innerchorus
INNER CHORUS
Arslan Senki blog! Expect a lot of sobbing over my favourite characters and infrequent meta. This blog is NOT spoiler free (though I do tag/warn for spoilers). Please feel free to send any questions!
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Finally read both parts of 127 which means I can read your recap/reaction post, which is always my favorite post-new chapter activity 🩵 ⚔️
You're too kind (and it's funny because I saw you'd posted your thoughts and was going to tell you I'd really missed your analysis!). Hoping that all future chapters find their way online swiftly, because waiting to find out what happens next will undoubtedly be hard.
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Some top notch analysis here! Alfarid making the call about leaving the dead unburied stood out to me and you've articulated exactly why that was such a great moment.
The parallels between the historical, mythologised tale of Kaykhusraw and Arslan in the present who is in the process of forming a legend of his own. (And I love that we get indicators that the events we're witnessing will one day be held on the same level as the deeds of Kaykhusraw... remembering the inclusion of carvings that appear to depict events such as the harnak!)
Funnily enough, though Arslan clearly has a lot in common with Kaykhusraw (and let me add one more to your list — neither of them has the blood of the previous royal line!) it's mentioned later in the novels, after it's been publically announced that Arslan is not of royal blood, that a rumour develops that Arslan is a descendant of Jamshid. Parsian parents apparently wish for their children to grow up to be 'as brave as Kaykhusraw and as wise as Jamshid.' Perhaps Arslan has both of those qualities in him.
Man I can't believe when I first got into Arslan Senki I was so convinced that Arslan = Jamshid and Hilmes = Kaykhusraw. Obviously, that's not the route the story took. And while there are clear parallels between Arslan and Kaykhusraw, I actually wrote a post a while back about how Hilmes is the inverse of Kaykhusraw.
Hilmes at the moment has no idea what's coming for him.
Arslan Senki 127
This chapter opens with the titular Legend of the Snake King. I was struck by the many parallels between Arslan and Kaykhusraw illuminated by this tale:
Kaykhusraw’s mission is to overturn Zahhak, an evil that terrorizes his people; Arslan’s mission is to dismantle slavery, an evil that terrorizes his people. They both move toward their goal with small numbers of supporters.
Kaykhusraw first allies himself with Zahhak’s cook — like Arslan, he sees the value of individuals outside of the nobility and military.
Early in his mission, Kaykhusraw faces the reality that he cannot save everyone and settles for saving one person from every pair to be slaughtered for Shoulder Snakes™️. Arslan routinely balks at “settling,” and with the assistance of his allies can generally — but not always — avoid it.
Kaykhusraw’s small army is comprised of 365 “stout youth” who were saved by his partnership with the cook. Arslan quite similarly collects allies by offering grace and mercy.
These points emphasize the most important parallel: Kaykhusraw was the “Hero King” who gained his throne by overturning an unfair and oppressive power — not through the usual succession. Arslan is on the path to do the same. Despite not sharing blood with Kaykhusraw, his mission makes him the true successor to the Hero King.
Alfarid was great in this chapter. I absolutely love who she’s become in Arakawa’s hands. Giggly and love struck? Yes. A skilled leader and warrior who prioritizes practical, immediate needs? Also yes. We see that after Zahhak’s retreat in 127 part 2:
The Zot clan have enormous respect for all dead, not just their own — remember that they will not rob the bodies of the dead, nor the sick and dying. To leave a comrade unburied weighs heavily on them all but imagine how difficult it is for the leader of the Zot to leave members of her clan, her family, unburied and without their final rites.
In many ways, this call is one only Alfarid has the authority to make, and she does so in a frank (but not disrespectful) way. As Arslan has grown in his skills and confidence, his need for advice has diminished. We’ve seen Narsus refuse to make recommendations, leaving the choice to Arslan. Alfarid is effectively Shāh of the Zot, a clan that does not recognize Parsian authority. In this moment she speaks to Arslan as his equal, and thus gives the group the time they need to create as much distance as possible between them and their slithery opponent with regenerative powers and acidic blood.
Alfarid also gives Etoile a fresh horse from one of the fallen Zot members. It’s another sign of Alfarid’s authority and also a lovely indicator that Alfarid sees her as a core part of the group.
They all survived this time… I wonder what the outcome of the final battle against Zahhak will be.
In the novels, the final battle against Zahhak takes place after Arslan’s ascension to the throne. I’ve wondered how Arakawa planned to either condense the time between these events or unify them (and I leaned towards unification, because it’s way more dramatic). The Shoulder Snakes™️ slithering towards Ecbatana with Kaykhusraw’s disintegrating body between them hints at one option — and it involves a new host.
I think Hilmes is about to find out how Zahhak’s devotees plan to put him on the throne.
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#arslan senki novel spoilers#arslan#kaykhusraw#alfarid#zahhak#team zahhak#hilmes#jamshid
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Actually, what's even going to happen to Don Ricardo in Arakawa's manga? Will he return to Lusitania with Estelle? That's going to be my current guess, anyway.
#arslan senki#heroic legend of arslan#don ricardo#estelle#i can't see him becoming part of Team Arslan tbh
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#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#don ricardo#rukhnabad#shades forged from a shard of the sun#Don Ricardo: 'these feel like cheap plastic'
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Poor Don Ricardo had it a little better in the novels. He ended up staying in a village 10 farsangs from Mount Damavand, where the villagers give him a little house of his own on account of the manual labour he does for their benefit. He'd definitely have had the chance to bathe there! Still needs therapy for his snake phobia, though.
Maybe soon you'll get an upgrade from being Don Ricardo's emotional support sword.
I sure hope so — he needs a bath.
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#don ricardo#rukhnabad#i guess Don Ricardo won't get that 'White Ghost'/'Parahuda' nickname in the manga#there's no real sign that his hair even changed colour#though... maybe the Zot could have nicknamed him?
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Let's Welcome the Newest Chapter!
Oh my god. It is done. The second chapter of my Firelight AU is finnished! This time, Lord Hial graces the cover for the chapter.
I hope you gusy will enjoy this!
Art without text under keep reading:
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#maaren au#hial (oc)#that's quite the scar going into his hairline!#i'm curious to meet him#i'll make time to read the new chapter very soon!
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Oh, thank you very much for your answer! And you gave the example of Arslan himself. This term has so many meanings that it can get confusing.
You're welcome! I can only give my impression but hopefully it helped a little. I think the use of an expression like that can differ a little depending on the exact context and character it's used for so a firm definition is hard, it's more of a feeling. Like, if you were in a room with a character like that, you'd be aware of their presence.
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Watched ep5 of Corporate Warriors and... Shapur and Isfan 🥹
🥹 is exactly right! The fact that this version of ArSen exists is like a soothing balm for the wound of what happened in canon.
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This question is not Arslan's topic, but I would like to know your opinion. For example, about a character in a book or film they say “he has a strong aura.” What does this mean, do you think? I couldn't find the answer.
As I understand it, this means that the character is strong and bright?
I would assume it to mean a character with a strong presence, likely to be someone who other people might find themselves drawn to. It brings to mind a character who is self-assured and confident in themselves, though depending on the specifics, that may not be the case (I could imagine this expression being used as a sign of a character's potential, and although this question isn't specifically about Arslan Senki, the OVA version of Arslan did come to my mind as someone who has that sort of presence).
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Chapter 127 is now available on Mangasee123!
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@askrukhnabad what are your thoughts on Prince Arslan’s sword? A ‘prized dagger’ with ‘impressive embellishments’?
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#arslan senki spoilers#rukhnabad#YEP#Rukhnabad didn't even have to leave its scabbard to outperform everyone else on the battlefield versus Zahhak
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Putting the drabble(?) under a read-more because I don't feel so confident in this one. This was just supposed to be an excuse and vehicle for the solar eclipse and the Pilgrim's Bells ringing so if all the other parts sound jank, that is why!
I apologize for this 😭
The sun blinks.
Hilmes stills.
The sun shines unwaveringly, bright and blinding. Clouds may block it, mist may dim it, and the skies may bring it to rest every dusk.
But the sun does not blink.
It goes against every common sense, the very nature of the sun, but—
It blinks, now.
It blinks and blinks, dims and lights up and dims again like a star, the rays almost blinding in contrast when the light returns.
Until it doesn't.
From the sky, vanish the sun's light.
The air turns cold, and shadows dance around them, like a heat haze, like a mirage, and the malformed creatures halt to look at them. As if captured. As if mesmerized.
Zahhak halts.
The moon, realizes Hilmes. It's the moon, the moon devouring the sun, the moon granting them a boon. A celestial of the night, entering the sun's domain.
The sky children.
He looks at the sword in his hand. Glowing silver, starlight on the earth.
Rukhnabad was forged from a fallen star.
He can move again, he finds. Where before he and his army were frozen by the Serpent King's snare, the moon has lifted the pressure from their mortal bodies— it drops like a rock, and in turn the lack of weight lifts them up.
He feels light. He feels as though he could float away.
He raises the sword, Rukhnabad, jabs it upwards to the sky like a beacon, a guiding light, a breath of hope in place of the sun.
“Hark ye, mages and riders!” he cries out, his voice returning to him at last. “Arise, arise! The wretched snake's curse has lifted!”
A collective cry answers him, relief and hope blends one voice to the other until he can no longer tell which voice was whose, and how many there remained.
It is fine. It's enough.
“Endure, we must! Prevail, we must! Zahhak has been defeated once, he will be brought down once again! By us, by our hands!”
He thinks of Kaykhusraw. The hero-king. The slave. The traitor.
His ancestor.
“And we have with us, what the hero king never did! The key to end this, once and for all!” More like what he foolishly threw away, but this is not the place to say it. I won't do it, he swears to himself. I will not selfishly discard what should be dear to me. Zandeh and Irina flash in his mind at once, but also Kharlan and Saam and Bahman, his followers, his men, all of them, even the ones whose names he knows not.
The mages.
The little bird.
Areyan.
“Remember your brother and sisters. Remember that aid is coming.”
The sound of bells shall reverberate, sang to him the old crone, Break the heavens like dawn over the mountains.
“The promise shall be fulfilled…” The promise of victory, no doubt they would think, there is that too, but his mind dwells on the promise of freedom.
The promise Kaykhusraw broke.
And true tomorrow shall arrive again.
“But for that—” He points Rukhnabad forward, lightning trailing behind it in a dance, casting the shifting shadows in a starker light. “For that we must fulfill our role. Remember! Remember what it is that we set out to do! Remember the work that needs to be done!”
There's so much. There's so much to be done. Here and now, against Zahhak the Serpent King, but also beyond that, beyond everything, even when peace is restored.
The work will be never-ending.
He can't wait to get to it.
He can't help the feral grin that graces his lips.
The sun starts to blink again. The eclipse is about to end.
They need to act fast.
“Loose the arrows! Clear a path so that the second squad can bind Zahhak. We must hold on until—”
That is when the bells ring.
The song, it comes from beyond the horizon, from the east, west, north, and south, around them, all around them, filling the air and overlapping, amplifying each other until naught could be heard over them—
The sky laughs and laughs and laughs.
Like an echo, like light, like dawn breaking over the mountain peaks and thunder in a storm, ripples spreading across still-waters, the swaying of trees in the strong winds.
Like the world comes alive, like all spirits were a single soul made solid.
“Now, now!”
The mass of people spring into action. People, and spirits too. He feels them. They rush through them, past them, wading through the army of men as though they too were part of the charge, all the while the earth trembles and shakes beneath their feet and the sun flick-flick-flickers above in the sky.
And the sound of bells would not stop. He can scarcely hear his men's voice above it, can scarcely hear his own heart.
Well, that is fine.
He is not alone, that much he can tell.
Everyone is here. Even the ones he had sent away to find what had been lost.
They may not be here in flesh, in these plains where the battle takes place, but…
Undoubtedly, they are present nonetheless.
He loses himself in the ever-rising song as he rides forth, and drives the treasured sword in Zahhak's chest as ghosts unseen rend him asunder.
And then all is white.
The darkness is no more.
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#wolfpack au#hilmes#HILMES SENKI#gonna leave you some thoughts in the comments!
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Guess who’s back? 😎
#arslan senki#the heroic legend of arslan#rukhnabad#don ricardo#estelle#WHOOHOO!#those shades next to Don Ricardo's 😨 face lmao
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Where did you buy the latest ArSen!?
I buy the simulpub from K Manga! It's region-locked to the US which is frustrating but I'm using a VPN and thankfully that has enabled me to purchase the chapters. They're released at the exact same time the chapter comes out in Japan.
For free versions, if you torrent keep checking Nyaa.si as it's usually available there a short time before being uploaded to online manga reader sites like Mangasee123. However, as of right now it hasn't appeared online anywhere other than the official sources, which you'd have to pay for.
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I'd also say that technically Zahhak right now qualifies for all three! There's no indication Zahhak can speak yet (lending support to the theory that he's not fully conscious yet and Team Zahhak have more work to do), historically Kaykhusraw was unable to kill him, and we have that line from Daryun in this chapter where he says "Is it truly Zahhak...?".
With the mist, they didn't get a full look at the monster before them. Though the two snakes that eat brains lead the thoughts of the Parsians to one place, there's still that slight element of doubt. And even if they suspect it really is Zahhak, they haven't yet seen the form he's taken, the body he is using as his vessel...
I think there's just something in the way even Narsus was stumped when before he said something like “I fear nothing that talks” when faced against a sorcerer, but this time he's up against a true monster.
I know I've brought up this quote by Aozaki Touko from Kara no Kyoukai a lot but:
“There are three conditions to terrify someone: One, the monster can't speak. Two, the monster has to be unidentifiable. Three, it's meaningless if the monster can die.”
Zahhak, at present, qualifies for two of the three conditions, but can be stretched to all three since the characters don't know where he originated from, how he came to be. Even Kaykhusraw could not kill him.
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I am so happy that we see how everyone reacts in stress situations - especially Daryun (at least for me)!
My head be spinning with new AU scenes (as always after a new chapter). Makes it easier for me to plan for the final fight of Firelight AU. That will defenitly will not be pleasant for maaaanyyy of Team Arslan and the others. But that will take a while to get to.
I'm only starting to write chapter 4 and editing chapter 2 and 3. Hopefully chapter 2 will be ready soon. Currently working on a new chapter cover.
Anyway, brain rot be real and I havn't even read the chapter in full yet! I can't wait! (and I hope you had a good day today!)
Yeah it's fascinating to see how they respond, it doesn't get much more stressful than an unexpected encounter with the Snake King!
I'm glad it's helping you out with AU planning; it's definitely useful to see how Arakawa is approaching things as we near the end of the series. I have some AU scenarios that are a bit up in the air until I know how the manga is going to resolve various plot threads so I definitely get it. Though I may just divert from canon anyway depending on what I want to do, hah.
It sounds like you've been making some great progress with writing Firelight AU! I'll set some time aside to read the first chapter tomorrow (I think I'll be able to concentrate on it properly now this manga chapter is out of the way). Love the cover art so far as well, it's a really nice extra to go along with the fic.
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The scarf singeing moment...
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