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The Talon House

Hippoilito; His true nature finally laid bare


dioscuri

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In Chapters 41 and 42 Hippolito is finally revealed for the nasty vindictive, political and social climber he really is. His cruelty almost makes him a candidate for definition as a sociopath.

A Sociopath has no sympathy or empathy for anyone but himself. As far as he is concerned, the world revolves around him. My reason for saying this is the revelation that when Savaron Loka gave him a puppy and the puppy nipped him, instead of taking time to train it, he tossed it out of a third story window and so killed the creature. His reason: it would be to much trouble to train him.

If we wondered in Book Two why Miro hated him and treated him like the scum of the earth even at one of the Emperors Balls, we can now see what Miro seemed to have seen in Hippolito, and why he regarded him with disdain and warned people about him.

It is no wonder that Hippolito has no respect or use for the Ghadar -- in fact, they are far to bright, intelligent and intuitive for his liking. He cannot deceive them the way he seems to be able to charm others.

I think of all the Icarians we have gotten to know, Hippolito is the most dangerous, least endearing and most uncaring of them all, and a true son of the Empire.

Apparently the puppy understood and disliked Hippolito from the start but didn't know enough to stay out of his master's way, unfortunately. Usually, puppies like everyone!

cheers,

dioscuri

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Hippolito probably did something that caused the pup to bite him to begin with. And let's not forget what he tried to do to Jamie when they went horse back riding.

I think it was back in the Interlude that we started to see his true colors.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hippolito probably did something that caused the pup to bite him to begin with. And let's not forget what he tried to do to Jamie when they went horse back riding.

I think it was back in the Interlude that we started to see his true colors.

What surprised me, and I think it pre-dates (even if by only a few days or weeks) Jamie's first 'date' with Hippolito and his ride on a horse which Hippolito deliberately tried to spook, is the encounter at Jamie's first party at the Emperor's Palace. Miro was not only cold, but bluntly rude to Hippolito to the point of deliberately not introducing him to the people he knew Hippolito did not know. He directly accused Hippolito of snooping and filtering information directly to Savaron Loka.

I was shocked that Miro was say such things in light of Hippolito's favoured position at Loka's side. Although, Miro may have counted on his "bad behaviour" being put down to the fact that he was a mere "Ghadar" and such crass behaviour was to be expected. Who knew it was completely true!

cheers,

dioscuri

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I think Hipposnakes plotting to become king was made obvious in Book 2, Chapter 29 after Jamie's performance for the Gahdar. We found Hipposnake in the Emperor's box...

Before leaving the box, he walked down the steps until he stood to the right of the imperial throne. Gently placing his hand on the arm of the golden throne-like seat he imagined himself sitting in a similar seat and smiled. At one time such a dream would have been considered an impossible fantasy, but now he was beginning to see how it just might become a reality.

How else but eliminate Loran and Alexander as wizard and king. The easiest way to do that is to kill Alexander diving Loran insane because of disunion, thereby eliminating him as the wizard candidate. Then become king by mating with Jamie who would be elevated to wizard. A part of the plot happened... but the best laid plans... :) I think that Hippolito being elevated to Prince was part and parcel of the plot since it would be logical for a prince to be mated to a prince. All with the background machinations of Loka since he had the Emperor's ear.

As far as Miro being rude. I doubt that he had anything to fear from Hippolito. Remember, Miro is the primi half of the Emperor's Gahdar Duet and has the Emperor's favor, which I would think rates higher than whatever Hippolito might have had, if any. Also, since Miro and David live in the castle they would be privy to any rumors about Hippolito and not being the dolts that Hippolito think they are would have figured out what a snake he really is.

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I think the real question here is whether the plot to make Hippolito king was Savaron Loka's from the beginning or did he see the possibilities after Hippolito had eliminated Alexander.

Clearly a noble soul like Alexander would have rung alarm bells all the way as a potential king with someone like Loka. Although he may well have been arrogant enough to believe he could control any situation.

Was it Loka all the time or was it a case of Hippolito manoeuvring Loka or Loka manipulating Hippolito?

Perhaps we shall find out, or since it is hardly crucial to the story, not.

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Hippolito has become what the empire fears, a thinking Avionne. What he's doing, he's doing behind the scenes. He's probably found ways to manipulate Loka to get some of the things he want's.

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I wouldn't agree there. I think the Empire was long well aware of the Avione intelligence and potential, if I recall correctly the only reason the project was continued once they realised just how great that potential was, was their inability to reproduce naturally, thus allowing the Empire ultimate control.

Again I am not too sure, but I think there was a clue somewhere that suggested Hippolito either sabotaged the battlecom where Alexander died on instructions from, or was present as an observer for, Loka. Indeed I strongly doubt Hippolito had the technical knowledge, or acumen, to do the sabotage himself. Remember this happened in front of a house full of Gahdar who would have recognised anything obviously wrong with the battlecom which suggests the sabotage was quite subtle, perhaps even a remote control command overide or similar in Hippolito's pocket.

Anyway, I am determined not to re-read anything until we have the final version.

I am currently reading 'Towers of Midnight' the penultimate Wheel of Time book, which I feel has been a little spoiled by my re-reading the entire series before reading 'The Gathering Storm' as it had been so long in coming due to Robert Jordan's unfortunate ill health. It might, of course, simply be that I am reacting to the slightly different technique of Brandon Sanderson, still time will tell.

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I wouldn't agree there. I think the Empire was long well aware of the Avione intelligence and potential, if I recall correctly the only reason the project was continued once they realised just how great that potential was, was their inability to reproduce naturally, thus allowing the Empire ultimate control.

I think their biggest concern was to have an army of thinking Thrones. Which was why they "dumbed" them down.

We've known since the early part of book 2, part 2 that there was a problem with Loran. We even got a glimpse of him in Gold Glass. Other than that, we've not seen him. We've also known that Hippolito aspires to be Emperor. I don't think it's until after Alexanders death that he sees his chance to start working towards that goal. He's using Jamie to work towards that.

It would also put Jamie that much closer to Savaron Loka, who would still very much love to get more information from him about Edmond Croals work. Loka says as much in chapter 41.

You're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to change directions here. We know that Alexander was killed on the Battlecom and it could very well have been an accident. I don't think it was stated that Hippolito was present at the training camp in Piropolis on that day. We're assuming he was.

We also know that at one point, Miro, hearing voices in one of the dressing area's, snuck in and listened in on a conversation about Alexanders death. When everyone left, he went in and took Alexanders knife that was laying there. He then gave it to Nic years later.

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SNIP.... You're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to change directions here. We know that Alexander was killed on the Battlecom and it could very well have been an accident. I don't think it was stated that Hippolito was present at the training camp in Piropolis on that day. We're assuming he was. We also know that at one point, Miro, hearing voices in one of the dressing area's, snuck in and listened in on a conversation about Alexanders death. When everyone left, he went in and took Alexanders knife that was laying there. He then gave it to Nic years later.

Nah! No reason to hate you.

Hippolito himself stated that he was there when Alexander was "killed".

Book 1, Chapter 50 during the confrontation between Jamie and Hippolito:

“Do they?” I shouted back. “And what about the death of King Alexander? … Also an accident?”

“Yes, I was there when he was killed…”

“Killed?”

“Well… yes… killed, but it was an accident; it was during the testing of a new Battlecom model.”

Miro didn't say that he overheard voices or a conversation in the dressing area, just that when he heard of Alexanders death he snuck into the private quarters where Alexander changed, found the dagger and took it.

From Book 2, Chapter 8 after the Gahdar ceremony in the forum before leaving for Wrenstatten.

“This is the dagger of King Alexander,” Miro said. “I was in the training hall the day he was killed. When I heard of his death, I snuck into the private quarters where he used to change, and it was there I came across this. I took it not as an act of thievery, but to keep it from the hands of those who would have dishonored it. I hid it in the barracks and never let anyone else see it.

Ii is my opinion that it was Loka's hidden agenda and ambition to sit on the emperor's throne not Hippolito's. I think that Hippolito only aspired to sit on the Avionne throne and every step that he took to reach that goal, unbeknownst to him, furthered Loka's agenda. Consider, Loka was in charge and controlled all things Avionne which would have included the creation of the army of Thrones and he was also in charge of the preparations for the evacuation to Argon. Also, Charles said that the Thrones was supposed to be the kings army, although the emperor was under the illusion that it was his army to control.

Now with all that in mind. Let's take Hippolito first. Remember in the emperor's box at Le Mondele, he imagined his self sitting on a similar seat not the emperor's seat and he thought he knew of a way to accomplish that goal. Of course, it was easy to get Loka to intercede with the emperor and get him elevated to a prince and then rule that he was to mate with Jamie, since that furthered his agenda. Voila! Instant king. Goal accomplished.

Ah, Loka, the other snake in the brier patch. Loka has two options to achieve his goal of sitting on the emperors throne. 1) Because he was in charge of the preparations on Argon, he could have the emperor's cryo unit rigged so that it failed and the emperor wouldn't survive stasis. Then since he would have control of probably the only existing army through his protege the Avionne king all he would have to do is claim the throne as his. 2) His second option is the same with the exception that the emperor is left to survive stasis, but Loka would till control the army and could easily depose the emperor and claim the throne.

That there would be a wizard who would be the final authority over the Avionnes is of no consequence, since both Hippolito and Loka, especially Hippolito, think that the Jamie as the wizard is nothing more than an empty headed dancer and easily controlled and manipulated. Although, there at the end, doubt's about who and what Jamie really is have been raised in Loka's mind by Jamie's preparations and performance in the Crystal Sphere.

But then, none of the above has any significance or importance and is totally irrelevant to the story as it is unfolding.

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I stand corrected. That's what I get for not doing the research, but then again, I was posting that from work so i didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on it. I did know when Miro presented the dagger to Nic.

To be honest, I've never given much thought to Loka like that and not that I think about it, I can see him doing that. And as we all know, it still remains to be seen as to who survived if any of the humans.

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SNIP.... You're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to change directions here. We know that Alexander was killed on the Battlecom and it could very well have been an accident. I don't think it was stated that Hippolito was present at the training camp in Piropolis on that day. We're assuming he was. We also know that at one point, Miro, hearing voices in one of the dressing area's, snuck in and listened in on a conversation about Alexanders death. When everyone left, he went in and took Alexanders knife that was laying there. He then gave it to Nic years later.

Nah! No reason to hate you.

Hippolito himself stated that he was there when Alexander was "killed".

Book 1, Chapter 50 during the confrontation between Jamie and Hippolito:

"Do they?" I shouted back. "And what about the death of King Alexander? … Also an accident?"

"Yes, I was there when he was killed…"

"Killed?"

"Well… yes… killed, but it was an accident; it was during the testing of a new Battlecom model."

Miro didn't say that he overheard voices or a conversation in the dressing area, just that when he heard of Alexanders death he snuck into the private quarters where Alexander changed, found the dagger and took it.

From Book 2, Chapter 8 after the Gahdar ceremony in the forum before leaving for Wrenstatten.

"This is the dagger of King Alexander," Miro said. "I was in the training hall the day he was killed. When I heard of his death, I snuck into the private quarters where he used to change, and it was there I came across this. I took it not as an act of thievery, but to keep it from the hands of those who would have dishonored it. I hid it in the barracks and never let anyone else see it.

Ii is my opinion that it was Loka's hidden agenda and ambition to sit on the emperor's throne not Hippolito's. I think that Hippolito only aspired to sit on the Avionne throne and every step that he took to reach that goal, unbeknownst to him, furthered Loka's agenda. Consider, Loka was in charge and controlled all things Avionne which would have included the creation of the army of Thrones and he was also in charge of the preparations for the evacuation to Argon. Also, Charles said that the Thrones was supposed to be the kings army, although the emperor was under the illusion that it was his army to control.

Now with all that in mind. Let's take Hippolito first. Remember in the emperor's box at Le Mondele, he imagined his self sitting on a similar seat not the emperor's seat and he thought he knew of a way to accomplish that goal. Of course, it was easy to get Loka to intercede with the emperor and get him elevated to a prince and then rule that he was to mate with Jamie, since that furthered his agenda. Voila! Instant king. Goal accomplished.

Ah, Loka, the other snake in the brier patch. Loka has two options to achieve his goal of sitting on the emperors throne. 1) Because he was in charge of the preparations on Argon, he could have the emperor's cryo unit rigged so that it failed and the emperor wouldn't survive stasis. Then since he would have control of probably the only existing army through his protege the Avionne king all he would have to do is claim the throne as his. 2) His second option is the same with the exception that the emperor is left to survive stasis, but Loka would till control the army and could easily depose the emperor and claim the throne.

That there would be a wizard who would be the final authority over the Avionnes is of no consequence, since both Hippolito and Loka, especially Hippolito, think that the Jamie as the wizard is nothing more than an empty headed dancer and easily controlled and manipulated. Although, there at the end, doubt's about who and what Jamie really is have been raised in Loka's mind by Jamie's preparations and performance in the Crystal Sphere.

But then, none of the above has any significance or importance and is totally irrelevant to the story as it is unfolding.

Of course that's because Loka miscalculates again, by thinking that there are only two Imperials. The mongoose that snags Loka's Cobra persona here is Charlie, who is said to be even more powerful that Jamie!

A most interesting theory, however, I think that Jamie's part in the larger Plan (the one which no one knows the complete extent of yet), will derail the exogate transport to Argon just long enough that the rest of the Human population will be killed by the plague.

Viral epidemics or pandemics in this case are extremely unpredictable. It could easily increase its rate of spread now that the Empire has ceased its attempts to contain it. Both the Empire's plan and the plan of those in opposition stand on the edge of a knife. I have a feeling that Jamie is the one who controls which way it falls since he has hijacked the huge generation station on the 10th Hill outside Kuronos and as well hijacked the gate transport system within the planet for his own uses.

Jamie has commandeered all the systems the Emperor and his cadre need to get to Argon. Likely this is simply by chance and Jamie has not intentionally intended to thwart the Emperor's plan --- it is a fortunate side effect.

If you noticed his thought when he set up his hack in that generator system, he recalls his father's comment about the power in the ocean at the Gates of Saphros being almost limitless. Croal refused or ignored Jamie's questions about what he meant. Here we have another of those unexplained mysteries. Just what ARE the Gates of Saphros? Are they just ancient statues? Ancient gates to a dead city or do they have some other power imbued in them. How are they a source of power?

Jamie has tapped an almost unending source of power for the little bit of power he knows he needs. To what end will the rest of that power end up being put to?

As usual, the plot thickens! We await Jaimie.wri. In the meantime I read about more Dragons ..... errr I guess there are no dragons in ISOI are there? Oh well, we have the Ghruom!

cheers, and light -- the solstice nears.

dioscuri

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  • 2 weeks later...

We have yet another example of Hippolito's devious nature in Book 2, Interlude the Fifth, Iron. He takes advantage of Loran's condition and cons him out of 60,000 thrones.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We have yet another example of Hippolito's devious nature in Book 2, Interlude the Fifth, Iron. He takes advantage of Loran's condition and cons him out of 60,000 thrones.

I'm sure Hippolito believes he's conned Loran out of those 60,000 thrones. However, remember that Loran has absorbed half o f the orbs and has gained considerable power. Once he realizes that the Pass of Tears if blocked by the Iron Regiment, and that most of his thousand thrones have been knocked off by the Kalorean Archers acting as snipers along the approaches to the pass, what is his reaction going to be? Miro and co. have already hit hard at the 20,000 thrones resident in the city they've destroyed, the little innocent looking kids have handily slain almost 400 of those thrones as they slept in the palace and Miro's Ghadar have easily taken care of 4 'toons of thrones .... the kill rate for Loran's thrones who are not even engaged in battle yet is rather high.

Loran is quite capable off calling back the thrones or at least disrupting Hippolito's control over them as he realises that he's in more trouble than he thought. Hippolito has very likely underestimated Abbot Gude. The level of the Abbot's treachery nearly equals that of any in the old Empire. I wouldn't put it past Gude to slip into the Throne encampment and slaughter as many as they could at night.... or more easily, like he did with the previous Abbot, simply poison them.

There are just to many surprises waiting for both Loran and Hippolito to predict what will actually happen.

An aside here; Hippolito's name comes from the Greek word Hyppo which means horse. (Horses are not all that bright as intelligence in the animal kingdom goes) thus a Hippopotamus is literally a "River Horse". Just a few syllables separates Hippolito from that most rotund of African water dwelling mammals. That occurred to me as I was reading David MacLeod's "Knight Templar in Training". James, the stories hero stays at an in called the "River Horse Inn" --- not that I''m comparing Hippolito to a hippopotamus!

cheers,

dioscuri

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I stand corrected. That's what I get for not doing the research, but then again, I was posting that from work so i didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on it. I did know when Miro presented the dagger to Nic.

To be honest, I've never given much thought to Loka like that and not that I think about it, I can see him doing that. And as we all know, it still remains to be seen as to who survived if any of the humans.

Its in one of the Interludes in the Second Book where Hippolito is getting ready for one of the Emperor's fancy dress balls where he flounces in from riding dropping his clothes on the floor as he strips, showers, the admires himself in the mirror. As he's dressing Loka asks what he's learned about "your dancer friend". Hippolito answers ... nothing new.

Its at this point that Loka reveals what he's learned about Jamie's plans and changes to the stage for the Emperor's birthday party that he becomes aware that he's really missed the ball on Jamie. Loka also lets slip that Jamie, as an Imperial, is in line behind Loran as scribe for the Seraphic throne. At this point, Hippolito thinks about himself with a crown on his head. He thinks that it wouldn't take much for Alexander to have an accident which would almost automatically put Loran out of the running for Wizard and elevate Jamie to that position. It's at this point Hippolito begins plotting to kill Alexander and become betrothed to Jamie.

They still do not know about the previous betrothal set up by Croal for Jamie and Nicklas. He is also unaware that Jamie and Nicklas have physically bonded. Hippolito plots without complete information on Jamie's status as bonded mate to Nicklas.

Date all of Hippo's plots from here. This is when he starts trying to get under Jamie's skin and irritate him in an attempt to get him to give up information. He's also desperate for information to please his master, Savaron Loka. I don't think it even crosses Hippolito's mind that Loka and the Empire's plans might fail completely. He's sneaky alright, but not necessarily that smart!

cheers,

dioscuri

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Since I'm in the process now of going thru book 2, like I did book 1, I might have more to say on this later. But then again, I may not be able to without giving something away.

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I'm sure Hippolito believes he's conned Loran out of those 60,000 thrones. However, remember that Loran has absorbed half o f the orbs and has gained considerable power. Once he realizes that the Pass of Tears if blocked by the Iron Regiment, and that most of his thousand thrones have been knocked off by the Kalorean Archers acting as snipers along the approaches to the pass, what is his reaction going to be? Miro and co. have already hit hard at the 20,000 thrones resident in the city they've destroyed, the little innocent looking kids have handily slain almost 400 of those thrones as they slept in the palace and Miro's Ghadar have easily taken care of 4 'toons of thrones .... the kill rate for Loran's thrones who are not even engaged in battle yet is rather high.

Loran is quite capable off calling back the thrones or at least disrupting Hippolito's control over them as he realises that he's in more trouble than he thought. Hippolito has very likely underestimated Abbot Gude. The level of the Abbot's treachery nearly equals that of any in the old Empire. I wouldn't put it past Gude to slip into the Throne encampment and slaughter as many as they could at night.... or more easily, like he did with the previous Abbot, simply poison them.

There are just to many surprises waiting for both Loran and Hippolito to predict what will actually happen.

Its in one of the Interludes in the Second Book where Hippolito is getting ready for one of the Emperor's fancy dress balls where he flounces in from riding dropping his clothes on the floor as he strips, showers, the admires himself in the mirror. As he's dressing Loka asks what he's learned about "your dancer friend". Hippolito answers ... nothing new.

Its at this point that Loka reveals what he's learned about Jamie's plans and changes to the stage for the Emperor's birthday party that he becomes aware that he's really missed the ball on Jamie. Loka also lets slip that Jamie, as an Imperial, is in line behind Loran as scribe for the Seraphic throne. At this point, Hippolito thinks about himself with a crown on his head. He thinks that it wouldn't take much for Alexander to have an accident which would almost automatically put Loran out of the running for Wizard and elevate Jamie to that position. It's at this point Hippolito begins plotting to kill Alexander and become betrothed to Jamie.

They still do not know about the previous betrothal set up by Croal for Jamie and Nicklas. He is also unaware that Jamie and Nicklas have physically bonded. Hippolito plots without complete information on Jamie's status as bonded mate to Nicklas.

Date all of Hippo's plots from here. This is when he starts trying to get under Jamie's skin and irritate him in an attempt to get him to give up information. He's also desperate for information to please his master, Savaron Loka. I don't think it even crosses Hippolito's mind that Loka and the Empire's plans might fail completely. He's sneaky alright, but not necessarily that smart!

dioscuri

Good points, certainly possible, although I suspect that Loran will simply steamroller his way through, losing his army as he goes. After all he will be fixated on arriving at the Circle of Ondra, or the road to it, in order to intercept Jamie before he arrives if possible. We know from Jamie's advice to Brotus and the Taldor Valoren elders that Loran cannot be stopped by them, only his troops are vulnerable. I can't see him sending for reinforcements unless he thinks he himself has been blocked from gaining Ondra.

I agree that Hippolito is definitely sneaky rather than smart, in fact for an Icarian, I would say he was downright retarded. His confidence and sense of superiority is born entirely of his arrogance, inflated from his standing within the shadow of Savaron Loka's very real power, power he has manipulated (or so he thinks) to get his way. He never learns from his mistakes as he never makes mistakes, it always someone or something else's fault if things go wrong just as he fails to realise that without Loka and his power behind him he has very little chance of out-manoeuvring Jamie or any other Icarian come to that.

As to the current situation, as I see it, Hippolito has left Gude in his dust and the Abbot would love to and even may try something I doubt it would be successful, even against Hippolito.

I agree with your time-line for Hippolito's plots concerning Jamie, but I think he will still be around with his 60,000 thrones for a while yet. I suspect his plan is to get to the Circle of Ondra after Jamie or Loran has prevailed but before the winner can re-absorb the orbs. That would really be the only window of opportunity he would have to get rid of the only real danger as he would presumably see it, a fully empowered wizard. No doubt he doesn't realise that Jamie is already a full wizard, if that is, Jamie has got his full powers. If he has then having got his memories back he must know he is and that he is not in any danger from the 'worm'. But there again, why did he lose the tattoo that marks him as a wizard? It developed while he was at the Mondele but was gone when he came out of stasis.

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As to the current situation, as I see it, Hippolito has left Gude in his dust and the Abbot would love to and even may try something I doubt it would be successful, even against Hippolito.

The dear Abbot is merely in shock -- temporarily. When have you ever seen him not plotting or planning some evil thing? His lust for power drives him, his self righteous religious indignation is actually for sale for the right price! Even as Hippolito snips the map and defines territory, the mere mention of slaves has the evil wheel turning in his mind! After all, what would a mere 60,000 more deaths mean to someone who has likely supervised the killing of many thousands of other humans during his pitiful life as a Holy Blood Sucker?

I agree with your time-line for Hippolito's plots concerning Jamie, but I think he will still be around with his 60,000 thrones for a while yet. I suspect his plan is to get to the Circle of Ondra after Jamie or Loran has prevailed but before the winner can re-absorb the orbs. That would really be the only window of opportunity he would have to get rid of the only real danger as he would presumably see it, a fully empowered wizard. No doubt he doesn't realise that Jamie is already a full wizard, if that is, Jamie has got his full powers. If he has then having got his memories back he must know he is and that he is not in any danger from the 'worm'. But there again, why did he lose the tattoo that marks him as a wizard? It developed while he was at the Mondele but was gone when he came out of stasis.

Jamie did not loose the tattoo he got when he reached puberty. The tattoo is intact even after stasus , what is being added are the icons or symbols for the individual Orbs.

I think Hippolitos knowledge of the Orbs is rather limited. He has no idea of the subtleties of the Orbs themselves nor the powers they instill. Further, I think sending the Orb of the Lion to Jamie really was Loran's idea, not Hippolito (as tempting as that theory might be), it implies more understanding of the Orbs than I think Hippolito really posesses. Hippolito is really just your average snoopy house keeper with a vastly swollen head and delusions of grandeur encouraged by Savaron Loka for his own benefit.

cheers,

dioscuri

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As to the current situation, as I see it, Hippolito has left Gude in his dust and the Abbot would love to and even may try something I doubt it would be successful, even against Hippolito.

The dear Abbot is merely in shock -- temporarily. When have you ever seen him not plotting or planning some evil thing? His lust for power drives him, his self righteous religious indignation is actually for sale for the right price! Even as Hippolito snips the map and defines territory, the mere mention of slaves has the evil wheel turning in his mind! After all, what would a mere 60,000 more deaths mean to someone who has likely supervised the killing of many thousands of other humans during his pitiful life as a Holy Blood Sucker?

I agree with your time-line for Hippolito's plots concerning Jamie, but I think he will still be around with his 60,000 thrones for a while yet. I suspect his plan is to get to the Circle of Ondra after Jamie or Loran has prevailed but before the winner can re-absorb the orbs. That would really be the only window of opportunity he would have to get rid of the only real danger as he would presumably see it, a fully empowered wizard. No doubt he doesn't realise that Jamie is already a full wizard, if that is, Jamie has got his full powers. If he has then having got his memories back he must know he is and that he is not in any danger from the 'worm'. But there again, why did he lose the tattoo that marks him as a wizard? It developed while he was at the Mondele but was gone when he came out of stasis.

Jamie did not loose the tattoo he got when he reached puberty. The tattoo is intact even after stasus , what is being added are the icons or symbols for the individual Orbs.

I think Hippolitos knowledge of the Orbs is rather limited. He has no idea of the subtleties of the Orbs themselves nor the powers they instill. Further, I think sending the Orb of the Lion to Jamie really was Loran's idea, not Hippolito (as tempting as that theory might be), it implies more understanding of the Orbs than I think Hippolito really posesses. Hippolito is really just your average snoopy house keeper with a vastly swollen head and delusions of grandeur encouraged by Savaron Loka for his own benefit.

cheers,

dioscuri

No, no, no, no. When Jamie was in the Mondele the Tattoo that developed was complete with the creature pictographs, after stasis it was only the circles and scroll-work for want of a better description, the pictographs were missing until he ingested the relevant orb.

As to Hippolito, I am sure he has no idea of the subtleties of anything, and as I said, while Gude will no doubt plot and scheme in his notably evil way, most of his efforts would be directed at bolstering his power where he can, among the native population. The disparity between the iron age society that currently exists and the Icarians, even the Thrones, is too great for the ordinary people to be more than an inconvenience. Besides which, I would say Hippolito could give Gude lessons in ruthlessness that would shock even that old man.

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No, no, no, no. When Jamie was in the Mondele the Tattoo that developed was complete with the creature pictographs, after stasis it was only the circles and scroll-work for want of a better description, the pictographs were missing until he ingested the relevant orb.

Could this be the work of Charles? Remember, he had that worm planted that wouldn't become active until sometime after Jamie began his time in stasis.

Also, if you remember in the last chapter, as Jamie and the Trio were climbing the steps, people were trying to catch a look at the tattoo on his leg.

I think Hippolito had some knowledge of the Orbs thru Loka. Just how much, we don't know. Loran certainly would have known about the germinus in the Golden Orb. Maybe Hippolito tried to get him to absorb it and Loran told him why he wouldn't. Thus a plan was hatched to get it to Jamie.

I suspect that Hippolito already suspects that Gude will try something and the shon fenn will be keeping an eye on him.

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No, no, no, no. When Jamie was in the Mondele the Tattoo that developed was complete with the creature pictographs, after stasis it was only the circles and scroll-work for want of a better description, the pictographs were missing until he ingested the relevant orb.

Could this be the work of Charles? Remember, he had that worm planted that wouldn't become active until sometime after Jamie began his time in stasis.

Also, if you remember in the last chapter, as Jamie and the Trio were climbing the steps, people were trying to catch a look at the tattoo on his leg.

I think Hippolito had some knowledge of the Orbs thru Loka. Just how much, we don't know. Loran certainly would have known about the germinus in the Golden Orb. Maybe Hippolito tried to get him to absorb it and Loran told him why he wouldn't. Thus a plan was hatched to get it to Jamie.

I suspect that Hippolito already suspects that Gude will try something and the shon fenn will be keeping an eye on him.

I did suggest some time ago that it was the worm Charles introduced that might have been the cause of Jamie losing his wizardly abilities. On the other hand it may just be that he never 'lost' them, he just didn't know he had them, it is difficult to surmise exactly what has happened.

One thing I noted is that Jamie didn't seem particularly surprised when Charlie returned his memories, almost as if he had remembered most of it anyway, after all he did know where Charlie was, he was also familiar with Argos, knew he had sealed the door to the Hall of Science, or whatever it was called, knew the layout of the place and that the Ghroum were there in stasis, etc. He had been regaining his memories quite quickly while in Konassas, of course, aided by his studies with the 'screen' and through the relics Andrew brought for him. He knew about the gate system etc.

However the really important point here is that he was able use his wizardly powers in a variety of ways, fireballs, levitation etc, as well as to utilise 'The Great Shout' and 'Time Turning'. All this tends to suggest that he was a fully developed wizard, even if he was only utilising powers originating with the orbs he had ingested.

None of which is relevant to Hippolito and his activity, of course. Sorry.

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... I think Hippolito had some knowledge of the Orbs thru Loka. Just how much, we don't know. Loran certainly would have known about the germinus in the Golden Orb. Maybe Hippolito tried to get him to absorb it and Loran told him why he wouldn't. Thus a plan was hatched to get it to Jamie.

The reason I think Hippolito's knowledge of the Orbs is limited is because of Loka's personality. Loka never ever gives out any information the results he has not calculated the outcome a million ways or more. Loka's world is one of control. If he should lust after the Emperor's crown and title, Hippolito will tag along just as he is supposed to --- that is believing that he actually has some importance. Loka does NOT want the crown now held by Niklas simply because in his scheme of things, the Icarians are mere puppets, deceived into thinking they have power. For Loka, the Icarians are the pretty window dressing as well as the fall guy(s) for what ever may go wrong.

Loran, we are assured by numerous people has gone insane. He certainly has some mistaken beliefs. The first one is that he can actually hold the Kings crown and the Wizard's crown at the same time. I think there are some safeguards designed into the system which will prevent this from happening.

How can Loran command his 60,000 absentee thrones? Cast your mind back to when Lance and Matthew were awakened. At that time he manages to abscond with the orb of the Hawk getting Matthew to snatch it. The question is asked just after how Loran could manage to appear seemingly out of thin air. The answer given is that he has absorbed the Orb of the Spider which gives the gift of Apparition! He can appear where ever he wishes to. He could appear in front of any number of 'toons of thrones and issue orders which almost certainly would trump those of Hippolito (who at this point has no crown at all! He is the magnificent Prince of Nothing). So, given even the sparse information we have at this point, the idea if Loran appearing, contacting and commanding those thrones Hippolito thinks he controls is not all that far fetched.

Defining insanity is not all that easy when it comes right down to it. Insane people can appear to be as normal as any of us, what defines his insanity may be so subtle as to escape most people's attention. Hippolito seems to think that Loran has his moments of lucidity and those of exquisite insanity. Then again, I'd claim that if Loran is insane, so is Hippolito. Hippolito's descent into the abyss of insanity occurred in front of all the princes of the noble Icarian leaders when after loosing to Jamie he screams:

"You stupid… stupid... boy," Hippolito ranted as he paced around the circle like a madman. "I'm smarter than him, I'm more handsome than him, I'm better than him in every way. I know the idiotic story. You chose him over me to be the King of Icaria because of a child's ball!"

Hippolito was so agitated that spit flew from his mouth like a rabid animal as he ranted. He even looked like a mad dog ready to attack
.

This is the moment when questions of Hippolito's grasp of reality is laid out clearly for everyone to see. Hippolito's own self definition demands that he be the best, be better than someone (whoever it might be). The frightening thing is that this casts a shadow over the real person behind the ambition, the self-centered ego-centric, ladder climbing personality we see. I think what is really behind all of that might be more frightening than we can imagine and, in the end, be just as insane as Loran!

cheers,

dioscuri

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