You know, I wonder what the old Vloz clan - back when Ven was in charge and the clan was mostly research based, trying to cure the taint and figure out demons - would've thought of Laele? She would've been more or less right up their alley.
maaaan that chapter 50 cover :D this is gonna be AWESOME (and probably break my heart, OTL) Spoiler: Speculation! The presence of the children with Ariel and Faen, coupled with those ominous surroundings, seems to augur well for the possibility of Quain dying in this chapter and a succession crisis arising- we know Suu'be will be present due to the cameo sheet, so maybe she and those loyal to her are gonna attempt to end Quain's bloodline so there's no one to compete for leadership against Koil'dorath (though I can't see Koil countenancing such a thing, so maybe she'll die too? Or maybe the threatening weapons are just to try and capture Ariel and the kids and/or force her to renounce her claim on the clan's leadership? Dunno.) And uh oh, where's the older of the two boys? :C Kiel's holding something mysterious, and she's on the side with Sha'sana. What this means I haven't the slightest, except obviously we'll probably be going back to the ninth tower (perhaps Snadya wants that 'something' that's important to her cause there? Maybe my earlier speculations will bear fruit.) Chrys is holding the cure vial, that means it hasn't gotten to the Jaals yet! That somber look in her eyes makes me think maybe she'll learn of her mom's infection and have to make the horrible decision of whether to save her life, or give the cure to the Jaals to save countless MORE lives but let Zala die because it's not like the Jaals can wave a hand and duplicate the cure instantly. No idea what that shadowy figure in the center is. A summon? Quain? :U AAAH I NEED ANSWERS NOW.
I can't look at the shadowy middle figure without thinking of Vriska (because the eye looks a bit look Vriska's eight-pupilled one) so that's throwing me off. Also, Sha'sana's bus came back! Wonder if we'll find more about Sharess this chapter... Also, haven't the Jaals figured out a cure on their own yet? After the stuff with the Belds. Maybe it doesn't work as quickly as Snad's cure.
Probably not, actually. Given that page, it's pretty impressive that the Jaals produced anything at all to help so far. They've got numbers, but Amanita has access to, if not notes, at least the plants themselves and any stuff Femi had lying around, yet she's still clearly got a ways to go.
AUUUUGH I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS Spoiler: damn you kern How much of this is Naal? Is this our little goth drow, plus some confusion and demonic instincts? Is this a demon which spontaneously developed sentience and a fondness for Kiel? Is this a fusion of Naal and the demon, neither being more present than the other? ARGH. At least we now know what Kiel's holding on the cover... Loyal friend demons carried D'Naal all the way out of the rift without taking a bite from her.
Spoiler: didn't see that coming! Kern, you mad bastard >:O I agree that the red glow in Kiel's hands is almost certainly our friend here :3 Hopefully in her new life, Naal hasn't developed a gluttonous hunger for fae auras! Now my question is- is this something that can and has happened to other fused tainted drow when they die? Cause now I'm considering what a great last moment it'd be for Snadhya whenever she gets her comeuppance, if she turns and finds a certain very angry ex-fused-taint...
Well... Spoiler Technically it's not something fused drow do - it's something all demons do. Once their physical anchor in the world gets stabbed a whole lot, then the demon spirit flies out and gets, hopefully, sealed before being shoved into a nether gate. The only difference here is, in almost every case, the drow hosting the demon gets consumed utterly so the demon is all that remains to be sealed (unless the setting is about to get a whole lot more horrifying.) But in this case, Naal was stubborn and determined enough that, when her demon seed took over, she didn't get destroyed by it and hung on enough to influence some of its actions. And apparently that means that, when her body got destroyed, the Naal-mind hung onto the demon as it returned to being pure mana. Whether or not this means fused drow can also leave their bodies behind is... confusing. I mean, Khaless did say that Kiel was not much different than her, which was backed up by Kern. And from Diva'ratrika and Sharess we know that even an untainted drow can separate their aura and mind from body and jump to a new one, though it requires a complicated ritual or something. So... who knows? Spoiler: Other Stuff Now the question is, what's going to happen with Naal? Because while demons can apparently speak while in mana form (Ecafllort, the demon Kiel was punching a while ago, was ranting about how it would take over the world, so it's not just a Kiel-and-friend-demon thing), she'll still be super vulnerable to sealers. So her best bet would be to get a new body but unless Kiel gets a HUGE favor from the Jaal'darya that'd mean taking someone over, which would be a) super unethical and b) be introducing a THIRD mind for Demonaal to struggle with. But I really want Naal and Kiel to be able to properly hug so I am hoping Naal gets a real physical body somehow, without becoming Khaless 2.0. eta: Oh well this is a bad sign.
I thiiiink I'm gonna stop reading the Drowtales forums for the next couple pages. Just. Until we find out how this is going.
Spoiler Naal no, don't start down that slippery slope >:C only nibble on the auras of consenting adults! But in all seriousness, I don't know why there's a handful of people on the DT forums expecting Naal to take that poor Sul's body. The cover of the chapter shows Kiel holding something that was at first a mystery but is now almost certainly Naal, so my guess is she's not getting a body until at least after she encounters Kiel again. I could be wrong though! And haha, back on my wild theories about Sharess's body, what if Snads IS planning to do something with the body/control it herself/possess it/whatever, but wee Naal swoops in herself and possesses it? A red-eyed Sharess powered by the unholy combo of our dear Naal and a glutton demon? Wouldn't that be a riot and a half. :B
Incidentally, you know what a meeting that I would LOVE to see would be? Naal meeting Anahid. Like, I don't know HOW Naal would meet up with her unless Anahid decides to go and minister to the people or whatever, but. Naal meeting Anahid after trying her very very hardest to keep glutton demon instincts in check (and maybe even asking how she should repent for the Ilva'fay thing, even though she was mostly dead by the time Naal got involved.) Or, if she puts ANY stock into Anahid being able to see people's souls, asking if she is the drow she thinks she is or what. And basically forcing Anahid to come to terms with a demon doing her best to not hurt people (well, that aren't trying to hurt her first. It's still Drowtales.) IIRC Naal did believe in Sharess, didn't she?
Spoiler: Some speculation Starting to think that if, as I strongly suspect, Quain bites it this chapter, Suu'be's loyalists move to end her bloodline so that Koil'dorath has no one between her and Sarghress leadership and Faen/Ariel/any of Mel's surviving kidlets (it's v. worrying that Vene, the older boy, isn't in the chapter's cover) need to bug out, they might run to Machike for Sullissin shelter with Sandara, as Ash'waren told Faen back in chapter 36. (her line exactly was 'If the day comes when you are surrounded by enemies and are lost from your way'- this plus the chapter 50 cover is VERY TELLING imo) There's a timeskip coming up, after all, so Ariel/Faen will need somewhere more stable to spend it than a possibly fracturing Sarghress clan, after all.
...hi, Laele. looking a bit worse for wear, there. also, i'm just imagining if someone tried to do parent points for drowtales. i can't think of anyone who'd still be in the positives at this point in the story.
Waes is trying to fix the stifling influence she'd been on the clans, see how one of her granddaughters snapped Other than that, I've only got Ven and Shimi, who are, well, dead, and can't fuck up any more.
