Annotated 40-12
I love those eyebrows in panel 1. Syr’Nj isn’t going to take HR’s claim at face value. But it’s so out there, so unexpected even from a Cultist, that curiosity outweighs everything. Syr’Nj wears many hats, but she’s never not a scientist.
HR is so excited to be able to tell someone about the wonderful things he’s done, he’s even going to be generous with the creative credit.
I guess it’s not too hard to imagine an Arkerra without a berserker curse, especially since that curse depends on some interaction with yet another universe. By HR’s lights, other things that might exist due to the players’ modifications include the mystics, Iver, Syr’Nj’s family, and the histories of the various warrior-nun sisterhoods. Curiously, I can’t think of something like that for Best’s player. Awesome as he is, he’s not really connected to the story of Arkerra like the others are. WAV, on the other hand, left a few connections behind in Cyberia.
I imagine Best’s counterpart could have been responsible for the whole destiny and legendary hero prophesy, just so he could bask in his own glory before he even earned it. Too bad in order for his prophecies to contain a shred of truth in Arkerra, it had to also force him to share the spotlight with the other heroes like him. He may very well have given special people the ability to see Best’s destiny, but it had the side effect of allowing them to see everyone else’s destiny as well as the true nature of Arkerra.
So you’re saying the winter elves exist because Best needed a reliable source to tell him how much he sucks.
One reliable source wasn’t enough. It takes a village. X’D
The Basin of Foresight seemed to me like an attempt to create a heroic destiny for himself, but it failed to tell him what he wanted to hear. By the time he gave up trying to find a seer able to break ranks, there were enough of them to classify them as a separate race united by this one fact he refused to accept.
In my opinion, Best is heroic, but he is cursed with having to share the heroic stage with his equals, the other lore-building player characters. Unlike the others who managed to have their backstories retconned into Arkerra, he is not allowed to live out his personal fantasy to be the world’s only savior, and that denial cuts deep.
What about ‘Peter the Blessed’, and that whole village who’s next generation was going to be part-elf babies?
Goading the villain into monologueing is second nature to all non-Barbarians and non-Paladins.
Syr cannot help herself.
Best obviously (head-canon) invented the concept of Shit Elves.
And musical warriors, I guess?
Those don’t exactly loom large in the lore, though.
But yeah, the oracles might be on Best, maybe including the winter elves?
The Shit Elves make sense as Best’s invention because why would anyone else put them in the game? Doesn’t seem like a cool PR move.
Best, on the other hand, probably wanted exactly that as his origin: Growing up in the dirt but destined for immortal fame. Rock’n’Roll!
Musical warriors, on the other hand, may well have existed in Arkerra before. Most roleplaying games (on paper or digital, online or not) have bards, and there’s some small group of players who play them. Best’s human may have come up with the idea of making them cool, though — to *some* level of subjective success :)
Best/Wav are decidedly more hacknslashy than most bards, though.
More warrior, less preening.
But also more preening, in the case of Best.
Paradoxical.
I love the “You’re Graiya?” line. Like it’s unlikely, but also possible in this world, and Syr has had a hell of a day so far, learning her ancient goddess is some mook with a moustache in a robe she has to shoot is just another thing on a list of things she’s gonna have to deal with.
I love it all the more for the fact HR forgot she already has a god, one he apparently wrote but doesn’t care about.