The Scrolls of the Ancients: Intro and Table of Contents

[masterghandalf]

The Scrolls of the Ancients

By Robert Newcomb

Alternate Title: My Blood Made Me Do It: The Epic Fantasy
SPORKER: MasterGhandalf

SUMMARY
Having stood around doing nothing while Nicholas defeated himself defeated Nicholas and prevented the return of the Heretics, Prince Tristan of Eutracia is… still hiding under the royal palace and not doing anything about his royal duties, even as the country continues to fall apart around him. So, right about where the previous book started, then. Meanwhile, one of Nicholas’s surviving minions (but not a Minion) has set up a surprisingly elaborate slavery and piracy operation, for the sole purpose of capturing one man – Tristan and Shailiha’s illegitimate half-brother Wulfgar, who is supposedly the only person in the world with blood that will let him be as powerful as they are (which, in the grand scope of the series, makes him the second evil counterpart Tristan has had, and he won’t be the last). Wulfgar turns out to be one of the most sympathetic characters Newcomb has ever written… so of course, he proceeds to ruin him as he is set on course for an inevitable climactic(?) clash with his siblings, and an ending that doesn’t so much feel like the conclusion of a trilogy (albeit a trilogy that’s only the first act of a larger story) as it does a place the narrative just stops, absent any meaningful resolution. Because why wouldn’t an arc end that way, right?




Introduction

Well, everyone, we have come to it at last – the final volume of Robert Newcomb’s Chronicles of Blood and Stone (returning to it after I detoxed over the summer by taking a trip through the wild and weird world of Neal Adams’ Batman: Odyssey)! Though it’s not the actual end of the story (because remember, there’s a second trilogy after this, and was supposed to be a third before Newcomb’s publishers finally decided enough was enough) and as I already mentioned in the summary, it really doesn’t feel like the end of a story arc; if anything, the ending of this one is less conclusive than the endings of the previous volumes. To be honest, this one is… probably the best of the three, less because it has any particular virtues (it doesn’t) and more that the previous books set the bar so low that there really wasn’t anywhere to go but up. Stuff actually happens in this book, for one. The worldbuilding is still thin and doesn’t make much sense, but Eutracia doesn’t feel quite as weirdly desolate as it did in the previous volume, and the story doesn’t revel in gratuitous grossness and depravity quite as much. And part of me suspects Newcomb may have had a chance to read some of the criticisms of the first book before he started work on this one, as he actually seems to be going out of his way to address some of them.

Unfortunately, much like the sudden introduction of Fledgling House and non-evil sorceresses in Gates of Dawn, Newcomb’s fixes are often so clumsy they do more to draw attention to the original flaw than to correct it, and there are a lot of elements that feel retconned in, as if Newcomb either hadn’t come up with them when writing the first two books, or was just terrible at foreshadowing in general. The story still relies heavily on characters making inexplicably stupid decisions to fuel the plot. One of the main villains dresses like a clown; this is never explained. And some of the grosser aspects of the books’ subtext regarding character agency, endowed blood and the Vigors and Vagaries… stops being subtext and just becomes text at this point, which makes certain characters’ arcs intensely uncomfortable to read.

Because, folks, this is the book where we meet Wulfgar… and I really, really wanted to talk about how Newcomb handles Wulfgar, and that’s a big part of why I wanted to at least spork all the way through the first Blood and Stone trilogy (still undecided on whether I’ll end up doing the second as well; it’ll likely depend on engagement and how burned out I’m feeling). So prepare yourselves, because it gets ugly.

In terms of our counts, I’ll be keeping all of the ones from previous books, albeit once again resetting them to zero. Some of them I expect to be much lower this time around (including “Gender Wars” – the series is still sexist, but Newcomb seems to be cutting down on the most blatant elements of that and trying to introduce more and more proactive female characters, though we’ll get to his execution and its issues later; and “Gratuitous Grimdark,” since like I mentioned earlier he also seems to be trying to cut down on some of this as well) but I’m keeping them for comparison’s sake. For a reminder, the counts are:

Blood Matters: For any time bloodlines and/or literal blood become plot relevant, or Newcomb makes a big deal about magical blood in general.
Contrivances and Coincidences: For any time things just happen to make sure the plot goes in the way Newcomb wants it to.
Dastardly Deeds: For any time the villains do gratuitously evil things for no reason other than to make sure we know who’s the bad guy.
Exposition Intrusion: For any time the plot grinds to a halt so we can have massive infodumps (which may or may not be relevant) dropped on us.
Gender Wars: This one will be a bit different this time around, with the Coven and all their accompanying issues gone from the story, but I’ll still be giving points for any time the characters and/or the narrative itself are blatantly sexist.
Gratuitous Grimdark: For any time Newcomb mistakes being dark and edgy for serious and mature, or just throws in random rape/violence/etc. for contrived conflict or shock value.
Plot-Induced Stupidity: For any time the characters do stupid things to make sure the plot happens the way Newcomb wants it to.

I’ll also be adding two more for this sporking:

Protagonist-Centered Morality: This has always been a problem for this series, but considering some of the revelations about blood signatures, the Vigors and Vagaries, and character agency in this book, I think it’s worth it here to start including a count for when our protagonists are treated as good and noble, and our villains irredeemably evil, by default without any regard for context or nuance.
Retcons and Revelations: For when characters or worldbuilding elements are suddenly introduced to the story without any proper buildup in this or previous volumes. Again, Newcomb has a history of this sort of thing to begin with, but I think this book is where it starts getting really obvious.

As for who is going to be helping me this time around, I’ve decided to give Len and Yhani a much-deserved rest (thank you so much for your help these past two books, ladies – couldn’t have done it without you!) and bring in some new blood; this time around I’m using three guest sporkers (probably not all three for every chapter, though), two of whom I’ve used before, and one new face. So, let’s meet our victims helpers, everyone!

*a tall, strikingly pale elf woman in a red-and-black uniform appears in the sporking chamber; she has long, jet-black hair worn in a braid, carries an ebony staff topped with a red crystal, and regards everyone around her with a coldly curious expression*



Irinali: Well, well. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? In case you’ve forgotten, or for those meeting me for the first time, I am Irinali, formerly of Aerenal, presently of no country in particular, necromancer, scholar, and agent of the Order of the Emerald Claw, and enemy of… a certain pair of commentors who discussed this story previously. I commented on a few chapters of the first book of this series, if you’ll recall, when the others were… squeamish. Now it seems I’ll be taking over for them entirely; fate can be whimsical, can’t it? Apparently, I’m here because our host considers this story to have villains of questionable competence and goals, and also some… interesting… ideas about morality and magical theory. This should be amusing. *beat* And if it’s not… perhaps I’ll have to make my own amusement *she grins nastily*

*the next sporker is a girl in her late teens; she has blonde hair, green eyes, and a curious pattern of scars on her forehead; she is dressed in brown Jedi robes, wears a lightsaber on her belt, and her feet are conspicuously bare, and she looks around herself with interest*



Tahiri: Oh, hi, everyone *waves*. Tahiri Veila, Jedi Knight, at your service! Glad to be back; you might remember I was doing commentary on that story crossing over my universe with something called Harry Potter, except apparently the original creator of Harry Potter and that whole situation eventually got so awful our host *she nods in MG’s direction* didn’t want anything to do with it or any stories based on it anymore, so… I kind of got left in the lurch. Well, it looks like that won’t be as much of a problem here, because it sounds like everyone already knows this book and its author are horrible! *beat* Wait… that sounded more comforting in my head… Anyway, MG wanted me here because this story apparently touches on issues that I’m familiar with, including *heavy pause* …brainwashing, altering people’s personalities against their will, and forcing them to change sides without their consent? *gives MG a long look* You hate me, don’t you? On the other hand, I think MG wants me to watch something called Rebel Moon with them at some point; I have a really good feeling about that! *notices MG wincing* What?

*the final sporker is a young woman in black and silver; she has dark grey skin and somewhat lighter hair, pale purple eyes and slightly pointed ears; she carries a gleaming silver sword and has a flute hanging from her belt, and looks somewhat confused as to what she’s doing here*



Irinali: Oh, are you a drow? How exciting! I’ve never actually met a drow before… I’ve always been quite intrigued about how they differ from other elves… for research purposes, of course…

Ash: *taken aback* I’m half-drow, thank you. Anyway, my name is Ash, a sword dancer sworn to the service of the Dark Maiden, the goddess Eilistraee. I’m, ah, new here, as you can probably tell, though MG’s brought me up to speed on just what we’re supposed to be doing here. *she sighs* Goddess help me, this is going to be painful, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m apparently here because this author… has a track record of handling women and gender issues badly… and also has a very warped idea of morality that seems entirely based on a person’s bloodline and what sort of magic they use… and a tendency to write villains who even Lolth herself would look at and maybe ask them to tone it down a bit… *she shudders* Oh, what have I gotten myself into here? *she glances at Irinali* And I think one of my co-sporkers may want to dissect me, so I’m just laying it out clear right now – no.

Tahiri: Don’t worry; I’ve got your back. *glances at the fic* And I think we’ll need it…

MG: Yeah, this one may be the best of the Chronicles of Blood and Stone trilogy, but… like I said, that’s a low bar to clear, and it’s still really, really bad. For some context/reminders, Irinali is an OC of mine and is a major antagonist from my Eberron fanfic Game of the Ancients, which Len and Yhani are also from (and which I want to get back to someday, I swear!); Tahiri is from Star Wars Legends, particularly the New Jedi Order era (my sporker!Tahiri is mostly based on her from the late NJO novels and some from my own fic, and is blissfully unaware of what happens to her in Legacy of the Force and onward in Legends canon) and Ash is obviously a Forgotten Realms OC (I’m considering using her for a Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough). But with the fic having been introduced, having met everyone, and gotten the pleasantries out of the way, we’ll be off! As in the previous installments of this series, this book contains some disturbing content, and I’ll be sure to warn where appropriate.



Table of Contents

CHAPTERS

Prologue: Relinquishment

Part I: Recollection
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Part II: Revelation
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25

Part III: Regret
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41

Part IV: Rebirth
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58

Part V: Retribution
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74