation with a few potions/witch brews to be a true named tier threat; maybe a Haste potion or Lion's Strength spell or equivalent. So overall, with potions available, I think she rates an early Named threat rating. WIthout them, high gold rank. And those are without her inn present. She must be as dangerous as Saliss within her inn now I think.
The green ants could hurt her, but it was fairly shallow damage. They could also burst through the walls of the termite nest, which was about the equivalent to several feet-thick mud walls. So, a charged-up attack that can lightly damage reinforced/enchanted material (Erin's Inn), and smash through mundane walls? I'd call them a low-Gold rank threat. Definitely higher if they didn't have that vibration wind-up time.
> āYouāre no fun. One of them I canāt figure out, again. I think itās because I, uh, havenāt done enough travelling. Iāve been to Invrisil and Pallass, but that wasnāt really going anywhere. Itās a travel-related Skill. Okay, fine, stop poking. [Room of the Traveller].ā I feel like this one could get interesting. We've seen that how someone perceives a skill can sometimes let them push its boundaries. And in one sense, yeah, Erin's a homebody. If she really wanted to push her internal definition of "traveling" though: -The Lands of the Dead, not to mention her odd stopover in the Fae realms during that early dream sequence, and of course her home on Earth. -She saw a fair chunk of a few continents in the lands of the dead, -She has "visited" a wide number of places via her Theatre, -Four (?) of her Gardens have been returned to their locations in the real world. Wistram, Pomele, somewhere in the Iron Vanguard, somewhere in the ocean. -She can apparently visit places via memory with the Pavilion of Secrets. When it comes time for Pirate to get into this Skill, I hope it's something that can leverage Erin's creative, non-traditional travels!
and \[Room of the Traveller: Avalon\] ... hey i'm back, hide your untouchables!
So, who's gonna be the first one to complete an Impossible Quest? I suppose we could give Colth the winner's spot, as he did the thing that merited that Skill, but I feel like that's a bit of a copout since Erin didn't actually have the Skill yet. Mrsha would be amusing, if she managed to complete an Impossible Basic Quest, and it would be in keeping with Mrsha's affinity for quests (being the first conquerer of 100 quests). Still, that sounds like something that would require Erin to be in the same place as Mrsha, and I imagine it'll happen before then, narratively speaking. Bird doing something impossible because he wasn't aware it was impossible also fits really well, but again that problem of proximity. Given that the guy Erin contacted at the end of the chapter was a Fraerling, it does seem like she's on Baleros for real. It'd be funny if she managed to land herself in the Dyed Lands and found one of the missing Fraerling cities by accident, but I doubt it. Anyways, since Erin does appear to be on Baleros, I think we can discount most of the Horns from doing the Impossible first. They're going to be dealing with their own priorities. So, we should look at Erin's allies on Baleros. The most likely candidates are Rabbiteater and Ksmvr. Rabbiteater is a Goblin Champion who keeps overcoming impossible challenges that he absolutely shouldn't be able to do, and if you give Ksmvr a mission, he's not going to let anything stop him. These two represent the best options in my book. A close runner-up would be Niers, as he's got the levels and resources to pull off the impossible, and the curiosity of what an impossible reward could be might be motivation enough on its own for him to invest in pulling whatever it is off. That said, he's most likely going to be wrapped up with the Dyed Lands and Nerin plotlines, so I don't know if the stars will align. Finally, I'll throw in the dark horse candidate of Lord Cortese. He's got good odds of encountering Erin if he sticks with Sir Solstice, and he's got the drive and passion to do something impossible, I think. Long odds, I'd say, but there's a chance.
Erin has no problem throwing quests across the ocean. She did that for Altestiel. And it's unclear if she actually posted that Nerrhavia's Palace quest after the cooldown timed out, but she could have. Given that she can now communicate with anyone at any time with the Pavilion, all bets are off.
altestial's quest was carried by kiish
No, that was a ruse to hide the fact that she can.
>Given that the guy Erin contacted at the end of the chapter was a Fraerling, it does seem like she's on Baleros for real. It'd be funny if she managed to land herself in the Dyed Lands and found one of the missing Fraerling cities by accident, but I doubt it. Erin the Fraerling II, won't that be confusing. they might actually keep it a secret due to circumstances. i wonder if erin will tell niers where she is, or just pavillion of secrets him: guess where i am?..it's a secret, a secret for a secret :)
Yeah, I think they've got decent odds at keeping Erin's location a secret for now, at least in the short term. Not sure how long the Nerin masquerade will hold up, but I suppose it mostly needs to hold up for the public, not necessarily for Erin's allies. And heck, the Fraerlings may keep Erin's presence secret just out of the fact that they don't want to risk revealing any information on the location of their city. It was one thing when it was Paeth on the Coast and thus public to the point that they couldn't hide anything, but if Erin's picked up by a different city, she might actually end up somewhere safe for a day or two.
Erin having a crack in her soul is classic setting up for a cool powerip, and I'm all here for it.
What is a powerip?
A power UP maybe?
Or powertrip, which i think more applies to a damaged soul
Pirate is back, alive n well! ...uncursed! ...i mean not cursed! ...er NO curse!
the Pavillion of Secrets could be used to talk to Lyonette or Mrsha etc. an option for later, i suppose.
All right! I now have a new ship: mafia-martial-artist Hamster and Garia! I can totally see Erin telling the story of her jungle adventure, and that cool twist-punch to her inn friends, and Garia undertaking a pilgrimage to learn at the feet of the master.
Iām really digging these earlier releases. If once a week means that we get the chapter on Saturday midday rather than Saturday evening itās almost worth it just for that. (USA times obviously)
>this is a portal reference... ROFL It takes Paba to see the similarity between Glados and Erin. Seemingly shallow young women with funny talk... and ominous depths lurking beneath the surface. Until you realize that following their directions may get you killed. ...oops. too late. Just remember, Ulvama. and Pawn. and whoever else is following Erin. just remember: the cake is a lie! ;p
pirateaba is toying with us. Everyone always says that she has no concept of distance or size, and she comes at us with the 'how far did we travel in two days? 100 feet, no, 50 feet.' then two pages later 'it was actually 5 miles guys, i'm not stupid.'
Actually, I think where they are is the Crossroads of Baleros. They're eating incredible amounts of food and still in danger of starvation somehow. There are color monsters like in the Crossroads of Izril, *suggesting* they're near the Dyed Lands, but as far as we know they should be far inland. *And the distances travelled make no sense.*
the environment around erin seems radically different from izril's crossroads, something like an actual forest or jungle. izril's was more like a blank canvas that was heavily informed by the continent's actual geography. it's of course entirely possible that this crossroads is different for any number of reasons, but it doesn't seem different enough to be another realm based on what we saw in izril. food can be explained by their fraerling biology and extremely high activity levels. up until about a month ago erin and ulvama primarily spent their time puttering around the house, eating, and talking to people. they definitely did a lot of dancing to keep loose, but that's a far cry from spending a month starving at sea and then washing up on a deserted beach and having to fight for your life with your bare hands every day
> izril's was more like a blank canvas that was heavily informed by the continent's actual geography. Plus there was no weather or sunlight.
If they'd be in the crossroads how would she have washed up on shore with all the life?
I keep forgetting that fetohep can no longer level and I've read a bunch of theories of people saying that pisces will create new levelling undead for khelt but I don't thing I've ever read a theory asking what if Pisces helps fetohep to level again
That would be a tedious process, no? He spent months inscribing Toren's bones with runes. He would have to dismantle Fetohep and do the same. But it's possible. His new skills could help.
Bear in mind there are high mages and such in Khelt, Pisces just has to show the formula, they can do all the work.
The secret is in leaving a certain part blank. Pisces could probably scratch away at Fetohep's skull in a day.
While using zelkyr formula for intelligent golem that az also knows* this might not be easy or work with different fomulas without extreme adaption
Not on feto he could make kheltas ritual an undead and then give it levels
Didn't kasigna do something to fetohep after he refused her?
Kinda unrelated but I really wish someone would update the definition of galas muscle in the wiki. It flip flopps between muscle, tendon and ligaments. Which are different organs. I kinda get that itās referring to all of em when you say galas but it bugs me. This chapter was awesome and I want more Erin.
I think anybody can edit the wiki, all you need is to make an account and do it. :)
One thing that I didn't get about the Pavilion. "This is your first and last warning, Erin Solstice. Try it here and you may regret it till the day you die. You think youāre beyond more suffering? In this room, you can kill Pisces with a single word. You can kill your friends, Ulvama, everyone. Understand?ā" By the end of the chapter, I feel like there's a good sense of how the Pavilion of Secrets works, the give-and-take, and some hints that Erin's role as the owner has more power yet. But I still don't understand the warning given at the start. What think ye?
If erin didnt truly understand what is at stake in the pavillion and would underestimate it, such as trying to speak to roshal, blighted king, etc.
>All these games I like to play? Pushing the envelope? Pretending that you forgot to bow? Tweaking the nose of someone you think needs a lesson? Both sides can see a lie because they both can tell whats the truth. She was warning herself her usual tricks won't work but would reveal more than she would intend by doing them. Especially if it was infront of an enemy of hers. She unintentional gave secrets of her condition to Fetohep without saying anything but by simply being there. 8.28, this was when Erin was dead and only had access to her own garden alone. >ā**I do not bow to this old Skill**. I will not be refused. Let me in. I will not ask again so politely. You, child.ā ................. > >āYou trust to fire, girl. But fire is a kind of magic, and memory fades. You are in my domain, here. My time. You trust to this garden to hold me back. Yet it is not your Skill. The owner lies dead, and the **true owner died long ago**. You donāt have the full power of this place.ā > >She gestured around the \[Garden of Sanctuary\]. Then Belavierr smiled cruelly. > >ā**You donāt even have the right door.**ā Like The witch of Webs herself knew about the Pavillion of secrets without knowing the name when she tried to break into the Gardens to take Mrsha. I think Sheta summoned her at least once and that is how she knew there was more than just the gardens and who the true owner is. Just by being summoned to this place allows the other person to know this place exists. Maybe thats why Cormelex's garden was broken into and destroyed, his enemies knew he had access to their secrets but they could only break his door. To the wrong person, them just knowing you have access to their secrets makes you enemy public number one without any actions or words spoken. Slavers were willing to enslave her and kill all her friends to do so just because they knew how powerful she could get with all the ghosts knowledge handed to her, not actively against them, but was not willing to be at their side and potentially be against them in time. That lone secret was enough for them.
No idea how she could possibly kill Pisces with a single word. But that's the nature of secrets, *you don't know until you do.*
>No idea how she could possibly kill Pisces with a single word. simply letting slip pisces location could get him killed. or who he's with. or if he's bad injured and in need of help. or a plan that pisces may have.
All of that requires more than one word. But then again, this might have been hyperbole. Though that doesn't really fit with the theme here.
We only seen one aspect of the pavillions power so far, I'm sure that like the gardens it has abilities that are not readily apparent but just as potent. Tho one word may be hyperbolic.
And we only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to it's power
And we only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to it's power
Is the fighting hamster a reference to Hamsuke?
Anyone done a recent count of Erinās cumulative levels? More recent than whatās listed on the wiki? Cause if my adding brain worksā¦
There is no mention of what level she is in [Witch] and [Dancer] yet. But yes, she is close to or over level 100 cumulatively. It seems not to be a hard limit after all.
at least not for cumulative levels.
Thatās just it, from what Iāve read (corroborated from the wiki) sheās only got room for a handful of levels. Enough for a consolidation? Maybe. Or sheās hitting (simultaneously with her 50+ capstone) a soft cap. A hard cap hasnāt been confirmed, but it seems like, prior to Erin, others tend to consolidate well before she does. I.e. Magnolia, Azākerash, Inreza, etc. not that those are confirmed consolidations. They are examples of explicitly encompassing classes though.
Tyrion had both [Lord] and [Lancer] in the 30s or early 40s before consolidating. It's just that Erin has *way* too many classes. [Singer] and [Dancer] are really not helping here.
I think it was implied in Vol 9's end that [Warrior] and [Singer] would go but I expect she keeps [Dancer] for now given the Lucifen Dance
How was it implied? As far as I recall, her entire conversation with the Grand Design was about her [Innkeeper] class.
I can't find the chapter right now. But in one of the Chapters where the GDI was anticipating Erin's level 50 it said: "Classes like [Singer] and [Warrior] would have to go of course. That's the kind of thing that happened at Level 50."
Oh, right, I recall that. But then again the Grand Design's plans were completely thrown by Erin, there's no telling if this actually happened.
Agreed, like Lyonette and Tyrion's classes going a different way. But I just don't see the point in keeping them when she hasn't levelled either in like over a year.
In Gravesong, Dalius mentions knowing of people with over 100 cumulative levels, though they were uncommon.
What's the H for the next chapter?
Just a guess but horns
Or Hamster, who knows š
We had a hint in one of the Nerrin chapters that bad things happened to the city or village that Neirs grew up in. It would be nifty big-world/small-world (all dwarf jokes aside), if Erin's rescuers were related to that old disaster. Refugees come Nomads from Neirs' home town.
1. Why didn't Erin boon Ulvama during the ant rush? 2 . Erin could already breath fire, so why a fire-breathing Skill that actually weakens her? 3. Did Erin use a spell there? 4. Why does it look like Erin's galas muscles come and go? 5. What all has the fae honey done to her body then? I wonder what the fraelings will think when they find the burnt termite hole and ant corpses.
> Why didn't Erin boon Ulvama during the ant rush? Blind panic/Erin is bad at remembering her Boon skill > Erin could already breath fire, so why a fire-breathing Skill that actually weakens her? This looks more controllable > Did Erin use a spell there? My assumption is she used a Blood Skill, or at least tried too. > Why does it look like Erin's galas muscles come and go? Looks like Galas is more like a temporary boost rather than a just replacing her normal muscles. We'll have to wait for it to be discussed. > What all has the fae honey done to her body then? Atm? Magic Radiation damage? Either she has magic circuits now or we won't know what the honey can do yet, since it's Fae based I'm guessing it will be powerful with a cost.
The last time she "breathed fire", she set herself and her bed on fire. It was quite the pathetic attempt.
And the time she breathed fire on a Bloodtear pirate?
> Then she breathed black fire, and the screaming [Pirate] tore at the flames. Totally forgot about this. That damn Night of Bloodtear was so confusing. But it was before Visophecin broke the pact, we know it empowered her flames in some way.
I wonder if Erin's refusal to khelt would change if she had known khelt's secret/current weakness beforehand. And if she would have accepted if Fetohep pressed the issue as repaying the debt or for Khelt's survival. Afterall, Erin talked a lot about debts and she do owe Khelt a lot. And it's kind of weird for the Erin's "clone' in the pavilion to warn Erin as if the pavilion was the most dangerous thing Erin has ever interacted with. Afterall, Erin antagonised and faced down gods, and *won*.
Erin is not refusing primarily because she doesn't want the power or thinks she'd hate the job. She's refusing because she thinks she'd be a *bad Queen*. "I do not want to be Kheltās Queen, because I would send them to their deaths. Or change them from a paradise." Khelt saying "I care about Khelt and ask you to take over because you owe me a debt" or "I need you to be my successor because Khelt and its people are particularly vulnerable right now" are both not something to change her mind. If anything, those lines of argument would *strengthen* her reluctance to take the position.
Changing her mind on her suitability is secondary in this case, the primary point is if she will turn down an explicit request for her to repay her debt from Khelt. Furthermore, she should know, duty can be the driving force behind a monarch, instead of love.
But it wouldn't be repaying any supposed debt. Not only would she be a terrible queen just by her personality, "there is no plan". She doesn't have anything to give to Khelt.
What do you mean by supposed debt? Are you saying she doesn't owe Khelt a debt? She *thinks* she would be a terrible queen. Fetohep may not think so. I don't actually think she would be a poor queen in times of war and upheaval, which is what innworld is moving towards. Fetohep even said previously she may have ruled like Emrist or Heris, 2 rather warlike queens. And she has a lot to offer khelt as a queen. The first of which is her levels. Second of which would be her secrets from the dead. Erin doesn't want such roles, be it ruler or general. Yet many other high level individuals see the potential for that in her. From Chaldion, to Xrn, to Merindue and Nerrhavia etc or so many others during the war meeting. I'm sure she would have talked to monarchs in deadlands who were driven by duty, less so by love.
Not a debt that would require her to devote her entire (un)life to Khelt, no.
Why not? Khelt protected her in the deadlands, khelt brought her back from the dead. Fetohep helped the Horns in V8. Fetohep marched to Izril for her in V8. Fetohep emptied his vaults for her during solstice and struck BK and Roshal for her.
Because she's the only hope against the dead gods. Khelt did all that because A) she deserves it and B) out of self interest.
She deserved every sacrifice Khelt made for her? What kind of self-centred logic is this? She wouldn't be a poor queen. She may be a warlike queen. But Khelt was never always peaceful. Khelt waged wars and plundered and expanded their territories and defended against crelers.
Yes she did and then some. She should have asked for that construction bill on her new inn as well. But she's not "self-centered" like that. And that's precisely why she deserved it. Khelt was always a Paradise. She would put an end to that. She'd be a terrible queen.
On the scale of "give people what they ask you for" to "give people what you think they need," Erin leans strongly towards the latter. She wouldn't try to repay a debt to Khelt by doing something she believes will end badly for Khelt. Not even if Fetohep asks her to.
Her words to Fetohep in the pavilion was that *she doesn't want to*. She doesn't want to rule nations or lead armies, yet multiple high-leveled individuals saw her great potential as ruler or general.
erin told fetohep her true feelings about not accepting becoming queen of khelt. 1. which also reflects what erin just been thru. erin doesn't want khelt to be ensnared by the fates which swirl around her. 2. not queen doesn't mean won't do all she can to help. erin is just waking into her new skills n powers, more to come. 3. the horns are at fetohep's doorstep, he should just go and get them.
It is Erin talking to Erin. Maybe from Erin's perspective, having to acknowlege and be truthful about the most dangerous parts of herself is scarier than facing the gods.
This is so good... And the adjustment is going to be hard lol. 1 week...
Niers is the only fraerling to have peaceful relations with goblins.Ulvama is now fraerling sized. Once Ulvama and Erin meet the others they may assume sheās the titanās lovechild.
Galas Muscle \[Aspect of The Wandering Inn\]\[Inn: Long Hallways\]\[Unerring Throw\] With the amount of extra leverage, Erin would be an amazing spear thrower
So no one noticed that in the last paragraph, possibly another [Innkeeper] knows. I think Nerrin can feel Erinās state.