World of Ortho Q&A Session 2

Hello there!

As the title says, I've compiled another list of questions posted by readers of A Hero Past the 25th on Royal Road over the years, along with honest answers. 

In the previous part (here), I answered questions focused mainly on Verses 1-4, while the new set is gathered from the comments along the later parts. Some of the questions are directly quoted from RR, while others I've paraphrased a bit to bring out the essential point. There are a few items included from elsewhere too.

Needless to say, there are spoilers in the answers, so if you're not up to date with the story yet, then you may want to save reading this post until after.

I tend to skip questions that are already directly answered in the story itself. I mean, it feels pretty silly to write the same book twice just because a reader skipped a line somewhere. I sincerely hope they'll reread again in the future and have an Eureka-moment then.

Anyway! I hope the answers help expand your image of the story and the setting and add to your overall enjoyment of it. That would be ideal. 

If you have any other questions not included in either set, then feel free to ask in the comments or pm me in private if you're shy.

On a related note, I forgot to mention here that I've also compiled a "brief" glossary on the basic terms and concepts related to the series on my website. The story has grown pretty big and the episodes are far apart, so I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot a thing or two. You can refer to this page if you ever feel lost and confused:

https://ngeki.wordpress.com/a-hero-past-the-25th/world-of-ortho-glossary/

Now then, let's get down to business!

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Q: Why didn’t Aiwesh strike against the Three of Bhastifal sooner and give Izumi a better chance against Waramoti from the start?

A: As mighty as the Lord of Light presents herself, going against three other Divine Lords, one of which is an Astral of equal rank, is easier said than done. Aiwesh had to wait for the opponents to incur more infringement penalties to weaken them and increase her synchronization rate with Yuliana to improve the chance of victory. 

If Yuliana hadn’t endured the tests of will the Emperor set her way with her spirit intact, defeating the Three wouldn’t have been possible.

Q: Why didn’t Miragrave become the new Empress instead of Yuliana?

A: Soldiers rarely make for good politicians, and diplomacy, as we have seen, is not really Miragrave’s strong suit. I fear it would’ve meant trading one tyrant for another. Moreover, having a military officer rise to the throne, the opposition would’ve had an easier time labeling the situation an unlawful coup, which could’ve escalated in a civil war at worst. Choosing a foreign noble uninvolved with the local military or aristocracy served to assure the citizens that the change of rule was impartial and stable.

Q: Why did Erekhigan send Izumi on the quest to the quarantined region, if the plague was his own work and he had no intention of actually helping her?

A: Erekhigan wanted Izumi and all the humans dead, so they wouldn’t tell the court about his past dealings with humans. But he couldn’t kill Izumi right away because of the Arc of Alignment. Carmelia could remotely sense her own magic on Izumi and would know immediately if she died. Erekhigan wasn’t ready to make Carmelia his enemy yet, so he had to send Izumi outside the sensory range to safely dispose of her and made up the quest as an easy excuse to do so. But he did intend for her to discover Ohrm all along. The Sage pays his debts, even to the dead.

Q: Why did Carmelia try to make Izumi drink the Cithardia smoothie before sending her to see Erekhigan? Had her plan worked, Izumi wouldn’t have been able to get the answers she was after.

A: Carmelia personally never wanted Izumi to see Erekhigan, it was entirely Izumi’s own idea. Carmelia suspected the Sage early on, but had she warned Izumi about him, and had Izumi then gone to Erekhigan anyway, he would’ve read her mind and realized Carmelia was on to him. With the cat out of the bag, he would’ve killed Izumi then and there. As things turned out, the Sage wasn’t home and Carmelia had her theory indirectly confirmed, but by this point she had no more doubt left.

Q: Why didn’t Aiwesh reward Izumi for the power she got from the High Queen?

A: Aiwesh actually didn’t fight Lebennaum. She couldn’t have won under those conditions. She merely blew up the flagship’s reactor and took off without a direct confrontation. Also, Aiwesh had no intention to make Izumi any stronger than strictly necessary, so there weren’t going to be any more boons.

Q: In the Village of Liars, the curse prevents Izumi from leaving the village, so shouldn’t it have prevented her from leaving to see the manticore too?

A: The boundaries of the curse were based on the deceased villagers’ understanding of their “home territory”. The grove where the manticore was found napping was considered part of the same area, as the villagers had a buckwheat field going around it. The traveler’s “intent to leave” also plays a minor role.

Q: Why didn’t Izumi attempt to behead the daemon statue under Eylia when they first found it? Amygla could’ve cut through it, even if it were only rock.

A: The same reason she stopped Tidaal from trying. Daemons have been shown to respond to killing intent. Had she failed to finish off the monster in one move, they would’ve all died. Also, Izumi didn’t know for sure that decapitation could kill daemons until Faalan told them about it much later.

Q: Shouldn’t the characters have been more worried about Hrugnaw’s injury by the daemon?

A: Cruleans have magic resistance just a notch lower than dragons. Only rituals of the sixth tier and above have any chance of injuring them. Their resilience is a well known factoid and a common topic in old stories. Meanwhile, silen devehra is not that potent a curse. It would require a very severe injury, or another debilitating condition to cause it to stick. If you had a chance to meet Hrugnaw in person, you’d probably have no doubts left over her toughness!

Q: Aurlemeyr's catchphrase is "I'm not a robot". Are there robots in Ortho?

A: No robots feature in the story, but since ancient times, alchemists, wizards, and inventors have attempted to craft man-like automatons as free labor. Even golems are considered a type of magitechnical machine. Most of the attempts were unsuccessful and now only material of old stories, so there are no robots walking among the population, but the concept is not altogether unknown either, especially to someone as long-lived and experienced as Aurlemeyr.

Q: During their conversation in Harm’s Haven, why did Aiwesh leave it to Yuliana to choose whether to accept her help or not? Given the Lord's views on Gods and Mortals, and how far above the former is from the latter, you'd think she wouldn't care about Yuliana's opinion at all.

A: Free will is one of the core values the Covenant was created to safeguard and is particularly important in regards to spiritual possession. Having Yuliana’s willing cooperation increases the amount of power Aiwesh can wield through her form. If they ended up disagreeing to the point that Yuliana strongly feels she can’t accept Aiwesh anymore, their synchronization rate would plummet and the Divine’s ability to act would diminish beyond useless. This would also have an effect on Yuliana’s physical health and the blessings on Izumi. So Aiwesh has a good reason to play it safe—at least until the final goal is securely in reach.

Q: Why would Izumi make arrangements to remove Iris’s slave tattoo, when the world is going to end in a few more months?

A: I suppose it boils down to denial. Is the world going to end, really? No one knows for sure. It’s been saved thirty-two times before. Izumi wanted to believe another champion would take care of it. The ritual involves the finest warriors of all the free people in the world, after all. Just sitting still and waiting for lights out wouldn’t be very fun.

Q: Why did Sai-Lin send Izumi after Cartognam, though Greystrode was her boss and she knew him to be the mastermind behind the conflict?

A: Out of jealousy. The Prince was close to Yuliana, whom she liked, so Sai-Lin saw there a chance to do away with him even after her death as a way of revenge. The battle with the navy and its outcome were irrelevant to her.

Q: Did Sai-Lin really die, or did she get away?

A: This is up to the reader to decide. I felt immense pity for the character and was disgusted by the thought of people celebrating over her corpse, so I left her fate open. Either way, her role in the story was over. 

Ironically, those who didn’t like the character are most convinced she lives. The Tarantula got her revenge, after all. Oh-hohoho!

Q: Can dragon’s blood make a person immortal?

A: That’s only a myth. Dragon blood is actually pretty acidic and corrosive, and can have harmful magical effects depending on the beast's elemental affinity. Make sure to rinse your hands well under running water if you get any on you. It’s also hot, over 70 degrees centigrade, when it comes out of the body. For comparison, hot springs are generally around 40 degrees.

Alchemists once found uses for dragon blood in their concoctions, but only after it was greatly diluted and neutralized. However, in the absence of dragons and active practitioners, many of the formulae have since been lost.

Q: Why didn’t Eliah tell the Prince what really happened at the negotiations with the navy after Greystrode left for his ship?

A: The lad’s barely eighteen. He was scared. It’s easy for the armchair captains to be brave and do the right thing, but Greystrode is a scary guy. They were all-in-all in a very scary situation. I wanted the reader to feel helplessness and frustration before the unstoppable madness of it all.

Q: Aiwesh mentions having been disappointed by Izumi in the past, and seemed to be holding a grudge over something. What is she talking about?

A: Was this too subtle? Obviously, Aiwesh didn’t appreciate Izumi taking an announced leave of absence after Verse 3 any more than Yuliana did. She was probably even saltier about it than her majesty, really, since she considers the champion her personal property. Though acting separately worked out for her agenda in the end.

Q: Do Izumi and Yuliana love each other romantically or only as friends?

A: That’s important, huh?

I think their relationship is the sort that goes beyond labels. Both care deeply and respect each other, though they have a strange way of showing it. Yuliana remains committed to saving the world while Izumi can never stop longing for free life, so the two dating was never really an option. But there are other types of love too.

By Verse 7, they’ve reached a very unique bond. They can fight and argue without holding anything back, because they know the other person can take it and understands what the deal is without having to put it into words. Sometimes colliding, sometimes consoling, that’s their way of holding each other up. Rather than friends or lovers, they’re family.

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That's all for now!

Enjoy the summer and stay safe!