72 lines
3.4 KiB
HTML
72 lines
3.4 KiB
HTML
<!doctype html>
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<html lang="en">
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<meta charset="UTF-8" />
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
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<title>The World - Chapter Excerpt</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="book-page.css" />
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</head>
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<div class="chapter-context">
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<p style="font-size: 0.8em">
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<strong>Page numbers/Context markers:</strong> 71 | W | 22 THE WORLD
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</p>
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</div>
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<h1>CHAPTER 9: DEICIDE</h1>
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<p>
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It might seem strange to so directly discuss the subject of killing a god,
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since <em>Fabula Ultima</em> draws its inspiration from a long video game
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tradition where the final antagonist is often a god-like entity with almost
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unlimited divine powers. However, in the natural fantasy genre, this dynamic
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is often turned upside down: the destruction of a god isn’t a rightful act
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of rebellion against a destiny that someone else already wrote, but rather a
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violent, ignorant and selfish act, showing a lack of empathy toward the
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spiritual world and driven by fear or greed.
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</p>
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<div class="example">
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<strong>Example:</strong> After ransacking the villages of the Great Taiga,
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the Shōgun didn’t find the fabled iron mines he was looking for. However,
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his agents sighted a creature known as <strong>Ōtetsuguma</strong>: a
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massive bear with metallic fur, who defeated scores of soldiers and
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mercenaries sent to capture her. Bent on defeating this threat and bringing
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a new trophy to his master, the Shōgun ignores the fact that the protector
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god of the region lives inside the bear: if she is killed before finding a
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successor, she won’t be able to awaken the spirits of flora and fauna in
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spring, condemning the Great Taiga to a never-ending winter.
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</div>
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<h2>FEAR OF DEATH</h2>
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<p>
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One of the finest examples of the desire to control magic and nature is,
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without any shadow of a doubt, the quest for immortality, which often drives
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the actions of the main antagonist or is the foundation of one or more
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mysteries or threats. This endeavor is as futile as it is reckless: denying
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the reality of death or attempting to trick it and push it away, pollutes
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the cycle of life, causing spiritual stagnation and unleashing upon the
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world a calamity that will snuff out future generations.
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</p>
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<div class="example">
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<strong>Example:</strong> Ten thousand years ago, humanity fell victim to a
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fearsome epidemic. Fearing extinction, scientists dismembered the ancient
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<strong>Kalpavriksha</strong> tree and developed a synthetic forest to
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separate bodies and souls: instead of returning to the spiritual stream of
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the planet, these souls were put in stasis inside the network, waiting for
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it to birth a generation of clones, completely immune to the disease, to
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host them. However, the research team grossly underestimated humanity’s
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knack for survival: now, their descendants live in harmony with generations
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of clones discarded by the system, who developed individual souls in the
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meantime. Trapped in their stasis, the original souls became corrupted,
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making the resynchronization erratic and turning them into malevolent
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shape-shifting spirits.
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</div>
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<div class="quote-block">
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<blockquote>
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“He looked for immortality and it was granted to him.<br />He broke the
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peace and peace was forever taken from him.”
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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</html>
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