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Changed line(s) 553,554 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism, feeling that she shouldn't encourage him.
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: {{Inverted|Trope}}, Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism, feeling that she shouldn't encourage him.
* AntagonistTitle: The titular "Third Horseman" is Kvodnon himself (one of the other two was Troyan, a literal god of death, so one can see what could be expected from someone carrying such title). When not possessing anyone, he would actually take the form of enormous horseman.
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice. By that point, we already know that she easily gets bored, and loses attention to lectures.
* AntagonistTitle: The titular "Third Horseman" is Kvodnon himself (one of the other two was Troyan, a literal god of death, so one can see what could be expected from someone carrying such title). When not possessing anyone, he would actually take the form of enormous horseman.
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice. By that point, we already know that she easily gets bored, and loses attention to lectures.
Changed line(s) 557 (click to see context) from:
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, when she can walk again, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
to:
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable unbearable, due to Irka, as they were them them being the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, when she can walk again, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe wardrobe lacks fitting clothes.
Changed line(s) 559,560 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: In penultimate chapter, we finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: In penultimate chapter, we finally learn the true purpose of Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower: flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous. [[spoiler: He did this on Ligul's orders, who plans to use it fed on to achieve several goals; firstly, it would reinforce Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was worst qualities, gradually defiling her love to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so something else, like obsession, which is no longer dangerous for the Darkness; secondly, it would corrupt Daphne herself, making it easier to seduce ''her'' into Darkness, which may be helpful; and thirdly, in case Kvodnon can possess him.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character inactually wins, it would help Ligul to remain on his good side, since the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.flower allows Kvodnon to take control of Mefodiy's body]].
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in
Changed line(s) 564,565 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Russian psychiatrist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Kashchenko Kaschenko]] was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Russian psychiatrist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Kashchenko Kaschenko]] was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
to:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results attackers, resulting in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Russian psychiatrist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Kashchenko Pyotr Kaschenko]] was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Russian psychiatrist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Kashchenko Pyotr Kaschenko]] was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
Changed line(s) 567 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
to:
* BigBadDuumvirate: Kvodnon's Messenger is the main antagonist; small part of Kvodnon's spirit managed to manifest on Earth, and plans to hijack Mefodiy's and other three "inheritors'" powers in order to restore Kvodnon back to life in new body, so he may finish what he started -- bring this world to destruction. Ligul, as always, plays his own game, and this time, it involves stealthy helping Kvodnon, so, in case he would win after all, Ligul may be spared as his ally.
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeatit.it; by that point, Kvodnon almost succeeded in his plan.
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat
** Daphne tries to excuse herself not knowing basic school program for Guardians by "being sick" when they were teaching that. It doesn't fool Essiorkh, who knows that these lectures (and subsequent practice) takes ''decades''. The reader also knows by now that Daphne is an ApatheticStudent.
Changed line(s) 583 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures the succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
Changed line(s) 585 (click to see context) from:
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
to:
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving the person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
Changed line(s) 588 (click to see context) from:
** The magic poppy flower finally plays its role in penultimate chapter; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
to:
** The Whimper's magic poppy flower finally plays its role in penultimate chapter; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep to realise that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies. lies.
Changed line(s) 590,593 (click to see context) from:
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can. The only reason she gave up on idea to go to university right afterwards is because she doesn't believe that anyone would take fourteen years-old student seriously, and she can't stand being seen as some "talking exotic critter".
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students: if previously, it was deemed unnecessary, now situations has changed.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults, and invert opposites in general. He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students: if previously, it was deemed unnecessary, now situations has changed.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults, and invert opposites in general. He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
to:
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can. The only reason she gave up on idea to go to university right afterwards is because she doesn't believe that anyone would take fourteen years-old student seriously, seriously (let alone wheelchair-bound one), and she can't stand being seen as some "talking exotic critter".
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three otherkids. kids, who were born at same hour, with missed the right moment by being born few minutes too early or too late. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students: if previously, it was deemed unnecessary, now situations has changed.
changed. Later we learn that "situation change" is that Kvodnon uses one of these three as his host body to manifest on Earth in preparation for his resurrection plan.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}:For unknown reason (it may have something It takes Irka some time to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for realise how Antigon's weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch works: he inverts most opposites, including compliments and insults, and invert opposites in general. insults. He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he ugly", and gets offended outright angry when Irka she calls him "friend", but calms only calming down when she catches up and "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
by saying that he's her "enemy".
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience:The InUniverse; the magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}:
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience:
Changed line(s) 597,598 (click to see context) from:
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that the rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that the rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
to:
Changed line(s) 604 (click to see context) from:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used or even referenced in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
to:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used or even referenced in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.useful.
Changed line(s) 608,611 (click to see context) from:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho, Nata and Moshkin shows some of their key traits in their first appearance:
** Petruccho shows weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
** Nata is eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
** Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
** Petruccho shows weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
** Nata is eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
** Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
to:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho, Nata and Moshkin shows some of their key traits in their first appearance:
**appearance. Petruccho shows weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
**stuff. Nata is eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
**humour. And Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
**
**
**
Changed line(s) 615 (click to see context) from:
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning, and pays for it dearly.
to:
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning, and later pays for it dearly.
Changed line(s) 619,626 (click to see context) from:
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the same chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human, even if it uses them as a cover. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy replies when offered to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself. Only later, we learn that it's not so much about the house, as about its basement: it's there where Kvodnon may perform his ritual.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist without the Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over Mefodiy's body. His ultimate plan involves taking that body over permanently.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human, even if it uses them as a cover. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy replies when offered to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself. Only later, we learn that it's not so much about the house, as about its basement: it's there where Kvodnon may perform his ritual.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist without the Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over Mefodiy's body. His ultimate plan involves taking that body over permanently.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
to:
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the same chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over (she was saved by it being made from a pine, as magic "assumed" that it's a coffin.coffin). Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human, even if it uses them as a cover. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy replies when offered to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself. Only later, we learn that it's not so much about the house, as about its basement: it's there where Kvodnon may perform his ritual.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist without the Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs need eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
with. That's one of the reasons why even the Darkness prefers him staying dead.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitchedup.
up. Zozo ignores him, which later almost leads to tragedy.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is the ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified(it's children novel, after all) (to fit age rating) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* GrandTheftMe:The In penultimate chapter, the magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over Mefodiy's body. His ultimate plan involves taking that body over permanently.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).permanently.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is the ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified
* GrandTheftMe:
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well-guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
Changed line(s) 629 (click to see context) from:
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
to:
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
Changed line(s) 631 (click to see context) from:
* HumanSacrifice: Seer Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
to:
* HumanSacrifice: The Seer Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ImaginaryLoveTriangle: Daphne started suspecting that there's a love triangle between her, Mefodiy and Nata (which the Darkness happily exploits). In reality, neither Mefodiy nor Nata feel anything for each other; Nata is just mildly surprised that her magic refuses to brainwash Mefodiy as it normally does, while he, due to low experience, gets partially affected by it, but manages to resist it, and later shows no signs of interest to her whatsoever.
Changed line(s) 634,636 (click to see context) from:
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control. By the last chapter, she figures out that she must give her animal forms some attention, or this situation may repeat.
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.
to:
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into the wolf and run running away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked shocks her, stunning the wolf and allowing Irka to regain intercept control. By the last chapter, she figures out that she must give her animal forms some attention, attention regularly, or this situation may repeat.
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on theirown; own (they have to, or they wouldn't be as effective at their mission); that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.Tibidokhs).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.
Changed line(s) 640,645 (click to see context) from:
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* LimbSensationFascination:
** The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* LimbSensationFascination:
** The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
to:
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.
* KilledOffForReal: When Irka destroys the Messenger with her spear, Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates (exploiting a sole weakness in it) and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
*LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* LimbSensationFascination:
**LimbSensationFascination: The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feelsher. Later, Irka, still feeling excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they that people would notice her and share this feeling with her.feeling.
* KilledOffForReal: When Irka destroys the Messenger with her spear, Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates (exploiting a sole weakness in it) and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
*
* LimbSensationFascination:
**
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feels
Changed line(s) 648 (click to see context) from:
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
to:
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too.That's how Essiorkh obtained his bike. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
Changed line(s) 651 (click to see context) from:
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
to:
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: Mefodiy, even to stop Kvodnon: his attachments made him too weak for it.
Changed line(s) 654,660 (click to see context) from:
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody:
** The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
** Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody:
** The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
** Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
to:
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
again. That turns out to be a lie, however, with the flower being used as a trap.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, as with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, ego, with surname, in particular, is being based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; men" (either as compliment or as mockery); Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
*TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody:
**MetaphoricallyTrue: A magic used by the Kvodnon's Messenger to destroy any and all Light presence kills everything and everyone... except for those who hide in a pine coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, the magic was primitive enough to mistake a pine ''sandbox'' where she hid for "coffin", just because it has one plank (used as primitive bench) which, if one stretches far enough, ''theoretically'' can be interpreted as a coffin.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcomeyou.
** Irka,you. Later, when visiting Moshkin, Irka smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, as with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
*
**
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome
** Irka,
Changed line(s) 662,663 (click to see context) from:
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: Daphne reveals to Tiberiy that Arey is bluffing, and can't actually kill him: Dark Guardians are unable to (directly) hurt mortals with intact eidos, unless they voluntarily align to either side. Arey confirms that it's indeed true.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
to:
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: Daphne reveals to Tiberiy that Arey is bluffing, and can't actually kill him: Dark Guardians are unable to (directly) hurt mortals with intact eidos, unless they voluntarily align pledge to either side. Arey confirms that it's indeed true.
*NiceJobBreakingItHero: NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lieto; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. to. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether whether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.this.
** Daphne falling for Whimper's lies and accepting his gift later leads to said gift revealing its true nature as dark artefact, neutralising Daphne and taking over Mefodiy's body, leading him down, to the basement where Kvodnon can possess him. Before losing consciousness, Daphne realises that it's all her fault.
*
** Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie
** Daphne falling for Whimper's lies and accepting his gift later leads to said gift revealing its true nature as dark artefact, neutralising Daphne and taking over Mefodiy's body, leading him down, to the basement where Kvodnon can possess him. Before losing consciousness, Daphne realises that it's all her fault.
Deleted line(s) 665 (click to see context) :
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
Changed line(s) 667 (click to see context) from:
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say the details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
to:
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced cursed to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say the details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
Changed line(s) 669,670 (click to see context) from:
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
to:
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) body at the time) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.attention..
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
Changed line(s) 672,676 (click to see context) from:
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead and gone by now]].
* PunBasedTitle: Fifth chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead and gone by now]].
* PunBasedTitle: Fifth chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* PunBasedTitle: Fifth chapter's name is based on the common way
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and
Changed line(s) 678 (click to see context) from:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by the boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
to:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by the boss; not first, not last time); it [[SubvertedTrope doesn't work this time, time]], as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.Edya, with whom he's long fed up by now.
Changed line(s) 681 (click to see context) from:
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
to:
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup follow-up later.
Changed line(s) 684,685 (click to see context) from:
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become a bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do that), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become a bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do that), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
to:
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
attention.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody following his body'sinfluence, influence]], had become a bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do that), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody following his body's
Changed line(s) 692 (click to see context) from:
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
to:
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Ligul thinks that Daphne, just by being here, gradually loses her good qualities, so if he plays his cards right, he may corrupt her to join their side for real.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signsor "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must try to unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.up.
* SoulFragment: Turns out that when Kvodnon died, his spirit was shattered into two pieces, explaining why he can't resurrect via usual means. One remained in Tartarus as a formless, mindless evil, which Darkness actually worships as "Faceless Kvodnon". The other part (which contains his mind) is trapped behind the Dreadful Gates with Primordial Chaos, from where it's supposedly impossible to escape. But the gates themselves were not perfect, and he managed to send a part of ''this'' part of his soul back on Earth as his messenger (which maintains enough mental capabilities to remain autonomous), to possess one of the inheritors of his powers and use them to transfer the rest of the consciousness into Mefodiy's body.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs
* SoulFragment: Turns out that when Kvodnon died, his spirit was shattered into two pieces, explaining why he can't resurrect via usual means. One remained in Tartarus as a formless, mindless evil, which Darkness actually worships as "Faceless Kvodnon". The other part (which contains his mind) is trapped behind the Dreadful Gates with Primordial Chaos, from where it's supposedly impossible to escape. But the gates themselves were not perfect, and he managed to send a part of ''this'' part of his soul back on Earth as his messenger (which maintains enough mental capabilities to remain autonomous), to possess one of the inheritors of his powers and use them to transfer the rest of the consciousness into Mefodiy's body.
Changed line(s) 694,699 (click to see context) from:
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and the ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chair has similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Each of the three kids has preferred form of pronouncing their name, which immediately and permanently gets accepted as the norm.
** Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata"; everyone sticks to the latter.
** Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chair has similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Each of the three kids has preferred form of pronouncing their name, which immediately and permanently gets accepted as the norm.
** Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata"; everyone sticks to the latter.
** Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
to:
* TakingUpTheMantle: One night, Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks who, while whatever powers she has left still lasts, briefly introduces her to accept what's going on, and that she must now take her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers -- and the ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission duty -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
save the world. As her dying gift, she also takes Irka's injury for herself, allowing Irka to walk once again.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part ofmortal a deadly trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chair has similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change it; he changed mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Each of the three kids has preferred form of pronouncing their name, which immediately and permanently gets accepted as thenorm.
**norm. Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also "Petruccho" (and specifically forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by "Petrusik", as it's how his mother.
**mother calls him), Natalia Vikhrova insists on prefers being called "Natalie" or just "Nata"; everyone "Nata" (everyone sticks to the latter.
**latter), and Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Each of the three kids has preferred form of pronouncing their name, which immediately and permanently gets accepted as the
**
**
**
Changed line(s) 701 (click to see context) from:
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to еру Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to еру the Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
Changed line(s) 704 (click to see context) from:
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself; and Mefodiy has passed.
to:
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later it turns out that Arey was secretly testing whether Kvodnon already has control over Mefodiy, or not; Mefodiy realises refusing to give up the residence convinces him that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself; and Mefodiy has passed.it's not the case.
Changed line(s) 710,711 (click to see context) from:
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* XanatosGambit: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, Ligul would be on his good side.
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain:The dying Valkyrie warns After becoming a Valkyrie, Irka that no one can't return back to her previous life -- people who knew know her from the her past life can wouldn't even recognise her; and her (and if she deliberately tells them, they tries to reveal herself deliberately, it would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to ''kill them''). She creates the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" magic clone which would simulate her from the past), it shatters.
personality (and nothing more), so at least Babanya wouldn't worry.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Despite all efforts, Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement;now he only needs (barely) gets stopped from possessing Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.himself, as Essiorkh and Irka arrives as backup.
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain:
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Despite all efforts, Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement;
Changed line(s) 735,736 (click to see context) from:
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
to:
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether whether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
Changed line(s) 763 (click to see context) from:
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
to:
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether whether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
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Changed line(s) 8,30 (click to see context) from:
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat at the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka -- a disabled wunderkind girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his recurring nightmare about the marble coffin, ''something'' inside which calls for him, yet poses some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
That someone is a tall, fat and eccentric young woman named Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells Mefodiy that he has a special purpose, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance to draw it right, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the Dark residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives to place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the more strange by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness, who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of the Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Senior Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat, Arey's old enemy, has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to a magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing a dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets humiliated himself instead when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness and memory loss) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps commissioner Tukhlomon, who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
While Daphne was busy looking for Mefodiy, Mefodiy just received a package: a sword that once belonged to Drevnir, which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey, and which now would belong to Mefodiy, obeying his commands and responding to his every thoughts and emotions. After making sure that the sword accepted Mefodiy, Arey trains his intuition, leading to Mefodiy realising that they have a visitor... a female Light Guardian.
Tukhlomon immediately tries to backstab Daphne and suggests Arey to kill her. Arey ignores him and lets Daphne inside. After hearing he story, he lets her stay, ordering to hide at Glumovich's for a time being, under fake name.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never. Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, and explains about the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon the spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second-best fighter after Arey, who slayed him on a duel. Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only they are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of the Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they finds Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped, and who knows when he would show up again...
That someone is a tall, fat and eccentric young woman named Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells Mefodiy that he has a special purpose, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance to draw it right, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the Dark residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives to place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the more strange by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness, who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of the Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Senior Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat, Arey's old enemy, has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to a magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing a dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets humiliated himself instead when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness and memory loss) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps commissioner Tukhlomon, who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
While Daphne was busy looking for Mefodiy, Mefodiy just received a package: a sword that once belonged to Drevnir, which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey, and which now would belong to Mefodiy, obeying his commands and responding to his every thoughts and emotions. After making sure that the sword accepted Mefodiy, Arey trains his intuition, leading to Mefodiy realising that they have a visitor... a female Light Guardian.
Tukhlomon immediately tries to backstab Daphne and suggests Arey to kill her. Arey ignores him and lets Daphne inside. After hearing he story, he lets her stay, ordering to hide at Glumovich's for a time being, under fake name.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never. Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, and explains about the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon the spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second-best fighter after Arey, who slayed him on a duel. Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only they are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of the Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they finds Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped, and who knows when he would show up again...
to:
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his divorced mother Zozo and uncle her brother Edya, in a small flat at the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares Zozo, preparing for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she date, sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, only friend Irka -- a disabled wunderkind girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his including recurring nightmare about the marble coffin, ''something'' inside which calls for him, yet poses coffin containing some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's latest would-be suitors (a suitor, hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, man, and sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, car as revenge. When "the hog" catches him, returns, he realsies that it's Mefodiy who ruined his tires, and threatens to hurt both him and force his mother, mother to pay for damage, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
That someone is a tall, fat andMefodiy gets rescued by eccentric young woman named witch Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages who offers him to become her master's student. Sick with his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells old life, Mefodiy that he has a special purpose, accepts, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has uses the rune to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance to draw it right, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (now theBig Dmitrovka street) became -- the Dark residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and new location of Russian department of Darkness' residence. Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into new mentor would be Arey, a Dark Guardian who was recalled from exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives to place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted"by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey "friend" Ligul, the chief chanceller of Darkness; he promises to deal handle any issues Mefodiy's parents may have with it by himself.
him moving away.
The storythen switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the more strange by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness, who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but so she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one ofthe Darkness' Ligul's mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Senior Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Necrodepartment" (read: Grim Reaper. Reaper). She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat, Arey's old enemy, has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
communicate. Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy boy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable).Skunso. The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to a magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing a dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets humiliated himself instead when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness and memory loss) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps commissioner Tukhlomon,who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes goes into conflict with two Light Guardians to lose their wings. sent after her: someone poisoned Troil, and she's prime suspect. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
Mefodiy. While Daphne was busy looking for Mefodiy, Mefodiy himself just received a package: a sword that once belonged to Drevnir, which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey, and which now would belong to Mefodiy, obeying his commands and responding to his every thoughts and emotions. After making sure that the sword accepted Mefodiy, Arey trains his intuition, leading to Mefodiy realising that they have a visitor... a female Light Guardian.
visitor. Tukhlomon immediately tries to backstab Daphne and suggests Daphne, but Arey decides to kill her. Arey ignores him and lets Daphne inside. talk to her first. After hearing he her story, he lets her stay, ordering sending her to hide at Glumovich's for a time being, under fake name.
Glumovich, too.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never.Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, He, and explains Daphne, about whom he knows already. Arey, knowing that Mefodiy knows nothing, risks teaching him how to let inside the spirit of Hoors, the swordsman second only to Arey himself (from whose hand he has died). Mefodiy botches the technique, and Hoors only agrees to leave him alone when he learns that it's indeed the Dark Inheritor (for now). Together, they move to the Middle Lands, which lies between the worlds and are beyond both Light and Darkness. Here, in the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon the spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second-best fighter after Arey, who slayed him on a duel. Battle, Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it (with Daphne's help) would pass the labyrinth of magic plates (where any wrong step means death), and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only they are allowedclaim whatever power is inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to senses the heart of directions, and easily passes the Temple. But labyrinth, but the last last, unavoidable plate refuses forces him to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting fight with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, and Daphne only calms him down by putting on her winged necklace on him, necklace, to use its magic -- remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding Fairie's words. Mefodiy finds inside the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. his dreams, and uses Horn of Minotaur to open it, revealing that inside was the limitless power... that he would only master some day, but not now. On return, Mefodiy realises learns that the Horn was manipulating Daphne Ligul and Yaraat were in league all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they finds Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: time: it's Ligul who let released Yaraat; and it's Yaraat out, and Yaraat, who manipulated Troil into sending Daphne with a mission, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, orders. Yaraat has escaped, and who knows when he would show up again...but for now, Mefodiy can rest.
That someone is a tall, fat and
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (now the
When Mefodiy arrives to place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted"
The story
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness and memory loss) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps commissioner Tukhlomon,
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only they are allowed
Changed line(s) 303,329 (click to see context) from:
Daphne, who was asked by Arey to go somewhere and not mess around, goes on a walk, only to notice that she's clearly pursued by a weird black limo; made stranger by Depresnyak, normally suicidally fearless, feels that it's extremely dangerous. Attempt to scan it with magic fails completely, confirming that it's magic in nature, and was sent by someone ''very'' powerful. Attempt to scan deeper scares the "car" off, leaving Daphne wondering who'd sent it: it's clearly not Light Guardians, but it doesn't look like Ligul's spy either. On the way back, she notices that some weird and threatening guy is spying on her, badly pretending that he doesn't. When she fails to escape from him, he finally introduces himself. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from the Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. It's weird that the guy who's clearly looking like biker is a Guardian Angel, but then again, she's weird Light Guardian herself. Essiorkh tries to warn her about some danger to her very essence and her wings, as well as scold for giving a seal of her wings for some Dark scroll, but then he realises that he somehow preceeded event in question, which would only happen in several days. He leaves without elaborating further, but it gives Daphne another clue that some third party is involved -- likely related to that strange limo.
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London by Wilhelm, high-ranking Dark Guardian; he also invited Ulitha and Mefodiy, but obviously not Daphne. Arey decides to pay him a visit, wondering whether Ligul is trying to get something from him. He also learns, through Tulkhomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed, being in possession of lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed, Tukhlomon leaves, not forgetting to make him give up his eidos first.
When Mefodiy arrives to the party, Arey and Ulitha suddenly gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving him alone. Mefodiy quickly gets drugged with something and forced to play blackjack without even learning the stakes. As Ligul explains to him, having nothing of value, Mefodiy by default "agreed" to put his eidos on stake. But, despite having all odds against him, Mefodiy somehow still prevails, gaining exactly 21 points versus Ligul's 20. That's when Arey and Ulitha returns, with Ulitha confirming that Ligul was cheating. Ligul's intentions are clear (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, some''one'') just gave him a second chance, for some hidden purpose.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom" anymore, and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first of two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being the wrong one, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers: it can only change one little detail, but in wrong hands, can change entire history. On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it. In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, who attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll. Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more human -- and less like an angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then departs to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks the thugs' boss and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pet parrot by just looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as a Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"... Meanwhile, Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and sees that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. He also warns her about Tukhlomon, who clearly has plans for her. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Arey tells Mefodiy who their mysterious enemy is -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him. Long time ago, Arey had fell in love with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat forced them give up their souls in futile attempt to protect each other, then murdered them in cold blood. Yaraat was staying on a run ever since then, only finally caught when Mefodiy was born thirteen years ago and stripped him of his powers, while Arey was exiled to a remote lighthouse after killing Hoors for his role in Arey's family's downfall. Mefodiy, confidently, promises that he would find and kill Yaraat, but Arey tells him to not give a promise that he can't fulfil -- and that he doesn't need to search, for Yaraat would find him first... and Arey would be there to face him. He then tells Mefodiy to not repeat his mistakes: the Darknes ''would not'' let him be happy with Daphne, and if he tries, he would doom not only himself, but her as well.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone in the Residence. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys. Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Daphne receives a message from a similar talking head, which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and is running somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it. Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the Tartarian wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster, but they can't take the sword out. They realise that neither head was sent by them, and that's when Yaraat reveals himself, disarming Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, ready to drain her of life force, and reveals his plan: he ''may'' claim the chain from Kvodnon's darkh before Ligul and take his place, but he would rather kill Mefodiy before he was born and thus before Yaraat lost his powers; that's also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically: so the soul would erase itself, otherwise it's not gonna work. Mefodiy is ready to give up, but Depresnyak attacks Yaraat, giving Mefodiy a chance to start draining Yaraat of magic. Yaraat distracts him by shapeshifting into his mother, but that's when Essiorkh arrives.
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos gives it protection. Essiorkh teleports the scroll to himself and destroys it before Yaraat can escape with it, after which he proceeds to remind Yaraat about how the biker entrusted him with protecting his injured girlfriend while he was looking for help, only for Yaraat to murder and eat her, which made the biker lose the will to live and soon perishing in a road accident. Yaraat starts losing self-control, and that's when Arey arrives as well. Yaraat regains composure and prepares for last stand; Arey orders them all to leave, it's only for them two. Arey emerges victorious, and says that he now just needs some time alone.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London by Wilhelm, high-ranking Dark Guardian; he also invited Ulitha and Mefodiy, but obviously not Daphne. Arey decides to pay him a visit, wondering whether Ligul is trying to get something from him. He also learns, through Tulkhomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed, being in possession of lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed, Tukhlomon leaves, not forgetting to make him give up his eidos first.
When Mefodiy arrives to the party, Arey and Ulitha suddenly gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving him alone. Mefodiy quickly gets drugged with something and forced to play blackjack without even learning the stakes. As Ligul explains to him, having nothing of value, Mefodiy by default "agreed" to put his eidos on stake. But, despite having all odds against him, Mefodiy somehow still prevails, gaining exactly 21 points versus Ligul's 20. That's when Arey and Ulitha returns, with Ulitha confirming that Ligul was cheating. Ligul's intentions are clear (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, some''one'') just gave him a second chance, for some hidden purpose.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom" anymore, and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first of two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being the wrong one, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers: it can only change one little detail, but in wrong hands, can change entire history. On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it. In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, who attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll. Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more human -- and less like an angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then departs to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks the thugs' boss and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pet parrot by just looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as a Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"... Meanwhile, Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and sees that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. He also warns her about Tukhlomon, who clearly has plans for her. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Arey tells Mefodiy who their mysterious enemy is -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him. Long time ago, Arey had fell in love with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat forced them give up their souls in futile attempt to protect each other, then murdered them in cold blood. Yaraat was staying on a run ever since then, only finally caught when Mefodiy was born thirteen years ago and stripped him of his powers, while Arey was exiled to a remote lighthouse after killing Hoors for his role in Arey's family's downfall. Mefodiy, confidently, promises that he would find and kill Yaraat, but Arey tells him to not give a promise that he can't fulfil -- and that he doesn't need to search, for Yaraat would find him first... and Arey would be there to face him. He then tells Mefodiy to not repeat his mistakes: the Darknes ''would not'' let him be happy with Daphne, and if he tries, he would doom not only himself, but her as well.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone in the Residence. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys. Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Daphne receives a message from a similar talking head, which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and is running somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it. Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the Tartarian wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster, but they can't take the sword out. They realise that neither head was sent by them, and that's when Yaraat reveals himself, disarming Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, ready to drain her of life force, and reveals his plan: he ''may'' claim the chain from Kvodnon's darkh before Ligul and take his place, but he would rather kill Mefodiy before he was born and thus before Yaraat lost his powers; that's also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically: so the soul would erase itself, otherwise it's not gonna work. Mefodiy is ready to give up, but Depresnyak attacks Yaraat, giving Mefodiy a chance to start draining Yaraat of magic. Yaraat distracts him by shapeshifting into his mother, but that's when Essiorkh arrives.
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos gives it protection. Essiorkh teleports the scroll to himself and destroys it before Yaraat can escape with it, after which he proceeds to remind Yaraat about how the biker entrusted him with protecting his injured girlfriend while he was looking for help, only for Yaraat to murder and eat her, which made the biker lose the will to live and soon perishing in a road accident. Yaraat starts losing self-control, and that's when Arey arrives as well. Yaraat regains composure and prepares for last stand; Arey orders them all to leave, it's only for them two. Arey emerges victorious, and says that he now just needs some time alone.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
to:
Daphne, who was asked by Arey to go somewhere and not mess around, goes on a walk, only to notice that she's clearly pursued by a weird black limo; made stranger by Depresnyak, normally suicidally fearless, feels that it's extremely dangerous.limo (which even Depresnyak sees as dangerous). Attempt to scan it with magic fails completely, confirming that it's magic in nature, and was sent by someone ''very'' powerful. Attempt to scan deeper scares the "car" off, leaving Daphne wondering who'd sent it: it's clearly not Light Guardians, but it doesn't look like Ligul's spy either. On the way back, she notices that some weird and threatening guy is spying on her, badly pretending that he doesn't. When she fails to escape from him, he finally introduces himself. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel Keeper from the Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. It's weird that the guy who's clearly looking like biker is a Guardian Angel, but then again, she's weird Light Guardian herself. Essiorkh He tries to warn her about some danger to her very essence and her wings, as well as scold for giving a seal of her wings for some Dark scroll, but then he realises that he somehow preceeded event in question, which would only happen in several question by few days. He leaves without elaborating further, but it gives Daphne yet another clue that here's some third party is involved -- likely related to that strange limo.
involved.
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London byWilhelm, Wilhelm the Conqueror, high-ranking Dark Guardian; he also invited Ulitha and Mefodiy, but obviously not Daphne. Arey decides to pay him a visit, wondering whether Ligul is trying to get something from him. He also learns, through Tulkhomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; boxes, with one was already pinpointed, being in possession of lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed,pinpointed; unfortunately, when Tukhlomon leaves, not forgetting goes to make him give up his eidos first.
check on it, it turns out to be a dude. When Mefodiy arrives to the party, Arey and Ulitha suddenly gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving him alone. Mefodiy quickly gets drugged with something and forced to play blackjack without even learning the stakes. As Ligul explains to him, having nothing of value, Mefodiy by default "agreed" to put his eidos on stake. But, despite having all odds against him, Mefodiy somehow still prevails, gaining exactly 21 points versus Ligul's 20. That's when Arey and Ulitha returns, with Ulitha confirming that Ligul was cheating. Ligul's intentions are clear (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, some''one'') just gave him a second chance, for some hidden purpose.
Daphne meets Essiorkhagain, who tells her several news. Firstly, the again. The Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, magic, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom" anymore, and has to migrate move to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, now (they wouldn't expect that); he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask mouthpiece, which would disguise her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he He also tells her that the first of two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being the wrong one, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he news about magic boxes, but, when she tells that she's unaware what he's talking about, tells her about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers: it can only change one little detail, but in wrong hands, that detail can change rewrite entire history. On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Mefodiy's, Daphne gets attacked by the a "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- again, and breaks tests the mouthpiece by fighting back, destroying its disguise, revealing diguise and learning that it's actually a Tartarian wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once Fortunately, Mefodiy's parents easily accepts her after usage of some magic. When she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due returns to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Residence, Arey learns tells that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), a theatre, and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of takes everyone to claim it before Light Guardians would contest it. In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some do. The battle ensues, but it turns out to be in vain: someone third party intervenes and steals exploited them fighting to steal the box for itself behind under their backs.
noses.
Soon afterwards, Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home.When she's sleeping, At night, she gets visited by the stranger, who attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, neutralised Depresnyak with magic, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.Scroll; the stranger reveals that he knows both Arey and Mefodiy. Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more human -- and less like an angel. human. Mefodiy and Ulitha then departs to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), goes on errand, only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks the thugs' boss and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), intervention, but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pet parrot by just looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as a Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"... Meanwhile, Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and sees that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. He also warns her about Tukhlomon, who clearly has plans for her. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Arey tells Mefodiy who their mysterious enemy is -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects respect and obeys, obey, and punishes punish disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him. Long time ago, Arey had fell in love with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat forced them give up their souls in futile attempt to protect each other, then murdered them in cold blood. Yaraat was staying on a run ever since then, only finally caught when Mefodiy was born thirteen years ago and stripped him of his powers, while Arey was exiled to a remote lighthouse after killing Hoors for his role in Arey's family's downfall. Mefodiy, confidently, Mefodiy promises that he would find and kill Yaraat, but Arey tells him to not give a promise that he can't fulfil -- and that he doesn't need to search, for Yaraat would find him first... and Arey would be there to face him. He then tells Mefodiy to not repeat his mistakes: the Darknes ''would not'' let him be happy with Daphne, and if he tries, he would doom not only himself, but her as well.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiyalone in the Residence. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.alone. Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; it. But when he agrees.
does that, he runs into Tartarian wyrm, and barely manages to kill it, only to get crushed when it collapses on him. Meanwhile, Daphne receives a message from a similar talking follows another head, which that claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries sent by ''Mefodiy'' (her attempt to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees where's Mefodiy semi-confirms that he's stressed indeed in danger), and is running somewhere, so she decides to believe finds Mefodiy on the head and follow it. Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some brink of death in abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the Tartarian wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on She saves him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster,using magic, but they can't take fail to release the sword out. They realise that neither head was sent by them, and that's sword. That's when Yaraat reveals himself, disarming Daphne. Yaraat himself and disarms Daphne, then takes Daphne hostage, ready to drain her of life force, and hostage. He reveals his plan: he ''may'' claim the chain from Kvodnon's darkh before Ligul and take his place, but he would rather wants to kill Mefodiy before he was born and thus before Yaraat lost born, in hope that it would return his powers; that's also why he old powers. He only needs one last component, Mefodiy's eidos specifically: so the soul would erase itself, otherwise it's not gonna work. Mefodiy is ready eidos, for which he blackmails him by threatening to give up, but kill Daphne. Depresnyak attacks Yaraat, giving letting Mefodiy a chance to start draining attack Yaraat of magic. Yaraat distracts him by shapeshifting into his mother, but that's when Essiorkh arrives.
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill himwith dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat shapeshifter disguises as Zozo, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos gives Mefodiy loses concentration. However, it protection. buys time for Essiorkh teleports to arrive and destroy the scroll Scroll. Yaraat's attempt to himself use magic to attack Essiorkh fails, and destroys it before Yaraat can escape with it, after which he proceeds to remind Yaraat about how Essiorkh confirms: it's because the biker entrusted him with protecting his injured girlfriend while body he was looking for help, only for uses knew Yaraat to murder in life, and eat her, which made still burning with righteous fury from the biker lose the will to live and soon perishing in a road accident. Yaraat starts losing self-control, and that's when Arey betrayal. And then, arrives as well. Arey, who realised that Ligul was holding him off intentionally. The two clashes, and Yaraat regains composure and prepares for last stand; meets his end. Arey orders them all to leave, it's only for them two. Arey emerges victorious, and says that dismisses everyone, as he now just needs some time alone.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some timealone.
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London by
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed,
Daphne meets Essiorkh
Soon afterwards, Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster,
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill him
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time
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Changed line(s) 589 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, In penultimate chapter, we finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; flower: it also plays some crucial fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role in assisting Kvodnon.was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
Changed line(s) 591 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish the joke with Tukhlomon's name instead.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: BaitAndSwitch:
** Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish the joke with Tukhlomon's nameinstead.instead.
** The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
** Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish the joke with Tukhlomon's name
** The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Russian psychiatrist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Kashchenko Kaschenko]] was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
Changed line(s) 599 (click to see context) from:
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
to:
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* TheCaligula:''No one'' Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was his time has passed; he's too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].too violent]].
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* TheCaligula:
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin:
** It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
** Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
** It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
** Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
Changed line(s) 607 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: When the ring from Dreadful Gates falls on the floor and starts digging deeper and deeper, Arey says that it seeks the shortest path to the place it was taken from. That basement would later play crucial role in the story ''precisely'' because it's the shortest path to Tartarus, specifically to the Dreadful Gates there.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: ChekhovsGun:
** When the ring from Dreadful Gates falls on the floor and starts digging deeper and deeper, Arey says that it seeks the shortest path to the place it was taken from. That basement would later play crucial role in the story ''precisely'' because it's the shortest path to Tartarus, specifically to the Dreadful Gatesthere.there.
** The magic poppy flower finally plays its role in penultimate chapter; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
** When the ring from Dreadful Gates falls on the floor and starts digging deeper and deeper, Arey says that it seeks the shortest path to the place it was taken from. That basement would later play crucial role in the story ''precisely'' because it's the shortest path to Tartarus, specifically to the Dreadful Gates
** The magic poppy flower finally plays its role in penultimate chapter; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
Changed line(s) 613 (click to see context) from:
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy). Later it gets revealed that he possessed Nata, for her mind control powers.
to:
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that the rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agree to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one (all but explicitly stated to be Mefodiy) is currently unavailablefor him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy). Later him). In penultimate chapter, it gets revealed that he possessed picked Nata, for her mind control powers.abilities, and now plans to possess Mefodiy, kicking his own eidos out.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that the rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agree to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one (all but explicitly stated to be Mefodiy) is currently unavailable
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** In penultimate chapter, Arey realises who the Messenger was. As the ones put into holes were Petruccho first, Moshkin second, neither of them were the Messenger: none of them has leaved their hole after being put in, and both were put inside without violence, which leaves only one person who has both access to Drevnir's sword ''and'' mind control powers. He has no time to say Nata's name, however, as she (or, rather, Messenger in her body) attacks first.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning, and pays for it dearly.
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** In penultimate chapter, Arey realises who the Messenger was. As the ones put into holes were Petruccho first, Moshkin second, neither of them were the Messenger: none of them has leaved their hole after being put in, and both were put inside without violence, which leaves only one person who has both access to Drevnir's sword ''and'' mind control powers. He has no time to say Nata's name, however, as she (or, rather, Messenger in her body) attacks first.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning, and pays for it dearly.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over Mefodiy's body. His ultimate plan involves taking that body over permanently.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabbed? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missionary"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
Changed line(s) 640 (click to see context) from:
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
to:
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control. By the last chapter, she figures out that she must give her animal forms some attention, or this situation may repeat.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them here. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself, so they have a chance.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: Daphne reveals to Tiberiy that Arey is bluffing, and can't actually kill him: Dark Guardians are unable to (directly) hurt mortals with intact eidos, unless they voluntarily align to either side. Arey confirms that it's indeed true.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: Daphne reveals to Tiberiy that Arey is bluffing, and can't actually kill him: Dark Guardians are unable to (directly) hurt mortals with intact eidos, unless they voluntarily align to either side. Arey confirms that it's indeed true.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say the details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to еру Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
** When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
Changed line(s) 702,705 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: ChapterTwelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach MefodiyOne. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry andthe rest without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that it Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let return and beat him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing aroundpulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward forsome time, Arey captures Samtsov brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and learns obviously thinks that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, it's fake, but then he learns that, while nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks reason for the marble and finds three more holes. He realises hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that Kvodnon wants she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to put three time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out through abusing their powers. And shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's afourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, magic law which is intended prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for Mefodiy, trespassing, disregarding his main prize...prophecy.
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and
After messing around
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a
Changed line(s) 707,718 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to say one piece bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of wisdom after each expected six months, Ivan spent seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's looking for her. He remained just messing as dumb until the end of his days, with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with soVasilisa spending much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails efforts to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and wouldmake them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to givehim his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina toexplode, but give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; hecalms down.
was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind Edya's employment in the last moment sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, andgrabs another, sees something gave an oath that, if he dislikes, and tries ever calls, she would come to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him once belonged that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey that mage (she doesn't deny.
know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
*MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinksthat he can disrespect Daphne, as about Thumbelina and why she wouldn't sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able toenforce ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving herrule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after herattempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating would send the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater;Clay Dog; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't be removed by any means.
even teleport.
*{{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's undershot. Second time, for real, or it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, completely ordinary situation and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, thebandits.
readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
*YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had hisdarkh, adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.power.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and
*
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater;
*
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the
*
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his
Changed line(s) 721,724 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha andhe blindly falls Arey have leaved to Tartarus for it. She barely resists temptation to check on some unspecified reason, while the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy'sshirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feelsregent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that something terrible new "mentor" is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.already here...
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Ulitha and
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels
Changed line(s) 726,731 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko BadassInDistress: Arey was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
*CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that"be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and he may try to use regret it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out thatin the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught andEssiorkh actually started dating killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings atsome point, around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen-- despite her being a Dark witch, antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone andhim being a Guardian Angel.
isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitharealises is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that the situation is something ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
*ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't juststeals accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's themeal, but gives a part of it to only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the other guy (also via magic), Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which provokes conflict between him clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in both being kicked out from such a tone, like they're not the caffe. Why? He can see the future, humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father andand he knows her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this conflict would eventually result in make them getting married, and later their son Michael moving only ''more'' annoying, due to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it means, would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter andthinks it's something innocent]].more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
*
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha
*
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and
Changed line(s) 734,739 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, andFlame'']]
Antigontells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put her the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile,news: Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, is imprisoned, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone replaced with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then;a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while contact Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, fromfalling asleep at all cost. But the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is thetwo stays alone, only tread which, with the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading proper magic, ''may'' lead to him losing control over body).-- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and
Antigon
Meanwhile,
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then;
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the
Changed line(s) 741,759 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlordsome alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning just can't be entrusted with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's planany money, as he would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns intoimmediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a snake, spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are inthe basement, he needs Mefodiy there alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in specific a time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
*EurekaMoment:
**AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka realises asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' there're two variants: either to possess Mefodiy, sell it means and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, asit wouldn't explain how Chimodanov end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she wasput there without any violence. No, it was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in else, and her body) attacks.
comment for her talking about baby carriage.
*EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magicin the cursed poppy flower, even does anything, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}};to what's going on in the room; only Irka learned notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hardway that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she it may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide thembe. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray fromKvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're not dead yet, always full of energy and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiyhimself.
towards Daphne.
*NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to serve Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to theValkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can'tsay details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka ''really'' insists, says that "this is terrible", he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him says that yes... and doesn't press, starts going into details how hard it's to Antigon's relief.
obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
*AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was cursed, as a punishment allowed to live for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten exactly one thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to killand not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would come die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.start scavenging his stuff.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in
*
**
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was
*
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}};
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy
*
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't
*
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
Changed line(s) 762,769 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialisesFour. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as themassive ghostly figure chief of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats take long before everyone unites against him, knocking and manages to knock him out with (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays asingle strike visit -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can proceed with hide for a time being -- the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete contains Ligul's secret, the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka one he wishes to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so shestay buried; if they find it, they can go on a date.use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises
Arey's replacement as the
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she
Changed line(s) 771,778 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a dateBaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with Essiorkh, confirming stating that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's not just her flirting a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace withhim, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believessomeone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
*LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't believe know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Arey Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people wouldkill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do yoube cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn'tkill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were neverbe able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill enjoy the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to parview. His cell has no windows, and the strike cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use herrapier, resulting in her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who wasin control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, technically sent to kill Ulitha, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that theonly reason why he still serves doesn't do this, but also tells the Darkness is because it's far too late friends what they can do to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom save Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become therules which indirectly led Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to the deaths of his family).him.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes
*
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would
-->'''Arey''': Why do you
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 781,804 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
*
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina
*
*
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat,
Essiorkh stays to distract the
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who
It doesn't
Changed line(s) 806,834 (click to see context) from:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
to:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the Fool, rules of the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in theplan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws theend of his days, battle gnome at Irka (armed with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him look like he's actual ruler.
out of combat for some time.
*EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien andneither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow),monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape andcomes up back, covered with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), folds and sell it to growths. [...] The beast was making the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearlycough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}:Three-Thumbelina is afraid Antigon notices that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, ifsomeone is spying on Irka; he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised is it, only that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, whoit's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you knownotice it, but description matches Matvey. In the cost end of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
formally introduces himself.
*NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any looninvolve Antigon, saying that he would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down thelaw, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation forkeep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one week, leaving day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill herbrother Edya by alone.
(and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator:Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog; Dog, she understands: it can sense you anywhere, would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had nomatter how hard you try to hard, teeth, no claws and once it's close, you no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't even teleport.
grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
*UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for real, or it's result the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly the blast zone, and the attackers decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
time to retreat.
*TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirtingher; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the mole, only magic would kill Babanya to dump him for uphold the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the
*
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow),
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
*
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her
* SuperPersistentPredator:
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no
*
*
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 837,840 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Changed line(s) 842,856 (click to see context) from:
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
to:
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyoneBerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says thatLigul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
*PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can'tmagic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just accept asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her thatGryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries ''this'' isn't interesting to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata;her; she's afraid to learn the only one who ''doesn't'' miss secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain herfamily and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries toorder ignore her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while hold up her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, anger, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata whyfails. When she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petrucchomakes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship Eden, when they hits thirty.she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that
*
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata;
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho
Changed line(s) 859,864 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka,Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka,
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Changed line(s) 866,883 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
to:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named Fatyaytsev, after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers whojust can't be entrusted with any money, tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing otherwise it's impossible to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that itleave (the door wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
show up).
*BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
BrainFood:
*CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
FauxAffablyEvil:
*CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
ImAHumanitarian:
*{{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
MortonsFork:
*FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it
*
*
*
*
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
*
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
Changed line(s) 886,889 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Changed line(s) 891,909 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals thatremember Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
into compliance.
* DarkSecret:While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing outthat he has permission may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
**grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Areycertainly wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho sayslike if that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.story leaks out.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that
* DarkSecret:
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
**
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 912,915 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. Fourteen. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 917,929 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev
* SadisticChoice: As the
*
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and
Deleted line(s) 931,1298 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
----
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
----
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
----
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Map of Chaos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
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* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults, and invert opposites in general. He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used or even referenced in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians neither have nor need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used or even referenced in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians neither have nor need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Keeper, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* PunBasedTitle: Fifth chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
Changed line(s) 683,686 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposesTwelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts toZozo, saying teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to scam her out of her eidos. She misses let him go in this night, to not miss the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in fun. This is also the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives andgood excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey capturesWhimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He Samtsov and learns that Whimper he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- gain any information from Tiberius himself, but before Essiorkh then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he gladly exploits to avoid giving may suck out any useful info, and get sucked out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus.Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes
Daphne's attempts to
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and
After messing around for some time, Arey captures
Changed line(s) 688,691 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which hecan't ignore or lie to; be cancelled... but once he answers them, he she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may bebanished expected]], and he has to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning explain that he plans to destroy Daphne's didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy'slove, because and the Darkness considers others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in thisto be too dangerous life and the next one, in return for their cause, immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into it's different from just selling or giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers it away, in that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He Arey can actually calls give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce herout on this.
rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
*PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then theword "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposalbandit tries to Zozo shoot at point blank range, and request to sell out eidos Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put intosame sentence, with first part being loud his darkh, and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her
*
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into
Changed line(s) 694,699 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unableThirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying tosummon Antigonius, but when she thinks about "steal" him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, first, but then she realises how his mindset works, snaps and she fixes does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help thesituation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigonservants of Darkness, he only gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, Ulitha vague warning which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs her to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggestedgo back to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.Dark residence.
Irka was consistently unable
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon
Irka, using magic suggested
Changed line(s) 701,715 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as shereplaces once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
against her.
*ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that thepoppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part ofLigul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct linkto the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligulother guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans the woman to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and takes precautions, so Irka later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't learn know what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch...it means, and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon andthinks it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she
*
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch...
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
Changed line(s) 718,721 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teachFourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and therest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey(who let it happen), not knowing shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsovwhoever brought both Eugesha and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that there, it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement,put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, two stays alone, the only one with direct link poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...him losing control over body).
Daphne's attempts to teach
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the
Meanwhile, Arey
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement,
Changed line(s) 723,734 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': Therune Daphne used on Petruccho silences Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the person it's used on Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, whichwould wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing incapacitates Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey,and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can''hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body allthe bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the along. And now, when all three other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts body, kicking out Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him hisown eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises thatnot if Kvodnon only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn'tend up explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way thatArey can actually give it back she must take the wolf form at least for one day. hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiyrefuses, laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey at first seems like he's about snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheathide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting it back them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as shewouldn't be able be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced toenforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating serve the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills whichValkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't be removed by any means.
say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
*{{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says thatit's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but thebandits.
* YourSoulIsMine:one who took over her body. If Kvodnon still has power over souls would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in theDark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in stasis.specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey,
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can''
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which
*
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the
* YourSoulIsMine:
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the
Changed line(s) 737,740 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time isLike Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is tryingrunning out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to "steal" him, and he blindly falls ride on his bike (he returned for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, butas he Irka can't openly help the servants of Darkness, use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she onlygives surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulithavague warning which instructs steps in and says that he saved her to life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go back to the Dark residence.on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha
Changed line(s) 742,747 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plansBigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman:Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being asks for a Dark witch, and him being day off, so she can go on a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realisesdate with Essiorkh, confirming that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkhtwo are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and her flirting with him, and he knows actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that thisconflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn'tknow what it means, believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, andthinks Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it'ssomething innocent]].far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman:
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's
Deleted line(s) 749,755 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Changed line(s) 757,797 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[/folder]]
----
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[/folder]]
----
to:
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[/folder]]
----
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Changed line(s) 6,9 (click to see context) from:
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all the teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself; he would break the eternal stalemate between the forces of Light and the Darkness, changing the world forever.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka -- a disabled wunderkind girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his recurring nightmare about the marble coffin which contains ''something'' and calls for him, yet poses some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka -- a disabled wunderkind girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his recurring nightmare about the marble coffin which contains ''something'' and calls for him, yet poses some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
to:
Seven years prior to [[Literature/TanyaGrotter Tanya Grotter's Grotter's]] arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all the teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself; he would break the eternal stalemate between the forces of Light and the Darkness, changing the world forever.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flaton at the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka -- a disabled wunderkind girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his recurring nightmare about the marble coffin which contains coffin, ''something'' and inside which calls for him, yet poses some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat
Changed line(s) 12,17 (click to see context) from:
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (on which place is now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the Dark residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
to:
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (on which place is now (now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the Dark residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrivesonto to place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and gives a chance to reject and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all thestranger more strange by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness Darkness, who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
When Mefodiy arrives
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the
Deleted line(s) 551,568 (click to see context) :
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
Changed line(s) 571,574 (click to see context) from:
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into a succubus, who introduces himself as Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne turns him into a worm by using an old trick, and blackmails into revealing what he's doing here. Whimper reveals that she would soon get a rival, and if that rival steals Mefodiy from her, she would die. But he offers a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings for her; if something goes bad, Mefodiy can be made to love her again, just need to pour Daphne's blood on the flower and attach it to Mefodiy's shirt. Daphne accepts it. Soon afterwards, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, barely surviving the attack. Who's trying to kill her, and why?
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf then turns into a wounded swan, then into a woman. Woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here to find someone who can take her mantle when she dies from her wounds: the evil has escaped from behind the Dreadful Gates, and only Irka, with the help of someone called "Antigonius", can stop it. Valkyrie gives Irka her powers, and with them, the ability to walk. She gives Irka a warning: do not tell anyone from her old life who she is, or they would die. She should also keep her animal forms in check, or she would lose herself.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf then turns into a wounded swan, then into a woman. Woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here to find someone who can take her mantle when she dies from her wounds: the evil has escaped from behind the Dreadful Gates, and only Irka, with the help of someone called "Antigonius", can stop it. Valkyrie gives Irka her powers, and with them, the ability to walk. She gives Irka a warning: do not tell anyone from her old life who she is, or they would die. She should also keep her animal forms in check, or she would lose herself.
to:
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into a succubus, who introduces himself as Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne turns him into a worm by using an old trick, and blackmails into revealing telling what he's doing here. Whimper reveals that she would soon get a rival, and if that rival steals Mefodiy from her, she would die. But he offers a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings for her; if something goes bad, Mefodiy can be made to love her again, just need to pour Daphne's blood on the flower and attach it to Mefodiy's shirt. Daphne accepts it. Soon afterwards, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, barely surviving the attack. Who's trying to kill her, and why?
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she canopen the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured white she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, everything else, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf then turns into a wounded swan, then into a woman. Woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here to find someone who can take her mantle when she dies from her wounds: the evil has escaped from behind the Dreadful Gates, and only Irka, with the help of someone called "Antigonius", can stop it.it; it would be in "one of the three bodies". Valkyrie gives Irka her powers, and with them, the ability to walk. She gives Irka a warning: do not tell anyone from her old life who she is, or they would die. She should also keep her animal forms in check, or she would lose herself.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can
Changed line(s) 577,578 (click to see context) from:
Edya goes into conflict with a client; his audacity fais to save him this time, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and Edya gets fired. Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrusting to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
Edya goes into conflict with a client; his audacity fais fails to save him this time, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and Edya gets fired. Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrusting to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Changed line(s) 583,594 (click to see context) from:
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explanation. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro. When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an ordinary office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself. When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents. Arey then summon Mefodiy personally, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he was divided into two parts: one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is still trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; but another, which contains his actual personality, was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Premordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow distrupted the protective magic, which allowed him to send his breath to Earth and possess a mortal body. Now, the messenger would try to free Kvodnon, for which he has three days and nights; and not even the Darkness wants that, as Kvodnon's return means the apocalypse: if LIght perish, mortals would follow, and then the Darkness itself. Messenger can only possess either Mefodiy, or one of the other three kids: they share Kvodnon's former powers, and can use his former sword. Now, before it's too late, they must find which one is the Messenger.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is. Before anything bad can happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper whether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to answer a useless question instead of important one, and get sucked to Tartarus.
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises that he's consistently mismatches opposites. She renames him "Antigon", as it's easier to remember and pronounce, and gets a magic "yellow press" magazine from him, which, through instructions hidden amongst "hot news", instructs her how to turn invisible and spy on Ligul. Irka does so, and learns that magic poppy which was gifted to Daphne is actually a dark artifact which slowly drains her powers and sanity, all so it would assist Kvodnon somehow: if the Dark Lord wins, Ligul prefers to be on his good side. As a bonus, flower disrupts Daphne's love for Mefodiy: their love is a threat to the Darkness, but if it withers or gets poisoned and rots into something ugly, like jealousy, it would cease to matter. Unfortunately, Irka scares Ligul off before she learns more.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed. After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realises that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. The fourth hole, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents. Arey then summon Mefodiy personally, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he was divided into two parts: one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is still trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; but another, which contains his actual personality, was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Premordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow distrupted the protective magic, which allowed him to send his breath to Earth and possess a mortal body. Now, the messenger would try to free Kvodnon, for which he has three days and nights; and not even the Darkness wants that, as Kvodnon's return means the apocalypse: if LIght perish, mortals would follow, and then the Darkness itself. Messenger can only possess either Mefodiy, or one of the other three kids: they share Kvodnon's former powers, and can use his former sword. Now, before it's too late, they must find which one is the Messenger.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is. Before anything bad can happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper whether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to answer a useless question instead of important one, and get sucked to Tartarus.
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises that he's consistently mismatches opposites. She renames him "Antigon", as it's easier to remember and pronounce, and gets a magic "yellow press" magazine from him, which, through instructions hidden amongst "hot news", instructs her how to turn invisible and spy on Ligul. Irka does so, and learns that magic poppy which was gifted to Daphne is actually a dark artifact which slowly drains her powers and sanity, all so it would assist Kvodnon somehow: if the Dark Lord wins, Ligul prefers to be on his good side. As a bonus, flower disrupts Daphne's love for Mefodiy: their love is a threat to the Darkness, but if it withers or gets poisoned and rots into something ugly, like jealousy, it would cease to matter. Unfortunately, Irka scares Ligul off before she learns more.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed. After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realises that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. The fourth hole, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explanation. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro. When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an ordinary office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter enters and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself. When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeingthem Mefodiy here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They'reskeptical sceptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents. Arey then summon Mefodiy personally, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he was divided into two parts: one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is still trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; but another, which contains his actual personality, was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Premordial Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow distrupted disrupted the protective magic, which allowed him to send his breath to Earth and possess a mortal body. Now, the messenger would try to free Kvodnon, for which he has three days and nights; and not even the Darkness wants that, as Kvodnon's return means the apocalypse: if LIght perish, mortals would follow, and then the Darkness itself.apocalypse. Messenger can only possess either Mefodiy, or one of the other three kids: they share Kvodnon's former powers, and can use his former sword. Now, before it's too late, they must find which one is the Messenger.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying thatit's going too fast.he's rushing things. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is. Before anything bad can happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper whether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to answer a useless question instead of important one, and get sucked to Tartarus.
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises thathe's consistently mismatches opposites.he inverts the meaning of many words. She renames him "Antigon", as it's easier to remember and pronounce, and gets a magic "yellow press" magazine from him, which, through instructions hidden amongst "hot news", instructs her how to turn invisible and spy on Ligul. Irka does so, and learns that magic poppy which was gifted to Daphne is actually a dark artifact which slowly drains her powers and sanity, all so it would assist Kvodnon somehow: if the Dark Lord wins, Ligul prefers to be on his good side. As a bonus, flower disrupts Daphne's love for Mefodiy: their love relationship is a threat to the Darkness, but if it withers or gets poisoned and rots into something ugly, like jealousy, it would cease to matter. Unfortunately, Irka scares Ligul off before she learns more.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him goin inside this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed. After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realises that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. The fourth hole, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises that
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go
Changed line(s) 597,599 (click to see context) from:
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself. Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it. Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into a magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance-like state, leading to him losing control over his body).
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation). They finds unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only survived because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check. Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his neck, threatening to kill him if Kvodnon leaves him no other choice. Kvodnon's Messenger leaves Nata's body and materialises as massive ghostly horseman. Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey has the gust to kill Mefodiy, and indeed, Arey tries to attack Kvodnon instead, only to get effortlessly defeated: even in a ghost form, Kvodnon is much stronger than him. That's when Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon makes Kvodnon drop Mefodiy by dropping his mace, then Essiorkh distracts Kvodnon, allowing Irka to finish him off by throwing her spear. Arey wakes up and prepares to fight Essiorkh, but suddenly Ulitha steps in and asks to spare him, which Arey reluctantly agrees to do. She then asks for a day off: she's going on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation). They finds unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only survived because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check. Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his neck, threatening to kill him if Kvodnon leaves him no other choice. Kvodnon's Messenger leaves Nata's body and materialises as massive ghostly horseman. Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey has the gust to kill Mefodiy, and indeed, Arey tries to attack Kvodnon instead, only to get effortlessly defeated: even in a ghost form, Kvodnon is much stronger than him. That's when Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon makes Kvodnon drop Mefodiy by dropping his mace, then Essiorkh distracts Kvodnon, allowing Irka to finish him off by throwing her spear. Arey wakes up and prepares to fight Essiorkh, but suddenly Ulitha steps in and asks to spare him, which Arey reluctantly agrees to do. She then asks for a day off: she's going on a date.
to:
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself. Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it. Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into a magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance-like state, leading to him losing control over his body).
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation). They finds unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only survived because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check. Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his neck, threatening to kill him if Kvodnon leaves him no other choice. Kvodnon's Messenger leaves Nata's body and materialises as a massive ghostly horseman. Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey has the gust to kill Mefodiy, and indeed, Arey tries to attack Kvodnon instead, only to get effortlessly defeated: even in a ghost form, Kvodnon is much stronger than him. That's when Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon makes Kvodnon drop Mefodiy bydropping throwing his mace, then Essiorkh distracts Kvodnon, allowing Irka to finish him off by throwing her spear. Arey wakes up and prepares to fight Essiorkh, but suddenly Ulitha steps in and asks to spare him, which Arey reluctantly agrees to do. She then asks for a day off: she's going on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation). They finds unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only survived because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check. Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his neck, threatening to kill him if Kvodnon leaves him no other choice. Kvodnon's Messenger leaves Nata's body and materialises as a massive ghostly horseman. Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey has the gust to kill Mefodiy, and indeed, Arey tries to attack Kvodnon instead, only to get effortlessly defeated: even in a ghost form, Kvodnon is much stronger than him. That's when Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon makes Kvodnon drop Mefodiy by
Changed line(s) 601 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.cynicism, feeling that she shouldn't encourage him.
Changed line(s) 605 (click to see context) from:
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
to:
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, when she can walk again, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
Changed line(s) 607 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it the joke with Tukhlomon's name instead.
Changed line(s) 609 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' joke about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Seer Stone.
Changed line(s) 619,620 (click to see context) from:
** When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
to:
** When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told to Daphne in the second novel.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait for another thirty three years.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait for another thirty three years.
Changed line(s) 622,624 (click to see context) from:
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if customers feels attraction to the personnel, [[ExploitedTrope they're more likely to become recurring customers]]. As their target clients are primely single females, he prefers to hire attractive single males as waiters, making them work in two shifts: one for brunettes, one for blondes (some of the latter are dyed). Edya sarcastically suggested to set up shifts for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was ignored. Edya, having dark ginger hair, fails to fit either shift, so he picks which one to serve at random.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: When the ring from Dreadful Gates falls on the floor and starts digging deeper and deeper, Arey says that it seeks the shortest path to the place it was taken from. That basement would later play crucial role in the story ''precisely'' because it's the shortest path to Tartarus, specifically to the Dreadful Gates there.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if customersfeels feel attraction to the personnel, [[ExploitedTrope they're more likely to become recurring customers]]. As their target clients are primely single females, women, he prefers to hire attractive single males men as waiters, making them work in two shifts: one for brunettes, one for blondes (some of the latter are dyed). dyed, to compensate the lack of natural blondes). Edya sarcastically suggested to set up shifts the shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was ignored. Edya, having dark ginger auburn hair, fails to fit either shift, so he picks which one to serve at random.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because shecan.
can. The only reason she gave up on idea to go to university right afterwards is because she doesn't believe that anyone would take fourteen years-old student seriously, and she can't stand being seen as some "talking exotic critter".
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the newstudents.students: if previously, it was deemed unnecessary, now situations has changed.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if customers
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new
Changed line(s) 627 (click to see context) from:
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
to:
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains in the second chapter comes with the ability to walk.
Changed line(s) 629 (click to see context) from:
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
to:
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether whether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
Changed line(s) 634,637 (click to see context) from:
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
to:
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy he's obsessed with destroying the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
point that he disregards that it would kill the mortals, and the Darkness would soon follow, deprived of eidoses.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the same chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someonehuman. human, even if it uses them as a cover. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer replies when offered to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
himself. Only later, we learn that it's not so much about the house, as about its basement: it's there where Kvodnon may perform his ritual.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't existtotally without the Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the same chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist
Changed line(s) 643,644 (click to see context) from:
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
to:
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, height, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* HumanSacrifice:Prophetic Seer Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* HumanSacrifice:
Changed line(s) 669 (click to see context) from:
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
to:
* NoNameGiven: The Valkyrie which makes Irka her successor never tells her name before dying.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead and gone by now]].
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead and gone by now]].
Changed line(s) 671 (click to see context) from:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
to:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by the boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
Changed line(s) 677,678 (click to see context) from:
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
to:
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become a bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), that), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him. She ultimately gives up.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him. She ultimately gives up.
Changed line(s) 680 (click to see context) from:
** Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
** Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel.Keeper. He has nothing to counter it.
Changed line(s) 684,686 (click to see context) from:
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs:
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs:
to:
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and the ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether thechairs have chair has similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
*TheyCallMeMisterTibbs:TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Each of the three kids has preferred form of pronouncing their name, which immediately and permanently gets accepted as the norm.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the
*
Changed line(s) 688 (click to see context) from:
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata".
to:
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata"."Nata"; everyone sticks to the latter.
Changed line(s) 693 (click to see context) from:
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.himself; and Mefodiy has passed.
Changed line(s) 695,696 (click to see context) from:
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 61 (click to see context) from:
** {{Invoked|Trope}} with Daphne's cover identity. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
to:
** {{Invoked|Trope}} with Daphne's cover identity. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks [[MrSmith the most boring one possible possible]] -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* MrSmith: When Daph goes undercover as another student in Glumovich's gymnasium, she does so under fake name "Dasha Pimenova", which Ulitha believes being so generic, [[BeneathNotice no one would bother investigating it]], or even memorise.
Changed line(s) 333 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
to:
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! dear! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!certain!
* AllMythsAreTrue: Tower of Babel disaster was an actual event (for which Essiorkh is indirectly responsible), while Odysseus was a Dark Guardian, whose misfortune was actually caused by Kvodnon's ire rather than conflict with any deity.
* AllMythsAreTrue: Tower of Babel disaster was an actual event (for which Essiorkh is indirectly responsible), while Odysseus was a Dark Guardian, whose misfortune was actually caused by Kvodnon's ire rather than conflict with any deity.
Changed line(s) 346 (click to see context) from:
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; neither side wants to be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it, as their actual fighters value their honour and reputation.
to:
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses use equal numbers; neither side wants to be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it, as their actual fighters value their honour and reputation.
Changed line(s) 350 (click to see context) from:
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
to:
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about the results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BerserkButton: Yaraat and his treachery is so hot topic, Mefodiy, when he recklessly asks Arey for details, worries that Arey would outright kill him here and now. Fortunately, Arey retains enough self-control and actually does answer his questions.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Ulitha's very aggressive and blatant "flirting" with Essiorkh is PlayedForLaughs, even though in any other circumstances it would've been considered harassment. Essiorkh then runs away in (blatantly cartoonish and exaggerated) panic. However, it's implied that neither side was taking it seriously (Ulitha -- because she's air-headed, Essiorkh -- because he needed an excuse to leave the car and go do his business), and later they interact as if it didn't happen.
Changed line(s) 387 (click to see context) from:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
to:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing As soon as Yaraat does is to try and kill shows up, he paralyses Depresnyak, only to get and, surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details a speech about how he loves to torture torturing animals just for fun (particularly creatures of Light -- Light; their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. sweetest). He then leaves, lamenting also laments that he has no time to kill Depresnyak torture Depresnyak, and has to keep Daphne alive that he can't cut off Daphne's head, as her death or winged necklace taking any damage would make the seal he came for a time being.useless.
Changed line(s) 390 (click to see context) from:
** Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
to:
** Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her. She gives up on him after first date.
Deleted line(s) 392,394 (click to see context) :
* EvilIsPetty:
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* KickTheDog:
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
Changed line(s) 472,473 (click to see context) from:
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
to:
* NoNameGiven: NoNameGiven:
** During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
** The biker, despite being crucial backstory character, never gets called by name.
* NonProtagonistResolver: While Mefodiy does save Daphne, he fails to defeatYaraat.Yaraat on his own. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
** During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
** The biker, despite being crucial backstory character, never gets called by name.
* NonProtagonistResolver: While Mefodiy does save Daphne, he fails to defeat
Changed line(s) 477 (click to see context) from:
** Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
to:
** Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection. According to Yaraat's comment, that same protection would also negate effect of the cursed dagger he previously used on Daphne.
Changed line(s) 479 (click to see context) from:
* ObfuscatingDisability: Edya believes that his babysitter lied about having eye disease to justify [[SunglassesAtNight wearing sunglasses indoors]]; in truth, it was to hide that her eyes were unnatural, creepy and unhuman.
to:
* ObfuscatingDisability: Edya believes that his babysitter lied about having eye disease to justify [[SunglassesAtNight wearing sunglasses indoors]]; in truth, it was she needed sunglasses to hide that her eyes were unnatural, creepy and unhuman.
Changed line(s) 482 (click to see context) from:
** Both Mefodiy and Daphne are in denial that they feel anything towards each other. Mefodiy still tries to learn more about how he may earn the Light Guardian's love (keeping assuring himself that this is purely "out of interest"), while Daphne actually knows what and ''why'' she feels towards him, and tries to suppress it by acting like a jerk to Mefodiy.
to:
** Both Mefodiy and Daphne are in denial that they feel anything towards each other. Mefodiy still tries to learn more reads a magazine's article about how he may earn the earning Light Guardian's love (keeping assuring himself that this is purely "out attraction "just out of interest"), curiosity", while Daphne actually knows what and ''why'' she feels towards him, and tries to suppress it by acting like a jerk to Mefodiy.Mefodiy, only to prove otherwise in the end.
Changed line(s) 497 (click to see context) from:
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
to:
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.powers?
Changed line(s) 508 (click to see context) from:
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
to:
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's he remains useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
Changed line(s) 512,513 (click to see context) from:
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
*** The black limo returns in the fifth chapter and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a Tartarian wyrm, a dragon-like creature, who was clearly sent by someone.
*** The black limo returns in the fifth chapter and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a Tartarian wyrm, a dragon-like creature, who was clearly sent by someone.
to:
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Changed line(s) 331,332 (click to see context) from:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
to:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true.he ''was'', actually, jinxed. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the timecomes would come for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time
Changed line(s) 334,335 (click to see context) from:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists that reports should only be written on rat skins rather than paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words. This laugh is a part of his overall grossness.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
to:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents residence with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists that reports should only be written on rat skins rather than paper), skins), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words. This laugh is a part of his overall grossness.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall likechameleon.chameleon and waiting for most dramatic moment to appear.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like
Changed line(s) 339,340 (click to see context) from:
** According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
to:
** According to Arey, the The Light rarely uses the gryphons in the field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, theatre as a backup, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm withoutmagic, preventing him from taking his sword.magic.
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without
Changed line(s) 342,344 (click to see context) from:
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
to:
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: BadPeopleAbuseAnimals:
** When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' --->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
** Mamai runs over a dog, and tries (but fails) to run over another. He finds it funny.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers;that way, neither side can wants to be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.it, as their actual fighters value their honour and reputation.
** When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
** Mamai runs over a dog, and tries (but fails) to run over another. He finds it funny.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers;
Changed line(s) 351 (click to see context) from:
** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness. His predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
to:
** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department department of Darkness. His predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
Changed line(s) 354 (click to see context) from:
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
to:
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte (chief of French department), Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
Changed line(s) 361,363 (click to see context) from:
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
to:
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it. Daphne gets tricked by another head, despite knowing that Mefodiy is hopelessly bad with magic, though she at least can be excused by feeling that Mefodiy ''is'' nervous and running somewhere, but not being able to get more details.
Changed line(s) 369 (click to see context) from:
** Essiorkh shows up just in time to stop Yaraat and destroy the Scroll of Desires before anything can be done with it.
to:
** Essiorkh shows up just in time to stop Yaraat and destroy the Scroll of Desires before anything can be done with it. Then Arey arrives to finish him off.
Changed line(s) 371 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: ChekhovsGun:
** Essiorkh gifts Daphne a new mouthpiece, which would disguise her usage of magic, so she wouldn't rise alert again. It soon gets put to use when she comes into fight with Tartarian wyrm, as it lets her actually use her magic to fend it off (barely surviving the battle), and then again to mesmerise Mefodiy's parents, to convince them to let her stay at their house.
** Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through theirillusions. illusions, that he read in a magiczine couple of chapters ago. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.powers, but at least it stops Yaraat from disguising as his mother.
** Essiorkh gifts Daphne a new mouthpiece, which would disguise her usage of magic, so she wouldn't rise alert again. It soon gets put to use when she comes into fight with Tartarian wyrm, as it lets her actually use her magic to fend it off (barely surviving the battle), and then again to mesmerise Mefodiy's parents, to convince them to let her stay at their house.
** Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their
Changed line(s) 377 (click to see context) from:
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
to:
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), and that Ulitha is about to get her darkh cut off, Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
Changed line(s) 379 (click to see context) from:
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
to:
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with with, by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* EnemyMine: It seems that Ligul and Yaraat are still in league. While Mefodiy almost losing his eidos in card game he was tricked into could've been Ligul's own scheme, Arey and Ulitha being so conveniently called off to Tartarus ''exactly'' when Yaraat lures Mefodiy into abandoned house was clearly pre-planned, as it was used solely to stall for time.
Changed line(s) 385 (click to see context) from:
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
to:
* EveryoneHasStandards: EveryoneHasStandards:
** Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even forher.her.
** Mamai was ''so'' rabid, he was dumped on Arey at first opportunity, as not even people in Tartarus were able to tolerate him for long.
** Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for
** Mamai was ''so'' rabid, he was dumped on Arey at first opportunity, as not even people in Tartarus were able to tolerate him for long.
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
Changed line(s) 395 (click to see context) from:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. Following chapter is about Anton Ogurtsov and Tukhlomon's visit to him (ultimately in vain: his box is dud).
to:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. Following chapter is about Anton Ogurtsov and Tukhlomon's visit to him (ultimately in vain: his box is was dud).
Changed line(s) 399,404 (click to see context) from:
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
to:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* GeniusBonus: All of drugs Ogurtsov is taking regularly are real; knowing their effects actually makes his situation even more insane: some of those have nasty side effects, one is highly controversial and considered a borderline scam, and another one is actually a prescription-only drug due to potential harmful effects (meaning that the doctor who prescribed it just to get rid of the guy, did a gross misconduct).
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because
Changed line(s) 408,409 (click to see context) from:
** Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
to:
** Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel Keeper (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel Keeper matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy'sGuardian Angel Keeper (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as [[FakeDefector her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: sides]]: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.compromise her disguise.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's
Changed line(s) 411 (click to see context) from:
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
to:
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.him, only to use love-fueled magolody to save him when he nearly dies after a fight with the wyrm.
Changed line(s) 420,421 (click to see context) from:
** Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and fallows the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart. It later gets {{lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic skills, and blindly follow it into the trap.
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and fallows the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart. It later gets {{lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic skills, and blindly follow it into the trap.
to:
** Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]].Daphne]], a Light Guardian. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, andfallows follows the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart. It later gets {{lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic skills, and blindly follow it into the trap.
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and
Changed line(s) 434 (click to see context) from:
* InertialImpalement: The Tartarian wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
to:
* InertialImpalement: The Tartarian wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. through its neck and head. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether whether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
Changed line(s) 441 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
to:
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me...I am... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
Changed line(s) 443,444 (click to see context) from:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
to:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter daughter, betraying hist trust, just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to killand eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill
Changed line(s) 447 (click to see context) from:
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
to:
* LectureAsExposition: After several chapters, Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...favour...
* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: The Transparent Spheres decided that even if Daphne's mission was actually orchestrated by Ligul, they can still exploit it to install Daphne as actual Mefodiy's [[GuardianAngel Keeper]], as the plan, if it works, would actually greatly benefit them.
* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: The Transparent Spheres decided that even if Daphne's mission was actually orchestrated by Ligul, they can still exploit it to install Daphne as actual Mefodiy's [[GuardianAngel Keeper]], as the plan, if it works, would actually greatly benefit them.
Changed line(s) 459 (click to see context) from:
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isadora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
to:
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isadora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.Durneva.
Changed line(s) 463 (click to see context) from:
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
to:
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower plover to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
Changed line(s) 481 (click to see context) from:
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
to:
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels [[GuardianAngel Keeper]]. Keepers lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels Keepers don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
Changed line(s) 493 (click to see context) from:
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago is a clear stetup for the future, "stay tuned"-style. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you".
to:
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago is a clear stetup setup for the future, "stay tuned"-style. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you".
Changed line(s) 496 (click to see context) from:
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls him "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
to:
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls him "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid Alkid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
Changed line(s) 508 (click to see context) from:
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
to:
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. [[ObfuscatingDisability She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie.lie]]. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
Changed line(s) 535 (click to see context) from:
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
to:
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He By the final chapter, he already has obtained the first two.two (a seal of Daphne's wings and Ulitha's darkh).
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* AmbiguousSituation: The Retired Fairy's ghost gives Daphne a warning that Light Guardian who puts a string of their winged necklace onto mortal's neck, would fall in love with them, forever; Daphne wonders whether it's a prophecy, or not. It never gets fully clear whether it's the case: [[UnreliableExpositor Fairy is rumoured to be insane]] (something easy to believe, given how we get introduced to her), phrase itself is very vague in whether it's a warning, or [[ExactWords description of upcoming event]], seeing near future is a very common skill that rarely results in any noteworthy prophecies (as it's prone to be unreliable when ''everyone'' can do that), and there're [[ShipTease hints at Daphne possibly developing feelings to Mefodiy]] long before that happens. Daphne doesn't feel any immediate changes, and only feels angry due to overall awkwardness.
Deleted line(s) 65 (click to see context) :
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Ligul claims that he and Yaraat weren't trying to kill Arey. Arey doesn't fall for it:
--->'''Arey''': So, let me explain. Turns out, we weren't alone here. I was so kindly accompanied by my friend Ligul, and... friend of my friend, Yaraat. Like true friends, they decided to make me a surprise and not warn about their arrival. Sneaked on to scratch my back with dagger. [...] Isn't it so, friend Ligul?\\
'''Ligul''': I don't get your irony, Arey. We had no plans to kill you. We only wanted to make sure that whatever Mefodiy brings out, would be claimed by the Darkness.\\
'''Arey''': I got it, when you two jumped at me and started gently, like on first date, tickling my breastplate and darkh with your daggers.
** Ligul claims that he and Yaraat weren't trying to kill Arey. Arey doesn't fall for it:
--->'''Arey''': So, let me explain. Turns out, we weren't alone here. I was so kindly accompanied by my friend Ligul, and... friend of my friend, Yaraat. Like true friends, they decided to make me a surprise and not warn about their arrival. Sneaked on to scratch my back with dagger. [...] Isn't it so, friend Ligul?\\
'''Ligul''': I don't get your irony, Arey. We had no plans to kill you. We only wanted to make sure that whatever Mefodiy brings out, would be claimed by the Darkness.\\
'''Arey''': I got it, when you two jumped at me and started gently, like on first date, tickling my breastplate and darkh with your daggers.
* TheHeavy: Ligul is the one who released Yaraat. Besides threatening Mefodiy personally (given his grudges with the boy), Yaraat is the one who manipulated Troil into sending Daphne on the mission, and then tried to assassinate him, resulting in her being hunted for. But the main story isn't about Yaraat (or Ligul), it's about the Temple; their involvement only gets revealed at the very end, once the story essentially concludes, with Yaraat escaping with clear hints that we would see him again.
Changed line(s) 201 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling mix of relief and disappointment.
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* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; In-universe. Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling mix of relief and disappointment.
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* BadassBoast: When Hoors realises that the boy whose boy he just occupied (Mefodiy) is important for Arey, he suggests to just fulfil the boy's duty in his stead, so they can put it out of the way and concentrate on rematch duel. Arey says that not even Hoors can replace the body. Hoors' responce? That he can replace anyone, even Ligul.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: As if we don't know that Vov(v)a Skunso and Pasha Sushkin are jerks by then, the 10th chapter opens with Sushkin trying (and failing) to stab ants with pocket knife ("twenty strikes, and only two ant corpses!"), with Skunso suggesting to use a lighter as makeshift flamethrower.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: As if we don't know that Vov(v)a Skunso and Pasha Sushkin are jerks by then, the 10th chapter opens with Sushkin trying (and failing) to stab ants with pocket knife ("twenty strikes, and only two ant corpses!"), with Skunso suggesting to use a lighter as makeshift flamethrower.
* CasanovaWannabe: Vova Skunso's "flirting" with Daph is filled with highly dubious "compliments" that sounds insulting rather than flattening.
Changed line(s) 101 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
to:
-->'''Arey''': Life The life is, for generally, not about the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide about the battle of your will with other against other's will. The body fell down, collapses, but the willpower rises pulls it back up and leads into battle.fight. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This Its shell would break on any outside strike. Strong pressure. The strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break crack, even when if the whole world itself would break crack around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
Changed line(s) 112 (click to see context) from:
** Ulitha jokes about how Dark corporative parties often goes, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
to:
** Ulitha jokes about says how the Dark corporative parties often goes, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.negatively, but Ulitha says that it's not a joke.
* FeigningIntelligence: Vova Skunso tries to show off to Daph, by cracking a "creative" joke about her flute, calling it "royale in bushes" ("Royale" is French for "grand piano"); except, "royale in the bushes" is a mocking term for badly-handled "twists", so he only made himself look a like a fool by misusing a well-known term.
** Ligul already knows about Daphne being at Arey's residence, and not even through Tukhlomon or one of his spies. He also can't resist to brag that Arey always underestimates him, and that he's not just two steps ahead, but "sees the whole party"; Arey wonders what kind of game he's playing. Of course, he knows: he's the one who set up for it to happen.
* NotSoStoic: When he finally gives up, Hoors briefly breaks his smug demeanour, and politely asks Arey to look for his old sword, as he's feeling uneasy in hell, not knowing its fate.
Changed line(s) 223 (click to see context) from:
* RedHerring: Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" where she wrote Mefodiy's name along with other one (it gets done when it's certain that ''someone'' would die, but not who) was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
to:
* RedHerring: Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" where she Mamzelkina wrote Mefodiy's name along with other one (it gets done when it's certain that ''someone'' would die, but not who) was just Mamzelkina's her way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
Added DiffLines:
** Mefodiy gets told to never, under any circumstances, lower the barrier separating the foreign mind he let inside from his own mind. He does so anyway when he gets tricked into believing that this mind disappeared, which lets Hoors to take over, and only giving it back when Arey (barely) neutralises him non-lethally with Daph's help and then convinces to let go by explaining why Mefodiy is so important ([[EvenEvilHasStandards Hoors isn't selfish enough to screw the Darkness over his own desire for vengeance]]).
-->'''Arey''': You're expecting compassion, Lord Tomato! You wouldn't get it. You shouldn't have removed the barrier! I did warn you to keep the border!
-->'''Arey''': You're expecting compassion, Lord Tomato! You wouldn't get it. You shouldn't have removed the barrier! I did warn you to keep the border!
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Changed line(s) 149 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: It gets accentuated that Troil is acting weird, and appears unnormal: pale, prone to phasing-out, lethargic, strange speaking manner with tone changes, and frequently looks at some ring. The final chapter reveals that, while it's not possible to actually brainwash him, his willpower ''was'' partially suppressed, with him trying to resist. The ring is what was used to achieve that.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The last chapter reveals that it's Ligul who manipulated Troil into sending Daphne on her mission, as he knew that she's the only fitting person to represent "Light-with-growing-Darkness" in the Temple. We get the hints that something is fishy long before then:
** It gets accentuated that Troil is acting weird, and appears unnormal: pale, prone to phasing-out, lethargic, strange speaking manner with tone changes, and frequently looks at some ring. The final chapter reveals that, while it's not possible to actually brainwash him, his willpower ''was'' partially suppressed, with him trying to resist. The ring is what was used to achievethat.that.
** When crawling past Troil's office, Daphne notices a dead peacock, but disregards it, being too nervous and afraid to get caught. Just who might've killed the poor bird right in the Light Guardians' HQ? The final chapter reveals that Troil's secretary Berenariy was brainwashed by Yaraat. This also hints that Daphne was actually framed up for Troil's assassination attempt.
** It gets accentuated that Troil is acting weird, and appears unnormal: pale, prone to phasing-out, lethargic, strange speaking manner with tone changes, and frequently looks at some ring. The final chapter reveals that, while it's not possible to actually brainwash him, his willpower ''was'' partially suppressed, with him trying to resist. The ring is what was used to achieve
** When crawling past Troil's office, Daphne notices a dead peacock, but disregards it, being too nervous and afraid to get caught. Just who might've killed the poor bird right in the Light Guardians' HQ? The final chapter reveals that Troil's secretary Berenariy was brainwashed by Yaraat. This also hints that Daphne was actually framed up for Troil's assassination attempt.
Changed line(s) 153 (click to see context) from:
* GoldColoredSuperiority: We learn that the elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
to:
* GoldColoredSuperiority: We learn that the elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses eidoses being freed.
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* DefiantToTheEnd: Mefodiy decides that he would rather be beaten up than submit to the "Order of Yellow Skull" and do as they demand. This proves to be the right tactic, as he manages to make his magic work when he concentrates enough on his hatred.
** When telling backstory behind his imprisonment, Yaraat gets called a "Guardian" (likely meaning him possessing a darkh), which contradicts the lore established later.
Changed line(s) 377,379 (click to see context) from:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This clearly sets up the future conflict around the boxes, as well as sets up for Tukhlomon checking on Ogurtsov in the following chapter.
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose? We later learn that Yaraat's plan requires not just any random eidos, but Mefodiy's specifically, and he's surprisingly well-connected for a renegade.
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast's owner.
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose? We later learn that Yaraat's plan requires not just any random eidos, but Mefodiy's specifically, and he's surprisingly well-connected for a renegade.
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast's owner.
to:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This clearly sets up the future conflict around the boxes, as well as sets up for Tukhlomon checking on Following chapter is about Anton Ogurtsov and Tukhlomon's visit to him (ultimately in the following chapter.
vain: his box is dud).
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joiningBlackjack Twenty One play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose? We later learn that Yaraat's plan requires not just any random eidos, but Mefodiy's specifically, and he's surprisingly well-connected for a renegade.
renegade (for starters, he has a Tartarian wyrm at his disposal).
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast'sowner.owner, Yaraat.
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast's
Changed line(s) 388 (click to see context) from:
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellery, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
to:
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some a way, at least sufficient still able to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellery, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* LongList: We get a lengthy list of all the medicine that Anton Ogurtsov is taking on regular basis out of his hypochondria, some of them with nasty side effects.
Changed line(s) 438 (click to see context) from:
** Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (one of Durnevs' neighbours in ''Tanya Grotter'').
to:
** Zozo's new boss is Isidore Isadore Kotletkina (one of Durnevs' neighbours in ''Tanya Grotter'').
Changed line(s) 440 (click to see context) from:
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
to:
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Isadora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
Added DiffLines:
* TimeSkip: First book's events occurred during first week of May. Second book starts two months later, in the middle of July; during that period, Mefodiy managed to get ''some'' fighting skills, while Yaraat obtained new toys and allies to take his vengeance.
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** It's not domovois firing a gnome from cannon; a gnome just crawled inside to steal gunpowder, and accidentally provoked the fire! Daphne doesn't fall for it.
Changed line(s) 81 (click to see context) from:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Daphne. She seemingly matters little in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because it would only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne. Ligul is the first to realise it and insist on her going as well; it would later be revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being sent on a mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.
to:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with PlayedWith regarding Daphne. She seemingly matters little Nothing in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because prophecy states that it must be Daphne specifically who would accompany Mefodiy, only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the that it must be someone Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne. Ligul is but she's currently the first only fitting candidate, who ''also'' has a chance to realise actually make it to Mefodiy, and insist on her going to get along with him (being roughly same age as well; him, if convert Eden years into human). Things only gets more complicated when it would later be gets revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being it's Ligul who sent her on a the mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.first place, believing that she's easy to manipulate.
Changed line(s) 119,123 (click to see context) from:
** This is the only book where the Darkness's domain is called "Hades". Any subsequent books would call it "Tartarus" instead.
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings after injuring them by magic backfire; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would strictly define the term as the name for purple crystal-like vessels, used almost exclusively by Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. It contradicts info from later books: it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings after injuring them by magic backfire; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would strictly define the term as the name for purple crystal-like vessels, used almost exclusively by Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. It contradicts info from later books: it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
to:
** This is the only book where the Darkness's domain is called "Hades". Any subsequent books would call it "Tartarus" instead.
"Hades" instead of "Tartarus".
**The system with This is the only book that references Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten one's place in subsequent books.
**hierarchy, primely to show what a loser Daphne somehow managed is (she's #13066, compared to regenerate lost feathers in her wings after injuring them by magic backfire; later books would state that any injuries to Troil being #1).
** It's thewings are permanent.
**only book where the term "darkh" is used for anything other than actual darkh: Tukhlomon calls the that his cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would strictly define the term button, which serves as the name for purple crystal-like vessels, used almost exclusively by Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. It contradicts info from later books: it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.his eidos stash.
**
**
** It's the
**
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. It contradicts info from later books: it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
* FakeDefector: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, she must steal some important artifact and escape with it; the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor. Daphne actually ''does'' get accepted into the team, and surprisingly easy at that, given all the setup that it's gonna be a long and hard mission to even get close to Mefodiy. However, at the end, it gets revealed that it's Ligul who's orchestrated for the mission in the first place, as he needed a "tainted" Light Guardian near Mefodiy to fulfil the prophecy, and Daph was a perfect candidate. She stays in the team even after that revelation, with Arey staying true to his word to keep her on probation.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: It gets accentuated that Troil is acting weird, and appears unnormal: pale, prone to phasing-out, lethargic, strange speaking manner with tone changes, and frequently looks at some ring. The final chapter reveals that, while it's not possible to actually brainwash him, his willpower ''was'' partially suppressed, with him trying to resist. The ring is what was used to achieve that.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: The ghost of Retired Fairy is dressed in long pink dress with so ridiculous amount of frills, bows and decorative flowers, it gets compared to a walking flowerbed.
Changed line(s) 166 (click to see context) from:
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
to:
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait. One of such jokes is what got her killed and turned into ghost.
-->'''Fairy Ghost''': You know what differs reality from dreams? That when the dreams comes true, they never work the way you've expected. The rose, most beautiful of flowers, has thorns. Too much ice-cream can make you sick. The euphory gets followed by sadness, and so on. When fulfilling my clients' dreams, I put this principle to absolute, which is my only way to make fun...
-->'''Fairy Ghost''': You know what differs reality from dreams? That when the dreams comes true, they never work the way you've expected. The rose, most beautiful of flowers, has thorns. Too much ice-cream can make you sick. The euphory gets followed by sadness, and so on. When fulfilling my clients' dreams, I put this principle to absolute, which is my only way to make fun...
Deleted line(s) 190 (click to see context) :
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor. Later, Daphne actually gets accepted into the team, albeit not without suspicions.
Changed line(s) 255 (click to see context) from:
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
to:
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.the FakeDefector.
Changed line(s) 486 (click to see context) from:
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
to:
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole the FakeDefector and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
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Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" at multiple points.
to:
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" Tomato]]". Arey likes this nickname so much, he keeps playfully calling him at multiple points.occasions.
Changed line(s) 68 (click to see context) from:
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. As pointed by Ligul himself, Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
to:
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. As pointed by Ligul himself, Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and point. This doesn't stop Ligul from snarking even in that state, until he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.realises that Arey is indeed about to kill him.
Changed line(s) 130 (click to see context) from:
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker pen as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
to:
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, ride to school, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker pen as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
Changed line(s) 238 (click to see context) from:
* ShoutOut: Arey jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
to:
* ShoutOut: Arey Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 10,23 (click to see context) from:
That someone is a tall, fat and eccentric young woman named Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells Mefodiy that he has special purpose, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both side believe in her "betrayal", but she should not be caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Seniour Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets shown his place when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps Tukhlomon who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both side believe in her "betrayal", but she should not be caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Seniour Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets shown his place when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps Tukhlomon who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
to:
That someone is a tall, fat and eccentric young woman named Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells Mefodiy that he has a special purpose, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance, chance to draw it right, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (on which place is now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the DarkResidence, residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes,he does have some innate magic. he's indeed the person Arey seeks. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' gives a chance to reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make bothside sides believe in her "betrayal", but she should not be get caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of the Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the"Seniour "Senior Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat Yaraat, Arey's old enemy, has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to a magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing a dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but getsshown his place humiliated himself instead when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporalmadness) madness and memory loss) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps Tukhlomon commissioner Tukhlomon, who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda (on which place is now the Big Dmitrovka street) became the Dark
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes,
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of any Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of the Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to a magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing a dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal
Changed line(s) 28,30 (click to see context) from:
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never. Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, and explains about the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon a spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second after Arey until he fell in a duel with him. Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only the two are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they find Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped and who knows when he would show up again...
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only the two are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they find Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped and who knows when he would show up again...
to:
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never. Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, and explains about the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon a the spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second second-best fighter after Arey until he fell in Arey, who slayed him on a duel with him.duel. Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that onlythe two they are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of the Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they find finds Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped escaped, and who knows when he would show up again...
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only
Changed line(s) 32,35 (click to see context) from:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: The Middle Lands and the Temple of Eternal Battle are neither Light nor Dark -- in fact, it's quite possible that they are older than either -- and serves only one purpose: to protect the absolute power; power neutral by itself and willing to serve whoever passes the challenge of the Labyrinth.
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: The Middle Lands and the Temple of Eternal Battle are neither Light nor Dark -- in fact, it's quite possible that they are older than either -- and serves only one purpose: to protect the absolute power; power neutral by itself and willing to serve whoever passes the challenge of the Labyrinth.
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
to:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed interested with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: The Middle Lands and the Temple of Eternal Battle are neither Light nor Dark -- in fact, it's quite possible that they are older than either -- andserves serve only one purpose: to protect the absolute power; power neutral by itself and willing to serve whoever passes the challenge of the Labyrinth.
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, justtoucing touching it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]"(the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.at multiple points.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: The Middle Lands and the Temple of Eternal Battle are neither Light nor Dark -- in fact, it's quite possible that they are older than either -- and
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]"
Changed line(s) 38,39 (click to see context) from:
** In the third chapter, when Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
** The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
** The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
to:
** In the third chapter, when Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
Mefodiy in present.
** The eighth chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
** The eighth chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir, extremely important figure in the magic history, could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mage.
to:
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir, extremely important figure in the magic history, could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mortal mage.
Changed line(s) 44,45 (click to see context) from:
** Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
to:
** Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to a sick fox.
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, hecame comes up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave gives up.
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he
Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
to:
'''Arey''': Because then I ''I'' would find him.''him''. For many years already, this is my only desire.
Changed line(s) 51,54 (click to see context) from:
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
to:
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the another other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not the teacher herself.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him. Later it would be revealed that Ligul is behind Daphne being sent in the first place.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not the teacher herself.
Changed line(s) 62 (click to see context) from:
** One commissioner tries to fake up his report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
to:
** One commissioner tries to fake up his report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.being punished.
Changed line(s) 66,68 (click to see context) from:
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The rune Daphne used to steal the Minotaur Horn, as a side effect, can cause its user to do reckless deeds -- like trying to assassinate your boss with a deadly poison. However, in the last chapter, it gets revealed that it was not her who poisoned Troil; on Ligul's orders, Yaraat has brainwashed [[WeakWilled Berenariy]] into doing this. In fact, he was also the one who manipulated Troil into sending her on this quest to begin with, and ordering her to take the Horn with her.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it without cover is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The rune Daphne used to steal the Minotaur Horn, as a side effect, can cause its user to do reckless deeds -- like trying to assassinate your boss with a deadly poison. However, in the last chapter, it gets revealed that it was not her who poisoned Troil; on Ligul's orders, Yaraat has brainwashed [[WeakWilled Berenariy]] into doing this. In fact, he was also the one who manipulated Troil into sending her on this quest to begin with, and ordering her to take the Horn with her.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it without cover is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
to:
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary extra "special effects" that aren't the part of normal effect, unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The rune Daphne used to steal theMinotaur Horn, Horn of Minotaur, as a side effect, can cause its user to do reckless deeds -- like trying to assassinate your boss with a deadly poison. However, in the last chapter, it gets revealed that it was not her who poisoned Troil; on Ligul's orders, Yaraat has brainwashed [[WeakWilled Berenariy]] into doing this. In fact, he was also the one who manipulated Troil into sending her on this quest to begin with, and ordering her to take the Horn with her.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' itwithout cover unsheathed is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The rune Daphne used to steal the
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it
Changed line(s) 75 (click to see context) from:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
to:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.Troil, though ultimately it would be revealed that she was framed.
Changed line(s) 78,79 (click to see context) from:
** The Minotaur Horn finally serves its purpose in the last chapter, when Mefodiy takes it from Daphne and uses as the key to open the coffin.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place. And when the story later returns back to Mefodiy, he uses information he got from Viy to convince Areye that he should spare Daphne.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place. And when the story later returns back to Mefodiy, he uses information he got from Viy to convince Areye that he should spare Daphne.
to:
** The Horn of Minotaur Horn finally serves its purpose in the last chapter, when Mefodiy takes it from Daphne and uses as the key to open the coffin.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place. And when the story later returns back to Mefodiy, he uses the information he got from Viy to convinceAreye Arey that he should spare Daphne.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place. And when the story later returns back to Mefodiy, he uses the information he got from Viy to convince
Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Daphne. She seemingly matters little in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because it would only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne (Ligul is the first to realise it and insist on her going as well; it would later be revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being sent on a mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.
to:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Daphne. She seemingly matters little in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because it would only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne (Ligul Daphne. Ligul is the first to realise it and insist on her going as well; it would later be revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being sent on a mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.
Changed line(s) 84,86 (click to see context) from:
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
to:
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
profit. We then meet Tukhlomon, and see how true that statement is.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with a special cursedblindwrap blindfold (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to a human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is itseye.eyes. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with a special cursed
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to a human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its
Changed line(s) 91 (click to see context) from:
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
to:
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as the "end of the chain".
Changed line(s) 95 (click to see context) from:
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
to:
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed.needed, but Mefodiy should't let him do anything more. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, as [[EvenEvilHasStandards he values Mefodiy's mission high enough to let him finish it first]], but still threatens to return one day.
Changed line(s) 102 (click to see context) from:
** Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
to:
** Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, himself like he used to be, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
Changed line(s) 105 (click to see context) from:
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
to:
* DoNotCallMePaul: We learn that Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
to:
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that service -- highly implied to be fake, especially since he had to pay paid $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).it.
Changed line(s) 111 (click to see context) from:
** Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
to:
** Ulitha jokes about how Dark corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, goes, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
Changed line(s) 113 (click to see context) from:
** In the prologue, it gets told Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
to:
** In the prologue, it gets told that Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
Changed line(s) 122,124 (click to see context) from:
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But it later would be established that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But it later would be established that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
to:
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; wings after injuring them by magic backfire; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books woulduse strictly define the term as the name for purple crystal-like vessels, used almost exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death.But it It contradicts info from later would be established that books: it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death.
Changed line(s) 129,131 (click to see context) from:
** First post-prologue chapter introduces us to Mefodiy and his parents, through their mourning routine and interactions with each other:
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her insistence on being called "Zozo"), BigSisterBully attitude towards Edya (when she mocks his attempt to convince himself that he's pretty by pointing that he's FormerlyFit), and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan perpetual loneliness]] (she's desperately looking for date advertisements, checking even most ridiculous ones in hope to find something).
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her insistence on being called "Zozo"), BigSisterBully attitude towards Edya (when she mocks his attempt to convince himself that he's pretty by pointing that he's FormerlyFit), and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan perpetual loneliness]] (she's desperately looking for date advertisements, checking even most ridiculous ones in hope to find something).
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
to:
** First post-prologue chapter introduces us to Mefodiy and his parents, through their mourning morning routine and interactions with each other:
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her [[DoNotCallMePaul insistence on being called"Zozo"), "Zozo"]]), BigSisterBully attitude towards Edya (when she mocks his attempt to convince himself that he's pretty by pointing that he's FormerlyFit), and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan perpetual loneliness]] (she's desperately looking for date advertisements, checking even most ridiculous ones in hope to find something).
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker pen as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her [[DoNotCallMePaul insistence on being called
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker pen as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
Changed line(s) 133 (click to see context) from:
** Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
to:
** Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him. She then proceeds making fun at Mefodiy.
Changed line(s) 138 (click to see context) from:
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
to:
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until before he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
Changed line(s) 141,144 (click to see context) from:
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness. At the Residence, Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey; he just rats her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FeetOfClay: During prologue, Sardanapal mentions Ligul as one of the bets fighters of the Darkness. In the last chapter, Ligul shows that he's a ''terrible'' combatant and a DirtyCoward. Most likely, all the stories about his greatness were just the propaganda.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FeetOfClay: During prologue, Sardanapal mentions Ligul as one of the bets fighters of the Darkness. In the last chapter, Ligul shows that he's a ''terrible'' combatant and a DirtyCoward. Most likely, all the stories about his greatness were just the propaganda.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
to:
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness. At the Residence, residence, Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey; he just rats her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other. When they got settled close to each otherand often fights -- even in Eden.
Eden, it resulted in regular fights.
* FeetOfClay: During prologue, Sardanapal mentions Ligul as one of thebets best fighters of the Darkness. In the last chapter, Ligul shows When we actually meet Ligul, we see that he's even if he once was strong, he long since became a ''terrible'' combatant cowardly weakling, and a DirtyCoward. Most likely, lost all the stories about his greatness were just the propaganda.
skill.
* FluffyTamer: The first thing we learn about Daphne is that she keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other. When they got settled close to each other
* FeetOfClay: During prologue, Sardanapal mentions Ligul as one of the
* FluffyTamer: The first thing we learn about Daphne is that she keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
Changed line(s) 148,150 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* GeniusLoci: it's ''heavily'' implied that the Temple has some mind of its own, and can detect (and reject) those it deems unworthy. In particular, when one of the voodoo mages has tried to escape, he was killed ''exactly'' one step away from the exit, as if the Temple wanted to show that you can't go back the same way you entered.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* GeniusLoci: it's ''heavily'' implied that the Temple has some mind of its own, and can detect (and reject) those it deems unworthy. In particular, when one of the voodoo mages has tried to escape, he was killed ''exactly'' one step away from the exit, as if the Temple wanted to show that you can't go back the same way you entered.
to:
* GeniusLoci: it's ''heavily'' implied that the Temple has some mind of its own, and can detect (and reject) those it deems unworthy. In particular, when one of the voodoo mages has tried to escape, he was killed ''exactly'' one step away from the
Changed line(s) 152 (click to see context) from:
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
to:
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The We learn that the elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
Changed line(s) 155,156 (click to see context) from:
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
to:
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her daughter's soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. Itmoralised galvanized the defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It
Changed line(s) 163 (click to see context) from:
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
to:
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
Changed line(s) 167 (click to see context) from:
** The Minotaur's Horn is not just rather vile (fitting for the Dark artifact); it has some mind-controlling abilities, which it uses to force Daphne into bringing it where it would fulfil its purpose.
to:
** The Minotaur's Horn of Minotaur is not just rather vile (fitting for the Dark artifact); it has some mind-controlling abilities, which it uses to force Daphne into bringing it where it would fulfil its purpose.
Changed line(s) 183,186 (click to see context) from:
** To tell us ''how'' dangerous the Temple of Eternal Battle is, Arey tells Mefodiy a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force it (to reduce risks, they used mise and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress, describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to being killed just one step away from exit; Arey presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it all the way until this moment just to show: there's no going back; once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. Last one freaked out as well, and decided to just not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him (he gets compared to a penquin), so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three. And the plot of first chapter starts with her kicking Mefoidy out to prepare for yet another date -- with the guy later becoming the first danger Mefodiy faces.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him (he gets compared to a penquin), so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three. And the plot of first chapter starts with her kicking Mefoidy out to prepare for yet another date -- with the guy later becoming the first danger Mefodiy faces.
to:
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three.
Changed line(s) 192 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
to:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both mix of relief and disappointment.
Changed line(s) 201 (click to see context) from:
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
to:
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away.away; now he has to provide Mefodiy with a cover story, with no right to refuse. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
Changed line(s) 212 (click to see context) from:
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
to:
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He It backfires at him, as he quickly gets caught afterwards, however.afterwards.
Changed line(s) 220,222 (click to see context) from:
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
to:
* RedHerring:
**RedHerring: Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" where she wrote Mefodiy's name along with other one (it gets done when it's certain that ''someone'' would die, but not who) was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.existed.
**
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
Changed line(s) 228 (click to see context) from:
** Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
to:
** Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.angry at such outrageous demands.
Changed line(s) 242,245 (click to see context) from:
* ShipTease:
** Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
** Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
** Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
** Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
to:
* ShipTease:
**ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
** Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha Arey jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
**
Changed line(s) 247 (click to see context) from:
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
to:
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end. Later, he also trains Mefodiy's intuition by trying to kill him.
Changed line(s) 257 (click to see context) from:
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
to:
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy (and ''only'' Mefodiy) should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it's not because he likes it ''only'' applies that way, but to Mefodiy, to show him his place.humiliate Mefodiy.
Changed line(s) 276,278 (click to see context) from:
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
to:
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
height.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone havingso as many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps. Later it would be revealed that Daphne's entire mission was orchestrated by him, as he always planned to use her in exactly that way.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps. Later it would be revealed that Daphne's entire mission was orchestrated by him, as he always planned to use her in exactly that way.
Changed line(s) 284 (click to see context) from:
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
to:
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts to actually see things.
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Added DiffLines:
* HuntingTheRogue: In backstory, Arey tried to defect and start a new life with his mortal wife. That's why other Dark Guardians (including Hoors, whom Arey would later kill for his role in it) have pursued him, forcing Arey to rely on [[FalseFriend Yaraat's]] help to hide his family while he deals with the attackers. The rest is history.
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Changed line(s) 540,545 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
to:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut ''The Third Horseman of Aunt Intuition'']]
Darkness'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs intosuccubus a succubus, who introduces himself as Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one turns him into a worm by using an old trick, and makes Whimper turn blackmails into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why revealing what he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphnedoing here. Whimper reveals that she would soon get a rival, and if that rival who would try to steal steals Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they from her, she would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- offers a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, for her; if the worst happens, something goes bad, Mefodiy can be spring with made to love her again, just need to pour Daphne's blood on the flower and attach it to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways,it. Soon afterwards, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, barely surviving the attack. Who's trying to kill her, and why?
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf then turns into a wounded swan, then into a woman. Woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here to find someone who can take her mantle when she dies from her wounds: the evil has escaped from behind the Dreadful Gates, and onlysurvives due Irka, with the help of someone called "Antigonius", can stop it. Valkyrie gives Irka her powers, and with them, the ability to hiding walk. She gives Irka a warning: do not tell anyone from her old life who she is, or they would die. She should also keep her animal forms in check, or she would lose herself.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently. Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he's actually not the sole inheritor of Kvodnon's powers: there were three more kids, who got much smaller bits. They weren't interesting to the Darkness until now, but situation has changed and they must be found.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; his audacity fais to save him this time, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and Edya gets fired. Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrusting to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now. Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Meanwhile, while searching for the second kid, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them by using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however. Nata immediately tries to us her seduction magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that it took him twenty minutes -- while anyone else would fall in two-three minutes. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explanation. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro. When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an ordinary office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself. When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in thesandbox, Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents. Arey then summon Mefodiy personally, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he was divided into two parts: one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is still trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; but another, which contains his actual personality, was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Premordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow distrupted the protective magic, which allowed him to send his breath to Earth and possess a mortal body. Now, the messenger would try to free Kvodnon, for which he has three days and nights; and not even the Darkness wants that, as Kvodnon's return means the apocalypse: if LIght perish, mortals would follow, and then the Darkness itself. Messenger can only possess either Mefodiy, or one of the other three kids: they share Kvodnon's former powers, and can use his former sword. Now, before it's too late, they must find which one is the Messenger.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is. Before anything bad can happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper whether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to answer a useless question instead of important one, and get sucked to Tartarus.
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises that he's consistently mismatches opposites. She renames him "Antigon", as it's easier to remember and pronounce, and gets a magic "yellow press" magazine from him, which, through instructions hidden amongst "hot news", instructs her how to turn invisible and spy on Ligul. Irka does so, and learns that magic poppy which was gifted to Daphne is actually a dark artifact which slowly drains her powers and sanity, all so it would assist Kvodnon somehow: if the Dark Lord wins, Ligul prefers to be on his good side. As a bonus, flower disrupts Daphne's love for Mefodiy: their love is a threat to the Darkness, but if it withers or gets poisoned and rots into something ugly, like jealousy, it would cease to matter. Unfortunately, Irka scares Ligul off before she learns more.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed. After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realises that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. The fourth hole, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. At first, she barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt. Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and onlythen, due needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself. Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it. Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific quirk place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into a magic used. But snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance-like state, leading to him losing control over his body).
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, whowants offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation). They finds unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only survived because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check. Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his neck, threatening to kill her?him if Kvodnon leaves him no other choice. Kvodnon's Messenger leaves Nata's body and materialises as massive ghostly horseman. Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey has the gust to kill Mefodiy, and indeed, Arey tries to attack Kvodnon instead, only to get effortlessly defeated: even in a ghost form, Kvodnon is much stronger than him. That's when Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon makes Kvodnon drop Mefodiy by dropping his mace, then Essiorkh distracts Kvodnon, allowing Irka to finish him off by throwing her spear. Arey wakes up and prepares to fight Essiorkh, but suddenly Ulitha steps in and asks to spare him, which Arey reluctantly agrees to do. She then asks for a day off: she's going on a date.
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into
According to Whimper, Daphne
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways,
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf then turns into a wounded swan, then into a woman. Woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here to find someone who can take her mantle when she dies from her wounds: the evil has escaped from behind the Dreadful Gates, and only
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently. Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he's actually not the sole inheritor of Kvodnon's powers: there were three more kids, who got much smaller bits. They weren't interesting to the Darkness until now, but situation has changed and they must be found.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; his audacity fais to save him this time, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and Edya gets fired. Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrusting to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now. Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Meanwhile, while searching for the second kid, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them by using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however. Nata immediately tries to us her seduction magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that it took him twenty minutes -- while anyone else would fall in two-three minutes. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explanation. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro. When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an ordinary office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself. When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, she misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three. Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay here -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden instinctive antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is. Before anything bad can happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper whether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to answer a useless question instead of important one, and get sucked to Tartarus.
After many failed attempts, Irka accidentally manages to contact Antigonius by just thinking about him and calling him "crazy"; Antigonius ends up being just as weird as his name suggests, both in his look (being a mix of various wights) and his personality, and Irka nearly alienates him before she realises that he's consistently mismatches opposites. She renames him "Antigon", as it's easier to remember and pronounce, and gets a magic "yellow press" magazine from him, which, through instructions hidden amongst "hot news", instructs her how to turn invisible and spy on Ligul. Irka does so, and learns that magic poppy which was gifted to Daphne is actually a dark artifact which slowly drains her powers and sanity, all so it would assist Kvodnon somehow: if the Dark Lord wins, Ligul prefers to be on his good side. As a bonus, flower disrupts Daphne's love for Mefodiy: their love is a threat to the Darkness, but if it withers or gets poisoned and rots into something ugly, like jealousy, it would cease to matter. Unfortunately, Irka scares Ligul off before she learns more.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed. After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realises that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. The fourth hole, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. At first, she barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt. Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
Changed line(s) 548 (click to see context) from:
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
to:
* CallBack: AppearanceAngst:
** Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CallBack:
** Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on theirown.own.
** Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
** When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if customers feels attraction to the personnel, [[ExploitedTrope they're more likely to become recurring customers]]. As their target clients are primely single females, he prefers to hire attractive single males as waiters, making them work in two shifts: one for brunettes, one for blondes (some of the latter are dyed). Edya sarcastically suggested to set up shifts for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was ignored. Edya, having dark ginger hair, fails to fit either shift, so he picks which one to serve at random.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
** Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
** While she was still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CallBack:
** Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their
** Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
** When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if customers feels attraction to the personnel, [[ExploitedTrope they're more likely to become recurring customers]]. As their target clients are primely single females, he prefers to hire attractive single males as waiters, making them work in two shifts: one for brunettes, one for blondes (some of the latter are dyed). Edya sarcastically suggested to set up shifts for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was ignored. Edya, having dark ginger hair, fails to fit either shift, so he picks which one to serve at random.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy). Later it gets revealed that he possessed Nata, for her mind control powers.
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho, Nata and Moshkin shows some of their key traits in their first appearance:
** Petruccho shows weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
** Nata is eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
** Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
** Petruccho shows weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
** Nata is eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
** Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
Changed line(s) 553 (click to see context) from:
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
to:
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad canhappen?]]happen]]? To little surprise, later it turns out to be a trap, prepared by Ligul as a part of multi-purpose scheme.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* ItIsDehumanising:
** Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
** When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it". Mefodiy comments on it being not the first time.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* LimbSensationFascination:
** The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* ItIsDehumanising:
** Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
** When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it". Mefodiy comments on it being not the first time.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* LimbSensationFascination:
** The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
** Continuing from the first experience couple of chapters later, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody:
** The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
** Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* RefugeInAudacity:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
** When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody:
** The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
** Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two other entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* RefugeInAudacity:
** Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
** When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
Changed line(s) 561 (click to see context) from:
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
* SkewedPriorities: ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* SkewedPriorities:
** Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
** When Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, [[InvertedTrope she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how"]], concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs:
** Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata".
** Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* TitleDrop: Seventh chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* SkewedPriorities:
** Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
** When Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, [[InvertedTrope she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how"]], concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs:
** Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
** Natalia Vikhrova insists on being called "Natalie" or just "Nata".
** Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* TitleDrop: Seventh chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
Changed line(s) 564,567 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- andOther Animals'']]
At night, Irka hearsimmediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack going too fast. He starts pressing her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates,she almost agrees, despite all precautions. Now, it's up feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him toIrka answer three questions, wanting to stop him, learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive Daphne -- the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, Darkness sees it as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just dangerous -- but before dying -- and disappearing in Essiorkh gets the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared last piece of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that the new life awaits magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and closes her laptop.get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and
At night, Irka hears
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates,
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to
Changed line(s) 569,581 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
to:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can'tlook on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in theTartarus. He asks first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the pointsuccessfully, learning that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just love, because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploitthe sole vulnerability in the protection Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyriepuzzle. He actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite andcalls her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolfout on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on thefact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time common way to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
word "chemodan" -- "bag").
*TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to accept her helmet Zozo and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and ability to walk) clear, and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what,second part being quiet and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the
*
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what,
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
Changed line(s) 584,587 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner isLike Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiyjust as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he noticesthe traces of blood on his sword, something, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is
Mefodiy
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Changed line(s) 589,596 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out tothe Prophetic Stone.
be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
*BloodKnight: Mefodiy {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers,he's pathologically lazy, "boring and can't do anything without proper motivation; disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he hopes that having other students gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to compete with calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it wouldmotivate him be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link totrain more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased onthe way he commented Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne'sattractiveness back in the first book, love to Mefodiy (and that this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns outflower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them he's been spying upon, and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Areytakes precautions, so Irka doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, whenMefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed annoyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... andwhere to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulithaactually still considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't stop thinking get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns aboutEssiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learningEssiorkh, and, from description, deduces that his bed has some dark history (it used to be he's a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feelsso much hatred jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to thechair fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as itgets set ablaze. causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to
*
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers,
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's
* TheChosenMany: Turns out
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and
* ShipTease: Ulitha
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about
* TemptingFate: After learning
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it
Changed line(s) 599,602 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatantTwelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attemptsat flirting.to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant
Daphne's attempts
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Changed line(s) 604,611 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke(about men's relationship at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled withwomen), but so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
*CallBack: When describing ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references and the story others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes hiscreepy babysitter, mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believesthen repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that if first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients he can do is to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya mess with him, which Arey doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
deny.
*GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audaciousMuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he would get away with it (at most, can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he would be chewed out can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as demonstrating the client whom Edya annoys turns out silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to be a sister him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune ofsomeone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: Whensilver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifestsability to see through magic disguise; breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it'show he notices undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that "Plaksin" it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still hassomething weird with power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him (not knowing that as the things he sees are dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the signs of succubus).Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with
*
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes
*
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious
* RuleOfThree: The rune of
* SavedForTheSequel: When
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has
Changed line(s) 614,617 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy andThirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying torecruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to one of check on the boys, poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and Mefodiy does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can'tresist to check openly help the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the motherservants of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation instructs her to go back to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".Dark residence.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't
Daphne meets the mother
Changed line(s) 619,628 (click to see context) from:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
to:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans toDaphne is steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that his surname is ''not'' related "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that theguy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
bike''.
*EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considersShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the smartest meal, but gives a part of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bringit to the Dark residence, other guy (also via magic), which is right above provokes conflict between him and the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so importantand he knows that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible son Michael moving to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the
*
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"
Changed line(s) 631,634 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person outFourteen. ''The Unity of three, Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiyruns into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not onlydeals access to Drevnir's sword, but also with them using his magic (not mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
name, Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, grab the sword and when attack, but Mefodiy manages reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. kill Nata, but Mefodiy tells blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that she has just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need tofollow him, as she's waited for.do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
When searching for the second person out
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to
Changed line(s) 636,641 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
to:
* TheBeastmaster: ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn malesgo into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states thatit normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss wordno one wants Kvodnon back, as his VerbalTic.
time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
*ItIsDehumanising: CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's"friends" shows their antipathy to body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as byconsistently calling putting him "it".
there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
*TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males
* TheCaligula: Arey states that
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
*
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by
*
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
Changed line(s) 644,649 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right fromFifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but thestart. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and time is running out; fortunately, she starts acting aggressive meets Essiorkh, who offers to him without explaining why. She only calms down ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whenshe notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists thatEssiorkh awakes her, he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists learns that Mefodiy is took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the one who calls the shots here, blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy realises didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Areyis messing would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the guy for plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his amusement, and plays along. When mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy also refuses before he puts him into hole to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells complete the guy ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to leave, in very insulting manner, throw her spear, which angers him to no end, destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes andhe hisses is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiyreluctantly agrees. Ulitha also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying insists on taking a day off, so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's she can go on a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.date.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey
Arey awakes and
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy
Changed line(s) 651,658 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in claiming the Dark residence, time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
defeat it.
*HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men";DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually comments asks for a day off, so she can go on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name isa phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weirddate with Essiorkh, confirming that "Dasha" insists on the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her beingcalled "Daphne", Mefodiy replies knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that[[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** Thethe only reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins he still serves the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it was a test Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for something regarding Mefodiy himself.passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
*
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men";
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that
** The
Deleted line(s) 660,664 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Changed line(s) 666,683 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
to:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the
*
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and
*
*
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and
Arey gathers
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and
Changed line(s) 685,695 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to listen, spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so he Vasilisa can snitch on her... only get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her to finish it her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Tukhlomon's name instead.
Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
*TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he wastoo insane a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and[[BadBoss violent]].
when it's close, you can't even teleport.
*CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if hemisses it, he ever calls, she would be forced come to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one ofaid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
time has come.
*EvilVersusOblivion: Not {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know theDarkness cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer isinterested borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, inactually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care aboutthe Darkness' survival.
yours. The one's who'd sent you!
*GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him toher sister are ''not'' say related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid thatname aloud.mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
*
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and
*
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of
*
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about
*
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 698,701 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Two. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" --Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha andimmediately tries Arey have leaved to scam her out of her eidos. She misses Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain rest stayed in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrivesDark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting attempts to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death tosabotage appoint himself as Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece Lower Tartarus. In place of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.new "mentor" is already here...
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" --
Ulitha and
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to
Changed line(s) 703,706 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed beforeWhimper can trick Zozo he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite intoselling one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for hereidos, {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and captures succubus. As suggests to wait till he later explains, hits seventy (or he thought about Daphne, may have no time to study!), and intuition told him to check then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught onher at home.
camera.
*NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and force him isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how toanswer three questions -- which he use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can'tignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning just accept that he plans to destroy Daphne's Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this tries to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers take a refuge at least in pointing that yes, her prize sucks; but he lied, [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family andgets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without last part asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the puzzle. He actually calls house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use herout on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based onpowers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with first part her being loud caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter andclear, more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and second part being quiet elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and mangled.grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on
*
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and
Changed line(s) 709,714 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name,Three. ''"The Boy with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, andshe nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interactreplaced with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's easier for her besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka tomemorise and pronounce. Antigon gives his house, he shows her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells her Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how to turn invisible, hard the path may be, and instructs everyone, from the mages to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggestedGuardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed toher, overhears Ligul conversing gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with Tukhlomon, about Daphne the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants is ''certainly'' related to ensure that if this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they fail must prepare to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, fight: the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.are here...
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name,
Essiorkh finds Irka, and
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact
When Essiorkh brings Irka to
Irka, using magic suggested
They've failed to
Changed line(s) 716,730 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with pronouncing "Antigonius", any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,now he gains the poppy flower same joy which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she callsthe alcohol would give him "funny", insisting that by... crying. Now, he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of crying non-stop, but in a time, his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irkacalls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut abilitysell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't be used end up in subsequent novels, the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic evenwhere it would be perfectly expectable does anything, and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos;reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard itwould later be established that Light Guardians don't may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you needeidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on LigulPath Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and Tukhlomon just when at night, they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, always full of energy and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants cheerful willingness to do next.
go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
*HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene,FantasticDrug: Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that then he can't get more.
may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
*InternalReveal: Ligul learns LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and that Daphne the story of the Path Stone; the story is likely living at Mefodiy's.
long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irkalearns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays withNata she's not even sure you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices thatshe's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka failsfor all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating him being a second copy of him, but former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even whenshe instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon andhe's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it'sunfair, but, if he returns because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world isto bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain.way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well whenthe sun is at its strongest.he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos;
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul
*
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene,
*
* LoveTriangle: Irka
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with
* SadClown: Irka notices that
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when
Changed line(s) 733,736 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach MefodiyFour. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department andthe rest some runes Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he getsinterrupted by dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning visit -- she's here to let him go in this night, to not miss help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the fun. This is Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into holeplace which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks contains Ligul's secret, the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link he wishes to Tartarus, which is intended stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Mefodiy, his main prize...Arey's freedom.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and
Right after he gets
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole
Changed line(s) 738,749 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the person beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's used on for seven times seven years, a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowingthem Ligul to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what itprolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's hard known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to tell whether last bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy istrue, or she's just messing cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
*BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's expense, which involves side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he has to explain makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
wishes so.
*CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the places filled with so much magic like office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the Dark residence, it's true parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon asnowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offersnearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card,strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, his dark magic, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in only releases him at the last moment moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, can kill her just out of boredom and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey'spatience runs out. mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey then tells him and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail thatfirst card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, andAce of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself when Mefodiy tries to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with protect him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinkstemporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he candisrespect Daphne, as she kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able toenforce her rule, enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it cancell itself is only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When onehear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says thatit's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, he's fed up with Harpiy, and Arey wouldn't tolerate him, just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holesbefore everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in theDark residence's basement, as well as keeping unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps themalive, but in stasis.escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is
*
*
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card,
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can
* {{Troll}}: When one
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 752,755 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix andhe blindly falls his friends decided to push the deadline for it. She barely resists temptation Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to check on either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts fairy's help is now out of question: her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as hemagic gets blocked, so she can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to go back to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the Dark residence.mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Felix and
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 757,762 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to stealAmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one woman's "unlucky" meal, whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as she once said "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, ascommissioners clearly took note at this "oath", part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister maytry result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone touse it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkhtransform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that"money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns outif someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants beinga Dark witch, transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying himbeing a Guardian Angel.
if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
*OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the situation is ''really'' dire painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious whenEssiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knowsshe hears that this conflict abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would eventually result in them getting married, soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].she just said.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may
** Both sisters were prone to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him
*
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows
Changed line(s) 765,770 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. Six. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy andClay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract theother three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit,dark mages, allowing Nata Irka to escape and jump into with painting; to confuse the third hole. Arey Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also points tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says thatMefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there arethey'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the others, more subtle ways. Arey painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and Ulitha would take turns guarding they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading Valkyrie Refuge... only to him losing control over body).meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and
Essiorkh stays to distract the
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit,
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are
Changed line(s) 772,790 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
**ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of writes down the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him outrules of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to servethe Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for "being naughty", selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished forten thousand years (three already passed); his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can'tsay details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
*AnOfferYouCantRefuse: YinYangBomb: The reason why gnome and Antigon serves fights for the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of bloodgnome's pipe which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holescreates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to complete retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in theritual.dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
**
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't
*
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the
Changed line(s) 793,800 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Changed line(s) 802,809 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirmingBerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says thatit's not they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows herflirting to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with him, and he actually reciprocates.
not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
*KilledOffForReal: Arey SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did thistime, Kvodnon was put down on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne forgood.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never ableno apparent reason. Daphne tries to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely becauseignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she managed makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to par the strike with her rapier, resulting leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).a corridor".
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her
*
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
Changed line(s) 812,835 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
Deleted line(s) 837,865 (click to see context) :
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 868,871 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Deleted line(s) 873,887 (click to see context) :
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 890,895 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Deleted line(s) 897,914 (click to see context) :
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
Changed line(s) 917,920 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian departmentTwelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Changed line(s) 922,940 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo ofHarpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf scammers who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyoneimpossible to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Areyleave (the door wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
show up).
*LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
BrainFood:
*NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
FauxAffablyEvil:
*PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
ImAHumanitarian:
*TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey
*
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
*
*
*
* SchmuckBait:
Changed line(s) 943,946 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 948,960 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
to:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to sell remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), "midget Bygup" story]], which also plays she can use to blackmail Ligul into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that healso assumed him may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (itgrow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratchlike if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edyathat serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.story leaks out.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
Changed line(s) 963,966 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Changed line(s) 968,982 (click to see context) from:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
to:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished forreveal his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka;"midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't know who is it, only comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul thatit's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As theend last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the chapter, temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if heactually tracks Irka down kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refusesthe secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to involve Antigon, saying that annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would be killed very quickly spark the war between the Guardians and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and dark mages, which would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her,be forever known as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka;
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that
* SadisticChoice: As the
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her,
Deleted line(s) 984,985 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Changed line(s) 987,996 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
to:
! ''The Revenge of the
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the
*
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
Changed line(s) 998,1000 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine.
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1002,1004 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten.
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
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[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven.
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1010,1012 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve.
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1014,1023 (click to see context) from:
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
to:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo
! ''The Map of
*
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen.
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1025,1029 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
to:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen.
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1031,1035 (click to see context) from:
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
to:
! ''The Glass Guardian''
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1038,1075 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
to:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1092,1093 (click to see context) from:
! ''The First Eidos''
to:
! ''The First Eidos''
Fire Gates''
Changed line(s) 1112,1113 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
to:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
Book of Seven Roads''
Changed line(s) 1132,1133 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
to:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
Ship of Light''
Changed line(s) 1152,1153 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Map of Chaos''
to:
! ''The Map of Chaos''
Gryphon's Mistake''
Changed line(s) 1172,1173 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
to:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
Best Enemy''
Deleted line(s) 1190,1329 (click to see context) :
----
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Deleted line(s) 287,301 (click to see context) :
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists that reports should only be written on rat skins rather than paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words. This laugh is a part of his overall grossness.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
to:
* AwesomeButImpractical: AwesomeButImpractical:
** According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the veryleast''.least''.
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
** According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very
** The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead Tartarian wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: One of the reasons why gryphons are rarely taken into the mortal world (besides the enormous size and high risk of collateral damage) is them seeing everything as black-and-white, without shades of grey; if they sense some darkness inside you, with high probability they would attack you, no matter how small it is. They are not here for subtlety; they are here to fight and ''kill''.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: One of the reasons why gryphons are rarely taken into the mortal world (besides the enormous size and high risk of collateral damage) is them seeing everything as black-and-white, without shades of grey; if they sense some darkness inside you, with high probability they would attack you, no matter how small it is. They are not here for subtlety; they are here to fight and ''kill''.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* TheCavalry:
** Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. By that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh, but at least he helps them get rid of the thugs.
** Essiorkh shows up just in time to stop Yaraat and destroy the Scroll of Desires before anything can be done with it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
** Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. By that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh, but at least he helps them get rid of the thugs.
** Essiorkh shows up just in time to stop Yaraat and destroy the Scroll of Desires before anything can be done with it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Mefodiy and Daphne; everyone comments on their mutual attracting being literally in the air, but they keep ignoring it. Daphne actually knows that this is exactly what happens to her, because she used her winged necklace on Mefodiy back in the first book, which ''forced'' her to love him, but tries to hide it by [[HiddenHeartOfGold acting like a jerk to him]] -- which [[ObliviousToLove fools only Mefodiy]].
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Mefodiy and Daphne; everyone comments on their mutual attracting being literally in the air, but they keep ignoring it. Daphne actually knows that this is exactly what happens to her, because she used her winged necklace on Mefodiy back in the first book, which ''forced'' her to love him, but tries to hide it by [[HiddenHeartOfGold acting like a jerk to him]] -- which [[ObliviousToLove fools only Mefodiy]].
Changed line(s) 367 (click to see context) from:
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
to:
* EvilIsPetty: EvilIsPetty:
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried toresist.resist.
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
** Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to
** Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and so they were forced on the run, pursued by the Dark Guardians and other servants of Darkness. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end of the lecture, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even he would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral amoeba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* IdiotBall:
** Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and fallows the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart. It later gets {{lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic skills, and blindly follow it into the trap.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral amoeba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* IdiotBall:
** Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
** Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and fallows the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart. It later gets {{lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic skills, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* InertialImpalement: The Tartarian wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
Changed line(s) 401 (click to see context) from:
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
to:
* MythologyGag: Several recurring characters from ''Tanya Grotter'' series gets mentioned:
** Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina(RecurringExtra (one of Durnevs' neighbours in ''Tanya Grotter'').
** Herman Durnev still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, using it in place of ink.
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''TanyaGrotter'' series).Grotter''.
** Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina
** Herman Durnev still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, using it in place of ink.
** Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya
Changed line(s) 407 (click to see context) from:
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
to:
* NoSell: NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance tomagic.magic.
** {{Inverted|Trope}} with Mamai; he gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
** Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to
** {{Inverted|Trope}} with Mamai; he gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
** Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Edya believes that his babysitter lied about having eye disease to justify [[SunglassesAtNight wearing sunglasses indoors]]; in truth, it was to hide that her eyes were unnatural, creepy and unhuman.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* ObliviousToLove:
** Both Mefodiy and Daphne are in denial that they feel anything towards each other. Mefodiy still tries to learn more about how he may earn the Light Guardian's love (keeping assuring himself that this is purely "out of interest"), while Daphne actually knows what and ''why'' she feels towards him, and tries to suppress it by acting like a jerk to Mefodiy.
** Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Thanks to Ligul calling Arey out to Tartarus under first excuse he could find and keeping him here for as long as he could, Mefodiy was leaved without his protection during last battle against Yaraat. Arey returns at the very last moment to [[KarmicDeath finally finish off the asshole]].
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* ObliviousToLove:
** Both Mefodiy and Daphne are in denial that they feel anything towards each other. Mefodiy still tries to learn more about how he may earn the Light Guardian's love (keeping assuring himself that this is purely "out of interest"), while Daphne actually knows what and ''why'' she feels towards him, and tries to suppress it by acting like a jerk to Mefodiy.
** Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Thanks to Ligul calling Arey out to Tartarus under first excuse he could find and keeping him here for as long as he could, Mefodiy was leaved without his protection during last battle against Yaraat. Arey returns at the very last moment to [[KarmicDeath finally finish off the asshole]].
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago is a clear stetup for the future, "stay tuned"-style. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you".
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago is a clear stetup for the future, "stay tuned"-style. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you".
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* UndyingLoyalty:
** Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat when the latter comes to take a seal of her wings, which nearly costs Depreasnyak his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains what he wanted.
** Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne (who's in mortal danger), which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time when he comes to get a seal of Daphne's wings -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
** Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat when the latter comes to take a seal of her wings, which nearly costs Depreasnyak his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains what he wanted.
** Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne (who's in mortal danger), which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time when he comes to get a seal of Daphne's wings -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
Changed line(s) 445,448 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
to:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: ChapterSeven. ''The Key One. ''Debut of Nothing'']]
Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphnesomehow falls sick with angina, exploits one old trick, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the stranger, some traits of road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which clearly tells that isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- andnearly kills Depresnyak, if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and uses die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's winged necklace blood to leave a seal on reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how''flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, whowas visiting Arey at did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy unknown enemy, and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of survives due to hiding in the thugs tries sandbox, and only then, due to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on specific quirk in the Scroll as well.magic used. But who wants to kill her?
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how''
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who
Changed line(s) 450,465 (click to see context) from:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
to:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the Dark Residents fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with rat skins (Ligul, 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whateverreason, insists to use you want and force them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and disgusting laugh -- forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, andhe giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyakonly survives his by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain,Daphne, attacker assumes that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry:Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from yet again foresaw the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues:Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy It gets confirmed that Daphne starts slowly turning human actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) fromoverexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on demon you just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in processhumiliated and nearly deprived of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see thethug that future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkhsays provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen thathe's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied way, too. It was supposed to him), which leads be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh starting remembering is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether last one]]. However, ultimately it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, would change nothing, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series)wife would still has connections leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it withvampires; your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residencebuys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally-- being impossible. Turns succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long ashe's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And from "another department", only to shut up once he doesn't realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During theones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him time between this and the ones taken from garbage, or previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warnedthings, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope bike originally was supposed to avoid Tartarus after that.
be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
*UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his life. Unfortunately, he fails new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain,
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues:
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the
** It's how Essiorkh
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series)
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned
*
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
Changed line(s) 468,471 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learnsTwo. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears thestory about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed noises from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shamekitchen. Thinking that he ignored it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her for so long, and see wheelchair. Realising that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually hurt her, unless intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which shegives in by herself. On would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the way back, he learns Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification should never let anyone from Arey through "Book her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns
At night, Irka hears the
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she
Changed line(s) 473,484 (click to see context) from:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
to:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and confirms that it's actually true. does everything to hide them altogether. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya,tries to claim distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point thathe's not to mess with she gets bored by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he waswasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irkashe'd passed exams for the first time since nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which hebecame Arey's student (also learning mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that shesecretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact thathe her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can'tvisit be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her anymore -- not because very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, theyare no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says when Irka tells that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move toa remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared himValkyrie to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customersmirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justifiedthe past), it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.shatters.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya,
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
Changed line(s) 487,492 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tellsThree. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiywho's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws,explain it; he certainly didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like hurt anyone recently.
Areyhimself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
summons Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises and reveals to him that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: bother, but the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.situation changed.
Arey tells
Mefodiy
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws,
Arey
Changed line(s) 494,508 (click to see context) from:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
to:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story,BerserkButton: Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came upProphetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy withsomething different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then it, though he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
regains self-control.
*ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
**BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment that, for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not becauseall his powers, he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, pathologically lazy, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, youcan't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal compete with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Areyhas learned this wants to find them and take as the hard way...
new students.
*TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would be a good idea to take consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly process in details, probably for him.
* TranquilFury: Whenthe best); when Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinksabout it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship,where to find them) can only be seen on the story internal side of betrayal, the story Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures ofdeath. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to befriends... Whenever I remember a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness,it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.gets set ablaze.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story,
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with
*
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
**
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey
*
* TranquilFury: When
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship,
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness,
Changed line(s) 511,514 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries toTartarus'']]
Areyuse his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and Ulitha this time, Edya gets summoned outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother toTartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using attend a page from Irka's diary party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon runs into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted bya magic talking head, clearly made guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through necromancy, his disguise, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants makes him distrustful to follow it; he agrees.the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to
Arey
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by
Changed line(s) 516,522 (click to see context) from:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
to:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, apage from Irka's diary, director of the restaurant where she wrote Edya works, believes that she loves "MB", and that she if all officiants would give up her soul be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for something, possibly brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a kiss shift for bald and shaved (it's hard trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to tell, as much of what's written work on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya triesto remind him his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work, work this time, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and points he decides that he may give it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought upto either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends again]], the footnote explicitly states that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact withcontainer from his sword, and take the page by force, which Midnight Witch, he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly creatednow sometimes manifests ability to see through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims thatmagic disguise; it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy dealshow he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himselfhim (not knowing that the things he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself
Changed line(s) 525,528 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy),Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, whichclaims that Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's from Mefodiy, who up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for herhelp. "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she tries meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's stressed indeed the one she needs, and runs somewhere, so she decides asks him to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still followingher: she would take him to the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, place where no one would think that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.his abilities are "weird".
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy),
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following
Changed line(s) 530,534 (click to see context) from:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
to:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall:Daphne falls is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers thesame trap as Mefodiy, smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak andfalls forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talkinghead created through necromancy. about it, It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
possible to shut her up.
*InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before called "Petruccho"; he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
*MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running"I insist!" into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.his speech at seemingly random moments.
* IdiotBall:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking
*
*
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running
Changed line(s) 537,542 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out ofSilver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to dragthree, Mefodiy out from below runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, guys acts very hostile, and tells Mefodiy only deals with them using his plan; while he might've used magic (not the Scroll to steal way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope girl reveals that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is ready looking for is she. She prefers to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries tokill Daphne), but Depresnyak, us her magic on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recogniseshim, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed Mefodiy manages to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screamsshake it off, turns out that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she refused to give up can make males love her eidos, making him snap... in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says tells Nata that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of
Daphne arrives just in time to drag
Nata immediately tries to
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises
Yaraat snaps and screams
Changed line(s) 544,568 (click to see context) from:
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
to:
* AnswerCut: When TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraattries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along to deal with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives attackers; it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain howresults in him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease provoking a dog pack to exists, or it would attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants pushing the guys to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidosthe ground and scaring them to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows herdie, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy main power -- ability to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshiftingturn males into Zozo. While Mefodiy dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to break the illusion, shake it still ruins his concentration off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and stops him from sucking out it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more of Yaraat's power.
careful since then).
*UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as hislife.
VerbalTic.
*VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy reminds by consistently calling him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode. "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting
*
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his
*
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Changed line(s) 571,595 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
to:
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=]
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus
*
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in
*
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or
Irka, not
According
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due
Changed line(s) 597,611 (click to see context) from:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that itBabanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but unbearable to Irka, as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means thatwere the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour symbol of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, her helplessness and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magicmiserable life. Now, she's eager to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he try something else, which would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
*FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that henor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm,it's normal to steal them, even for small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the Light Guardians.
sense of it being "thoughtful".
**It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness andbreak lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over herleg, and wolf form while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour,at Moshkin's house (something about which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: Whenshe was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is theDark residence -- being succubus, he needs ability to regularly check out control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges toshut up once he eat it raw. She quickly realises that it may hint Daphne to something it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
[[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
*SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first succubus character); previously, experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they had bare minimum of attention, would share this feeling with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
her.
*SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.called "Eugesha".
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic
*
** Moshkin says that he
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm,
**
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour,
* SayingTooMuch: When
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to
*
*
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
Changed line(s) 614,617 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] Nine. ''Kind and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leaveFluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, andask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from tells them why they should stay there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here-- because she's dying, anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates,despite all precautions. with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it'sup to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.late.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave
Arey gathers his new students together, and
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates,
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's
Changed line(s) 619,631 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
to:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating finish it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane andenvies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, andare free if he misses it, he would be forced to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession:Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
and escape.
*DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how toEvilVersusOblivion: Not even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irkathe Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the danger of losing control why in Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until theanimal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating onLight is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says thatthis wound would destroy mortals as well (since they can't be healed, no matter what, exist totally without Light), and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irkathat no one who knew her from without mortals, the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they Darkness would die. Somehow, starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where itapplies even possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed toobjects, as love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, whenIrka tells he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession:
*
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when
Changed line(s) 634,637 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood onTen. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in hissword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals"Danila" disguise, proposes to him Zozo, saying that he was not, actually, "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer threemore, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was no need sent to bother, sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the situation changed.last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on
Whimper, still in his
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three
Changed line(s) 639,646 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about sacrificing Daphne Daphne, and intuition told him to the Prophetic Stone.
check on her at home.
*BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy,pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't do anything without proper motivation; ignore or lie to; but once he hopes that having other students to compete with answers them, he would motivate him be banished to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the wayTartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he commented on plans to destroy Daphne's attractiveness back in and Mefodiy's love, because the first book, Darkness considers this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns outto be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them yes, he lied, and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone'sgets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side part of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulithapuzzle. He actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way todistract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
*TemptingFate: After learning that RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his bed has some dark history (it used marriage proposal to be a Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze. being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
*
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy,
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way
* TheChosenMany: Turns out
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's
* ShipTease: Ulitha
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to
*
Changed line(s) 649,652 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. Eleven. ''A King Without Retinue Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner isLike a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goesjust as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him intoconflict "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing witha client; Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he tries to use would still be on his usual audacity, good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but this time, if it works against him, as the client turns out gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brotheruses magic to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, hide himself, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is
Edya goes
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother
Changed line(s) 654,661 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
*CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the story about his creepy babysitter, poppy flower which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clientsWhimper gave to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoysDaphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a sister part of someone important to Edya's boss, Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and he decides corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would beeasier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly statesperfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they havea followup later.
direct link to the Light.
*SueDonym: Whimper, ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests abilitythey're discussing Ligul's plans to see through magic disguise; it's how he use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that "Plaksin" has something weird he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, withhim (not knowing Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to thethings he sees are fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the signs of succubus).candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
*
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have
*
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
Changed line(s) 664,667 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thingTwelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts tocare about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to teach Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be visited together. Daphne can't resist of no use. And Arey is planning to check let him go in this night, to not miss the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns thateverything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentriche was brainwashed and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as were busy, Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho has: he can animate gets found in the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that he's indeed Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one she needs, and asks him with direct link to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his abilities are "weird".main prize...
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing
Daphne's attempts to
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric
Changed line(s) 669,678 (click to see context) from:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
to:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to silences the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traitsbelieves in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest toweird males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is ratherher being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen as may be expected]], and he has to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believesexplain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in theDreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do isright above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
*LikeFatherLikeSon: MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho is just thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and invites thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
*SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem fourth use, it grows gills which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries toshut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"shoot at point blank range, and "I insist!" Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into hisspeech at seemingly random moments.darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather
* ItCanThink: Arey believes
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is
*
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"
*
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his
Changed line(s) 681,684 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
Whensearching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries is trying to us her magic on "steal" him, and when Mefodiy manages he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to shake check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it off, turns out to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as hespent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.go back to the Dark residence.
When
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he
Changed line(s) 686,691 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
to:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to usemagic to deal with attackers; it results in against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and himprovoking being a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not justpushing steals the guys meal, but gives a part of it to the ground other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and scaring them the woman to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimicswhom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals knows that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
Changed line(s) 694,699 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
DaphneFourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and thepoppy on other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to pink (indicating put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states thathe became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (whowhoever brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiyrealises that Arey in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When to not let him capture Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey grows tired, and tells Ulitha would take turns guarding the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him to no end, from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains.bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention (putting him into trance state, leading to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.him losing control over body).
Daphne
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains.
Changed line(s) 701,708 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, whichis interested incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was inclaiming Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the Dark residence, basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave andit's clearly not put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone human. Also, Arey pays attention else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to what Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiysays laments what happened to offer to sell the building, Petruccho, Nata and feels relief when he refuses (which Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
*HateAtFirstSight: Daphne NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often useddoesn't press, to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
Antigon's relief.
*TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
**AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Arey even bothers Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiysoon joins the game, too. However, later blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy realises almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked thatit he was a test for something regarding defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiyhimself.in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy
*
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used
*
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
**
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy
Changed line(s) 711,714 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes toMeet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trustingfind Mefodiy before it's too late, but the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever time is running out; fortunately, she returns; but one day, meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whenexperimenting Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and realises Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states thatshe he doesn't see anything: it seems believe that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he Arey would bring her to actually kill the other three.
Picking an outfitboy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to her liking kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to see drop Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to regain throw her human form.spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that
Picking an outfit
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Changed line(s) 716,725 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
to:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just looking at them was unbearable in time to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actuallyshow those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin saysasks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) not just her flirting with him, and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes thatit's "serious", he claims this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe thathe meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claimsArey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think thatit's "for school essay"; I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because shepretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only botheredmanaged to par the strike with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), rapier, resulting in her transforming into wolf being knocked out instead of killed, and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability toKvodnon (who was in control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
*TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing fromrules which indirectly led to the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to
*
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
Deleted line(s) 727,733 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
Changed line(s) 735,751 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
! ''The Ticket to
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with
*
*
*
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the
*
*
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and
*
*
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he
Changed line(s) 753,756 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he later explains, he thought supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about Daphne, his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, andintuition told neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give himto check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimpersome prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and force him sell it to answer three questions -- the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can'tignore or lie to; but even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which oncehe answers them, he belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would bebanished able to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their cause, but before he learns ''how'', civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo(whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, went on vacation for one week, leaving Essiorkh without last part of her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send thepuzzle. He Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actuallycalls understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide herout on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,blatantly flirting with first part being loud the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb andclear, and second part being quiet and mangled.useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be
* PutOnABus: Zozo
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and
Changed line(s) 759,764 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unableTwo. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved tosummon Antigonius, but when she thinks Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said each other. They gets interrupted by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower.Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out,it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants exploited Kvodnon's final death to ensure appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul new "mentor" is already gone.here...
Irka was consistently unable
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower.
Turns out,
Changed line(s) 766,780 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part ofBadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne orders, and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role is now imprisoned in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it mayTartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have something to do with been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about hiskikimora heritage: those are known reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; forweird speech manner themselves), Antigon the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend tomismatch compliments do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught andinsults (and some other opposites). He killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it getsconfused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, shecalls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this uses Nata as well: for example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It getsoffended when Irka calls him "friend", officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; butcalms down when he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she "corrects" herself used to calling him enemy.
make jokes at his expense.
*EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut abilityThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn'tbe used in subsequent novels, even where bother to create a family until it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentionshits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: their development stops at thirteen and they have direct link nothing left but fall in love, others chose to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligulstudy and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior,develop themselves and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but starts thinking about relationship when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.they hits thirty.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but
*
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't
** Ligul mentions
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior,
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
Changed line(s) 783,786 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach MefodiyThree. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her therest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And last news: Arey is planning to let him go in this night, imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not miss compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the fun. This is also the good excuse point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka totake Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsovhis house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and learns reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius very unordinary young man himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and realised everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems thatit was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, be alive after all, and that painting is the only one tread which, with direct link the proper magic, ''may'' lead to Tartarus, him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the
When Essiorkh brings Irka to
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that
Changed line(s) 788,799 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of wisdom after each seven years period, and some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makesa silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off time, his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape,organism would recover, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter allsafely remove the bandits, it's too boring and spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to makethem lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentionssure that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that heit wouldn't end up in Eden if the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, ithappens), seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it'sdifferent so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him justselling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiyrefuses, and Arey at first seems like towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he'sabout to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly takealso partially a card, poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, you forever), and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind just good man in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him general.
* SadClown: Irka notices thatfirst card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him to get away easily by becoming being a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, hegrabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's nopower to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
fun in their own lives.
*MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, the mortal world is way too attractive, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills whichone can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}:help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, andArey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put intoscavenging his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.stuff.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape,
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take
* SadClown: Irka notices that
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no
*
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which
* {{Troll}}:
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into
Changed line(s) 802,805 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department andhe blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is aboutguardian turns out to happen, but as be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after hecan't openly gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help the servants of Darkness, he them. There's only gives Ulitha vague warning one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which instructs her to go back to contains Ligul's secret, the Dark residence.one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about
Right after he
Changed line(s) 807,812 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once saidBaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering"he means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out"nice like that Ulitha old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and Essiorkh actually started dating at devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has somepoint, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realisesvery embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that the situation is he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives awants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the otherguy (also via ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic),which provokes conflict between Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain fromthe caffe. Why? He can see the future, and it, and he knows had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail thatthis conflict would eventually result in them getting married, he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, andlater their son Michael moving when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to theUSA, city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just toimplement new method further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap ofmoney laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn'tknow do this, but also tells the friends what it means, they can do to save Arey, and thinks it's something innocent]].helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering"
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic),
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 815,820 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix andFlame'']]
Antigon tells Irkahis friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove thattonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already has two bodies in place, aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there,connect it was someone with not only access her previous actions. Morjuev decides to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, blackmail Edya, saying that just one death unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there areput the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and
Antigon tells Irka
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there,
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are
Changed line(s) 822,840 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the true purpose of prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey statesimage. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''':he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: TheDarkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let fairy's magic gets blocked by the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night,hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it turns into a snake, requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which incapacitates Daphne, takes twelve hours and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed intomagic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
**Irka realises Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that ifKvodnon only ''plans'' someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to possess Mefodiy, it means keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; hiscurrent host is one investors are. Because of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by puttingthat, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him there, if he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing wasput there reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without anyviolence. No, breaks; she likes it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
very much.
*EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at leastlopukhoid world, blaming Edya for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out ofit, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries isbecause he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog:mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey he says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took overit was her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* TheCaligula: Arey states
-->'''Arey''':
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night,
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
**
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any
*
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is
* ShootTheDog:
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
Changed line(s) 843,850 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whenSix. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkhawakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried stays to distract the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him,dark mages, allowing Irka to throw escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her spear, which destroys to the spirit.
Arey awakes and is readynew hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages tofight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in and charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can orders to attack. The battle doesn't go on a date.well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
Essiorkh
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him,
Arey awakes and is ready
It doesn't take long for the mages to
Changed line(s) 852,859 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka (with writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh'shelp) arrives feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck intime to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
the animal form.
*DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with Essiorkh, confirming heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees thetwo are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it'snot time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't justher flirting talk with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Areyher, as the magic would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never ableBabanya to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill uphold the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in
*
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Changed line(s) 862,885 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
*
*
*
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a
*
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
Deleted line(s) 887,915 (click to see context) :
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 918,921 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn moreNine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...Wolves'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Deleted line(s) 923,937 (click to see context) :
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 940,945 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Deleted line(s) 947,964 (click to see context) :
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
Changed line(s) 967,970 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Deleted line(s) 972,990 (click to see context) :
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 993,996 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
FelixTwelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
Felix
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 998,1010 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
to:
* AmbiguouslyGay: AntagonistTitle: The man chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers whoshows up with Morjuev tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (itdoor wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
show up).
*BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
BrainFood:
*BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
FauxAffablyEvil:
*ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
ImAHumanitarian:
*HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
MortonsFork:
*OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it
*
*
*
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
*
*
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
Changed line(s) 1013,1016 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Changed line(s) 1018,1032 (click to see context) from:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
to:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to theChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description ofportrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses"midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to involve Antigon, saying blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that hewould be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day shemay just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attemptsuse cyclops' earwax as an ointment to kill her (and acting grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says if that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.story leaks out.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
Changed line(s) 1035 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
Changed line(s) 1037,1043 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
to:
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When{{Blackmail}}: Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly preparesblackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets shesecret]] if he doesn't want comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out toknow.
be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
*SandWorm:
SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
*TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses and the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, secret would leak out anyway; and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphneif he tries to ignore her annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, dark mages, which would be forever known as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
* BigWhat: When
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to
*
*
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne
Deleted line(s) 1045,1046 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
Changed line(s) 1048,1050 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
Changed line(s) 1052,1054 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten.
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1056,1058 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven.
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1060,1062 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve.
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1064,1073 (click to see context) from:
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
to:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible
! ''The Stairway to
*
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen.
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1075,1079 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
to:
! ''The Map of Chaos''
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen.
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1081,1085 (click to see context) from:
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
to:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1088,1125 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
to:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1142,1143 (click to see context) from:
! ''The First Eidos''
to:
! ''The First Eidos''
Sword Dance''
Changed line(s) 1162,1163 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
to:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
Fire Gates''
Changed line(s) 1182,1183 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
to:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
Book of Seven Roads''
Changed line(s) 1202,1203 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Map of Chaos''
to:
! ''The Map Ship of Chaos''
Light''
Changed line(s) 1222,1223 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
to:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
Gryphon's Mistake''
Changed line(s) 1242,1243 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Glass Guardian''
to:
! ''The Glass Guardian''
Best Enemy''
Deleted line(s) 1260,1379 (click to see context) :
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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** First post-prologue chapter introduces us to Mefodiy and his parents, through their mourning routine and interactions with each other:
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her insistence on being called "Zozo"), BigSisterBully attitude towards Edya (when she mocks his attempt to convince himself that he's pretty by pointing that he's FormerlyFit), and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan perpetual loneliness]] (she's desperately looking for date advertisements, checking even most ridiculous ones in hope to find something).
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
*** Mefodiy Buslaev is a lazy ApatheticStudent (the very first thing he does is to try, and fail, to find motivation to keep studying) with very sharp tongue (his interactions with Edya; and him privately comparing him to an ape), who has creepy mystical stuff going on around him all the time, but stubbornly believes that there's nothing unusual and he has no perspectives in life.
*** Zoya "Zozo" Buslaeva shows her eccentric nature (for starters, her insistence on being called "Zozo"), BigSisterBully attitude towards Edya (when she mocks his attempt to convince himself that he's pretty by pointing that he's FormerlyFit), and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan perpetual loneliness]] (she's desperately looking for date advertisements, checking even most ridiculous ones in hope to find something).
*** Eduard "Edya" Havron shows his cynicism, pathologic cheapness (both through accusing Mefodiy of stealing several roubles to pay for tram ticket, and through listing how he once marked part of toilet paper with marker as "his", so no one would "steal" it) and snarky sense of humour (his critique of the alleged restaurant "Bee").
*** Mefodiy Buslaev is a lazy ApatheticStudent (the very first thing he does is to try, and fail, to find motivation to keep studying) with very sharp tongue (his interactions with Edya; and him privately comparing him to an ape), who has creepy mystical stuff going on around him all the time, but stubbornly believes that there's nothing unusual and he has no perspectives in life.
Changed line(s) 130,131 (click to see context) from:
** Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
to:
** Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, wretched, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... [[SoldHisSoulForADonut expired spratcan.can]].
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... [[SoldHisSoulForADonut expired sprat
Changed line(s) 133 (click to see context) from:
** The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
to:
** The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job.job (in contrast with him near people superior to him). Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice thrice in a row.
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Changed line(s) 298,303 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
to:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne''The Scroll of Desires'']]
Daphne, who was asked by Arey to go somewhere and not messaround while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went around, goes on walk. During a walk, she encounters only to notice that she's clearly pursued by a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that limo; made stranger by Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing suicidally fearless, feels that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries extremely dangerous. Attempt to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means with magic fails completely, confirming that it's disguised with some magic in nature, and was sent by someone ''very'' strong magic. powerful. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", "car" off, leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: who'd sent it: it's certainly clearly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while but it doesn't look like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
Ligul's spy either. On the way back, Daphne encounters she notices that some weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies is spying on her (and her, badly pretends pretending that he's not). he doesn't. When he follows her, she tries fails to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, escape from him, he finally introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. himself. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from the Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... It's weird for a Guardian Angel, that the guy who's clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be biker is a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless,Angel, but then again, she's weird Light Guardian herself. Essiorkh is here tries to warn her about grave some danger to her very essence and her wings, and as well as scold her for providing giving a seal of her wings to for some dark scroll. Only Dark scroll, but then he realises that he somehow preceeded event in question, which would only happen in several days. He leaves without elaborating further, but it gives Daphne another clue that some third party is involved -- likely related to that strange limo.
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London by Wilhelm, high-ranking Dark Guardian; he also invited Ulitha and Mefodiy, but obviously not Daphne. Arey decides to pay him a visit, wondering whether Ligul is trying to get something from him. He also learns, through Tulkhomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed, being in possession of lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed, Tukhlomon leaves, not forgetting to make him give up his eidos first.
When Mefodiy arrives to the party, Arey and Ulitha suddenly gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving him alone. Mefodiy quickly gets drugged with something and forced to play blackjack without even learning the stakes. As Ligul explains to him, having nothing of value, Mefodiy by default "agreed" to put his eidos on stake. But, despite having all odds against him, Mefodiy somehow still prevails, gaining exactly 21 points versus Ligul's 20. That's when Arey and Ulitha returns, with Ulitha confirming that Ligul was cheating. Ligul's intentions are clear (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, some''one'') just gave him a second chance, for some hidden purpose.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom" anymore, and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first of two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being the wrong one, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers: it can only change one little detail, but in wrong hands, can change entire history. On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it. In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, who attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll. Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more human -- and less like an angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then departs to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks the thugs' boss and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pet parrot by just looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as a Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"... Meanwhile, Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and sees that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. He also warns her about Tukhlomon, who clearly has plans for her. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he'ssaying, Essiorkh realises far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Arey tells Mefodiy who their mysterious enemy is -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy thathe by mistake had arrived the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's so special about the scroll, he just warns story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him. Long time ago, Arey had fell in love with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to be careful, give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and leaves. The his family are dead; Yaraat forced them give up their souls in futile attempt to protect each other, then murdered them in cold blood. Yaraat was staying on a run ever since then, only information finally caught when Mefodiy was born thirteen years ago and stripped him of his powers, while Arey was exiled to a remote lighthouse after killing Hoors for his role in Arey's family's downfall. Mefodiy, confidently, promises that he would find and kill Yaraat, but Arey tells him to not give a promise that he can't fulfil -- and that he doesn't need to search, for Yaraat would find him first... and Arey would be there to face him. He then tells Mefodiy to not repeat his mistakes: the Darknes ''would not'' let him be happy with Daphne, and if he tries, he would doom not only himself, but her as well.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone in the Residence. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys. Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Daphne receivesis a message from a similar talking head, which claims that this scroll it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is important for both Light Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and Darkness (and both are searching for it), is running somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it. Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some third side involved, danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the Tartarian wyrm, which is related he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster, but they can't take the sword out. They realise thatstrange limo neither head was sent by them, and that's when Yaraat reveals himself, disarming Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, ready to drain her of life force, and reveals his plan: he ''may'' claim the chain from Kvodnon's darkh before Ligul and take his place, but he would rather kill Mefodiy before he was born and thus before Yaraat lost his powers; that's also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically: so the soul would erase itself, otherwise it's not gonna work. Mefodiy is ready to give up, but Depresnyak attacks Yaraat, giving Mefodiy a chance to start draining Yaraat of magic. Yaraat distracts him by shapeshifting into his mother, but that's when Essiorkh arrives.
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos gives it protection. Essiorkh teleports the scroll to himself and destroys it before Yaraat can escape with it, after which he proceeds to remind Yaraat about how the biker entrusted him with protecting his injured girlfriend while he was looking for help, only for Yaraat to murder and eat her, which made the biker lose the will to live and soon perishing in a road accident. Yaraat starts losing self-control, and that's when Arey arrives as well. Yaraat regains composure and prepares for last stand; Arey orders them all to leave, it's only for them two. Arey emerges victorious, and says that he now just needs some time alone.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and shesaw earlier.refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Daphne
Daphne, who was asked by Arey to go somewhere and not mess
Nonetheless,
Meanwhile, Mamzelkina visits the Dark Residence, giving vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held in London by Wilhelm, high-ranking Dark Guardian; he also invited Ulitha and Mefodiy, but obviously not Daphne. Arey decides to pay him a visit, wondering whether Ligul is trying to get something from him. He also learns, through Tulkhomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed, being in possession of lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than good), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scared away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol. The imp introduces himself as Tukhlomon, and exploits his phobias to force him to open the box... only to realise that it only contains the medicine. Disappointed, Tukhlomon leaves, not forgetting to make him give up his eidos first.
When Mefodiy arrives to the party, Arey and Ulitha suddenly gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving him alone. Mefodiy quickly gets drugged with something and forced to play blackjack without even learning the stakes. As Ligul explains to him, having nothing of value, Mefodiy by default "agreed" to put his eidos on stake. But, despite having all odds against him, Mefodiy somehow still prevails, gaining exactly 21 points versus Ligul's 20. That's when Arey and Ulitha returns, with Ulitha confirming that Ligul was cheating. Ligul's intentions are clear (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, some''one'') just gave him a second chance, for some hidden purpose.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom" anymore, and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first of two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being the wrong one, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers: it can only change one little detail, but in wrong hands, can change entire history. On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it. In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, who attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll. Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more human -- and less like an angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then departs to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks the thugs' boss and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pet parrot by just looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as a Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"... Meanwhile, Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and sees that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. He also warns her about Tukhlomon, who clearly has plans for her. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's
Arey tells Mefodiy who their mysterious enemy is -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone in the Residence. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys. Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Daphne receives
Daphne arrives just in time to save Mefodiy before he suffocates to death under the corpse of the monster, but they can't take the sword out. They realise that
Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. He tries to just kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos gives it protection. Essiorkh teleports the scroll to himself and destroys it before Yaraat can escape with it, after which he proceeds to remind Yaraat about how the biker entrusted him with protecting his injured girlfriend while he was looking for help, only for Yaraat to murder and eat her, which made the biker lose the will to live and soon perishing in a road accident. Yaraat starts losing self-control, and that's when Arey arrives as well. Yaraat regains composure and prepares for last stand; Arey orders them all to leave, it's only for them two. Arey emerges victorious, and says that he now just needs some time alone.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, despite their strength, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
Changed line(s) 306,327 (click to see context) from:
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
to:
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
----
** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at a receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
Changed line(s) 336,338 (click to see context) from:
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
to:
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either any case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
*{{Foreshadowing}}: CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars on his mortal body, and explains that those are caused by the way the body's original owner has died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. Thisis a clear setup for clearly sets up the future conflict.
conflict around the boxes, as well as sets up for Tukhlomon checking on Ogurtsov in the following chapter.
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose? We later learn that Yaraat's plan requires not just any random eidos, but Mefodiy's specifically, and he's surprisingly well-connected for a renegade.
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast's owner.
** Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief ofchancellory, chancellery, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.Kvodnon.
* GuardianAngel:
** Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
*
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars on his mortal body, and explains that those are caused by the way the body's original owner has died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This
** Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose? We later learn that Yaraat's plan requires not just any random eidos, but Mefodiy's specifically, and he's surprisingly well-connected for a renegade.
** After escaping from the Tartarian wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it. She soon gets visited by the beast's owner.
** Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of
* GuardianAngel:
** Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
** Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
Changed line(s) 341 (click to see context) from:
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
to:
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" withthat), that by gifting him a new video game), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
Changed line(s) 344 (click to see context) from:
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
to:
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistentlyputting committing either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight. swordfight.
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, humans have one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this is noted as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for them to just stay where they are, but he's too late: Mamai drives backwards, ruining the lawn in process.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, humans have one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this is noted as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for them to just stay where they are, but he's too late: Mamai drives backwards, ruining the lawn in process.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
Changed line(s) 347,348 (click to see context) from:
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
to:
* RefugeInAudacity: PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
* RefugeInAudacity:
** Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
** Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a badidea.idea, and witnessing the damage it caused to the room.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls him "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush:
** Two in a row in first chapter:
*** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
*** The black limo returns in the fifth chapter and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a Tartarian wyrm, a dragon-like creature, who was clearly sent by someone.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
* RefugeInAudacity:
** Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
** Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls him "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush:
** Two in a row in first chapter:
*** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
*** The black limo returns in the fifth chapter and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a Tartarian wyrm, a dragon-like creature, who was clearly sent by someone.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
Changed line(s) 350 (click to see context) from:
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
to:
* TitleDrop: The second chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).proverb).
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
Changed line(s) 353,356 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. Seven. ''The Minister Key of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessedNothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick withhis health (to angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the point stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that his actions actually causes he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become moreharm than help), after failing like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away deal with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with a pistol.
An impenhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all only actually fights when one of the possible diseases it may spread) thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless Anton opens threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.Scroll as well.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed
Daphne somehow falls sick with
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more
An imp
Changed line(s) 358,364 (click to see context) from:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
to:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very first date, annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries topolitely reject resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him,knowing Essiorkh says that he's a complete Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfiedasks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just attempt to show how easy it was for beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to prevail, had protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he tried merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest toresist.
Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag:Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator startsseries) still has connections with explanation what vampires; the phobias Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs andmanias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give enhanced their owner anything but troubles, often with weapons to give them the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov hasone phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that as long as he's healthy), and started sending useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him to the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other doctors similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is justto get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, as ugly, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plowerbeing SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out onsomeone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into givingonly helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him,
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to
* MythologyGag:
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving
Changed line(s) 367,370 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takesEight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with himto a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and Ulitha gets summoned wants to Tartarus, leaving take something important from her. Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, recognises him as Tukhlomon, and forced feels anger; he warns Irka to play blackjack without not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, andmore disgust towards himself -- but also tells him understand that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that perhaps, he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, far worse than he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?important.
Arey takes
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him
Ligul explains the rules, and
Changed line(s) 372,388 (click to see context) from:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
to:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that Arey may be nicer than he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the other Dark Guardians, but story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he'sstill a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies not to mess with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And inby saying that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source ofhe'd read all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamaimartial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
writes them.
*{{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]].FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': ThereZozo worries where is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horrorMefodiy, Edya tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" ofsay how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul triesage, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to cheat sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiyout of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over finally visits Irka for the Lord himself. It doesn't work first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiysomehow wins nonetheless.learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai
*
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]].
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
Changed line(s) 391,394 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, whoNine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tellsher several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, else but most importantly, he tells her Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and forbids its time-altering powers.
On the wayservants to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it love -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with aTartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and Edya, she successfully hypnotises his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into accepting her dried-up well, and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the magic (due to innate resistance to it) run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and remains eventually was exiled on a snarky jerk.lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who
Arey tells
On the way
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Changed line(s) 396,412 (click to see context) from:
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
to:
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beastyet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just spied on her, only can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel:Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for,as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand theTransparent Spheres do have authority true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to pardon her, live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the information main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would''leak out to the Darkness kill him, and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkhnothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, andmove to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians at himself, for not seeing it before it became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, thespecial forces story of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne whatbetrayal, the whole mess is about: the Scroll story of Desires. Long death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, Yaraat and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail me used to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh lamentsbe friends... Whenever I remember that his body constantly needs I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects suchthings as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance betweenglobal powers like Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and muchDarkness, it requires the involvement of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that itthem both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents some third force. Using neutrality. He already has the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him),first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!two.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast
* GuardianAngel:
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for,
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would''
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him),
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
Changed line(s) 415,418 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Areylearns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and Daphne) blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and a team then destroys.
Out ofLight Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's teamboredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, interrupted by a duel magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes claims that it was sent by Daphne, and steals the box for itself behind their backs.wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Arey
Out of
In the resulting fight, Arey's team
Changed line(s) 420,447 (click to see context) from:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
to:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the magolodies Arey orders Daphne page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to use against give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it wasspecifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believingthat there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing in the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphonsafterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in field operations, as the gryphons your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one die outright, tend to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at be dim and weak, to the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explainspoint that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sworddoesn't bother with blood. Feed it down to taking them. This is the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard reason why not even the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first bookDarkness likes atheists: even when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can''evil, they don't empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiystill has enough Light in him deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to be able submit, only to absorb then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting page and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically theday would come for him pages about how to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with theLight and Darkness and Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinkingconvince himself that he wouldn't be able doesn't plan to eat nuts for at least some time after this.do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking
Changed line(s) 450,453 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphnesomehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which clearly tells claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks stressed and nearly kills Depresnyak, runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
follow it.
Meanwhile,at Mefodiy, who's still following the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get instead gets attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, hell wyrm, which allows them to easily defeat he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries loses consciousness due to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.pain.
Daphne
Meanwhile,
Changed line(s) 455,470 (click to see context) from:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
to:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles mocking signatures after every few words.
taking away someone's eidos.
*BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keepIdiotBall: Daphne alive falls for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure tothe mortal world. For now, it only manifested same trap as her falling ill Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says thatMefodiy, as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says at least she can feel that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy whenthey reacts he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag:Herman Durnev (from Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, theDark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits histalking head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful)be a trap, resulting in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable:Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays running into the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, whichhell wyrm, and nearly costs leading to him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.dying while fighting it.
*
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag:
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful)
* ThisIsUnforgivable:
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
Changed line(s) 473,476 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. Twelve. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, whenThirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talkingwith Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologiseshostage, and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to understand him, steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and trust him. She, become the ruler of Darkness in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and place of Ligul, he wants to take something important from her. far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy recognises before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him as Tukhlomon, from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him feel even more disgust towards lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself --but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he used has access to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become anything with the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Areythrough "Book of Chameleons": finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants to discuss something important.some time alone.
Daphne, when
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself --
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey
Changed line(s) 478,489 (click to see context) from:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
to:
* AccidentalTruth: AnswerCut: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Mefodiy and Daphne checks, realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and confirms Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it'sactually true. She starts asking either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him for details, from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey andlearns the story Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, triesresults. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to claim not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms thathe's she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'dread all martial arts books. Edya replies "helped" him by saying killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while hewrites them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries wheregoes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is Mefodiy, Edya inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries tosay use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain howcool and self-sustained him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he was in cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says eidos, as that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but way it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
would erase itself.
*ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since a choice: he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would notlet anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (asDaphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that die, or he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed may give up his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something''eidos to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believesYaraat. Daphne realises that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything,die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages towrite a dirge.break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how
*
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something''
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything,
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
Deleted line(s) 491,497 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Changed line(s) 499,519 (click to see context) from:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
to:
! ''The Third Horseman of
* Chapter One. ''Debut of
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and
*
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
Arey
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to
Out of boredom,
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's
Changed line(s) 521,527 (click to see context) from:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
to:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul "was sick" at the time]], only for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard Essiorkh to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to thepoint that the Darkness doesn't bother cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with taking them. This 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is thereason why colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly noteven the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't empower know about? In the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection onend of the blade of chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a dagger while keeping plank over it near your face in specific way.
as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure,Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims Daphne, accept that it's "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from Daphne]].the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
*ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals withTukhlomon's blackmail by pretending tuning his new bike to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about howbike originally was supposed to make be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a Light {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardianfall in love with you, while trying Angel. He has nothing to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.counter it.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure,
*
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian
Changed line(s) 530,533 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a messageTwo. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises fromtalking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims the kitchen. Thinking that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When possibly a robber, she tries to check where is Mefodiy, leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she only can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe she's actually intelligent.
Then thehead and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still followingwolf turns into a swan... but preserves the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, wound, which he barely kills when it crushes on him now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to pain.stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
Daphne receives a message
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from
Then the
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following
Changed line(s) 535,539 (click to see context) from:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
to:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to leave little flags hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
*IdiotBall: Daphne falls AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for thesame trap as Mefodiy, first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, andfalls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that possess someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is not very smart.
currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
*InertialImpalement: DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
ability to walk.
*MythologyGag: Amongst LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about theclients danger of losing control why in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly,Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talkinghead turns out with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into lose, listens to her and only asks the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dyingwhile fighting it.Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
*
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and
*
*
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly,
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
Changed line(s) 542,547 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to dragThree. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiyout from below notices the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him thatneither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, he was not, actually, the only person who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from inherited Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.situation changed.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag
Mefodiy
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Changed line(s) 549,573 (click to see context) from:
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
to:
* AnswerCut: When BerserkButton: Mefodiy and nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne realises to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough thatneither of it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find themhad sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice infront of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodiesorder to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the sake best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of art, not the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking abouttheir practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms thatEssiorkh; she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one whotries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning thatit's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killinghis family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, Ibed has some dark history (it used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter justbe a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriendhang himself while he goes to find some help, using one, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactivelychange "minor" detail, with major consequences. While mind at the idea to steal last moment, but the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen chair broke its leg, so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroysthe Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', andchair that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who
* TemptingFate: After learning that
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Changed line(s) 576,600 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
to:
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=]
*
*
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty
* Chapter Six. ''Fall
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where
According to Whimper,
On the way back,
Daphne meets
Changed line(s) 602,616 (click to see context) from:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course EmbarrassingLastName: One of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower giftedfirst things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the partner loves you. If it's pink, guy who bullied him about it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour had accidentally bitten off a half of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality andblack means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magicinterest to transform them into weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whateveryou want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed thatstuff available; Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the first signs smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates isher actually starting gaining heigh, which normally imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) fromend the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,entire universe, be it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery,Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only to be then drown two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper inTartarus -- right below the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes thathe's the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from "another department", it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him toshut up once he realises "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important thatit may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she already made a note treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, and even suspects that if he's It's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
possible to shut her up.
*SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things,called "Petruccho"; he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working onforbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it. mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery,
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that
*
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things,
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
Changed line(s) 619,622 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys andOther Animals'']]
At night, Irka hearsa girl around his age; the weird noises from guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the kitchen. Thinking way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that it's possibly a robber, she Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries toleave us her magic on him, and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her wheelchair. Realising in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, has to follow him, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and
At night, Irka hears
Nata immediately tries to
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
Changed line(s) 624,636 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
to:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it use magic to deal with being trapped attackers; it results in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the ghosts -- those aren't attached guys to the bodies, ground and are free scaring them to go wherever they want.
no end.
*AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge,he manages to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected,shake it off after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The facttwenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that she still remembers how it normally takes two-three minutes to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrieachieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which indid this verse look like with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some[[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and key traits in her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells thatfirst appearance: she's a Valkyrie eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy tothe mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
*
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge,
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected,
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
Changed line(s) 639,642 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
MefodiySeven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne noticesthe traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Areysummons Mefodiy, with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access tohim the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much smaller parts of them. Until attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, there was no need Mefodiy and Daphne have to bother, but find the situation changed.third gifted kid.
Mefodiy
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to
Changed line(s) 644,651 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword,{{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is strong enough that it may attack interested in claiming the first person Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest what Mefodiy with it, though says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tellsrefuses (which Mefodiy that, notices), for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne andcan't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
*CallBack: ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns outand hears that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as it's he who calls the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); whenshots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on theinternal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease:word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
comments on how weird it sounds.
*TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a part of mortal trap), phrase which Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiyfeels so much hatred to replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins thechair game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it gets set ablaze. was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword,
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and
*
* TheChosenMany: Turns out
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the
* ShipTease:
*
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the
Changed line(s) 654,657 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. Eight. ''A King Without Retinue is Like Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill aBiker Without bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a Bike'']]
Edyamessage, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goesinto conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client address provided. Moshkin turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, extremely awkward and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who'seccentric, but Irka still unlucky learns about his gift -- he can control water, in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper away -- just in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful time to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a
Edya
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes
Zozo (who's
Changed line(s) 659,666 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with women), but then pretends Babanya, used to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya referencesalways wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the story about his creepy babysitter, symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiantswould be tall, handsome, galant actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) andsingle, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved cowardly (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so afraid of literally everything); when asked why he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacioussaid that it's "serious", he claims that he would get meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered withit (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; swan transformation, but not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the storywolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper,which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effectappearance of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability tosee through magic disguise; control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it'show he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling withhim (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story
* SueDonym: Whimper,
* TrueSight: As a side effect
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
Changed line(s) 669,672 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus Nine. ''Kind and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, whichFluffy Fiend'']]
Areyidentifies gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the part of Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the DreadfulGates Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically,the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and yet, but must find out before it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".too late.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which
Arey
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically,
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Changed line(s) 674,683 (click to see context) from:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
to:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of thefirst things Petruccho Chimodanov tells four inheritors to Daphne kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of hissurname spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not''related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states say that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not''
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
Changed line(s) 686,689 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, butTen. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, stillefficient). After that, the girl reveals in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Natahe "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to us scam her magic on out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when Mefodiy manages she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him toshake it off, turns out answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that he spent twenty minutes fighting off Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that she has magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to follow him, as she's waited for.marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but
Whimper, still
Nata
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to
Changed line(s) 691,696 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
to:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn malesTheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics selling her eidos, and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and he intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages toshake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that it normally takes two-three minutes he plans to achieve full control, destroy Daphne's and it's easy Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to overdo, driving person insane (she be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually did this calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, withher teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in herfirst appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists onpart being called "Nata".loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on
Changed line(s) 699,704 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colourEleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable topink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down summon Antigonius, but when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magichis look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when they enter said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy she nearly alienates him, but then she realises that Arey is messing how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact withthe guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy him. She also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers renames him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... Butinto "Antigon", as it's a question easier for another time; for now, Mefodiy her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphnehave to find -- and the third gifted kid.magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour
Irka was consistently unable to
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne
Changed line(s) 706,713 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower whichis interested in claiming the Dark residence, and Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to what Mefodiy Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka saysto offer to sell the building, "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels relief offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he refuses (which gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiynotices), for the reasons known (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", onlyto himself.
complaining that he can't get more.
*HateAtFirstSight: InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Natadon't come along right from the start, in her dream, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hearsfeels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if hewho calls returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when theshots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular,sun is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only
*
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular,
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
Changed line(s) 716,719 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts toMeet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka,teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing what that it would happen be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if Babanya the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and findsher outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and three more holes. He realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya Kvodnon wants to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the put three other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to seekids besides Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to regain her human form.Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to
Irka,
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see
Changed line(s) 721,730 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
to:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol say one piece of her helplessness wisdom after each seven years period, and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actuallyshow those legs; ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's toobad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
*BlatantLies:
** Moshkin saysCrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey hasa "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it'ssmall (it weighs less than one kilogram) cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf formArey just dodges them, while at Moshkin's house (something about continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls whichshe was warned), resulting in her transforming were once put into wolf his darkh, and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power isthey assist him as the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transformsdark chorus which brainwashes people put into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing fromholes in the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too
*
** Moshkin says
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
Changed line(s) 733,738 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, andFluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skepticalhe blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy then snaps and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Darkresidence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
Changed line(s) 740,750 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as heBeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested inactually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the an undercover Light too much Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans tocare about steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that theDarkness' survival.
situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
*GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not stop until just steals the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores meal, but gives a part of it to the fact other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), eventually result in them getting married, and that without mortals, later their son Michael moving to the Darkness would starve USA, to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magicimplement new method of the Dreadful Gates money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love whilethinks it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.something innocent]].
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the
*
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
Changed line(s) 753,756 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Fourteen. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, sayingUnity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka thathe "can't live without her" -- tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answerother three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last piece of kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off thepuzzle (why Whimper gave ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphnethat should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes snake and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and get sucked out then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to Tartarus.him losing control over body).
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying
Antigon tells Irka that
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne
Changed line(s) 758,761 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroyDaphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy'slove, own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is becausethe Darkness considers this to be too dangerous he was cursed, as a punishment for their cause, [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, butbefore he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried toseduce kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids intogiving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of holes in the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based onbasement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.ritual.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but
-->'''Arey''': I tried to
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
Changed line(s) 764,769 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irkawas consistently unable goes to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", asfind Mefodiy before it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- andtoo late, but the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be ride on his good side. Additionally, bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried theflower hurts Daphne's trust blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if itgets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease comes to be this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a threat. Irka horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and uses magic indeed, Arey pretends to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, butLigul is already gone.suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but
Changed line(s) 771,785 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: BigDamnHeroes: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so shereplaces it can go on a date with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,Essiorkh, confirming that the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting not just her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to doflirting with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments him, and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes thathe's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms time, Kvodnon was put down when she "corrects" herself to calling for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made himenemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut abilitytoo weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn'tbe used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
**kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligulmentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to surpassed you... Go on! Kill the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plansboy! Or you're attached to use poppy flower him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed tocorrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Natapar the strike with her rapier, resulting in her dream, being knocked out instead of killed, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that ifKvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them sayattention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states thatI assisted Kvodnon and the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's unfair, but, if far too late to return to Light; he returns has ''no'' loyalty to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, whenpassing the sun is at its strongest.rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't
**
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when
Deleted line(s) 787,791 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Changed line(s) 793,810 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
! ''The Ticket to the
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about
*
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and
*
*
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Zozo is
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but
Changed line(s) 812,817 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was actually just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with anundercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plansidea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that"be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and mages may try to use send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it against her.
can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
*ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
*DatingCatwoman: Turns out IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic),same ring which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows once belonged that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about whatit means, and she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it'ssomething innocent]].close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that
*
*
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic),
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 820,825 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. Two. ''The Unity of Ice Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha andFlame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill MefodiyArey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and the other three kids, and rebirth in attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy'sbody. He regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).here...
Ulitha and
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Changed line(s) 827,845 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula:BadassInDistress: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne,was arrested on Ligul's orders, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current hostis one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them allnow imprisoned in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught andwouldn't be, until Kvodnon killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it getsMefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigondiscovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was forced to serve his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex theValkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or creatures are, the longer it would increase take them to fifteen thousands. If Irka fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really''insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocksbad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's strike, imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Areysays presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept thatby killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her,he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one whotook over ''doesn't'' miss her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holesfamily and prefers staying in the basement; now he Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them onlyneeds Mefodiy in specific place at specific time ''more'' annoying, due to complete the ritual.way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* TheCaligula:
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne,
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets
* NoodleIncident: Antigon
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really''
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks
* PlayingWithFire: Arey
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her,
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 848,855 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, butThree. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her thetime last news: Arey is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for it, as Irka Essiorkh himself, he can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whencontact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkhawakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a swordbrings Irka to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and materialises reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the massive ghostly figure next keeper of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can proceed with give whomever owns it the plan, Irka, Antigon power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete everyone, from the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka mages to throw her spear, which destroys Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain thespirit.
Arey awakesStone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, presumably died, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says now, it seems that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
When Essiorkh
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword
They've failed to gain the
Arey awakes
Changed line(s) 857,864 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka(with asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh'shelp) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, magic even does anything, and defeat reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
*DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can go on give its owner a date with Essiorkh, confirming that strength of will to walk the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never ablepath to step over people. their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is becauseit's far too late so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path toreturn your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to Light; go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to thedeaths others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of hisfamily).house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's
*
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Changed line(s) 867,890 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
*
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat,
Felix and his friends decided to push the
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses,
Changed line(s) 892,920 (click to see context) from:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
to:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom he supposedly defeated Edya previously saw while trying to spread sell the rumours prophecy about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched image. Later, Edya makes the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame forher. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make stealing on him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to(it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelinato give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
pay Morjuev a visit.
*FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole"accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
crossbow... seven times.
*{{Foreshadowing}}: BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelinais afraid warns Edya that mages serving her sister may try result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone tosend the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, andwhen it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago,one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received thinks that same ring which once belonged if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that way]].
*** For thetime has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the costsake of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope,"justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that,and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intendedEdya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brotherit wouldn't matter, as Edya by alone.
has almost no time left until Felix returns.
*SuperPersistentPredator: OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decidespanics when she realises that the fairy is real, painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and starts talking they ''would'' connect it with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
stealing important artifact.
*TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners:RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirtingshe sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in themole, only to dump him lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumbit, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and useless would soon find out. When he ''truly'' was, so says that it was her sister who's told him, she may remain in power.goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina
*
* ForcedTransformation: The mole
*
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina
** Both sisters were prone to
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago,
*** For the
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope,
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that,
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother
*
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides
*
* WrittenByTheWinners:
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb
Changed line(s) 923,926 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. Six. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leavedClay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays toTartarus for some unspecified reason, distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the rest stayed in painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey,new hideout he'd sent someone else, and prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says thatnew "mentor" is already here...they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Ulitha and Arey have leaved
Essiorkh stays to
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey,
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that
Changed line(s) 928,942 (click to see context) from:
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
to:
* BadassInDistress: Arey ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast wasarrested making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on Ligul's orders, the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down andis now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
formally introduces himself.
*BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspectingTheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she mayregret it just get stuck in the future; for animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In thesame reason, he didn't end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho(and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
they would meet again.
*DeadlineNews: SuperPersistentPredator: The reporter who moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried tospy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamiteslip into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complexthe creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says breach. The creature that smarter ones can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for theage of thirteen, she turns gnome's pipe which creates the tables magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to study!), and then walk around retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with[[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy missesa magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. Whendark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet againcan't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}}talk with Nata; she's her, as the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that thismagic would make them only ''more'' annoying, due kill Babanya to uphold the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and
*
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho
*
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}}
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 945,950 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood.Seven. ''Not Very Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from theBald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Not Mountain'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the
Changed line(s) 952,969 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
to:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
calm like "well-fed ghoul".
*AskAStupidQuestion: BigWhat: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he Ulitha says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, they gotta move, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in may miss the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially"last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she carelessly asks whether what the hell she was on means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open acarriage (meaning wheelchair), vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then turns out does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her thathe mistook ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain herwith someone else, and her comment anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne forher talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Romano apparent reason. Daphne tries to hit on Irka; ignore her and hold up her anger, but his flirting and rhetoric skills have fails. When she makes a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going oncold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': EvenEden, when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, andshe got similarly angry at one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and notleave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff. corridor".
*
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not
Changed line(s) 972,975 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement asEight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Wizards Laughs'']]
Arey's replacement as
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Deleted line(s) 977,995 (click to see context) :
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 998,1001 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. Nine. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tellHare Who Didn't Care about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Wolves'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Deleted line(s) 1003,1015 (click to see context) :
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
Changed line(s) 1018,1021 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Deleted line(s) 1023,1037 (click to see context) :
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
Changed line(s) 1040 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Deleted line(s) 1042,1048 (click to see context) :
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
Changed line(s) 1051 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
Changed line(s) 1055 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
Changed line(s) 1059 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Fourteen. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
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[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Changed line(s) 1065,1092 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
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Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
to:
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a -- a disabled wunderkind girl).girl, whom he can entrust with his insecurities, like his recurring nightmare about the marble coffin which contains ''something'' and calls for him, yet poses some unknown danger. Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the boy.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: The Middle Lands and the Temple of Eternal Battle are neither Light nor Dark -- in fact, it's quite possible that they are older than either -- and serves only one purpose: to protect the absolute power; power neutral by itself and willing to serve whoever passes the challenge of the Labyrinth.
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mage.
to:
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir Drevnir, extremely important figure in the magic history, could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mage.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Temple of Eternal Battle contains the labyrinth of dark-and-white plates (most of which [[EverythingTryingToKillYou contains invisible deadly traps]]), which can only be mastered by two persons, one of which would represent the Darkness (with some Light still remaining inside), while another would represent the Light (with first traces of Darkness starting developing inside). Ligul is the first one to deduce that this was one of the reasons why no one ever managed to pass the labyrinth, and forces Daphne (a renegade Light Guardian) to go with Mefodiy, realising that she is that second person. While Mefodiy did most of the work, it was Daphne who saved him from the very last trap (which was unavoidable) by giving him her winged necklace, thus protecting him, but dooming herself to fall in love with him.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The rune Daphne used to steal the Minotaur Horn, as a side effect, can cause its user to do reckless deeds -- like trying to assassinate your boss with a deadly poison. However, in the last chapter, it gets revealed that it was not her who poisoned Troil; on Ligul's orders, Yaraat has brainwashed [[WeakWilled Berenariy]] into doing this. In fact, he was also the one who manipulated Troil into sending her on this quest to begin with, and ordering her to take the Horn with her.
Changed line(s) 74,75 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
to:
** The Minotaur Horn finally serves its purpose in the last chapter, when Mefodiy takes it from Daphne and uses as the key to open the coffin.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the firstplace.
place. And when the story later returns back to Mefodiy, he uses information he got from Viy to convince Areye that he should spare Daphne.
*TheChosenOne: Turns TheChosenOne:
** Besides being the inheritor of [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] powers, Mefodiy is also the only one who may pass through the Temple of Eternal Battle. Emphasis on ''may'': he still may fail its challenge and die; he's just the only one who has a ''chance'' to pass. Whatever the Temple contains, both the Light and the Darkness wish to obtain it for themselves. How Mefodiy passes it? By using his powers to actually ''see'' what each of the plates does, so he may forge his own path through the Labyrinth, with Daphne following him close second. Then turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord ofLight.Light.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Daphne. She seemingly matters little in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because it would only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne (Ligul is the first to realise it and insist on her going as well; it would later be revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being sent on a mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first
*
** Besides being the inheritor of [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] powers, Mefodiy is also the only one who may pass through the Temple of Eternal Battle. Emphasis on ''may'': he still may fail its challenge and die; he's just the only one who has a ''chance'' to pass. Whatever the Temple contains, both the Light and the Darkness wish to obtain it for themselves. How Mefodiy passes it? By using his powers to actually ''see'' what each of the plates does, so he may forge his own path through the Labyrinth, with Daphne following him close second. Then turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Daphne. She seemingly matters little in the great balance of things, but she ''does'' matter for the Temple, because it would only accept two persons -- one representing the Darkness with the Light inside (Mefoidy)... and the one representing the Light with the Darkness inside, which is Daphne (Ligul is the first to realise it and insist on her going as well; it would later be revealed that he purposely orchestrated her being sent on a mission to begin with, for that exact reason. She indeed turns out to be crucial for success, because if not for her, Mefodiy would have died in the very last trap of the Labyrinth.
* DecapitatedArmy: All it took for the army of Darkness to give up and retreat, despite being close to the total victory, is Kvodnon being killed.
** This book is much closer to Yemets's previous works -- relatively light-hearted, humour-driven and surreal adventure. While the "surreal" part wouldn't go anywhere, the tone would permanently shift to the dark in the very next novel (and keep going darker), making it oddball in the series to a degree.
** This is the only book where the Darkness's domain is called "Hades". Any subsequent books would call it "Tartarus" instead.
** This is the only book where the Darkness's domain is called "Hades". Any subsequent books would call it "Tartarus" instead.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: In the Temple of Eternal Battle, the only thing that separates you from the treasure it keeps is the long path of black-and-white plates placed in a chess-like pattern. The problem is, nearly every plate contains magic traps which would kill you in ''many'' different ways, ranging from simple [[KillItWithFire incinerating plates]] to more sophisticated ones, like the one which would force you to fight with yourself while thinking that you faced your worst enemy, or the one which would force you to run in one place until you die, or the one which would force you to laugh until you die, or... the variations are countless. To make matters worse, you can't see what each plate does until you step on it, you can't return once you enter it until you either finish or die (the Temple ''would'' detect such attempts, and punish them), and it keeps changing plates' pattern on the move. Naturally, [[TheChosenOne Mefodiy]] (who represents the Darkness with some Light stay inside him) is the only one who ''may'' pass it, if he plays his cards right, and even then only if he would be accompanied by someone who would represents the Light with the seed of Darkness, so together they would represent duality, which the Temple is all about.
* FeetOfClay: During prologue, Sardanapal mentions Ligul as one of the bets fighters of the Darkness. In the last chapter, Ligul shows that he's a ''terrible'' combatant and a DirtyCoward. Most likely, all the stories about his greatness were just the propaganda.
* GeniusLoci: it's ''heavily'' implied that the Temple has some mind of its own, and can detect (and reject) those it deems unworthy. In particular, when one of the voodoo mages has tried to escape, he was killed ''exactly'' one step away from the exit, as if the Temple wanted to show that you can't go back the same way you entered.
* TheGhost: Yaraat, the rogue shapeshifter who hunts for Mefodiy, gets frequently mentioned, but never shows up in person, despite playing crucial role in the story's events, as gets revealed in the final chapter. Mefodiy just barely avoids running into him while at the Temple, but Yaraat leaves before Mefodiy exits.
* TheGhost: Yaraat, the rogue shapeshifter who hunts for Mefodiy, gets frequently mentioned, but never shows up in person, despite playing crucial role in the story's events, as gets revealed in the final chapter. Mefodiy just barely avoids running into him while at the Temple, but Yaraat leaves before Mefodiy exits.
* GrandTheftMe: Mefodiy gets tricked by Hoors to lower his defence, allowing Hoors to [[DemonicPossession steal his body completely]], leaving him as merely a "passenger" somewhere in the deep. Hoors only gives up the body when he learns that it's [[TheChosenOne Mefodiy]] whose body he took over, as he's not willing to risk the cause of the Darkness... at least until Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
* IgnorantOfTheCall: Everyone tells Mefodiy that he's TheChosenOne. Mefodiy has troubles with accepting that, still being convinced that he's a loser with no notable qualities.
Changed line(s) 145 (click to see context) from:
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel (who was wielding that sword in his last battle).
to:
* ItCanThink: ItCanThink:
** Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel (who was wielding that sword in his lastbattle).battle).
** The Minotaur's Horn is not just rather vile (fitting for the Dark artifact); it has some mind-controlling abilities, which it uses to force Daphne into bringing it where it would fulfil its purpose.
** Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel (who was wielding that sword in his last
** The Minotaur's Horn is not just rather vile (fitting for the Dark artifact); it has some mind-controlling abilities, which it uses to force Daphne into bringing it where it would fulfil its purpose.
** To tell us ''how'' dangerous the Temple of Eternal Battle is, Arey tells Mefodiy a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force it (to reduce risks, they used mise and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress, describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to being killed just one step away from exit; Arey presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it all the way until this moment just to show: there's no going back; once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. Last one freaked out as well, and decided to just not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* NearVillainVictory: In backstory, during the deciding battle between the forces of Light and Darkness, the Light almost lost when the Darkness [[HellInvadesHeaven besieged Eden itself]]. Then twelve brave Gold-Winged Guardians assaulted [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] tent. [[HeroicSacrifice All of them died]], but they managed to [[DeaderThanDead annihilate him so thoroughly]] that he would ''never'' recover from it, being unable to return even as commissioner.
Changed line(s) 228 (click to see context) from:
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Drevnir's sword was a noble weapon of Light, until it was captured by the forces of Darkness. Now, Ligul slowly corrupts it, making it progressively darker and eviler, hoping to eventually turn it into a weapon of evil without it [[ItCanThink ever noticing it]].
to:
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Drevnir's sword was a noble weapon of Light, until it was captured by the forces of Darkness. Now, Ligul slowly corrupts corrupted it, making it progressively darker and eviler, eviler with each crime committed with it, hoping to eventually turn it into a weapon of evil without it [[ItCanThink ever noticing it]].it]]. Believing that he succeeded, he gives the weapon (now turned into sword again) to Mefodiy.
Changed line(s) 257 (click to see context) from:
* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: According to Yagge, almost no magic can work in the Middle Lands, not even the powers of Light and Darkness.
to:
* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: According to Yagge, almost no magic can work in the Middle Lands, not even the powers of Light and Darkness. Later it gets revealed that even Light Guardians' wings are disabled there. Daphne's winged necklace's calming effect ''does'' work, however.
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Changed line(s) 3,17 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Midnight Mage''
* Prologue
* Chapter One. ''The Moon Reflection''
* Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda''
* Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window''
* Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden''
* Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend''
* Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend''
* Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt''
* Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed''
* Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening''
* Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness''
* Prologue
* Chapter One. ''The Moon Reflection''
* Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda''
* Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window''
* Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden''
* Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend''
* Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend''
* Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt''
* Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed''
* Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening''
* Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness''
to:
* Prologue
* Chapter One. ''The Moon Reflection''
* Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda''
* Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window''
* Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden''
* Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend''
* Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend''
* Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt''
* Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed''
* Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening''
* Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness''
Back on Earth, Mefodiy, as a cover story, gets accepted into elite gymnasium "Treasure of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich, who's actually one of Darkness' mortal servants. Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy gets assigned some easy paper work, which is when he meets Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- the "Seniour Manager of Necrodepartment", or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper. She's here not just to drink with her old friend Arey; she wants to warn that Yaraat has escaped his custody, and would now likely hunt for Mefodiy, believing him responsible for his imprisonment. Arey, convinced that they have some time before Yaraat starts acting, sends Mefodiy back to Glumovich, giving him the Book of Chameleons to communicate.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind. Bored, Mefodiy accidentally uses the Book of Chameleons to connect to magic news channel, and learns that renegade Light Guardian named Daphne is on the run after stealing dangerous artifact, the Horn of Minotaur. At night, Skunso cooperates with his lackeys to humiliate Mefodiy, but gets shown his place when Mefodiy finally manages to make his magic work.
Meanwhile at Eden, Daphne, using some questionable magic (with side effects including temporal madness) steals the Horn of Minotaur and escapes. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn his whereabouts. On the way out, she accidentally helps Tukhlomon who nearly got banished to Tartarus, but in process causes two Light Guardians to lose their wings. She then forces Tukhlomon into leading her to Mefodiy.
While Daphne was busy looking for Mefodiy, Mefodiy just received a package: a sword that once belonged to Drevnir, which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey, and which now would belong to Mefodiy, obeying his commands and responding to his every thoughts and emotions. After making sure that the sword accepted Mefodiy, Arey trains his intuition, leading to Mefodiy realising that they have a visitor... a female Light Guardian.
Tukhlomon immediately tries to backstab Daphne and suggests Arey to kill her. Arey ignores him and lets Daphne inside. After hearing he story, he lets her stay, ordering to hide at Glumovich's for a time being, under fake name.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs that the plans have changed; they can't wait until Mefodiy hits thirteen, he must be in the Temple tomorrow, or never. Additionally, Daphne should be there too (yes, Ligul already knows; no, not from Tukhlomon). Arey summons the two, and explains about the Temple of Eternal Battle. As Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent yet, they have to summon a spirit of Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was second after Arey until he fell in a duel with him. Mefodiy gets taught a safety technique, which should prevent Hooros from usurping his body, but he botches it and lets Hoors take over; Hoors nearly overpowers Arey, but agrees to leave once he hears whose body he stole, putting the needs of Darkness above his vengeance, for now.
Arey escorts the two to the Temple, but stays behind, feeling that only the two are allowed inside. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense all traps, carefully leading Daphne to the heart of Temple. But the last plate refuses to reveal its secrets, and, since it's unavoidable, Mefodiy steps on it... only to start fighting with himself, believing that he's fighting his evil doppelganger. Before he kills himself, Daphne calms him down by putting her winged necklace on him, remembering too late that it would make her fall in love with him. They enter the room together, finding the marble coffin from Mefodiy's nightmares. Mefodiy realises that the Horn was manipulating Daphne all this time, to make her bring it to this room, where it serves its last purpose, opening the coffin like a key of sort. Inside, Mefodiy finds the power; unlimited power that would be his one day, if he ever becomes ready to accept it -- and it would be his own choice, whether to use it for evil, or for good. With its treasure claimed, Temple lets them out safely -- and they find Arey and Ligul, the latter slightly injured: it's Ligul who let Yaraat out, and Yaraat, on Ligul's orders, who arranged for Daphne's mission; they also tried to get rid of Arey, but failed. Unfortunately, Yaraat escaped and who knows when he would show up again...
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
to:
* AnachronicOrder: When AnachronicOrder:
** In the third chapter, when Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back toMefodiy.Mefodiy.
** The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
** In the third chapter, when Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to
** The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
to:
* AnimalMotifs: AnimalMotifs:
** Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as ahuman".human".
** Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
** Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a
** Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArchEnemy: In the fifth chapter, Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice:
** Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
** {{Invoked|Trope}} with Daphne's cover identity. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up his report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
** Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
** {{Invoked|Trope}} with Daphne's cover identity. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up his report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it without cover is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy early in the second chapter also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy early in the second chapter also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the longrun.run.
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
** The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy early in the second chapter also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
** The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. The following chapter returns to Daphne and tells how she ended up on the run in the first place.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
Changed line(s) 51 (click to see context) from:
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
to:
* DirtyCoward: DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* DePower:
** Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
** Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward:
** Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them fromcommissioners.commissioners.
** Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* DePower:
** Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
** Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward:
** Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from
** Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
to:
* DudeNotFunny: DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* DudeNotFunny:
** When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family'sexpense.expense.
** Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DudeNotFunny:
** When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's
** Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
Changed line(s) 58,59 (click to see context) from:
** Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
** Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
** Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
to:
** In the prologue, it gets told Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
** In the third chapter, it gets revealed that Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only oneremains...remains...
** In the tenth chapter, Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a lighthouse on the distant island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
** In the third chapter, it gets revealed that Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one
** In the tenth chapter, Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a lighthouse on the distant island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But it later would be established that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But it later would be established that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden; he may fall comatose, but can't actually die.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
** The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness. At the Residence, Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey; he just rats her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
** The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness. At the Residence, Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey; he just rats her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
Changed line(s) 73 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne Aida Plakhovna says that putting her winged necklace on she got a mortal list of people who would cause her to fall in love die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy The information known to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel (who was wielding that sword in his last battle).
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel (who was wielding that sword in his last battle).
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
Changed line(s) 105 (click to see context) from:
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
to:
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor. Later, Daphne actually gets accepted into the team, albeit not without suspicions.
** Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
Changed line(s) 113 (click to see context) from:
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Sardanapal [[LectureAsExposition explains]] what the eidos is, and why it's so important:
to:
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Early in the fifth chapter, Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi, as he's about to work with them for the first time.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: In the prologue, Sardanapal [[LectureAsExposition explains]] what the eidos is, and why it's so important:
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Early in the fifth chapter, Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi, as he's about to work with them for the first time.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: In the prologue, Sardanapal [[LectureAsExposition explains]] what the eidos is, and why it's so important:
* PunBasedTitle: Names for chapters nine and eight are puns based on Russian proverbs.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* ShipTease:
** Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
** Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* ShipTease:
** Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
** Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his, and doesn't even try to stay professional about it.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his, and doesn't even try to stay professional about it.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
* TooDumbToLive:
** Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing, while we already know that he's lazy.
** For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kill her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
--->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
** One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
** Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing, while we already know that he's lazy.
** For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kill her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
--->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
** One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
Changed line(s) 158,163 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
to:
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: ChapterFive. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts workingOne. ''Rendezvous with stamping reports from Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners andsuccubi (the low-level servants succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of Darkness), until fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a visitor comes, great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Grim Reaper herself. She's Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here todrink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learninghelp her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least he's looking rather... weird for a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place Guardian Angel, clearly looking like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which a biker. Then again, who else can be used a Guardian Angel for communication, if needed.someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to
Learning
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
Changed line(s) 165,192 (click to see context) from:
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
to:
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]]Babel; when Mefodiy he was born, on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) suggested them to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with"build a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that little tower", so they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big andadmiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; tothreatening, but he's nice and friendly, not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign upa document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it biker is because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy{{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darknessuse a host -- and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lyingchoice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna playsdog would've been not the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she'sperfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's Mefodiy) -- an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularlyawkward guy in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whetherthe gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into body of a wall), then scarily-looking biker. She comments on her being a good shot, as Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she hit right into forehead.
learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
*SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees somethingfishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather",and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinksfeels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something fishy; wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he'sready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': Iforbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don'tlike it! Something respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which isfishy! Had they asked straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up forat least the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's somethingin return, it would've been plausible, but completely fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies forfree like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. Wethem, they don't scam. But, the price care if a dozen or two of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They them gets wasted to killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping thepoint Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that you can force them something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to pay for any expensive whiskey.a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]]
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying
** Aida Plakhovna plays
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether
*
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather",
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's
-->'''Edya''': I
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the
Changed line(s) 195,200 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull'']]
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of theYellow Skull'']]
high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy gets settled into a same room are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a haughty guy lopukhoid named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiyhis place, and generally shows Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that he Ligul doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy triesdare to check claim being the Book master of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn Darkness, being "merely" a chief of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.chancellory.
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the
From Ulitha, Mefodiy
Bored, Mefodiy tries
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
Changed line(s) 202,214 (click to see context) from:
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
to:
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turnsis still active as the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, outchief of curiosity, uses the Book British Department of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tellsabout Daphne going on Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the run, capturing the Horn lives of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it'sgonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaksbecause you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out and faints at what matters the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul,most likely so for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit fromowning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon ishis way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasuryafraid of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) you, and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunsohates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, andhis lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate on you, and on Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do doesn't matter whom or what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, bothbetray, because he sees his dirty aura, already betrayed everything and because he knows everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of theguy has sold two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if hissoul control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darknessand now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
collects, for unknown purpose...
*SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viystill can't take well that someone else's show learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is morepopular than his.
concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
*TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that Mefodiy should call he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him "Vovva", her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, to show him and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says hisplace.name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul,
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness
*
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more
*
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
Changed line(s) 217,220 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. Three. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (someMinister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, whichcan cause temporal madness he stores in user) unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens tosteal shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only prepares to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are leave, but then remembers about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliyone important thing, and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning scares Ogurtsov into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not only stole the Horn, but also tried forgetting to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point make a fun of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.him beforehand.
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy
Changed line(s) 222,241 (click to see context) from:
* AnachronicOrder: The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
to:
* AnachronicOrder: The chapter AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts withDaphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole explanation what the Horn of Minotaur phobias and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the runemanias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which imprisoned him, planning "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to exploit statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two outrid of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentionedfact that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violationbest proof of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One ofGold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon;''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufinsays that Troil is poisoned and on he received the brink of death. But later instalments would say wrong request document. When pointed that it's not possible he's supposed to actually die while in Eden.
be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
*EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Basevich Ogurtsov into compliance giving up his eidos by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oaththat he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However,he's suspecting him about to be some sort kiss him, exploiting his phobia of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of germs. To reinforce the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out
** It's mentioned
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation
* NeverMyFault: One of
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon;
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin
*
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However,
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
Changed line(s) 244,247 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy as its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with his wrath.
But it's not the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy as its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with his wrath.
But it's not the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son usedFour. ''How Many Sixes in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiyas its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with him to a party thrown by his wrath.
Butold friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it'snot clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices feels that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a female Light Guardian.second chance. But for what purpose?
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used
Arey takes Mefodiy
But
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's
Changed line(s) 249,258 (click to see context) from:
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
to:
* CombatClairvoyance: AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn'tuse have anything to bet but his normal vision]]) and ordering him eidos (and refusing to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, ''would'' lose, and crotches... Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which is allows him to win by reaching exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease:21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne(which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices points out that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}:it makes no sense, Ulitha has makes a game where she calls on random phone number, "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says somethinglike "it's me!" about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion andmaintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping ruined a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow:Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability orders Mamai to see things drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in any way quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos throughintuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forceswork because Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.somehow wins nonetheless.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease:
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne
* {{Troll}}:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and
* YouDoNotWantToKnow:
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
Changed line(s) 261,264 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstabFive. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphneyet meets Essiorkh again, by ratting who tells her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit ifusing magic in this district, so she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also can't stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Tukhlomon tries to backstab
Daphne
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Changed line(s) 266,274 (click to see context) from:
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
to:
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne isgonna hide in ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasiumas well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother with to actually memorising it. Now check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it'sup because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne to not botch her disguise by assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doingsomething stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
*BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon triesNoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to pretend his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced thathe's it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy'sfriend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was"traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphnewho'd done this, which he tells arrives to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission asMefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good ideamother (because Essiorkhs advised her to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks live here until the flute out Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her hands rather than kills her on magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see thespot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting outextremely ugly cat who became a flute in front victim of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun every single mad scientist in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.world!
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing
*
** Tukhlomon tries
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the
-->'''Arey''': Putting out
Changed line(s) 277,280 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul paysSix. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Areya visit, and informs him learns that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be second box has just materialised in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons(along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne Daphne) and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit a team of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he Light Guardians would handle contest it.
In thefighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, him, and even then, Hoors threatens to return he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some day after Mefodiy fulfils third party intervenes and steals the prophecy.box for itself behind their backs.
Near midnight, Ligul pays
Arey
Arey summons
In the
Changed line(s) 282,294 (click to see context) from:
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
to:
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy howspecifically designed to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't fight, Hoors would do be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that for him if needed. there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy botches it due actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According tofalling Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go intoa trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''':Life is, for There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the mostpart, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when secure treaties -- the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in ones which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it endedwere never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy totie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because hedoesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
*DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath:CallBack: Arey tells teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given hisduel with Hoors several centuries ago, tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was would allow the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Light Guardians were already banned by Ligul. to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Areyrefuses uses this technique to tell increase the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with power of Daphne's combat magic during the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, astraining session, when she deliberately decreased the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him strength of her magolodies to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking overnot harm Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils (thus wasting the prophecy]].
lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}:Aida Plakhovna says Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that she got the day would come for him to make a list choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer peoplewho would die soon than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's Mefodiy's name, but no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it'swritten by pencil. Arey later explains not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there'ssuch thing as the "free graph" -- a third side, when two-three names gets written by pencil, some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it'sclear that one of them standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would die soon, always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but it's not yet certain ''who'', with exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad finalresult getting known only after in the fact -- sometimes years later. When box". He then asks Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than whether he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but wants one. Mefodiy realises politely refuses, thinking that he knows the answer, or wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude andsome sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.time after this.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''':
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he
*
* DuelToTheDeath:
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
Changed line(s) 297,304 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. Seven. ''The Child Key of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy andNothing'']]
Daphneto the Temple, somehow falls sick with angina, and stays behind, at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly feeling tells that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, no one else but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting withYaraat himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps intoScroll.
Meanwhile, at theroom, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Dark residence, Mefodiy realises wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises time, tells him that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, mortal world starts affecting her, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger,slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat all along: he was and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the one who set him free, thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.Scroll as well.
Arey escorts Mefodiy and
Daphne
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with
The two steps into
Meanwhile, at the
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger,
Changed line(s) 306,316 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate before AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the door turns out Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to beunavoidable trap, which forces honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is tofight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to try and kill them both, Daphne Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is forced to put her sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- leaves, lamenting that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
alive for a time being.
*TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy aligns himself with... but that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord middle of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other,Summer, no matter how close they were before, less), but if it wouldn't stop on just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses tostep on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey whilehelp Mefodiy is (who's in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul process of being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to run, abandoning convince the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to bethug that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment:it's amoral. When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which makes you too lazy leads to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]]Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it never actually existed.
**applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphnenever tried from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to poison Troil; stop him, and Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, withDaphne greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mindSoftSpokenSadist with overwhelming joy, and cause them [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to blindly rush to another plate, to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their doom.pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to
*
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other,
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment:
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]]
**
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Changed line(s) 319,340 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
to:
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with
*
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key
*
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by
Arey
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness
Changed line(s) 342,356 (click to see context) from:
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
to:
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for ComplexityAddiction: To use the Tower Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group Light Guardian's wings, the seal of people doing nothing, Dark Guardian's darkh, and suggested yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening,work, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s Yaraat just can't visit Earth in their true bodies, resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he had to use a host -- and picks the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne agrees that and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- thedog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her''history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistakeand uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pickstart a fight new, mortal life with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When woman he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly toloved, which made the other Guardians outside [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of their structure, asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and are not obligated blackmail the mother to assist them.
give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
*RevealingCoverup: ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphnelooks on specifically, saying that the limo which follows her Darkness wouldn't let him be with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload:Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, youand that not even Arey would warm up be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand therest true nature of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a whole week.free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but countless restrictions. Have the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to memorise so much silly stuff!''
not being able to strangle his throat.
*StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, DaphneLoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets (slowly, but surely) pursued followed by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued bythe huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: Theservant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has so many commissioners, learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, andso much plasticine nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, andother resources to make at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, thebodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of themgets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helpingboth, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.first two.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening,
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her''
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
*
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne
* SensoryOverload:
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the
*
** Firstly, Daphne
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by
* WeHaveReserves: The
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping
Changed line(s) 359,362 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visitTen. ''The Subpoena to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Tartarus'']]
Areyreceives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; and Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides gets summoned to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere inTartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and still has enough influence blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that Ligul doesn't dare she's almost ready to claim being the master sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out ofDarkness, being "merely" boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a chief of chancellory.magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Mamzelkina pays a visit
Arey
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in
Out of
Changed line(s) 364,387 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her thatBlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitchmuch of what's written on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doingrefuses to give it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him,to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:work, as Tukhlomon tells Arey knows the rules too, and points that one of he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the two boxes was discovered: one is moment to hit him with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; container from his sword, and take the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
page by force, which he then destroys.
*GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold:it was sent by Daphne demonstratively acts like -- a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her,Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter:yet Mefodiy still can't learn how falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend touse his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, be dim and feels annoyed at Arey, who weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with training him with anything taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, butswordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier tothere are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one blade of succubi, it's not a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow thefirst time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon,talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claiming claims that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told whyit's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quotefrom what Mamzelkina tells to Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy(a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him,
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
*
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold:
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her,
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter:
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon,
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
Changed line(s) 390,393 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failingEleven. ''From Havronyssey to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), whichhe stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatenssomewhere, so she decides to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all believe the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following thebox. But when he does that, turns out head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of barely kills when it crushes on him beforehand.and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the
Changed line(s) 395,401 (click to see context) from:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
to:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with Ogurtsov mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, andhis [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on falls the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's a complete running somewhere and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on findingis stressed, but still, expecting that someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfiedso consistently terrible with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether itwas for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag:Zozo's new boss is Isidore Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina (RecurringExtra and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
Grotter''.
*NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposedtalking head turns out to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsova trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it
* MythologyGag:
*
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov
Changed line(s) 404,407 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just inan Ace?'']]
Arey takestime to drag Mefodiy with him out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm death; the sword remains stuck in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, andbefore he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also tells him that, having nothing else of value, why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy automatically "agreed" is ready to play give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on his own eidos. Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- beingagainst him, Daphne's Guardian Angel, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and reaching 21 points. Only destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then Arey reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and Ulitha returns, the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and Ulitha so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirmsthat Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls ''his'' fight. When the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that something (or, rather, ''someone'') it's done... and now he just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?wants some time alone.
Daphne arrives just in
Arey takes
Ligul explains the rules, and
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms
Changed line(s) 409,425 (click to see context) from:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
to:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Areymay be nicer than and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the other Dark Guardians, [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he'sstill just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat withthe Darkness, and Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that thetime comes battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for acting, he everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I wouldact like the Darkness orders him, and whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matterfollow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do sad it would've been for you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on theDarkness' worth if it would be so easy lighthouse, I used to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey'sdecision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword wife and daughter just to screw with Arey's hand, him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and vanquish its enemies Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, withit. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked outmajor consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end ofKvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamaidarkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to a better idea: he would cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricksMefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but die from heart defect before his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him fails to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense.defeat Yaraat. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn offEssiorkh who destroys the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansionScroll, and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries toask for just stay where they are, use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. Itit doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiysomehow wins nonetheless.retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense.
'''Ulitha''': Turn off
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
Deleted line(s) 427,431 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Changed line(s) 433,455 (click to see context) from:
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
to:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
*
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and
*
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and
*
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is
*
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness
*
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Arey learns
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him,
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they
Changed line(s) 457,484 (click to see context) from:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
to:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to use against Mefodiy lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it wasspecifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as far as she knows, they can't be blocked. Arey orders her return to use Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, itanyway, believing means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is thereare no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphonssome unseen enemy they don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at about? In the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explainsend of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiyonly way to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he usedsurvive this magic attack is by lying in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings),pine coffin, and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as somehow interpreted the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts...pine sandbox with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you!Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
*MeleeATrois: HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that there's Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a third side, when problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether someunspecified dark mage abducts item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to fight on a duel steal them, even for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict withthe Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip andDarkness break her leg, and trying to keep "neutral" while she would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combinestay in the black and white inside them for too long, hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by theworms who turn last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the world into rot...
wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
*NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha LovePotion: If the magic flower starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts changing its colour into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, itsomething besides red (the optimal colour, which means that Mefodiy you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing toworry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings),
* DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts...
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you!
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
*
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the
*
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
Changed line(s) 487,490 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner ofNothing'']]
Daphne somehowthe closet, and falls sick from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with angina, horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and stays at home. When help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's sleeping, she gets visited by actually intelligent.
Then thestranger, some traits of wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which clearly now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks she's a Valkyrie, and nearly kills Depresnyak, she's here because she's dying, and uses Daphne's winged necklace needs someone who can continue her mission -- to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphnestop some very powerful evil, which managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that time, end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells him Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the mortal world starts affecting new life awaits her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs Irka leaves a farewell message on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy forum, and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of
Daphne somehow
Then the
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne
Changed line(s) 492,507 (click to see context) from:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
to:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to use hide them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and evenaltogether. She tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror trapped in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the onesher wheelchair like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns prison), and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating envies the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are less interesting free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character inthat regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh savesthe first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Ulitha from Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above thethugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal school level of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposureknowledge, to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her falling ill mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes withangina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refusesability to help Mefodiy (who's in process of walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as beingbeaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) able to convince the thug walk is new for her. The fact that it's amoral. she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: WhenMefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he the Valkyrie actually dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, whichleads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnevgrandpa (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from him, to use it instead of ink.
father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
*NoSell: SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And heIrka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't even receive bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warnedfact that whoever betrays the love of her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no hope time to avoid Tartarus after lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
*UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop him, Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, andYaraat successfully obtains ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from theseal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] forpast life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev
*
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned
*
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
Changed line(s) 510,513 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness.Three. ''Three is Like Two, But what she needed from Edya, long before With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiywas even born? Especially given notices the vague warning she gave to him: "your traces of blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shameon his sword, and that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't actually explain it; he certainly didn't hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him thatshe secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become not, actually, the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of Chameleons": Arey wants them. Until now, there was no need to discuss something important.bother, but the situation changed.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness.
Mefodiy
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that
Changed line(s) 515,526 (click to see context) from:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
to:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne checks, and confirms to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough thatit's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns it may attack the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, triesfirst person to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actuallycome nearby; the sword even manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies:infest Mefodiy finally visits Irka with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information hebecame Arey's student (also seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning thatshe secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she his bed has recurring dreams about him, and tells her some dark history (it used to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There'rebe a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or mind at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm moment, but the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learnchair broke its leg, so the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove:guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared himfeels so much hatred to the point chair that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justifiedit by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies:
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn
* ObliviousToLove:
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
Changed line(s) 529,534 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love,Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with amortal woman, and, client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against all laws, didn't force her him, as the client turns out to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws be a sister of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in(futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them finding a suitor, only running into dried-up well, and finished off various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever"poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search the guy, while Zozo falls for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love,
Edya goes into conflict with a
Zozo (who's still unlucky in
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever
Changed line(s) 536,550 (click to see context) from:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
to:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal lifeActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with a woman he loved, women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, whichmade he originally told in the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, adaughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake director of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seemsrestaurant where Edya works, believes that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Areyif all officiants would be able tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to protect them once (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotionspersonnel are everything, it's their drug, and only they. more likely to become recurring customers. They're like chameleons working in everyday life. They two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious thatthey're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn get away with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to setit free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, (at most, he would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thoughtclient whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be a good idea easier to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
fire Edya.
*TranquilFury: SavedForTheSequel: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship,the story of betrayal, about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember footnote explicitly states that I used it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability totrust see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that bastard, I want to take "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requiresthe involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has things he sees are the first two.signs of succubus).
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought
*
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship,
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires
Changed line(s) 553,556 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys andUlitha gets summoned one girl), and it's up to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the opportunity to try boys, and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it up shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric andthen destroys.
Outsomewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims things available. Daphne immediately realises that it was sent by Daphne, he's indeed the one she needs, and wants asks him to follow it; he agrees.her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and
Out
Changed line(s) 558,564 (click to see context) from:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
to:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a page half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates fromIrka's diary, where she wrote whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that sheloves "MB", and that must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, treats any minor problem which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: Theannoys her like this. And if she starts talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. about it, It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason whynot even the Darkness possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likesatheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the pageinserting words "But!" and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway."I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she
* BlatantLies: The
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
Changed line(s) 567,570 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receivesSix. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into amessage from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries tocheck where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed us her magic on him, and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely killswhen it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due manages to pain.shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
Daphne receives
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a
Nata immediately tries to
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills
Changed line(s) 572,576 (click to see context) from:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
to:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to leave little flags use magic to deal with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls forattackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the same trap as Mefodiy, guys to the ground and falls the talking head created scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, throughnecromancy. It's less moronic than eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere her teacher when it originally manifested, and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistentlyterrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
calling him "it".
*InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.called "Nata".
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently
*
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
Changed line(s) 579,584 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphnearrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out and Nata don't come along right from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes start. Then Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope notices that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs the poppy on Mefodiy's eidos specifically shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest --it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick amusement, and takes plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the form of Mefodiy's mother, guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which makes angers him lose concentration to no end, and fail to finish he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals thedeed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work:true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will hidden reason for paying so much attention to live, he stopped caring what Mefodiy says about his safety the building, and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams thatfeeling relief when he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; sell it; something is weird... But it's ''his'' fight. When a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.third gifted kid.
Daphne
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest --
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work:
Yaraat snaps and screams that
Changed line(s) 586,610 (click to see context) from:
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
to:
* AnswerCut: {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy andDaphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to findhears that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes he who calls the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy from beneath "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on thedead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of soundsword "samets" ("male animal"), which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal often used to not interfere]].
call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
*BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun:Mefodiy remembers advice about looking says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists onshapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, notnever heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey evenspying; Yaraat did this just to bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil him. Ulitha and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian,Mamzelkina plays along, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider thatMefodiy is capable of creating soon joins the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraatgame, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him it was a test for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would causesomething regarding Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds
*
* ChekhovsGun:
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not
** The reason why Arey even
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian,
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Changed line(s) 613,637 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
to:
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=]
*
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like
** Moshkin says that he has a
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
*
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or
*
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice
Arey gathers his new students together, and
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of
Daphne, while looking
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy,
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected,
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh,
Changed line(s) 639,653 (click to see context) from:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to lie that she "was sick" be another jab at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions thatLigul, and Tukhlomon had stole prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of thecredit for defeating Pupliy four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and Rufin, despite everyone knowing escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact thatit was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't return to Eden exist totally without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
*ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly forher, by changing its colour. If him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it'sred, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him intostill a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,little sprout. When it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is theLight Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slipThird Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentallydrink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over calls Kvodnon by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drownname. Just as in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this andthe previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed annoys Ulitha, who has told him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out''not'' say that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it. name aloud.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that
*
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out
Changed line(s) 656,659 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- andOther Animals'']]
At night, Irka hearsimmediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack going too fast. He starts pressing her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates,she almost agrees, despite all precautions. Now, it's up feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him toIrka answer three questions, wanting to stop him, learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive Daphne -- the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, Darkness sees it as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just dangerous -- but before dying -- and disappearing in Essiorkh gets the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared last piece of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that the new life awaits magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and closes her laptop.get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and
At night, Irka hears
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates,
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to
Changed line(s) 661,673 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
to:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can'tlook on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in theTartarus. He asks first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the pointsuccessfully, learning that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just love, because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploitthe sole vulnerability in the protection Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyriepuzzle. He actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite andcalls her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolfout on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on thefact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time common way to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
word "chemodan" -- "bag").
*TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to accept her helmet Zozo and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and ability to walk) clear, and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what,second part being quiet and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the
*
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what,
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
Changed line(s) 676,679 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner isLike Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiyjust as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he noticesthe traces of blood on his sword, something, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is
Mefodiy
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Changed line(s) 681,688 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out tothe Prophetic Stone.
be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
*BloodKnight: Mefodiy {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers,he's pathologically lazy, "boring and can't do anything without proper motivation; disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he hopes that having other students gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to compete with calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it wouldmotivate him be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link totrain more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased onthe way he commented Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne'sattractiveness back in the first book, love to Mefodiy (and that this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns outflower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them he's been spying upon, and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Areytakes precautions, so Irka doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, whenMefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed annoyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... andwhere to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulithaactually still considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't stop thinking get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns aboutEssiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learningEssiorkh, and, from description, deduces that his bed has some dark history (it used to be he's a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feelsso much hatred jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to thechair fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as itgets set ablaze. causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to
*
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers,
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's
* TheChosenMany: Turns out
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and
* ShipTease: Ulitha
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about
* TemptingFate: After learning
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it
Changed line(s) 691,694 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatantTwelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attemptsat flirting.to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant
Daphne's attempts
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Changed line(s) 696,703 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke(about men's relationship at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled withwomen), but so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
*CallBack: When describing ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references and the story others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes hiscreepy babysitter, mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believesthen repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that if first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients he can do is to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya mess with him, which Arey doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
deny.
*GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audaciousMuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he would get away with it (at most, can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he would be chewed out can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as demonstrating the client whom Edya annoys turns out silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to be a sister him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune ofsomeone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: Whensilver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifestsability to see through magic disguise; breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it'show he notices undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that "Plaksin" it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still hassomething weird with power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him (not knowing that as the things he sees are dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the signs of succubus).Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with
*
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes
*
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious
* RuleOfThree: The rune of
* SavedForTheSequel: When
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has
Changed line(s) 706,709 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy andThirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying torecruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to one of check on the boys, poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and Mefodiy does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can'tresist to check openly help the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the motherservants of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation instructs her to go back to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".Dark residence.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't
Daphne meets the mother
Changed line(s) 711,720 (click to see context) from:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
to:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans toDaphne is steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that his surname is ''not'' related "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that theguy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
bike''.
*EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considersShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the smartest meal, but gives a part of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bringit to the Dark residence, other guy (also via magic), which is right above provokes conflict between him and the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so importantand he knows that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible son Michael moving to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the
*
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie"
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!"
Changed line(s) 723,726 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person outFourteen. ''The Unity of three, Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiyruns into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not onlydeals access to Drevnir's sword, but also with them using his magic (not mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
name, Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, grab the sword and when attack, but Mefodiy manages reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. kill Nata, but Mefodiy tells blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that she has just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need tofollow him, as she's waited for.do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
When searching for the second person out
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to
Changed line(s) 728,733 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
to:
* TheBeastmaster: ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn malesgo into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states thatit normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss wordno one wants Kvodnon back, as his VerbalTic.
time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
*ItIsDehumanising: CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's"friends" shows their antipathy to body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as byconsistently calling putting him "it".
there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
*TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males
* TheCaligula: Arey states that
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
*
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by
*
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
Changed line(s) 736,741 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right fromFifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but thestart. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and time is running out; fortunately, she starts acting aggressive meets Essiorkh, who offers to him without explaining why. She only calms down ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whenshe notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists thatEssiorkh awakes her, he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists learns that Mefodiy is took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the one who calls the shots here, blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy realises didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Areyis messing would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the guy for plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his amusement, and plays along. When mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy also refuses before he puts him into hole to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells complete the guy ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to leave, in very insulting manner, throw her spear, which angers him to no end, destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes andhe hisses is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiyreluctantly agrees. Ulitha also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying insists on taking a day off, so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's she can go on a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.date.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey
Arey awakes and
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy
Changed line(s) 743,750 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in claiming the Dark residence, time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
defeat it.
*HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men";DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually comments asks for a day off, so she can go on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name isa phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weirddate with Essiorkh, confirming that "Dasha" insists on the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her beingcalled "Daphne", Mefodiy replies knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that[[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** Thethe only reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins he still serves the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it was a test Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for something regarding Mefodiy himself.passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
*
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men";
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that
** The
Deleted line(s) 752,756 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Changed line(s) 758,775 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
to:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the
*
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and
*
*
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and
Arey gathers
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and
Changed line(s) 777,787 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to listen, spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so he Vasilisa can snitch on her... only get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her to finish it her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Tukhlomon's name instead.
Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
*TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he wastoo insane a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and[[BadBoss violent]].
when it's close, you can't even teleport.
*CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if hemisses it, he ever calls, she would be forced come to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one ofaid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
time has come.
*EvilVersusOblivion: Not {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know theDarkness cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer isinterested borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, inactually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care aboutthe Darkness' survival.
yours. The one's who'd sent you!
*GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him toher sister are ''not'' say related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid thatname aloud.mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
*
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and
*
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of
*
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about
*
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 790,793 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Two. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" --Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha andimmediately tries Arey have leaved to scam her out of her eidos. She misses Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain rest stayed in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrivesDark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting attempts to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death tosabotage appoint himself as Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece Lower Tartarus. In place of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.new "mentor" is already here...
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" --
Ulitha and
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to
Changed line(s) 795,798 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed beforeWhimper can trick Zozo he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite intoselling one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for hereidos, {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and captures succubus. As suggests to wait till he later explains, hits seventy (or he thought about Daphne, may have no time to study!), and intuition told him to check then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught onher at home.
camera.
*NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and force him isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how toanswer three questions -- which he use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can'tignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning just accept that he plans to destroy Daphne's Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this tries to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers take a refuge at least in pointing that yes, her prize sucks; but he lied, [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family andgets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without last part asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the puzzle. He actually calls house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use herout on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based onpowers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with first part her being loud caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter andclear, more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and second part being quiet elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and mangled.grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on
*
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence,
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and
Changed line(s) 801,806 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name,Three. ''"The Boy with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, andshe nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interactreplaced with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's easier for her besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka tomemorise and pronounce. Antigon gives his house, he shows her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells her Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how to turn invisible, hard the path may be, and instructs everyone, from the mages to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggestedGuardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed toher, overhears Ligul conversing gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with Tukhlomon, about Daphne the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants is ''certainly'' related to ensure that if this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they fail must prepare to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, fight: the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.are here...
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name,
Essiorkh finds Irka, and
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact
When Essiorkh brings Irka to
Irka, using magic suggested
They've failed to
Changed line(s) 808,822 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with pronouncing "Antigonius", any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,now he gains the poppy flower same joy which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she callsthe alcohol would give him "funny", insisting that by... crying. Now, he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of crying non-stop, but in a time, his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irkacalls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut abilitysell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't be used end up in subsequent novels, the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic evenwhere it would be perfectly expectable does anything, and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos;reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard itwould later be established that Light Guardians don't may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you needeidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on LigulPath Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and Tukhlomon just when at night, they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, always full of energy and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants cheerful willingness to do next.
go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
*HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene,FantasticDrug: Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that then he can't get more.
may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
*InternalReveal: Ligul learns LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and that Daphne the story of the Path Stone; the story is likely living at Mefodiy's.
long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irkalearns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays withNata she's not even sure you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices thatshe's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka failsfor all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating him being a second copy of him, but former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even whenshe instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon andhe's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it'sunfair, but, if he returns because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world isto bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain.way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well whenthe sun is at its strongest.he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos;
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul
*
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene,
*
* LoveTriangle: Irka
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with
* SadClown: Irka notices that
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when
Changed line(s) 825,828 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach MefodiyFour. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department andthe rest some runes Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he getsinterrupted by dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning visit -- she's here to let him go in this night, to not miss help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the fun. This is Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into holeplace which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks contains Ligul's secret, the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link he wishes to Tartarus, which is intended stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Mefodiy, his main prize...Arey's freedom.
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and
Right after he gets
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole
Changed line(s) 830,841 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the person beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's used on for seven times seven years, a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowingthem Ligul to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what itprolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's hard known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to tell whether last bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy istrue, or she's just messing cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
*BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's expense, which involves side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he has to explain makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
wishes so.
*CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the places filled with so much magic like office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the Dark residence, it's true parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon asnowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offersnearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card,strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, his dark magic, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in only releases him at the last moment moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, can kill her just out of boredom and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey'spatience runs out. mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey then tells him and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail thatfirst card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, andAce of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself when Mefodiy tries to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with protect him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinkstemporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he candisrespect Daphne, as she kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able toenforce her rule, enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it cancell itself is only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When onehear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says thatit's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, he's fed up with Harpiy, and Arey wouldn't tolerate him, just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holesbefore everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in theDark residence's basement, as well as keeping unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps themalive, but in stasis.escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is
*
*
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card,
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can
* {{Troll}}: When one
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 844,847 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix andhe blindly falls his friends decided to push the deadline for it. She barely resists temptation Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to check on either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts fairy's help is now out of question: her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as hemagic gets blocked, so she can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to go back to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the Dark residence.mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Felix and
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 849,854 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to stealAmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one woman's "unlucky" meal, whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as she once said "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, ascommissioners clearly took note at this "oath", part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister maytry result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone touse it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkhtransform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that"money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns outif someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants beinga Dark witch, transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying himbeing a Guardian Angel.
if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
*OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the situation is ''really'' dire painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious whenEssiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knowsshe hears that this conflict abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would eventually result in them getting married, soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].she just said.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may
** Both sisters were prone to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him
*
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows
Changed line(s) 857,862 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. Six. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy andClay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract theother three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit,dark mages, allowing Nata Irka to escape and jump into with painting; to confuse the third hole. Arey Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also points tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says thatMefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there arethey'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the others, more subtle ways. Arey painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and Ulitha would take turns guarding they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading Valkyrie Refuge... only to him losing control over body).meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and
Essiorkh stays to distract the
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit,
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are
Changed line(s) 864,882 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
**ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of writes down the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him outrules of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to servethe Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for "being naughty", selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished forten thousand years (three already passed); his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can'tsay details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
*AnOfferYouCantRefuse: YinYangBomb: The reason why gnome and Antigon serves fights for the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of bloodgnome's pipe which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holescreates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to complete retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in theritual.dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
**
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't
*
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the
Changed line(s) 885,892 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Changed line(s) 894,901 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirmingBerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says thatit's not they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows herflirting to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with him, and he actually reciprocates.
not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
*KilledOffForReal: Arey SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did thistime, Kvodnon was put down on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne forgood.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never ableno apparent reason. Daphne tries to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely becauseignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she managed makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to par the strike with her rapier, resulting leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).a corridor".
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her
*
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
Changed line(s) 904,927 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
Deleted line(s) 929,957 (click to see context) :
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 960,963 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Deleted line(s) 965,979 (click to see context) :
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 982,987 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Deleted line(s) 989,1006 (click to see context) :
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
Changed line(s) 1009,1012 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian departmentTwelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Changed line(s) 1014,1032 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo ofHarpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf scammers who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyoneimpossible to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Areyleave (the door wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
show up).
*LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
BrainFood:
*NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
FauxAffablyEvil:
*PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
ImAHumanitarian:
*TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey
*
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
*
*
*
* SchmuckBait:
Changed line(s) 1035,1038 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Changed line(s) 1040,1052 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
to:
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to sell remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), "midget Bygup" story]], which also plays she can use to blackmail Ligul into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that healso assumed him may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (itgrow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratchlike if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edyathat serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.story leaks out.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
Changed line(s) 1055,1058 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Changed line(s) 1060,1074 (click to see context) from:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
to:
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished forreveal his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka;"midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't know who is it, only comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul thatit's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As theend last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the chapter, temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if heactually tracks Irka down kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refusesthe secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to involve Antigon, saying that annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would be killed very quickly spark the war between the Guardians and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and dark mages, which would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her,be forever known as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka;
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that
* SadisticChoice: As the
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her,
Deleted line(s) 1076,1077 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
Changed line(s) 1079,1088 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
to:
! ''The Revenge of the
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the
*
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
Changed line(s) 1090,1092 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine.
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1094,1096 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten.
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1098,1100 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven.
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1102,1104 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
to:
[[folder:
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve.
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1106,1115 (click to see context) from:
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
to:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo
! ''The Map of
*
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen.
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1117,1121 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
to:
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
*
*
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen.
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1123,1127 (click to see context) from:
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
to:
! ''The Glass Guardian''
*
*
*
*
[[/folder]]
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
Changed line(s) 1130,1167 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
to:
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
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! ''The First Eidos''
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! ''The First Eidos''
Fire Gates''
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! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
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! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
Book of Seven Roads''
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! ''The Stairway to Eden''
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! ''The Stairway to Eden''
Ship of Light''
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! ''The Map of Chaos''
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! ''The Map of Chaos''
Gryphon's Mistake''
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! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
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! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
Best Enemy''
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----
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
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Changed line(s) 467 (click to see context) from:
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
to:
* DisproportionedRetribution: DisproportionateRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
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Changed line(s) 72 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
to:
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly silly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
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-->'''Tararakh''': ''Great! I love you, Zubi! You certainly know how to explain things. Let's presume that I asked you what "mouse" is, and you say: "Dear Tararakh, a mouse is what you catch into a mousetrap". Then I ask: "What a mousetrap is?". "Mousetrap is needed to catch mice". Now I know why your students are so scared of your lessons.''
to:
-->'''Tararakh''': ''Great! Great! I love you, Zubi! You certainly know how to explain things. Let's presume that I asked you what "mouse" is, and you say: "Dear Tararakh, a mouse is what you catch into a mousetrap". Then I ask: "What a mousetrap is?". "Mousetrap is needed to catch mice". Now I know why your students are so scared of your lessons.''
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to:
That someone is a tall, fat and eccentric young woman named Ulitha, who, after shouting some ridiculous threats at the "hog", somehow damages his precious car even more, clearly using magic, and then outright scares him away. Ulitha then tells Mefodiy that he has special purpose, and that he must meet her master at Skomorokh Sloboda; for that purpose, she gives him a special box, containing a rock which he has to use to draw a rune, to just teleport to his destination -- he only has one chance, or he would be incinerated. Mefodiy accepts the box, but he's still sceptical whether he's ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev, or she just mistook him for someone. Still, he decides to use the rune after all: even if it kills him, it would be preferable to living his old life.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both side believe in her "betrayal", but she should not be caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed the swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as a valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
The story then switches to Eden. Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having a hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, but the Fairy disappears without explaining further. Daphne then gets summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself; made all the stranger by how bad Daphne's reputation is. Troil tells her about Mefodiy, who's inherited powers of Kvodnon, the previous Lord of Darkness who once nearly destroyed Eden itself and was stopped at the cost of great sacrifice. It's up to Daphne to find Mefodiy, convince his mentor Arey to take her in, and ensure that Mefodiy would never succumb to the Darkness completely; her inner Darkness would make both side believe in her "betrayal", but she should not be caught, as no one but Troil himself would know the truth.
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. As pointed by Ligul himself, Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, which is the sign of Darkness growing inside you.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog" just when the "hog" is about to go violent.
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy early in the second chapter also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. As pointed by Ligul himself, Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, which is the sign of Darkness growing inside you.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog" just when the "hog" is about to go violent.
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy early in the second chapter also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as there's no point to repeat what they both already know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, and that he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DontThinkFeel: Sniffer believes that "professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
* DuelToTheDeath: Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
to:
* DuelToTheDeath: DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* DuelToTheDeath:
** Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than aminute.minute.
** Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* DuelToTheDeath:
** Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a
** Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
** Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
** Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
** Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
Changed line(s) 40,43 (click to see context) from:
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the first post-prologue chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LectureAsExposition: Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** Since Tararakh doesn't understand what "eidos" means (roughly speaking, it's a soul), Sardanapal has to explain it to him -- and by proxy, the readers. He also explains that the Dark Guardians are hunting for them, in hope to make themselves stronger.
** Sardanapal tells his colleagues a story about Drevnir's son (of which neither of them was aware), and how he was killed on a duel with Arey, resulting in Drevnir's sword being captured by Darkness.
* LectureAsExposition: Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** Since Tararakh doesn't understand what "eidos" means (roughly speaking, it's a soul), Sardanapal has to explain it to him -- and by proxy, the readers. He also explains that the Dark Guardians are hunting for them, in hope to make themselves stronger.
** Sardanapal tells his colleagues a story about Drevnir's son (of which neither of them was aware), and how he was killed on a duel with Arey, resulting in Drevnir's sword being captured by Darkness.
to:
* LastDayOfNormalcy: JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* LastDayOfNormalcy:
** Most of the first post-prologue chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
** Much of the fourth chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of the Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
*LectureAsExposition: LectureAsExposition:
** Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** *** Since Tararakh doesn't understand what "eidos" means (roughly speaking, it's a soul), Sardanapal has to explain it to him -- and by proxy, the readers. He also explains that the Dark Guardians are hunting for them, in hope to make themselves stronger.
** *** Sardanapal tells his colleagues a story about Drevnir's son (of which neither of them was aware), and how he was killed on a duel with Arey, resulting in Drevnir's sword being captured by Darkness.Darkness.
** We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
*** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
*** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him (he gets compared to a penquin), so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* LastDayOfNormalcy:
** Most of the first post-prologue chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
** Much of the fourth chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of the Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
*
** Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
*** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
*** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him (he gets compared to a penquin), so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
Changed line(s) 50 (click to see context) from:
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
to:
* MuggingTheMonster: TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* MuggingTheMonster:
** Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heartrupture.rupture.
** When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. She lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
--->'''Ulitha''': Now listen, in case we would meet again. Rule number one: do not be rude to me. Rule number two: my requests should be taken as orders, and orders as emergency. Rule number three: my friends are part of me, and you don't hurt me... Rule number four... On the second thought, you wouldn't break the fourth rule, cause you would die before it! Begone!
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* MuggingTheMonster:
** Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart
** When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. She lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
--->'''Ulitha''': Now listen, in case we would meet again. Rule number one: do not be rude to me. Rule number two: my requests should be taken as orders, and orders as emergency. Rule number three: my friends are part of me, and you don't hurt me... Rule number four... On the second thought, you wouldn't break the fourth rule, cause you would die before it! Begone!
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed, can just ''force'' him to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.
Changed line(s) 62 (click to see context) from:
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
to:
* RefugeInAudacity: RefugeInAudacity:
** Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and getsangry.angry.
** Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
** Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets
** Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
Changed line(s) 64 (click to see context) from:
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
to:
* SelfDeprecation: SelfDeprecation:
** Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that,however.however.
** When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
** Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that,
** When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
* TimeAbyss: The Temple of the Eternal Battle is older than the Light and Darkness themselves.
to:
* TimeAbyss: TimeAbyss:
** The Temple of the Eternal Battle is older than the Light and Darknessthemselves.themselves.
** The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
** The Temple of the Eternal Battle is older than the Light and Darkness
** The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
Changed line(s) 74,77 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiygets rescued from is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) man named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to be a vampire.
Oncecheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the"boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his innate powers old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and his destiny to become kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the new Dark Lord, first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down andinvites him sends Mefodiy to visit her master, Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.can be used for communication, if needed.
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy
Once
Returning to the
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and
Changed line(s) 79,92 (click to see context) from:
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog".
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him, so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. Then she lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed, can just ''force'' him to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog".
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him, so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. Then she lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed, can just ''force'' him to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.
to:
* AchievementInIgnorance: AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he cantouch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it shouldcause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiydoesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits isto stay away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it looks is extremely dangerous, and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery,not teacher herself.
just for your life.
*BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescuewarns Mefodiy from the "hog".
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gaveto not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiyalso contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy puts it in dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of hisbackpack eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" andforgets. In the end of the chapter, makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential expense]], only for more changes in the long run.
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so.Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically,to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, very dangerous. Then she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
*GaveUpTooSoon: InsistentTerminology: To test whether he really has any magic, make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and thinks that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
fails at intended purpose.
*TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out quickly realises that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him, so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she[[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. Then she lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows,senile granny, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
is actually ''very'' dangerous.
*NotEnoughToBury: OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he'ssupposed ready to draw kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in arune on mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, thefloor price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after midnight; vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him point that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed,you can just ''force'' him force them to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.pay for any expensive whiskey.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery,
*
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically,
*
*
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows,
*
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed,
Changed line(s) 95,100 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window'']]
While skeptical, Mefodiy decides to try and do as Ulitha asks, regardless of whether it's gonna work or not -- even if it kills him, it's preferable to maintaining status quo, as he's fed up with his old life. The rune works, and sends him to the stated location.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
While skeptical, Mefodiy decides to try and do as Ulitha asks, regardless of whether it's gonna work or not -- even if it kills him, it's preferable to maintaining status quo, as he's fed up with his old life. The rune works, and sends him to the stated location.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. Six. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window'']]
While skeptical,Order of the Yellow Skull'']]
Mefodiydecides to try and do as Ulitha asks, regardless of whether it's gonna work or not -- even if it kills him, it's preferable to maintaining status quo, as he's fed up gets settled into a same room with his old life. The rune works, and sends him to a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the stated location.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor.last syllable). The two are clearly at odds, immediately goes into conflict, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
Whenshow Mefodiy arrives onto his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discoversa way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow the hidden access to magic world channel, running into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and hisstudent, and return friends tries to his old unremarkable life. put Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his parents, Arey promises innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to deal with it force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by himself.themselves.
While skeptical,
Mefodiy
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor.
When
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers
At night, Vova Skunso and his
Changed line(s) 102,129 (click to see context) from:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. Ligul ''does'' know that Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as there's no point to repeat what they both already know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, and that he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. Ligul ''does'' know that Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as there's no point to repeat what they both already know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, and that he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
to:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it),AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul tall, lean and Arey. insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: Theplot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crimeHorn of daring to make a family, Minotaur can pierce any and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul'sall magic armour, and is one step away [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit fromcutting off Ligul's darkh owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as well, only stopping because long as he calms down. Ligul ''does'' know that Arey remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) hasmore than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
that]].
*DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no point rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares torepeat humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, bothalready know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, because he sees his dirty aura, and that because he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and knows that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself)guy has sold her his soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whomthe Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardiansmoment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little in common respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies withthe training of common mages. We don't have tests overly long and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powershard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can'tdo anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw take well that someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, else's show is more popular than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
his.
*TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.place.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it),
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has
*
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself)
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't
*
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
Changed line(s) 132,135 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden'']]
Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, so it's meaningless, right? Right?.. But Fairy is already gone...
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act as Mefodiy's guardian angel, to not let him fall into Darkness completely. She's the perfect candidate for this role, ''precisely'' because she has some inherent Darkness inside her, and because her reputation is so bad -- it would be plausible if she becomes an outlaw and goes on the run.
Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, so it's meaningless, right? Right?.. But Fairy is already gone...
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act as Mefodiy's guardian angel, to not let him fall into Darkness completely. She's the perfect candidate for this role, ''precisely'' because she has some inherent Darkness inside her, and because her reputation is so bad -- it would be plausible if she becomes an outlaw and goes on the run.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden'']]
Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphnewas always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find used some entertainment, she runs into questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the ghost Horn of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, Minotaur and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, so it's meaningless, right? Right?.. But Fairy is already gone...
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act asescape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's guardian angel, parents to not let him fall learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Darkness completely. She's Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the perfect candidate for this role, ''precisely'' because guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before shehas some inherent Darkness inside frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and because while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her reputation is so bad -- it would be plausible if she becomes an outlaw and goes on the run.to Mefodiy.
Following Troil's orders, Daphne
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act as
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she
Changed line(s) 137,139 (click to see context) from:
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, which is the sign of Darkness growing inside you.
* DontThinkFeel: Sniffer believes that "professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
* DontThinkFeel: Sniffer believes that "professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
to:
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, AnachronicOrder: The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune whichis imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal thesign Horn of Darkness growing inside you.
Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
*DontThinkFeel: CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer believes teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that"professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed now little more than humans; there's no way to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].gain new wings.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
*
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
Changed line(s) 141,171 (click to see context) from:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
to:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower Tukhlomon calls the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; latercursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would state use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says thatany injuries to Troil is poisoned and on the wings are permanent.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regionsbrink of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
*FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin be a talking sliced-up fish which burns whoever touches yells at him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliyand Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecytend to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroywhen doing his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but thenjob. Then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to dienearly gets exiled by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst thetwo Light Guardians, due only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a with infiltrating the Dark rune... Residence... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by tries to backstab her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
twice in a row.
*TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you no matter how you touch it, your own hand would try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be somepoints have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
*UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are prisoners of two journalists competing for the right to publish their unfinished tasks they've failed works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to fulfil while alive, work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and now, no longer being able including trying to do so, are forced to relive them over make another one drunk and over again. The lack of do something stupid to ruin their own life to speak about is also reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with thereason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voiceHorn of Minotaur, which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
[[/folder]]
freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: ChapterFive. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story forEight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiyis to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, as its new owner, obeying his commands and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts workinglinking with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, his wrath.
But it's not theold hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so,only thing Arey calms down and sends wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later
** Rufin says that
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions
*
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the
*
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some
*
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice
[[/folder]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Arey's cover story for
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working
But it's not the
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so,
Changed line(s) 173,179 (click to see context) from:
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
to:
* AffectionateNickname: CombatClairvoyance: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had losttying his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and was captured -- ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, whom unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees as the source of his problems. that Arey has his own reasons is about to want Yaraat dead, behead him, and crotches... which have something is exactly what Arey wanted him to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related -- to the death of Arey's family.
notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''':He A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword wouldfind you anywhere. And you know, I think I want obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for himto find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Becauseinsisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", thenI would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
*BatmanGambit: When YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey manages has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this week, thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries tolearn that he isn't, backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey realises that and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if shecame ''precisely'' because she knew that they gets killed. For now, Daphne would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
----
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Areygives Mefodiy and Ulitha picks the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking botch her disguise by doing something unremarkable, stupid, like manual to repair house gear at home.using magic or showing wings.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost
-->'''Arey''':
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then
*
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she
----
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey
Changed line(s) 181,200 (click to see context) from:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
to:
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny"
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and
*
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive:
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point
Changed line(s) 203,208 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull'']]
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order of Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that theYellow Skull'']]
plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent would be in the Temple on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the go just to show next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him is unlikely to stay alive till then, as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Lighthe's not a Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to puther presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiythrough humiliating "initiation ceremony", and Daphne and explains what's about to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his innate magic mind to contain his spirit, and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders temporarily let him in charge of the "Order of body, so he would handle the Yellow Skull" fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to do kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the ceremony by themselves.prophecy.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put
Arey summons Mefodiy
Changed line(s) 210,222 (click to see context) from:
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
to:
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and insinuating, and compares him Mefodiy must go to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turnsthe attacked foe Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors intoliving statue his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews:him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons but still threatens to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tellsabout Daphne going on Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for therun, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul,most likely part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he canprofit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to"rent" turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about hissoul for duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a time being, distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the deal being prolonged for story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, aslong as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even heremains useful. Allowing wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent onuntil he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
prophecy]].
*LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) people who would die soon and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
*MuggingTheMonster: ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence andhis lackeys (who're obscuring their faces continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with paper bags) prepares to humiliate no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy,to show him his place, by beating him up who represents the Darkness, and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in Daphne, who represents the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what Light; that way, they may have tried a chance to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows thatfinally obtain the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrasetreasure which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.the Temple keeps.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into
* ChekhovsNews:
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul,
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on
*
*
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy,
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
Changed line(s) 225,228 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. Eleven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders,Child of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphneused some questionable magic (some to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which cancause temporal madness in user) serve whomever is able to steal tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition,that it subtly led Daphne (who was nearby at there for that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, andRufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, sees Arey and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the Horn one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate kill Troil, who's and now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her the two have tried to Mefodiy.kill Arey together, but failed.
Following Troil's orders,
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can
Following her intuition,
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and
Changed line(s) 230,249 (click to see context) from:
* AnachronicOrder: The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
to:
* AnachronicOrder: ChekhovsGun: The chapter starts last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents is forced to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and put her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy'swinged necklace and forcing on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne releases Tukhlomon from instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that therune sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which imprisoned can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him,planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested toframing it on Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later -- all so Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him,escape and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he wouldbring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin withthe Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", andthen turns it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn intomarble statue.an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him,
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him,
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into
Deleted line(s) 251,255 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy as its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with his wrath.
But it's not the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
Changed line(s) 257,272 (click to see context) from:
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
to:
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
*
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey
-->'''Arey''': A sword is
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient;
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab
After learning the story with Horn's abduction
Changed line(s) 274,282 (click to see context) from:
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
to:
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphneis gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing agrees that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphneto meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, formal one like using magic or showing wings.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretendshe's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's Mefodiy's friend, a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what heonly tried intended to scam him out of his eidos say, as they don't deserve to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile andnow.
** Tukhlomon triesprone to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey pick a fight with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that it was there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphnewho'd done this, which he tells when she asks Essiorkh to Tukhlomon.
reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
*ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to backstab the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne''yet again'', this time by exploiting looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not asking to actually let her out once just no magic -- she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne,Arey sides to better blend in with her.
mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
*TheMole: StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne getsaccepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is(slowly, but surely) pursued by a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason,weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne thinks realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's agood idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.secret.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne
* GuardianAngel: Daphne
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and
** Tukhlomon tries
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne
*
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne
* SensoryOverload: Daphne,
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
*
** Firstly, Daphne gets
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason,
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
Changed line(s) 285,288 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, LigulTwo. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere avisit, and informs him that celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's are also invited (but obviously not a Guardian yet. Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also insists learns, from Tukhlomon, that Daphne (he's there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summonspinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphneand explains what's about to happen. He also tells them learns that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to summon claim being the spirit of the Second Sword master of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on being "merely" a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part chief of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.chancellory.
Near midnight, Ligul
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a
Arey summons
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne
Changed line(s) 290,302 (click to see context) from:
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
to:
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] thatsomething has changed, and Mefodiy must go Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to theTemple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) bottom. But sometimes that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
*DemonicPossession: ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors now he would do that for snitch on him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}};out of spite, Arey tells Mefodiy her that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shellTukhlomon would break snitch anyway, on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would break around gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it.And For him, it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, whom or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards firstwhat to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul betray, because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians werealready banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Areybetrayed everything and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Tukhlomon tells Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's notyet certain ''who'', the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with final result getting known him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He onlyafter the fact -- sometimes years later. leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiyrealises that Arey knows almost says his name two more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and times even after being told why it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than thispoint almost screams that the second whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is"Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teasesa quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign(a part of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may"Greedy people have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.long arms" proverb).
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the
*
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}};
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is
* ShipTease: Daphne teases
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may
Changed line(s) 305,312 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. Three. ''The Child Minister of Light Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic andDarkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne toparanoiac obsessed with his health (to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling point that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked byhis doppelganger, not realising that he's actions actually fighting causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases ithas chilling effect on mortals, may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two stepsabout one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, giving up his eidos, after which can serve whomever is able he finally leaves -- not forgetting to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn make a fun of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who sethim free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.beforehand.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it
The two steps
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set
Changed line(s) 314,324 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; thedoor turns out fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to beunavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy smart enough to fight with illusory "enemy" -- double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but really with himself. As people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about tokill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinatekiss him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
Changed line(s) 327,348 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
to:
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula,
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
*
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne
Changed line(s) 350,364 (click to see context) from:
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
to:
* BeenThereShapedHistory: AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkhis (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for shows Daphne some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look bigscars his body now has, and threatening, but explains that those are caused by the way he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh and to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphneagrees realises that both times, the dog would've been not the best option.
beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphnemeets ''her'' is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (this (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time,actual one, not formal and put it into one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the bodyof a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat:Essiorkh makes would soon obtain a mistake and uses bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrongword, hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in himcalling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended returning to say, as they don't deserve his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and pronedue to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkhhis innate resistance to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush:Two in a row:
** Firstly,The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by a weird black limo. After scanning Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphnerealises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis:asks Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness by providing would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a seal time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of herwings on magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see thevery dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day extremely ugly cat who became a victim of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event every single mad scientist in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.world!
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne
* GuardianAngel: Daphne
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time,
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body
* IMeantToDoThat:
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush:
** Firstly,
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis:
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the
Changed line(s) 367,370 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit toSix. ''Diligence is the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Mother of Success'']]
Areyreceives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of learns that the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious second box has just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was already pinpointed -- it's finally understood), and both he (along with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
FromUlitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, somepurpose, third party intervenes and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being steals the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.box for itself behind their backs.
Mamzelkina pays a visit to
Arey
From
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some
Changed line(s) 372,395 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active Guardians, and, as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because youfar as she knows, can't serve be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darknesshalf-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There'sreally few sincere supporters unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of Darkness, though they do exist...rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Andwhy it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that theothers most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself areserving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending updefeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member ofDarkness is very easy: their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make awrong step choice -- on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to thebottom. But sometimes original -- to the point that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
*ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''':He Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would snitch on you. cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.can't run away from it.\\
'''Arey''': '''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He would?\\
couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''':He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn'tSo what? No matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learnhow nice your Mumrik is, he has to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi,eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts thefirst time he does that. box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No onefinds it funny, and likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulithais more concerned starts blatantly flirting with him desecrating her rapier.
young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity:Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face rather blatantly flirts with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds one of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but forwinged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud,whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it can be quite destructive. "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy almost says dying and his name two more times even after eidos being told why damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it'sa bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tellsstandard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy(a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness
-->'''Arey''': There's
'''Mefodiy''': And
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the
*
-->'''Daphne''':
'''Daphne''':
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi,
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha
* RefugeInAudacity:
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud,
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy
Changed line(s) 398,401 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. Seven. ''The Minister Key of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessedNothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick withhis health (to angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the point stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that his actions actually causes he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become moreharm than help), after failing like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away deal with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with a pistol.
An impenhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all only actually fights when one of the possible diseases it may spread) thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless Anton opens threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.Scroll as well.
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed
Daphne somehow falls sick with
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more
An imp
Changed line(s) 403,409 (click to see context) from:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
to:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very first date, annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries topolitely reject resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him,knowing Essiorkh says that he's a complete Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfiedasks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just attempt to show how easy it was for beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to prevail, had protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he tried merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest toresist.
Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag:Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator startsseries) still has connections with explanation what vampires; the phobias Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs andmanias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give enhanced their owner anything but troubles, often with weapons to give them the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov hasone phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that as long as he's healthy), and started sending useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him to the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other doctors similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is justto get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, as ugly, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plowerbeing SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out onsomeone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into givingonly helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him,
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to
* MythologyGag:
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving
Changed line(s) 412,415 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takesEight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with himto a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and Ulitha gets summoned wants to Tartarus, leaving take something important from her. Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, recognises him as Tukhlomon, and forced feels anger; he warns Irka to play blackjack without not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, andmore disgust towards himself -- but also tells him understand that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that perhaps, he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, far worse than he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?important.
Arey takes
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him
Ligul explains the rules, and
Changed line(s) 417,433 (click to see context) from:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
to:
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that Arey may be nicer than he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the other Dark Guardians, but story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he'sstill a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies not to mess with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And inby saying that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source ofhe'd read all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamaimartial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
writes them.
*{{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]].FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': ThereZozo worries where is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horrorMefodiy, Edya tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" ofsay how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul triesage, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to cheat sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiyout of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over finally visits Irka for the Lord himself. It doesn't work first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiysomehow wins nonetheless.learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai
*
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]].
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
Changed line(s) 436,439 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, whoNine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tellsher several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, else but most importantly, he tells her Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and forbids its time-altering powers.
On the wayservants to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it love -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with aTartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and Edya, she successfully hypnotises his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into accepting her dried-up well, and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the magic (due to innate resistance to it) run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and remains eventually was exiled on a snarky jerk.lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who
Arey tells
On the way
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Changed line(s) 441,457 (click to see context) from:
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
to:
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beastyet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just spied on her, only can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel:Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for,as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand theTransparent Spheres do have authority true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to pardon her, live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the information main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would''leak out to the Darkness kill him, and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkhnothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, andmove to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians at himself, for not seeing it before it became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, thespecial forces story of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne whatbetrayal, the whole mess is about: the Scroll story of Desires. Long death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, Yaraat and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail me used to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh lamentsbe friends... Whenever I remember that his body constantly needs I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects suchthings as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance betweenglobal powers like Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and muchDarkness, it requires the involvement of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that itthem both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents some third force. Using neutrality. He already has the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him),first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!two.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast
* GuardianAngel:
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for,
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would''
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him),
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
Changed line(s) 460,463 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Areylearns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and Daphne) blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and a team then destroys.
Out ofLight Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's teamboredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, interrupted by a duel magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes claims that it was sent by Daphne, and steals the box for itself behind their backs.wants him to follow it; he agrees.
Arey
Out of
In the resulting fight, Arey's team
Changed line(s) 465,492 (click to see context) from:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
to:
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the magolodies Arey orders Daphne page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to use against give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it wasspecifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believingthat there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing in the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphonsafterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in field operations, as the gryphons your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one die outright, tend to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at be dim and weak, to the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explainspoint that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sworddoesn't bother with blood. Feed it down to taking them. This is the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard reason why not even the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first bookDarkness likes atheists: even when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can''evil, they don't empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiystill has enough Light in him deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to be able submit, only to absorb then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting page and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically theday would come for him pages about how to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with theLight and Darkness and Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinkingconvince himself that he wouldn't be able doesn't plan to eat nuts for at least some time after this.do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking
Changed line(s) 495,498 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphnesomehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which clearly tells claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks stressed and nearly kills Depresnyak, runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
follow it.
Meanwhile,at Mefodiy, who's still following the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get instead gets attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, hell wyrm, which allows them to easily defeat he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries loses consciousness due to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.pain.
Daphne
Meanwhile,
Changed line(s) 500,515 (click to see context) from:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
to:
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles mocking signatures after every few words.
taking away someone's eidos.
*BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keepIdiotBall: Daphne alive falls for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure tothe mortal world. For now, it only manifested same trap as her falling ill Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says thatMefodiy, as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says at least she can feel that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy whenthey reacts he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag:Herman Durnev (from Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, theDark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits histalking head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful)be a trap, resulting in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable:Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays running into the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, whichhell wyrm, and nearly costs leading to him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.dying while fighting it.
*
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag:
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful)
* ThisIsUnforgivable:
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
Changed line(s) 518,521 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. Twelve. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, whenThirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talkingwith Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologiseshostage, and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to understand him, steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and trust him. She, become the ruler of Darkness in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and place of Ligul, he wants to take something important from her. far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy recognises before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him as Tukhlomon, from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him feel even more disgust towards lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself --but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he used has access to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become anything with the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Areythrough "Book of Chameleons": finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants to discuss something important.some time alone.
Daphne, when
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself --
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey
Changed line(s) 523,534 (click to see context) from:
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
to:
* AccidentalTruth: AnswerCut: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Mefodiy and Daphne checks, realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and confirms Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it'sactually true. She starts asking either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him for details, from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey andlearns the story Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, triesresults. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to claim not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms thathe's she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'dread all martial arts books. Edya replies "helped" him by saying killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while hewrites them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries wheregoes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is Mefodiy, Edya inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries tosay use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain howcool and self-sustained him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he was in cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says eidos, as that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but way it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
would erase itself.
*ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since a choice: he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would notlet anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (asDaphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that die, or he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed may give up his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something''eidos to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believesYaraat. Daphne realises that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything,die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages towrite a dirge.break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how
*
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something''
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything,
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
Deleted line(s) 536,542 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
Changed line(s) 544,564 (click to see context) from:
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
to:
! ''The Third Horseman of
* Chapter One. ''Debut of
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and
*
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:
Arey
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to
Out of boredom,
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's
Changed line(s) 566,572 (click to see context) from:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
to:
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul "was sick" at the time]], only for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard Essiorkh to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to thepoint that the Darkness doesn't bother cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with taking them. This 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is thereason why colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly noteven the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't empower know about? In the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection onend of the blade of chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a dagger while keeping plank over it near your face in specific way.
as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure,Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims Daphne, accept that it's "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from Daphne]].the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
*ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals withTukhlomon's blackmail by pretending tuning his new bike to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about howbike originally was supposed to make be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a Light {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardianfall in love with you, while trying Angel. He has nothing to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.counter it.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure,
*
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian
Changed line(s) 575,578 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a messageTwo. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises fromtalking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims the kitchen. Thinking that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When possibly a robber, she tries to check where is Mefodiy, leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she only can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe she's actually intelligent.
Then thehead and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still followingwolf turns into a swan... but preserves the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, wound, which he barely kills when it crushes on him now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to pain.stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
Daphne receives a message
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from
Then the
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following
Changed line(s) 580,584 (click to see context) from:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
to:
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to leave little flags hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
*IdiotBall: Daphne falls AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for thesame trap as Mefodiy, first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, andfalls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that possess someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is not very smart.
currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
*InertialImpalement: DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
ability to walk.
*MythologyGag: Amongst LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about theclients danger of losing control why in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly,Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talkinghead turns out with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into lose, listens to her and only asks the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dyingwhile fighting it.Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
*
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and
*
*
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly,
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
Changed line(s) 587,592 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to dragThree. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiyout from below notices the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him thatneither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, he was not, actually, the only person who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from inherited Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.situation changed.
Daphne arrives just in time to drag
Mefodiy
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
Changed line(s) 594,618 (click to see context) from:
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
to:
* AnswerCut: When BerserkButton: Mefodiy and nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne realises to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough thatneither of it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find themhad sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice infront of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodiesorder to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the sake best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of art, not the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking abouttheir practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms thatEssiorkh; she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one whotries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning thatit's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killinghis family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, Ibed has some dark history (it used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter justbe a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriendhang himself while he goes to find some help, using one, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactivelychange "minor" detail, with major consequences. While mind at the idea to steal last moment, but the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen chair broke its leg, so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroysthe Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', andchair that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who
* TemptingFate: After learning that
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Changed line(s) 621,645 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
to:
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=]
*
*
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty
* Chapter Six. ''Fall
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where
According to Whimper,
On the way back,
Daphne meets
Changed line(s) 647,661 (click to see context) from:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
to:
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course EmbarrassingLastName: One of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower giftedfirst things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the partner loves you. If it's pink, guy who bullied him about it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour had accidentally bitten off a half of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality andblack means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magicinterest to transform them into weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whateveryou want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed thatstuff available; Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the first signs smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates isher actually starting gaining heigh, which normally imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) fromend the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,entire universe, be it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery,Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only to be then drown two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper inTartarus -- right below the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes thathe's the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from "another department", it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him toshut up once he realises "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important thatit may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she already made a note treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, and even suspects that if he's It's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
possible to shut her up.
*SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things,called "Petruccho"; he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working onforbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it. mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is,
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery,
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that
*
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things,
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
Changed line(s) 664,667 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys andOther Animals'']]
At night, Irka hearsa girl around his age; the weird noises from guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the kitchen. Thinking way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that it's possibly a robber, she Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries toleave us her magic on him, and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her wheelchair. Realising in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, has to follow him, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and
At night, Irka hears
Nata immediately tries to
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
Changed line(s) 669,681 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
to:
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it use magic to deal with being trapped attackers; it results in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the ghosts -- those aren't attached guys to the bodies, ground and are free scaring them to go wherever they want.
no end.
*AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge,he manages to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected,shake it off after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The facttwenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that she still remembers how it normally takes two-three minutes to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrieachieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which indid this verse look like with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some[[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and key traits in her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells thatfirst appearance: she's a Valkyrie eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy tothe mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
*
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge,
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected,
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
Changed line(s) 684,687 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
MefodiySeven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne noticesthe traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Areysummons Mefodiy, with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access tohim the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much smaller parts of them. Until attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, there was no need Mefodiy and Daphne have to bother, but find the situation changed.third gifted kid.
Mefodiy
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to
Changed line(s) 689,696 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
to:
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword,{{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is strong enough that it may attack interested in claiming the first person Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest what Mefodiy with it, though says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tellsrefuses (which Mefodiy that, notices), for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne andcan't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
*CallBack: ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns outand hears that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as it's he who calls the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); whenshots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on theinternal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease:word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
comments on how weird it sounds.
*TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a part of mortal trap), phrase which Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiyfeels so much hatred to replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins thechair game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it gets set ablaze. was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword,
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and
*
* TheChosenMany: Turns out
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the
* ShipTease:
*
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the
Changed line(s) 699,702 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. Eight. ''A King Without Retinue is Like Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill aBiker Without bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a Bike'']]
Edyamessage, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goesinto conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client address provided. Moshkin turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, extremely awkward and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who'seccentric, but Irka still unlucky learns about his gift -- he can control water, in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper away -- just in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful time to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a
Edya
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes
Zozo (who's
Changed line(s) 704,711 (click to see context) from:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
to:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with women), but then pretends Babanya, used to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya referencesalways wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the story about his creepy babysitter, symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiantswould be tall, handsome, galant actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) andsingle, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved cowardly (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so afraid of literally everything); when asked why he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacioussaid that it's "serious", he claims that he would get meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered withit (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; swan transformation, but not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the storywolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper,which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effectappearance of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability tosee through magic disguise; control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it'show he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling withhim (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story
* SueDonym: Whimper,
* TrueSight: As a side effect
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
Changed line(s) 714,717 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus Nine. ''Kind and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, whichFluffy Fiend'']]
Areyidentifies gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the part of Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the DreadfulGates Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically,the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and yet, but must find out before it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".too late.
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which
Arey
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically,
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
Changed line(s) 719,728 (click to see context) from:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
to:
* EmbarrassingLastName: One BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of thefirst things Petruccho Chimodanov tells four inheritors to Daphne kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of hissurname spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not''related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states say that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not''
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
Changed line(s) 731,734 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, butTen. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, stillefficient). After that, the girl reveals in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Natahe "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to us scam her magic on out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when Mefodiy manages she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him toshake it off, turns out answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that he spent twenty minutes fighting off Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that she has magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to follow him, as she's waited for.marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but
Whimper, still
Nata
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to
Changed line(s) 736,741 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
to:
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn malesTheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics selling her eidos, and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and he intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages toshake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that it normally takes two-three minutes he plans to achieve full control, destroy Daphne's and it's easy Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to overdo, driving person insane (she be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually did this calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, withher teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in herfirst appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists onpart being called "Nata".loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on
Changed line(s) 744,749 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colourEleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable topink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down summon Antigonius, but when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magichis look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when they enter said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy she nearly alienates him, but then she realises that Arey is messing how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact withthe guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy him. She also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers renames him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... Butinto "Antigon", as it's a question easier for another time; for now, Mefodiy her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphnehave to find -- and the third gifted kid.magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour
Irka was consistently unable to
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne
Changed line(s) 751,758 (click to see context) from:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
to:
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower whichis interested in claiming the Dark residence, and Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to what Mefodiy Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka saysto offer to sell the building, "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels relief offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he refuses (which gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiynotices), for the reasons known (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", onlyto himself.
complaining that he can't get more.
*HateAtFirstSight: InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Natadon't come along right from the start, in her dream, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hearsfeels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if hewho calls returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when theshots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular,sun is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only
*
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular,
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
Changed line(s) 761,764 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts toMeet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka,teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing what that it would happen be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if Babanya the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and findsher outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and three more holes. He realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya Kvodnon wants to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the put three other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to seekids besides Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to regain her human form.Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Daphne's attempts to
Irka,
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see
Changed line(s) 766,775 (click to see context) from:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
to:
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol say one piece of her helplessness wisdom after each seven years period, and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actuallyshow those legs; ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's toobad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
*BlatantLies:
** Moshkin saysCrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey hasa "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it'ssmall (it weighs less than one kilogram) cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf formArey just dodges them, while at Moshkin's house (something about continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls whichshe was warned), resulting in her transforming were once put into wolf his darkh, and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power isthey assist him as the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transformsdark chorus which brainwashes people put into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing fromholes in the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too
*
** Moshkin says
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
Changed line(s) 778,783 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, andFluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skepticalhe blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy then snaps and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Darkresidence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.residence.
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
Changed line(s) 785,795 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
to:
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as heBeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested inactually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the an undercover Light too much Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans tocare about steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that theDarkness' survival.
situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
*GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not stop until just steals the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores meal, but gives a part of it to the fact other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), eventually result in them getting married, and that without mortals, later their son Michael moving to the Darkness would starve USA, to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magicimplement new method of the Dreadful Gates money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love whilethinks it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.something innocent]].
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the
*
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
Changed line(s) 798,801 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Fourteen. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, sayingUnity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka thathe "can't live without her" -- tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answerother three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last piece of kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off thepuzzle (why Whimper gave ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphnethat should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes snake and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and get sucked out then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to Tartarus.him losing control over body).
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying
Antigon tells Irka that
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne
Changed line(s) 803,806 (click to see context) from:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
to:
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroyDaphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy'slove, own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is becausethe Darkness considers this to be too dangerous he was cursed, as a punishment for their cause, [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, butbefore he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried toseduce kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids intogiving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of holes in the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based onbasement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.ritual.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but
-->'''Arey''': I tried to
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
Changed line(s) 809,814 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irkawas consistently unable goes to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", asfind Mefodiy before it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- andtoo late, but the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be ride on his good side. Additionally, bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried theflower hurts Daphne's trust blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if itgets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease comes to be this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a threat. Irka horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and uses magic indeed, Arey pretends to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, butLigul is already gone.suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but
Changed line(s) 816,830 (click to see context) from:
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
to:
* AppropriatedAppellation: BigDamnHeroes: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so shereplaces it can go on a date with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,Essiorkh, confirming that the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting not just her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to doflirting with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments him, and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes thathe's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms time, Kvodnon was put down when she "corrects" herself to calling for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made himenemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut abilitytoo weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn'tbe used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
**kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligulmentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to surpassed you... Go on! Kill the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plansboy! Or you're attached to use poppy flower him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed tocorrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Natapar the strike with her rapier, resulting in her dream, being knocked out instead of killed, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that ifKvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them sayattention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states thatI assisted Kvodnon and the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's unfair, but, if far too late to return to Light; he returns has ''no'' loyalty to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, whenpassing the sun is at its strongest.rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly,
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't
**
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when
Deleted line(s) 832,836 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
Changed line(s) 838,855 (click to see context) from:
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
to:
! ''The Ticket to the
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about
*
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and
*
*
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter
Zozo is
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him,
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but
Changed line(s) 857,862 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was actually just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with anundercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plansidea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that"be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and mages may try to use send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it against her.
can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
*ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
*DatingCatwoman: Turns out IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic),same ring which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows once belonged that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about whatit means, and she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it'ssomething innocent]].close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that
*
*
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic),
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
Changed line(s) 865,870 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. Two. ''The Unity of Ice Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha andFlame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill MefodiyArey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and the other three kids, and rebirth in attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy'sbody. He regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).here...
Ulitha and
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
Changed line(s) 872,890 (click to see context) from:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
to:
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula:BadassInDistress: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne,was arrested on Ligul's orders, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current hostis one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them allnow imprisoned in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught andwouldn't be, until Kvodnon killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it getsMefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigondiscovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was forced to serve his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex theValkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or creatures are, the longer it would increase take them to fifteen thousands. If Irka fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really''insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocksbad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's strike, imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Areysays presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept thatby killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her,he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one whotook over ''doesn't'' miss her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holesfamily and prefers staying in the basement; now he Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them onlyneeds Mefodiy in specific place at specific time ''more'' annoying, due to complete the ritual.way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* TheCaligula:
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne,
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets
* NoodleIncident: Antigon
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really''
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks
* PlayingWithFire: Arey
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her,
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 893,900 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, butThree. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her thetime last news: Arey is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for it, as Irka Essiorkh himself, he can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; whencontact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkhawakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a swordbrings Irka to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and materialises reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the massive ghostly figure next keeper of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can proceed with give whomever owns it the plan, Irka, Antigon power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete everyone, from the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka mages to throw her spear, which destroys Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain thespirit.
Arey awakesStone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, presumably died, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says now, it seems that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the
They find unconscious Ulitha; when
When Essiorkh
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword
They've failed to gain the
Arey awakes
Changed line(s) 902,909 (click to see context) from:
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
to:
* BigDamnHeroes: TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka(with asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh'shelp) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, magic even does anything, and defeat reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
*DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can go on give its owner a date with Essiorkh, confirming that strength of will to walk the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never ablepath to step over people. their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is becauseit's far too late so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path toreturn your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to Light; go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to thedeaths others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of hisfamily).house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's
*
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Changed line(s) 912,935 (click to see context) from:
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
to:
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald
*
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
*
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat,
Felix and his friends decided to push the
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses,
Changed line(s) 937,965 (click to see context) from:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
to:
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom he supposedly defeated Edya previously saw while trying to spread sell the rumours prophecy about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched image. Later, Edya makes the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame forher. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make stealing on him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to(it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelinato give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
pay Morjuev a visit.
*FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole"accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
crossbow... seven times.
*{{Foreshadowing}}: BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelinais afraid warns Edya that mages serving her sister may try result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone tosend the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, andwhen it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago,one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received thinks that same ring which once belonged if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that way]].
*** For thetime has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the costsake of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope,"justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that,and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intendedEdya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brotherit wouldn't matter, as Edya by alone.
has almost no time left until Felix returns.
*SuperPersistentPredator: OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decidespanics when she realises that the fairy is real, painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and starts talking they ''would'' connect it with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
stealing important artifact.
*TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners:RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirtingshe sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in themole, only to dump him lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumbit, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and useless would soon find out. When he ''truly'' was, so says that it was her sister who's told him, she may remain in power.goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina
*
* ForcedTransformation: The mole
*
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina
** Both sisters were prone to
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago,
*** For the
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope,
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that,
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother
*
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides
*
* WrittenByTheWinners:
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb
Changed line(s) 968,971 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Two. Six. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leavedClay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays toTartarus for some unspecified reason, distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the rest stayed in painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey,new hideout he'd sent someone else, and prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says thatnew "mentor" is already here...they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Ulitha and Arey have leaved
Essiorkh stays to
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey,
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that
Changed line(s) 973,987 (click to see context) from:
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
to:
* BadassInDistress: Arey ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast wasarrested making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on Ligul's orders, the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down andis now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
formally introduces himself.
*BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspectingTheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she mayregret it just get stuck in the future; for animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In thesame reason, he didn't end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho(and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
they would meet again.
*DeadlineNews: SuperPersistentPredator: The reporter who moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried tospy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamiteslip into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complexthe creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says breach. The creature that smarter ones can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for theage of thirteen, she turns gnome's pipe which creates the tables magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to study!), and then walk around retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with[[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy missesa magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. Whendark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet againcan't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}}talk with Nata; she's her, as the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that thismagic would make them only ''more'' annoying, due kill Babanya to uphold the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and
*
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho
*
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}}
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
Changed line(s) 990,995 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
to:
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood.Seven. ''Not Very Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from theBald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...Not Mountain'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the
Changed line(s) 997,1014 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
to:
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
calm like "well-fed ghoul".
*AskAStupidQuestion: BigWhat: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he Ulitha says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, they gotta move, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in may miss the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially"last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she carelessly asks whether what the hell she was on means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open acarriage (meaning wheelchair), vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then turns out does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her thathe mistook ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain herwith someone else, and her comment anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne forher talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Romano apparent reason. Daphne tries to hit on Irka; ignore her and hold up her anger, but his flirting and rhetoric skills have fails. When she makes a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going oncold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': EvenEden, when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, andshe got similarly angry at one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and notleave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff. corridor".
*
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not
Changed line(s) 1017,1020 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement asEight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.Wizards Laughs'']]
Arey's replacement as
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
Deleted line(s) 1022,1040 (click to see context) :
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
Changed line(s) 1043,1046 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Five. Nine. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tellHare Who Didn't Care about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.Wolves'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
Deleted line(s) 1048,1060 (click to see context) :
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
Changed line(s) 1063,1066 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
to:
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
Deleted line(s) 1068,1082 (click to see context) :
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
Changed line(s) 1085 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Deleted line(s) 1087,1093 (click to see context) :
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
Changed line(s) 1096 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
Changed line(s) 1100 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
Changed line(s) 1104 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
to:
[[folder: Chapter Ten. Fourteen. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
Deleted line(s) 1107,1108 (click to see context) :
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
Changed line(s) 1110,1137 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
to:
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 18,23 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Prologue]]
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself.
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, so he has to explain about the much greater forces involved than mere mages -- the eternal war between the Light and the Darkness. Mefodiy's powers is not just a magic gift -- it's ''the'' Gift, the Dark gift, the power of Darkness which can change the world forever, unless he somehow manages to tarnish it.
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself.
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, so he has to explain about the much greater forces involved than mere mages -- the eternal war between the Light and the Darkness. Mefodiy's powers is not just a magic gift -- it's ''the'' Gift, the Dark gift, the power of Darkness which can change the world forever, unless he somehow manages to tarnish it.
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.
to:
[[folder: Prologue]]
''The Midnight Mage'']]
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all the teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnirhimself.
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, sohimself; he has to explain about the much greater forces involved than mere mages -- would break the eternal war stalemate between the forces of Light and the Darkness. Darkness, changing the world forever.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy'spowers is not mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just a magic gift -- it's ''the'' Gift, to spite him, sabotages his car. Soon afterwards, "the hog" catches him, and threatens to hurt both him and his mother, but someone intervenes and orders him to release the Dark gift, the power of Darkness which can change the world forever, unless he somehow manages to tarnish it.
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.boy.
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all the teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, so
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis. While Mefodiy's
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.
* AfraidOfBlood: Back when she was still a child, Zozo once cut her hand with a kitchen knife; the wound was not dangerous, but she was too scared, and locked herself into a closet, crying and scaring herself even further due to her overactive imagination. The mother has returned an hour and half later, and let her out, but that event forever cemented her panic fear of blood.
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* EmotionEater: Mefodiy has ability to see auras of people, and can absorb energy from them. Some of them are too disgusting to feed from, however. He never questions why he has such ability, just accepting it as normal, and never thinking that it's something unnatural.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the first post-prologue chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the first post-prologue chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three. And the plot of first chapter starts with her kicking Mefoidy out to prepare for yet another date -- with the guy later becoming the first danger Mefodiy faces.
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* TimeSkip: The plot continues thirteen years after the prologue.
Changed line(s) 45,50 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Moon Reflection'']]
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis.
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car's wires and exhaust pipe.
On the way back from Irka, Mefodiy accidentally takes control of the moon reflection in the poodle, freely moving it around, but disregards it as his imagination -- and then he gets caught by "hog", who didn't come along with Zozo. "Hog" acts very aggressive and even slaps him heavily, and is about to bring him to Zozo, to force her to pay up for everything on a threat of massive "collateral damage", but then some calm voice orders the "hog" to release the boy.
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis.
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car's wires and exhaust pipe.
On the way back from Irka, Mefodiy accidentally takes control of the moon reflection in the poodle, freely moving it around, but disregards it as his imagination -- and then he gets caught by "hog", who didn't come along with Zozo. "Hog" acts very aggressive and even slaps him heavily, and is about to bring him to Zozo, to force her to pay up for everything on a threat of massive "collateral damage", but then some calm voice orders the "hog" to release the boy.
to:
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Moon Reflection'']]
Thirteen years later,Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
MefodiyBuslaev, "the gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new DarkInheritor", lives mostly Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around office building). For that, she gives him on semi-regular basis.
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares fora date (ever since divorce box with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks a rock with which he has to find draw a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with takes the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car's wires and exhaust pipe.
On the way back from Irka,box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy accidentally takes control of the moon reflection in the poodle, freely moving it around, but disregards it as his imagination -- and then he gets caught by "hog", who didn't come along with Zozo. "Hog" acts very aggressive and even slaps him heavily, and is about to bring him to Zozo, to force her to pay up for everything on a threat of massive "collateral damage", but then some calm voice orders the "hog" to release the boy.Buslaev she's talking about.
Thirteen years later,
Mefodiy
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for
On the way back from Irka,
Deleted line(s) 52,86 (click to see context) :
* AfraidOfBlood: Back when she was still a child, Zozo once cut her hand with a kitchen knife; the wound was not dangerous, but she was too scared, and locked herself into a closet, crying and scaring herself even further due to her overactive imagination. The mother has returned an hour and half later, and let her out, but that event forever cemented her panic fear of blood.
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* EmotionEater: Mefodiy has ability to see auras of people, and can absorb energy from them. Some of them are too disgusting to feed from, however. He never questions why he has such ability, just accepting it as normal, and never thinking that it's something unnatural.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three.
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* TimeSkip: The plot continues thirteen years after the prologue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* EmotionEater: Mefodiy has ability to see auras of people, and can absorb energy from them. Some of them are too disgusting to feed from, however. He never questions why he has such ability, just accepting it as normal, and never thinking that it's something unnatural.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three.
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* TimeSkip: The plot continues thirteen years after the prologue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
----
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!Sandbox/{{Aazkaal}}
!!Sandbox/MefodiyBuslaev | Sandbox/MefodiyBuslaevCharacters | Mefodiy Buslaev Recap
! ''The Midnight Mage''
* Prologue
* Chapter One. ''The Moon Reflection''
* Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda''
* Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window''
* Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden''
* Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend''
* Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend''
* Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt''
* Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed''
* Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening''
* Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness''
[[folder: Prologue]]
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself.
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, so he has to explain about the much greater forces involved than mere mages -- the eternal war between the Light and the Darkness. Mefodiy's powers is not just a magic gift -- it's ''the'' Gift, the Dark gift, the power of Darkness which can change the world forever, unless he somehow manages to tarnish it.
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.
----
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mage.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Yagge explains that mages, unlikes Guardians, don't use [[OurSoulsAreDifferent eidoses]], which limits their power, as there's no way to go above the limits of your magic gift. Tararaksh says that they can use magic rings, but Solovei counters it by saying that the ring only helps you for as long as you wield it, and compares it to a mace: does it make you stronger? Tararakh misses his point, and replies that yes, especially if it's a good-quality mace.
* DistantPrologue: The prologue happens thirteen years before the main story, shortly before Mefodiy was born, and takes place in Tibidokhs (the WizardingSchool from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter''). It provides the readers with the first drops of backstory, both on who Mefodiy is, and on the whole conflict between the Light and the Darkness.
* DuelToTheDeath: Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
* LectureAsExposition: Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** Since Tararakh doesn't understand what "eidos" means (roughly speaking, it's a soul), Sardanapal has to explain it to him -- and by proxy, the readers. He also explains that the Dark Guardians are hunting for them, in hope to make themselves stronger.
** Sardanapal tells his colleagues a story about Drevnir's son (of which neither of them was aware), and how he was killed on a duel with Arey, resulting in Drevnir's sword being captured by Darkness.
* MathematiciansAnswer: Tararakh asks Zuboderikha what the "eidos" is. Her answer? "It's something the Dark Guardians wants to put into their darkhs". He lampshades how useless the answer was.
-->'''Tararakh''': ''Great! I love you, Zubi! You certainly know how to explain things. Let's presume that I asked you what "mouse" is, and you say: "Dear Tararakh, a mouse is what you catch into a mousetrap". Then I ask: "What a mousetrap is?". "Mousetrap is needed to catch mice". Now I know why your students are so scared of your lessons.''
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Sardanapal [[LectureAsExposition explains]] what the eidos is, and why it's so important:
-->'''Sardanapal''': Eidos, which the Dark Guardians are hunting for, is a core, an essence of the matter, a ticket into afterlife, a key to immortality, a soul. The most important and valuable what every lopukhoid, we or even Yagge (goddess or not) have. Anyone has only one eidos. The only thing you can't forge or copy with magic. Lopukhoid who loses life and body, but preserves eidos, loses nothing. But human who loses eidos, loses everything, even if their body, mind and life are out of danger. [...] Eidos looks like a small bluish spark or grain of sand. That spark has huge, incomparable power, it's what lets us embrace eternity and not stay in the rotten flesh after death. Eidos is the eternal piece of creation, the part of the One, Who created us through word. Nothing can destroy it -- neither a gorgulia division, nor atomic explosion, nor destruction of the Universe -- nothing. And even a single eidos has that power!
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Sardanapal tells a story about Drevnir's son, who was killed during Magic Wars, when a Dark Guardian Arey has challenged him on a duel, and beheaded him. Drevnir was asleep during a duel (with dark magic reinforcing his sleep to ensure that he wouldn't interfere), and after it, he personally buried [[NotEnoughToBury what has remained of his son after wights feasted on his corpse]] with a dagger.
* SecretKeeper: Sardanapal gave an oath to keep the truth about Drevnir's son and how he died in secret; he only breaks the oath now, because he believes that the situation is dire enough. He then orders his colleagues to stay quiet about what he said to them, and not reveal anything about Mefodiy Buslaev to anyone not present during discussion.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Drevnir's sword was a noble weapon of Light, until it was captured by the forces of Darkness. Now, Ligul slowly corrupts it, making it progressively darker and eviler, hoping to eventually turn it into a weapon of evil without it [[ItCanThink ever noticing it]].
* TimeAbyss: The Temple of the Eternal Battle is older than the Light and Darkness themselves.
* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: According to Yagge, almost no magic can work in the Middle Lands, not even the powers of Light and Darkness.
* YourSoulIsMine: Sardanapal explains why the eidoses are so important... and why Dark Guardians are hunting for them. However, even they can't take it by force -- it ''must'' be sacrificed voluntarily.
-->'''Sardanapal''': The more eidoses a Dark Guardian has in their darkh, the more powers they have and the higher they are in the hierarchy. The Guardians don't care that with eidoses, they take away the lopukhoids' afterlife. For them, it's merely a prey to hunt, nothing more.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Moon Reflection'']]
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis.
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car's wires and exhaust pipe.
On the way back from Irka, Mefodiy accidentally takes control of the moon reflection in the poodle, freely moving it around, but disregards it as his imagination -- and then he gets caught by "hog", who didn't come along with Zozo. "Hog" acts very aggressive and even slaps him heavily, and is about to bring him to Zozo, to force her to pay up for everything on a threat of massive "collateral damage", but then some calm voice orders the "hog" to release the boy.
----
* AfraidOfBlood: Back when she was still a child, Zozo once cut her hand with a kitchen knife; the wound was not dangerous, but she was too scared, and locked herself into a closet, crying and scaring herself even further due to her overactive imagination. The mother has returned an hour and half later, and let her out, but that event forever cemented her panic fear of blood.
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* EmotionEater: Mefodiy has ability to see auras of people, and can absorb energy from them. Some of them are too disgusting to feed from, however. He never questions why he has such ability, just accepting it as normal, and never thinking that it's something unnatural.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three.
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* TimeSkip: The plot continues thirteen years after the prologue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
----
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog".
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him, so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. Then she lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed, can just ''force'' him to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window'']]
While skeptical, Mefodiy decides to try and do as Ulitha asks, regardless of whether it's gonna work or not -- even if it kills him, it's preferable to maintaining status quo, as he's fed up with his old life. The rune works, and sends him to the stated location.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. Ligul ''does'' know that Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as there's no point to repeat what they both already know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, and that he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden'']]
Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, so it's meaningless, right? Right?.. But Fairy is already gone...
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act as Mefodiy's guardian angel, to not let him fall into Darkness completely. She's the perfect candidate for this role, ''precisely'' because she has some inherent Darkness inside her, and because her reputation is so bad -- it would be plausible if she becomes an outlaw and goes on the run.
----
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, which is the sign of Darkness growing inside you.
* DontThinkFeel: Sniffer believes that "professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull'']]
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
----
* AnachronicOrder: The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy as its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with his wrath.
But it's not the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
----
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
----
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
----
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
----
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
----
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
----
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
----
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
----
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
----
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
----
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
----
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
----
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
----
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
----
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
----
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
----
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
----
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
----
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
----
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
----
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
----
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
----
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
----
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
----
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
----
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
----
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
----
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
----
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
----
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
----
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
----
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
----
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
----
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
----
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
----
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Map of Chaos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
!!Sandbox/MefodiyBuslaev | Sandbox/MefodiyBuslaevCharacters | Mefodiy Buslaev Recap
! ''The Midnight Mage''
* Prologue
* Chapter One. ''The Moon Reflection''
* Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda''
* Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window''
* Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden''
* Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend''
* Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend''
* Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt''
* Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed''
* Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening''
* Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness''
[[folder: Prologue]]
Seven years prior to Tanya Grotter's arrival to Tibidokhs, headmaster Sardanapal gathers all teachers, and tells them about a very important (and very dangerous) person who's about to get born -- Mefodiy Buslaev, the chosen Dark Inheritor, as was foretold by Drevnir himself.
Reactions varies from near-panic, to complete lack of understanding what's so important about him, or even suggestion to take him as a student, so he has to explain about the much greater forces involved than mere mages -- the eternal war between the Light and the Darkness. Mefodiy's powers is not just a magic gift -- it's ''the'' Gift, the Dark gift, the power of Darkness which can change the world forever, unless he somehow manages to tarnish it.
But the events which would decide the fate of the world would unfold thirteen years later; for now, they all must stay quiet, and do not interfere -- or tell anyone else.
----
* AngelUnaware: It's [[InvokedTrope presumed]] that Drevnir could've been a Light Guardian rather than just a mage.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Yagge explains that mages, unlikes Guardians, don't use [[OurSoulsAreDifferent eidoses]], which limits their power, as there's no way to go above the limits of your magic gift. Tararaksh says that they can use magic rings, but Solovei counters it by saying that the ring only helps you for as long as you wield it, and compares it to a mace: does it make you stronger? Tararakh misses his point, and replies that yes, especially if it's a good-quality mace.
* DistantPrologue: The prologue happens thirteen years before the main story, shortly before Mefodiy was born, and takes place in Tibidokhs (the WizardingSchool from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter''). It provides the readers with the first drops of backstory, both on who Mefodiy is, and on the whole conflict between the Light and the Darkness.
* DuelToTheDeath: Drevnir's son was challenged by Arey, one of the greatest warriors of Darkness. He was beheaded in less than a minute.
* LectureAsExposition: Sardanapal (from Yemets' earlier series, ''Tanya Grotter'') gives a series of lectures to his colleagues, providing crucial exposition about the setting:
** Since Tararakh doesn't understand what "eidos" means (roughly speaking, it's a soul), Sardanapal has to explain it to him -- and by proxy, the readers. He also explains that the Dark Guardians are hunting for them, in hope to make themselves stronger.
** Sardanapal tells his colleagues a story about Drevnir's son (of which neither of them was aware), and how he was killed on a duel with Arey, resulting in Drevnir's sword being captured by Darkness.
* MathematiciansAnswer: Tararakh asks Zuboderikha what the "eidos" is. Her answer? "It's something the Dark Guardians wants to put into their darkhs". He lampshades how useless the answer was.
-->'''Tararakh''': ''Great! I love you, Zubi! You certainly know how to explain things. Let's presume that I asked you what "mouse" is, and you say: "Dear Tararakh, a mouse is what you catch into a mousetrap". Then I ask: "What a mousetrap is?". "Mousetrap is needed to catch mice". Now I know why your students are so scared of your lessons.''
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Sardanapal [[LectureAsExposition explains]] what the eidos is, and why it's so important:
-->'''Sardanapal''': Eidos, which the Dark Guardians are hunting for, is a core, an essence of the matter, a ticket into afterlife, a key to immortality, a soul. The most important and valuable what every lopukhoid, we or even Yagge (goddess or not) have. Anyone has only one eidos. The only thing you can't forge or copy with magic. Lopukhoid who loses life and body, but preserves eidos, loses nothing. But human who loses eidos, loses everything, even if their body, mind and life are out of danger. [...] Eidos looks like a small bluish spark or grain of sand. That spark has huge, incomparable power, it's what lets us embrace eternity and not stay in the rotten flesh after death. Eidos is the eternal piece of creation, the part of the One, Who created us through word. Nothing can destroy it -- neither a gorgulia division, nor atomic explosion, nor destruction of the Universe -- nothing. And even a single eidos has that power!
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Sardanapal tells a story about Drevnir's son, who was killed during Magic Wars, when a Dark Guardian Arey has challenged him on a duel, and beheaded him. Drevnir was asleep during a duel (with dark magic reinforcing his sleep to ensure that he wouldn't interfere), and after it, he personally buried [[NotEnoughToBury what has remained of his son after wights feasted on his corpse]] with a dagger.
* SecretKeeper: Sardanapal gave an oath to keep the truth about Drevnir's son and how he died in secret; he only breaks the oath now, because he believes that the situation is dire enough. He then orders his colleagues to stay quiet about what he said to them, and not reveal anything about Mefodiy Buslaev to anyone not present during discussion.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Drevnir's sword was a noble weapon of Light, until it was captured by the forces of Darkness. Now, Ligul slowly corrupts it, making it progressively darker and eviler, hoping to eventually turn it into a weapon of evil without it [[ItCanThink ever noticing it]].
* TimeAbyss: The Temple of the Eternal Battle is older than the Light and Darkness themselves.
* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: According to Yagge, almost no magic can work in the Middle Lands, not even the powers of Light and Darkness.
* YourSoulIsMine: Sardanapal explains why the eidoses are so important... and why Dark Guardians are hunting for them. However, even they can't take it by force -- it ''must'' be sacrificed voluntarily.
-->'''Sardanapal''': The more eidoses a Dark Guardian has in their darkh, the more powers they have and the higher they are in the hierarchy. The Guardians don't care that with eidoses, they take away the lopukhoids' afterlife. For them, it's merely a prey to hunt, nothing more.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Moon Reflection'']]
Thirteen years later, Mefodiy Buslaev, "the Dark Inheritor", lives mostly unremarkable life with his mother and uncle in a small flat on the outskirts of Moscow, and thinks that his future would be just as unremarkable -- despite various strange and unexplainable things occurring around him on semi-regular basis.
While Mefodiy's mother Zozo prepares for a date (ever since divorce with Mefodiy's father Igor, she seeks to find a replacement, so far unsuccessfully), she sends Mefodiy elsewhere, and he goes to his friend, Irka (a disabled wunderkind girl). Just before leaving, he goes into conflict with the latest of Zozo's would-be suitors (a hog-like aggressive man), and, just to spite him, sabotages his car's wires and exhaust pipe.
On the way back from Irka, Mefodiy accidentally takes control of the moon reflection in the poodle, freely moving it around, but disregards it as his imagination -- and then he gets caught by "hog", who didn't come along with Zozo. "Hog" acts very aggressive and even slaps him heavily, and is about to bring him to Zozo, to force her to pay up for everything on a threat of massive "collateral damage", but then some calm voice orders the "hog" to release the boy.
----
* AfraidOfBlood: Back when she was still a child, Zozo once cut her hand with a kitchen knife; the wound was not dangerous, but she was too scared, and locked herself into a closet, crying and scaring herself even further due to her overactive imagination. The mother has returned an hour and half later, and let her out, but that event forever cemented her panic fear of blood.
* AnimalMotifs: Zozo's new suitor ([[FatBastard obese and extremely abrasive]]) gets compared to a hog, which, "by coincidence or due to genetic anomaly, was born as a human".
* ApatheticStudent: Mefodiy must write a literature essay. Due to the lack of motivation, he came up with "on my opinion, the books can be good and not so much", and gave up.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Two years ago, Mefodiy and his then-acquaintance were moving past Irka's house, and saw her being stuck, unable to move up on rump on her own, due to wheelchair always riding back. Said acquaintance started laughing over Irka's problems. Mefodiy glanced on him, then on Irka, and then, after brief thinking, silently hit the jerk into jaw. That's when he'd lost an acquaintance -- and gained a close friend, the only one whom he can entrust with his insecurities.
* TheChosenZero: We gets introduced to Mefodiy Buslaev, the future Lord of Darkness... and learn that he's living rather unremarkable life, has no notable achievements at school or anywhere else, and who believes that nothing great ever awaits him (belief shared by pretty much everyone else, including his family).
* DoNotCallMePaul: Mefodiy's mother is called Zoya, but she hates that name, and prefers to be called "Zozo". She dislikes her passport, as it lists her given name instead of the one she prefers.
* DraftDodging: Edya avoided mandatory conscription by spending some time in psychiatric clinic and receiving a document which made him ineligible for military service; given that he had to pay $300 for it, it may or may not be fake (with rampant corruption, it's hard to tell).
* EmotionEater: Mefodiy has ability to see auras of people, and can absorb energy from them. Some of them are too disgusting to feed from, however. He never questions why he has such ability, just accepting it as normal, and never thinking that it's something unnatural.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: When "hog" grabs Mefodiy and asks what the hell he did with his car, Mefodiy makes two mistakes, which gives the "hog" concrete proof that it was him: he impulsively says that he never saw that car (which can't be true, as they firstly met each other near it), and says that he doesn't know who ruined his wires, despite wires not even being brought up yet.
* {{Jerkass}}: Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy from the very first seconds, without any provocation. When he later catches Mefodiy after the latter sabotages his car, he threatens to take all the money his mother has to pay up for the damage (and more), and if she wouldn't have enough, he would break everything in their house.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Most of the chapter is about introducing Mefodiy and his parents (and Irka); despite some strange stuff going on regularly around him, Mefodiy still believes that he's completely ordinary and has nothing remarkable about himself. Then he accidentally moves the moon reflection with his gaze.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Ever since divorcing Mefodiy's father, Zozo tries to find a replacement, but no one sticks for long. Mefodiy stopped memorising their names after first three.
* MaamShock: According to Irka, her grandma Babanya (who's fifty two years-old) hates when people call her "granny":
-->'''Bababya''': It's you "a granny"! I'm human!
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In-universe; Mefodiy discovers that he can control the Moon's reflection in the poodle, but then dismisses it as optical effect, feeling both relief and disappointment.
* MuggingTheMonster: Back when Mefodiy was three years-old, there was one rather dumb dog which had a habit of jumping at people and pushing them to the ground, looking on them to enjoy their fear, and then running away. When it did so to Mefodiy, he screamed in fear and looked the dog into eyes; almost immediately afterwards, the dog just fell on the ground and died from a heart rupture.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When Zozo's new suitor acts like a jerk towards him without provocation, Mefodiy waits for him to leave, and sabotages his car: puts a nail near one wheel, a broken bottle near another, and a balloon on the exhaust pipe. He feels no remorse for doing so. He quickly gets caught afterwards, however.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Eight years ago, when Irka was still four years-old, her parents' car has collided with a bus, resulting in her parents dying, and Irka injuring her spine, losing ability to walk. Since then, she lives with her grandmother, [[{{Portmanteau}} Babanya]] (from '''Bab'''ushka '''Anya''').
* RealDreamsAreWeirder: The first time Mefodiy saw a nightmare about the lead sarcophagus, and awoke Edya by his screaming, Edya reacted surprisingly well and told him about one of his own "nightmares", where someone has ordered to make a stew out of his leg, and then (which Edya finds particularly offensive) complained about the meat being overcooked.
* RecurringDreams: One-two times per month, Mefodiy sees the same dream about him standing near lead sarcophagus, knowing that there's something dangerous on which he shouldn't look, yet being unable not to, and the sarcophagus slowly melting under his gaze, bringing the danger inside closer to being released; the dream always ends before the sarcophagus melts completely. It deeply disturbs him. The only person whom he told about this is Irka, whom he considers his closest friend.
* RedRightHand: Mefodiy has some really weird and clearly superficial traits, which he somehow dismisses and still believes that he's perfectly common and unremarkable.
** Mefodiy has long blond hair, which he normally puts into tail (which eventually grew up waist-long); he never cuts them, due to the fact that any attempt to do so results in heavy pain and blood going out, which [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out his mother]].
** Mefodiy's eyes changes colour depending on his mood, with no one knowing for sure just ''what'' colour they really are: blue, green or grey.
** When Mefodiy gets really angry, Zozo starts feeling dizzy near him, and feels like she's descending into darkness, like on some hellish elevator.
* RefugeInAudacity: Zozo reads a dating magazine where some guy put an ad where he asks a lady to call him, so he would go to her balcony and sing a song for her... while mentioning that said lady should have a car and apartment, stating that he's fifty years old and weights 112 kilograms, ''and'' insisting that said lady should only call him between 21:00 and 22:00. Zozo doesn't fall for that, and gets angry.
* SelfDeprecation: Irka is tend to make jokes about her wheelchair, like comparing it to a race car. She doesn't react so well when someone else does that, however.
* SingleIssueWonk: Edya is generally tolerable, but there's one issue: he's pathologically cheap, and "pathologically" isn't a hyperbola: it goes to the point of arguing who and in which quantities can use a toilet paper, or attacking Mefodiy over stealing ten roubles to pay for metro ticket (and Mefodiy only has to steal cause Edya would refuse to share if asked, saying that Mefodiy is "parasitising" on him by asking for money he didn't earn himself).
* TimeSkip: The plot continues thirteen years after the prologue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Skomorokh Sloboda'']]
Mefodiy gets rescued from the "boar" by a tall, fat and eccentrically-dressed young woman (who keeps a huge sandwich in one hand) named Ulitha, who, after making several equally ridiculous threats to the guy, reacts to him trying to kick Mefodiy some more by damaging his precious car even more, clearly using magic for that. Then she scares him away by pretending to be a vampire.
Once the "boar" gets dealt with, Ulitha tells Mefodiy about his innate powers and his destiny to become the new Dark Lord, and invites him to visit her master, in the place which was once known as Skomorokh Sloboda, but now became unremarkable office building (or, rather, it's ''disguised'' as unremarkable office building). For that, she gives him a box with a rock with which he has to draw a rune after midnight, which would teleport him where he has to be. However, while Mefodiy takes the box, he's still skeptical about actually being ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev she's talking about.
----
* AchievementInIgnorance: Mefodiy can touch Ulitha's darkh without suffering any harm; normally, just toucing it should cause ''agonising'' pain, and he hold it for several seconds. Mefodiy doesn't understand why it's so important, but for Ulitha, it's yet another proof that he's indeed the boy she's looking for.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When school principal announces that the teacher whom the class awaits is away due to surgery, the children reacts with rejoicing, before realising how it looks and (poorly) hiding it with fake grieve.
* BaitAndSwitch: When principal says that a teacher is away due to "surgery", she actually means that it's ''teacher's dog'' who undergoes the surgery, not teacher herself.
* BoringButPractical: The Dark Guardians prefer to avoid unnecessary "special effects" unless they specifically need to impress someone, as they costs energy too, whatever small. So when Ulitha teleports away, she just disappears, no sparks, lightnings, etc.
* TheCavalry: Ulitha shows up to rescue Mefodiy from the "hog".
* ChekhovsGun: Besides the magic rock, the box which Ulitha gave to Mefodiy also contains "charisma fruit" from Eden, which, well, improves charisma of whomever eats it; Mefodiy puts it in his backpack and forgets. In the end of the chapter, Mefodiy's classmate Borya Grelkin, resident ShrinkingViolet who never says anything longer than "okay" or something similar, and never attracts anyone's attention, eats it when it falls from Mefodiy's backpack, which immediately starts improving his weak aura and makes him more talkative, with strong potential for more changes in the long run.
* DudeNotFunny: When Mefoidy says that his mother wouldn't let him go to some suspicious place in the middle of the night, Ulitha jokes that he has enough power to chain her to a rock like Prometheus if he wishes so. Mefodiy reacts badly, as he really doesn't like jokes at his family's expense.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Ulitha shows up dressed rather eccentrically, and shouts SophisticatedAsHell insults at the "hog", while not forgetting to bite from massive sandwich between phrases. When pressed hard enough, she ruins his precious car (which started the entire conflict) with her magic, while never stopping making fun at him.
* GaveUpTooSoon: To test whether he really has any magic, Mefodiy tries to burn a pile of junk at a distance; when it doesn't ignite, he considers it to be a sign of failure, and gives up... not realising that the junk is fire-resistant, and that it takes some time for it to burn, which it eventually does while he doesn't look.
* TheLoad: Borya Grelkin and Mefodiy Buslaev accidentally volunteers to move several tree stumps (they are to be used as decorations for upcoming play), the first one due to mishearing the question, and the second due to not paying attention. Then it turns out that the stumps are heavy, but Borya isn't gonna help, as his health doesn't allow him to carry weights. When asked why the hell he didn't say so to the principal, he says that she didn't ask. Borya is too pathetic to even get angry at him, so Mefodiy has to just do everything by himself.
* MuggingTheMonster: When the "hog" tries to insult Ulitha and threaten her, she pretends to be a vampire who's about to suck his blood. Then she lets him go, but not before saying the rules: do not insult her; whatever she says, he does; do not harm her friends.
* MythologyGag: When Mefodiy tells Ulitha his name, she says that she knows, and that at least he didn't introduce himself as "Mefodiy. Mefodiy Buslaev", like one "dude with glasses, currently in love with a Russian photo model" would do; it's a subtle reference to ''Tanya Grotter'', earlier series set in the same universe.
* NotEnoughToBury: Ulitha gives Mefodiy a box containing a rock, with which he's supposed to draw a rune on the floor after midnight; the rune is already engraved in the box, so he should just copy it. She warns him that if he botches it, what would remain of him would fit into a matchstick box.
* PeoplePuppets: To show Mefodiy that she represents the power which, if needed, can just ''force'' him to go where Ulitha's master wants him (but wants him to specifically go on his own accord), Ulitha briefly takes control over his body, forcing it to move according to her orders.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The House With Darkness-Facing Window'']]
While skeptical, Mefodiy decides to try and do as Ulitha asks, regardless of whether it's gonna work or not -- even if it kills him, it's preferable to maintaining status quo, as he's fed up with his old life. The rune works, and sends him to the stated location.
The story cuts to some time prior to the current events, showing how former Skomorokh Sloboda became the Dark Residence, and how current Dark chancellor, Ligul, installed swordsman Arey as its chief and Mefodiy's mentor. The two are clearly at odds, with Arey previously being sent into exile for killing some Dark Guardians over something bad which happened to his (''mortal'') family, and Ligul seeing Arey as valuable, but too free-spirited asset.
When Mefodiy arrives onto place, and discovers a way inside, he gets "greeted" by a crossbow arrow into face, which he instinctively blocks with his magic, confirming that yes, he does have some innate magic. Arey properly explains to him just what he's getting himself into, and tells that he ''can'' reject an offer to become his student, and return to his old unremarkable life. Mefodiy accepts; when asked how they would explain it to his parents, Arey promises to deal with it by himself.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: While initially Zozo was interesed with Basevich, soon he started annoying her with his unhealthy obsession with his health (and expecting the same from her), to the point that it becomes hard to pretend that she's still interested with talking to him.
* AnachronicOrder: When Mefodiy teleports to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, the plot switches to a flashback which tells how that building became the Dark residence (and gives backstory behind it), as well as introduces two major characters -- Dark Guardians Ligul and Arey. The plot then switches back to Mefodiy.
* AsYouKnow: While he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't go into too many details]] (as the person to whom he tells this ''does'' know this), Ligul starts mentioning that Arey's purpose is to train Mefodiy, who would soon hit thirteen, as they both know ''where'' he should be at that age. He also reminds Arey about his exile to the remote lighthouse, for the crime of daring to make a family, and later killing the other Dark Guardian on a duel (which is directly related to said family perishing). Arey [[LampshadeHanging points that today he's saying obvious facts a bit too often]].
* BullyingTheDragon: When Ligul presses Arey too much (Arey's late family and his [[HappilyAdopted relationship with Ulitha]] are ''very'' touchy topics), Arey easily cuts off Ligul's armour, and is one step away from cutting off Ligul's darkh as well, only stopping because he calms down. Ligul ''does'' know that Arey has more than thousand years of experience and was a literal god of war at some point, and that he was once punished exactly for killing someone who pushed him too far.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ligul doesn't go into details, as there's no point to repeat what they both already know, but what little is said indicates that Arey had a family at some point (''mortal'' family) which is now gone, and that he tries to find out what has happened to their souls; and that the people related to their doom were killed at some point, with one of such deaths resulting in Arey being punished with exile, which is when he found Ulitha.
* DirtyCoward: Arey [[InvokedTrope accuses]] Ligul of being too cowardly to fight for the eidoses he claims for himself, preferring to buy them from commissioners.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey was exiled to remote lighthouse by Ligul, as a punishment for killing another Dark Guardian on a duel (despite such duels being banned by Ligul). Arey doesn't regret this, as it allowed him to kill one of the last people involved in ruining his life. Now, only one remains...
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first introduction to Ligul and Arey tells us some key information about them. Ligul is a sleazy, cowardly and vile [[EvilCripple ugly hunchback with equally ugly personality]]. Arey [[NobleDemon has his own code of honour]], bounds to no one (and is willing to tell to his boss' face [[ServileSnarker what he thinks about him]]), and is capable of feeling genuine affection to people around him (and ''would not'' let the others to mistreat those people).
* ForbiddenLove: Ligul reminds Arey about him once breaking the rules and falling in love with mortal woman, and even somehow making a child with her -- and that it ended tragically.
--> '''Ligul''': Yeah, of course... Old stilly Ligul! How can he understand the worries of baron Arey, the Dark swordsman! Wow, what a unique story! Once ago, you fell in love with a mortal, breaking our laws, made a daughter with her, and, in attempt to save that silly paradise, made tons of mistakes... So many, that you ended up on the lighthouse. Waves, rocks and wind were supposed to clean up your mind. But instead? Even on the lighthouse, you didn't become smarter. Saved that lopukhoid girl, doomed to die by her own delusional mother. I wonder, why? [[ReplacementGoldfish Or she reminds you about the daughter you failed to save]]? When would you understand that we're immortal, while lopukhoids and children from lopukhoids are just expandable... Pawns in the eternal game between the good and evil. Stupid flesh, the mud with a little spark of eidos which for unknown reason ended up inside!
* HappilyAdopted: Ulitha isn't just Arey's secretary; she was adopted by him when her mother (a witch herself) has sold her soul to gain something from the Darkness, and leaved her for death. Judging from Arey's conversation with Ligul, it's his attempt to [[ReplacementGoldfish replace his own daughter]], who's now dead.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: When Arey says that not all people related to the death of his family are dead, and that "one is still alive", Ligul quickly realises that he better drop the topic of Arey's past.
* {{Infodump}}: There's a lengthy part about the history of Dark Residence, which starts right after Mefodiy teleporting away, and smoothly proceeds into Arey and Ligul originally arriving to this place and discussing what Arey should do there, and only then continues with Mefodiy's story.
* JumpedAtTheCall: While more than sceptical at first, Mefodiy decides that he's fed up with living with his family and that screw this, he would become a mage, or die trying.
* KickTheDog: When Ligul calls [[ReplacementGoldfish Ulitha]] "a servant", Arey reacts badly, and makes a joke about [[EvilCripple Ligul's hunch]]. This makes Ligul break his usual smug demeanour, and start openly badmouthing Ulitha, telling how pathetic and pointless her existence is.
-->'''Ligul''': She's worse than a servant! She's a slave of the Darkness. She was cursed all the way back into infancy, by her own mother, who dealt with black magic. Her eidos was taken away, leaving only a hole. By the book of life and death, your Ulitha is supposed to be dead by now. The girl should've been eaten by worms! It's kinda wrong, don't you think? Going against the death itself, who knows no mistakes! The girl was supposed to be killed, but then you appeared. Why, for what reason? Even gave her some of your powers. And she's not even a beauty... We chose to ignore it. Who cares what the crazy baron of Darkness does on his devastated lighthouse?
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ligul reminds Arey that he's not a saint either, having countless eidoses in his darkh himself. Arey tries to defend himself by saying that he gained those in fair fight, but Ligul points that [[WorldsBestWarrior it's hardly a "fair" fight when one of the combatants is hopelessly superior to everyone else]]. Arey then makes a (weak) defence by saying that they might've tried to even the chances by using the artifacts, to which Ligul points that it's exactly his point: when you can't win fairly, you have to fight ''un''fairly.
* RefugeInAudacity: Even knowing who's before him, Mefodiy can't resist making some snarky comments here and there, just because. Arey (who previously reacted badly to Ulitha's silly jokes) reacts surprisingly calmly to them and replies in tone.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Ligul accuses Arey of keeping Ulitha around as attempt to replace his dead wife and daughter. Arey's reaction confirms it.
* SelfDeprecation: When Arey comments on Ulitha eating too many sweets, she replies that such worries belongs to the beauties.
* ShoutOut: Ulitha jokingly calls Mefodiy "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipollino Lord Tomato]]".
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Arey doesn't meet Mefodiy when he arrives to Big Dmitrovka, 13th, allowing him to enter on his own, and then suddenly attacks him with a crossbow. Mefodiy instinctively sets up a magic barrier, saving his life. Arey then says that it was a test to see whether there's any point to even bother with training Mefodiy, as if he wouldn't be able to protect himself from ''that'', he's hopeless. He then explains that it's standard practice for everyone whom the Darkness takes as students: they take around a hundred per thousand year, and only around one tenth stays till the end.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Why only one tenth stays? They don't like being with you? They're leaving?\\
'''Arey''': They are. There, and there! [''points with eyes to the roof, then to the floor''] [...] Training of the Dark Guardians has little in common with the training of common mages. We don't have tests and grades. No essays, presentations, retellings and homework. We don't memorise spells and don't make potions. We're training the Guardians, through extremely dangerous means.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why dangerous?\\
'''Arey''': Because we're playing with powers which can't do anything not in full force or not seriously. You can't pretend to throw someone into hot lava, pretend to curse someone or pretend to cut them with a zweihander. [...] It's better if a Dark Guardian doesn't live till the end of their training, than fail their task and put us to shame before our enemies, the Light Guardians.
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Arey tells Mefodiy that he can accept the proposal and become Arey's student, or he can continue living with his parents, stealing from his uncle and causing problems to his mother's suitors, while suffering more and more problems from his innate gift, which wouldn't leave him alone.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Ligul comments that with someone having so many years of experience as Arey, not to mention that he was a literal god of war at some point (judging from name, likely Ares), there's no way the others may fight him on equal terms without cheating -- he would ''always'' be superior to them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Everyday Life at Eden Garden'']]
Daphne was always rather... unusual Light Guardian; besides her having hellish cat named Depresnyak as her pet, she's known for certain "informal" habits, small pranks, and dark sense of humour. Eden feels rather boring for her, being just too good and nice. While trying to find some entertainment, she runs into the ghost of Retired Fairy, known for two things: messing up with people by fulfilling their wishes with major drawbacks, and foretelling the future; the Fairy warns her that putting the winged necklace (the source of Light Guardian's powers) on the neck of a mortal would make her fall in love with them. There are no mortals in Eden, so it's meaningless, right? Right?.. But Fairy is already gone...
No one has any expectations of Daphne, herself including -- all the stranger that she was summoned by Supreme Guardian Troil himself, for some important task. Troil tells her about Mefodiy Buslaev, who has inherited the powers of Kvodnon, previous Lord of Darkness who nearly destroyed Eden once, but was barely stopped at the great cost. Now, Daphne must infiltrate the Dark Residence and convince Arey that she's a turncoat, so she may spy on them, and act as Mefodiy's guardian angel, to not let him fall into Darkness completely. She's the perfect candidate for this role, ''precisely'' because she has some inherent Darkness inside her, and because her reputation is so bad -- it would be plausible if she becomes an outlaw and goes on the run.
----
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Pretty much anything "un-Light" can cost you a dark feather or two, which is the sign of Darkness growing inside you.
* DontThinkFeel: Sniffer believes that "professionals" are the worst that can happen to art (even worse than dilettantes), as they blindly follow the rules and techniques to do everything "right", where they're supposed to listen to their heart. This is especially true when applying to magolodies. When Daphne gets briefly distracted when playing defensive magolody, she starts remembering the right technique -- and the magolody loses all magic, as she's ''thinking'', not ''feeling''.
* DyingRace: Wights and other magical creatures are gradually dying out due to [[{{Muggles}} lopukhoids]] expansion. The Light Guardians gave shelter to some of them in Eden, purely because otherwise they would be homeless; the rest was mostly adopted by mages who keep them on their territory, except for [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the most violent ones]].
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** The system with Light Guardians using numbers to indicate their hierarchy (the lower the number, the higher your rank) would be completely forgotten in subsequent books.
** Daphne somehow managed to regenerate lost feathers in her wings; later books would state that any injuries to the wings are permanent.
* FantasticRacism: Wights from different regions of the world dislike each other and often fights -- even in Eden.
* FluffyTamer: Daphne keeps [[MeaningfulName Depresnyak]] as her pet -- [[HybridMonster a cat whose mother was a normal Eden cat, and father was demonic cat from hell]]; Depresnyak [[UnevenHybrid has inherited mostly father's qualities]], like [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily one hundred and twenty teeth]], [[ExtremeOmnivore ability to bite glass and drink acid]], [[AxCrazy chaotically aggressive personality]] and skin which burns whoever touches him while [[EmotionEater sucking out all happiness]].
* {{Foil}}: Pupliy and Rufin, two Light Guards guarding the Palace of Light Ones; Pupliy is unpleasant ObstructiveBureaucrat with no sense of humour, Rufin is nice, friendly and not above making a joke or two, or laugh over someone else's.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Retired Fairy warns Daphne that putting her winged necklace on a mortal would cause her to fall in love with him. Daphne instantly recognises it as a prophecy to be aware of, even if there are no mortals in Eden.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: The elite Light Guardians are called Gold-Winged, and have golden winged necklaces instead of standard bronze. It's not easy to become one, as it requires at least three successful raids on Darkness, each ending with at least one darkh being destroyed and idoses being freed.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne officially becomes guardian angel for Mefodiy Buslaev, tasked with keeping him in check and preventing from descending into Darkness completely.
* HellInvadesHeaven: In backstory, the forces of Darkness, then led by [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon]], besieged the Eden itself, and [[NearVillainVictory were very close to victory]]. However, nine Gold-Winged Ones [[HeroicSacrifice volunteered to attack Kvodnon, knowing that they wouldn't return]]; they managed to kill Kvodnon before perishing, and destroy his darkh. It moralised defenders for counterattack, and allowed them to push forces of Darkness out, after which the evil lay low for a long time, before they switched to raid tactics (and started using commissioners and succubi to obtain new eidoses).
* HellOfAHeaven: Daphne lives in literal Eden, but for her, it's extremely boring and too saccharine, it just asks to add something nasty into a mix, like a ghoul, and see what would happen.
* JackassGenie: The Retired Fairy offers everyone to fulfil their dream. When she does that, she asks for more and more and more, until they run out of dreams (and she wouldn't bother with something simple, like "bring me tea", she only cares about real dreams)... after which she promptly ruins everything she had created (want to be an actor? prepare to play a tree stump), to demonstrate how really pathetic those dreams were -- all to prove her point that "true dreams" are extremely rare. Those who know about her quickly learned to recognise offers of dream fulfilment as a SchmuckBait.
* LastDayOfNormalcy: Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the normal lives of Light Guardians in general, and Daphne in particular, before any plot happens and Daphne goes on adventure.
* LectureAsExposition: We learn some new information about the setting through Troil instructing Daphne:
** At first, Troil thinks that just telling Daphne that her target is ''that'' Mefodiy Buslaev is enough, but then he realises that she didn't pay attention in classes, and has to give her a lecture about [[SatanicArchetype Kvodnon's]] downfall, so she would understand why it's so important that someone has inherited his powers.
** Troil tells Daphne a story about the team of voodoo mages who tried to brute-force the Tempe of Eternal Battle (to reduce the risks, they used mice and frogs to "test" the road ahead, though even that helped only partially) -- and how all but one of them have died with almost zero progress (hundred plates -- out of thousand), describing several "lovely" traps they run into. The penultimate one freaked out and tried to escape, only to be killed just one step away from exit; Troil presumes that the Temple [[GeniusLoci allowed him]] to make it that far just to show: there's no going back, once you enter, you must finish -- or die trying. The last one freaked out as well, and decided to not even bother; naturally, he was the one who told this story afterwards.
* TheMole: Troil plans to set up Daphne as the agent of Light in the heart of Darkness, as she's needed to keep Mefodiy Buslaev in check. To make it plausible, the other Guardians wouldn't be warned, and ''would'' hunt for Daphne as the real traitor.
* SchmuckBait: If Retired Fairy offers to fulfil your dreams, politely refuse: [[JackassGenie you wouldn't like the results]].
* SelfMadeMyth: According to Retired Fairy (who was the Fairy Godmother from that fairytale), the story about Cinderella is full of lies. Cinderella was a massive jerk who was actually the one to abuse stepmother and stepsisters (not the other way around), and who often caused the little creatures about herself to die by just looking at them, and the reason why her heels failed to fit anyone was due to her feet being ''really'' huge. The reason why she won the prince over was due to usage of cheap love spell, which later led to the prince (who actually was stooped and had lame horse) poisoning the fairy for such "present". The fairytale was fabricated to hide all the mess.
* TimeAbyss: The stone gryphons are guarding the Eden since the day of its creation, and ''still'' just as dangerous as before.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Daphne is pretty much considered to be the main "bad girl" amongst the Light Guardians, due to her "un-angelic" habits and behaviour, and her being a prankster. And then there's that one case when she drew a Dark rune... and it somehow worked, even if badly. Her internal Darkness is physically represented by her having some dark feathers. And Troil wants her to ump it up, so they can "exile" her and set up her as TheMole.
* TrueSight: The stone gryphons can see the Darkness inside you no matter how you try to disguise -- and attack to kill you. Several Dark Guardians at some points have tried to infiltrate, but didn't make it past gryphons.
* UnfinishedBusiness: According to Retired Fairy, all ghosts are prisoners of their unfinished tasks they've failed to fulfil while alive, and now, no longer being able to do so, are forced to relive them over and over again. The lack of their own life to speak about is also the reason why they're so eager to intervene into others'.
* VocalDissonance: Troil's secretary Berenariy has high-pitched voice which strongly contrasts with his massive heigh.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Mrs Mamzelkina's Best Friend'']]
Arey's cover story for Mefodiy is to put him into elite gymnasium "Treasury of Wisdom", run by the man named Glumovich. While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy actually legitimately making it into such elite school (he's... not exactly best student, and is prone to cheating), and Edya distrusts Glumovich himself, suspecting that something is fishy, Glumovich somehow convinces them.
Returning to the Dark Residence, Mefodiy starts working with stamping reports from commissioners and succubi (the low-level servants of Darkness), until a visitor comes, the old hag known as Aida Plakhovna Mamzelkina -- or, if you insist, the Grim Reaper herself. She's here to drink mead with her old friend Arey, as well as inform him about his old enemy, shapeshifter Yaraat, escaping from custody, so he can find and kill Mefodiy -- who's indirectly responsible for him being caught in the first place.
Learning that Yaraat isn't gonna attack Mefodiy in at least a week or so, Arey calms down and sends Mefodiy to Glumovich's gymnasium (it's not the good idea to sleep in the place like Dark Residence if you can avoid it), while giving him the "Book of Chameleons" -- the magic tome which can be used for communication, if needed.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Arey playfully calls Mefodiy "[[ShoutOut Lord Tomato]]" (the nickname made up by Ulitha couple of chapters earlier), which clearly shows that this nickname is gonna stick.
* ArchEnemy: Mefodiy learns about Yaraat -- a shapeshifter who [[DePower had lost his powers]] when Mefodiy was born, and was captured -- and now somehow escaped his custody (with outside help) to find and kill Mefodiy, whom he sees as the source of his problems. Arey has his own reasons to want Yaraat dead, which have something to do with Yaraat betraying him in the past, likely related to the death of Arey's family.
-->'''Arey''': He would find you anywhere. And you know, I think I want for him to find you.\\
'''Mefodiy''': Why?\\
'''Arey''': Because then I would find him. For many years already, this is my only desire.
* BatmanGambit: When Arey manages to bribe Aida Plakhovna with a whole keg of mead to reveal whether Mefodiy is in her "to kill" list for this week, only to learn that he isn't, Arey realises that she came ''precisely'' because she knew that they would try to bribe her, while knowing that there's no real danger. He laughs from relief and admiration for her cunning.
* BeneathNotice: Arey gives Mefodiy the Book of Chameleons, through which he can contact him if needed, even when Mefodiy is away from the Residence; to not attract unwanted attention, the Book changes its appearance on daily basis, always picking something unremarkable, like manual to repair house gear at home.
* BlatantLies:
** One commissioner tries to fake up report... by writing 1+0 as 10. Then he pretends to be illiterate in attempt to avoid punishment.
** Tukhlomon asks Mefodiy to sign up a document which would allow him to visit his grandfather in Tartarus, and claims that he would tell about Mefodiy to his own children if he signs up. But, being the evil spirit from hell, he obviously has ''no'' "grandfather" or children. He only tries it because Mefodiy is new here, but even for a novice, it should sound suspicious.
* BrownNote: Mamzelkina warns Mefodiy to stay away from her scythe: merely ''seeing'' it is extremely dangerous, and not just for your life.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Ulitha warns Mefodiy to not trust commissioners, as they're utter scum who would betray and badmouth everyone and everything if it may give them any profit.
* DePower: Yaraat was in Moscow when Mefodiy was born, resulting in his power being drained and consumed by Mefodiy, and him being caught by the Darkness: being the infamous outlaw and artifact thief, he was wanted by both the Darkness and the Light. For that, Yaraat still wants Mefodiy dead.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** The ''first'' thing Tuklhlomon does is to try to scam Mefodiy out of his eidos by lying that he needs a permission to "[[BlatantLies visit his grandfather]]", with the "payment" being... expired sprat can.
** Aida Plakhovna plays the "senile old granny" and makes [[BlackComedy death-related jokes at Mefodiy's expense]], only for Mefodiy to [[ObfuscatingStupidity instantly see that she's perfectly sane]] -- and very dangerous. Then she goes to Arey and "subtly" asks for mead, revealing that she's an alcoholic, but ''still'' continuing her facade, despite everyone knowing that she's neither dumb nor drunk.
* InsistentTerminology: To make "clients" less prone to panic, Aida Plakhovna's "profession" (GrimReaper) is now called "senior manager of necrodepartment". Mefodiy thinks that it fails at intended purpose.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mefodiy quickly realises that [[GrimReaper Aida Plakhovna]] only pretends to be senile granny, and is actually ''very'' dangerous.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Ulitha gives Mefodiy brief introduction to commissioners and succubi.
** Succubi obtains eidoses by exploiting people's unsatisfied love and lust, by offering them visions (particularly in dreams) and then asking for soul in return.
** Commissioners are plasticine-made imps with disgusting, "sticky" personalities and speech manner resembling old-fashioned servants, who ''constantly'' lies and tries to scam you for something, as well as snitches on everyone and everything.
* RecklessGunUsage: PlayedForLaughs. Ulitha absent-mindedly aims a pistol into her reflection in a mirror. When Mefodiy asks whether the gun is loaded, she says that she doesn't remember, and shoots into mirror (the bullet ricochets into a wall), then comments on her being a good shot, as she hit right into forehead.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tukhlomon almost tricks Mefodiy to sell his soul for... an expired sprat can. Mefodiy only gets saved by Ulitha, who notices something fishy going on before he signs up anything.
* TooDumbToLive: Mefodiy almost signs up a document which would sell his eidos to a commissioner, falling for BlatantLies about commissioner wanting to visit his "grandfather", and not even bothering to read the document properly, as it's too long and too confusing.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: While Zozo is sceptical about Mefodiy being accepted into elite gymnasium, as she knows that he lacks any meaningful skills and is prone to cheating, Edya is more suspicious towards it being offered for free, and thinks that there's something fishy; he's ready to kick Glumovich's ass if his suspicions turns out to be true.
-->'''Edya''': I don't like it! Something is fishy! Had they asked for at least something in return, it would've been plausible, but completely for free like that... The free cheese can only be in a mousetrap, or in our restaurant "Damsel Fingers"! A bonus. Anyone who buys a pint of vodka receives one hundred grams of most expensive cheese for free.\\
'''Zozo''': Really, for free?\\
'''Edya''': Of course. We don't scam. But, the price of vodka includes the price of cheese. And after vodka, many dudes can no longer stop. They gets wasted to the point that you can force them to pay for any expensive whiskey.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Order of the Yellow Skull'']]
Mefodiy gets settled into a same room with a haughty guy named Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable). The two immediately goes into conflict, with Vova inventing all sorts of silly rules on the go just to show Mefodiy his place, and generally shows that he doesn't consider him as his equal; Mefodiy replies in kind.
Bored, Mefodiy tries to check the Book of Chameleons, and accidentally discovers the hidden access to magic world channel, running into news program run by anchor Venya Viy. Viy tells some news about renegade Light Guardian Daphne, who stole the dangerous artifact called the Horn of Minotaur.
At night, Vova Skunso and his friends tries to put Mefodiy through humiliating "initiation ceremony", to finally force him into compliance, which results in Mefodiy, in anger, awakening some of his innate magic and scaring them off. He then proceeds to force the leaders of the "Order of the Yellow Skull" to do the ceremony by themselves.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Narrator describes Glumovich as tall, lean and insinuating, and compares him to sick fox.
* ArmourPiercingAttack: The Horn of Minotaur can pierce any and all magic armour, and [[TakenForGranite turns the attacked foe into living statue for six months]].
* ChekhovsNews: Mefodiy, out of curiosity, uses the Book of Chameleons to look the Dark-TV, specifically, [[Literature/{{Viy}} Venya Viy's]] show. Viy tells about Daphne going on the run, capturing the Horn of Minotaur, and describes its [[TakenForGranite properties]]. Surely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} it's gonna get important soon]]...
* DeadlyGaze: Viy asks his assistants to open his eyes while his show runs live. Fortunately, operator freaks out and faints at the last moment, so only the people in studio gets killed.
* DealWithTheDevil: Glumovich has sold his soul to Ligul, most likely so he can profit from owning elite private gymnasium. He's allowed to "rent" his soul for a time being, with the deal being prolonged for as long as he remains useful. Allowing Mefodiy Buslaev to stay there is his way to remain useful.
* EmbarrassingLastName: Vova Skunso (accent on the last syllable) has his surname dangerously resembling the word "skuns" (skunk), especially if one puts accent on the first syllable. Naturally, Mefodiy [[{{Troll}} does exactly that]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: The "Treasury of Wisdom" gymnasium has 912 rules; amongst them, "students aren't allowed to live secludedly" (rule №803) and "discussing or mentioning nationalities is expulsion-worthy offence" (rule №3). But there's no rule against bragging.
* MuggingTheMonster: Vova Skunso and his lackeys (who're obscuring their faces with paper bags) prepares to humiliate Mefodiy, to show him his place, by beating him up and forcing him to crawl under chairs while holding a sock in his mouth, and kissing everyone's shoes -- all in the name of the "yellow skull", whatever it is. Mefodiy, once he gets sufficiently angry, enflames one of participants' bag, then the other things. Once everyone gets sufficiently scared to leave him alone, Mefodiy forces two of the "order's" leaders, Vova and Sasha, [[LaserGuidedKarma to do what they have tried to force Mefodiy into]].
* NoRespectGuy: Mefodiy shows zero respect to Glumovich, both because he sees his dirty aura, and because he knows that the guy has sold his soul to the Darkness and now sucks up to Ligul in order to postpone the moment when he has to give it away. Vova Skunso shows little respect to Glumovich or his gymnasium, either.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Vova's friend tries to show Mefodiy his place by pretending that listening to his "monotonous humour" is boring. Mefodiy replies with overly long and hard-to-follow phrase which he had learned specifically for that purpose; his mother taught him.
-->'''Zozo''': Doesn't matter what it means, but it works perfectly to show fools their place! Just remember to say it casually, like something perfectly normal.
* SoreLoser: Viy can't take well that someone else's show is more popular than his.
* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: Vova Skunso insists that Mefodiy should call him "Vovva", with two "[=Vs=]"; it ''only'' applies to Mefodiy, to show him his place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Kindest Fiend'']]
Following Troil's orders, Daphne used some questionable magic (some of which can cause temporal madness in user) to steal the Horn of Minotaur and escape Eden. She visits Mefodiy's parents to learn where to search for him. Meanwhile, Tukhlomon steals the eidos of one of Zozo's unlucky suitors, only to run into Pupliy and Rufin on his way back: they were kicked out from the guard duty due to Pupliy's screwup, and sent on patrol mission. The two are about to banish him.
Following her intuition, Daphne (who was nearby at that moment) decides to help Tukhlomon. But before she frees him, Pupliy and Rufin (who were distracted by Depresnyak suddenly attacking them) returns and busts her near Tukhlomon. The Light Guardians attacks her, and while Puplity gets accidentally disabled by his own magolody backfiring, Rufin gets hit with the Horn and petrified; before turning into marble for next six months, Rufin tells Daphne that she not only stole the Horn, but also tried to assassinate Troil, who's now in coma. Realising that it's point of no return, Daphne forces Tukhlomon into bringing her to Mefodiy.
----
* AnachronicOrder: The chapter starts with Daphne visiting Mefodiy's parents to learn where he is, then switches to [[HowWeGotHere how she stole the Horn of Minotaur and escaped]], and then continues after the visit to Mefodiy's parents and her running into Tukhlomon.
* BigDamnHeroes: Rufin and Pupliy prepares to exile Tukhlomon to Tartarus for one thousand years, but Depresnyak attacks them, stealing Pupliy's winged necklace and forcing the two to hunt for him. Meanwhile, Daphne releases Tukhlomon from the rune which imprisoned him, planning to exploit him to get to Arey.
* ChekhovsGun:
** Two out of three methods of stealthy infiltration suggested to Daphne to steal the Horn of Minotaur have side effects affecting user's mind and making them do strange things after losing control of themselves. Later Daphne would be accused of nearly fatally poisoning Troil.
** It's mentioned that Minotaur's Horn can [[ArmourPiercingAttack penetrate any magic armour]]; Rufin is protected by magic chainmail, which allows him to NoSell Daphne's magolodies, but it's no match for the Horn.
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes, in violation of the rules, Sniffer teaches students the magolodies from arsenal of Gold-Winged Ones -- officially, "for the art", but in reality, clearly to prepare them for the worst.
* CruelMercy: Rufin decides not to kill Tukhlomon; he would "merely" banish him to [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Tartarus]] for next thousand years.
* DeadlyDodging: Pupliy gets hit by Rufin's sleep-inducing magolody because Daphne at the last moment jumps on him, and magolody hits Pupliy, as he, standing on the ground, counts as "end of the chain".
* DePower: Once Pupliy and Rufin gets defeated, Tukhlomon steals their winged necklaces, meaning that they're now little more than humans; there's no way to gain new wings.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Tukhlomon calls the cursed button where he stored eidoses a "darkh". Later books would use the term exclusively for the crystal vessels used by the Dark Guardians.
** Rufin says that Troil is poisoned and on the brink of death. But later instalments would say that it's not possible to actually die while in Eden.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene where Tukhlomon scares Basevich into compliance by pretending to be a talking sliced-up fish which yells at him and threatens to boil him alive unless he gives up his eidos, shows us how audacious Tukhlomon is tend to be when doing his job. Then he nearly gets exiled by two Light Guardians, only to be rescued by Daphne, who demands him to help her with infiltrating the Dark Residence... and tries to backstab her twice in a row.
* EvilHand: Tukhlomon's button, where he stores eidoses, is cursed; if you touch it, your own hand would try to kill you, and the sole way to stop it is to cut it off.
* ExactWords: When Daphne doesn't let Tukhlomon go until he gives her an oath that he would help her, he tries to use the Darkness' motto instead of actual oath, on which she catches him. He then gives her actual oath... that he would bring her "anywhere", which also fails to fool her. Daphne orders him to bring her specifically to Arey, and not just random dude called "Arey", but specifically swordsman Arey, baron of Darkness.
* HolyBurnsEvil: The word "spasibo" (Russian for "thanks") originates from "'''spasi''' '''bo'''g" (literally "god, save"); when Daphne says it near Tukhlomon, it causes him visible pain.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Pupliy made a mistake of apprehending important official over him forgetting a password, which resulted in him and Rufin being kicked out from prestigious guard position and sent into mortal world to patrol. This results in the two running into Tukhlomon, and then Daphne.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Edya is correct about not trusting Glumovich. However, he's suspecting him to be some sort of maniac or similarly nasty guy with unhealthy interest towards children, rather than lackey of the Darkness.
* TheRival: Sergey Basevich and Wolf Cactusov are two journalists competing for the right to publish their works in "elite" magazines, with whoever lose having only cheap, unpopular ones to work with. Their methods of competition can go up to and including trying to make another one drunk and do something stupid to ruin their reputation.
* TakenForGranite: Daphne accidentally hits Rufin with the Horn of Minotaur, which freezes him and then turns into marble statue.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''Repetition is the Corpse of Doubt'']]
Mefodiy's new sword (the same one which once belonged to Drevnir and which his son used in his ill-fated duel with Arey) arrives, and, judging from brief tests, it accepts Mefodiy as its new owner, obeying his commands and linking with his wrath.
But it's not the only thing Arey wants to try; he wants Mefodiy to train his intuition, as, quoting Arey, "the Guardian without intuition is pathetic and deserves to die". That's when Mefodiy notices that they have two guests; one is Tukhlomon, another is... a female Light Guardian.
----
* CombatClairvoyance: Arey tries to train Mefodiy's intuition by tying his eyes with special cursed blindwrap (so [[YourEyesCanDeceiveYou he wouldn't use his normal vision]]) and ordering him to see things through his "intuitive vision", and say what Arey is doing. Mefodiy, unsuccessful at first, ultimately manages to find a way to do that, gradually seeing more and more clear, until he manages to see things Arey is only ''planning'' to do. Arey congratulates him on success... and then Mefodiy sees that Arey is about to behead him, and crotches... which is exactly what Arey wanted him to do -- to notice danger before it hits, and take precautions.
-->'''Arey''': A sword is just a weapon. If compare to human body, a weapon is its arm, an intuition is its eye. A Guardian without intuition is a pathetic creature which deserves to die.
* HiddenPurposeTest: Arey orders Mefodiy to try his new sword on furniture, without caring about damage. Then he explains that he wanted to test whether sword would obey Mefodiy, as it's ''very'' picky when it comes to owners, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards can react to excessive vileness with attacking its owner]].
* ItCanThink: Drevnir's former sword is almost sapient; not only it [[EmpathicWeapon reacts to its wielder's emotions]], it can also disobey someone it considers ''too'' evil, as it still has some spark of original Light, and can't tolerate vileness. It also still dislikes Arey, somehow remembering that he was the one who killed Drevnir's son in a duel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on "Repetition is the mother of learning" proverb.
* ShipTease: Mefodiy clearly feels some attraction to Daphne (which is part of his motivation to protect her before Arey); Daphne also notices that he's pretty, and feels gratitude for him insisting on sparing her, even at the cost of possible conflict with Arey.
* {{Troll}}: Ulitha has a game where she calls on random phone number, says something like "it's me!" and maintains the dialogue until she gets "recognised", then either accuses the interlocutor of "stealing" something (she never reveals what, leaving them to wonder), or "reveals" something liker her dropping a golden ring into sugar bowl, expecting them to search for it.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Arey has some pitch-black magic blindfold which ''completely'' disables ability to see things in any way but through intuitive vision (which is what Arey wants Mefodiy to train). He says upfront that Mefodiy doesn't want to know this thing's origin, as apparently it's very disturbing.
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: Arey forces Mefodiy to wear magic blindfold (which completely disables his ability to see things with his eyes), to force him to rely on intuition and ultimately see things with his mind rather than his eyes. It ultimately works.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: When Mefodiy does as Arey asks (imagining a lake and look into its water to see things), he fails miserably, as he wastes too much energy trying to do it "right" and even accidentally imagines excessive details (like frogs), which only makes it harder. When he gives up and calms down, he starts actually see things.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Guardian Seven Times Removed'']]
Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne yet again, by ratting her out to Arey and suggesting to kill her, to which Mefodiy reacts very negatively and almost kills Tukhlomon himself. Arey decides to let Daphne in and talk with her first.
After learning the story with Horn's abduction and what happened to Troil, Arey decides to give Daphne a chance after all, though he doesn't trust her completely, especially since Mefodiy insists on taking her, threatening to quit if she gets killed. For now, Daphne would also stay in the "Treasury of Wisdom", under fake name Dasha Pimenova.
----
* BeneathNotice: {{Invoked|Trope}}. As Daphne is gonna hide in Glumovich's gymnasium as well, she needs a human-like name. Arey and Ulitha picks the most boring one possible -- Daria "Dasha" Pimenova -- knowing that no one would bother with actually memorising it. Now it's up to Daphne to not botch her disguise by doing something stupid, like using magic or showing wings.
* BlatantLies:
** Tukhlomon tries to pretend that he's Mefodiy's friend, and that he only tried to scam him out of his eidos to "protect it" from the other scammers. Mefodiy almost kills him here and now.
** Tukhlomon tries to steal the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin when he presents Arey with one of the winged necklaces. Arey immediately realises that it was Daphne who'd done this, which he tells to Tukhlomon.
* ExactWords: Tukhlomon tries to backstab Daphne ''yet again'', this time by exploiting her not asking to actually let her out once she finds Arey, and ratting her out. Fortunately for Daphne, Arey sides with her.
* TheMole: Daphne gets accepted into Arey's team, albeit not without suspicion, and can start her mission as Mefodiy's GuardianAngel.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is a pun on a proverb.
* TooDumbToLive: For whatever reason, Daphne thinks that it's a good idea to put out a flute and try to play ''in front of Arey'', without warning. She's lucky that he just kicks the flute out of her hands rather than kills her on the spot. He [[LampshadeHanging actually calls her out on how stupid that decision was]].
-->'''Arey''': Putting out a flute in front of the Dark Guardians is just as dangerous as playing with a toy gun in front of the drunk military officers. The next time, I may just behead your and only then realise that I was wrong. But my regret wouldn't help you a one bit.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''Let Me Borrow Your Body for an Evening'']]
Near midnight, Ligul pays Arey a visit, and informs him that the plans have changed; previously, they expected that Mefodiy would be in the Temple on the day when he hits thirteen, but it seems that something strange is going on, and he would only have time until tomorrow, or the next change would be only one hundred years later, and Mefodiy is unlikely to stay alive till then, as he's not a Guardian yet. He also insists that Daphne (he's already aware of her presence; ''not'' from Tukhlomon) should be there, too.
Arey summons Mefodiy and Daphne and explains what's about to happen. He also tells them that, as Mefodiy's swordsman skills are non-existent, they have no other way but to summon the spirit of the Second Sword of Darkness, Hoors, who was once killed on a duel with First Sword -- Arey himself. For that, Mefodiy should dedicate small part of his mind to contain his spirit, and temporarily let him in charge of the body, so he would handle the fighting. Unfortunately, Mefodiy botches it, resulting in Hoors taking over and trying to kill Arey, with Arey (who can't just kill him) barely holding him even with Daphne's help. Arey only convinces him to stop when he reveals ''whom'' Hoors had possessed, and even then, Hoors threatens to return some day after Mefodiy fulfils the prophecy.
----
* CelestialDeadline: Ligul learns that something has changed, and Mefodiy must go to the Temple of Eternal Battle ''tomorrow'', with only little time to prepare -- or wait for hundred thousands of years for next chance; previously, it was estimated (and the prophecy has told so) that Mefodiy would go there on a day of his thirteenth birthday.
* DemonicPossession: Arey teaches Mefodiy how to summon the spirit of Hoors into his mind, and how to keep him in check, so Hoors wouldn't take over. As Mefodiy can't fight, Hoors would do that for him if needed. Mefodiy botches it due to falling into a trap, and lets Hoors to take over, after which Hoors tries to kill Arey. Hoors only leaves when he learns that he possessed Mefodiy, but still threatens to return one day.
* {{Determinator}}: {{Discussed|Trope}}; Arey tells Mefodiy that willpower is what really matters in life, and what keeps you alive, not physical strength.
-->'''Arey''': Life is, for the most part, not a battle of muscles, but collide of your will with other will. The body fell down, but willpower rises it back and leads into battle. The weak will is like a rancid egg with weak shell. This shell would break on any outside strike. Strong will is a diamond egg. It wouldn't break even when the world itself would break around it. And it doesn't matter in which body it lies -- an adult, or a child.
* DirtyCoward: Remembering how it ended the previous time, Ligul sends two bodyguards first to tie up Arey, so he can talk without risks. Arey easily dispatches them without even killing, and only spares Ligul because he doesn't hide that he doesn't need Arey's death "[[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for now]]" rather than lie.
* DudeNotFunny: Ulitha jokes about how corporative parties often goes for the Darkness, and says that at least one succubus likely would try to turn into Daphne and jump onto Mefodiy's knees to kiss him. Daphne, who's present, reacts negatively.
* DuelToTheDeath: Arey tells Mefodiy about his duel with Hoors several centuries ago, which ended with Hoors being beheaded, right after losing his darkh; that duel was the reason why Arey was exiled on a distant lighthouse on remote island -- back then, duels between Guardians were already banned by Ligul. Arey refuses to tell the reasons why he killed Hoors, heavily implying that it has something to do with the story about his family.
* DueToTheDead: After giving up on Mefodiy's body, Hoors asks Arey to find his old sword, as the last thing which bothers Hoors in the afterlife is where it ended up after his death. Arey promises him to do that.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Hoors is willing to kill Arey and avenge his death, even he wouldn't risk the future of Darkness by taking over Mefodiy Buslaev until he [[TheChosenOne fulfils the prophecy]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Aida Plakhovna says that she got a list of people who would die soon and there's Mefodiy's name, but it's written by pencil. Arey later explains that there's such thing as the "free graph" -- when two-three names gets written by pencil, as it's clear that one of them would die soon, but it's not yet certain ''who'', with final result getting known only after the fact -- sometimes years later. When Mefodiy realises that Arey knows more than he says, and asks which names are there, Arey refuses to answer, but Mefodiy realises that he knows the answer, or at least expects which names are there, and it's something important for him. The information known to the readers by this point almost screams that the second name is "Yaraat".
* ShipTease: Daphne teases Mefodiy about him siding with her when it was suggested to kill her; Mefodiy feels awkward, while Daphne feels gratitude and some sympathy in turn.
* SnapBack: It took Vova Skunso ''less than a night'' to restore his confidence and continue looking on Mefodiy like trash with no sign of fear.
* YinYangBomb: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ligul, who believes that it's for the better that Daphne showed up now: he presumes that the Temple "wants" two persons -- Mefodiy, who represents the Darkness, and Daphne, who represents the Light; that way, they may have a chance to finally obtain the treasure which the Temple keeps.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''The Child of Light and Darkness'']]
Arey escorts Mefodiy and Daphne to the Temple, and stays behind, clearly feeling that he's not supposed to go further. The two enters, and Mefodiy realises that he can sense which plates contains traps, and even what they would do if touched. Mefodiy leads Daphne to the last plate right before the room at the end, but he can't see what it does, nor he can avoid it.
When Mefodiy risks stepping, he gets attacked by his doppelganger, not realising that he's actually fighting with himself. Daphne has no other option but to put her winged necklace on his neck, as it has chilling effect on mortals, but then remembers the words of Retired Fairy -- that doing so would maker her fall in love with Mefodiy...
The two steps into the room, and find the lead coffin from Mefodiy's dreams. Mefodiy realises that it contains the absolute power -- neither Light nor Dark, just the faceless power of god-like level, which can serve whomever is able to tarnish it. He also realises that the Horn of Minotaur is a key to it, and that it subtly led Daphne there for that exact purpose.
Fulfilling its purpose, the Temple no longer poses any danger, and Mefodiy and Daphne safely returns back -- and sees Arey and defeated Ligul; hunchback was in league with Yaraat all along: he was the one who set him free, the one who set up for Daphne's mission (through Yaraat brainwashing Troil's secretary) and tried to kill Troil, and now the two have tried to kill Arey together, but failed.
----
* ChekhovsGun: The last plate before the door turns out to be unavoidable trap, which forces Mefodiy to fight with illusory "enemy" -- but really with himself. As he's about to kill them both, Daphne is forced to put her winged necklace on Mefodiy's neck to calm him down. Only then she remembers the warning of the Retired Fairy -- that the Light Guardian who puts their winged necklace on a mortal, would fall in love with them. Daphne instantly gets angry, and switches to acting cold and rude to Mefodiy.
* TheChosenOne: Turns out that the sarcophagus contains the absolute power -- faceless, unaligned power which can serve whatever force Mefodiy aligns himself with... but only when he grows up enough to be worthy of it. The power which can make him replace Kvodnon and end the world... or the power which can make him the new Lord of Light.
* DrivenToSuicide: One of the traps in the Temple is the Plate of Betrayal. The usual effect is causing the people standing on it to attack each other, no matter how close they were before, but if just one person steps on it, then they would feel like if they betrayed everything that matters for them, all dreams and hopes -- and it would cause them to step on another plate just to off themselves; there was at least one case of that happening.
* EnemyMine: Ligul and Yaraat unites in attempt to kill Arey while Mefodiy is in the labyrinth; it ends in a failure, with Ligul being once again humiliated, and Yaraat being forced to run, abandoning the Tigerbite Sabre which he used before.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Ligul turns out to be that "friend" who let Yaraat out. Yaraat, in turn, brainwashed Berenariy to give Troil willpower-suppressing ring, and later tried to assassinate him, framing it on Daphne -- all so Daphne would escape and bring the Horn of Minotaur, which was crucial to open the sarcophagus.
* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: When Mefodiy mentions the Plate of Sloth, Daphne wonders what's so dangerous about it; Mefodiy says that it's the kind of sloth which makes you too lazy to think, breath or even exist.
* RedHerring:
** Arey [[DiscussedTrope presumes]] that the warning about "free graph" was just Mamzelkina's way to say "be careful, you're in danger", and it never actually existed.
** Turns out that Daphne never tried to poison Troil; Yaraat did that, through brainwashed Berenariy, with Daphne being framed up; her suspicions that cursed rune made her do it ended up being wrong.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Yaraat manages to escape when the things goes south, leaving Ligul alone.
* TooDumbToLive: One of the plates causes you to turn into an animal which bests represents your personality; it causes an euphoria, strong enough to shut down one's mind with overwhelming joy, and cause them to blindly rush to another plate, to their doom.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Scroll of Desires''
* Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser''
* Chapter Two. ''Long Arms''
* Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin''
* Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?''
* Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece''
* Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success''
* Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing''
* Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus''
* Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad''
* Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Rendezvous with Loser'']]
Daphne was asked by Arey to not mess around while he and others are dealing with commissioners and succubi, so she and Depresnyak (on whom she put an overall to hide his wings, and spiked collar -- that one just for fun) went on walk. During a walk, she encounters a weird black limo which seems to just pursue her; it's also suspicious that Depresnyak, who normally lacks sense of fear whatsoever, is afraid of this seemingly normal car, sensing that it's dangerous -- and he has a great intuition... Daphne tries to scan it for magic, only to realise that there's absolutely ''nothing'', not even an aura, which means that it's disguised with some ''very'' strong magic. Attempt to scan it deeper scares off the "car", leaving Daphne wondering just what it was: it's certainly not the Light, as the Light Guardians tend to not even bother with subtlety; and Dark Guardians, while like like something tasteless like this, have no reason to bother if she's always in plain sight, and they can just rely on commissioners.
On the way back, Daphne encounters weird and threatening guy who clearly also spies on her (and badly pretends that he's not). When he follows her, she tries to run and hide, but makes a mistake and goes into dead-end. The man follows her, but, rather than attacking her, introduces himself as another Light Guardian -- but not one of those who're hunting for her. He's Essiorkh, a Guardian Angel from Transparent Spheres, and he's here to help her. Daphne, after calming down, notices that he's looking rather... weird for a Guardian Angel, clearly looking like a biker. Then again, who else can be a Guardian Angel for someone as eccentric as her?
Nonetheless, Essiorkh is here to warn her about grave danger to her very essence and her wings, and scold her for providing a seal of her wings to some dark scroll. Only when Daphne fails to understand what he's saying, Essiorkh realises that he by mistake had arrived few days earlier than the event in question. Refusing to elaborate upon what's so special about the scroll, he just warns her to be careful, and leaves. The only information Daphne receives is that this scroll is important for both Light and Darkness (and both are searching for it), and that there's some third side involved, which is related to that strange limo she saw earlier.
----
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Essiorkh is (indirectly) responsible for the Tower of Babel; when he was on Earth, he saw a group of people doing nothing, and suggested them to "build a little tower", so they would be busy for some time. They... went overzealous. The rest is history.
* GentleGiant: Essiokh may look big and threatening, but he's nice and friendly, not to mention, a Light Guardian. The sole reason why he looks like a biker is because {{Guardian Angel}}s can't visit Earth in their true bodies, so he had to use a host -- and the choice was between a biker and a talking dog; both Essiorkh and Daphne agrees that the dog would've been not the best option.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne meets ''her'' Guardian Angel (this time, actual one, not formal one like she's for Mefodiy) -- an awkward guy in the body of a scarily-looking biker. She comments on her Guardian Angel matching her own eccentric nature. Then she learns that he's a loser -- also just like she.
* IMeantToDoThat: Essiorkh makes a mistake and uses wrong word, resulting in him calling pagan gods "pagan hobos". When corrected, he pretends that it's what he intended to say, as they don't deserve to be called "gods".
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Depresnyak is [[AxCrazy volatile and prone to pick a fight with anything even remotely resembling a dog]]. When he sees something and feels ''fear'', Daphne realises that there's something wrong, especially given Depresnyak's intuition.
* OpenSecret: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Daphne when she asks Essiorkh to reveal what is that scroll he'd mentioned, and why it's so important; after all, everyone else knows it already, so may as well tell her too. Essiorkh still refuses, saying that he's forbidden from doing so, and leaves.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Essiorkh is an actual, professional GuardianAngel. Guardian Angels lives above Eden, in so-called Transparent Spheres, have different shape for their wings (those famous backwards-facing ones), and can't visit Earth in their original body, instead relying on possessing the bodies of deceased (resurrected and restored). Guardian Angels don't respond directly to the other Guardians outside of their structure, and are not obligated to assist them.
* RevealingCoverup: Daphne looks on the limo which follows her with true sight, sees no magic, and calms down... then she realises that she sees not just no magic -- she sees ''nothing at all''. Which is straight up impossible, unless you put on a ''really'' powerful protective magic, which is by itself a red flag.
* SensoryOverload: Daphne, to better blend in with mortals, recalibrated her sensitivity to match human body. She learned the hard way just how vulnerable the humans can be.
-->''For example, if you absent-mindedly drink boiling water, you would warm up for the rest of your life. New shoes causes much discomfort. Bitten tongue tip would hurt for a whole week. [...] In short, lopukhoid life is nothing but countless restrictions. Have to memorise so much silly stuff!''
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Two in a row:
** Firstly, Daphne gets (slowly, but surely) pursued by a weird black limo. After scanning it with magic, [[RevealingCoverup Daphne realises that there's something fishy with it]], and runs away.
** After getting away from a limo, Daphne gets pursued by the huge and threatening guy dressed as a biker, until they run into a dead end. Then he introduces himself as another Light Guardian named Essiorkh, and says that he's on her side.
* WeHaveReserves: The Darkness has so many commissioners, and so much plasticine and other resources to make the bodies for them, they don't care if a dozen or two of them gets killed on duty -- they can always send more.
* WhatYearIsThis: Essiorkh starts calling Daphne out on helping the Darkness by providing a seal of her wings on the very dangerous scroll. When she sincerely fails to understand what he's talking about, he realises that something is wrong, and asks her what day of a week is this. When she says that it's Monday, he realises that he arrived several days ''earlier'' than the event in question even happened, due to a difference in how time flows on Earth and in Eden, and apologises. Since the event is yet to happen, he instead warns Daphne to be careful, though he refuses to elaborate about the scroll, insisting that it's a secret.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''Long Arms'']]
Mamzelkina pays a visit to the Dark residence, and gives vague warning about upcoming danger. Soon afterwards, Arey receives an invitation to adhere a celebration held by Wilhelm, one of the high-ranking Dark Guardians; Ulitha and Mefodiy are also invited (but obviously not Daphne). Arey decides to go, curious just what Ligul want from him. He also learns, from Tukhlomon, that there are fresh news about ''those'' magic boxes; one was already pinpointed -- it's with a lopukhoid named Anton Ogurtsov.
From Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne learns that, while technically dead, Kvodnon still exists somewhere in Tartarus, gathering eidoses for some purpose, and still has enough influence that Ligul doesn't dare to claim being the master of Darkness, being "merely" a chief of chancellory.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Wilhelm the Conqueror]] is a high-ranking Dark Guardian, close friend of Arey, and is still active as the chief of British Department of Darkness.
* BeingEvilSucks: [[DiscussedTrope Ulitha tells Daphne]] that Darkness only makes the lives of its servants worse; that's why Arey is sometimes so unpleasant.
-->'''Ulitha''': I think, it's because you can't serve the Darkness half-heartedly. Darkness by itself punishes its servants, taking away, tearing out what matters the most for them. Take any of us. We all are either miserable, without eidos, with gaping hole in our chest, which would never heal, or haughty egocentric buffoons (Mefodiy, you would see those tomorrow), or outright assholes, like Ligul. There's really few sincere supporters of Darkness, though they do exist...\\
'''Mefodiy''': And why the others are serving?\\
'''Ulitha''': [...] Ending up on the side of Darkness is very easy: make a wrong step on the slippery slop just once, and... non-ending fall to the bottom. But sometimes that fall feels like fun, can't deny that...
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Tukhlomon. When Daphne says that Arey was too harsh with Tukhlomon, and now he would snitch on him out of spite, Arey tells her that Tukhlomon would snitch anyway, on everyone he can, as he has absolutely no loyalty to anyone or anything, and would gladly backstab whomever he can, for as long as he can profit from it.
-->'''Daphne''': He would snitch on you. You shouldn't have done that. I think, Tukhlomon is afraid of you, and hates you.\\
'''Arey''': He would?\\
'''Daphne''': He would. Or maybe he's doing it right now. You know that, don't you?\\
'''Arey''': I do. He would snitch on me in either case. On me, and on you, and on Mefodiy, and on Ulitha. He would've snitched on himself, if there was at least some benefit from it. For him, it doesn't matter whom or what to betray, because he already betrayed everything and everyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Tukhlomon tells Arey that one of the two boxes was discovered: one is with lopukhoid Anton Ogurtsov, while another keeps changing its location; the ''thing'' they're looking for is in one of the two boxes. This is a clear setup for the future conflict.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Turns out that Kvodnon is still "alive" in some way, at least sufficient to rule from the shadow, even if his control is limited. Due to this, Ligul remains as "merely" the chief of chancellory, still formally subordinate to Kvodnon.
* HenpeckedHusband: According to Mamzelkina, underneath all his attempts to look cool and respectable, Wolf Cactusov is a quiet, compliant henpecked husband who does whatever his wife says.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Daphne demonstratively acts like a jerk towards Mefodiy in attempt to suppress growing feelings towards him.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Mamzelkina's latest "client" is an accidental suicide victim. That not-so-bright woman twice took the dangerous dosage of sedatives to scare her husband, who had to reanimate her. On the third attempt, he was late to return home (the Darkness "helped" with that), so there was no one to reanimate her, and she actually died.
* IHaveManyNames: When we say "Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon from before his downfall; when we say "Faceless Kvodnon", we mean what's left of him now; and when we say "Two-Faced Kvodnon", we mean Kvodnon in general.
* KilledOffForReal: PlayedWith regarding Kvodnon. Surely, he's dead and no longer can manifest in any body, not even as commissioner. But his essence was ''not'' destroyed, it's still there, and it still keeps consuming most of the eidoses the Darkness collects, for unknown purpose...
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Mefodiy still can't learn how to use his magic gift, consistently putting either too little power, or too much of it, and feels annoyed at Arey, who doesn't bother with training him with anything but swordfight.
* OverlyLongGag: Tukhlomon repeatedly asks Daphne to give him her winged necklace, in increasingly more [[RefugeInAudacity blatant manner]]. He does it ''five'' times in a single scene, at various points.
* PlayingPossum: Tukhlomon pretends to stick himself with Ulitha's rapier to the wall, with "blood" (actually ink) dripping from his mouth. Judging from comment by one of succubi, it's not the first time he does that. No one finds it funny, and Ulitha is more concerned with him desecrating her rapier.
* RefugeInAudacity: Tukhlomon, [[BlatantLies claiming that he's "tired of Darkness"]], tries to ask Daphne to give him her winged necklace, "just to hold", as he "wants to feel the Light". When he becomes particularly annoying, Ulitha suggests Daphne to just kick him in the face with a knee... to which he reacts by suggesting various kinds of violence he would gladly let her use on him, and even offers to find assault riffle if she wants to shoot him -- and then ''again'' switches to attempts to beg for winged necklace, comparing refusing to "poor little Tukhlomon" to hitting an orphan with a crowbar. He only leaves her alone when she grabs a flute... only to start ''again'' when she gets distracted at Mefodiy, and one last time later.
* TheScottishTrope: When someone with significant powers (let alone someone like Mefodiy) says Kvodnon's name aloud, it can be quite destructive. Mefodiy almost says his name two more times even after being told why it's a bad idea.
* TimeAbyss: Ulitha says that Kvodnon is older than this whole world.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a quote from what Mamzelkina tells to Mefodiy (a part of "Greedy people have long arms" proverb).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''The Minister of Scrofula, the King of Aspirin'']]
Anton Ogurtsov, neurotic and paranoiac obsessed with his health (to the point that his actions actually causes more harm than help), after failing to hit on Zozo (whom he scares away with his pathologic behaviour), returns home to take another dosage of his medicine, which he stores in unique antiquary box which he obtained not long ago... and runs into strange ugly imp, armed with a pistol.
An imp (who introduces himself as Tukhomon) threatens to shoot him -- or, worse, kiss him (he helpfully lists all the possible diseases it may spread) -- unless Anton opens the box. But when he does that, turns out that there's nothing valuable inside. Disappointed, Tukhlomon prepares to leave, but then remembers about one important thing, and scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos, after which he finally leaves -- not forgetting to make a fun of him beforehand.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zozo gets fed up with Ogurtsov and his [[NervousWreck weirdness]] on the very first date, and tries to politely reject him, knowing that he's a complete and hopeless lunatic, [[EveryoneHasStandards too crazy even for her]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Zozo has long gave up on finding someone non-crazy, but Ogurtsov is too weird even for her.
* EvilIsPetty: Not satisfied with just taking Ogurtsov's eidos, Tukhlomon additionally mocks him afterwards, just to show how easy it was for him to prevail, had he tried to resist.
* MythologyGag: Zozo's new boss is Isidore Kotletkina (RecurringExtra from ''Tanya Grotter'' series).
* NervousWreck: Before actually introducing Anton Ogurtsov (Zozo's new suitor), the narrator starts with explanation what the phobias and manias are (and, as a bonus, philias, which "don't give their owner anything but troubles, often with the law"), with examples, then goes into statistics (on average, every human has one phobia and two manias), and only ''then'' introduces Ogurtsov... starting with the fact that he has all known phobias and half the manias. He's afraid of pretty much ''everything'', as he knows too much for his own good (from medicine to statistics), which only helps to fuel up his paranoia. All doctors whom he asked quickly grew tired of him (as he never believes when told that he's healthy), and started sending him to other doctors just to get rid of him -- but not before prescribing him something, with him actually taking ''all'' his medicine; the fact that he somehow remains healthy despite taking all this serves as the best proof of his strong health.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zozo's coworkers had sent a snow plower to ''Egypt'', of all places. When confronted, he says that he received the wrong request document. When pointed that he's supposed to be smart enough to double-check when the obvious screwup like this happens, he tries to put the blame on someone else, and complains that he has two higher educations, but people don't respect him.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tukhlomon scares Ogurtsov into giving up his eidos by pretending that he's about to kiss him, exploiting his phobia of germs. To reinforce the effect, he deliberately looks as disgusting as possible.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''How Many Sixes in an Ace?'']]
Arey takes Mefodiy with him to a party thrown by his old friend Wilhelm in London. Mid-party, Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, leaving Mefodiy alone. This quickly leads to Mefodiy being drugged with something, and forced to play blackjack without even knowing the rules or the stakes.
Ligul explains the rules, and also tells him that, having nothing else of value, Mefodiy automatically "agreed" to play on his own eidos. Mefodiy feels that he's screwed, but, despite all odds being against him, he ''somehow'' still prevails, beating Ligul by exactly one point and reaching 21 points. Only then Arey and Ulitha returns, and Ulitha confirms that Ligul was blatantly cheating. While it's clear what was Ligul's intention (who controls the eidos, controls its owner), but Mefodiy feels that something (or, rather, ''someone'') just gave him a second chance. But for what purpose?
----
* AffablyEvil: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}; Ligul points out that Arey may be nicer than the other Dark Guardians, but he's still a Dark Guardian. His loyalty lies with the Darkness, and when the time comes for acting, he would act like the Darkness orders him, and would strike down its enemies.
-->'''Ligul''': And remember, my dears! Arey, no matter how nice he feels to you, is a ''Dark Guardian''! Do you even understand what it means? The Dark Guardian! His link with the Darkness is ''unbreakable''. What would the Darkness' worth if it would be so easy to turn away from it? The moment when it would be needed to quit posing and make a decision, Arey's decision would be a ''Dark'' decision. The Darkness would take the sword with Arey's hand, and vanquish its enemies with it. And in that one, I'm certain!
* AxCrazy: Mamai was kicked out from Tartarus [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too psychotic by the local standards]].
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: We learn about several prominent historical conquerors and mythical heroes actually being Dark Guardians:
** Not only Wilhelm the Conqueror was a Dark Guardian, but his predecessor was a Guardian, too: Wilhelm had usurped his position, but somehow got away with it, with said predecessor being reassigned to Tartarus permanently.
** UsefulNotes/HannibalBarca was a son of Dark Guardian, and owes his and his nation's downfall (as well as his father's) to insulting Kvodnon with poorly thought-out joke.
** Odysseus was half-Guardian, half-mage, who was constantly at receiving end of Kvodnon's current mood, both good and bad, which is the source of all his (mis)adventures. He's attributed with tradition to beat up commissioners to show them their place.
** Amongst the guests invited by Wilhelm are UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Frederick I Barbarossa and [[UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame Tamerlan]] with [[UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun Attila]], with the latter two being the "guests of honour" rather than anything else, [[RetiredMonster due to them being old and senile]].
* DrivesLikeCrazy: PlayedForLaughs. Mamai has absolutely suicidal driving style, deliberately trying to cause as much mayhem as possible, and never hurts anyone (if not counting a dog which he runs over) by sheer miracle. Then Arey complains that they were "too slow" today, to which Mamai replies that he had to restrict himself due to the "presence of a child" (Mefodiy), implying that normally it would be something ''even worse''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ligul and his supporters tricks Mefodiy into joining Blackjack play, specifically so he wouldn't have anything to bet but his eidos (and refusing to play means automatic loss), and then cheats so Mefodiy ''would'' lose, and Ligul ''would'' win -- but somehow, Mefodiy obtains a card which allows him to win by reaching exactly 21 score (one more than Ligul). Mefodiy clearly sees that someone has helped him, as all odds were against him. But for what purpose?
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Ulitha [[SelfDeprecation makes another joke about her weight]]. When Daphne points out that it makes no sense, Ulitha makes a "subtle" hint that doing such comments may be dangerous:
-->'''Ulitha''' [''about her hands'']: You're so beautiful! And legs are no worse! But no one cares, save for those moronic jinns! Everyone sees just a fat elephant!\\
'''Daphne''': There is no such thing as "fat elephant". It makes no sense. It's like saying "a big moose": a moose is big by default. Just "elephant" or "moose" is enough.\\
'''Ulitha''': Turn off the sound, Lighty! I can call myself whatever I want, even hippopotamus; but if someone else says something about the moose again, they should remember: a graveyard still has lots of free holes!
* OhCrap: When Wilhelm complains that Mamai busted onto the territory of his mansion and ruined a Michelangelo-made statue, and asks why they didn't just stop ''outside'', Arey orders Mamai to drive to the parking zone. Wilhelm realises what's gonna happen, and in quiet horror tries to ask for just stay where they are, but he's too late.
* PunnyName: A commissioner whom Mefodiy catches up with a "report" of Mefodiy's "subversive behaviour" is called Oligo de Phren (clear pun on the word "oligophrenic").
* PuppetKing: Ligul tries to cheat Mefodiy out of his eidos through a rigged card game -- if he has control over Lord of Darkness's eidos, he has control over the Lord himself. It doesn't work because Mefodiy somehow wins nonetheless.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A New Mouthpiece'']]
Daphne meets Essiorkh again, who tells her several news. Firstly, the Light Guardians have caught up with her using magic in this district, so she can't stay in "Treasury of Wisdom", and has to migrate to Mefodiy's parents for a time being: it's so bold that no one would actually believe in her being there; to make it easier, he gives her a new mouthpiece for her flute, to mask her magic. Secondly, she was officially assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel. And lastly, but most importantly, he tells her that the first two boxes the Darkness is hunting for was discovered, and turned up being useless, meaning that the artifact they need is in the second one; as Daphne fails to understand him, he tells about the Scroll of Desires and its time-altering powers.
On the way to Mefodiy's parents, Daphne gets attacked by the "limo" again; this time, she actually tries to attack it -- and breaks its disguise, revealing that it's actually a Tartarian Wyrm. She manages to cause it enough harm to force it into retreating. Once she reaches Zozo and Edya, she successfully hypnotises them into accepting her and Depresnyak, albeit Edya resists most of the magic (due to innate resistance to it) and remains a snarky jerk.
----
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Edya reacts to Depresnyak hostilely and is ready to kick him out. Then Depresnyak yawns, [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily showing his teeth]], and Edya (badly) pretends that he actually likes him.
* CoveredWithScars: Essiorkh shows Daphne some scars his body now has, and explains that those are caused by the way he's died; they persisted even when they healed up his body after resurrecting it for Essiorkh to use.
* EmbarrassingLastName: When Edya says that it's weird that Mefodiy's girlfriend is named "[[AerithAndBob Daphne]]", his sister points out that if Zoya can call herself "Zozo", then Daria can call herself "Daphne". Then she adds that with him having surname "Havron",[[note]] "Havronia" is the stock pet name for female pigs[[note]] he's not in position to complain about this.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After escaping from the hell wyrm, Daphne realises that both times, the beast just spied on her, only attacking when directly hurt by her... which means that there's someone who has sent it.
* GuardianAngel: Daphne is ''officially'' assigned as Mefodiy's Guardian Angel (previously, it was merely verbal order from Troil). That still doesn't free her from being hunted for, as her mission requires her being considered a traitor by both sides: the Transparent Spheres do have authority to pardon her, but the information ''would'' leak out to the Darkness and ruin everything.
* HiddenInPlainSight: Essiorkh tells Daphne that she must leave Glumovich's gymnasium and move to live with Mefodiy's parents, as the Light Guardians became aware that someone regularly uses Light magic there. Her hiding at Mefodiy's would be so bold move that no one would bother to actually check. To make it easier for Daphne, Essiorkh gifts her a new mouthpiece for her flute, which would allow her to use magic undetected (it's used by the special forces of Light).
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh finally tells Daphne what the whole mess is about: the Scroll of Desires. Long time ago, a mage named Brugus had created the series of wish-fulfilling scrolls; they were weak, only capable of fulfilling small wishes (like, really small), but just before death, he had created an one-of-a-kind Scroll capable of accumulating power over time, and put it into one of the two magic boxes, which then disappeared. The Scroll has accumulated colossal power, and while the scale of the wishes it can fulfil didn't change at all, it now can fulfil them ''retroactively'', even in the distant past. If it ends up in the hands of someone who knows what little detail to change, it can alter the history in the Darkness' favour...
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Essiorkh laments that his body constantly needs such things as food, beer and fights. He later explains to Daphne that it's because he "inherited" the body from deceased biker (his soul is now in Eden), and some habits are just too deeply integrated to disappear even after death. Daphne assumes that Essiorkh would soon obtain a bike as well.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Brugus didn't consider just what his magnum opus, the Scroll of Desires, would be capable of doing if given enough time; now, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can break the balance between Light and Darkness.
* NoSell: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Edya; Daphne's magolody still affects him, but rather weakly, and much of its effect quickly wears off, resulting in him returning to his usual somewhat jerky self. It's explicitly stated to be due to his innate resistance to magic.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The black limo returns and continues spying on Daphne, with Daphne now being convinced that it represents some third force. Using the new magic-obscuring mouthpiece (gifted by Essiorkh) which she used to upgrade her flute, she attacks it with magolodies, and while it fails to do major damage, it's enough to breach its disguise, revealing scales -- turns out that it was a hell wyrm, a dragon-like creature from Tartarus.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: {{Subverted|Trope}}; Daphne asks Essiorkh why he can't just tell the other Light Guardians that she's actually good (he's from the Transparent Spheres, which has authority to order even to other Light Guardians), so they would quit hunting for her, but he rejects that plan, saying that the Darkness would notice it (plus, they have spies in Eden), and Daphne would immediately fail her mission as TheMole and Mefodiy's GuardianAngel. So, for a time being, she ''must'' stay as the "traitor".
* UglyCute: InUniverse. When Daphne arrives to Mefodiy's mother (because Essiorkhs advised her to live here until the Gold-Winged Guardians, who intercepted traces of her magic, would stop checking up near Glumovich's gymnasium and lose interest in him), first thing both Zozo and Edya notice is Depresnyak (bald demoniac cat). Their reaction... differs:
-->'''Zozo''': Look at this cute kitty!\\
'''Edya''': Cute kitty? Where? Show it to me!\\
'''Zozo''': Right here! Can you see it?\\
'''Edya''': I only see the extremely ugly cat who became a victim of the every single mad scientist in the world!
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Diligence is the Mother of Success'']]
Arey learns that the second box has just materialised in the theatre (the patterns of its teleportation was finally understood), and both he (along with Ulitha, Mefodiy and Daphne) and a team of Light Guardians would contest it.
In the resulting fight, Arey's team gets easily defeated, leaving only him, and he offers the leader of the Light Guardians, Alkid, a duel which would decide the outcome. But before they can do anything, some third party intervenes and steals the box for itself behind their backs.
----
* ArmourPiercingAttack: One of the magolodies Arey orders Daphne to use against Mefodiy was specifically designed to attack Dark Guardians, and, as far as she knows, can't be blocked. Arey orders her to use it anyway, believing that there are no impossible tasks, only not enough efforts. Mefodiy actually stops it... by [[{{Foreshadowing}} instinctively absorbing the Light]].
* AwesomeButImpractical: According to Arey, the Light rarely uses the gryphons in field operations, as the gryphons don't know such things as "subtlety" or "caution"; if they bring one to theatre, a gryphon would obliterate a whole district ''at the very least''.
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: Arey explains that the Light and Darkness have an agreement of sort -- whenever they go into official conflicts, both sides uses equal numbers; that way, neither side can be accused of cowardice. Even the Darkness respects it.
-->'''Arey''': There's unspoken treaty. Something like ethics of rival corporations.\\
'''Mefodiy''': And it's maintained?\\
'''Arey''': Of course. It's known that the most secure treaties -- the ones which were never written on paper. The number of fighters on both sides should be equal. Only then you can expect the glory and avoid accusations of cowardice.
* BloodKnight: When suggesting Mefodiy to not take his sword unless he's ready to use it, Arey tells that Hoors was ''really'' prone to spill blood.
-->'''Arey''': He knew how to feed the sword with blood. Feed it down to the handle... As far as I remember, whenever he heard the word "morality", he always looked for a dictionary because he was chronically incapable of remembering what it means.
* CallBack: Arey teases Mefodiy about Daphne, using the same mockery he used in the first book when Mefodiy called her "insanely beautiful".
* CombatByChampion: Realising that the Light prevails in their conflict (everyone but himself are defeated), Arey challenges their leader, Alkid, on a duel: whoever wins, takes possessions of the loser (Arey's darkh, or Alkid's wings), and takes the magic box. [[SubvertedTrope The battle never starts]], as the third side intervenes and steals the box from under their noses.
* DisproportionedRetribution: It's not possible to tell, given his tone, whether he's joking or saying it seriously, but according to Arey, Depresnyak is technically a fifth member of their group, which would allow the Light Guardians to summon someone on their own... like a sphinx or battle gryphon.
* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Dark Guardians cant' use [[MagicMusic magologies]], but ''can'' empower them when someone else uses them. Why would they? To bring them to the point when they stop being useful and start being harmful to their own user. Arey uses this technique to increase the power of Daphne's combat magic during the training session, when she deliberately decreased the strength of her magolodies to not harm Mefodiy (thus wasting the lesson).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mefodiy still has enough Light in him to be able to absorb the anti-Darkness magolody into himself, by stopping resisting and just calmly accepting it. Arey quickly realises what just happened, and warns him that the day would come for him to make a choice -- on which side he is.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Ligul did a mistake of ordering a bunch of statues of himself which looks way too similar to the original -- to the point that they're vulnerable to primitive voodoo magic. Arey uses one of such statues to smash nuts... with the statue's head. According to Arey, entire party was taken by Ligul's enemies, for that exact reason.
* ImAHumanitarian: Ulitha notices that the magic photo, which contains several of her friends, including ogre names Mumrik, clearly has fewer people than before. Daphne tells her that Mumrik had likely ate some of them; the photo is semi-alive, and there's no way to escape it if something goes wrong.
-->'''Daphne''': Never make group photos with an ogre. Some time later, it would cease to be a ''group'' photo... A photo is like a submarine. You can't run away from it.\\
'''Ulitha''': You think that Mumrik had ate Said? He couldn't, he's nice.\\
'''Daphne''': So what? No matter how nice your Mumrik is, he has to eat, hasn't he?\\
'''Ulitha''': Nonsense. Mumrik, confirm it's not you! Daphne, just see how sincere his face is on this photo!\\
'''Daphne''': That's what I mean. Sincere people [[FauxAffablyEvil can't have so sincere faces]].
* MeleeATrois: It gets confirmed that there's a third side, when some unspecified dark mage abducts the box with the Scroll of Desires right when Arey and Alkid are about to fight on a duel for it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Arey warns Mefodiy that picking no side in conflict with the Light and Darkness and trying to keep "neutral" would backfire on you.
-->'''Arey''': Those who tries to combine the black and white inside them for too long, would eventually become grey. No one likes grey ones. Grey ones are always manoeuvring, as they can't satisfy everyone, despite wishing so. They have no enemies, but no friends either. They don't know neither laugh nor tears. No storms, but no calm either. They are the worms who turn the world into rot...
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Ulitha starts blatantly flirting with young, boyish Light Guardian, who feels extremely awkward and shy over it, Arey bursts into laugh.
* RefugeInAudacity: Ulitha rather blatantly flirts with one of the Light Guardians (young pretty boy named Katon), and then invites him on a date. He cant' even refuse her properly.
* {{Seers}}: Alkid can foretell the future, but for whatever reason, he always sees ''exactly opposite'' of what would really happen; Arey (who knows about his gift) calls it "anti-prophet". Since Fukidid sees a vision of Mefodiy dying and his eidos being damned, it means that Mefodiy has nothing to worry about.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In official duels between Dark and Light Guardians, it's standard practice for duelists to do six steps each before, on command, attacking each other. Why six? Anything less, and the Dark Guardian would always have an advantage; anything more, and so would the Light Guardian; but exactly six steps gives them roughly equal chances to hit first.
* TooMuchInformation: Arey describes how closely the nuts are resembling human brains -- "same form, two hemispheres, tons of opportunities and sad final in the box". He then asks Mefodiy whether he wants one. Mefodiy politely refuses, thinking that he wouldn't be able to eat nuts for at least some time after this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''The Key of Nothing'']]
Daphne somehow falls sick with angina, and stays at home. When she's sleeping, she gets visited by the stranger, some traits of which clearly tells that he's no one else but Yaraat himself. Yaraat attacks and nearly kills Depresnyak, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to leave a seal on the Scroll.
Meanwhile, at the Dark residence, Mefodiy wonders ''how'' Daphne managed to catch angina. Mamzelkina, who was visiting Arey at that time, tells him that the mortal world starts affecting her, and slowly changing her to become more like human -- and less like angel. Mefodiy and Ulitha then rides to deal with one of Ligul's "clients" (who's not fulfilling the conditions of his "rent"), only to get attacked by some thugs on the way back. The thugs turns out to be armed with enhanced bats, which allows them to easily defeat Mefodiy and even knock out Mamai, who's not even human, while Ulitha attacks Yaraat and predictably loses. They gets saved by Essiorkh's intervention (who only actually fights when one of the thugs tries to hit ''him'' -- fighting unless threatened would be sinful!), but not before Ulitha's darkh's seal gets put on the Scroll as well.
----
* AnnoyingLaugh: Taxidermist Tsuryupov, who supplies the Dark Residents with rat skins (Ligul, for whatever reason, insists to use them for reports instead of paper), has very annoying and disgusting laugh -- and he giggles after every few words.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: When Depresnyak survives his magic and even tries to resist, Yaraat mentions his experience with torturing and killing the other hellish creatures just for fun, with all of them being stronger than Depresnyak, yet falling much easier; but much more he loves to torture the Light creatures -- the pain and horror in their eyes is so much sweeter.
-->'''Yaraat''' [''to Depresnyak'']: Back in Tartarus, I used to kill the ones like you in hundreds. Just for fun. There were monsters scarier than you: with snake tails, with basilisk eyes which can turn your heart into a piece of glass, with dozens of fire-breathing throats... But, to be honest, I prefer to kill hippogryphs, unicorns and other creatures of Light. They're agonising so plaintively, emanating the pain, that my heart fills with joy. The creatures of Darkness are less interesting in that regard.
* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: Mamai's attempts to run over a dog is PlayedForLaughs. Fortunately, he fails to actually catch it.
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh saves Mefodiy and Ulitha from the thugs. However, by that point Yaraat already obtained the seal of Ulitha's darkh.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The ''first'' thing Yaraat does is to try and kill Depresnyak, only to get surprised by his resilience, then he goes into details how he loves to torture animals (particularly creatures of Light -- their agony is sweeter) just for fun, and uses Daphne's winged necklace to make a seal on the Scroll, clearly for some nefarious purposes. He then leaves, lamenting that he has no time to kill Depresnyak and has to keep Daphne alive for a time being.
* HumanityEnsues: Aida Plakhovna warns Mefodiy that Daphne starts slowly turning human from overexposure to the mortal world. For now, it only manifested as her falling ill with angina (in the middle of Summer, no less), but it wouldn't stop on just that...
* LawfulStupid: Essiorkh refuses to help Mefodiy (who's in process of being beaten up by a thug) beyond trying (and failing) to convince the thug that it's amoral. When Mefodiy says that as GuardianAngel, he must help him, Essiorkh says that he's Daphne's Guardian Angel, not his. Then Mefodiy says that if he dies, it may hurt Daphne (who's tied to him), which leads to Essiorkh starting remembering the rules, until he finds that he may intervene to save the people from "bandits" -- and asks said "bandits" whether it applies to them; only when they reacts with attempt to beat ''him'', he finally kicks their asses, as the rules demands him to protect his body within reason (it's not technically his, he merely rents it).
* LoveATFirstSight: Ulitha, in rather weird way, shows interest to Essiorkh the moment she sees him. Essiorkh tries to resist her advances, but Ulitha refuses to give up.
* MythologyGag: Herman Durnev (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) still has connections with vampires; the Dark residence buys blood from him, to use it instead of ink.
* NoSell: {{Inverted|Trope}}; Mamai gets knocked out when a thug hits his head with a bat, despite it normally being impossible. Turns out that someone has helped the thugs and enhanced their weapons to give them the chance.
* SoldHisSoulForADonut: Tsuryupov has sold his eidos (he's allowed to keep it for as long as he's useful) in return for... used toothbrushes of celebrities. And he doesn't even receive the ones he needs, as Ulitha, too lazy to bother, sends him the ones taken from garbage, or the personal toothbrush of Viy, or other similar things.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mefodiy gets warned that whoever betrays the love of a Light Guardian, damns themselves so badly, there's no hope to avoid Tartarus after that.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak tries to protect Daphne from Yaraat, which nearly costs him his life. Unfortunately, he fails to stop him, and Yaraat successfully obtains the seal of Daphne's wings, for unknown purpose.
* UnseenNoMore: We meet [[BigBad Yaraat]] for the first time -- ugly, with greyish skin and creepy face with always moving mouth, mostly bald ([[BaldOfEvil and not in a fashionable way]]), with what little hairs left being [[WhiteHairBlackHeart ash-white]]; his personality is just as ugly, with him being SoftSpokenSadist with [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals love to torture animals]], [[{{Sadist}} rejoicing in their pain]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Mefodiy calls Essiorkh out on only helping after ''he'' was attacked, ignoring Mefodiy being beaten up until then.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''The Dead Parrots Never Have Angina'']]
Daphne, when talking with Edya, learns the story about his weird babysitter (a creepy crone who was always wearing shades), which somehow killed his pat parrot by jus looking on it. From description, Daphne recognises her as the Midnight Witch, a creature of Darkness. But what she needed from Edya, long before Mefodiy was even born? Especially given the vague warning she gave to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you"...
Mefodiy decides to pay a visit to Irka, feeling shame that he ignored her for so long, and see that his long absence had hurt her much. He apologises and tells her that he ''must'' stay away from her, for her own safety -- because not in the last turn, the danger comes from Mefodiy himself. Irka seems to understand him, and trust him. She, in turn, shares with him her recurring nightmares about plasticine imp who pursues her and wants to take something important from her. Mefodiy recognises him as Tukhlomon, and feels anger; he warns Irka to not trust him, and not fear him, as he can't actually hurt her, unless she gives in by herself. On the way back, he learns that she secretly developed feelings for him and now feels betrayed, which makes him feel even more disgust towards himself -- but also understand that, perhaps, he's far worse than he used to think of himself; otherwise, why he was chosen to become the Dark Inheritor? He suddenly receives a notification from Arey through "Book of Chameleons": Arey wants to discuss something important.
----
* AccidentalTruth: When Zozo calls Edya out on him being a cynic, he jokes that he was jinxed at childhood. Daphne checks, and confirms that it's actually true. She starts asking him for details, and learns the story about weird babysitter (actually a Midnight Witch).
* DeadpanSnarker: Mr. Polutonnik, when confronts Edya, tries to claim that he's not to mess with by saying that he'd read all martial arts books. Edya replies by saying that he writes them.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Zozo worries where is Mefodiy, Edya tries to say how cool and self-sustained he was in Mefodiy's age, but gets interrupted by Zozo who says that in Mefodiy's age, he was afraid to sleep without light. He actually manages to finish his sentence, but it has much less of an effect, and even that gets taken away by Zozo's snarky comment.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Mefodiy finally visits Irka for the first time since he became Arey's student (also learning that she secretly developed feelings for him, and was devastated by him vanishing), and warns her that he can't visit her anymore -- not because they are no longer friends, but because he fears that this could cause her harm, as by just being close to him she may get in danger. She seems to understand, or at least accept it, and says that she's not afraid of him, no matter what. He also warns her about Tukhlomon when she reveals that she has recurring dreams about him, and tells her to never listen to him or submit to his threats.
-->'''Mefodiy''': There're the dangers from which you can run away. Even if they're huge. Abandon everything, disappear, change your name, appearance, move to a remote town and lay low. Maybe they would find you, but most likely not. But from that danger, it's not possible to hide. It would find you anywhere -- even underground or at the bottom of the ocean. [...] I would not let anyone to hurt you... But there's another problem. The problem is that not in the last turn, ''I'm the source of this danger myself''. They're not as dangerous to you as me... I don't know how to explain, but it's how it is.
* NoNameGiven: During confrontation with neighbours, we learn the name of the wife (Raise) and son (Kirill; [[TheGhost he isn't even presented]]), but not the husband, despite him being the one who talks the most; this, along with his description and lame attempts to argue with Edya, further nails down how pathetic he is.
* ObliviousToLove: Mefodiy learns that Irka had feelings towards him since at least some time, and that him disappearing without a trace was taken as betrayal.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Edya's babysitter (back when he was three years old) was a Midnight Witch (as Daphne guesses from description -- and scanning Edya's memory), who scared him to the point that he ''still'' sees periodic nightmares about her, at least once per month. She also killed his parrot, by just looking on it: Midnight Witches are well-known for pathologic hatred towards all kinds of birds.
* SavedForTheSequel: The story about Edya's Midnight Witch babysitter, who did ''something'' to him twenty five years ago. He also remembers the words she had said to him: "your blood is my blood, your will is my will; wait till the black swan calls you". It is a clear setup for the future story.
* SoapBoxSadie: Raisa Polutonnik, Edya and Zozo's neighbour, is a member of customers rights protection group, which fights to protect said customers from such "dangers" as noisy chips packs and "sharp" tinfoil in cigarette packs.
* SunglassesAtNight: Edya's babysitter was always wearing sunglasses. She justified it by having some eye disease, but Edya believes that it's a lie. In truth, it was to hide that her eyes lacks pupils, instead having seven-angled red sparks.
-->'''Edya''': Yeah, yeah... I know that type of people! Professional sniper disease... Cant' see anything, can't hear anything -- and then blam: it's time to write a dirge.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''The Eidos and Wings'']]
Arey tells Mefodiy who's their mysterious enemy -- it's no one else but Yaraat. He then reminds Mefodiy that the Darkness forbids its servants to love -- it's one of the very few laws which its servants actually respects and obeys, and punishes disobedience ''harshly''. Mefodiy can't resist asking what's the story between Arey and Yaraat, and Arey tells him.
Long time ago, Arey had fell in love, with a mortal woman, and, against all laws, didn't force her to give up her eidos. Somehow, despite all laws of creation, they had a daughter. They were hunted for, but Yaraat, a rebel like Arey himself, whom Arey considered his close friend, agreed to take care of them while Arey would deal with pursuit. But, when Arey returned back, he'd found that Yaraat is gone... and his family are dead; Yaraat had forced them to sacrifice their eidoses in (futile) attempt to protect each other, then threw them into dried-up well, and finished off by throwing some large rocks on them, which Arey learned when descended into it. Ever since then, Yaraat remained on the run (only getting caught when Mefodiy was born), while Arey got consumed by his grief, and eventually was exiled on a lighthouse for duel with Hoors.
Mefodiy, in certain voice, promises that if he ever runs into Yaraat, he would kill him. But Arey tells him to not give promises he can't fulfil; he doesn't need to search for Yaraat, however, as Yaraat would find him first -- and then, Arey would find ''him''. The last words he tells Mefodiy before dismissing him are to not repeat his mistake: the Darkness ''would not'' allow him to stay with Daphne, and this would destroy not only him, but also ''her''.
----
* ComplexityAddiction: To use the Scroll, Yaraat needs three components -- the seals of Light Guardian's wings, the seal of Dark Guardian's darkh, and yet-uncertain eidos. Any of them would work, but Yaraat just can't resist another opportunity to hurt Arey, and so he picks the people close to him; he already obtained the seals by attacking Daphne and Ulitha, and now needs only an eidos -- specifically, Mefodiy's, he wouldn't agree to anything less.
* FalseFriend: We finally learn ''why'' Arey hates Yaraat so much -- the history of one bitter betrayal. Arey tried to "retire" from being a Dark Guardian and start a new, mortal life with a woman he loved, which made the other Guardians [[ResignationsNotAccepted hunt for them]]. They even had a daughter -- [[BeyondTheImpossible something which considered to be impossible for a full-pledged Dark Guardian]] -- but one day, he made a mistake of asking Yaraat (an outlaw himself, whom he deemed a friend) for help. Yaraat agreed to watch over Arey's family while Arey deals with the pursuers... only to take Arey's daughter hostage and blackmail the mother to give up her soul in return for protecting her daughter, then did the same with the daughter, [[ILied and then kill them both anyway]] by dropping them into an empty well, and finishing off by throwing several large rocks into it. Why he did that? Because he ''can''. No wonder Arey [[ArchEnemy wants to see him dead]]. And, after hearing out this story, Mefodiy goes into TranquilFury and gives Arey a promise to kill Yaraat if he has a chance.
-->'''Mefodiy''': Yaraat gave them up to the Darkness? Right?\\
'''Arey''': No! It would've been too boring. Yaraat came up with something different. He put a knife to my daughter's throat and forced my wife to say a formula of eidos rejection. What mother wouldn't give up her eidos to save her child? Then he took my daughter's eidos as well. My kind child, of course, wanted to save her mommy and said the formula too, as much as she could. Yaraat has put both eidoses into his darkh. And then he threw my wife and daughter into a dried up well. It seems that they've survived, because he finished them off by throwing the rocks. He dropped several huge plates. I realised it when I descended into the well...
* ForbiddenLove:
** Arey once fell in love with a mortal woman and tried to start a new life with her, they even had a daughter. It was forbidden, and they were forced on the run. They managed to hide for years, until Arey made a mistake of trusting [[FalseFriend Yaraat]]...
** Arey tells Mefodiy that the only thing the Darkness hates more than its servants falling in love with mortals is when they fall in love with ''Light Guardians''; it preserves the most cruel and horrible punishment for them. In the end, he repeats that again, and warns Mefodiy about Daphne specifically, saying that the Darkness wouldn't let him be with Daphne, and that not even Arey would be able to protect them once the Darkness makes a move.
* HopeCrusher: Yaraat does what he does not because he needs power. No, he loves thrill of being hated and hunted for, for which, he finds new friends, only to utterly destroy their lives just for fun.
-->'''Arey''': Alas... It took me too long to understand the true nature of this bastard. Yaraat steals the artifacts from Darkness and Light not because he's a free-spirited rebel, who wants to live independent. He's a shapeshifter. [...] A moral ameba. For shapeshifters, emotions are everything, it's their drug, and only they. They're like chameleons in everyday life. They are nice, friendly, helpful. They're making you love them or at least trust, and then murder you with a smile, not forgetting to tell you a fresh joke... Those beasts just need the thrill. To feel that they're important. You think, he did this for my wife and daughter's eidoses? For them too, but the main reason was so I would hunt for him, so I would hate him, so I would burn with impatience due to not being able to strangle his throat.
* LoveIsACrime: The Dark Guardians are forbidden to love, as the love -- true love, not just lust or obsession -- always gets followed by good and Light. And if you love, you can't be truly evil, can't be truly loyal to the Darkness, you become weak and vulnerable -- something the servant of Darkness should avoid. The love between two dark-aligned beings can be ignored, as they're expected to fall apart eventually, or for their "love" to get corrupted, but the love towards a mortal with intact eidos is ''absolutely'' forbidden; not even taking their eidos into your darkh is allowed, as one day you may decide to set it free, which is insulting for the Darkness. The ones who disobeys, would be hunted down and brutally crushed. Arey has learned this the hard way...
* TooDumbToLive: One succubus thought it would be a good idea to take the form of Arey's late daughter. It ended ''very'' badly for him.
* TranquilFury: When Mefodiy hears the whole story of Yaraat's betrayal, he calmly, but confidently promises to Arey that if he finds him, he ''would'' kill him, and nothing would save Yaraat's skin. Arey tells him to not give promises which can end up being impossible to fulfil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Arey used to consider Yaraat his close friend. Now, when he thinks about it, he feels extreme anger -- both at him, and at himself, for not seeing it before it became too late.
-->'''Arey''': The story of friendship, the story of betrayal, the story of death. Those stories often comes together. Some time ago, Yaraat and me used to be friends... Whenever I remember that I used to trust that bastard, I want to take that dagger, cut out my heart and stomp it.
* YinYangBomb: As Yaraat's wish affects such global powers like Light and Darkness, it requires the involvement of them both, as well as yet-uncertain eidos, which represents neutrality. He already has the first two.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Subpoena to Tartarus'']]
Arey and Ulitha gets summoned to Tartarus, temporarily leaving Mefodiy alone. Tukhlomon uses the opportunity to try and blackmail Mefodiy, using a page from Irka's diary where she says that she's almost ready to sell her soul, but Mefodiy tricks Tukhlomon into giving it up and then destroys.
Out of boredom, Mefodiy starts reading various magiczines (mostly useless and outright silly stuff, but there's an advice how to deal with shapeshifters). He gets interrupted by a magic talking head, clearly made through necromancy, which claims that it was sent by Daphne, and wants him to follow it; he agrees.
----
* BlackmailBackfire: Tukhlomon somehow obtained a page from Irka's diary, where she wrote that she loves "MB", and that she would give up her soul for something, possibly a kiss (it's hard to tell, as much of what's written on the page is crossed out). Tukhlomon refuses to give it to Mefodiy. Mefodiy tries to remind him that the rules instructs him to give up such documents, but it doesn't work, as Tukhlomon knows the rules too, and points that he may give it up to either Ulitha -- or to ''Ligul''. Mefoiy changes tactics, and [[ISurrenderSuckers pretends that he submitted to Tukhlomon's blackmail]], exploits Tukhlomon's greed by offering him valuable artifact, and then uses the moment to hit him with container from his sword, and take the page by force, which he then destroys.
* BlatantLies: The talking head, clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]], claims that it was sent by Daphne -- a Light Guardian. It's blatantly obvious that its' a trap, and yet Mefodiy still falls for it.
* CessationOfExistence: Not believing in the afterlife can, actually, take it away from you, resulting in your eidos self-destructing after death. Those which don't die outright, tend to be dim and weak, to the point that the Darkness doesn't bother with taking them. This is the reason why not even the Darkness likes atheists: even when evil, they don't empower the Darkness.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When reading a magiczine, most information is useless, but there are some potentially useful advices against shapeshifters, like looking on their reflection on the blade of a dagger while keeping it near your face in specific way.
* IdiotBall: Sure, Mefodiy, let's follow the talking head clearly created through [[TheDarkArts necromancy]] which [[BlatantLies claims that it's from Daphne]]. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Mefodiy deals with Tukhlomon's blackmail by pretending to submit, only to then exploit Tukhlomon's greed for surprise attack, so he may take away the page and destroy it.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mefodiy browses a magiczine, specifically the pages about how to make a Light Guardian fall in love with you, while trying to convince himself that he doesn't plan to do that and that no one can trust a magazine with such stupid name anyway.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''From Havronyssey to Havroniad'']]
Daphne receives a message from talking head (clearly made through necromancy), which claims that it's from Mefodiy, who needs her help. When she tries to check where is Mefodiy, she only sees that he's stressed and runs somewhere, so she decides to believe the head and follow it.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy, who's still following the head, reaches some abandoned house. He feels, through his sword, that there's some danger awaiting. He finds no traces of Daphne, and instead gets attacked by the hell wyrm, which he barely kills when it crushes on him and gets penetrated by Mefodiy's sword, but Mefodiy loses consciousness due to pain.
----
* EvilIsPetty: Some succubi/commissioners likes to leave little flags with mocking signatures after taking away someone's eidos.
* IdiotBall: Daphne falls for the same trap as Mefodiy, and falls the talking head created through necromancy. It's less moronic than with Mefodiy, as at least she can feel that he's running somewhere and is stressed, but still, expecting that someone so consistently terrible with magic as Mefodiy would make ''this'' is not very smart.
* InertialImpalement: The hell wyrm falls on Mefodiy when he puts a sword before him, resulting in the beast being pierced through. Mefodiy faints before he learns wether it worked, spliced with the creature's [[AlienBlood green blood]].
* MythologyGag: Amongst the clients in the restaurant where Edya works are Isidora Kotletkina and Ninel Durneva; both are characters from ''Tanya Grotter''.
* SchmuckBait: Unsurprisingly, the talking head turns out to be a trap, resulting in Mefodiy running into the hell wyrm, and nearly leading to him dying while fighting it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''The Thirty-First Piece of Silver'']]
Daphne arrives just in time to drag Mefodiy out from below the dead wyrm, before he suffocates to death; the sword remains stuck in the monster's corpse. When the two realises that neither one has sent any talking heads, they gets interrupted by Yaraat, who disarms Daphne. Yaraat takes Daphne hostage, and tells Mefodiy his plan; while he might've used the Scroll to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh for himself and become the ruler of Darkness in place of Ligul, he wants something far less ambitious -- to kill Mefodiy before he got born, in hope that it would prevent him from losing his powers. This is also why he needs Mefodiy's eidos specifically -- it must erase itself, it wouldn't work any other way. Mefodiy is ready to give up (despite not being a Guardian, Yaraat ''does'' have a way to kill Daphne), but Depresnyak, on Daphne's orders, distracts Yaraat and gives Mefodiy a chance to suck up what's left of his powers. But Yaraat uses a dirty trick and takes the form of Mefodiy's mother, which makes him lose concentration and fail to finish the deed.
Yaraat is ready to continue leeching out Daphne's life force, but then Essiorkh arrives. Yaraat recognises him, and feels... dread. Yaraat tries to kill him with dark magic, but it doesn't work: the body still remembers Yaraat, and his crimes, and the holy wrath of its original owner's eidos' gives it protection. Essiorkh then teleports the scroll to himself -- being Daphne's Guardian Angel, he has access to anything with the seal of her wings on it -- and destroys it, preventing Yaraat from using it to escape. Essiorkh then reminds him why this body is so familiar to him. Two weeks ago, the biker with his girlfriend have crushed on the way back from the lake, and the girl was heavily injured. The bike was destroyed beyond repair, and so is the phone, so the biker had to carry his girlfriend on his arms, until he run out of energy -- and that's when he'd met Yaraat. Yaraat agreed to watch over the girl while biker goes to find some help; but when the biker returned, he found her dead, with her face being partially devoured, like by some large dog. Losing the will to live, he stopped caring about his safety and soon crushed again, this time fatally.
Yaraat snaps and screams that he needed powers, and that no one has the right to judge him: he needed powers, and she refused to give up her eidos, making him snap... Mefodiy asks whether he "snapped" the same way with Arey's family, and Yaraat's hysterical reaction confirms it. That's when Arey finds them all. Yaraat regains his composure, and prepares for the last stand. Arey orders everyone to leave them alone; it's ''his'' fight. When the fight ends, and Mamzelkina comes to take the victim, Essiorkh gets asked to leave, by everyone including Ulitha, which he reluctantly obeys; soon, Arey emerges, and says that it's done... and now he just wants some time alone.
----
* AnswerCut: When Mefodiy and Daphne realises that neither of them had sent a talking head, Daphne suddenly gets disarmed, and Yaraat reveals himself, being there all along, hiding in front of a wall like chameleon.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Light Guardians often creates magolodies for the sake of art, not thinking about their practicability. Often, it's more practical to do things without magic at all than try to find a fitting magolody, only to find that it's either too powerful or has ridiculously complicated requirements. Unfortunately, this includes the heavy-lifting, so Daphne has to release Mefodiy from beneath the dead hell wyrm without magic, preventing him from taking his sword.
* BattleDiscretionShot: Aside from couple of sounds which characters hears, duel between Arey and Yaraat happens offscreen. We only learn about results. {{Justified|Trope}}, as the [=PoV=] character is Mefodiy, and Arey specifically asked [[ItsPersonal to not interfere]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Daphne arrives just in time to free Mefodiy, almost crushed by the dead hell wyrm. She then reanimates him via magolody, which straight up confirms that she ''does'' have feelings for Mefodiy, due to the way it works.
* ChekhovsGun: Mefodiy remembers advice about looking on shapeshifter's reflection on a knife to see through their illusions. Unfortunately, it's too late and he fails to completely strip Yaraat of his powers.
* ForTheEvulz: There was no hidden goal behind hell wyrm pursuing Daphne, not even spying; Yaraat did this just to mess with her. Coincidentally, it indirectly led to her falling sick with angina, which was useful for him, but he didn't plan for it to happen. As for why it attacked, well, it's evil and hungry.
* HopeSpot: Daphne states that Yaraat has no ways to kill her, as she's a Light Guardian, and he's just a shapeshifter, not even a Dark Guardian. Yaraat states that, firstly, she's slowly turning human, which makes her nowhere as immortal as she used to be, and secondly, he has prepared an artifact for that case.
* IdiotBall: {{Lampshaded}} by Yaraat, who points to Daphne that it was stupid on her part to consider that Mefodiy is capable of creating the talking head through necromancy if he lacks even basic understanding of magic, and blindly follow it into the trap.
* IronicEcho: Essiorkh finishes his speech to Yaraat with Yaraat's own "people in love are vulnerable" line; it's where Yaraat [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]].
* ItsPersonal: Arey asks everyone to not interfere into his duel with Yaraat. The only one who tries to object is Essiorkh, but he shuts up when he senses that it's not up to discussion.
* IShallTauntYou: When Yaraat realises that the battle is inevitable, he tries to taunt Arey by saying that he'd "helped" him by killing his family: this way, Arey avoided watching how they grows old and dies, so he should feel "thankful". Arey just [[TranquilFury quietly]] promises to "thank" him for everything, right now.
-->'''Yaraat''': I'm ready, Arey. If you thought that I would whimper -- you're wrong! Soon, you would follow your family. By the way, you should be grateful to me for sparing you the sight of inevitable ageing of your relatives. Imagine how sad it would've been for you to watch your daughter growing old, remaining young yourself?\\
'''Arey''': I would thank you now. Thank for everything. Back then, on the lighthouse, I used to think about you every day!
* KarmicDeath: Yaraat's death is karmic, in more way than one:
** Yaraat had killed Arey's wife and daughter just to screw with him. Now Arey is here to kill him, and Yaraat has no way to escape.
** Yaraat offered a biker to watch over his injured girlfriend while he goes to find some help, only to kill and eat her; now said biker's body is inhabited by Essiorkh, who only descended from the skies due to the events caused by Yaraat himself, and directly ruins Yaraat's last ditch attempt to escape.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Yaraat believes that people in love are easy to trick and exploit, which makes them vulnerable.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Scroll of Desires can be used to retroactively change "minor" detail, with major consequences. While the idea to steal the chain from Kvodnon's darkh (which was how Ligul had risen so high) sounds tempting, Yaraat has a better idea: he would cause Mefodiy to die from heart defect before his birth, preventing him from sucking out Yaraat's powers.
* NonProtagonistResolver: Mefodiy fails to defeat Yaraat. It's Essiorkh who destroys the Scroll, and Arey who kills Yaraat himself.
* NoSell: Yaraat tries to use special dark magic which would destroy Essiorkh, but it doesn't work completely; as Essiorkh readily explains, it's because the body ''still remembers Yaraat'', and that memory, along with holy wrath of the eidos which once inhabited it, gives it protection.
* RetGone: Yaraat is uncertain how him killing Mefodiy retroactively would affect the present-Mefodiy; would he cease to exists, or it would just restore Yaraat's powers? Either way, he wants to use specifically Mefodiy's eidos, as that way it would erase itself.
* SadisticChoice: Yaraat offers Mefodiy a choice: he may let Daphne die, or he may give up his eidos to Yaraat. Daphne realises that it's MortonsFork (if Mefodiy lets her die, he would lose his eidos anyway), and tells Mefodiy to not give up his eidos: Yaraat, not being a Guardian, can't ''actually'' kill her. Unfortunately, turns out that he ''can''.
* ShapeshifterGuiltTrip: Yaraat tries to buy some time by shapeshifting into Zozo. While Mefodiy manages to break the illusion, it still ruins his concentration and stops him from sucking out more of Yaraat's power.
* UndyingLoyalty: Depresnyak attacks Yaraat when asked for help by Daphne, which is acknowledged as the very first time when he obeys ''any'' command whatsoever. As before, it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Essiorkh starts telling Yaraat the history of how he'd killed the biker's girlfriend two weeks ago, Yaraat starts losing his cool; when Mefodiy reminds him about Arey's family, he goes outright hysterical. He recovers from it when Arey shows up and Yaraat's last ditch attempt to teleport fails, and he prepares to make his last stand, clearly going into "cornered rat" mode.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Third Horseman of Darkness''
* Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition''
* Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals''
* Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail''
* Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike''
* Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters''
* Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die''
* Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke''
* Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf''
* Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend''
* Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan''
* Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''Debut of Aunt Intuition'']]
Daphne, while looking where to find something to eat, runs into succubus Whimper. Whimper states that he knows about her attraction to Mefodiy, and tries to make a "friendly chat" with her, and even turns into Mefodiy when she claims to feel nothing to him, only to alienate her, as she sees through his glamour. Angry, Daphne exploits one old trick, and makes Whimper turn into a worm -- when you say something in sufficiently lusty voice, succubi obeys, wether they like it or not -- and makes him crawl towards the road, where he would get crushed, requiring obtaining a replacement body, which isn't cheap. She only stops when Whimper agrees to tell her why he's here.
According to Whimper, Daphne would soon get a rival who would try to steal Mefodiy -- and if Light Guardian gets rejected, they would lose their wings and die. But he has a solution -- a magic poppy flower which would track Mefodiy's feelings to her (indicating them by its colour), and, if the worst happens, can be spring with Daphne's blood to reinforce Mefodiy's feelings; the flower should be attached to his shirt. Too worrying about possible dangers, Daphne accepts the gift without second thought.
On the way back, Daphne meets Essiorkh, who did obtain a bike after all. Essiorkh had arrived because he sensed some terrible danger, but has no idea what is it; both agree that it couldn't have been Whimper, there's something else. When they part ways, Daphne gets attacked by unknown enemy, and only survives due to hiding in the sandbox, and only then, due to specific quirk in the magic used. But who wants to kill her?
----
* ApatheticStudent: Daphne somehow skipped entire course of lectures about foretelling the fates of items. She [[BlatantLies tries to lie that she "was sick" at the time]], only for Essiorkh to point that the cycle of lectures is 300 years-long, with 70 more years for practice.
* CallBack: Whimper mentions that Tukhlomon had stole the credit for defeating Pupliy and Rufin, despite everyone knowing that it was Daphne. He also reveals their subsequent fate: they are alive, but as they can't return to Eden without wings, they are now searching for Daphne on their own.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The magic poppy flower gifted to Daphne by Whimper indicates Mefodiy's feelings for her, by changing its colour. If it's red, it means that the partner loves you. If it's pink, it means that they starts getting colder to you. Blue is the colour of boredom, brown -- of disdain, yellow -- of betrayal, and black means hatred.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Remembering how succubi transformation magic works (just by talking in sufficiently lustful voice you may "trick" their magic to transform them into whatever you want and force them to do whatever you want, wether they like it or not), Daphne exploits it to interrogate Whimper, by [[ForcedTransformation transforming him into a worm]] and forcing to move on the road where he would inevitably be crushed (requiring replacement body, which isn't cheap).
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Essiorkh sensed some danger while Daphne was talking with Whimper, but neither he nor Daphne are sure what this danger is (it's certainly not Whimper himself). Is there some unseen enemy they don't know about? In the end of the chapter, Daphne gets attacked by unseen enemy, and only survives by hiding in the (rather dirty) sandbox: turns out that the only way to survive this magic attack is by lying in the pine coffin, and the magic somehow interpreted the pine sandbox with a plank over it as a coffin. Fortunately for Daphne, attacker assumes that NoOneCouldSurviveThat, and doesn't check. Turns out that Essiorkh yet again foresaw the danger before it really happened.
* HumanityEnsues: It gets confirmed that Daphne actually progressively loses her powers, becoming mortal. Amongst the first signs is her actually starting gaining heigh, which normally would take ''many'' years, considering Guardians' extremely slow ageing. This may become a problem very soon...
* IdiotBall: Sure, Daphne, accept that "friendly gift" (a dark artifact) from the demon you just humiliated and nearly deprived of material body. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What bad can happen?]]
* LoopholeAbuse: The Guardians can see the future to a degree, and can see whether some item is "unlucky" -- as is, it would cause harm to its owner in the near future; since they would cause harm, it's normal to steal them, even for the Light Guardians.
** It's how Essiorkh provides a meal for Daphne: it was supposed to fall down, causing a woman to slip and break her leg, and while she would stay in the hospital, her fourteen years-old daughter would stop attending school, husband would accidentally drink vinegar and injure his stomach, and her dog would be run over by a truck.
** Essiorkh's bike was stolen that way, too. It was supposed to be used to "steal" someone's wife, then stolen and used for ATM robbery, only to be then drown in a lake; Essiorkh is [[SkewedPriorities most concerned by the last one]]. However, ultimately it would change nothing, as the wife would still leave her husband, just on metro instead of a bike, while ATM would be robbed on a car.
* LovePotion: If the magic flower starts changing its colour into something besides red (the optimal colour, which means that you're loved), you can spring it with your blood, then put the flower on your partner's clothes to make them love you again.
* SayingTooMuch: When Daphne wonders why she didn't see Whimper in the Dark residence -- being succubus, he needs to regularly check out and prolong his registration -- he tells that he's from "another department", only to shut up once he realises that it may hint Daphne to something she shouldn't know -- a bit too late, as she already made a note about it, and even suspects that if he's not Arey's underling, then Ligul's.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: We finally receive some information on how succubi looks and works (through first succubus character); previously, they had bare minimum of attention, with more attentions being dedicated to commissioners.
* SeriousBusiness: During the time between this and the previous book, Essiorkh, following his body's influence, had become bike enthusiast. Amongst the other things, he now seriously deals with tuning his new bike to match his tastes, and reacts badly when Daphne makes a joke which questions his skills. He also reveals that the bike originally was supposed to be destroyed, but he "stole" it (there's a {{loophole|Abuse}} which allowed him to do it), as he considers it to be a horrible atrocity.
* SkewedPriorities: Daphne points out that Essiorkh was late to protect her (from whatever danger he sensed) because he was too busy working on his new bike, rather than acting like a Guardian Angel. He has nothing to counter it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''You [=@=] and Other Animals'']]
At night, Irka hears the weird noises from the kitchen. Thinking that it's possibly a robber, she tries to leave and ask the neighbours for help, but accidentally hits a corner of the closet, and falls from her wheelchair. Realising that she can't crawl back on her own, nor she can open the door, as she can't reach the lock, she, already prepared for the worst, but having no other option, crawls to the kitchen (from there goes some strange light)... and sees an injured she-wolf, with horrible bleeding wound on her side. Forgetting about everything, not even thinking just how the wolf ended up here, she crawls to try and help her. The wolf doesn't try to attack her, and shows some signs that she's actually intelligent.
Then the wolf turns into a swan... but preserves the wound, which now moves to the wing. Then the swan turns into injured woman. The woman tells Irka that she's a Valkyrie, and she's here because she's dying, and needs someone who can continue her mission -- to stop some very powerful evil, which managed to escape from behind the Dreadful Gates, despite all precautions. Now, it's up to Irka to stop him, with which she would receive a help of someone called "Antigonius"; for that end, she would receive the Valkyrie's powers, and... ability to walk again, as the Valkyrie would take her leg injuries on herself, as she has only minutes left to live anyway. Just before dying -- and disappearing in the air -- the Valkyrie tells Irka that she's gonna have the powers to turn into a wolf and a swan, too, and warns to be careful about those powers. She also tells Irka that she should never let anyone from her old life know who she is; or they would die. Initally too scared of the possible failure, Irka tries new legs -- and they actually work. Realising that the new life awaits her, Irka leaves a farewell message on the forum, and closes her laptop.
----
* AppearanceAngst: Irka can't look on her legs (pale, almost bluish, skeletal limbs), and does everything to hide them altogether. She tries to distract herself from having a body altogether (associating it with being trapped in her wheelchair like in prison), and envies the ghosts -- those aren't attached to the bodies, and are free to go wherever they want.
* AscendedExtra: Irka, previously episodic character in the first two novels, gains the Valkyrie powers, and becomes additional main character, besides Mefodiy and Daphne.
* ChildProdigy: Irka is way above the school level of knowledge, to the point that she gets bored by wasting time on writing down the solution when she can solve everything so quickly in her mind. She's around Mefodiy's age, but she'd passed exams for the first nine grades already, just because she can.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon managed to exploit the sole vulnerability in the protection of the Dreadful Gates, and possess someone whom the Valkyrie guarding the Gates never expected, after which he mortally wounded the Valkyrie. There are four bodies he can possess, but one is currently unavailable for him (all but explicitly said to be Mefodiy).
* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The Valkyrie powers Irka gains comes with the ability to walk.
* LimbSensationFascination:The first thing Irka does after gaining new powers is to test her new legs, as being able to walk is new for her. The fact that she still remembers how to even use them surprises her.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka about the danger of losing control why in the animal form: never let the beast's instincts overcome you.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: When the Valkyrie actually dies, she disappears, leaving no corpse behind.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Antigonius has a rich genealogy of various kinds of wights, mostly from Slavic folklore. His father was domovoi ([[HouseFey house-keeping spirit]]), and mother was kikimora (swamp spirit, which in this verse look like some [[FrogMen amphibian]]). Besides them, his grandpa (from mother's side) was a vampire, and grandparents from father's side were a mermaid and leshiy (forest spirit). And then there're the rumours about Snowhite and her dwarves being somehow involved as well.
* SkewedPriorities: {{Inverted|Trope}}; when Irka sees an injured she-wolf on her kitchen, she doesn't bother with questions such as "why" or "how", concentrating on the fact that her guest needs help, ''now'', or she may die. When she-wolf turns into a swan and then human, and starts talking with Irka about her mission, Irka, instinctively feeling that there's no time to lose, listens to her and only asks the questions which may provide her extra bits of information on the mission. The Valkyrie actually compliments that.
* TakingUpTheMantle: Irka gets visited by a dying Valkyrie, who asks her to accept her helmet and spear (gaining the Valkyrie's powers and ability to walk) and continue her unfinished mission -- to stop Kvodnon's messenger.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The Valkyrie says that this wound can't be healed, no matter what, and ''would'' kill her very soon.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The dying Valkyrie warns Irka that no one who knew her from the past life can recognise her; and if she deliberately tells them, they would die. Somehow, it applies even to objects, as when Irka tells that she's a Valkyrie to the mirror (which "[[ExactWords knew]]" her from the past), it shatters.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''Three is Like Two, But With Sadly Lowered Tail'']]
Mefodiy notices the traces of blood on his sword, and that the sword is unusually bloodthirsty, but can't explain it; he certainly didn't hurt anyone recently.
Arey summons Mefodiy, and reveals to him that he was not, actually, the only person who inherited Kvodnon's powers; there were three more, who got much smaller parts of them. Until now, there was no need to bother, but the situation changed.
----
* BerserkButton: Mefodiy nearly attacks Arey in blind rage over a ''joke'' about sacrificing Daphne to the Prophetic Stone.
* BloodKnight: Mefodiy feels the blood thirst of his sword, which is strong enough that it may attack the first person to come nearby; the sword even manages to infest Mefodiy with it, though he regains self-control.
* BrilliantButLazy: Arey tells Mefodiy that, for all his powers, he's pathologically lazy, and can't do anything without proper motivation; he hopes that having other students to compete with would motivate him to train more.
* CallBack: Mefodiy again gets teased on the way he commented on Daphne's attractiveness back in the first book, this time by Ulitha.
* TheChosenMany: Turns out that not all Kvodnon's powers were absorbed by Mefodiy; some leftovers were received by three other kids. Now, Arey wants to find them and take as the new students.
* HumanSacrifice: Prophetic Stone tells the future, but it requires a human sacrifice in order to work; it would consume its victims by gradually sucking them inside (Arey doesn't describe the process in details, probably for the best); when Mefodiy hears about it, he immediately asks whether they plan to sacrifice Tukhlomon to it, which makes Arey laugh. Ironically, for the Stone's last revelation it must be destroyed by Arey, since information he seeks (three other kids with Kvodnon's powers, besides Mefodiy, and where to find them) can only be seen on the internal side of the Stone.
* ShipTease: Ulitha actually still can't stop thinking about Essiorkh; she tries to distract herself by drawing caricatures of him.
* TemptingFate: After learning that his bed has some dark history (it used to be a part of mortal trap), Mefodiy wonders whether the chairs have similar backstory. He immediately sees a vision how one guy tried to hang himself while using one, only to change mind at the last moment, but the chair broke its leg, so the guy ''did'' hang himself. Mefodiy feels so much hatred to the chair that it gets set ablaze.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''A King Without Retinue is Like a Biker Without a Bike'']]
Edya goes into conflict with a client; he tries to use his usual audacity, but this time, it works against him, as the client turns out to be a sister of someone ''really'' important for Edya's boss, and this time, Edya gets outright fired.
Zozo (who's still unlucky in finding a suitor, only running into various freaks) invites her brother to attend a party thrown by a "poet" Lev Ovalov, where she runs into a guy who introduces himself as Danila Plaksin (actually Whimper in disguise). Edya briefly sees through his disguise, which makes him distrustful to the guy, while Zozo falls for Whimper's blatant attempts at flirting.
----
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Zozo at first laughs at Edya's joke (about men's relationship with women), but then pretends to be offended by his cynicism.
* CallBack: When describing Mefodiy's weird behaviour, Edya references the story about his creepy babysitter, which he originally told in the second novel.
* ChickMagnet: Vydrikov, a director of the restaurant where Edya works, believes that if all officiants would be tall, handsome, galant and single, it would attract equally single (female) clients to them (their target clients); and clients who feels attraction to the personnel are more likely to become recurring customers. They're working in two shifts; one for brunettes, one for blondes (not all of whom are natural); Edya suggested to make a shift for bald and shaved (it's trendy!), but was rejected. Edya doesn't match any point besides "single", so he picks which shifts to work on at random.
* GlamourFailure: Edya briefly sees through Whimper's disguise, noticing him being stitched up.
* RefugeInAudacity: Edya tries his usual approach, acting so familiar and audacious that he would get away with it (at most, he would be chewed out by boss; not first, not last time); it doesn't work this time, as the client whom Edya annoys turns out to be a sister of someone important to Edya's boss, and he decides that it would be easier to fire Edya.
* SavedForTheSequel: When the story about Edya's creepy babysitter [[CallBack gets brought up again]], the footnote explicitly states that it would have a followup later.
* SueDonym: Whimper, when creating an alias, chooses surname "Plaksin" (after "plaksa" -- someone who cries a lot).
* TrueSight: As a side effect of Edya's contact with Midnight Witch, he now sometimes manifests ability to see through magic disguise; it's how he notices that "Plaksin" has something weird with him (not knowing that the things he sees are the signs of succubus).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''Ali Petrus and Forty Monsters'']]
Depresnyak brings some weird ring, which Arey identifies as the part of Dreadful Gates -- specifically, the part from ''behind'' them. But how it ended up in Moscow? Anyway, right now, they have the other thing to care about: the other three kids were discovered (two boys and one girl), and it's up to Mefodiy and Daphne to recruit them. The friends separates, with Daphne going to one of the boys, and Mefodiy to the girl; the second boy would be visited together. Daphne can't resist to check the flower gifted by Whimper, but it shows that everything is fine for now.
Daphne meets the mother of the boy she needs to recruit, a highly eccentric and somewhat threatening woman, obsessed with fixing such "important" issues like "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic light. The woman mistakes Daphne for her "Petrusik's" new girlfriend, which Daphne realises only when they parts ways. When she meets the guy in person, he introduces himself as Petruccho Chimodanov (''no'' relation to the word "chemodan"). Daphne quickly learns what kind of gift Petruccho has: he can animate the artificial constructs he creates from various things available. Daphne immediately realises that he's indeed the one she needs, and asks him to follow her: she would take him to the place where no one would think that his abilities are "weird".
----
* EmbarrassingLastName: One of the first things Petruccho Chimodanov tells to Daphne is that his surname is ''not'' related to the word "chemodan" ("bag"); he almost immediately states that the guy who bullied him about it had accidentally bitten off a half of his tongue in his sleep, "coincidentally" right after Petruccho wished for exactly that.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Petruccho shows some key traits in his first appearance: weird speech manner, vindictive personality and interest to weird and creepy stuff.
* {{Golem}}: Petruccho's main power is ability to animate artificial constructs he creates from whatever stuff available; Daphne actually meets some of them. Petruccho particularly values Zuduka, a crazy prankster whom he considers the smartest of them all (he even can play chess). None of them can talk, however.
* {{Hellgate}}: Besides Tartarus, there's one even worse place; behind the impenetrable Dreadful Gates is imprisoned the Primordial Chaos -- absolutely destructive power, which, if released, would end the entire universe, be it Light, Darkness or mortal world; naturally, no one wants that. There're only two instances of these gates; one is rather well guarded by mages of Tibidokhs, another is in Tartarus -- right below the Dark residence in Moscow (which was one of the reasons why this exact place was chosen to begin with).
* ItCanThink: Arey believes that the Dreadful Gates have some sort of sentience on their own; that's why the ring from it mesmerised Depresnyak and forced him to bring it to the Dark residence, which is right above the second pair of Dreadful Gates (besides ones in Tibidokhs).
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Petruccho is just as eccentric as his mother, only shows it through other ways.
* RefugeInAudacity: When Petruccho's mother calls Depresnyak "cutie" and invites him to "go to momma", it stupefies even him.
* SoapBoxSadie: PlayedForLaughs with Petruccho's mother. She treats things like local road signs or "double-meaning" blinking of the yellow traffic lights as matters so important that she must unite the whole humanity to fight for their "correction"; in fact, she treats any minor problem which annoys her like this. And if she starts talking about it, It's not possible to shut her up.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Pyotr Chimodanov insists on being called "Petruccho"; he also forbids using nickname "Petrusik" given by his mother.
* VerbalTic: Petruccho likes inserting words "But!" and "I insist!" into his speech at seemingly random moments.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''Fall in Love or Die'']]
When searching for the second person out of three, Mefodiy runs into a company of several older guys and a girl around his age; the guys acts very hostile, and Mefodiy only deals with them using his magic (not the way he wanted, but still efficient). After that, the girl reveals that Natasha Vikhrova whom Mefodiy is looking for is she. She prefers to be called "Nata" or "Natalie", however.
Nata immediately tries to us her magic on him, and when Mefodiy manages to shake it off, turns out that he spent twenty minutes fighting off -- while normally, she can make males love her in two-three minutes at most. Mefodiy tells Nata that she has to follow him, as she's waited for.
----
* TheBeastmaster: Mefodiy tries to use magic to deal with attackers; it results in him provoking a dog pack to attack them; they don't cause any harm, instead just pushing the guys to the ground and scaring them to no end.
* CharmPerson: Nata shows her main power -- ability to turn males into dumb obedient servants, through eye contact, mimics and touching -- by using it on Mefodiy. It only partially works on him, due to his own powers, and he manages to shake it off after twenty minutes of resisting. She then reveals that it normally takes two-three minutes to achieve full control, and it's easy to overdo, driving person insane (she actually did this with her teacher when it originally manifested, and learned to be more careful since then).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nata shows some key traits in her first appearance: she's eccentric, somewhat narcissistic and has dark sense of humour.
* GoshDangItToHeck: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Dron]] uses slightly modified (it's children novel, after all) cuss word as his VerbalTic.
* ItIsDehumanising: Nata's "friends" shows their antipathy to Mefodiy by consistently calling him "it".
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Natasha insists on being called "Nata".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Neighbourhood-Grade Bloke'']]
Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start. Then Daphne notices that the poppy on Mefodiy's shirt had changed colour to pink (indicating that he became colder to her), and she starts acting aggressive to him without explaining why. She only calms down when she notices how her innate magic "explodes" and causes some collateral damage in metro.
When the company arrives to the Dark residence, they see that it was stripped of magic and now resembles an office. The reason becomes (somewhat) clear when they enter and finds Arey with some mortal guest (who brought along two scarily-looking massive bodyguards); that guest -- who has rather pretentious name Tiberius Cezarovich Samtsov -- insists that he wants to buy this house. When Arey insists that Mefodiy is the one who calls the shots here, Mefodiy realises that Arey is messing with the guy for his amusement, and plays along. When Mefodiy also refuses to sell it, Arey grows tired, and tells the guy to leave, in very insulting manner, which angers him to no end, and he hisses that Arey just doomed himself.
When Tiberiy leaves, Arey reveals the true reason for this; there's some third force behind those guys, which wants the access to the building for its own gains. Mefodiy also notices that Arey has some hidden reason for paying so much attention to what Mefodiy says about the building, and feeling relief when he refused to sell it; something is weird... But it's a question for another time; for now, Mefodiy and Daphne have to find the third gifted kid.
----
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some unknown third force which is interested in claiming the Dark residence, and it's clearly not someone human. Also, Arey pays attention to what Mefodiy says to offer to sell the building, and feels relief when he refuses (which Mefodiy notices), for the reasons known only to himself.
* HateAtFirstSight: Daphne and Nata don't come along right from the start, and starts passive-aggressive verbal fight.
* ItIsDehumanising: When Arey's guest sees Mefodiy and hears that it's he who calls the shots here, he, with contempt, calls Mefodiy "it".
* MeaningfulName: Tiberiy Cezarovich Samtsov; every part of that name indicates his overblown ego. Surname, in particular, is based on the word "samets" ("male animal"), which is often used to call sexually active, dominant "real men"; Ulitha actually comments on how weird it sounds.
* TitleDrop: The chapter's name is a phrase which Mefodiy says regarding Tiberius Samtsov, in dismissing manner.
* {{Troll}}:
** When Petruccho finds it weird that "Dasha" insists on being called "Daphne", Mefodiy replies that [[EmbarrassingLastName he never heard anyone pronouncing word "chemodan" with "I"]].
** The reason why Arey even bothers with Tiberiy Samtsov and pretends that there's an actual office? To mess with him. Ulitha and Mamzelkina plays along, and Mefodiy soon joins the game, too. However, later Mefodiy realises that it was a test for something regarding Mefodiy himself.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''A Meat Loaf Wishes to Meet One She-Wolf'']]
Irka, not knowing what would happen if Babanya finds her outside of wheelchair (and not really trusting the "no one from old life would recognise you" part), still sits back whenever she returns; but one day, when experimenting with shapeshifting, misses Babanya's return... and realises that she doesn't see anything: it seems that when Irka isn't in wheelchair, some sort of magic "plays" Irka for Babanya to not reveal the secret. Soon afterwards, she feels strange need to fill a bathtub with hot water, and on the misted glass appears a message, ordering her to find Eugeniy Moshkin first, so he would bring her to the other three.
Picking an outfit to her liking out non-bought clothes made by Babanya, Irka goes to the address provided. Moshkin turns out to be extremely awkward and eccentric, but Irka still learns about his gift -- he can control water, in any form. Suddenly, Irka's wolf form (which she previously disregarded) takes over, and she transforms without wishing so. She steals the chicken from Moshkin's fridge, and runs away -- just in time to see Mefodiy and Daphne arriving; shock of seeing them here allows Irka to regain her human form.
----
* AppearanceAngst: While still disabled, Irka, whenever leaving her house with Babanya, used to always wear sports pants, to hide her legs, as just looking at them was unbearable to Irka, as they were the symbol of her helplessness and miserable life. Now, she's eager to try something else, which would actually show those legs; too bad, her garderobe lacks fitting clothes.
* BlatantLies:
** Moshkin says that he has a "serious dog" here. As soon as Irka enters, it turns out that it's small (it weighs less than one kilogram) and cowardly (it's afraid of literally everything); when asked why he said that it's "serious", he claims that he meant it the sense of it being "thoughtful".
** When Irka sees Moshkin's list of awkward pickup lines, he claims that it's "for school essay"; she pretends that she believed.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Eugesha Moshkin shows right away his weirdness, pathological shyness and lack of social skills.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Irka, who previously only bothered with swan transformation, but not the wolf, loses control over her wolf form while at Moshkin's house (something about which she was warned), resulting in her transforming into wolf and run away. She regains her consciousness soon afterwards, when appearance of Mefodiy and Daphne shocked her, allowing Irka to regain control.
* MakingASplash: Moshkin's main power is the ability to control water, be it liquid, [[IceMagicIsWater solid]] or steam, and easily interchange them.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Irka, when visiting Moshkin, smells fresh meat in Eugesha's fridge, and feels strange urges to eat it raw. She quickly realises that it's hungry she-wolf taking over, just like the dying Valkyrie had warned. Then she [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting outright transforms into she-wolf]].
* LimbSensationFascination: Continuing from the first experience, Irka feels excitement over ability to walk again, and, when walking outside, somewhat wishes to get noticed by people, so they would share this feeling with her.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Eugeniy Moshkin prefers to be called "Eugesha".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''Kind and Fluffy Fiend'']]
Arey gathers his new students together, and tells them why they should stay there -- because anywhere else, their gift would not let them live a normal life. They're skeptical at first, but he easily breaks all their arguments. They (as well as Mefodiy and Daphne), from now on, would live here, in the Dark residence; Glumovich would cover for them before their parents.
Arey summons Mefodiy for important talk, and reveals that Kvodnon has escaped. When he was slain, he has divided into two parts; one -- faceless, abstract evil -- is trapped in Tartarus, and is worshipped by the Dark Guardians; another -- his actual personality -- was trapped behind the Dreadful Gates, with Primordial Chaos. Kvodnon somehow managed to disrupt protective magic, and send a part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body. Now, the messenger has three days and three nights to free Kvodnon -- and not even the Darkness wants him free, as the former Dark Lord was just too insane and violent, and his end goal was risking an apocalypse, which the Dark Guardians would rather avoid.
Those people whom Kvodnon's messenger can posses? It's either Mefodiy, or one of the three other kids; they share Kvodnon's powers, and they can use his former sword. They don't know who specifically, yet, but must find out before it's too late.
----
* BaitAndSwitch: Ulitha starts what seems to be another jab at Ligul, and Tukhlomon prepares to listen, so he can snitch on her... only for her to finish it with Tukhlomon's name instead.
* TheCaligula: ''No one'' wants Kvodnon back, not even Dark Guardians, as he was too insane and [[BadBoss violent]].
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon's goal can only be achieved during one specific night, and if he misses it, he would be forced to wait another thirty three years.
* DemonicPossession: Kvodnon's messenger possessed one of the four inheritors to kill the Valkyrie guarding the Dreadful Gates and escape.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Not even the Darkness is interested in actually resurrecting [[OmnicidalManiac Kvodnon]], since he wish to destroy the Light too much to care about the Darkness' survival.
* GeneralRipper: Kvodnon would not stop until the Light is utterly destroyed. He completely ignores the fact that this would destroy mortals as well (since they can't exist totally without Light), and that without mortals, the Darkness would starve to death, since the Dark Guardians desperately needs eidoses to empower themselves; he either went completely nuts after exposure to Chaos, or, which Arey finds more probable, never cared to begin with.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Kvodnon managed to disrupt protective magic of the Dreadful Gates and send a small part of his spirit on Earth, where it possessed a mortal body.
* LoveIsACrime: Arey again reminds Mefodiy that if he continues loving Daphne, it would end badly for him.
-->'''Arey''': Remember, the Dark Guardians aren't allowed to love! Kill the love while it's still a little sprout. When it would grow into a mature tree with strong roots, tearing it out would be much harder.
* PredecessorVillain: Kvodnon is the Third Horseman of Darkness; before him, there were two more entities of equal evilness, but only one -- Troyan (from ''Tanya Grotter'' series) is mentioned, and he's [[KilledOffForReal dead by now]].
* TheScottishTrope: Mefodiy, when he guesses ''who'' has escaped, accidentally calls Kvodnon by name. Just as in the previous novel, it causes some mayhem around him, and annoys Ulitha, who has told him to ''not'' say that name aloud.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''The Magic Chumodan'']]
Whimper, still in his "Danila" disguise, proposes to Zozo, saying that he "can't live without her" -- and immediately tries to scam her out of her eidos. She misses the second part, but feels sudden antipathy to him, and rejects, saying that it's going too fast. He starts pressing her, and she almost agrees, despite feeling strange pain in the chest when she asks what "eidos" is.
Before anything bad could happen, Essiorkh arrives and captures Whimper. He then forces him to answer three questions, wanting to learn what exactly he's planning. He learns that Whimper was sent to sabotage Mefodiy's relationship with Daphne -- the Darkness sees it as dangerous -- but before Essiorkh gets the last piece of the puzzle (why Whimper gave Daphne that magic poppy flower), Zozo intervenes and asks Whimper wether he lied about wanting to marry her, which he gladly exploits to avoid giving out any useful info, and get sucked out to Tartarus.
----
* TheCavalry: Essiorkh arrives before Whimper can trick Zozo into selling her eidos, and captures succubus. As he later explains, he thought about Daphne, and intuition told him to check on her at home.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Essiorkh manages to pinpoint Whimper and force him to answer three questions -- which he can't ignore or lie to; but once he answers them, he would be banished to Tartarus. He asks first two successfully, learning that he plans to destroy Daphne's and Mefodiy's love, because the Darkness considers this to be too dangerous for their cause, but before he learns ''how'', Zozo (whom Whimper tried to seduce into giving up her eidos when Essiorkh busted him) loses her temper and recklessly asks wether he lied when promised to marry her. He gladly answers that yes, he lied, and gets sucked into Tartarus, leaving Essiorkh without last part of the puzzle. He actually calls her out on this.
* PunBasedTitle: Chapter's name is based on the common way to mock Petruccho's surname "Chimodanov" (which is itself a pun on the word "chemodan" -- "bag").
* RattlingOffLegal: Whimper puts his marriage proposal to Zozo and request to sell out eidos into same sentence, with first part being loud and clear, and second part being quiet and mangled.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''A Son of Kikimora'']]
Irka was consistently unable to summon Antigonius, but when she thinks about him, calling him "crazy", he actually appears -- and his look matches his weird name, with him being short, fat, with short legs and long arms, huge lemon-yellow nose and long, unkempt curly red hair and whiskers. His speech manner is just as weird, with him consistently mismatching opposites, including compliments and insults (and taking them as opposites when said by others, too). Antigonius' behaviour at first confuses Irka, and she nearly alienates him, but then she realises how his mindset works, and she fixes the situation.
After establishing contact, Irka makes several more tests, confirming her initial guess, and understanding how to interact with him. She also renames him into "Antigon", as it's easier for her to memorise and pronounce. Antigon gives her a magic "yellow press" magazine, which hides advices between seemingly random "hot news", which tells her how to turn invisible, and instructs to spy on Ligul.
Irka, using magic suggested to her, overhears Ligul conversing with Tukhlomon, about Daphne -- and the magic poppy flower. Turns out, it's an artifact which slowly sucks out her powers and her sanity, while assisting Kvodnon; Ligul wants to ensure that if they fail to stop Kvodnon, he would still be on his good side. Additionally, the flower hurts Daphne's trust to Mefodiy: their love is too dangerous for the Darkness, but if it gets poisoned or at least weakened, it would cease to be a threat. Irka doesn't learn what else Ligul is planning to do, however: he notices something, and uses magic to hide himself, while Irka gets attacked by a warrior made out of fire; she defeats him, but Ligul is already gone.
----
* AppropriatedAppellation: Irka has problems with pronouncing "Antigonius", so she replaces it with "Antigon". Antigon accepts it as new name.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Unsurprisingly, the poppy flower which Whimper gave to Daphne turns out to be dangerous: it's a part of Ligul's plan, which involves weakening Daphne and corrupting her love to Mefodiy; it also plays some crucial role in assisting Kvodnon.
* {{Cloudcuckoolanguage}}: For unknown reason (it may have something to do with his kikimora heritage: those are known for weird speech manner themselves), Antigon is tend to mismatch compliments and insults (and some other opposites). He gets confused when Irka says "good morning" (it's "terrible evening", thank you very much!), and feels offended when she calls him "funny", insisting that he's "boring and disgustingly ugly". The rest of his speech goes like this as well: for example, he gets offended when Irka calls him "friend", but calms down when she "corrects" herself to calling him enemy.
* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness:
** Antigon's HulkingOut ability wouldn't be used in subsequent novels, even where it would be perfectly expectable and highly usable.
** Ligul mentions that Daphne has unclaimed Eidos; it would later be established that Light Guardians don't need eidoses: they have direct link to the Light.
* ExactEavesdropping: Irka spies on Ligul and Tukhlomon just when they're discussing Ligul's plans to use poppy flower to corrupt Daphne's love to Mefodiy (and that this flower is somehow assisting Kvodnon). However, Ligul notices that he's been spying upon, and takes precautions, so Irka doesn't learn what Ligul wants to do next.
* HulkingOut: Antigon, when annoyed by Irka a bit too much, heavily increases in size. [[EarlyInstalmentWeirdness He would not use this ability ever again]].
* ExtremeOmnivore: In his introduction scene, Antigon eats Irka's wristwatch... and actually considers it to be "tasty", only complaining that he can't get more.
* InternalReveal: Ligul learns about Essiorkh, and, from description, deduces that he's a Guardian Angel, likely Daphne's, and that Daphne is likely living at Mefodiy's.
* LoveTriangle: Irka learns about Daphne and Nata in her dream, and feels jealous towards Mefodiy; she dislikes Daphne more, with Nata she's not even sure that she's real.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Irka fails to cause any damage to the fire warrior, and only succeeds at creating a second copy of him, but when she instinctively targets the candle which spawned him, both copies disappears.
* PlayingBothSides: Ligul subtly assists Kvodnon; not much, just enough to ensure that if Kvodnon wins after all, [[XanatosGambit Ligul would be on his good side]].
-->'''Ligul''': We should give the overlord a chance. Let them say that I assisted Kvodnon and it's unfair, but, if he returns to power, I want him to owe me. At least somewhat, at least for something. The key to victory is to bet on all favourites at once.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Antigon strongly dislikes sunlight, as it causes him pain. Irka feels regret over accidentally summoning him right at midday, when the sun is at its strongest.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Not Boom, Not Blam, Not Ouch-Ouch-Ouch'']]
Daphne's attempts to teach Mefodiy and the rest some runes gets interrupted by a gunshot; Samtsov's sniper just shot Arey (who let it happen), not knowing that it would be of no use. And Arey is planning to let him go in this night, to not miss the fun. This is also the good excuse to take Daphne's lessons more seriously: if the kids wouldn't learn protective magic, they may get killed.
After messing around for some time, Arey captures Samtsov and learns that he was brainwashed and sent by someone else, who cleaned up all traces. He fails to gain any information from Tiberius himself, but then he learns that, while they were busy, Petruccho disappeared, and realised that it was merely a distraction. Petruccho gets found in the basement, put into hole which was previously hidden under marble floor. Arey breaks the marble and finds three more holes. He realises that Kvodnon wants to put three other kids besides Mefodiy into those holes, so when the time comes, he may suck out their powers. And there's a fourth floor, the only one with direct link to Tartarus, which is intended for Mefodiy, his main prize...
----
* BaitAndSwitch: The rune Daphne used on Petruccho silences the person it's used on for seven times seven years, allowing them to say one piece of wisdom after each seven years period, and can't be cancelled... but she used weakened form of it, which would wear off after thirty minutes -- assuming you don't try to say something stupid, or think anything bad about women, otherwise, it prolongs its effect by one hour per bad thought! Knowing Daphne, it's hard to tell whether last part is true, or she's just messing with him, but Petruccho believes in it.
* BullyingADragon: Tukhlomon makes a silly joke at Ulitha's expense, which involves her interest to males (dumb pun based on Samtstov's EmbarrassingLastName) and her being "chubby meanie"; she reacts [[BerserkButton as well as may be expected]], and he has to explain that he didn't say "fat" before she tears off his nose.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: It's often said that "words are material"; in the places filled with so much magic like the Dark residence, it's true as nowhere else. One of the bandits, who made comment about him being damned actually ends up killed when Samtsov shoots Arey, and then his eidos fails to escape, allowing Tukhlomon to take it.
* ComplexityAddiction: While Arey ''can'' just summon Mamzelkina and slaughter all the bandits, it's too boring and would make them lose any respect from the other Dark Guardians. No, they must let Samtsov and his men in, [[{{Troll}} and milk the situation for all its worth]], even if it puts Mefodiy's and the others' lives at danger.
* CrisisMakesPerfect: Arey mentions that Samtsov would pay them a visit at night, so, unless the kids wants to get shot, they should memorise protective magic; Daphne comments that the best motivation to start learning is a life-or-death situation.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Daphne warns that rune of wisdom has a side effect: once its power runs out, you become much dumber for a short amount of time. As is, "let's start vandalising and beating up people" kind of dumb.
* DealWithTheDevil: Arey offers Mefodiy to give him his eidos "for storing" and agreeing to serve Arey in this life and the next one, in return for immortality, invulnerability, and other, smaller bonuses, insisting that not only Mefodiy is at risk of dying otherwise (and they both know that he wouldn't end up in Eden if it happens), but it's different from just selling or giving it away, in that Arey can actually give it back one day. Mefodiy refuses, and Arey at first seems like he's about to explode, but then he calms down.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Samtsov gets ordered to blindly take a card, with Diamonds giving power, Hearts giving love, Clubs giving long road, and Spades giving death. Samtsov almost grabs a card, but changes his mind in the last moment and grabs another, sees something he dislikes, and tries to cheat by putting it back and drawing another (Arey lets it slide), which he then repeats two more times before Arey's patience runs out. Arey then tells him that first card (which he didn't take) was a Queen of Hearts, allowing him to get away easily by becoming a con artist specialising in fake marriages. The other cards he grabs? Valet of Clubs (which would've made him Scientology "missioner"), which he drew first, and Ace of Spades, which he drew last, thus dooming himself to die. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that, as Daphne points out, Arey has no power to hurt Tiberius until he sells out his eidos, so all he can do is to mess with him, which Arey doesn't deny.
* MuggingTheMonster: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; Petruccho thinks that he can disrespect Daphne, as she wouldn't be able to enforce her rule, and thus, he can blatantly ignore her attempts to teach him anything. She retaliates by demonstrating the silencing rune ''on him'', but does no long-lasting damage to him.
* RuleOfThree: The rune of silver scales, also known as fish rune, gives its user the ability to breath underwater; it can only be used three times total: on the fourth use, it grows gills which can't be removed by any means.
* {{Troll}}: When one of Samtsov's men shoots Arey, Arey dodges all three shots, while making mocking comments. First time, it's undershot. Second time, it's overshot. Then the bandit tries to shoot at point blank range, and Arey says that it's cheating. Then all bandits start shooting at once, and Arey just dodges them, while continuing mocking the bandits.
* YourSoulIsMine: Kvodnon still has power over souls which were once put into his darkh, and they assist him as the dark chorus which brainwashes people put into holes in the Dark residence's basement, as well as keeping them alive, but in stasis.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''Vegetable is Like Fruit Which Didn't Make It'']]
When visiting caffe, Daphne starts feeling even stronger jealousy towards Mefodiy, believing that Nata is trying to "steal" him, and he blindly falls for it. She barely resists temptation to check on the poppy flower's colour at first, but then snaps and does like Whimper instructed -- puts her blood on it, and attaches it to Mefodiy's shirt.
Suddenly, Moshkin disappears without a trace. Essiorkh feels that something terrible is about to happen, but as he can't openly help the servants of Darkness, he only gives Ulitha vague warning which instructs her to go back to the Dark residence.
----
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Famous Soviet psychiatrist Kaschenko was actually an undercover Light Guardian.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Essiorkh plans to steal one woman's "unlucky" meal, as she once said that "be I damned if I ever eat after 6 p.m.", as commissioners clearly took note at this "oath", and may try to use it against her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Essiorkh thinks that "money laundering" means actually cleaning up dirty banknotes.
* DatingCatwoman: Turns out that Ulitha and Essiorkh actually started dating at some point, offscreen -- despite her being a Dark witch, and him being a Guardian Angel.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha realises that the situation is ''really'' dire when Essiorkh leaves ''without taking his bike''.
* ShipperOnDeck: Essiorkh not just steals the meal, but gives a part of it to the other guy (also via magic), which provokes conflict between him and the woman to whom it belonged, which resulted in both being kicked out from the caffe. Why? He can see the future, and and he knows that this conflict would eventually result in them getting married, and later their son Michael moving to the USA, to implement new method of money laundering; Essiorkh [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't know what it means, and thinks it's something innocent]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''The Unity of Ice and Flame'']]
Antigon tells Irka that tonight, Kvodnon would kill Mefodiy and the other three kids, and rebirth in Mefodiy's body. He already has two bodies in place, and only needs to put the last kid and Mefodiy himself.
Meanwhile, Arey shrugs off the ice put on him by Moshkin, and states that whoever brought both Eugesha and Petruccho there, it was someone with not only access to Drevnir's sword, but also with mind-control powers, which leaves out only one possible candidate... Before he can say the name, Nata tries to grab the sword and attack, but Mefodiy reacts first. Arey grabs his sword and tries to kill Nata, but Mefodiy blocks the hit, allowing Nata to escape and jump into the third hole. Arey calls him out on it, saying that just one death would prevent countless more if Kvodnon actually awakes. He also points that Mefodiy was under influence of Nata's magic, even if he partially blocked it.
Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific date, so all they need to do in order to win is to not let him capture Mefodiy until then; he can't manipulate him directly, but there are the others, more subtle ways. Arey and Ulitha would take turns guarding the basement, while Daphne should guard Mefodiy, preventing him from falling asleep at all cost. But when the two stays alone, the poppy flower turns into magic snake and bites firstly Daphne (putting her into magic sleep), and then Mefodiy (putting him into trance state, leading to him losing control over body).
----
* ArtifactOfDoom: We finally learn the true purpose of the poppy flower: it fed on Daphne's energy for activation, but main role was to force Mefodiy to go into basement, so Kvodnon can possess him.
* TheCaligula: Arey states that no one wants Kvodnon back, as his time has passed.
-->'''Arey''': The Darkness doesn't need old loser overlord who let the Gold-Winged slay himself. The Darkness needs a new master. Slightly less savage, flexible like a whip, cunning with mortals, predictable for their allies. Who can play by new rules, because the Medieval has long ended. Everyone understands it, Ligul included.
* CelestialDeadline: Kvodnon needs Mefodiy in the basement tonight; if Mefodiy avoids it, Kvodnon's plan would fail.
* ChekhovsGun: The magic poppy flower finally plays its role; at night, it turns into a snake, which incapacitates Daphne, and then hijacks control over Mefody's body. Daphne has just enough time before falling into magic sleep that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero she'd doomed Mefodiy herself]], by falling for Whimper's lies.
* DemonicPossession: It gets confirmed that Kvodon's messenger was in Nata's body all along. And now, when all three other kids are in the basement, he needs Mefodiy there in specific time, so he can posses his body, kicking out Mefodiy's own eidos in process.
* EurekaMoment:
** Irka realises that if Kvodnon only ''plans'' to possess Mefodiy, it means that his current host is one of the three other kids.
** Kvodnon wasn't in Chimodanov, as by putting him there, he would've been unable to leave and put in Moshkin as well. He wasn't in Moshkin, as it wouldn't explain how Chimodanov was put there without any violence. No, it was someone else who has mind control abilities ''and'' access to Drevnir's sword; as it wasn't Mefodiy, who lacks mind control powers, at least such elegant ones, it leaves only one candidate... Before he can say Nata's name, Nata (or, rather, Kvodnon's messenger in her body) attacks.
* EvilDetectingDog: Depresnyak feels the black magic in the cursed poppy flower, and reacts hostilely; Daphne misses this warning.
* ForcedTransformation: {{Defied|Trope}}; Irka learned the hard way that she must take the wolf form at least for one hour per day, or she may risk losing control and transform against her will again.
* GrandTheftMe: The magic poppy flower turns into a snake, which allows Kvodnon to intercept control over his body.
* ItsAllMyFault: Mefodiy laments what happened to Petruccho, Nata and Eugesha, as it was him and Daphne who gathered them there. Arey snaps him out of it, saying that there was no way to hide them from Kvodnon, not even by putting them all in Tartarus. Also, they're not dead yet, and wouldn't be, until Kvodnon gets Mefodiy himself.
* NoodleIncident: Antigon was forced to serve the Valkyries for "being naughty", for ten thousand years (three already passed); he can't say details, or it would increase to fifteen thousands. If Irka ''really'' insists, he may tell anyway, but she takes mercy at him and doesn't press, to Antigon's relief.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: The reason why Antigon serves the Valkyries is because he was cursed, as a punishment for [[NoodleIncident "being naughty"]]. It should take ten thousand years, with three already passing.
* ShootTheDog: When Mefodiy blocks Arey's strike, Arey says that by killing Nata, he would've prevented countless more deaths, but Mefodiy almost ruined everything.
-->'''Arey''': I tried to kill not her, but the one who took over her body. If Kvodnon would come to power, instead of a droplet of blood which wasn't spilled now, there would be an ocean.
* TheWorfEffect: Moshkin managed to freeze Arey, thanks to effect of surprise. Arey is shocked that he was defeated that easily, by some child, no less.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Kvodnon succeeds in putting three kids into holes in the basement; now he only needs Mefodiy in specific place at specific time to complete the ritual.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fifteen. ''When You Die -- Move Away'']]
Irka goes to find Mefodiy before it's too late, but the time is running out; fortunately, she meets Essiorkh, who offers to ride on his bike (he returned for it, as Irka can't use teleportation).
They find unconscious Ulitha; when Essiorkh awakes her, he learns that Mefodiy took her by surprise, and she only surprised because she parried the blow with her lucky rapier (which is now destroyed), and Mefodiy didn't bother to double-check.
Meanwhile, Mefodiy faces Arey. But Arey easily disarms him and puts a sword to his throat, threatening to kill him if it comes to this. Kvodnon's spirit leaves Nata's body, and materialises as the massive ghostly figure of a horseman. Kvodnon states that he doesn't believe that Arey would actually kill the boy: the love wouldn't let him; and indeed, Arey pretends to kill Mefodiy, only to attack Kvodnon instead. Kvodnon effortlessly defeats him, knocking him out with a single strike -- even as a spirit, he's that much more powerful than him. But before he can proceed with the plan, Irka, Antigon and Essiorkh shows up. Antigon throws his mace, which causes Kvodnon to drop Mefodiy before he puts him into hole to complete the ritual, then Essiorkh distracts him, allowing Irka to throw her spear, which destroys the spirit.
Arey awakes and is ready to fight Essiorkh instead, but suddenly, Ulitha steps in and says that he saved her life (okay, not life, but still close enough), so he may be spared. Arey reluctantly agrees. Ulitha also insists on taking a day off, so she can go on a date.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Irka (with Essiorkh's help) arrives just in time to face Kvodnon's spirit in battle, and defeat it.
* DatingCatwoman: Ulitha actually asks for a day off, so she can go on a date with Essiorkh, confirming that the two are together now. Essiorkh's behaviour clearly shows that it's not just her flirting with him, and he actually reciprocates.
* KilledOffForReal: Arey believes that this time, Kvodnon was put down for good.
* LoveIsAWeakness: Kvodnon doesn't believe that Arey would kill Mefodiy: his attachments made him too weak for it.
-->'''Arey''': Why do you think that I wouldn't kill him?\\
'''Kvodnon''': Why not? You were never able to step over people. That's why you never managed to achieve more, baron. A worm of sentimentality had always chewing at your heart... Even Ligul surpassed you... Go on! Kill the boy! Or you're attached to him?
* NotWorthKilling: Ulitha survived solely because she managed to par the strike with her rapier, resulting in her being knocked out instead of killed, and Kvodnon (who was in control of Mefodiy's body) didn't bother with checking, not seeing her as worthy of his attention.
* TrappedInVillainy: Arey states that the only reason why he still serves the Darkness is because it's far too late to return to Light; he has ''no'' loyalty to neither its cause, nor its leaders, be it Ligul or Kvodnon (whom Arey, amongst other things, blames for passing the rules which indirectly led to the deaths of his family).
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Ticket to the Bald Mountain''
* Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy''
* Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy''
* Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"''
* Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs''
* Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter''
* Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog''
* Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain''
* Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs''
* Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves''
* Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail''
[[folder: Chapter One. ''The Three-Thumbelina Fairy'']]
Zozo is out on vacation, leaving Edya alone at home (hungry and without any money to buy food). Suddenly, he gets visited by a thug named Felix, who's here to beat some old "debts" out of Edya: allegedly, he and his friend were stealing money while working there, and said "friend" continued doing so even after Edya quit, and later ratted him out when caught. As it's painfully obvious that Edya is broke, Felix gives him three days to gather $3000 by any means, or he would return and beat him to the pulp.
Edya finds weird poster promising reward for brining in "Three-Thumbelina fairy", and obviously thinks that it's fake, but then he nearly sits on said fairy. Still unsure wether it's not a hallucination (Felix hit his head more than once), he recognises her as the one from wanted poster. He quickly decides that having living fairy is much better than whatever monetary reward they can offer, especially if the currency sounds so ridiculous. Three-Thumbelina, when asked, reveals that the reason for the hunt (real reason, not excuse about illegal future-telling) is her helping with stealing an important artifact. After clarifying about her problems, Three-Thumbelina (who plans to lay low at Edya's) warns him that she has one issue: she shares the body with her twin sister, Two-Thumbelina, who takes over from time to time. She's not the nicest person to be around, and can be quite dangerous, due to specialising in dark magic; the two are constantly at odds, and tries to hurt each other through abusing their shared body.
In a middle of a rant, Three-Thumbelina suddenly gets switched with her sister, who doesn't even try to hide that she's a jerk. Edya tries to convince her to create money for him, but she refuses, saying that there's a magic law which prevents her from doing so. No, creating gems and then selling them would not sidestep the law. And she can't create some cool invention, as she's not an engineer. But Edya comes with another plan: there's a pseudo-mystic show "Prophet" which specialises in future predictions; they can try to pay up Edya's debts from their prize money. After rejecting countless ridiculous (and too distant) prophecies, Edya takes the one about stealing a painting. However, when he finds the host, Andrey Morjuev, he reacts coldly and then outright kicks Edya out for trespassing, disregarding his prophecy.
----
* BehindEveryGreatMan: Ivan the Fool, the famous fairytale hero, was just as dumb as the name suggests, so Vasilisa had to bribe all the enemies whom he supposedly defeated to spread the rumours about his "feats" to make him look like a hero, so Vasilisa can get into power through him. He [[TheMillstone still nearly botched the plan]], as when Vasilisa's uncle Bessmertnik Coscheev "abducted" her, instead of expected six months, Ivan spent seven years looking for her. He remained just as dumb until the end of his days, with Vasilisa spending much efforts to make him look like he's actual ruler.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our introduction to the fairy sisters shows us everything we should know about them; both are jerks (of different flavours), both are very eccentric, and neither respects Edya.
* EurekaMoment: Edya sees a newspaper, notices the add about "Prophet" (pseudo-mystical ShowWithinAShow), and comes up with an idea: he may asks Two-Thumbelina to give him some prophecy (something short-terms, so it can be verified), and sell it to the show for prize money.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Edya finds some weird poster (clearly from magic world) which promises reward for bringing in "the Three-Thumbelina fairy". Edya wonders who had made it, Daphne or Mefodiy, and then nearly sits on said fairy.
* ForcedTransformation: The mole from ''Thumbelina'' fairytale wasn't born a mole; he was a gnome banker until he was cursed.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages may try to send the Clay Dog after her; if they do so, it's over: it can track you down anywhere, and when it's close, you can't even teleport.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Edya's employment in the sports club has ended after he, as a joke, made fake price list where "The Beach Queen" was replaced with "Cellulites Queen". Somehow, it went unnoticed right until that exact version was sent to prepare radio advertisement.
* IOweYouMyLife: Once ago, Three-Thumbelina was saved by some mage, and gave an oath that, if he ever calls, she would come to aid him in return. Now, she received that same ring which once belonged that that mage (she doesn't know who brought it), and realised that the time has come.
* {{Jerkass}}: While looking for Morjuev, Edya at first runs into some high-ranking official, who doesn't even try to hide his disdain for common people.
-->'''Official''' (''without even looking at Edya''): Who are you?\\
'''Edya''': Just a man.\\
'''Official''': So, you're nobody. Second question: do you know the cost of my time? (''Edya shakes his head'') So I would answer then. I scratch my nose -- and that's your monthly salary.\\
'''Edya''': I'm unemployed. You did this for free.\\
'''Official''': Who'd sent you?\\
'''Edya''': I came by myself. By foot.\\
'''Official''': This answer is borderline nonsensical. I asked who'd sent you.\\
'''Edya''': Em... One floor above, in the "Prophet" rooms.\\
'''Official''': Surname?\\
'''Edya''': Whose? Mine? Havron.\\
'''Official''': I don't care about yours. The one's who'd sent you!
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Nope, Three-Thumbelina and her sister are ''not'' related to ''that'' Thumbelina; she reacts badly when Edya asks that, and goes on a lengthy rant about what she thinks about Thumbelina and why she sucks.
* ObviousRulePatch: At some point, all mages and magic creatures were banned from creating money (or anything intended to be used as currency), as well as using magic to gain money by cheating, including, but not limiting, hacking [=ATMs=]; violations are the grounds for losing magic. Giving those money to lopukhoids is even worse offence. It was installed at some point after Medieval Age, because otherwise any loon would be able to ruin lopukhoid economic, irreversibly destroying their civilisation (it's already unstable). Whoever breaks the law, gets punished ''immediately'', so Two-Thumbelina is unwilling to take any risks.
* PutOnABus: Zozo went on vacation for one week, leaving her brother Edya by alone.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Three-Thumbelina is afraid that mages who're after her would send the Clay Dog; it can sense you anywhere, no matter how hard you try to hard, and once it's close, you can't even teleport.
* UnfazedEveryman: While unsure at first wether it's for real, or it's result of Felix hitting his head before, Edya quickly decides that the fairy is real, and starts talking with her as if it's completely ordinary situation and he actually understands what she's saying.
* TheWatson: As Edya doesn't know what's going on, Three-Thumbelina has to explain to him, and by proxy, the readers, giving us the setup for one of the main plots.
* WrittenByTheWinners: According to Three-Thumbelina, some fairytales are written by their participants to make themselves look good.
** Thumbelina's story was written to hide her blatantly flirting with the mole, only to dump him for the elven king (such rushed marriages never ends well!).
** Prince Ivan the Fool had his adventures described by his wife Vasilisa, who did a great job at masking how dumb and useless he ''truly'' was, so she may remain in power.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Two. ''The Spirit-Pygmy'']]
Ulitha and Arey have leaved to Tartarus for some unspecified reason, while the rest stayed in the Dark residence by themselves, spending time in small conflicts and attempts to learn more about each other. They gets interrupted by Ulitha returning alone, completely devastated.
Turns out, Ligul exploited Kvodnon's final death to appoint himself as Mefodiy's regent until Mefodiy hits eighteen, and, as his first order, arrested Arey for failing to corrupt Mefodiy fast enough; Arey resisted arrest, but was too outnumbered and is now imprisoned in the Lower Tartarus. In place of Arey, he'd sent someone else, and that new "mentor" is already here...
----
* BadassInDistress: Arey was arrested on Ligul's orders, and is now imprisoned in Tartarus. During the arrest attempt, quoting Viy, "some vacations have been freed".
* BlackComedy: Viy makes the grim joke about his reporter losing his head while on duty, in more way than one.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Even now, Ligul isn't gonna risk getting rid off Arey, suspecting that he may regret it in the future; for the same reason, he didn't kill Ulitha while she was at his mercy: harming her means permanently alienating Arey.
* ChaoticStupid: Petruccho says that Zuduka is tend to do pranks (often of dangerous kind) just out of boredom, completely disregarding collateral damage.
* DeadlineNews: The reporter who tried to spy on Dark Guardians meeting was caught and killed before he learned too much.
* DeadlyPrank: [[ThePrankster Zuduka]] put dynamite into one of Moshkin's shoes. Fortunately, it gets discovered before Eugesha puts it on. As gets explained by Petruccho, it was his "vengeance" for being ignored.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Petruccho applies his theory (the more complex the creatures are, the longer it would take them to fall in love) to humans, she uses Nata as example, as payback for her {{troll}}ling him earlier. When he says that smarter ones only starts giving up to feelings at around thirty years, while dumber ones can do this even at the age of thirteen, she turns the tables and suggests to wait till he hits seventy (or he may have no time to study!), and then walk around with [[SoapBoxSadie his mommy]], fixing street lights.
* IsThisThingOn: Viy misses the moment when he goes live, resulting in his offscreen antics getting caught on camera.
* KilledOffForReal: It gets officially acknowledged that Kvodnon is gone and isn't gonna return.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ulitha is normally always cheerful partygoer. When she returns alone, without Arey, and completely devastated, and then outright breaks into tears, everyone understands that something ''really'' bad has happened. And indeed, turns out that Ligul has ordered Arey's imprisonment.
* PlayingWithFire: Arey presumes that, if given time, Moshkin can learn how to use fire as well.
* SoreLoser: PlayedWith. Viy yet again can't just accept that Gryziana Pripyatskaya had won an award, and tries to take a refuge at least in pointing that her prize sucks; but he [[WorthyOpponent can't help but admit]] that a rising star, Grobynya Sklepova, is genuinely good, even if she used to make jokes at his expense.
* ThereIsNoPlaceLikeHome: {{Inverted|Trope}} with Nata; she's the only one who ''doesn't'' miss her family and prefers staying in the Dark residence. Her new step-father talks like blatant drill instructor, and tries to order her around and regulate which clothes and hairstyle she's allowed to have, while her sister Inga's husband is "a moron", who constantly takes her tapes without asking and overwrites them, and set a password on their computer; entire family has to live in just two rooms. She already was tend to spend all her free time outside of the house, so not much has changed. She talks about those two in such a tone, like they're not the humans, but some kind of disgusting roaches.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Petruccho asks Nata why she didn't use her powers to brainwash her step-father and her sister's husband to make them more tolerable. She replies that this would make them only ''more'' annoying, due to the way her magic works (remember, they only have two rooms for them five); also, the two hates each other's guts (one is military, another is a draft dodger), so it would only increase their mutual hostility, with her being caught in the crossfire.
* WisdomFromTheGutter: Petruccho makes surprisingly meaningful (for someone like him) theory that the smarter and more complex the creature is, the longer it takes for them to fall in love; he takes hamsters and elephants as example: hamster becomes a father at three months, and grandfather at six, while elephant wouldn't bother to create a family until it hits fifty. Same with humans; some are so primitive that their development stops at thirteen and they have nothing left but fall in love, others chose to study and develop themselves and only starts thinking about relationship when they hits thirty.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Three. ''"The Boy with a Saber"'']]
Essiorkh finds Irka, and tells her the last news: Arey is imprisoned, and replaced with a new guardian (unbelievably nasty); as for Essiorkh himself, he can't contact Daphne anymore, at least until the situation resolves, to not compromise her, but at least he now rents a room in Moscow; well, "rents", but it's besides the point.
When Essiorkh brings Irka to his house, he shows her a portrait of eight years-old boy with dark curly hairs, and reveals that he'd stole it. Why? Because he can't allow it to end up in the hands of dark mages or Dark Guardians. He tells Irka the story of Matvey Bagrov, an apprentice of the wizard Mirowood. Not only Matvey was very unordinary young man himself, but he was clearly chosen as the next keeper of the powerful artifact, the Path Stone, after Mirowood's death; the Stone can give whomever owns it the power to go to their goal, no matter how hard the path may be, and everyone, from the mages to Guardians, are hunting for it.
They've failed to gain the Stone back when Mirowood had died many years ago, as Matvey had vanished and presumably died, but now, it seems that he may be alive after all, and that painting is the only tread which, with the proper magic, ''may'' lead to him -- and the mages knows it. Even more so, the resonant stealing from the Bald Mountain's vault? It was of Mirowood's ring, which is ''certainly'' related to this whole story. They must find Matvey first, but now, they must prepare to fight: the dark mages have traced Essiorkh, and are here...
----
* TheAlcoholic: Essiorkh lives in a house of some alcoholic named Fatyaytsev, who just can't be entrusted with any money, as he would immediately buy booze; Essiorkh put a spell on him, so now he gains the same joy which the alcohol would give him by... crying. Now, he's crying non-stop, but in a time, his organism would recover, allowing to safely remove the spell; until then, Essiorkh would stay nearby, while also having a place to live. Win-win.
* AskAStupidQuestion: When Irka asks Essiorkh why he'd stole the painting and destroyed all copies of it, he says that there're two variants: either to sell it and buy a cool new bike, or to make sure that it wouldn't end up in the hands of the Darkness. Obviously, Irka picks the second one.
* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems that Fatyaytsev somehow recognised Irka, and is now in danger, especially when she carelessly asks whether she was on a carriage (meaning wheelchair), but then turns out that he mistook her with someone else, and her comment for her talking about baby carriage.
* CasanovaWannabe: The guy named Roma tries to hit on Irka; but his flirting and rhetoric skills have a lot to desire for, especially given that Irka is way more erudite than him. Then he outright snaps and calls her "nerd" for her sophisticated snarky comments. She finally gets rid of him by passing Essiorkh (who was just going towards her) for her big brother; Roma decides not to risk messing with him.
* CreepyChangingPainting: The painting somehow starts changing before Essiorkh's magic even does anything, and reacts to what's going on in the room; only Irka notices it.
* {{Determinator}}: The Path Stone can give its owner a strength of will to walk the path to their goal, no matter how long or hard it may be. That's why it's so valuable.
-->'''Essiorkh''': To not stray from the path to your dream, that's why you need the Path Stone. The one who owns it, knows no doubts. At day and at night, they're always full of energy and cheerful willingness to go to the end. They know no sorrow, never turn away -- and always achieve their goal, no matter how hard it may be!
* FantasticDrug: Antigon became addicted to jam, which affects him just like alcohol would affect humans, especially if it's expired. He's willing to break into stores to steal some, and then he may disappear for some time while on jam binge.
* LectureAsExposition: Essiorkh gives Irka a lecture about Matvey Bagrov, telling his story and the story of the Path Stone; the story is long enough to take 3/4 of the chapter.
* LoveTriangle: Irka is still jealous of Mefodiy towards Daphne.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Fatyaytsev is a former clown, former juggler, former administrator, former balloon seller, current speech writer (not for government, "those have their own clowns"; his clients are common people). According to Essiorkh, he's also partially a poet (''not'' former, as that quality stays with you forever), and just good man in general.
* SadClown: Irka notices that for all his cheerfulness, Fatyaytsev has very sad eyes. Essiorkh attributes it to him being a former clown: clowns are ''always'' like this.
-->'''Irka''': Your friend is a very sad man.\\
'''Essiorkh''': Who? Him?\\
'''Irka''': Even when he's joking, he has very sad eyes.\\
'''Eissiorkh''': Perhaps, it's because he's a former clown. All clowns have sad eyes. They give fun to the others, but there's no fun in their own lives.
* SkewedPriorities: Essiorkh comments that the mortal world is way too attractive, and one can't help but think that his bike needs some upgrades. When Irka says that "this is terrible", he says that yes... and starts going into details how hard it's to obtain those upgrades by his standard means, through stealing "unlucky" parts.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Mirowood was allowed to live for exactly one thousand years, and not a minute more, so he knew perfectly well when he would die. Everyone else also knew this, and waited outside of his house to start scavenging his stuff.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Four. ''Harpiy Zduffs'']]
Arey's replacement as the chief of Russian department and Mefodiy's guardian turns out to be Ligul's agent named Harpiy Zduffs -- incredibly nasty revenant who immediately alienates everyone, and nearly kills Depresnyak. It doesn't take long before everyone unites against him, and manages to knock him out (mostly due to sheer luck).
Right after he gets dealt with, Aida Plakhovna pays a visit -- she's here to help them. There's only one place where they can hide for a time being -- the Bald Mountain. Coincidentally, it's also the place which contains Ligul's secret, the one he wishes to stay buried; if they find it, they can use it to bargain for Arey's freedom.
----
* BaitAndSwitch: When Moshkin gets asked about his impression of Harpiy, he calls him "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander kinda nice]]" (shocking everyone)... then finishes with stating that he means "nice like that old Japanese fairytale about a werewolf who killed and devoured everyone, then walked to the beach, where he was skinned alive and drowned (nope, [[EveryoneDiesEnding no one was resurrected afterwards]]; it's a Japanese fairytale)".
* BatmanGambit: Mamzelkina reveals that Ligul appointed Harpiy, ''knowing'' that he would alienate everyone to the point of open hostility, and then kill everyone but Mefodiy himself -- so Ligul would call him off and replace with someone completely incompetent, so Mefodiy would never reach his full potential, allowing Ligul to rule unchallenged. He didn't expect that conflict would happen ''that'' soon.
* DarkSecret: While she obviously doesn't know what it is, Mamzelkina presumes that Ligul has some very embarrassing secret involving the Bald Mountain: it's known that he'd spent his youth there, and he ''really'' wants to bury that part of his history -- so naturally, it must be uncovered and used against him.
* DivideAndConquer: Zduffs orders everyone to break into pairs, and start spying on each other, then snitch to him. At first, Mefodiy thinks that it isn't gonna work (everyone hates this guy's guts), but then understands that Harpiy is cunning enough to work around. At first, people would be cold and unwilling to talk, but he would know what to say and ask to gain information, whatever small, and then give it to the other ones, with some additions and modifications, so they would think that they were betrayed, and would be more willing to talk themselves. Given enough time, he ''would'' make everyone hostile to everyone, especially if he would swap the pairs (and he would).
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It was very dumb idea from Ulitha's side to mock Ligul in front of his representative, who ''has'' authority over them all; luckily for her, Harpiy "just" orders her to stay inside 24/7, ''this time'', but he makes it very clear that can can outright kill her if he wishes so.
* EpicFail: Daphne tries to extinguish the fire in the office; instead, she makes it spread around, even on the parts which were out of danger until now.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: As soon as Harpiy appears, he starts antagonising everyone, and then nearly kills Depresnyak. When Mefodiy tries to defend already injured Depresnyak (who barely survived the first strike of Harpiy's magic), Harpiy stops his heart with his dark magic, and only releases him at the last moment, pointing out that he has permission to do things like this at his leisure. Afterwards, he proceeds to force Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay within the residence permanently, not forgetting to point out that she is of no value for him and he can kill her just out of boredom and got away scot-free.
* EvilIsPetty: Harpiy destroyed all Arey's mead; Ulitha only saved one keg. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he had to go out of his way to do it, so it's clearly done to humiliate Arey and his friends even further.
* KickTheDog: Harpiy Zduffs, repeatedly, just to nail that he's an absolute asshole:
** He nearly kills Depresnyak, and when Mefodiy tries to protect him, temporarily stops his heart and [[{{Sadist}} enjoys the pain it causes]].
** He orders Ulitha (a fun-loving partygoer) to stay in the residence permanently, not forgetting to point that he can kill her at his leisure.
--->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': That's it, scum! Your best time is over! No more night visits to the city, no rides, no personal meetings, no romantics! You would stay in the residence permanently, under my personal supervision! From now on, your world consists of these four walls! With a patent of the chief or this department, I got a full power over your life and death!
** He describes in "lovely" details the conditions in which Arey is kept, just to further damage moral.
-->'''Harpiy Zduffs''': By the way, about your beloved Arey... Do you want to hear details? The Lower Tartarus is a nasty place. During the day, it's hot like a sun, during the night -- so cold, a lopukhoid if they end up there would have their eyes freeze over. Near the prison lies a lava river, it's rather lovely, but unfortunately, Arey wouldn't be able to enjoy the view. His cell has no windows, and the cell itself is only three steps-wide and four steps-long... It's very tight. The walls are so thick, one can't hear a single sound from outside. No contacts, not even with guards. No a scrap of paper, no book! Utter, drying loneliness!
* LetsGetDangerous: Petruccho says that he's fed up with Harpiy, and wouldn't tolerate him, just before everyone gathers to confront him.
-->'''Petruccho''': I insist! I'm not some '''Che'''modanov at whom you can yell! I'm that '''Chi'''modanov who yells himself! Very soon that guardian would understand that he was born in the unlucky day, wrong hour and unwanted minute!
* NoSell: Nata tries, and fails, to use her magic on Harpiy. As Daphne explains, due to being a revenant, he's unable to love in any way, shape or form.
* PetTheDog: Aida Plakhovna, who was technically sent to kill Ulitha, not only doesn't do this, but also tells the friends what they can do to save Arey, and helps them escape.
* TranquilFury: When Zduffs releases Mefodiy, Mefodiy uses what little strength he manages to recover to say that, when he would become the Lord of Darkness, he would destroy him. Zduffs [[IneffectualDeathThreats doesn't take it seriously]], saying that ''if'' he becomes, he would be grateful to him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Five. ''A Throne for Ex-Waiter'']]
Felix and his friends decided to push the deadline for Edya's debt, so now he has only two days to either find money, or deal with Felix. Unfortunately, his plan to use the fairy's help is now out of question: her magic gets blocked, so she can't even defend Edya. Due to previous conflict, Edya decides to punish her by forcing to do housework, and threatens to just tell about her to his friend from yellow press (which ''would'' alert the mages).
Suddenly, Morjuev pays Edya a visit. As Edya's prophecy turned out to be correct, he's now interested to hear the new ones, to prove that it wasn't a coincidence. Then they sees the fairy. Three-Thumbelina panics when she learns that the lopukhoids are already aware of the painting stealing, as the mages would soon know, too, and connect it with her previous actions. Morjuev decides to blackmail Edya, saying that unless he brings the fairy to his studio, so he may milk the situation for all its worth, he would put the blame for stealing on Edya himself.
----
* AmbiguouslyGay: The man who shows up with Morjuev (the same one whom Edya previously saw while trying to sell the prophecy about painting stealing), besides somewhat effeminate look, also displays the speech quirks stereotypically associated with {{camp gay}}s, and introduces himself as "Maxik" (diminutive from Maxim), which also plays into image. Later, Edya makes the joke which implies that he also assumed him to be gay (and Maxik's reaction seemingly confirms it).
* {{Blackmail}}: Morjuev blackmails Edya by saying that he would put the blame for stealing on him (it wouldn't be hard), unless he convinces the fairy to pay Morjuev a visit.
* BlatantLies: Three-Thumbelina "accidentally" hit her sister's magic toy hare from a crossbow... seven times.
* BroughtDownToNormal: The fairy's magic gets blocked by the mages from Bald Mountain, as part of their hunt for her. Them doing so shows how much they want to capture her: it requires twelve mages doing complex ritual which takes twelve hours and requires redoing everything from scratch if even smallest mistake gets made.
* ForcedTransformation:
** Three-Thumbelina warns Edya that serving her sister may result in him being transformed into something creative -- like chewed apple, or postman's heel.
** Both sisters were prone to transform each other's servants into various stuff -- irreversibly.
*** Two-Thumbelina has turned two of her sister's servants into worms, one into sponge, and one (the prettiest of them) into toilet-cleaning gear; Three-Thumbelina thinks that if someone had became the toilet-cleaning gear, [[BrainBleach it's better to keep them that way]].
*** For the sake of "justice", Three-Thumbelina retaliated to her own servants being transformed by transforming all her sister's servants into mice and sending them into lab for experiments.
* HopeSpot: Morjuev isn't the one who pays the people; his investors are. Because of that, Edya would not receive any money, even though his prophecy turned out to be right. They may start paying him if he continues giving them new prophecies, but it wouldn't matter, as Edya has almost no time left until Felix returns.
* OhCrap: Three-Thumbelina panics when she realises that the painting stealing was reported on lopukhoid TV; the mages monitors lopukhoid media precisely for stuff like this, and they ''would'' connect it with her stealing important artifact.
* RecurringDreams: According to Three-Thumbelina, she sees the same dream every morning for 402 years, without any breaks; she likes it very much.
* SayingTooMuch: Three-Thumbelina goes furious when she hears that abduction of "The Boy with a Sabre" painting became widespread knowledge in the lopukhoid world, blaming Edya for it, because mages monitors lopukhoid media and would soon find out. When he says that it was her sister who's told him, she goes even angrier... and accidentally mentions Mirowood, before shutting up, realising what she just said.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Six. ''The Clay Dog'']]
Essiorkh stays to distract the dark mages, allowing Irka to escape with painting; to confuse the Clay Dog, he takes the frame, while Irka keeps the painting itself. She meets with Antigon, who leads her to the new hideout he'd prepared in the forest -- he calls it "the Valkyrie Refuge". He also tells about some dark-haired young man spying on them.
It doesn't take long for the mages to track them down (though without the Dog). The magficcer in charge says that they'ved captured Essiorkh, and demands the painting. When Irka refuses, he orders to attack. The battle doesn't go well for attackers, however, and they're forced to retreat. Irka and Antigon continues to the Valkyrie Refuge... only to meet Matvey Bagrov there.
----
* ComesGreatResponsibility: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number one is to never use the power for selfish reasons.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As Antigon stubbornly insists on being punished for his jam binge, Irka orders him to wash himself in the washing machine, so he would leave her alone. For creatures like him, it's actually ''fun''.
* DeadlyDodging: The magficcer throws the battle gnome at Irka (armed with knives); she steps aside, and the gnome hits the nearby tree instead, which puts him out of combat for some time.
* DisintegratorRay: Ashthrower, one of the most destructive weapons in dark mages' arsenal, shoots, you guess it, torrents of cursed ash... which utterly annihilates anything it comes in contact with, including air. Merely using it [[EvilIsNotAToy gradually drives its user insane]]. Effect seems to be temporal on objects, but it's unknown what would happen to the living beings.
* EldritchAbomination: We receive a description of the Clay Dog; it's rather alien and monstrous.
-->''Flat muzzle, hilly nape and back, covered with folds and growths. [...] The beast was making the cough-like sound with every step, spewing clay pieces on the ground. Its broad noise was vibrating, sucking in air. [...] The single eye of the monster, unmoving, unblinking, was hold on the long eyestalk on the forehead. For Irka, it was resembling a gem. It was clearly not from clay.''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Antigon notices that someone is spying on Irka; he doesn't know who is it, only that it's a young man with black hair. Irka doesn't notice it, but description matches Matvey. In the end of the chapter, he actually tracks Irka down and formally introduces himself.
* TheLoad: Essiorkh refuses to involve Antigon, saying that he would be killed very quickly and without contributing anything. Besides, he's very annoying, and would likely accidentally hit Essiorkh's feet with his huge mace.
* NonIndicativeName: Lampshaded by Irka; Losiny Ostrov (literally "moose island") is not an island, and has no moose at all.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Irka writes down the rules of the Valkyries she had heard from Essiorkh and Antigon; rule number three is to keep her bird and wolf forms under control, otherwise, one day she may just get stuck in the animal form.
* SpeechImpediment: The magficcer talks with heavy stutter. In the end, Irka, annoyed by his attempts to kill her (and acting like a jerk in general), mocks it when he (stuttering) says that they would meet again.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The moment Irka sees the Clay Dog, she understands: it would never stop until it catches its prey.
-->''Suddenly, Irka saw a creature that had no teeth, no claws and no wings tried to slip into the breach. The creature that can't grab, can't tear, can't smash. That had no desires, no habits, no weaknesses. That never howls on the moon, and doesn't accept bribes. That can only tracking and seeking, but doing it relentlessly, unendingly, with unimaginable persistence.''
* YinYangBomb: The gnome and Antigon fights for the gnome's pipe which creates the magic bubbles; their infighting results in the pipe breaking, releasing massive bubble which gathers all four elements and exploding. Everyone barely runs out of the blast zone, and the attackers decides that it's time to retreat.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Irka was replaced with a magic phantom, which keeps Babanya (and Irka's teachers) in the dark about Irka no longer being at home, but Irka still worries how things are going for her; unfortunately, she can't just talk with her, as the magic would kill Babanya to uphold the masquerade.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Seven. ''Not Very Not Bald Not Mountain'']]
----
* BerserkButton: Daphne instantly understands that the warning about "angry dog" is fake, because if there was ''any'' dog (angry or not), Depresnyak would've tried to attack it, like he always does; but he's calm like "well-fed ghoul".
* BigWhat: When Ulitha says that they gotta move, or may miss the "last worm", Nata gets so shocked she almost screams when she asks what the hell she means.
* ExtremeOmnivore: {{Exploited|Trope}}; while Ulitha reluctantly prepares to use magic to open a vent shaft, knowing that they would have little time before they would be tracked down, Daphne just asks Depresnyak to break the lock. He at first ignores her, but then does what asked after all, and bites it off.
* PowerPerversionPotential: When Daphne uses special magic which allows her to see through things and people, and [[TrueSight see the true nature of them]], Nata interprets Dapne being careful with not watching on people as [[InvokedTrope her not wanting to see people naked]]. Daphne assures her that ''this'' isn't interesting to her; she's afraid to learn the secrets she doesn't want to know.
* SandWorm:
* TakingTheHeat: When Daphne almost snaps at Nata, Moshkin distracts Nata's attention to himself by making a silly comment, which defuses the situation before it explodes. Daphne believes that Moshkin did this on purpose, and feels gratitude towards him, as she [[TranquilFury almost failed to contain her anger]].
* TranquilFury: Nata yet again attacks Daphne for no apparent reason. Daphne tries to ignore her and hold up her anger, but fails. When she makes a cold comeback at her, she remembers how, back in Eden, when she got similarly angry at one of Sniffer's lessons, she ordered Daphne to leave, as "volcano eruptions belongs in a corridor".
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eight. ''When Heart Doesn't Beat, the Wizards Laughs'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Nine. ''A Hare Who Didn't Care about Wolves'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Ten. ''A Black-with-White-Speckles Mage'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Eleven. ''Second-Hand Happiness'']]
----
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Twelve. ''Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich'']]
----
* AntagonistTitle: The chapter is named after {{Arc Villain}}s.
* ArcVillain: Dalila Petrovna and Gerostrat Andreyich are the duo of scammers who tricks their "clients" into buying goods from them, as otherwise it's impossible to leave (the door wouldn't show up).
* BrainFood:
* FauxAffablyEvil:
* ImAHumanitarian:
* MortonsFork:
* SchmuckBait:
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Thirteen. ''"Midget Bygup"'']]
----
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] allows cyclops brothers to remember Ligul and [[DarkSecret reveal Ulitha the "midget Bygup" story]], which she can use to blackmail Ligul into compliance.
* DarkSecret: Many years ago, [[{{Troll}} someone]] has told Ligul that he may use cyclops' earwax as an ointment to grow bigger; unsurprisingly, it didn't work. He certainly wouldn't like if that story leaks out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Chapter Fourteen. ''A Little Friendly Blackmail'']]
----
* {{Blackmail}}: Ulitha blackmails Ligul into releasing Arey, threatening to reveal his "midget Bygup" [[DarkSecret little secret]] if he doesn't comply. And no, killing her or destroying the Bald Mountain outright wouldn't help, she took care of it.
* ChekhovsGun: [[LivingDrawing Ligul's living portrait]] turns out to be a key witness, convincing Ligul that yes, Ulitha isn't bluffing.
* SadisticChoice: As the last ditch attempt to ''not'' release Arey even under pressure of a blackmail, Ligul offers to give back Ulitha's eidos. She manages to resist the temptation.
* StreisandEffect: {{Invoked|Trope}} by Ulitha when she confronts Ligul: if he kills Ulitha, the others wold tell Ligul's DarkSecret to the world; if he kills them, too, it would attract attention and the secret would leak out anyway; and if he tries to annihilate the Bald Mountain itself, he would spark the war between the Guardians and dark mages, which would be forever known as the Earwax War, ''immortalising'' Ligul's name as everyone's laughing stock.
[[/folder]]
----
! ''The Revenge of the Valkyries''
* Chapter One. ''Honores Mutant Mores''
* Chapter Two. ''The Niece of Eve's Great-Grandmother''
* Chapter Three. ''(Зовов Шронеб Лопчо)''
* Chapter Four. ''The Street of Levon Tolstoy''
* Chapter Five. ''Honesta Mors Turpi Vita Potior''
* Chapter Six. ''The Mail Man''
* Chapter Seven. ''The White Clown, the Black Mage''
* Chapter Eight. ''Hende Hoch, Herr Essiorkh!''
* Chapter Nine. ''(Про глазик и тазик)''
* Chapter Ten. ''Non Est Ornamentum Virile Concinnitas''
* Chapter Eleven. ''Insurance Against Earthquakes, Witches and Other Disasters''
* Chapter Twelve. ''Kick-a-gogic is a Mother of All Science''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Sir, Be so Kindly to Leave!''
* Chapter Fourteen. ''A Valkyrie of the Resurrecting Spear''
* Chapter Fifteen. ''Zuymurzung''
* Chapter Sixteen. ''The Unity of Place and Action''
! ''The Secret Magic of Depresnyak''
* Chapter One. ''The Rune of Gutted Student''
* Chapter Two. ''(Суровые будни гламурного котика)''
* Chapter Three. ''(Краше красной краски нет)''
* Chapter Four. ''Two Gifts of Eugesha Moshkin''
* Chapter Five. ''The Flute with Optic Hair-Cross''
* Chapter Six. ''Ego te intus et in cute novi''
* Chapter Seven. ''Nilb!''
* Chapter Eight. ''(Ах ты суккубочка!)''
* Chapter Nine. ''The Third Power''
* Chapter Ten. ''Typhoon "Daphne"''
* Chapter Eleven. ''(Хочешь погладить кису – достань ее из камнедробилки!)''
* Chapter Twelve. ''(Скромная разборка вселенского масштаба)''
* Chapter Thirteen. ''Two Restless Shadows''
----
! ''The Ice and Fire of Tartarus''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
----
! ''The First Eidos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Light Wings for the Dark Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Stairway to Eden''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Map of Chaos''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Dryad's Necklace''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Glass Guardian''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Sword Dance''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Fire Gates''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Book of Seven Roads''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Ship of Light''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Gryphon's Mistake''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----
! ''The Best Enemy''
* Chapter One. '' ''
* Chapter Two. '' ''
* Chapter Three. '' ''
* Chapter Four. '' ''
* Chapter Five. '' ''
* Chapter Six. '' ''
* Chapter Seven. '' ''
* Chapter Eight. '' ''
* Chapter Nine. '' ''
* Chapter Ten. '' ''
* Chapter Eleven. '' ''
* Chapter Twelve. '' ''
* Chapter Thirteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fourteen. '' ''
* Chapter Fifteen. '' ''
* Chapter Sixteen. '' ''
----