Who is this Darsint, anyway!!???

[Cord Hurn]

When discussing strategy with Joyse, Kragen, and Norge, it appears our champion has a sense of humor--and this is the only time we see it. It's an odd sense of humor, but a sense of humor nonetheless.

"But I'm not helpless." By degrees, it became more obvious that Darsint's expression was intended as a smile. "might have enough charge left to take care of those toys for you." He gestured up at the siege engines.

"Might even put a little God-rotting fear into your God-rotting enemies."

He stopped as if he were waiting for someone to catch the joke and laugh.

[Cord Hurn]

The champion is susceptible to guilt. Myste recounts how she met Darsint in the winter snow within the Demesne and got her cheek burned from Darsint's laser fire and knelt before him to show she meant him no harm.

Darsint shifted his weight uncomfortably. "She did kneel. I was hurt--out of my head. Couldn't get my eyes in focus. Everything was changed, enemies everywhere. Someone came, I fired. Nearly God-rotting killed her.

Then I heard her voice. A woman. On her knees. Felt like shooting myself when I saw what I did to her."

Distinctly, as if he wanted no mistake on this point, he said, "She saved my life." There was a threat in his tone. He had no intention of letting Myste be harmed again.

He's even more dangerous when his sense of chivalry is blended with a strong sense of guilt, it appears.

[Cord Hurn]

Later, as the battle has been underway for a while, the slug beast appears in the valley of Cadwal. The armies of Mordant and Alend start to panic and scatter haphazardly, and King Joyse rallies them by sitting tall in his horse not far from the slug-beast's mouth.

"Wouldn't catch me doing that," Darsint commented sourly. He stood a step or two behind Myste, apparently watching for threats in all directions. "Haven't got the guts. Fighting I can do. But stand like that so the men won't panic? Make myself a target?" He seemed to be talking primarily to himself; nevertheless, Myste turned to hear him. "Maybe that's what went wrong on Pythas," he added. "Couldn't rally my men."

"It was a different situation," said Myste, "in a different place. You did everything any man could have done there."

Darsint looked at Myste strangely. He took no discernible comfort in her words. Elega had the impression that Myste had unwittingly aggravated whatever troubled him.

"That's what you people do, isn't it," he muttered like a distressed songbird. "He does it. Both of you. You do 'everything'"

Darsint's guilt assumes another form, as he feels he wasn't courageous enough to succeed before, and lacks the courage to succeed now. You might say he's about to be shamed into a courageous act (walking right into the mouth of the slug-beast).

[Cord Hurn]

Much to everybody's surprise, Darsint makes it in and out of the gigantic slug-beast Eremis has inflicted upon the world, having slain it.

Struggling mightily, the champion forced open the monster's evil teeth and staggered between them.

Immediately, he wrenched off his helmet and flung it aside. For a while, he stood gasping as if he had come close to suffocation. Then he pressed several studs down the side of his armor, and all the metal folded away and fell to the ground, leaving him dressed in what may have been his underwear.

"God-rotting suit," he panted harshly. "Ox-supply gave out. Like everything else."

For a while, he stood gasping as if he had come close to suffocation. Yeah, I'll just bet he DID come close to suffocation!

Just three posts previous in this thread, I mentioned Darsint having a sense of humor. Here, he's funny without intending to be so. And some of the humor is because this moment is such a relief after the intense showdowns of Artagel vs. Gart, Geraden vs. Gilbur, and Terisa vs. Eremis.

At this point in the story, we kind of needed this quirky humorous break from SRD, now didn't we?

[Cord Hurn]

Darsint may have been transformed by his experiences in Mordant in some ways, but not in all ways.

A case in point is in how King Joyse should treat that unreliable quisling, the Armigite.

Margonal counsels leniency. However...

In contrast, Darsint recommended beheading: treachery deserved death.

Wow, Darsint is still rigid in some ways!
Once a hard-nose, always a hard-nose, I guess.

[Avatar]

Well, I guess we know little to nothing of his culture beyond that they were space-capable and expansionist...

--A

[Cord Hurn]

Well, I guess we know little to nothing of his culture beyond that they were space-capable and expansionist...

--A

True. I think that's about it!

[Avatar]

Could be fascists for all we know...

--A

[shadowbinding shoe]

I can't remember the details but I got the impression that his forces were straightforward-thinking while their enemies were deceptive and sneaky. Something about unexpected forces awaiting them. Were their enemies humans or something else?

[Avatar]

I don't think they were human. But the enemy is always deceptive and sneaky, while we are honest and cunning.

--A

[Cord Hurn]

I don't think they were human. But the enemy is always deceptive and sneaky, while we are honest and cunning.

--A

Well, of course we are, always!

I've been dreaming of a great sequel series: Darsint Versus The Amnion! Anybody think it would be a best-seller?

[Avatar]

I dunno, but I'd read it.

--A

[Cord Hurn]

I dunno, but I'd read it.

--A

Me too, Avatar! Maybe it wouldn't make a best-seller, but just a pretty decent comic book.

[Avatar]

Oh, a graphic novel! Nice idea.

--A