Annotated 41-21
We can only hope to save the world if we accept certain truths and certain responsibilities.
The berserker was never Byron’s fault: it was something imposed on him from outside…but the same could be said about each of us for many of the burdens we carry. They’re ultimately our crosses to bear. The red scar will remain in his soul-self, close to his heart. It’s true that he’ll never be free of it…
But that’s no reason not to live a good life. The man is more important than the berserker. And he always was.
…
Maybe this part’s only funny to me, but it seems like Gravedust is…actually trying to SMOOTH-TALK his way back to resurrecting Byron, like Bugs Bunny hustling a bunch of Elmer Fudds? I mean, Cliff’s right, Gravedust has to know that rezzing is against the rules of being a mystic. So was he thinking… Okay, we’ve just saved the entire afterlife, everybody’s kinda dumbstruck about that, so I’ma just say “It’s been real, guys” and yeet me and Byron outta here before anyone tells me I can’t. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? I think that’s how Bandit put it. Judging from the way the other three mystics look at each other awkwardly, each not wanting to be the first to object, I wonder if this con job would’ve worked had Cliff not spoken up.
Wait, so are the other mystics trapped here forever to “tend to the needs” of this transitional zone? If so, being a mystic is a much longer-term commitment than I had realized. I had just thought it was for life…
I think the beserker-spirit was too big a problem to ignore and/or was inpassable for souls, and they were the only souls able to fight it (or defend themselves from it). So the longer commitment was under duress, for self-preservation and a sense of duty. Now that the roadblock had been solved, I’m guessing they’ll go on to their reward .
Me thinks it’s more voluntary, as it was in life. But seeing how they know that the next generation of mystics aren’t coming up all too fast, they’re a bit stuck now.
Kinda curious that no other race or culture had “keepers of death” in their belief-systems…
‘Cose this is not dwarf-specific after-“life”, but still the dwarfs are the only ones looking after it…
The poor saps may be viewing the literal fate of the world as “unfinished business”, keeping them from passing on.
I kinda get Gravedust here.
Imagine being part of a social group whom were the main part of your identity for a very long time, but now you have grown past them while they are stuck in their old, outdated ways.
That is not a very comfortable conversation to have. Can’t fault him for hoping to avoid it.
That scar had me worried for the entire remainder of the story because I was never sure if it was actually “just” a scar or some shred of the demon that may or may not grow to full size again at some point, when nobody’s expecting it anymore…
Also, I’m trying to imagine Bandit’s reaction to Byron’s return if she were still part of the group… Oh, right, this time he’s totally fine, sure, I’ll totally believe that!
I love how Byron’s internal monologue here echoes the alt-text of the last few pages, just in a different tone. Nicely done!
I’m pretty sure that’s Gravedust’s internal monologue. It definitely was earlier in the chapter. For that matter, those alt-texts could be Gravy’s musings as well.
It’s not even that much of a con job attempt. Wasn’t that long ago that the will of the cosmos decided Byron should return to life, and Syr’s got a point: is THIS really the point he’s supposed to die at, his job supposedly done? And we know from the ending that if he stays dead, neither he nor Best contribute to the final fight. But more than that, Gravedust likely doesn’t rejoin the group in the mountains, which means he misses meeting the Champions, when his presence there had been one of the causes of things going smoothly. And if he returns at his own slow pace, perhaps he doesn’t even make it there by the time Penk and Harky clash – if they even still do at all.
It’s a bit of a grey area, but it is also just Gravedust directly telling them this is how it’s gonna be.