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Chapter 50

🕑 Added 2024-06-14 04:00:12 +0000 UTC

Comments

Alex

Most Dangerous one, though, if provoked

York

Wen and Hage already knew about the Ivory Library trying to abduct Tristan and that "By order of Lord Asher, there is to be no interference in this matter." [Book2, Chapter 16]. While Nerei's complaint was dismissed due to lack of proof, that doesn't mean anything would happen if Apurva is kept alive (people much higher up in the Watch are invested in his capture, hence the order by Lord Asher). But Tristan should absolutely keep the 13th informed of what's happening.

York

Ooft, the weight of backstory behind: "Growing to rely too much on the goddess’ eyes would leave him lost without her aid."

Skeys13

Did fortuna get extra-corporeal when he killed someone?

Skeys13

Do we know why devils join the watch anyway or what rules they are bound to?

Blind

Why would Abuela give them the information about theogony? I'm on board with there being a conspiracy within the Watch that is cooperating in some way with the infanzonas. Maybe the Sacromontans do the dirty work, the Watch members provide information and resources in return for the experimental results.

Lollo

He could maintain that position for maximum 10 mins, he still managed to catch a very small time window

ohjeezohno

I'd argue Tristan is making a dumb move by not getting help from Wen and his brigade, but I'm too distracted by Izel fuckin Coyac here: he gave his whole "we can be better, it's just easier not to be" speech — apologizing for Tupoc having been kidnapped and brainwashed — while actively involved in a plot to have a classmate kidnapped for unknown ends! Sure, he tried to make it a ~nice~ kidnapping at first, and is now getting cold feet, but it doesn't sound like he's actually going to stop his brigade — where is the moral certitude and "I don't care what my father thinks" attitude that he made (and ruined) a whole meal out of, like, two nights ago?? "just easier not to be" indeed 😏

ohjeezohno

@Poop McScoop first-order is Sleeping God level — that section was Tristan wondering why the Watch even considered the possibility of her being a second-order in the first place (before ruling it out), given that she seems *weaker* than a lot of third-order entities (e.g. can't dislocate).

Chris O'Hare

They are both there at that time because that’s where both went after their day business. Less of a coincidence I think.

MeYouIt

I love Tristan. Bite and scratch untill you escape, little rat.

COR

Good catch, I didn't notice that.

ppbrro

If it gives him an edge against his enemies I totally expect him to do it.

Mr. Snrub

Yeah, sad about this potential backslide from Tristan. He needs to put down the tile... ...and then pick up a larger tile, with the helping hands of his friends and compatriots!

Ed

well, the best thing tristan can do is to have a chat with osian, i pretty sure osian is wary of tristan, he is the name-eater's student after all, so they can have a very profesional conversation, and for tristan having some kind of proof and backing against the ivory tower who arent in the island will be the best

Nick

Love that everyone sees Tristan as the weakest member of the 13th. Song can shoot the dick off a fly. Miriam will melt your face off with Signs. Angharad will run you through, honourably. But Tristan will find you in the dark, when nobody else is around, knock you out, tie you up, torture you and kill you without a thought.

Arlen

Totally shipping song and elesander.the stout republican and the king. Perhaps he will abandon his position to join the black, leave all the court politics behind to follow his love?

Nick

Lol at "finally...confirmation"! Tristan's not a saint. That's more than enough to show that his relationship with Fortuna is special.

Oblivious Sage

Honestly, I still think this whole Ivory Library business is just Abuela putting extra pressure on him.

Skeys13

Her name is both literally and figuratively a curse to her. Cockblocked her from a man she’s obviously interested in and one who seems to really appreciate her too.

Poop McScoop

I'm not as convinced. Vesper is full of conspiracies. Many of the circles of the watch are basically conspiracies. Abuela could have given them the info about theogony, and they could be trying to track him down.

Poop McScoop

I'm mostly convinced Fortuna is a first-order entity; that's why reality couldn't bear her weight when she got mad at Scholomance. We also know she's old, and not a second-order. From Tristan's PoV in Chapter 19, she's more powerful than third order.

Kevin Wang

I really like how the 13th Brigade is constantly surrounded by enemy brigades, as is tradition at this point. Are they going to have to work with the Fourth Brigade again? That'd be kinda hilarious, tbh.

A

Seems like the Ivory Society is going to be related to the Almsgiver and the rest of the organization that was experimenting with multiple contracts and killed Tristan’s father. Seems unlikely that there’s going to be two well-hidden, far-reaching conspiracies investigating contracts.

EndlessTurtle

I wonder if the info about his contract was leaked by Abuela. He either survives, grows sharper, and cleans up the cloaks along the way, or dies. In the end, it's just another one of her tests.

tess pickering

shes simply the realest, most based god. the others cant even compete ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

EndlessTurtle

Exactly my thoughts

EndlessTurtle

They are all doing that to some degree, my guess is that eventually they will learn to trust and rely on each other. That is when their brigade will truly take shape.

Jacob Burton-Edwards

I would like to register a prediction that Cleon Eirenos is going to attempt, or succeed, at assaulting Angharad when she inevitably turns him down. Tossup whether she will immediately kill him for it or if her disability will render her incapable.

Avid_Appletree

I think that is because we see way more of her than other gods. Song her god seems somewhat similar based on the few appearances we got. The strange part is that Fortuna can stick around so long.

Avid_Appletree

Might be that the more dire the risks he takes are the more luck he gets or something.

Avid_Appletree

Yes it should be. But Tristan was raised with a certain mindset that makes him very unwilling to share his problems.

Sean Boyd

Honestly, that was the biggest disappointment. Though I guess Hage's reaction to Tristan dealing with the 19th is to push him to an 'advanced' track.

Colin Love

Had a good feeling someone was going to die today glad it wasn’t any of our gallant friends. Tomorrow though everything has lined up just well enough for a civil war to kick off. Seems the matches have already been struck waiting to light the fuse. I wonder who truly holds initiative or if they’re just dancing to the hated ones tune. I enjoyed the philosophical debate between Song and Evander. I agree with Tianxia but I haven’t forgotten The Prince & what the likes of Fredrick’s & Catherine’s are capable of. The “best” rulers are enlightened despots with the knowledge, power & character to push through needed reforms. However glorious their reigns are and they are praised to the hilts. The focus is always on what comes next succession. Not even the Romans during the height of the Principate could manage 5 or truly 4 successful peaceful transfers of power in a row. The ability to bring in new political dynasties from the provinces would revive the empire but it was always lessened for it. Despite some of the greatest feats of statesmanship and military leadership coming on the backs dynasties such as the Illyrian. Not that a healthy republic isn’t run by people and able to make the same or worse blunders. A system that can produce hundreds of years of successful and peaceful transition of power is one of the greatest achievements of mankind imo. Not perfectly though. Keeping up with needed reforms to prevent ossification after becoming the dominant power seems to be the stumbling block. Interesting to think on.

dhighway61

I was wondering if Abuela, or someone she is controlling, is the "high up" mentioned. Setting her pet project to taking out an entire brigade is good training for him, if you are a psychopath with no morals.

wine-dark-raspberry

Tristan may have done Angharad a favor, if the Umuthi he just killed was the one that was supposed to go with Osian to the shipyard

TheLunaticCo

Rat? No, this is Cat behaviour for sure!

Alex Riggs

Believe it’s the watch guard that tried to kidnap Tristian after the fear room that got feed to the school

andrew marturano

that would mean Cressida has been measuring Tristan for capture since they first met, concerning

andrew marturano

she does seem the type to never catch only one bird with her stone

thephilosoft

I have a vague impression that Abuela uses Tristan for some deep cleaning in the Watch

Esther Martínez

Song Ren will become famous in song as the epic heroine that saves the day, kisses the ruler and then returns to the black. It will be terribly awkward and save her family.

Notcreepycreeper

Im hoping Tristan he goes after the higher ups before the 19th. There isn’t much more that the 19th can tell him, but if he catches the other lieutenant before they know he’s onto them he could actually learn something of what’s going on

Ryu

Tristan’s conflicts are always maddening to read and I’m here for it. Also it’s nice to finally have confirmation that there is something special about his contract. I always find it curious. Fortuna just seems different from other gods we’ve seen so far. The way she speaks, her shifting moods, just everything about her. She is too flexible, like she isn’t bound to and limited by the nature of the concept of which she is a god. At least not as much as other gods. So yeah, can’t wait for more of her in this.

Joe Rachman

Not technically against the rules and he's a Mask, it's almost expected. And the 19th does not know what happened to the guard, just that it failed.

Ryu

I don’t think that would make sense. I can see Song being inadvertently intrigued in him but not in the way that matters, not really. He is a ruler, through and through, and that’s an integral part of who he is. That goes against the ideology she stands for, and Song is steadfast in her values, to say the least.

Cotillion

He’s already in too deep for that. How likely are non-Masks to accept that he was spying on a fellow brigade for fun? Additionally, a brigade tied to a guard who’s been fed to Scholomance no less, by him and Song.

Skoll789

Those are some long odds

WaveySky

I'm pretty sure they mean the guy Tristan and Song abandoned to Scholomance.

Rune of Doom

Yeah, I like him enough that I keep wondering if he'll somehow be deposed and end up joining the Watch, even though that seems ludicrous. More realistically, I'll just be glad if he survives until the end of the book.

andrew marturano

did we see the events with the guard the 19th bribed or was that offscreen?

Lollo

I might be jumping to conclusions, but I find it intriguing how Tristan managed to be in the right place at the right time to obtain crucial information for his survival, what a fortuitous event. Maybe his status as a stable saint could be the cause for that. In addition to actively using his contract, there might also be a passive effect influencing his life.

Joe Rachman

Yeah it all makes sense character wise why this is his fallback. But, there are truth telling contracts, there's precedent Tristan has faced this threat so people would take it seriously, and frankly I think Hage probably holds a lot of pull.

Emmet Mackle

So once again when threatened Tristan falls back to old habits. I get why he killed the guy instead of reporting it, but he should know by now that Song and Maryam will help him. Plus they really need to know that the Nineteenth is hostile.

Emmet Mackle

I get why Tristan didn't keep the guy alive and report it. He was a superior officer, he would have just denied the accusations and Tristan had no proof. Letting him live after interrogating and maiming him would be risky. I agree he should at least tell Song and Maryam though, especially when Captain Tozi is trying to manipulate Song.

joie01

hey EE please dont kill off Evander id be very upset ALSO WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS NEXT FRIDAY SO FAR AWAY

Kev G

I wonder if Fortuna's constant presence affects Tristan's risk assessment ability. He should know as well as anybody how capable Masks can be at investigations, so what led him to think he could get away with murdering a blackcloak? Was it simply rage and arrogance, or the chronic influence of an embodiment of gambling?

tentacles4all

And the name of the volume takes shape: Treasons. First Angharad , now Tristan. I am betting Song and Maryam will follow soon. I liked the dark academia trope but this is turning so much better.

Draken09

Unfortunately, while rats might swarm, they are not pack animals. Tristran just cannot comprehend that he's not alone - not when his back is against the wall and he ignoring the panic that's set in.

Matthew Flowers

The Least Threatening of the Thirteenth Ladies and Gentlemen

Musclerelaxant

Did not expect to ship Song and the local yiwu kingpin so hard, but here we are

Ed

We need a large scale scheme here, go tristan send the city into chaos and civil war.

MouseThatJumps

Kinda hope Tristan ends up working with the killer the 19th is contracted to find to take them out instead.

awakeatdawn

Ah explicitly going back to tile and rat, just as we make major milestones with other characters development we get to regress in others

StrollingEye

What an ending ...

vy

tristan no you got so much character development the last time this happened DO NOT REGRESS

Aguido Horatio Davis

This needs to be shared with the Thirteenth. Or at least with Song.

aquaeus

Damn it Song, stop letting your family get in the way of having fun

WaveySky

The secret to Tristan's contract is that Fortuna is ride or die.

Thien Dinh

Holy that was a good chapter

Brendan Murphy

God Tristan is so cool

Machalt

Well, there goes that almost-not-entirely-hostile rapport with Cressida

Rune of Doom

Even as they've come back together as people, the 13th are unwilling to share their problems with each other. They're all going to learn they need to rely on each other before they're done with Asphodel.

Joe Rachman

Well damn... Honestly I think Tristan should have kept the guy alive, reported this to Wen or Hage, and got the 19th arrested and sentenced. If put in the open that process can't be blocked no matter how high up the mastermind. And, it's less risky than murdering the entire 19th while trying to keep the people who will back him, the 13th, in the dark.