(no subject)
- complete coexistence in the face of the Empress, between Terran and Methuselah, but there's a ... sense of segregation? Ion mentions 'never having been in the Terran quadrant,' or something similar.
- Suleyman is. Aware of what Seth is? At least partially? And it's interesting how Asta feels about the Empress--that incredible loyalty despite having an Empress who really...is such an untrustworthy-seeming type of ruler, who can't reveal her face or her voice and doesn't elaborate a whole lot on her goals, doesn't even appear in public all that often except at the Supreme Court. And Asta can't be the only one who has this viewpoint without knowing anything of Vradica-behind-the-veils.
Also, 'has ruled us since the beginning and will rule us eternally.' S-smart, guys. I really have no idea how the Crusnik lived the kind of lives they did without going batshit insane within a century, and they've lived. Nearly a millenium. (on a small rather spoilery note, isn't it mentioned somewhere that Seth ... at least partially arranges her own death, because she feels herself beginning to go insane? AM I IMPOSING FANON ON CANON? I DON'T REMEMBER ANYMORE.)
Augusta Vradica is considered a goddess because of the extent of her knowledge of events within the Empire. S-snrk. And the Methuselah lifespan is around 300 years at the outside? Whereas Crusnik are the ultimate Energizer Vorebunnies.
Everything sort of falls apart when Vradica is proclaimed dead, too. It seems the Empire really does need her to keep the peace, although not necessarily to...run shit, otherwise. Puppet ruler :( She also has absolutely no personal control on events outside the borders, which means she can't leave even if she has body doubles. That's a pretty precarious position to be in.
- Mirka Fortuna is the 'Keeper of the Secret History.' HM. She also goes 'Could he be...?' after Abel visits her in the private chambers of the Empress, so it's not a long shot, really. Mirka possibly knows the Night Lords' story? Although it might be a modified (sanitized?) version of the truth. And she and Seth take in the same information, probably.
DO THE FORTUNAS BREED THEM SMALL AND SKINNY SO THEY CAN SERVE AS BODY DOUBLES THROUGH THE GENERATIONS? I HAVE NO IDEA. And. You have to wonder what Mirka thinks of the Empress, knowing what she really is. Someone app Mirka.
- I really hope Baybars calling Abel 'Nightlord' was a translators' error. Haha what.
- Blood donation banks, where Terran voluntarily go, and thus raw material for Methuselah Life Water pills is obtained. I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THIS FOR THE LONGEST TIME.
. . . would it be possible to make a similar thing out of Methuselah blood for the Empress's use? IT'S EITHER THAT OR SHE DRINKS THE BLOOD OF CRIMINALS AND ASSASSINS.
- yeniceri = royal guard. I was also wondering about that term for awhile.
- [Abel] Seth I am pretty sure your Empire is inbred up the wazoo. <-- yes. This is something I had taken as canon (...despite no canon mention as of yet! NEVERMIND, SEE RADU'S JOURNAL) without realizing it until it was mentioned.
Family honorifics, among the nobility at least. And. Not a lot of young Methuselah? (HAHA CAN'T TELL AGES.) Yeah. It'd make a warped sort of sense if instead of birth defects, inbreeding shows itself in...really, really low birth rates?
...BED NOW.